Red Sox sign Edward Mujica (2 yr/9.5M)

Agree.  Not only does he offer security as a pitcher who can supplement the closer position but he just doesn't walk hitters very often.  If your offense is going to be a little less potent then you are more likely playing in close  1 or 2 run games and you will need a solid bullpen to lean on.

i feel 1000 x better about this move then when they signed Jenks to a 2 year and 12 to set up / back up Papelbon.

During the playoffs Hershiser was talking about how underrated FB/Splitter pitchers were in today's game. Went on to say that they usually have good control, don't have big platoon splits, keep the ball on the ground, etc. Their only wart is that they tend to give up dingers, but as a reliever they're usually solo shots.

I haven't done any research to see if this is true, but since hearing that I've been a fan of signing Mujica.

This is precisely the kind of RP signing I'd hoped they'd make. I like it.

Reports in the media that they hadn't offered him a deal and/or weren't talking to him, reports that surprised me.
Nobody's higher on Carp than me, but I can't figure out who you'd add to the roster instead of Napoli that would be a better fit. Corey Hart can't play 1B; he's basically Jonny Gomes plus the ability to play RF adequately (modulo coming off of knee surgery).

No, they were never going to be in that position unless they had re-signed both Napoli and Ellsbury (I don't believe Drew has ever been in their plans, and we know Salty wasn't). Mujica's a great luxury, and the fact that they signed him two days after Ellsbury walked, for the difference between Napoli's expected AAV and what they were offering Ellsbury, strongly suggests where his money came from. It's a strategy consistent with budgeting for either Ellsbury, or Napoli plus Mujica, and in that strategy you don't need to deal Dempster. If re-signing Drew is still on the table because they intend to unload Dempster just beforehand (or, in any case, eventually), then I don't see why they didn't sign Mujica earlier and minimize the risk of being outbid while they waited.

I like the idea of hanging on to all six starters until ST, which, after all, is something Cherington has been consistently saying they might well do, since the season ended.

If you believe Speier's figure, of having about 32m to spend then the Sox are down to about 17m as of now.

www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2013/11/08/how-much-can-red-sox-spend-winter-2014-payroll

32m - 2m (Badenhop) - 8.25m (AJ) - 4.75m (Mujica) = 17m left

Now it's likely they save about 1.75m by either trading cutting Morales instead of going to arbitration with him, but that's still under 19m left.

Speier leaves about 5m for in season improvements, which is probably the difference some are not factoring in, but it really needs to be factored in because there is very little likelihood they leave no wiggle room headed into the season.

I'm a big fan of this signing. He throws strikes and has a K/BB ratio that Koji wouldn't sneeze at. Between Tazawa, Koji, and Mujica the Red Sox feature 3 righties with excellent control and late in the games you don't want your relievers putting men on base. If you get beat, make the other team beat you. Don't beat yourself.

He's exactly what the bullpen needed, a reliable 8th inning arm that can close and it should take the pressure off of Tazawa and Breslow who seemed to be the only options in a close game last season. The more quality options the better. The bullpen now has Koji, Mujica, Breslow, Tazawa, Miller, Badenhopm and Workman. That's a fantastic bullpen. That's a strong bullpen that can withstand an injury here or there - great depth and quality.

Great signing!! It was mentioned earlier that this could be an opening for moving Peavy or Dempster and possibly give Workman an opportunity to be in the rotation. That is exactly what I was thinking (and hoping). I would love to integrate a young starter into the rotation sooner than later. Workman, for me, is worth the chance and I believe could give us a decent 170 innings that are at least as good as Dempster. Sooner or later we will have to start promoting some of this depth we are accumulating in Pawtucket. Love to move either and what ever we can get for Morales.

Way to go Ben Cherington!

A more in-depth comparison of Mujica and Uehara, complete with a nice .gif of Mujica's split-change:
www.fangraphs.com/blogs/red-sox-clone-koji-uehara-sort-of/

Like this move as much as I liked the Uehara move last year - which is to say a LOT.

I love this signing. Affordable rate for a guy who could fill-in at closer if needed. These are the kind of moves that help the team and don't kill the bottom line.

I sense some synergy here. They can start by trading notes. How is Mujica's Japanese?