FORT MYERS, Fla. – Jacoby Ellsbury breezed into Red Sox camp Thursday, one day before he was required to show up, and insisted he’d be open to discussing a contract extension during the season.
Yeah, and Kevin Youkilis wants to dine with Bobby Valentine.
By now, nine months before he’s eligible for free agency, the odds are non-existent that Ellsbury will forego the opportunity to test his value on the open market. And on the off chance the 29-year-old center fielder did consider it, his agent, Scott Boras, surely would disabuse him of the notion.
It makes even less sense for the Red Sox to rush into a long-term deal with Ellsbury, especially since it was due only to the benevolence of the Los Angeles Dodgers last August that they were freed of a combined $296 million commitment to Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.
The fact is, after this season, Ellsbury will work for the highest bidder, and the Sox are perfectly content to let the situation play out. After all, no player will be more motivated this year than Ellsbury, and a motivated Ellsbury can only be good for the Red Sox.
“I don’t think it becomes a distraction for him,” manager John Farrell said of Ellsbury’s looming free agency.![]()
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