Red Sox, John Lackey Reach Agreement
10:28pm: Ian Browne confirms that the Red Sox have an 11:30am ET press conference scheduled tomorrow to announce the Cameron signing and a second press conference at 1:30pm ET to announce the Lackey signing.
5:10pm: Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald says "no finality" on Lackey's deal tonight but the Red Sox have two press conferences scheduled for tomorrow presumably to announce the deals for Lackey and Mike Cameron.
4:52pm: The two sides are in the final stages of the agreement, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. They're working out the language of the contract, which will protect the Red Sox against a pre-existing medical condition.
2:48pm: Scratch that. Olney now says it's for $82.5MM over five years, just like the A.J. Burnett deal. There are no extras or incentives involved.
TUESDAY, 2:15pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the deal's worth $87.5MM.
MONDAY, 2:55pm: Heyman says the Red Sox and Lackey are in agreement in a five-year, $85MM deal.
1:41pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown has an Angels source who believes they're still in the running for Lackey and the pitcher has not accepted a Boston offer. Still, SI's Jon Heyman heard a five-year, approximately $85MM figure for a Boston deal.
1:03pm: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has a source saying an agreement is "not likely" by the end of the day.
11:52am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Lackey had a physical today with the Red Sox, which is "an indication that he is close to an agreement with the team." Rosenthal expects the deal to be in the range of A.J. Burnett's five-year, $82.5MM contract, yet the FOX reporter is unsure the Sox would guarantee five years. If the Red Sox complete a deal with Lackey, the Angels would get Boston's #29 draft pick and the Blue Jays would be bumped to #67 or worse for Marco Scutaro.
Rosenthal also notes that the Red Sox are trying to sign Josh Beckett to an extension. Beckett, 30 in May, is up for free agency after the 2010 season.
10:47am: AOL FanHouse's Ed Price heard from a source that John Lackey will take a physical with the Red Sox. Price says he is "working to confirm" the rumor, but he found it Twitter-worthy.
Greenberg Group Selected To Purchase Rangers
10:11pm: Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News answers some of the questions surrounding the decision by Hicks to negotiate exclusively with Greenberg's group, noting that Greenberg's group altered their bid at the last moment when it appeared as though Crane and Gilbert would get the bid.
7:58pm: Maury Brown of Biz of Baseball reports that Tom Hicks has chosen the bid from Chuck Greenberg's group over the bid from Jim Crane and Dennis Gilbert. Greenberg's group includes current Rangers president Nolan Ryan. Greenberg's group now has exclusive rights to negotiate for the purchase of the Rangers. The amount of the bid is unknown, however, previously Brown reported that the bid could reach $530MM.
Brown adds that Hicks may have chosen Greenberg's group over the Crane and Gilbert in part because the former will keep Hicks on board as a minority owner. Earlier, Brown believed Crane had the highest bid.
The final deal would need approval from 75% of the league's owners.
Evan Grant says the Greenberg Group will have 45 days to reach an agreement.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz reports that Crane had a "handshake deal" last year to purchase the Astros but backed out. Astros owner Drayton McLane says he was furious at Crane for not going through with the deal.
Discussion: Mets Offseason
Earlier today Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post wrote that there is pressure on Omar Minaya after the Mets missed on Roy Halladay and John Lackey. The Mets have yet to make a significant move this offseason and Minaya spoke about the Mets plans. Minaya said that so far "the timing of the deals have not been there." He also confirmed that the Mets did make a trade offer for Halladay.
Jeff Francoeur added that the offseason is not over and that the Mets "need three or four different pieces to make [the Mets] a playoff team."
Recently we have heard the Mets linked to Jason Bay, Fernando Rodney, Ryota Igarashi, Matt Capps, and Yorvit Torrealba.
With several of the big names already off the board, what do the Mets have to do this offseason to once again be a playoff contender? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.
Mets Near Deal With Ryota Igarashi?
8:42pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post spoke with a Mets official who is still confident the Mets will sign Igarashi. Hubbuch adds that the two sides are "still in talks" and that "nothing is imminent."
4:36pm: Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker points us to a Japanese report that says the Red Sox are the leaders to sign Igarashi. They're apparently willing to offer a two-year deal worth $2-3MM in total.
2:51pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post confirms that the Mets are in serious talks with Igarashi.
2:07pm: The Mets are close to signing Japanese pitcher Ryota Igarashi to a two-year deal, according to David Waldstein of the New York Times. The 30-year-old righty attracted interest from a number of teams. He'll have the chance to set up Francisco Rodriguez, now that J.J. Putz has signed with the White Sox.
ESPN.com's Keith Law says Igarashi is a "slightly wild power reliever" who will throw 93-96 mph. He recovered from Tommy John surgery to take on a regular workload last season.
The Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee Blockbuster
8:28pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi report (scroll down to 7:50pm) that Billy Beane and the A's first became interested in Taylor last summer when the Phillies tried to acquire Matt Holliday.
6:39pm: Jayson Stark reports on the historic maginitude of this deal as this will be the closest two Cy Young winners have ever come to being traded for each other.
6:35pm: It appears as though one of the last hurdles has been overcome as Todd Zolecki reports that Halladay has passed his physical.
2:54pm: Olney says the option vests if Halladay is close to as durable as he's been for the last two years. Halladay's made 65 starts and thrown 485 innings the last two years; he's as durable as they come.
2:43pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown hears that the Halladay extension runs through 2013 at $20MM per season. A vesting option for another $20MM could prolong the pact by another year. The deal is now pending physicals.
11:56am: Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the Phillies have agreed to an extension with Halladay.
