Red Sox win arbitration hearing against reliever Fernando Abad

By Katherine Fominykh 2/2/2017

The Red Sox have won their arbitration hearing against left-handed reliever Fernando Abad.

On Tuesday, a panel of Robert Herzog, Phillip LaPorte and Dennis Archer voted in the ball-club’s favor, meaning that Abad will not be receiving the $2.7 million he asked for in his 2017 contract.

Instead, the lefty will sign for $2 million, still a bump from the $1.25 million Abad made at the end of last season in Boston.

The team has not resorted to arbitration at all under the current ownership—in other words, not since 2002. But in a case like this, it is not unusual—Abad asked for more than double of what he made last season on the back of results that “didn’t go so hot,” according to NESN. After the Twins traded Abad to Boston over the summer, the southpaw reliever was bringing a 2.65 ERA in tow; by the end of 2016, however, Abad had allowed nine earned runs in just 12 2/3 innings, hashed out a 6.39 ERA, and ended with an 0-2 record.

By keeping Abad in the roster, the Red Sox have effectively added yet another left-handed pitcher to the set that includes Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz, Robbie Ross Jr., and Eduardo Rodriguez.

There is still a glimmer of promise in Abad for the Red Sox. Despite his failures in the fall, he withheld batters to a 1.53 average, meaning that most of his mistakes were made in runs scoring—a mistake that could be corrected with the command he had in Minnesota.

Fernando Abad’s contract runs through the 2017 season. After that, he will be a free agent.