The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Bronson Arroyo and Mark Bellhorn by signing the pair to one-year deals worth $1.85M and $2.75M respectively. Both are good deals wherein the Sox should receive fantastic value and the players can enjoy handsome raises. I don’t think I need to go into why Arroyo’s deal is a good one but I want to present a little evidence to illustrate why Bellhorn’s deal is so favorable. The two figures are 2004 OPS+, followed by 2005 salary.

Bellhorn, 107, $2.75M
Loretta, 136, $2.5M
Kent, 124, $7.5M
Soriano, 98, $7.5M
Durham, 115, $6.5M
Vidro, 116, $7.0M
Giles, 112, $2.7M*
Womack, 93, $2.0M

* figure he is requesting in arbitration

Only San Diego and Atlanta appear to be getting better deals on their second baseman than the Sox.

I wonder what the “Pokey’s better” crowd thinks about Bellhorn’s new contract?

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