Here's the latest from around the American League East:
- Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp could still be dealt before Opening Day, reports Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com. Though Boston has reportedly held out for a substantial return for Carp, and the club values the depth he provies, he might be worth more to other clubs who could deploy him more regularly.
- Meanwhile, extension talks still have yet to begin between Jon Lester and the Boston front office, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Clayton Kershaw's extension does not necessarily serve as a comparable for Lester's purposes, says Bradford, but his absence from the open market could have an impact.
- The Orioles are having ongoing discussions with free agent starter Bronson Arroyo, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). We learned recently that Baltimore had active interest in the veteran.
- Confirming recent reports, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said today that the price of pitchers on the free agent and trade market remains too high for the club's liking, Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi tweets.
- Recent comments from Alex Rodriguez and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner indicate that both sides believe a return to the field in 2015 is a realistic possibility. Rodriguez sounds as though he has accepted the likelihood that he will ultimately sit out the entire 2014 campaign, but a spokesman said Rodriguez would "get ready for 2015 should the judge rule against him" in his court challenge against his full-season suspension. Steinbrenner, meanwhile, said that Rodriguez is "an asset" on the field and insisted the club would take a business approach to dealing with Rodriguez's situation going forward.
I feel like Carp’s value may actually be the highest with the Red Sox, or another team that could use him in the same role, not a team looking for a 1st basemen/LF/DH type and pencil him in everyday. Boston used Carp perfectly last season in a platoon role and he produced, I think that should be his role going forward. Watching him start against lefties in Seattle could get tough.
What did people expect Hal to say? “Yea, we going to cut him”. Don’t think that would have been smart. Have him sit out the season and then release him later when no one will touch him. Might as well eat the contract if we can get someone like Headley or Sandoval in the 2015 offseason.
I still think they will keep him. It makes no sense to drop him, assuming he can come back healthy. He hits 6 hr, he gets $6M, but will take him another 54 after that to get the next milestone. The money is saying it makes sense to hold onto him, they can’t change the fact he is overpaid, no sense cutting the ties now.
You could be just right there.
Guys with no knees (barely able to walk) have been productive before. Not saying that is Rodriquez, but his hip could be a worse issue after missing nearly 2 full seasons when he comes back in 2015.
People such as Orlando Cepeda, Rico Carty, Tony Oliva played for several years as just hitters (DH) when they could barely walk. If Rodriquez can resign himself to the suspension, make good with himself, the game and his team mates. I see no reason that he can’t use his talents and be just as productive as those great hitters were the last 3-4 years as those guys were as DH’s.
I think they will keep him, and plan a mostly DH future for him in 2015. Jeter will be retired, and the chances are A-Rod will still be able to hit some. He will get his 6HR. If he manages to get to 714 over the three years, he will earn a tiny bit of his salary. The Yankees are stuck with him–as they should be–they signed him. That being said, they need to just see him as an aging player who can’t be counted beyond DH and pinch hitting. Hopefully, the novelty of constant A-Rod coverage will abate.
Congratulations Blue Jays on another top 10 protected draft pick in 2015!
Doesn’t matter if its protected because he wont sign a qualified free agent anyways. Leave those players for the teams that want to contend
Kershaw has very few comparables and as much as I love Lester he’s definitely not one. Kershaw’s been a lefty ace for the last 5 years and he’s just about to turn 26. He’s a definite outlier when it comes to contract negotiations for any pitcher in the near future.
Agreed. Read that article earlier today. 26mAAV? HA! Not from Boston. I can’t see Boston giving him a deal with a 20m AAV over more than 4.. *maybe* 5 as a team option year even as the max. He might GET more on the open market, but just because the Red Sox will have plenty of money to spend after next year doesn’t mean the FO is going to throw it all towards Lester.
They will approach him as they did Pedroia.. Team friendly, or walk. The Napoli deal, pedroia deal should be an indicator of how this front office is operating. They are not giving out massive/outrageous deals to keep players. They let Ells walk after it was rumored they were not willing to go past 80-100m, another example.
Carp mentioned in the main article is another item.. He fits perfectly with the Pirates. Pittsburgh has a nice farm system, as well as some nice BP pieces. I don’t understand why they are not in on him as badly as they need a 1b.
Who on earth suggested $26M a year for Lester? Even for extremes that’s extreme. I think they’ll try to approach Lester a lot like they’ve been doing, try to get a friendly deal or a shorter deal with a higher AAV. But yeah, Cherington is showing he has no problem walking away when there’s an option on the farm and it’s a formula that I believe is best for the Sox right now.
As for Carp, I gotta agree with the poster who said he has more value to the Sox than as trade bait. I say keep him unless the Sox get a crazy offer.
“Let’s say Lester takes a deal averaging $25 million per year for six
seasons. For the next four campaigns, the Red Sox’ starting staff
could very well make up no more than about $45 million in any of those
years. That’s manageable, especially considering the kind of quality
you would likely be getting.”
