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East Notes: Wright, Salty, Bixler, A-Rod

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Rainfall on the East Coast has already postponed a couple games on Friday night, but here's some items of note to hold you over …

  • Mets third baseman David Wright's days in New York may be winding down, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets, who may be in full-on rebuild mode as soon as midseason, could opt to trade Wright because he is signed to team-favorable terms through 2013 and would therefore yield a better haul in a trade than Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran or Francisco Rodriguez, writes Rubin. That the Mets could entertain this is indicative of how far they've fallen the past couple years; it once seemed likely Wright would spend his entire career in Queens.
  • Red Sox catchers Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek have struggled so far this season, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com, but with underwhelming and unready in-house options and limited trade or free-agent targets out there, a move is not imminent. Bengie Molina, 36, is still unsigned, but as Speier points out, would he be much of an improvement?
  • The Nationals have purchased the contract of infielder Brian Bixler from Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com. A corresponding move on the 40-man roster was to be announced. Bixler, a second-round pick of the Pirates in 2004 out of Eastern Michigan, last appeared in the bigs in 2009. In 166 career plate appearances, he has a .178/.238/.237 line.
  • Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has hired Steve Loy of Gaylord Sports Management to handle his marketing. As our Agency Tracker shows, A-Rod has not officially announced an agent since parting ways with Scott Boras, and he may not need one for a while considering he's signed through age 42. For a complete list of Scott Boras clients, click here.

East Notes: Rays, Molina, Mets, Wright

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The legend of Jed Lowrie grew a little more today thanks to another homerun, so let's check in on his team plus a few others in the two Eastern divisions…

  • SI.com's Jon Heyman says that while the Rays will look for a bat to replace Manny Ramirez, they won't have his full $2MM salary at their disposal. Felipe Lopez ($1MM) and Casey Kotchman ($750K) are two recent call-ups cutting into the team's budget.
  • Within the same article, Heyman says that Bengie Molina could be an option for the Red Sox, who will reportedly address their catching situation within two weeks. Bengie recently said he's retired "for now."
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post says that it's probably for the best that the Mets have the worst record in the NL at 5-12 because "cleaning house is what will help speed the process toward the Mets' next good team and away from this unacceptable lot."
  • In a second article, Sherman muses about a possible David Wright trade, but not as a pure salary dump. "[The] Mets have to be open to the possibility that a team in contention … would be willing to pay $1.25 for $1 worth of talent."

Gammons Talks Red Sox Catcher, Lowrie

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Peter Gammons of MLB Network and NESN joined WEEI's Mut & Merloni show today to discuss Red Sox issues; here's the transcript.  Highlights:

  • Gammons feels that Boston's starting catcher situation is "an issue that in the next two weeks is going to be addressed," with Jarrod Saltalamacchia struggling both on defense and offense.  Gammons suggests Tim Federowicz is "the best catch-and-throw guy in the organization," and would be the first person called up if the Sox try an internal solution.  Gammons does not see anybody good the Red Sox could acquire right now.
  • Gammons thinks Jed Lowrie is "right in the middle as far as everyday shortstops in the major leagues."  Today in the Boston Herald, Padres assistant GM Jason McLeod talked to John Tomase about what he saw when he drafted Lowrie in 2005.  I can see Marco Scutaro being dealt if Lowrie continues to excel for the next few months.
  • Rich Hill is Boston's best option among situational lefties, but Gammons says the team wants to "give Rich a full month to get his feet on the ground, get used to this delivery and get his confidence restored before they bring him up."  Hill was re-signed by the Red Sox to a minor league deal in mid-December, as GM Theo Epstein elected not to spend money on left-handed relief.

Red Sox Notes: Gonzalez, Ramirez, Scutaro

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The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays today, so they have now won three consecutive games for the first time all season. Here's the latest on the Red Sox:

Offseason In Review: Boston Red Sox

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The Red Sox are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

This offseason the Red Sox lost a couple of key contributors in Beltre and Martinez, compensating by committing to Crawford and Gonzalez through 2017 and '18, respectively.  Otherwise, GM Theo Epstein retained Ortiz, tinkered with the bullpen, and locked up Buchholz to a flexible contract.

Beltre and Martinez were huge losses for the Red Sox, who did not seem aggressive about retaining either player.  The team was able to maintain great corner infield offense, while improved left field production should make up for a downgrade at catcher.  The draft pick results: the Sox lost #24 to sign Crawford, but gained #19, 26, 36, and 40 for Beltre and Martinez.  The Red Sox once again demonstrated that it's better to sign someone else's Type A and let yours leave rather than re-sign your own.

