redsox.com: BOSTON -- The Red Sox are on the verge of signing David Ortiz to a contract that will keep him in a Boston uniform for two more years, a source has confirmed.
The deal is for $26 million guaranteed with incentives that could push the deal to $30 million. The contract is expected to be announced soon, pending a physical.
As a precautionary measure, Boston made a qualifying offer of $13.3 million to Ortiz on Friday, guaranteeing the club will receive Draft compensation if the slugger signs with another team.
"Well, we're working on it," said general manager Ben Cherington on WEEI's Hot Stove program on Thursday night. "We've been talking to David since the end of the season, and it's been a good conversation. Everyone knows that we'd like to keep him, and I think there's mutual interest. And we've had a lot of talks, and we've made up some ground in some areas, but we still have some work to do."
The Red Sox didn't make qualifying offers to any of their other six-year free agents, a group that includes Cody Ross, Daisuke Matsuzaka, James Loney, Vicente Padilla and Scot Podsednik.
While Ortiz has played on one-year contracts the past two seasons, the sides have been trying to hammer out a multi-year deal.
"We'll keep working on it," Cherington said. "If we get past tomorrow night, we'll continue to work on it. We remain hopeful that we'll keep him in a Red Sox uniform next year."
Last year, Ortiz accepted Boston's offer of arbitration and nearly went to a hearing before the sides agreed to a one-year deal in February.
Things should happen at a much swifter pace this year, thanks to the new rules in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Under the new system, six-year free agents aren't eligible for arbitration. Ortiz has until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to accept the qualifying offer. If he declines, the sides can continue to try to work out a deal.
Jasper's thoughts: "Having Ortiz back next year would be good news for the Red Sox."
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