Bradford’s hypothetical figure in the article linked above. It shocked me when read it several hours ago SWP and man.. I got to thinking.. Is THAT what the team thinks Lester is actually wanting??
Right. I see him as a good comparable to Anibal’s 80M/5. Anibal will have been 2 years younger, but salaries have increased, so his contract could be a bit bigger. Lester is a solid starter, but I don’t see why they should top Verlander or Felix’s aav.
Doug Melvin announces he’s offered a very large bag of peanuts to the Red Sox for Carp. Announces he still refuses to spend a single $1 in FA.
“a business approach to dealing with Rodriguez’s situation” doesn’t exactly sound like the same thing as “getting him back on the field”
if Rogers can spend $5.2 billion on hockey, I’m sure they can shell out enough to sign a Matt Garza or Ubaldo Jimenez……
yeah but does Anthopolous want to?
I’m sure Rogers wants to compete and win. AA would rather spend there money on minor league free agents and if were lucky a 5th starter. Its to bad though because he has a whole Country of fans that will be disappointed again. I hope AA proves me wrong
The Jays don’t have an unlimited payroll despite how much money Rogers has. A big move for a pitcher would likely be the last move they can make. While they could use a starting pitcher, it’s about making the right move, not any move. Try one of the young guns like Hutchison or Stroman out and if you still need an arm, you have the financial flexibility to add at the trading deadline instead of needing to dump payroll.
You’re dreaming if you think the Jays will be in a stretch run if they go back to signing borderline minor leaguers like Getz.
This plan of course requires them to be in contention at the deadline to use that financial flexibility.
Nope, AA got spooked last year after crapping out.He’s back to signing minor guys
starting to look like AA’s big signing of the year might be Tomo Okha
I love Lester, but where in the heck did the idea of using Kershaw’s extension as a comparable for Lester’s next contract? LOL, there is not one comparable to Kershaw in baseball in terms of skills and age. Kershaw is in a whole league by himself.
With that said, I’d be extremely surprised if Lester leaves Boston. He loves Boston, they love him back (they didn’t even bite on the offer of Wil Myers for Lester last offseason, and that was when Lester was coming off a horrific season for his standards). If the Red Sox like Lester that much that they refused Myers, then I’m confident that they will do whatever is necessary to keep him in Boston.
This is true. And i see where you are coming from but Lester will demand serious money for a long time. That is beside the fact that the RedSox have one of the strongest Minor League systems in baseball for Pitching and they will all be ready by 2016 (Except maybe Trey Ball he is likely to be ready in 2017 or 2018) think about it, why would the RedSox probably overpay for a veteran as good as lester is when they have guys like Henry Owens and Matt Barnes coming up who are almost ready for the majors already? Owens was ranked the #2 Lefty pitching prospect in baseball recently and many people regard him as the #1 left handed pitching prospect in baseball.
Yep, that’s where it gets interesting. Definitely not the worst problem to have, that is, too much quality pitching lol! I see your points and I agree. I honestly have no idea how they are going to play this out, with their current starters along with Owens, Barnes, Ranaudo, Webster, Workman, and eventually Ball (not to mention the plethora of of interesting talents in the lower levels). I just have a feeling, however, that one way or another, Lester will be back. May take a bold move or two to make it happen, but Lester is worth it IMO, with his playoff success, durability, and talent.
Arod may be “an asset” on the field when he is able to use PEDs to be physically able to perform. Let’s see what he looks like after a year of atrophy. Who knows, he could even get popped for PED usage again before the year is over and get the death penalty.
Mike Carp could be the 1B solution for the Pirates. Just not sure what it would take to land him
Jordy Mercer?
Not unless the Pirates sign Stephen Drew.
True. But with Boston getting an extra infielder they’d be out on Drew. Which means Pittsburgh would only have to contend with New York.
Let’s say they make that trade, and Drew still signs with the Mets. That makes Clint Barmes the starting SS and Chase d’Arnaud the backup infielder. Not worth the risk IMO.
Sign Drew first, then make the trade, and I’m all in.
Carp could be dealt to the Brewers for Shafer and Halton. Halton provides some right handed bat 1B/OF depth and Shafer could be a depth guy in case Jackie Bradley doesnt workout this year. Then the Brewers could sign Vernon Wells on a minor league deal with a spring invite. If he makes the team then Carp 1B vs RHP and Braun in RF vs RHP and Wells RF vs LHP and Braun at 1B vs LHP
Why would Braun play 1B ahead of Wells?
AA said tonight on the fan590 that he could sign someone right now if he wanted to, but clearly he’s waiting for Tanaka and to see if prices will drop. With regards to whether they’ll be in on Tanaka to the bitter end he said “I have no idea. We’ll see”. Great recap of all he said on DJF.