Pitchers and catchers for the Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays are scheduled to report on February 18th, 19th, 19th, 20th, and 21st, respectively. Here's the latest from the AL East…
- Both Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek have received interest from other teams, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says (on Twitter) that the two are expected to decided between the Red Sox or retirement. Boston has extended minor league offers to both players.
- "This offseason was definitely tough," said new Red Sox outfielder Cody Ross to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. "There were a lot of teams I though would be interested that weren't. There were teams that were interested that I didn't think would be … I knew something was going to happen, and something good was going to come of it, and it did."
- MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko looked at all the turnover on the Orioles' 40-man roster this offseason. He counts 13 new players brought in from outside the organization. Check out our Transaction Tracker for a recap of all of Baltimore's moves under new GM Dan Duquette.
If times tells us anything, I think Wakefield will be back on the Sox MLB roster within a few months of the season.
I maybe in the minority here but I am excited to see how Cody Ross does in Boston.
Yeah I am too. I think Ross will at worst remind us of trot Nixon. I think he was a very underrated signing in other peoples eyes.
Cody Ross translation: Well I didn’t really want to be here but now that I am I’m going to say I wanted this all along.
His stats at the end of the year and salary for next year will be grateful.
I still kinda wanna see Varitek in a Mets uniform…as a starter. I don’t think it will cripple the franchise if Thole is put on the bench and I really don’t think that decreased offensive production in a year where nothing is expected is really a big deal. What is a big deal is how this guy handles pitching staffs. He’s the best in the business and his age will only enhance that ability. He could be 104..as long as he doesn’t develop dementia his mental game will be there. I have almost given up on Big Pelf but a guy like Tek could make strides with him, help Niese develop into a better pitcher, and help along guys like Harvey and Familia if they are brought up this year
I agree with you on the teaching aspect of your comment. Of the mets could get varitek to sign with them he could help get some better first half performances out of the guys need to trade for prospects ie pelfrey. However, he cannot be an everyday player at this point but just having him around could be enough to influence the staff in a positive way.
I don’t think Varitek’s game calling acumen is nearly to the level you think it is. Plus, between him and Thole, you’d still need to carry a third catcher to catch Dickey. There’s no real reason to see Harvey or Familia before September anyway, and I don’t think there’s any real value in a catcher that can’t throw, hit, or catch, when we already have one of those who actually can call a game in the great Mike Nickeas.
I suspect the Mets catching situation will consist of Thole and a rotation of Nickeas, May, and possibly Rottino as the last man off the bench. Not pretty, but it is what it is.
Varitek and wakefield should just retire. Both of them have almost no value at all. The only value wakefield has now is being a long reliever and varitek is just a backup catcher.
In Varitek’s case not even. I’d take Shoppach or Lavarnway long before Varitek. He can’t throw. Pretty important for a catcher.
You would have to think Wakefield will take a minor league deal. Our pitching is so thin and he knows from the past three years that opportunities are constantly arising in the form of injuries.
I see Wake taking the deal and Tek retiring.