Week in Review: 3/8 – 3/14

Just a few weeks away from Opening Day after a long offseason! Let’s take a look at the last week:

• The Red Sox and Jon Lester agreed on a five-year, $30MM extension with a $13MM option for 2014. Lester was great in 2008, and Boston rewarded him with the largest contract  ever for a pitcher with two years of service time. Lester’s rebound from cancer has been a great story, and this extension is another nice chapter.
• A lot of talk about where Pedro Martinez will end up lately. We’ve heard him linked to the Pirates, the Dodgers are curious about him, and he was even mentioned as a closer candidate for the Cardinals earlier this month. According to Buster Olney, there’s a "zero percent chance" that the Mets will sign Pedro. He’s looking for about $5MM-$8MM last we heard, which is hurting teams’ interest levels.
• Chad Cordero finally found a home this week; he’ll attempt to make a comeback in Seattle. The Mariners signed him to a minor league deal and he’ll make $750K if he makes the big league club. Great move for both sides. The Mariners make a low-risk move on a guy who’s been an outstanding closer, and Cordero goes to the team that gives him the best opportunity to close.
• Joe Beimel is close to signing with a team as well. The Padres are apparently out, but we could see him land with the A’s or Dodgers still.
• Any team in need of pitching could have two options available via trade as Spring Training winds down. Both Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel are out of options, and when David Price claims his spot in the Rays’ rotation, one of them will likely have to go.
• Don’t look for any new faces in the Bronx. The Yankees won’t be trading for anyone to replace Alex Rodriguez for the beginning of the season.
• On the other side of New York, the Mets released Duaner Sanchez this week. Sanchez hasn’t been able to regain his velocity following an accident while riding in a taxi back in 2006. Sanchez will attempt a comeback as a Padre; he signed with San Diego earlier today.
• Offseason in Review updates from Tim this week included the Pirates, Athletics, Braves, Tigers, and Rockies.
• It may be a small sample size, but if you’re curious to see how the top free agents from the offseason are faring so far, Cork did a nice write-up of their progress so far in Spring.