“I knew that Theo appreciated what kind of player Mike was, so in the back of my mind I always wondered if he would end up in Boston,’’ Nicotera said. “But sometimes those things never work out.’’
This time, it did. When the Red Sox balked at the contract demands of Jason Bay, they turned to Cameron and quickly made a two-year deal that was announced yesterday.
Cameron will be paid $15.5 million over the course of the contract. He received a $1 million signing bonus and will receive yearly salaries of $7.25 million. He also has limited no-trade protection.
“When I heard they were interested, I called around and asked people what they thought,’’ said Cameron, who reached out to, among others, former Sox outfielder Cliff Floyd. “I liked what I heard.’’
Cameron, who turns 37 in January, has known Red Sox manager Terry Francona since 1991. Both were with the White Sox then, Cameron an 18-year-old draft pick and Francona the first-year hitting coach. Francona remembers watching Cameron’s parents drop him off in Sarasota, Fla.
“He always used to tell us that if we can’t figure this out now that you’ll be one of the prime candidates to be working at 7-Eleven,’’ Cameron said of Francona.
The two connected again with Cameron playing for Francona in Single and Double A. It was Francona who told Cameron he had been promoted to the majors in 1995.
“There’s a lot of trust in that relationship,’’ Nicotera said by telephone from his office in New Jersey. “And Cam knows what Theo thinks of him as well.’’
Because of that faith, Cameron has told the Red Sox he is comfortable with letting the team decide where he plays. A center fielder for the majority of his career with three Gold Gloves, Cameron could play left for the Sox.
“The numbers speak for themselves. I still feel that I’m able to move around pretty good and I played probably one of the better center fields this year that I’ve played in a long time,’’ said Cameron, who pointed out with a smile that the wall in left field didn’t move when he ran into it in 2001.
Francona plans to discuss the situation with Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, Epstein, and bench coach DeMarlo Hale in the coming weeks.
