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BOSTON (AP) #8212;New Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington made hisfirst move since his promotion, picked up the contract option on shortstop MarcoScutaro(notes) on SundayThe Red Sox will pay $6 million for Scutaro, who helped stabilize a positionthat seemed to be in perpetual flux since Nomar Garciaparra(notes) was traded away inthe World Series championship season of 2004. Before Scuta espn nfl ro arrived, generalmanager Theo Epstein churned through seven regular shortstops in five seasons.But Epstein, who left this month to take over the Chicago Cubs, stabilizedthe position when he signed Scutaro as a free agent after the 2009 season.Scutaro got a two-year deal for $11 million with a mutual option for 2012; hehad a $3 million player #8217;s option with a $1.5 million buyout. The an espn nfl nouncement came on Scutaro #8217;s 36th birthday.Scutaro hit a career-best .299 last season, second-best among qualifying ALshortstops. He also had a career-best .423 slugging percentage.Scutaro spent most of his career as a utilityman for the New York Mets andOakland Athletics before earning the starting job in Toronto in 2008. After twoyears with the Blue Jays, the Red Sox brought him in to stop espn nfl the revolving doorthey #8217;ve had at the position since Garciaparra was traded midway through the #8217;04season.Orlando Cabrera(notes) was the shortstop on the World Series-winning team, but hewas followed by Edgar Renteria(notes), Alex Gonzalez(notes), Julio Lugo(notes) and Gonzalez again;Jed Lowrie(notes), Nick Green(notes) and Alex Cora(notes) were also in the mix.Lowrie, who has struggled espn nfl to remain healthy, is eligible for arbitration. Heplayed a career-high 88 games last year while also spending almost two months onthe disabled list with a right shoulder injury. Cuban defector Jose Iglesias(notes),21, is being groomed as the shortstop of the future.Scutaro #8217;s signing eliminates one of many question marks for the ballclubthat posted the largest September collapse in baseball espn nfl history. Leading thewild-card race by nine games on Sept. 3, they went 7-20 in the final month andwere eliminated from the playoff race on the final night of the season.Designated hitter David Ortiz(notes) and closer Jonathan Papelbon(notes) became freeagents on Sunday, as did left-hander Erik Bedard(notes), outfielder J.D. Drew(notes),right-hander Tim Wakefield(notes) and catcher Jason Varitek(no espn nfl tes), among others.John Lackey(notes) will miss all of next season with Tommy John surgery. JoshBeckett(notes) and Jon Lester(notes), who were part of a rotation that went 4-13 with a 7.08ERA in September, have been dogged by reports that they were uncaring teammates,eating fried chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games. Follow Yahoo! Sports' MLB coverage on Twitter. Updated 3 h espn nfl ours, 30 minutes ago espn nfl
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