If we offer him arbitration, he may very well go and accept it, then we'd be stuck with him.
I wouldn't mind being "stuck" with him.
At $7-$9 million?? Puhlease
Why do you assume that he will get 7-9?
He made $9 last year. His camp would not submit an arbitration figure much lower than that. The Sox couldn't go too much lower, for fear they would lose.
The way arbitration works is that both submit a figure and the arbitrator has to choose one or the other.
For example, if Everett's agent submitted $8 million and the Sox submitted $5 million, if the arbitrator felt that Everett was worth more than $5 he would be obligated to give him the $8 million. He can't "round down".
Granted, the owners have won the majority of arbitration cases the past few years, but that would not hold well if the figures are too far apart. The $7-$9 million I posted were just a guess, but to me, $6 mil is too much for him, based on his past numbers. Coming off a solid year, he would have more leverage in my opinion.
I understand that. But, I do definitely think he is worth 6 million.