John Smoltz To Sign With Red Sox
10:28pm: Buster Olney agrees Smoltz is on the verge of a deal with the Red Sox. Olney wonders if Boston’s rotation surplus will allow them to trade a young starter. Ken Rosenthal also confirms it, and says the Braves were not willing to guarantee significant dollars.
9:58pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says Smoltz will call the Braves tomorrow morning to tell them he will sign with Boston. The incentives in the deal are said to be "very attainable." Does this push Tim Wakefield to the bullpen during the summer? It’s a good problem to have.
9:20pm: In addition to Rocco Baldelli, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox may be close to signing John Smoltz.
As of last night, sources indicated that Smoltz was leaning toward Boston’s offer which was said to be somewhere in the vicinity of $5.5 million guaranteed with the opportunity to earn a few million in incentives which could hike the salary up to $10 million. The Sox and Smoltz have been talking since before the Winter Meetings. The Sox do not anticipate that Smoltz will be ready until later in May, but one of the incentives being discussed would be a roster bonus if he’s with the team by June 1.
Smoltz will be 42 in May and made $14MM with the Braves last season. It would be quite a surprise to see him leave the Braves after all these years.
Red Sox Close To Signing Rocco Baldelli
9:25pm Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has sources close to the talks that say Baldelli "appears to be inching closer" to signing with the Red Sox. Were the Orioles one of the suitors?
8:28pm Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox are close to signing Rocco Baldelli, with an announcement expected Thursday night.
The Boston Red Sox were close to signing free-agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli on Wednesday night. It is expected to be announced at the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner, where Baldelli will be honored.
The Boston Baseball Writers Dinner is scheduled for Thursday evening. Baldelli will be in attendance to receive the Tony Conigliaro award.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Heyman’s Latest: Yankees
Jon Heyman chimes in with a few notes on the Yankees…
- Heyman confirms that the Yankees are accepting trade offers for Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher.
- The Yankees have "no way to trade" Hideki Matsui, noting that he is coming off a knee surgery and has a full no-trade clause.
- Heyman also says the Yankees will not trade Johnny Damon saying the team needs him to leadoff and play center field.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Pirates Still In On Baldelli
7:53pm Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times says Baldelli could be close to signing, saying "there were indications Wednesday that a deal could be completed very soon." It is not clear whether this is based on reading other reports or if he has inside information. Topkin does write that a return to the Rays "doesn’t seem likely" noting that the Rays have very limited funds available after signing Pat Burrell.
1:44pm Dejan Kovacevic talked to a source directly involved in the Rocco Baldelli negotiations who believes the field may be down to the Pirates and two AL teams at this point. The Rays and Reds seem less likely to sign Baldelli given their recent signings. I imagine the Red Sox are one of the remaining AL clubs.
Kovacevic says all of the contracts being discussed are short term and heavy on bonuses.
Gammons On Varitek, Teixeira
7:21pm Here is a link to the actual radio clip.
6:01pm Chad Finn of the Boston Globe recaps Peter Gammons’ appearance today on WEEI.
- Gammons believes the Red Sox would sign Jason Varitek if he offered his services for $2MM. Gammons still believes the Red Sox would prefer to take the draft picks and trade for a different catcher.
- Gammons says the player’s association was "strongly advising" agents to turn down arbitration offers, but that in the end it cost players like Varitek a lot of money.
- Gammons says a lot of players could be looking for jobs in the spring, noting that AJ Burnett’s agents did a great job considering the Yankees wanted Derek Lowe. As a result, Lowe (a Boras client) is now without a job.
- Gammons called Mark Teixeira Scott Boras’ "ultimate client" and that Teixeira is "very well-programmed."
- He notes that there was a lot of "testiness" between Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez in Texas and Gammons wonders how Teixeira will handle the high expectations that come with playing in New York.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Reds Rumors: Swisher, Nady, Baldelli
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has a few notes from Walt Jocketty…
- Jocketty has talked with Brian Cashman of the Yankees "a lot" and that the Yankees are looking to move either Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady.
- The Reds remain interested in Rocco Baldelli, but "probably not" Ty Wigginton, noting that the Reds plan on keeping Edwin Encarnacion.
- The Reds did not sign Jerry Hairston Jr to be the everyday shortstop, noting that Alex Gonzalez is progressing well from his injury.
C. Trent Rosecrans of AM1530 also spoke with Jocketty and has these notes to add…
- Jocketty says the Reds are not being handcuffed by the economy.
- Jocketty said that he had spoken with the Yankees "a couple of weeks ago" but not recently.
- Jocketty spoke with Baldelli’s agent today speculating that Baldelli may prefer to stay in the American League.
- Jocketty would be fine going to camp with the group in place but that the Reds are still looking to upgrade the bench, preferably adding a player with some power.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Renck On Redding, Fogg, Jennings
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post weighs in on various free agent pitchers.
- The Rockies are a long shot for Tim Redding following their Jason Marquis acquisition. The Mets and Orioles still like him; he may command $2.5-3MM.
- Josh Fogg would like to return to Colorado, but has drawn interest from other teams as well.
- The Rangers and D’Backs are interested in Jason Jennings. Jennings missed most of the season after signing with Texas for $4MM. He had surgery in May to repair a torn flexor tendon in his forearm.
- The Mets are one team with an eye on outfielder Cory Sullivan.
Braves Rumors: Andruw Jones, Kawakami
4:04pm: More on Kawakami from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. He’s apparently narrowed his focus to a small group of teams. Bowman isn’t sure if the Braves are in that group but he says Kawakami is impressed with the organization.
11:35am: Today we have a few rumors from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus. The Braves "will likely sign Andruw Jones" if the Dodgers end up releasing him. Perrotto also believes the Braves are in the lead for Kenshin Kawakami.
Royals Sign Vance Wilson
According to Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star, the Royals signed catcher Vance Wilson to a minor league deal. Wilson has been dealing with an elbow injury for a while now.
Marlins Avoid Arbitration With Logan Kensing
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Marlins avoided arbitration with reliever Logan Kensing by signing him for $660K.