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Red Sox Met With Ortiz’s Agent

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David Ortiz accepted Boston's arbitration offer last month, and yesterday GM Ben Cherington met with Fern Cuza, Ortiz's agent, to discuss Ortiz's 2012 salary, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.

The deadline for each side to submit arbitration figures is on Tuesday, and MacPherson writes that it's "unlikely" the two sides reach an agreement prior to that point. Big Papi earned $12.5MM last season and should see a raise; MacPherson notes that his production trailed only that of high profile names like Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, and Adrian Gonzalez (only those three posted a higher OPS).

Ortiz was one of three Type A free agents to accept arbitration last month, with the others being Kelly Johnson and Francisco Rodriguez. When Tim Dierkes polled an MLB team executive, a former agency employee, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, estimates for Ortiz's 2012 salary ranged from $13-15MM. The two sides can continue to negotiate a salary up until the moment before an arbitration hearing begins.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Ryan Sweeney

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The Red Sox have agreed to a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Ryan Sweeney, reports The Associated Press.  The deal allows Boston to avoid going to arbitration with Sweeney, who was arb-eligible for the second time in his career.  Sweeney is represented by Reynolds Sports Management. 

Sweeney was acquired by the Sox as part of the Andrew Bailey trade last month.  The left-handed batter hit .265/.346/.341 in 299 plate appearances for the A's last season and is currently slated to be part of a right field platoon at Fenway Park next year.

Matt Swartz projected Sweeney to earn $1.6MM in arbitration this winter.  The Red Sox have eight more arb-eligible players, as per MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, including such big names as Bailey, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Daniel Bard.

Red Sox Offer Varitek Minor League Deal

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5:31pm: Ben Cherington tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) that the Red Sox have not made Varitek any kind of formal contract offer.

3:31pm: The Red Sox have offered Jason Varitek the chance to come to Spring Training and compete, but they aren’t offering the 39-year-old catcher a roster spot, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Varitek seems likely to choose between accepting his longtime team’s invitation and retiring. If he does report to Spring Training, he’ll do so with the knowledge that Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kelly Shoppach are likely to break camp with the Red Sox.

Varitek, a Scott Boras client who earned $2MM in 2011, doesn’t appear to be seeking opportunities elsewhere, Heyman reports. The Red Sox would have interest in hiring Varitek for a non-playing role at some point, but it's not as though he's unable to produce at the Major League level. He posted a .221/.300/.423 line with 11 home runs in 250 plate appearances in 2011, though he stopped just 14% of stolen base attempts against him. "Our hope is that Tek will always be a part of the Red Sox in some way," GM Ben Cherington told reporters last month.

Quick Hits: Playoffs, La Russa, Ordonez, Wood

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On this date in 2005, the Mets signed Carlos Beltran to a seven-year, $119MM contract. Beltran enjoyed some tremendous seasons and endured some difficult moments with the Mets, who traded him to San Francisco last summer. Here are today's links…

  • An extra wild card team is far from a sure thing for 2012, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark, as "big scheduling obstacles remain" to be worked out before baseball can expand its playoffs for this fall.
  • Tony La Russa has been "informally offered" Joe Torre's old job as MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).  La Russa has given no indication that he is interested in the job. 
  • Magglio Ordonez intends to play in 2012, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. The free agent outfielder is making progress in his recovery from right ankle surgery.
  • Kerry Wood said on the Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 that there's "nothing new" to report on his near-deal with the Cubs.
  • Dan Johnson, the unlikely hero of the Rays’ exhilarating comeback in the final game of the regular season, tells Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he’s still looking for a job.
  • Dodgers scout Carl Loewnstine continues working as he battles bone cancer, Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. Loewnstine will be honored this weekend at a banquet benefiting the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation in California.
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and David Laurila of FanGraphs discussed the role of information in the decision making process of an MLB front office.
  • The Red Sox don’t expect to offer guaranteed deals to free agent pitchers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The asking price for Hiroki Kuroda and Roy Oswalt is dropping, but those pitchers aren’t likely to sign in Boston, Heyman writes.

Stark On Yankees, Red Sox, Reds, Garza

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The new collective bargaining agreement has created millions of dollars in incentives for teams to be below the luxury tax when it reaches $189MM in 2014, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. The upcoming changes have contributed to the relatively restrained spending on the part of the Yankees and Red Sox this offseason, Stark writes. Here are the rest of his rumors…

