Red Sox reach agreement with nine players, but appear headed to arbitration with Mookie Betts

The Red Sox got every one of their salary arbitration-eligible player signed Friday – except, arguably, the most important one.

On the day which teams and players exchanged salary arbitration requests, the Sox came to an agreement with nine players: Drew Pomeranz ($8.5 million); Xander Bogaerts ($7.05 million); Jackie Bradley Jr. ($6.1 million); Joe Kelly ($3.825 million); Eduardo Rodriguez ($2.375 million); Brock Holt ($2.225 million); Sandy Leon ($1.950 million); Christian Vazquez ($1.450 million) and Brandon Workman ($835,000).

Previously, the Sox had reached contract agreements with three other salary arbitration-eligibles: pitchers Steven Wright, Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg.

But the team has a sizeable gulf with outfielder Mookie Betts. The Sox filed at $7.5 million and Betts requested $10.5 million. (MLB Trade Rumors, which often accurately predicts salary arbitration figures, had Betts pegged to earn $8.7 million.) The Sox have said they don’t intend to negotiate further with Betts, and anticipate going to a hearing.

That understanding was mutually agreed upon by both sides, with the idea the existence of a deadline would force both player and team to work toward a solution early in the process. Ordinarily, nothing would stop player and team from continuing to work toward an agreement before next month’s hearing arrives. But in this case, by mutual agreement, that doesn’t appear to be in the offing.

The inability to reach an agreement may stem from last spring when Betts (then not yet eligible for arbitration and thus without much leverage) and the Red Sox couldn’t agree to a salary for 2017 and he was “renewed’’  -- that is, his salary was determined by the Sox, with Betts not agreeing to the figure.

The Sox paid Betts beyond what they had to, giving him a salary of $950,000, one of the highest figures ever for someone with his service time. They later attempted to negotiate a multi-year extension, but those overtures were rejected by Betts, who told Boston Sports Journal that he “preferred to go year-to-year.’’

When the Sox and Betts go to the hearing, which is set for early February, the arbitrator assigned to the case will have to either choose the Red Sox’ figure ($7.5 million), or the one filed by Betts ($10.5 million). There is no in-between.

The $10.5 million request is in line with a settlement between Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs, who agreed on a $10.85 million figure Friday, the highest settlement ever for a first-time arbitration-eligible player.

Betts has become one of the best players in the game, finishing second in American League MVP voting after 2016 and sixth in AL MVP voting after last season. Last season represented something of a drop-off for Betts, but he still led the team in homers (24); doubles (46), RBI (102), and total bases (288). Among those who played the entire season, he also paced the Sox in slugging percentage (.459) and OPS (.803).