Red Sox Acquire Littleton
4:42pm: A press release from the Red Sox says it’s actually two players to be named later or cash considerations. Amalie Benjamin notes that Littleton is out of options, so the return may not be impressive.
4:33pm: According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers traded righty Wes Littleton to the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash. GM Jon Daniels said the player may not be named until close to opening day.
Littleton, 26, has a 3.69 ERA in 102.1 career innings. He had a nice half-season out of the Rangers’ pen in ’06.
Odds and Ends: Sabathia, Schilling, Castaneda
Links for Friday…
- Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News says $100MM contracts for pitchers are risky, given the deals signed by Kevin Brown, Barry Zito, and Mike Hampton. Those pitchers don’t seem similar to C.C. Sabathia, however.
- The second part of Curt Schilling‘s article about his trade to the Red Sox.
- The Royals signed several minor league free agents, including righty Federico Castaneda from the Mexican League.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman explains why the free agent market is slow. It doesn’t seem abnormal to me; it makes sense to wait until after December 1st to see if arbitration is offered.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Varitek, Burnett, Teixeira
Let’s take a look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- River Ave. Blues debates Ben Sheets versus A.J. Burnett and wonders if Sheets will be the better bargain in the end.
- Detroit Tiger Thoughts shows that Jason Varitek is not a good fit with the Tigers, even in a platoon situation.
- Fire Brand of the American League lays down several reasons why the Red Sox should avoid signing Teixeira.
- Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? sees no downside to the Pirates’ signing of Indian imports Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh.
- The ‘Burgh Blues feels Eric Hinske is an economical fit for the Bucs.
- Amazin’ Avenue does not see Raul Ibanez as an upgrade for the Mets, suggesting he may not be any better than Fernando Tatis.
- The Baseball Opinion breaks down what the acquisition of Tyler Lumsden means for the Royals and Astros.
- Batter’s Box takes a look a recent J.P. Ricciardi quote and the current state of the economy and wonders if the Jays are going to reduce their payroll.
- Royals Review lists the ten best free agent signings in Royals history, topped by David Cone. Amazingly, four of the signings occurred in the last five seasons.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Blue Jays, Dodgers, Dunn
Happy Thanksgiving! Here are some links to snack on before the big meal.
- Blue Jays interim CEO Paul Beeston believes they have a chance to re-sign A.J. Burnett, but may choose to save the money earmarked for him if he signs elsewhere.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark assesses the Tigers. Catching seems to be their top priority this winter, though they need a shortstop and closer too.
- There is a growing sentiment that the Blue Jays will have less to spend this winter than originally anticipated.
- Bill Plaschke attempts to get clarification from Jamie McCourt on her recent quotes.
- Curt Schilling remembers the events leading up to his trade to the Red Sox.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the market is eerily quiet for Adam Dunn so far.
Red Sox Rumors: Lugo, Varitek
According to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald, the Tigers’ talks for Julio Lugo have stalled and a deal is unlikely. It seemed simple on the surface: Lugo for Dontrelle Willis or Nate Robertson.
Also, the Red Sox plan to offer arbitration to Type A free agent Jason Varitek. McAdam says Tek "almost certainly won’t accept the offer." In a recent poll, about 40% of MLBTR readers surveyed expected the Red Sox to offer arbitration to Varitek.
Odds and Ends: Maddux, Krivsky, Maroth
Links for Wednesday…
- Greg Maddux says he hasn’t officially decided about retirement yet, but he’ll "try to figure it out in the next couple of days."
- David Newhan is now a free agent.
- Marc Hulet looks at interesting names for the Rule 5 draft over at Baseball Analysts.
- Roch Kubatko reports that the Orioles hired former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky as a special assistant to Andy MacPhail.
- Lefty Mike Maroth is feeling good following May shoulder surgery and intends to pitch in 2009.
- South Side Sox believes the White Sox are trimming payroll.
- Minor league free agent shortstop Luis Hernandez signed with the Royals.
- SoxProspects.com says the Red Sox inked Billy Traber, Marcus McBeth, and Gil Velazquez to minor league deals.
- The Dodgers re-signed Luis Maza to a minor league contract. Also at that link, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt hinted that the team may be unwilling to increase its two-year, $45MM offer to Manny Ramirez.
Rosenthal On Boras’ Scheme
Ken Rosenthal has a theory on Scott Boras’ goals in the free agent game:
- Mark Teixeira and Jason Varitek to the Red Sox
- C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez to the Angels
- Derek Lowe to the Yankees
The crux of the theory seems to be that Boras would want Manny near his Newport Beach headquarters to better babysit him. Personally I have a hard time seeing any team sign two of the big three free agents, and it’s difficult to picture Manny as an Angel.
Rosenthal doesn’t see the Dodgers as major players, partially based on recent comments made by the McCourts.
Rangers Rumors: Byrd, Valverde, Littleton
We haven’t discussed the Rangers much lately. Let’s take a look at the latest from MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (here and here). Hat tip: The Newberg Report.
- The interest shown in Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla has been "tentative at best."
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels wants Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox for one of his catchers, but Sullivan says the Sox made it clear Buchholz is not available under any circumstances. Sullivan suggests the Sox might be more inclined to trade Justin Masterson or Michael Bowden if they bolster their minor league pitching depth by signing Junichi Tazawa.
- Sullivan wonders if swapping John Mayberry Jr. for Greg Golson gives the Rangers the outfield depth to trade Marlon Byrd (perhaps because Golson is capable of playing center field).
- A club official told Sullivan it’s "doubtful" that the Rangers would be interested in Jose Valverde.
- Wes Littleton has drawn trade interest; he was designated for assignment last week.
Looking Beyond Varitek
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.
On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox. He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving. Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.
Orioles Rumors: Burnett, Markakis, Japan
3:08pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online gives thoughts on the Orioles and Mark Teixeira and Burnett. Kubatko believes there’s no chance the O’s offer five years to Burnett, and even four would be a stretch. He’d have to be willing to take a discount to come to Baltimore. As for Tex, will he be willing to play for a team that may not be competitive in the first few years of his deal?
8:32am: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun talked to A.J. Burnett‘s agent Darek Braunecker, who said his client has narrowed his list from twelve to about six teams. The Orioles remain in the mix after Andy MacPhail had a "nice conversation" with Braunecker on Friday.
It’s speculated that the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Braves are the other five clubs. In his comments, Braunecker didn’t seem dead set on a five-year deal.
In other Orioles news, Nick Markakis‘ agent had "active talks" with MacPhail about a contract extension. Markakis is entering his three arbitration years.
Finally, Steve Melewski of MASN Online says the O’s have shown interest in four Japanese free agents: Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami, Junichi Tazawa, and catcher Ryoji Aikawa. Tazawa seems close to signing with the Red Sox. Uehara might be a more affordable alternative to Burnett.