The Red Sox and RHP Daniel Bard avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract. No word yet on the dollar amount, but it's probably something between the $1.825 million that Bard requested and the $1.4 million that he was offered when arbitration figures were exchanged on Tuesday. The Super Two right-hander has posted a sparkling 2.88 ERA and 213 strikeouts through the first 197 innings of his major league career. He'll get a shot at cracking the Red Sox' starting rotation in camp this spring.