Red Sox Give Offerman Four Years, $26 Million

The Boston Red Sox couldn’t get a deal done to keep Mo Vaughn, their top hitter and team leader. The Red Sox had no problem completing a $26-million, four-year contract with Jose Offerman, who’s not even sure where he will play.

“I’m ready to play anywhere they want me,” Offerman said after the deal was announced Friday.

Offerman, the former Dodger who turned 30 last Sunday, is likely to bat leadoff and see time at first base, second base and designated hitter. He led the Kansas City Royals with a .315 average and .403 on-base percentage last season, stealing 45 bases, hitting seven homers and driving in 66 runs. Offerman led the major leagues with 13 triples.

“Jose is one of the best offensive players in the major leagues,” Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette said in a statement. “He is a premier leadoff man who has had an outstanding on-base percentage throughout his career.”

Duquette wasn’t available for comment and was said to have traveled Thursday to Tucson, trying to convince Albert Belle to sign with the Red Sox.

The outfielder, who has until Dec. 2 to decide whether to keep or jettison his $10 million-a-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, would provide the offensive pop Boston lost when it broke off talks with Vaughn on Wednesday.

Offerman, who like Vaughn is represented by Tom Reich and Adam Katz, broke into the major leagues with the Dodgers in 1990 and spent six seasons in Los Angeles, developing a reputation as a shortstop with a wild arm.

At Kansas City, he put in three solid seasons (he hit .303 in 1996 and .297 the following year) and moved to second base, where he made 19 errors in 152 games last season.

Offerman, paid $2 million last season, gets a $1-million signing bonus, $4.5 million next year, $5.5 million in 2000 and $6.5 million in each of the following two seasons. Boston has an $8-million option for 2003 with a $2-million buyout.

Earlier this week, Offerman was close to agreeing to a contract with the Cleveland Indians, but the Indians also were pursuing Roberto Alomar to play second base.

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Belle will sit down with the New York Yankees next week. The White Sox, who made him the richest player in baseball two years ago, have made no overtures to re-sign him.

“These teams are really making the decisions easy,” Belle told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from his home in Tucson. “They want to pay you well and they want to put you in a situation where you can win, what more could you want?”

After one of the best seasons in his career, Belle is the top outfielder in a class that also includes Bernie Williams of the Yankees. Belle hit .328 with 49 home runs and 48 doubles, and he led the American League in slugging percentage (.655) and total bases (399). He also set club records for homers, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits (99) and runs batted in (152).

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The Indians traded Chad Ogea, one of their six starting pitchers under contract, to the Philadelphia Phillies for reliever Jerry Spradlin.

Ogea became expendable with the emergence of Jaret Wright and Bartolo Colon.

“Any team that I’ve ever played for I’ve felt we can win,” Ogea said. “Just because it’s a team that is rebuilding doesn’t mean we can’t win and . . . go to the playoffs.”

Ogea, 28, won two World Series starts for Cleveland in 1997 but was beaten by the Yankees in this year’s critical Game 5 of the AL championship series. The right-hander battled injuries all year and went 5-4 with a 5.61 earned-run average in nine starts and 10 relief appearances.

Spradlin was 4-4 with a 3.53 ERA in 69 relief appearances for the Phillies, recording a career-high 76 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings.

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New York lawyer Miles Prentice, after raising about 75% of his money from Kansas City investors, was given unanimous approval to buy the Royals for $75 million. The money, plus an additional $50 million left over from funds provided by local businesses and late owner Ewing Kauffman to run the club until a new owner was found, will go to local charities. . . . While their marquee free agents shop around, the San Diego Padres re-signed outfielder John Vander Wal to a two-year, $1.75-million contract. . . . Roger Clemens says he is disappointed with the Toronto Blue Jays’ lack of effort in deciding on a direction for the team. “I’d like for someone to let me know which way the team is going,” Clemens said on his Web site. “After all, this uncertainty has been lingering for two whole years. And that’s the biggest disappointment to me. What do they want to do? Are they going to get some guys who will help bring another World Series to Toronto?”