Bay, Red Sox Stop Negotiations
12:40pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has Jason Bay’s side of the story:
“I don’t think anybody in my situation wants to play for six years and then you earn the right to be a free agent and on some levels sell yourself short, and that doesn’t mean there doesn’t have to be some concessions… But you put yourself in this position and I think it’s in my best interest to kind of explore. Not to say we’re ever going to go that far, but I definitely want to make sure it’s the right fit.”
Bay is making no predictions about the market:
"Like I said, if something comes up that makes some sense … I mean, you get to this position you don’t want to sell it short, but I also understand it’s a different time that it was three or four years ago.”
12:30pm: Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe has an explanation from Theo Epstein:
"The market has changed so much from two years ago to this winter, from a year ago to now… Who knows where it’s going to be a year from now? So that unpredictability, I think, has created a landscape that’s been difficult for us to navigate in terms of getting an extension done a year early. Both sides wanted it, so we tried. But both sides recognized that it’s just too difficult to get done right now. We had some talks [earlier in the offseason], but they weren’t really substantive. Recently, we’ve had more substantive talks. It’s become clear that because of the unusual marketplace, we’re not going to get anything done during spring training. We’re going to sort of halt talks for now, just table them. But both sides have committed to maintaining good dialogue throughout the course of the season."
11:59am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports the Red Sox have halted negotiations with Jason Bay. Both sides feel an agreement is not possible at this time, after the market for power-hitting corner outfielders has experienced dramatic changes.
Speier says the two sides remain open to discussion resuming during the season. Bay will make $7.5MM during the final year of his 4 year $18.25MM contract.
Lugo To Have Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Julio Lugo is going to have his knee scoped to determine the severity of a torn meniscus, reports Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal. Recovery from a meniscus tear can be a matter of weeks or months.
Lugo has a $9MM vesting option for 2011 that requires 600 plate appearances in 2010 (and 2400 PAs from ’07-’10) for it to kick in. That now looks improbable.
Red Sox To Pass On Bonds
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe heard from major league sources that the Red Sox will not sign Barry Bonds. They join four other teams who will not pursue him.
Jeff Borris, Bonds’s agent, asked GMs to consider Bonds in a letter sent to all 30 MLB teams.
Lester Announcement Coming Soon
9:13pm: WEEI’s Rob Bradford says the Red Sox will make an announcement about Lester Sunday morning, presumably regarding his new extension.
10:18am: According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester will take a physical this weekend. If he passes, his five-year, $30MM deal will become official.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Lohse, Pedro, Bay
On this date 72 years ago, Lou Gehrig signed a one-year deal for $38K and a $750 signing bonus. This contract came on the heels of a season in which Gehrig hit .354-49-152 with a strikeout to walk ratio of 130-to-46 and a 190 OPS+. The following season, Gehrig would hit .351-37-159 (177 OPS+) in what would turn out to be his last full healthy season. With only a few weeks left until the ’09 regular season begins, let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Launching Pad gives us a list of mid-season trade targets for the Braves, with Brian Giles at the top.
- Jorge Says No! lists Kyle Lohse as one of the Hot Stove’s big winners.
- Feeling Dodger Blue takes a look at the fifth starter options for the Dodgers and sees Pedro Martinez as the best available option.
- Fire Brand of the American League says Jason Bay is no Manny Ramirez, but he is a suitable replacement.
- UmpBump takes a look back at the off-season moves of the Cubs and the Dodgers.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Phillies, Manny, Japanese Players
Here are a few more random notes from the MLBiverse…
- Todd Zolecki says the Phillies would likely have to trade Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs if they want to add another right-handed bat to the bench, noting that it is not likely for either player to be released after the Phils already ate Adam Eaton‘s contract. Zolecki does say that Stair’s $1MM salary would be easier to absorb.
- Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal gives us some quotes from Terry Francona in response to being asked about Jonathan Papelbon calling Manny Ramirez a "cancer." Francona would not answer the questions directly but did say "The moves we make, I think that speaks volumes enough."
- Keith Law scouted the Japanese squad at the World Baseball Classic and gives us the rundown on a few of their better players. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t believe that any of the players mentioned will be eligible to make the jump to MLB anytime soon.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Manny, Papelbon, Pudge, Peavy
Links for Thursday…
- The Nationals remain interested in Duaner Sanchez, says Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan talked to Mark Prior.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras consider the contract with the Dodgers a one-year deal with a safety net. Sherman wonders if the Yankees and/or Mets could get involved depending on how Manny’s 2009 season plays out.
- Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon commented about Manny to Chris Jones in the April issue of Esquire. It’s a good article and there’s a lot more to it than the Manny comments.
- Free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez is working out at first base, according to Will Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- The Padres have the third pick in the June draft. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune asks whether they’ll finally take a player with big upside.
- Jake Peavy‘s agent Barry Axelrod seems to be writing off the Padres, in comments to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune: "It’s tough with the Padres’ situation. They are not very good and it looks like it is going to be another long year for them."
- Marlins shortstop Robert Andino is out of options, so Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald says this is his audition.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says Mark Mulder‘s audition is drawing closer and he’s throwing well. Olney also says Luis Gonzalez is waiting by the phone. For a look at the other remaining free agents, click here.
Stark On Red Sox Offseason Moves
In his latest column, Jayson Stark weighs in on the moves the Red Sox made this off-season. While Boston did not spend nearly as much as the Yankees, their moves have a ton of upside potential and that no team "had a more underrated offseason than the Red Sox."
- Stark spoke to one scout that thinks the Red Sox did a better job than the Yankees at filling their needs through free agency.
- Stark notes that the amount of guaranteed dollars for the Red Sox four free agents (John Smoltz, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito, Rocco Baldelli) is less than what the Yankees will pay AJ Burnett this season.
- The Red Sox moves also did not leave the team with "long-term inflexibility."
- One scout believes Smoltz will come back healthy at some point and compares the signing to trading for an impact pitcher at the trade deadline. Stark says the Sox believe $5.5MM for Smoltz is a better gamble than a five- or seven-year deal for "any free-agent pitcher."
- Stark notes that Penny did not need off-season surgery and one scout says pitching coach John Farrell is the one person that should be able to get the best out of Penny.
- One scout says that if Saito is healthy, the Red Sox got a steal.
- Stark says the Red Sox rotation is more "October-ready" than the Yankees, even if the Yankees have the better long-term outlook.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Red Sox Sign 19
WEEI’s Alex Speier says the Red Sox signed 19 pre-arbitration players, including Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie, and Jacoby Ellsbury. Nothing new in terms of confirmation on the possible Jon Lester extension.
Rosenthal On Pedro, A-Rod, Beimel, Ohman
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- One executive tells Rosenthal Pedro Martinez seeks a contract similar to the one John Smoltz received (a $5.5MM base plus $5.5MM incentives). Rosenthal’s speculative candidates for Pedro include the Dodgers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. He says the A’s, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are out.
- Rosenthal does not expect a major acquisition by the Yankees to cover for Alex Rodriguez. He adds that the Yanks will not collect insurance on A-Rod’s salary.
- In addition to Orlando Cabrera, Manny Ramirez has a clause in his contract prohibiting his team from offering arbitration if he’s a Type A free agent after the season. Orlando Hudson and Bobby Abreu do not have such clauses.
- Two GMs told Rosenthal Joe Beimel wants a one-year, $2.5MM deal, but the pitcher’s agent Joe Sroba says they have’t gotten that specific. Sroba says new teams are in the mix for Beimel and he’s waiting for one to be "aggressive and sincere in their pursuit."
- The White Sox and Dodgers are two teams in on free agent lefty Will Ohman.