10:00am: Rosenthal hears there's a chance for a fourth year. It's still under discussion, but it could be guaranteed and it could be a vesting option.
9:42am: A source tells Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the deal is "very unlikely" to be completed today. We could see resolution tomorrow.
9:36am: The Phillies are still working out extension details with Halladay, according to Heyman. The teams may not complete the deal until tomorrow.
9:02am: Halladay will agree to a three-year extension worth $60MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The deal will include two vesting options, so it could keep Halladay in Philly through 2015.
Marquis May Prefer Nationals
Last week we learned that the Phillies, Mets, Nationals and Mariners were all expressing interest in Jason Marquis and that he is unlikely to re-sign with the Rockies.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson spoke with Marquis, who seemed very interested in pitching for the Nationals. Marquis indicated that he likes serving as a mentor for younger pitchers and wants to be part of a team that "making the moves that is necessary to get themselves back to being a winning organization." He pointed to several moves the Nationals have made that suggest they are that team.
Marquis, 31, made $9.9MM with the Rockies in '09 and his WAR value was $17.1MM. He was 15-13 with a 4.04 ERA, 4.8 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 216 innings for the Rockies this year. His ERA+ the last three seasons have been 113, 102 and 100.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Royals, Dodgers, Lowe
More links for Tuesday…
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal writes about the efforts of some players to find work during the off-season. Joe Nelson, who made $1.3MM with the Rays last season was at the winter meetings and said he is "just trying to put food on the table.”
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic is now on Twitter and reports that the Diamondbacks looked into bringing back Jose Valverde but his price was not within their budget.
- Mets GM Omar Minaya tells Newsday's David Lennon that he had hoped to sign John Lackey.
- Minaya tells Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post that he has interest in bringing Carlos Delgado back.
- Minaya tells Hubbuch that the Mets asked about Roy Halladay before the Blue Jays moved on to other options.
- The Royals accepted cash from the Red Sox to complete the Tug Hulett deal, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Dodgers are expected to target pitchers with the money they freed up in the Juan Pierre deal. Could they target Joel Pineiro? They saved $8MM in the trade and that may not be enough for a single year of Pineiro's services. I'd be surprised to see the Dodgers sign him.
- The Mariners hope to bring the recently-non-tendered Ryan Langerhans back, according to Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Braves aren't necessarily looking for a right-handed bat in exchange for Derek Lowe. They'd accept prospects, too.
Agent: Johnson Likely To Be Traded After Season
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post spoke with Matt Sosnick, the agent for Josh Johnson, who believes Johnson will be on a new club before the start of the '11 season.
"My hope is that he signs a long-term deal and stays in Florida,' Sosnick said. "But I would say it's much more likely that we'll do a one-year deal this year and he's playing for somebody else in 2011.'
Sosnick also made it clear that Johnson is seeking a deal that "far exceeds" the deal that Zack Greinke's four-year, $38MM contract signed last winter. Sosnick notes that Johnson's '09 season was better than the season Greinke had prior to signing his contract.
Earlier this month we learned that Johnson would accept a four-year, $42MM extension, but the Marlins are only offering three years and $23MM. Marlins GM Michael Hill was emphatic that Johnson would not be traded this off-season.
Multiple Teams Eyeing Matt Capps
6:46pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic doesn't think the Diamondbacks will give Capps the two-year deal he is seeking.
2:30pm: The Mets are interested, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Kinzer tells Crasnick that 16 teams have inquired on Capps and four of them see him as a closer. The Cards aren't interested, but the Pirates still are.
TUESDAY, 10:40am: Kovacevic hears that the Yankees are interested. Agent Paul Kinzer told Kovacevic that the interest in his client is "enormous."
MONDAY, 3:42pm: ESPN's Bruce Levine adds the Nationals, and notes that Capps would like a multiyear deal.
2:33pm: Kovacevic adds the Rangers, Rockies, Marlins, and Cardinals to the list of known suitors.
12:20pm: Kinzer's estimated number of suitors for Capps has risen to nine or ten, and he confirmed to Roch Kubatko of MASN that the Orioles expressed interest. Kinzer noted that the opportunity to close "will be a major factor" in Capps' decision.
10:37am: The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro talked to Matt Capps' agent Paul Kinzer, who said the recently non-tendered reliever has already drawn interest from seven or eight teams. Piecoro says the Diamondbacks are one, and we learned yesterday from Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that the Cubs and Capps have mutual interest. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote today that Kinzer told the Pirates they were planning on submitting an arbitration figure around $3.4MM for Capps' 2010 salary. The free agent market is a different beast, but that amount could still be a jumping-off point for discussions.
The Cubs and D'Backs both have closers for 2010 in Chad Qualls and Carlos Marmol, but Capps could be slotted in for eighth-inning duty with incentives for games finished. Other possible suitors? The Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Angels, Mets, Phillies, and Cardinals would make sense.
Rockies Rumors: Torrealba, Capps
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports that despite only being $400K apart on a two-year deal, the Rockies and Yorvit Torrealba may not be able to close the gap. Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd says that he is "not optimistic" the deal will get done. O'Dowd did confirm that the Rockies are interested in Miguel Olivo as a possibility.
Torrealba could also be a backup plan for the Mets.
O'Dowd also said that the Rockies are "absolutely interested" in Matt Capps. O'Dowd suggested Capps could be the Rockies future closer if they are unable to extend Huston Street beyond the '10 season. Saunders cites the strong ties between Capps and Jim Tracy for whom Capps played for in Pittsburgh.
Earlier we learned that at least 16 teams have shown interest in Capps, who is seeking a two-year deal.