Jason Bay Rumors
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 20, 2009 at 9:24pm CST]
Some more links as the weekend begins... Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun notes that the Orioles didn't make any contract offers on the first day of free agency. The Brewers have signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Santo Aybar, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Baseball America rated Santo the 18th best Dominican prospect this year. Nick Green doesn't expect to back with the Red Sox, according to Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Marlins, Royals, Tigers and Reds are currently baseball's most active sellers. The Astros signed minor league free agent Jose Valdez, according to...
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By Mike Axisa [November 20, 2009 at 7:41pm CST]
In a piece for ESPN Boston, Peter Gammons and Gordon Edes answered five key questions about the Red Sox and the upcoming offseason. There's not many hard rumors in the piece, but there's plenty of discussion topics, so let us know what you think... Both Gammons and Edes believe the Sox will retain Jason Bay (Gammons guesses the contract will be in the four year, $64MM range), and neither is sure who will compete with them for his services. The Red Sox "can easily" keep shortstop Alex Gonzalez at a reduced rate even though they declined his option earlier this...
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By Mike Axisa [November 20, 2009 at 5:24pm CST]
The Red Sox have expressed interest in four players - all Scott Boras clients - early in the hot stove season, according to Mike Silverman of The Boston Herald. Those four players would be Matt Holliday, Adrian Beltre, Mike Gonzalez, and Rick Ankiel. Silverman notes that the Sox consider Holliday and alternative to Jason Bay, should they fail to re-sign him. Gonzalez could replace Billy Wagner, although Ankiel is somewhat redundant after the team acquired Jeremy Hermida earlier this month. Beltre could replace Mike Lowell at third, who Silverman says may "wind up being traded if the Red Sox go...
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By Luke Adams [November 19, 2009 at 9:52pm CST]
Let's round up some leftover Thursday links.... The Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin spoke to Joe Urbon, Jason Bay's agent. Urbon suggested that discussion would continue with the Red Sox, but that interest in his client so far has been "extraordinary." Larry Stone of the Seattle Times warns Mariners fans not to get too excited about rumors of a three-way deal involving Brandon Morrow and the Tigers' Edwin Jackson. He thinks Morrow could be a valuable trade chip for Seattle though. In a Baltimore Sun column, Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly point out that the Baltimore Orioles' lack of big contract...
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By Luke Adams [November 19, 2009 at 5:30pm CST]
The San Francisco Giants don't expect to pursue free agent outfielders Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Giants GM Brian Sabean tells Schulman that he hasn't been in touch with the agents for Holliday or Bay, and that he doesn't plan to contact them. Sabean indicated that he doesn't want the Giants used to give leverage to a player hoping to pry more money from the Yankees, Red Sox, or other big-market teams. The team is only interested in free agents who have a "genuine interest" in playing for San Francisco. Sabean...
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By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 19, 2009 at 2:45pm CST]
2:45pm: Moreno estimates that he has $12MM to spend on improving the club, according to FOX Sports. That could be enough to sign Bay if the left fielder agrees to sign a back-loaded deal. 1:16pm: Angels owner Arte Moreno told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that Matt Holliday is not an option for the Angels. "He is not going to be an Angel," Moreno said. "We are not looking at Holliday at all." Jason Bay, on the other hand, is a player "you have to look at," Moreno said. The Angels still have interest in bringing back John Lackey,...
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By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 19, 2009 at 2:18pm CST]
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark responds to some of Scott Boras' recent comments before providing some rumors in his latest Rumblings and Grumblings column: The Rays, Rangers and Jays appear to be the three likeliest landing spots for Milton Bradley. The Cubs say they don't want to eat much of the $21MM remaining on Bradley's contract, so a bad contract swap still seems possible. Stark hears that the Marlins were in serious trade talks with the Giants and Rangers about Dan Uggla. There's no indication that the Yankees are in on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday at this point. The Yanks figure...
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By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 19, 2009 at 11:01am CST]
Jason Bay rejected a contract offer from the Red Sox worth close to $60MM over four years, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. We've heard for a while that Bay wants to test the free agent market, and so have the Red Sox. "It's not a surprise that a player that's gone this far wants to see what's out there,'' GM Theo Epstein said. Bay will hit the open market in 12 hours, along with John Lackey, Matt Holliday and the rest of this year's free agents. Heyman says the Red Sox are thought to have interest in Holliday as...
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By Mike Axisa [November 18, 2009 at 2:30pm CST]
Red Sox manager Terry Francona was on WEEI's Dale & Holley earlier today (audio here, transcript courtesy of Alex Speier here), and spoke about a variety of Red Sox offseason topics. Let's round it all up... The team is currently interviewing candidates for openings in their coaching staff. Bench coach Brad Mills has since moved on to take over as Astros' skipper. Francona hopes the team re-signs Jason Bay, but he acknowledges that he's going to have other options. "You know we’re going to be a major player. We always are." He also thinks Bay won't drag out his decision...
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By Howard Megdal [November 18, 2009 at 9:18am CST]
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has some interesting information concerning the Cardinals and their winter moves. Matt Holliday is still tops on the agenda, of course, but though many observers figured Jason Bay would be Plan 1A, St. Louis GM John Mozeliak said that wasn't the case. "We'll see how the market develops," Mozeliak told Strauss. "Is (Jason Bay) a possibility? Sure. But right now it's fair to say he's not one of our top priorities." According to Strauss, a greater reliance on defensive metrics has redefined St. Louis' interest in Bay, who is a far worse defensive...
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