It’s been a busy day for AL East teams, with the Red Sox agreeing to sign Stephen Drew and the Blue Jays agreeing to an extension with R.A. Dickey. Here are some more notes from the division…
- The Red Sox have been rebuffing trade inquiries about Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Boston can obtain a compensatory draft pick if Ellsbury declines a qualifying offer to sign elsewhere following the 2013 season, when he’ll become eligible for free agency.
- As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes, the value of the Blue Jays' prospects shifted from what they might eventually contribute in Toronto to what they can bring back in trades.
- The Blue Jays aim to win now, even if it means surrendering multiple top prospects for a 38-year-old, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The Blue Jays are betting that Dickey's success will continue, and as Rosenthal points out the knuckleballer is no one-year fluke.
- Though the Orioles have been quiet to this point in the offseason, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun points out that we're still eight weeks away from the start of Spring Training. The trade value on young arms such as Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta remains unclear, Encina writes.