Carl

The Red Sox flexed their financial muscle with the Crawford signing, agreeing to a contract in the range of what most people expected for the left fielder.  His first 58 plate appearances of 2011 notwithstanding, Crawford adds offensive value with his bat and a little more with his basestealing.  Still, Corey Hart and Nick Swisher offer similar offensive production, and they wouldn't have gotten seven-year deals or $20MM salaries as free agents.  Instead, the Crawford signing appears to be the biggest investment in defense we've ever seen.

Only a few teams could afford to pay Crawford over $100MM, but the battle to obtain Gonzalez was a level playing field.  The superstar first baseman earns just $6.3MM this year, about a quarter of his market value.  Acquiring him for the 2011 season meant luxury tax savings and no draft pick cost.  Gonzalez instead cost three significant young players.  Kelly is a consensus top 50 prospect, and Rizzo fits into the top 75.  Fuentes is also highly regarded. 

Even dealing with the GM who knows Boston's farm system best, Jed Hoyer, Epstein made a good win-now move in acquiring Gonzalez.  A trade like this makes more sense for the Red Sox than waiting for the prospects to develop.  Another benefit: Gonzalez was willing to sign a below-market contract and didn't require the 2011 salary to be overwritten.

The Buchholz extension was of a different type; the Red Sox guaranteed him almost $30MM in the name of three free agent years and possible arbitration savings.  This has been an effective strategy for Boston, but as it gains in popularity the prices rise and the deals become less team-friendly.  Though Buchholz's 2.33 ERA earned him a sixth-place Cy Young finish last year, Baseball Prospectus' SIERA put him at 4.29.  The top-notch ERA estimator placed Kevin Slowey and Luke Hochevar in the same ballpark, so Buchholz isn't an ace yet.  Like Jon Lester after '08, the Sox need Buchholz to take another step forward to make this contract a big win.

Epstein's bullpen tinkering brought in Jenks, Wheeler, Okajima, Albers, Aceves, plus several lefties on minor league deals.  The Red Sox could have purchased a more established southpaw, looking at the free agent market. 

I agree with the decision to exercise Ortiz's option, even if $12.5MM seems steep compared to certain DH signings.  Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn required at least that much, plus four-year commitments, to essentially serve as DHs.  The trio is a cut above players like Vladimir Guerrero, Hideki Matsui, and Jack Cust.

Waiting until the Gonzalez extension became official allows me to talk about Boston's slow start; they're 5-10 at the time of this writing.  This is a concern.  If you pegged them as a 95 win team back in March and consider the first 15 games a fluke, they're projected now to win 91 games.  Unless the team balances their start by reeling off a winning streak, I think they'll be aggressive in seeking trade deadline upgrades.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Padres, Rays, Mariners

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Links for Sunday, as Grady Sizemore homers versus the Orioles in his return to the Indians' lineup….

Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Upton, Minaya, Saito

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After extending Adrian Gonzalez this week, the Red Sox have guaranteed nearly $300MM to their two big offseason acquisitions, Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. However, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, some baseball people feel that Jayson Werth would have made more sense for the Sox than Crawford. One AL GM says he's "not sure that many of us are unhappy they chose Crawford over Werth," adding that Werth seemed to be a better fit for Boston's lefty-heavy lineup. Here are the rest of the highlights from Cafardo's Sunday Notes:

  • The Red Sox may not have even been in on Crawford or Werth this winter if they had re-signed Jason Bay a year earlier. A National League GM calls Bay leaving Boston "one of the worst decisions both by a team and by the player," suggesting that both sides miss each other.
  • According to Cafardo, Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers was willing to deal Justin Upton to the Red Sox in the offseason, but only if he got the Adrian Gonzalez package or Clay Buchholz in return.
  • Several teams have spoken to Omar Minaya about potential job openings. Minaya, who dubs himself a "free agent," says he's still sorting through everything and searching for the best fit, but he could make a decision soon.
  • Cafardo points out that spending time on the disabled list could cost Takashi Saito a good chunk of money this season. Currently on the shelf with a hamstring injury, Saito can earn up to five $100K bonuses based on time spent on the active roster.

