When the whole Kevin Millar situation began to unfold, I decided to wait until it was resolved before commenting. Yesterday, the saga appeared to come to a close. The ordeal began when Florida sold Millar to Japan for $1.2M in early January. He then had to pass through release waivers before he could sign a $6.2M two-year contract with the Chunichi Dragons. On his way through waivers, the Red Sox claimed him.

At that point, Millar had the option to accept or decline Boston's claim on him. Theoretically had he merely accepted the claim the entire tale would have ended there. Unfortunately, Millar received the impression that if he declined the claim he'd be a free agent and could sign with anyone as he pleased, which I'm sure he viewed as having more financial benefits. Consequently, he denied the claim, but then found he was tied to the Dragons due to an agreement on the two-year contract though nothing was signed. Boston attempted to negotiate compensation with the Dragons, but that was shot down as MLB said Millar would need to be posted if the Dragons were to make him available to any MLB teams.

Millar refused to report to the Dragons and so MLB moved in to try to negotiate a settlement and preserve their relationship with the Japanese League. According to Peter Gammons of ESPN, the Dragons were so upset, "Chunichi tried to end Millar's career", so "the Players' Association had to threaten that it would not sign off on the Mariners-A's games in Japan at the end of March had Millar not been released from the deal." We have no idea how Chunichi could have achieved an end to Millar's career, but ultimately the Dragons agreed to accept a refund of the $1.2M they paid Florida for Millar and to release Millar from his agreement with them.

The Marlins then sent Millar directly to the Red Sox in exchange for $1.5M. Florida will reportedly forward the $300,000 above the price the Dragons would have paid to charity, presumably to avoid the impression that they've made a profit by this mess.

I've been inclined to view Millar as a victim in this for the most part, but whenever I think of the fact he declined the waiver claim, I find it difficult to feel sympathetic for him. He claimed that he would happily play in the U.S. for less money and was afraid of leaving the country due to the political situation, but he had an easy opportunity to do so and declined it. At the very least, he's not in the running for brightest baseball player. The most interesting aspect of these events for me was that the MLBPA involved themselves in the matter on behalf of a non-union member. Millar is not a part of the union because he was a replacement player in the 1994-95 strike.

Millar is eligible for arbitration, but some reports indicate he's already agreed to a two-year deal with the Red Sox and if not he should shortly. When Boston first claimed him, I thought it was a sensible move that would net them a quality player at a potential discount. However, they've already sunk at least $1.5M into him before paying his salary, so the deal certainly doesn't include cost efficiency. Additionally, they've proceeded with their other off-season activities with the assumption that Millar would not be with them in 2003, so by the time he was theirs they really didn't need him any longer. While everyone knew they were highly interested in dealing Shea Hillenbrand before, they now need to deal him or they'll have a playing time crunch that will inevitably take at-bats away from some of their best players.

In the end, I think this became about Theo Epstein acquiring what he set out to have whether it made sense or not as time progressed. I believe the young GM has a lot of potential and is heading the Red Sox in a good direction, but this is a flaw that we've also witnessed a bit in Boston's competition with the Yankees' for players this off-season and which could cause problems if it manifests itself frequently.

Boston has settled with all of their other arbitration-eligible players. Doug Mirabelli agreed to a one-year, $805,000 contract in late January, and the Red Sox signed Lou Merloni to a $560,000 one-year contract in early February. The 32-year-old Mirabelli offers the team decent plate discipline and power as a back-up catcher, so he should mostly earn his salary. Mirabelli is no longer in danger of losing any playing time to Dave Nilsson. Nilsson, who had signed a minor league deal with Boston, will reportedly remain in Australia and retire rather than attempt to make the Red Sox this season.

Merloni will have to compete for his job in Spring Training, but since he has a major league deal, he has a good shot at making the team. Boston could find a middle infielder with more offensive upside, however the 31-year-old has a long relationship with the team and provides them with mediocre plate discipline and power for an inexpensive price.

The Red Sox signed free agent Hector Almonte to a one-year major league deal in late January, however I find it extremely unlikely that Boston will have a roster opening for him anytime in the first half, let alone when they break camp. Almonte has spent the last two seasons in Japan, where he's displayed strong skills. He also displayed promise at AAA before heading overseas. Nevertheless, their bullpen is overflowing, so the 27-year-old will have to wait in line at AAA for a major league roster spot. If he's called-up, he should provide Boston with solid but unspectacular relief work. Of course, he'll likely have to pass through waivers to reach AAA and there's a small chance someone will claim him.