Tonight at 11:59 is the deadline for teams to offer salaries for players with 3-5 years of service time. Those are players not yet eligible for free agency, but beyond the 0-3 years where their salaries can be set by the team
For the Red Sox, it's a long list:
RHP Alfredo Aceves
RHP Matt Albers
INF-OF Mike Aviles
RHP Daniel Bard
OF Jacoby Ellsbury
LHP Rich Hill
INF Jed Lowrie
LHP Franklin Morales
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
LHP Andrew Miller was signed last week.
Outside of Hill, who is recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery and could be held with a minor league deal, the Red Sox will probably offer all these players. Ben Cherington mentioned last week there could be one non-tender.
Ellsbury will command a huge raise, probably up to near $8 million. But the rest will probably end up with $1.7 million or less. Being offered guarantees the player a one-year deal with the salary either negotiated or determined through arbitration. The Sox haven't gone to a hearing since 2002.
The bigger aspect of tonight will be going through the list of non-tenders to discover pitchers the Sox could try and sign. You can find bargains on the non-tender market (Aceves last season, for instance) and occasionally future stars like David Ortiz.
Some signings could come today. If not, they'll get done in the weeks to come. The first hearings aren't until February.
Once the Sox reveal their choices, we'll let you know.
