Mark Teixeira Rumors

Francona Speaks About Red Sox Offseason Topics

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...   Continue Reading

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Nationals Targeting Lackey, Not Everett

Add Washington to the list of clubs vying for the services of free-agent starter John Lackey. Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that the Nats are interested in Lackey for the obvious boost he would provide to their National League-worst 5.00 team ERA, but also to serve as a mentor for their young starting corps of Stephen Strasburg, Ross Detwiler and John Lannan. If nothing else, Washington's pursuit of Lackey is another sign to the rest of baseball (and to other prospective free agents) that the Nats aren't willing to stand pat after posting the worst record in the majors in...   Continue Reading

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Boras Compares Holliday To Teixeira

Scott Boras believes Mark Teixeira and Matt Holliday are both "blue-collar superstars," learned Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Boras considers both to be "complete players," and finds Holliday unique in the upcoming free agent class. Boras' comments imply that Holliday's advantage over Jason Bay is his defense. No matter how well Boras pitches Holliday, it seems highly unlikely the outfielder will sniff the eight-year, $180MM deal Tex received. Speculation so far has focused on the typical big-market clubs, but here in October it's too early to say which teams will make legitimate, $100MM+ bids. It's always fun to read...   Continue Reading

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Discussion: What's Next For Baltimore?

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly details the questions facing a Baltimore team with some young offensive talent, some terrific young pitching on the way, and a lot of extra cash. Connolly writes that while the 64-98 record Baltimore had in 2009 was the third-worst in team history, "there is a sense that the future has promise because of the emergence of young starting pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen, catcher Matt Wieters and outfielders Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie." Left unsaid, of course, is the emergence of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis continuing to be a tremendous player....   Continue Reading

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Discussion: Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are a series of contradictions, as Thomas Boswell points out in this terrific Washington Post piece. They are a large market, but spend like a small-market team. They have great young talent and more than 100 losses. The future is bright (Stephen Strasburg) and not-so-bright (if they don't put talent around him). "We are tremendously excited. The next big step is right there to be taken," President Stan Kasten, who speaks for the team, told Boswell. "This is not a great year if you want a [free agent like CC] Sabathia or Mark Teixeira. But the players...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Uggla, Royals, New Blood

Here's some links to start off a gorgeous Sunday (at least around these parts)... After calling out teammate Hanley Ramirez, Bill Shaikin of The LA Times wonders if Dan Uggla might get a ticket out of Florida. If so, he says Uggla could be a fit for the Dodgers, who he says "are not expected to engage in a bidding war to retain second baseman Orlando Hudson." Sam Mellinger of The KC Star presents a few ways to improve the Royals for 2010. In addition to not handing out albatross contracts to players like Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Guillen, Mellinger...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny

Links for Wednesday... Due to Bengie Molina's injury, the Giants have changed their mind and called up top prospect Buster Posey according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. So Posey's clock starts earlier than planned. Speaking of service time, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tells me Cameron Maybin's call-up gives him 129 days of service time after this year. That puts him on the fringe of Super Two status after the 2011 season. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick ranks the impact of trades made by contenders in July. He talked to an exec who thinks Matt Holliday "could make an extra...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Webb, Feliz, Griffey

A few links as the time ticks away before the August 17th signing deadline--just 30 hours left: Steve Gilbert at MLB.com (via Twitter) heard this from Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes on a team broadcast about the possibility of picking up the injured Brandon Webb's $8.5MM option next year: "If it's close, he'll probably get the benefit of the doubt." After watching the fireballing Neftali Feliz in person, John Beamer at the Hardball Times believes it's safe to declare the Mark Teixeira trade a victory for the Rangers. Tyler Kepner at the New York Times has a neat historical piece about...   Continue Reading

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Productive Free Agent Pickups

Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira have all produced since headlining last offseason's free agent class, but they're far from the only free agents to make meaningful contributions this season. Here are the five free agents who have been worth most this year according to FanGraphs. I've included the player's worth, as calculated by FanGraphs, his contract info and some more traditional stats: Raul Ibanez, Phillies - He's been worth $16.1MM this year, but the Phillies are paying him just $6.5MM (plus incentives) in the first year of a deal worth $31.5MM. Ibanez has 26 homers, 75 RBI and...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Crisp, Benitez, Webb

On this day in MLBTR history, the Padres hadn't decided whether to be buyers or sellers. A lot's changed since last year, but many teams face a similar dilemma now. Here are some links for the morning... Coco Crisp will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports that former MLB closer Armando Benitez is pitching for the Newark Bears, hoping for another shot in the big leagues. Prospect Bryce Harper knows he's "not LeBron yet," according to the AP. Mark Teixeira says...   Continue Reading

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