The Red Sox failed to sign their first baseman of the future last month, but the team did succeed yesterday in signing its first baseman of the present - and in providing a measure of stability to the right side of the infield.
Six weeks after locking up Dustin Pedroia with a six-year deal, the Sox - who couldn't land free agent Mark Teixeira - agreed in principle on a four-year, $41 million contract with Kevin Youkilis, according to multiple Baseball sources. The deal includes a $13 million club option for 2013 and a $1 million buyout of that option, which disappears if the Sox pick it up. News of the deal came at the deadline for filing for arbitration, and because it is not official, Youkilis did file. An official announcement is expected today, contingent on Youkilis passing a physical.
The first baseman, who turns 30 in March, had the finest season of his career in 2008, finishing third in the MVP race behind Pedroia and Minnesota's Justin Morneau. He hit .312 with 29 home runs and 115 RBIs, which earned him the Hank Aaron Award for the top offensive performance in the American League.
Not only has Youkilis blossomed offensively, he has done the same defensively. After coming up as a third baseman, he made the transition to first base, where he won a Gold Glove in 2007 when he didn't make an error there.
In addition to his defense at first, Youkilis provides the Sox with flexibility in the infield. He moved to third base last season when Mike Lowell was injured, and has expressed his preference for third base in the past. With top first base prospect Lars Anderson progressing through the system, the Sox could move Youkilis back to third at the conclusion of Lowell's deal. Lowell is signed through 2010, and is coming off hip surgery.
The Youkilis deal fits with the Red Sox' philosophy of signing young players to long-term contracts. The Sox require that such deals buy back free agent years to make it worthwhile for the team. In the case of Youkilis, a four-year contract would keep him under the Sox' control until 2012, which would take care of two of his free agent years, with the option of buying back a third free agent year.
"We have a club policy for deals of this nature with players in this general service class that we have to get at least one free agent year and we have to get a club option," general manager Theo Epstein said in December when the Sox signed Pedroia.
It was less than a month ago that Youkilis's agent, Joe Bick, said he didn't believe the sides would come together on a long-term deal this offseason.
"We've had some initial conversations," Bick said. "It doesn't look promising."
But clearly, things changed in the past three weeks, leading to more serious talks in recent days and culminating with the agreement reached yesterday.
Other than Youkilis, the Sox have two players eligible for arbitration: relievers Jonathan Papelbon and Javier Lopez. The Sox had nothing brewing on any potential agreement with Papelbon yesterday. The closer was outspoken last spring training about wanting to set standards for his position in terms of compensation, and was awarded a $775,000 deal in a year in which he was not arbitration-eligible.
During Epstein's tenure with the Sox, the team has never gone to arbitration with any player.
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com; Tony Massarotti can be reached at tmassarotti@globe.com and read at www.boston.com/massarotti
