Papelbon agrees to one-year, $775,000 contract

The Boston Red Sox and closer Jonathan Papelbon agreed Thursday to a $775,000, one-year contract, nearly doubling his salary.

Papelbon was among 18 Red Sox who agreed to one-year deals, putting Boston’s 40-man major league roster under contract.

Papelbon earned $425,550 last season, when he had 37 saves in 40 opportunities and a 1.85 earned-run average, then saved three of the four World Series games against Colorado.

Papelbon, 27, will be eligible for arbitration after the season.

Among the others agreeing to deals were AL rookie of the year Dustin Pedroia, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and pitcher Jon Lester.

Clay Buchholz, who pitched a no-hitter in his second major league game last Sept. 1, agreed to a one-year deal.

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Noah Lowry will undergo surgery on his left forearm today and probably be sidelined until the end of April after a recent bout of wildness was blamed on a rare disorder.

The Giants said that Lowry, 27, was diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome. According to MayoClinic.com, it is “an exercise-induced neuromuscular condition that causes pain, swelling and sometimes even disability in affected muscles of the legs or arms.”

Meanwhile, struggling Kevin Frandsen, 25, was replaced as the Giants’ shortstop by non-roster invitee Brian Bocock while the search continues for a temporary replacement for Omar Vizquel (knee).

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Barry Bonds’s record-breaking 756th home-run ball featuring an asterisk may arrive at the Baseball Hall of Fame by the end of this month, a spokesman said.