Red Sox To Be Done After Solving Catcher?
Daniel Barbarisi weighs in on the Red Sox, saying that following whatever their solution to the hole at catcher is (Barbarisi figures it to be Jason Varitek), they should call it quits for the offseason.
Barbarisi notes that one potential bargain could be Orlando Cabrera, but points out that Cabrera’s projections for 2009 don’t figure to be any better than Jed Lowrie’s.
He also points out that while Ben Sheets is the exact type of low-risk/high-reward player the Red Sox like to gamble on, they’ve signed enough of those already this offseason.
What does everyone else think? Do the Red Sox need another piece?
Stephen Strasburg & Alex Meyer Interviewed
Stephen Strasburg and Alex Meyer were interviewed by Eric SanInocencio on his live radio talk show, Baseball Digest Daily Live. Head over there and click the play button.
For those unfamiliar with Strasburg, he is a power-righty from San Diego State and the odds on favorite to go first overall in next years draft. He was the only collegiate player to play in the Beijing Olympic games where he allowed only 1 hit and struck out 11 in his first 7 innings against professional hitters. He describes himself as a fastball-slider pitcher with an added sinker. He is working on a changeup and is a big fan of Josh Beckett’s approach to hitters.
On the show, Strasburg discusses the upcoming draft. While the Washington Nationals are expected to pick him first overall, he isn’t concerned with being the first player off the board. His head coach, Tony Gwynn, has fed him advice on how to handle the pressure of being a top draft pick during the season. Stras seems to have a very level head and gives all the right answers.
Right handed pitcher Alex Meyer, ranked the #5 prospect in all of high school baseball by Baseball America, was drafted by the Red Sox last year but had his mind set on going to the University of Kentucky. On the show, he discussed his experience with the Sox as they tried to sign him.
Meyer heard first from his advisors that he had been selected. Three weeks before the signing deadline, Theo Epstein and others flew out to talk to Meyer. On signing deadline day, Sox Assistant GM Jed Hoyer and Vice President of Player Personnel Ben Cherington showed up unannounced on his front porch. Hoping to sit down and convince him to sign with the team, they were turned away by Meyer and his dad. They returned twenty minutes later for another attempt only to be told that Meyer wanted to go to Kentucky.
Cafardo’s Latest: Crede, Gagne, Rangers, Brewers
Some quick notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
- The Twins and Giants will be monitoring Joe Crede‘s workouts in Arizona next week. Both teams have had ongoing interest this month.
- The Twins and Rangers are continuing to seriously consider Eric Gagne.
- Cafardo notes the growing sentiment among middle-market teams that patience could land an all star caliber player for a "low-risk one-year deal."
- Milwaukee would prefer to save and make a "Sabathia-like" deadline deal rather than spend now.
- Adam Melhuse signing with Texas could be a signal that Taylor Teagarden or Jarrod Saltalamacchia are en route to the Red Sox. Cafardo cautions that’s probably not the case since the Rangers have not come down on their asking price of Clay Buchholz.
- Watch for the Cubs to reengage the Padres and Jake Peavy now that they have found an owner in billionaire Tom Ricketts.
Sean Casey Retires
Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has reported that Sean Casey has signed on with the MLB Network, making his retirement official.
Casey, 34, hit .322/.381/.392 in 218 plate appearances for the Red Sox in 2008. Casey finishes his career with a .302 lifetime batting average.
Red Sox And Varitek Getting Closer?
According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have made a formal proposal to Jason Varitek that could satisfy both sides.
Though the exact terms of the offer are unclear, Massarotti reports that a baseball source said that the offer could include a second year for the 36-year-old catcher. Varitek rejected the Red Sox arbitration offer in December that could have been worth $10-12MM in 2009.
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to spring training in less than three weeks, it would be ideal for both sides to reach an agreement sooner rather than later.
Odds And Ends: Varitek, Pedro, Sheets
Links for Saturday morning…
- Pedro Martinez isn’t worried that he hasn’t signed yet.
