Red Sox avoid arb with Barnes, three others
This browser does not support the video element.
The Red Sox finished off a flurry of activity leading up to Wednesday¡¯s 8 p.m. ET non-tender deadline, announcing that they avoided arbitration by reaching one-year deals with righty relievers Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier and Austin Brice along with backup catcher Kevin Plawecki.
The pacts came on the heels of the one-year, $8.3 million deal the club reached with lefty Eduardo Rodriguez on Tuesday.
While the Sox haven¡¯t yet agreed to a new contract with star third baseman Rafael Devers, they did tender him an offer prior to the deadline.
Though there were non-tendered players around baseball who became free agents on Wednesday, none came from the Red Sox.
Barnes, who became Boston¡¯s closer when Brandon Workman was traded in August, agreed to a deal worth $4.5 million, a source told MLB.com. The club did not confirm the value of the deals.
It is unclear if Barnes will compete for the closer¡¯s role in Spring Training or if he¡¯ll revert to the setup role he¡¯s fit into so well for most of his career.
The contracts for Brasier and Brice were for $1.25 million and $870,000, respectively.
Brasier was a star for the Red Sox in the championship postseason of 2018 but hasn¡¯t been as consistent the last two years. In 2020, he had a 3.96 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 25 outings.
Brice also hopes to be more consistent going forward than he was last season, when he notched a 5.95 ERA in 21 appearances.
The Red Sox were pleased with the job Plawecki did as the backup for Christian V¨¢zquez. The 29-year-old signed a $1.6 million deal.