Red Sox's 'Unusual' Danny Coulombe Contract Details Revealed

"As the Red Sox looked to fortify their bullpen with the signing of lefty Danny Coulombe last week, an issue with the veteran’s physical caused a last-minute re-negotiation of his contract," Cotillo wrote. "In what team sources described as a 'complicated' process, the Red Sox originally agreed to a higher guaranteed deal than the one-year, $1 million contract that was finalized Thursday but re-worked it once concerns arose during the review of Coulombe’s medicals. Ultimately, the re-worked deal gives Coulombe the same financial upside — a maximum of $3 million — but a lesser guarantee. Originally, the sides agreed to a $2.25 million salary for the 36-year-old.

"Coulombe’s new deal, according to industry sources with knowledge of the deal, includes $1 million in guaranteed money and a total of $2 million available in performance and active roster bonuses at different checkpoints throughout the season. If Coulombe remains healthy throughout the season, he can earn a total of $750,000 in incentives based on appearances (up to 60) and $1.25 million based on days spent active on the 26-man roster. The active roster bonuses are unusual for a free agent deal but were a result of the re-negotiation, which was based on an unknown issue the Red Sox found after the initial agreement."

For the Red Sox, the fact that they got Coulombe in the first place is a big positive. Seeing these details come out now, puts the $1 million deal more into perspective and makes much more sense.

Boston swung another deal with veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle since the Coulombe deal got done, but it was a minor league deal. Still, if Kahnle makes the big league club, he'll get $1.5 million with a chance for more. That makes the $1 million to Coulombe look more surprising, but these details from Cotillo show it's the case.

Clearly, whatever popped up in the physical wasn't enough to fully scare off Boston, though. Especially to the point of the "unusual" roster bonuses included.