- Jason Varitek says he’s still "exchanging offers" with the Red Sox. Scott Boras and Theo Epstein didn’t comment on the talks, which continue slowly.
- Buster Olney takes a look at the market for Ben Sheets. He says whoever signs Sheets will get a bargain. Some GMs would be impressed if he gets $20MM over two years.
- Nate McLouth isn’t optimistic about his chances of signing a multi-year deal with the Pirates.
- Peter Schmuck thinks the O’s should find a way to sign Brian Roberts to a long term contract.
- The Blue Jays fired assistant GM Bart Given.
- Gordon Wittenmyer breaks down the Cubs’ chances of acquiring Jake Peavy now that the team’s about to change hands.
- Richard Justice writes Randy Wolf should have accepted the Astros’ offer.
Odds and Ends: Fogg, Jays, Red Sox, White Sox
Links for Friday…
- Corey Brock talked to agent Barry Axelrod about the slow-moving free agent market.
- The D’Backs still have Will Ohman and Joe Beimel on the radar, but Nick Piecoro believes they’d like to add a starter first.
- Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino doesn’t want the team’s dealings with Scott Boras for Mark Teixeira to affect other negotiations.
- Josh Fogg hopes to sign soon; possibilities may include the Rockies, Orioles, and Nationals.
- The Blue Jays are currently in talks with a Japanese pitcher.
- Nolan Ryan comments on the free agent market.
- Ed Wade explains his approach to waivers.
- Tony Massarotti projects an Opening Day payroll around $135MM for the Red Sox. Michael Silverman examines Boston’s options behind the plate.
- South Side Sox have the White Sox around $100MM for their Opening Day payroll.
- RotoAuthority lists the hitters projected to earn at least $10 in fantasy value in 2009.
Odds And Ends: Varitek, Markakis, Johnson
Links for Thursday night…
- Curt Schilling thinks the Red Sox need Jason Varitek.
- Buster Olney writes that some executives think Type A free agents like Varitek, Orlando Cabrera and Juan Cruz should sign soon instead of waiting until the season starts.
- Ken Rosenthal proposes a ‘Juan Cruz rule’ so that players like Cruz aren’t the ones hurt by the compensation system.
- Andy MacPhail provides some of the reasons he wanted to lock up Nick Markakis. He has plenty of good ones to choose from.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post spoke with Nick Johnson, who "expressed no particular desire" to play in his home state of California.
- Kobe Bryant jokingly suggested that he could play left for the Dodgers instead of Manny Ramirez.
Heyman On Manny, Varitek, Madson, Swisher
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up…
- Heyman says half the teams in baseball may still have a big deal left in them, with roughly 100 free agents remaining.
- Manny Ramirez continues to wait patiently; Heyman guesses the Dodgers go to three years for him. They’d be bidding against themselves, unless Manny has an offer we don’t know about.
- When John Henry asked Jason Varitek why he didn’t accept their offer of arbitration, Varitek responded that he didn’t believe it would’ve guaranteed him a spot on the team.
- Heyman finds it odd that first-year arb closers are getting more money than starters.
- Scott Boras was in favor of Ryan Madson taking the Phillies’ three-year, $12MM offer based on Madson’s personal/familial circumstances.
- The Yankees are finding more interest in Nick Swisher than Xavier Nady.
- Heyman has the Ricketts family as the favorite to buy the Cubs.
- Heyman suggests Bobby Abreu‘s defense gets a bad rap. The plus/minus system, however, says the right fielder is among the worst in the game.
- The Nationals and Marlins share the Rays’ policy of not negotiating once arbitration figures are submitted. The Nats are apparently willing to bend and may keep talking with Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham (each about a million bucks apart).
Varitek Negotiations Dragging
According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have a proposal on the table for Jason Varitek. However, the two sides have not made recent progress on a deal. Varitek "has not given up hope of securing a two-year deal," according to Massarotti’s source.
More realistically, I am guessing Tek can accept around $4MM on a one-year deal. If he’s really stubborn he can wait until after the June draft, but it’d take a desperate team to give him more than a few million for a half-season.