BOSTON (AP) -Kevin Youkilis and the Boston Red Sox agreed Friday to a four-year contract that guarantees the infielder $41,125,000.
The deal includes Youkilis’ last two years of arbitration eligibility and delays his chance to become a free agent by at least two years. Boston has a club option for 2013.
“It’s a great thing knowing that I’ll be here for hopefully the next five years,” the 29-year-old said. “My wife is from Boston and her family’s from here and that’s a major factor in us staying here.”
Youkilis gets a $1 million signing bonus, $6 million this year, $9,125,000 in 2010 and $12 million in each of the following two seasons. Boston has a $13 million option for 2013 with a $1 million buyout.
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Youkilis holds the major league record of 238 straight games at first base without an error, a streak that ended last June.
He finished third in AL MVP voting in 2008, behind Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia and Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau.
Youkilis is a career .289 hitter with 66 homers and 314 RBI. His .997 career fielding percentage at first base is tops in Red Sox history.
“Kevin has been a mainstay for us and a big part of our major league club through a lot of successful seasons and a big part of our future and we solidified that with this move today,” general manager Theo Epstein said.
The Red Sox have not gone to arbitration since Epstein took over as GM. Closer Jonathan Papelbon and reliever Javier Lopez also filed for arbitration Thursday and will swap figures with the Red Sox if they don’t settle by Tuesday. Hearings take place in February.
Pedroia, who wouldn’t have been eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season, agreed last month to a $40.5 million, six-year deal.
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