  • The Yankees won’t be under the luxury tax threshold in 2012 or 2013, but they hope to spend less than $189MM in 2014, Stark writes. However, the CBA isn’t the only reason the Yankees are spending more cautiously. "I think this is what the Yankees were going to do, regardless," one of Stark’s sources said.
  • Hiroki Kuroda is sending signals to the Yankees and Red Sox that he’d like to sign with one of those teams, Stark reports. The Red Sox are “nowhere near close” on Kuroda while the Yankees are mostly “kicking tires,” Stark hears. Stark's colleague Buster Olney reported today that Kuroda's asking price has dropped to the $10-11MM range.
  • Though rival teams were surprised to see the Reds agree to terms with Ryan Madson, the move will help the team stockpile draft picks. They’ll obtain a compensatory pick when Francisco Cordero signs elsewhere and could obtain two more picks if they tender Madson a contract next offseason and he leaves as a free agent.
  • The Reds are going to attempt to turn Aroldis Chapman into a starter this Spring Training, though there’s some skepticism he’ll thrive in the rotation.
  • Chad Qualls’ name is on the Phillies’ shopping list, Stark reports.
  • Rival teams predict the Cubs won’t trade Matt Garza until July, when there are fewer alternatives available in free agency.
  • Stark hears that the Astros would pay half of the $18.5MM remaining on Carlos Lee’s contract and at least $7MM of the $11MM that Brett Myers will earn in 2012. Wandy Rodriguez is also available, though the Astros don’t appear to be nearing a deal involving the left-hander.

Epstein On Cubs, Ramirez, Papelbon, Crawford

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Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein joined WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show this morning and discussed a number of topics, including the Cubs, the Red Sox and the circumstances that led to his current role in Chicago. Here are some highlights from the interview:

  • "There are plenty of resources here," Epstein said, when asked about the Cubs' ability to spend. So far the Cubs have made modest free agent additions led by David DeJesus' $10MM contract, as our Free Agent Tracker shows.
  • "We've brought in multiple players in their pre-prime years who have plenty of upside ahead of them," he said of the Cubs' moves so far this offseason.
  • Not surprisingly, Epstein said Manny Ramirez isn't a fit for the Cubs.
  • Epstein said he and current Red Sox GM Ben Cherington discussed the possibility of Epstein's departure for years. To put last year's off-field issues in context, he said there were periods that were "just as unproductive and contentious" in 2004.
  • Though Terry Francona isn't currently an MLB manager, Epstein expects the skipper to land a managerial job as soon as he wants one, whether that occurs next summer or next offseason.
  • "You can get in trouble sometimes giving huge four-year deals to closers," Epstein said, after acknowledging that Jonathan Papelbon will be missed in Boston. Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon should help Boston's bullpen recover from the loss of Papelbon, Epstein said.
  • Carl Crawford didn't let his athleticism translate into performance during his first year in Boston, but Epstein expects better results in 2012 and beyond. Red Sox owner John Henry wasn't a proponent of the Crawford deal, but Epstein wanted to sign the speedy left fielder.
  • Epstein says the Red Sox should obtain compensation for his departure, but he cited Andy MacPhail's move to the Cubs in 1994 and cautioned that historical precedent suggests the Red Sox shouldn't obtain much from Chicago.

Heyman On Cordero, Pena, Kotchman, Reds

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More than 100 free agents remain unsigned, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com offers updates on a handful of them; here are the details:

Red Sox Acquire Brad Emaus

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The Red Sox acquired infielder Brad Emaus from the Rockies for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Rockies announced. He'll provide Boston with insurance at second and third.

The Mets selected Emaus from the Blue Jays in the 2010 Rule 5 draft and returned him to Toronto the following April. The Blue Jays then flipped Emaus to the Rockies, who assigned him to Triple-A. The 25-year-old posted a .313/.389/.564 line in 186 plate appearances for the Rockies' top affiliate last year after struggling through 14 games with the Mets.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Maddon, Blue Jays

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The Orioles officially signed Wei-Yin Chen today and we caught up on the left-hander's new team earlier this evening. Here’s the latest on the rest of the AL East…

  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears from multiple sources that the Red Sox are not near a deal with Hiroki Kuroda. 
  • The Red Sox continue searching for low-cost pitching help, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. 
  • The Rays have started extension talks with manager Joe Maddon and plan to resume discussions soon, Jon Heyman of CBSSports tweets.
  • Agent Scott Boras told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that free agents Carlos Pena and Johnny Damon could return to Tampa Bay. However, both players are drawing interest from other clubs.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos hasn’t ruled out adding a reliever, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com writes. However, the GM says he doesn’t want to force a deal. “There's a lot of things we could have done this past offseason to say that we did it, but I just don't ultimately believe they would have been good signings or good trades for us,” he said. “I think they would have been bad.”

Red Sox Sign Justin Germano

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The Red Sox have signed Justin Germano, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The 29-year-old righty finished last season in Korea, and Heyman says he turned down more than $1MM overseas for a chance to make the Sox.

Germano allowed eight runs in 12 2/3 innings for the Indians last season before joining the Samsung Lions. He owns a 5.02 ERA in 253 career innings for the Tribe, Reds, and Padres. He also spent time in Japan earlier in his career. The Red Sox recently added Aaron Cook as well, as they look to build some pitching depth.

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