Reaction To The Adrian Gonzalez Extension

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The Red Sox finalized a contract extension with Adrian Gonzalez today, and while the deal was long-awaited, its completion still generated discussion about how the contract impacts Gonzalez, the Red Sox and some of the game's other top first basemen.  Some of the more notable items…

  • John Boggs, Gonzalez's agent, talks to WEEI.com's Alex Speier about the history of the negotations between the slugger and the Red Sox, how the deal was almost scuttled in December before Gonzalez was traded from the Padres, and how Boggs "aged a hundred years" when Gonzalez was hit by a C.C. Sabathia pitch last Sunday.
  • In a separate post, Speier looks at Gonzalez's extension in the context of the biggest contracts ever.  Boston officials note that the Sox have been willing to spend big on players before signing Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. The Red Sox were prepared to commit over $20MM per season to Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
  • In a video report for FOXSports.com, Jon Paul Morosi said Gonzalez's deal "ratchets up the pressure" on Albert Pujols if the Cardinals slugger hopes to get a milestone free agent deal this winter.  If Gonzalez has a better season than Pujols, then it will harder for Pujols and his agents to justify asking for a larger contract than the deal the Red Sox gave the younger Gonzalez.
  • Morosi also says "it's possible" Boston could still be in the market for Pujols or Prince Fielder as a DH, as the Sox would part ways with David Ortiz.  Pujols and Fielder have both said they want to continue playing first base, but Morosi notes that Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn said the same thing last winter before becoming the primary DH option for the Tigers and White Sox, respectively.   
  • The theory exists that Gonzalez and the Sox had this extension worked out months ago but waited until now to announce it so the club could avoid paying a luxury tax penalty.  Morosi speculates that the new collective bargaining agreement might contain a later deadline than Opening Day for the luxury tax calculations since "the spirit of the law isn't being honored here."

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post

Boston’s Long-Term Commitments

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The Red Sox announced their extension with Adrian Gonzalez today, less than a week after locking Clay Buchholz up to a long-term deal of his own. The Red Sox will see at least six players hit free agency after the season, while others are under team control for many years to come. Here's a look how long the Red Sox have their current 25-man roster under team control:

Through 2011: J.D. Drew, David Ortiz, Mike Cameron, Jonathan Papelbon, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek

Through 2012: Bobby Jenks, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Marco Scutaro (option), Dan Wheeler (club option)

Through 2013: Kevin Youkilis, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Albers (currently on DL)

Through 2014: Josh Beckett, Jon Lester (club option), John Lackey, Alfredo Aceves, Jed Lowrie

Through 2015: Dustin Pedroia (club option), Daniel Bard, Darnell McDonald

Through 2016: Felix Doubront

Through 2017: Carl Crawford, Clay Buchholz (club option)

Through 2018: Adrian Gonzalez

Boston may cut ties with some of their arbitration eligible players before they pick up six years of MLB service, but I've listed the current period of team control. With their recent long-term deals, the Red Sox have extended control over their core players. Drew, Ortiz and Papelbon are eligible for free agency after the coming season and after that it appears that Youkilis will be the next major contributor to hit the open market.

Red Sox Extend Adrian Gonzalez

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After months of anticipation, the Red Sox have signed Adrian Gonzalez to a contract extension, the team announced. The deal is for seven-years and $154MM, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. 

Gonzalez gets a $6MM signing bonus, $21MM per year from 2012-16 and $21.5MM in 2017 and 2018, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). The contract includes a partial no-trade clause, according to Olney. Gonzalez can block deals to two teams, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Those teams are prohibited from acquiring Gonzalez and flipping him to the Yankees.

It's the second nine-figure contract the Red Sox have agreed to since December (Carl Crawford signed for $142MM) and the second-biggest guarantee in franchise history. Only Manny Ramirez ($160MM, eight years) signed for more guaranteed money.

The Red Sox progressed toward an agreement with Gonzalez's agent, John Boggs, after acquiring the first baseman from the Padres in a December trade. The sides didn't finalize a deal and talks continued earlier in the spring. As Alex Speier of WEEI.com pointed out in December, the Red Sox may have waited to announce the deal because they save on the luxury tax by waiting.

Gonzalez underwent shoulder surgery in October, so the delay also gave Boston time to evaluate his health. The 28-year-old has a .268/.362/.439 line in 41 plate appearances so far, though his career line is a more robust .284/.368/.506.

The extension means Gonzalez won't hit free agency after the season, when Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are expected to test the open market for the first time in their respective careers. Ryan Howard, who signed an extension with the Phillies last April, would have been eligible after 2011 as well.

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