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Jason Varitek Leaning Towards Retirement

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On the heels of Tim Wakefield's retirement, another key member of the Red Sox organization might be close to calling it a career.  At Wakefield's press conference earlier today, a friend of Jason Varitek said that the catcher is leaning towards retirement, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).

This morning, Varitek's agent Scott Boras maintained that his client hasn't made any decisions yet about playing in 2012.  The veteran has received interest from other clubs, but like Wakefield, it is believed that Varitek will decide between the Red Sox and retirement.

BoSox GM Ben Cherington said that he is leaving the ball in Varitek's court and the catcher is welcome to come to camp without a guaranteed roster spot, tweets Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. 

Red Sox Notes: Varitek, Pitching, Trainers, Melancon

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It was on this day in 1971 that the Red Sox signed Carl Yastrzemski to a three-year, $500K deal that was (at the time) the richest player contract in baseball history.  Fast-forward 40 years and the annual minimum salary for a Major League player in 2011 was $414K.

Here are some items about the modern-day Sox…

  • The 64-player roster released by the Red Sox yesterday is "most likely" not going to change as their Spring Training camp begins, a source tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.  This means that it is unlikely that the Sox will add free agents like Roy Oswalt or Jason Varitek to the mix.
  • Varitek has "not made any decisions yet" about playing in 2012, Varitek's agent Scott Boras tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).  In case you missed it, another longtime BoSox veteran will announce his retirement today, as Tim Wakefield is hanging up the glove after 19 Major League seasons.
  • The club's pitching woes have been caused by the lack of homegrown arms delivering over the last two seasons, says WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
  • Following last season's collapse and all of the subsequent front office changes, the Red Sox are entering their most uncertain Spring Training in years, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. 
  • Also from Abraham, he looks at ten pressing questions facing the Red Sox heading into the 2012 campaign.
  • As part of a larger piece about team's offseason turnover, John Tomase of the Boston Herald notes that the Red Sox parted ways with their team doctor and strength coach from last season and also demoted trainer Mike Reinold.  "Tired of watching their multimillion dollar investments break down, the organization cleaned house on the medical and training side of things, with the hope that new blood will reach players who in many cases resisted pleas to improve their conditioning," Tomase writes.
  • Mark Melancon deserves an open shot at the closer's job, argues ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes.  Melancon is currently expected to serve as a set-up man for another new acquisition, Andrew Bailey.

Tim Wakefield To Announce Retirement

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Tim Wakefield will announce his retirement at a press conference later today, according to a Red Sox media release.  The veteran knuckleballer had been considering the decision, saying that while he was interested in pitching in 2012, his first choice would be to return to the Red Sox, who were only offering him a minor league contract.

Wakefield, 45, was an eighth-round pick for the Pirates in the 1988 amateur draft.  He burst onto the Major League scene in 1992 by posting a 2.15 ERA in 13 starts to help Pittsburgh win the NL East, and also went 2-0 in his two NLCS starts.  Wakefield struggled afterwards, however, and was eventually released by the Bucs during Spring Training in 1995.  He signed with the Red Sox six days later and the rest was history, as Wakefield went on to spend the next 17 seasons hurling his knuckler at Fenway Park.

Wakefield retires with a career 200-180 record, a 4.41 ERA and 2156 strikeouts over 3226 1/3 innings pitched.  He is Boston's all-time leader in starts and innings pitched, and his 186 wins with the Red Sox ranks him third on the franchise's all-time wins list, just six behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young's shared mark of 192.  According to Baseball Reference, Wakefield earned just under $56MM in his 19-year career.

AL East Links: Kazmir, Orioles, Epstein, Wakefield

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The Red Sox announced minor league deals with Ross Ohlendorf and Mauro Gomez earlier today. Here are the rest of the links from their division…

  • The Red Sox will not be one of the teams in attendance for Scott Kazmir's workout tomorrow, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The southpaw's audition was supposed to be today, but it was pushed back.
  • Korean pitching prospect Seong-Min Kim originally agreed to a $575K deal with the Orioles, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports.
  • Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun hears that while MLB hasn't approved the contract between the Orioles and the 17-year-old left-hander, MLB didn't technically void it. In any case it seems the deal for Kim will not go through as originally announced.
  • A Red Sox official expects compensation for Theo Epstein to be finalized "very soon," Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. The Red Sox and Cubs recently sent briefs to the commissioner's office explaining their perspective on the issue of how to compensate Boston for Epstein's departure to Chicago.
  • Agent Barry Meister didn't comment on whether Tim Wakefield will accept a minor league deal from the Red Sox, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com tweets. It doesn't appear that Wakefield will accept the offer, Edes writes.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Red Sox Sign Ross Ohlendorf

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6:14pm: The contract will pay Ohlendorf $900K in the big leagues, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier. Speier also confirmed that Ohlendorf has a minor league option remaining. The Red Sox control the right-hander through the 2014 season.

