This Malden man has the Red Sox division title banner — and he wants compensation for its safe return

Louie Iacuzzi, left, is a 44-year-old Malden resident. He and two friends found the 2018 division Red Sox championship banner on McGrath Highway in Somerville Monday morning.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Louie Iacuzzi, a 44-year-old Malden resident, said he and two friends found the 2018 division Red Sox championship banner on McGrath Highway in Somerville Monday morning.

But Iacuzzi said he wants some kind of compensation for its safe return: “We want to return it, we’re trying to do the right thing, but I’m not just going to hand it to them, know what I mean?” he said.

Globe photographer David L. Ryan met Iacuzzi and James Amaral in Malden on Wednesday morning.

Iacuzzi said Wednesday by phone that he and his buddies spotted an object wrapped up on McGrath Highway in Somerville Monday morning.

Iacuzzi said Wednesday by phone that he and his buddies spotted an object wrapped up on McGrath Highway in Somerville Monday morning.

Louie Iacuzzi (left) with James Amaral in Malden. Iacuzzi said he pulled over and crossed multiple lanes of busy traffic on the busy highway because the object was so big: “It was wrapped up, it has to be something. A car ran over it, another car ran around it. [I thought] ‘I’m gonna get this.’ ”David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Picking up the banner on the busy highway wasn’t without risk: “I ran through [expletive], like, three cars,” Iacuzzi (left) said.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

The Red Sox told the Associated Press that the banner apparently fell off a vendor’s delivery truck. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Iacuzzi and Amaral held up the banner in Malden. Asked if he wanted cash from the Red Sox, Iacuzzi said, “Yes, financial [compensation], maybe some tickets, we want something. We don’t know what we want. We want to return it, 100 percent, but we would like to get something.”David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

“My dad’s telling me to put it on eBay and sell it for a lot of money,” Iacuzzi (left) said. “But I want to give it to the original owner.”David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Iacuzzi (left) said he and his friends spoke with a team representative Tuesday night and were waiting to hear back from the Sox on Wednesday.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Iacuzzi (left), who works at a convenience store in East Boston, didn’t have a specific asking price in mind as of Wednesday morning. “We want to find out what the thing’s worth,” he said. “We don’t know.” David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Red Sox spokeswoman Zineb Curran said the team has “been in touch with the people who have the banner in their possession and provided them with a variety of ways they may return it to us or the original vendor.” Pictured: Fenway Park in 2013.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/File

The Red Sox had planned to unveil the division title banner at Fenway Park if they clinch the American League East title. The Sox need just one victory against the Yankees to clinch the title. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff/File 2013