The Flyin' Hawaiian will be landing in Boston. In a move that changed the dynamics of this Red Sox offseason, the club came to terms with outfielder Shane Victorino on a three-year contract Tuesday. The deal won't be finalized until after a physical exam. With Victorino in Hawaii for a charity golf tournament this week, that probably won't occur...
The Red Sox have reportedly come to terms with Shane Victorino (right) a three-year, $39-million deal.
The Flyin' Hawaiian will be landing in Boston.
In a move that changed the dynamics of this Red Sox offseason, the club came to terms with outfielder Shane Victorino on a three-year contract Tuesday.
The deal won't be finalized until after a physical exam. With Victorino in Hawaii for a charity golf tournament this week, that probably won't occur until next week.
Victorino confirmed in a tweet he was coming to Boston. Reports on the deal have varied between $37.5 and $39 million.
The club's second free agent acquisition in two days leaves Boston with an outfield of Jonny Gomes, Jacoby Ellsbury and Hawaiian native Victorino, who has spent most of his career in centerfield but is expected to play right in Boston.
That could change if the Red Sox sign either Cody Ross or Nick Swisher, who have also drawn their interest. Acquiring Victorino, however, removes some of the pressure to compete for those players if the price goes too high.
Victorino, 32, was traded from Philadelphia to the Los Angeles Dodgers in midseason of 2012. He hit .255 last year, but is a .275 hitter in a career that began in 2003 with San Diego, two years before he went to the Phillies.
The Dodgers showed no interest in retaining Victorino, who had 39 of his 201 career steals last season. He was a left fielder in Los Angeles, and that job will be taken by Carl Crawford, who was acquired from Boston in August.
Victorino gives Boston a player with remarkable similarities to Crawford, and at 60 percent of the cost. Unlike Crawford, who will begin the third year of a seven-year, $142 million contract, Victorino is signed for a modest three years.
Unlike Crawford, he is also healthy, having played 154 games last season while earning $9.5 million. Victorino also played previously in a critical, demanding market (Philadelphia), and would seem unlikely to be affected by the Boston baseball climate, which swallowed up Crawford after his arrival from Tampa Bay.
Victorino has hit between 12 and 17 home runs every year since 2007, and he led the National League in triples in 2009 and again in 2011.
He is also a two-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove outfielder. Victorino is expected to start his Boston career in right field, but he offers a natural centerfield replacement if Ellsbury is traded or injured, or if he leaves as a free agent after the 2013 season
The switch-hitting Victorino is a .301 lifetime hitter against left-handers, and .265 against right-handers.
In two days at the baseball winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn., Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has filled two gaping holes. On Monday, he came to terms with Mike Napoli, a catcher and first baseman whose three-year, $39 million contract is identical to Victorino's package.
The pursuit of Napoli was well known, but the Victorino deal caught most analysts by surprise. With centerfielders such as Josh Hamilton, Angel Pagan and Michael Bourn reaching free agency, Victorino went under the radar and was rarely discussed in connection with Boston.
Media sources report the Red Sox have been interested for more than a month. Just as Napoli offers a new power source, Victorino provides the speed that explains his "Flyin' Hawaiian'' nickname.
He spent much of his time with the Phillies as their No. 2 hitter, but can also hit in other spots.
The Victorino deal could put an end to rumors that Boston would pursue Hamilton. Cherington has consistently downplayed that prospect by saying the Red Sox are devoted to signing players for shorter terms and at reasonable cost.
It also makes the return of Ross or the signing of Swisher unlikely. Neither is out of the question, considering the Red Sox have not committed to Gomes as an everyday outfielder and Ellsbury remains a trade candidate.
Having shed $262 million with the 2012 Dodgers deal, the Red Sox have now invested $94.25 million in four players. Napoli and Victorino were acquired for three years each, with Gomes and catcher David Ross on two-year deals.