One of the most sought-after free agents during the 2012 MLB Winter Meetings was Shane Victorino–who agreed to a three-year, $39 million deal with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. While Victorino should make an immediate impact near the top of the Red Sox lineup, the argument can be made the organization overpaid for the outfielder and could have easily saved millions over the next couple of seasons.
Victorino was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the middle of the 2012 season and one of the main reasons why the Philadelphia Phillies were willing to ship him off was due to the fact that it would cost too much money to keep him around once he became a free agent–which the argument can be made they ended up being right. Sure, Victorino set a career high in 2012 with 39 stolen bases, but his .255 average with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs is certainly nothing to brag about.
After shipping off most of their key players to the Dodgers last year, the Red Sox have plenty of money to spend for the upcoming 2013 season, but signing Victorino to such a hefty contract was the last thing this team needed to. Boston was one of the biggest disappointments of the 2012 season after finishing at the bottom of the AL East with a 69-93 record and will do everything in their power to make sure that doesn’t happen again next season.
Victorino is certainly a nice addition–but the Red Sox are the losers in this one considering how much they’re spending to bring him on board.
“Like” Dan Parzych on Facebook
Be sure to follow Dan on Twitter @DanParzych
