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BOSTON - The Boston Red Sox brought back a pair of
reliable veterans arms. The Red Sox on Monday signed righthander Mike Timlin to a
one-year contract and exercised the 2007 club option on
righthander Tim Wakefield. According to a report in the Boston Globe last week, Timlin's
base salary in 2007 will be $2.8 million. That represents a
$700,000 cut from the $3.5 million the reliever received this
past season, when he endured the worst of his four seasons with
the Red Sox. Timlin, who will turn 41 years old in March, went 6-6 with nine
saves and a 4.36 ERA in 68 games last season. The righthander
also had eight blown saves, and opposing hitters batted .305
against him. Just 39 appearances shy of reaching 1,000 in his career, Timlin
owns a lifetime record of 69-68 with 139 saves and a 3.55 ERA.
He also has pitched for Toronto, Seattle, Baltimore, St. Louis
and Philadelphia in his career. Wakefield, 40, will enter his 13th season with the Red Sox,
tying Roger Clemens and Bob Stanley for the longest tenure for a
pitcher in franchise history. The knuckleballer went 7-11 last
season with a 4.63 ERA in 23 starts in 2006. A veteran of 13-plus seasons, Wakefield owns a career record of
151-134 with a 4.30 ERA in 480 games with Boston and the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
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