8:07am: The Red Sox signed Ross Ohlendorf, Peter Gammons of MLB Network tweets. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe confirms that the right-hander is in Red Sox camp in Fort Myers, Florida and MLBTR has confirmed that the sides agreed to a minor league deal.

Ohlendorf pitched respectably out of the Pirates' rotation in 2009-10, when he posted a 3.98 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 285 innings over the course of 50 starts. However, the 29-year-old Princeton graduate struggled in 2011, posting an 8.15 ERA in nine starts and allowing nine home runs in 38 2/3 innings. The Pirates released him after the season.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Blackley, Gomez

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Keeping track of the day's minor moves… 

  • The Giants signed left-hander Travis Blackley to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Chris Haft reports. The 29-year-old Australia native has MLB experience with the 2004 Mariners and the 2007 Giants. He didn't pitch affiliated baseball in 2011.
  • The Red Sox announced that they signed first baseman Mauro Gomez to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training. Gomez, 27, spent the 2011 season with the Braves' top affiliate and led the International League with 264 total bases. The Dominican Republic native had 24 homers and 34 doubles at Triple-A last year.

Latest On Jorge Soler

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7:57pm: The Yankees and Phillies are in hardest on Soler now, Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweets.

5:21pm: Marlins president David Samson said on 790 the Ticket that the club doesn't have interest in Soler, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets.

2:51pm: The Marlins are interested, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal hears Soler's power is comparable to that of Miami outfielder Mike Stanton — high praise to say the least.

12:59pm: The Blue Jays watched Soler and others Wednesday at the team's complex in the Dominican Republic, writes MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  The Orioles will be in the D.R. to watch him Sunday.  Sanchez lists the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Phillies, and Cubs as other interested parties.

WEDNESDAY, 8:26am: The Phillies are also interested in Soler, reports Olney.

TUESDAY, 2:18pm: The Yankees have serious interest in Soler, ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets.

12:33pm: Many teams remain involved in the bidding for 19-year-old Cuban prospect Jorge Soler, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Cubs have been extensively linked to the outfielder, but they’re not the only club involved. 

The Yankees are in on the bidding, tweets David Kaplan of CSN Chicago, and Heyman suggests the Marlins could be involved. Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald hears that “a good number” of teams have interest (Twitter link). Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus explained yesterday that Soler would rank 38th or 39th on his list of top prospects.

AL East Notes: Bowden, Angelos, Jones

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Four of the five AL East teams — the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles — appear to have some interest in Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Soler. Here are the latest links from the division…

  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com explains that the future of out-of-options right-hander Michael Bowden may be closely linked to his Spring Training performance. For MLBTR's complete list of out of options players on the Red Sox and around the league click here.
  • An Orioles official tells Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun that there's "absolutely no truth" to rumors owner Peter Angelos is considering selling the team.
  • The Orioles would have to offer Adam Jones an extension of at least five years for him to sign long-term, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Rosenthal explores the timeline for a possible Jones trade, pointing out that the Braves were among the teams that inquired on the center fielder this offseason. Jones avoided arbitration with the Orioles last night, agreeing to a $6.15MM contract for 2012. He’s under team control through 2013.

AL East Links: Vlad, Theo, Red Sox

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One AL East player has avoided arbitration in designated hitter David Ortiz, and another is close in reliever Casey Janssen.  The latest from the division:

Red Sox, David Ortiz Settle At Midpoint

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Hours before today's arbitration hearing, the Red Sox and designated hitter David Ortiz settled at the midpoint for $14.575MM, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  The new contract represents the largest-ever average annual value for a DH, notes WEEI's Rob Bradford.  Had Ortiz and the Red Sox reached a hearing, a panel of three arbitrators would have chosen between Boston's $12.65MM submission and Ortiz's $16.5MM salary figure for 2012.  Ortiz is represented by Fern Cuza of SFX.

Potentially inhibited by the cost of a draft pick, Ortiz accepted an arbitration offer from the Red Sox in December, and it took the looming threat of a hearing to force a settlement.  I favored the Red Sox in a potential hearing, but they preferred not to risk a situation many regard as a crapshoot.  As a bonus, they were able to avoid Ortiz having a front-row seat for their attempt to prove he's worth less than the midpoint.

Six potential arbitration hearings remain, as our tracker shows: Alexi Casilla (Twins), Casey Janssen (Blue Jays), Adam Jones (Orioles), Garrett Jones (Pirates), Casey McGehee (Pirates), and Jose Veras (Brewers).

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