“This winter when I saw Jed had made some public comments it was unlikely that Adrian would stay in San Diego long-term, we kind of took that as a good indicator that they may be more open this winter to listening about a possible trade,’’ said Epstein. “So we got in touch right away and started talking about what a possible package would look like.
“Last weekend, things started to heat up and we made some strong proposals and had a good feeling in the middle of the week we’d get something done.’’
Yesterday, after a protracted process that tested the club’s resolve as well as that of Gonzalez and his representation, the Sox finally got their man. According to major league sources, the sides have the parameters of a seven-year, $154 million contract ex tension in place. By signing the deal after Opening Day, the Sox would save millions in luxury tax.
It appeared, though, the opportunity to add Gonzalez to the roster had been squandered when talks broke down Sunday after a 2 p.m. deadline expired without a contract extension. When he departed Fenway Park and headed back to his hotel, Gonzalez was resigned to the fact he would be going back to San Diego, where he grew up yearning to be a Padre and was a fan of the Red Sox because of Ted Williams’s connection to his hometown.
“When we left, our conversation with them was, ‘We respect you guys more than we did coming in,’ and they respected us more than they did coming in,’’ Gonzalez said. “It was one of the things that allowed us to go ahead and restart the talks of the trade later in the evening when they caught us before we got back on the plane.
“It was one of those things where the relationship got so good, it allowed this to happen.’’
Both sides resumed talks Sunday evening after making a leap of good faith that resulted in a trade with the Padres for three minor league prospects — righthanded pitcher Casey Kelly, outfielder Reymond Fuentes, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo — and a player to be named.
