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Red Sox Rumors: Crawford, Martinez, Saltalamacchia

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The Red Sox may have interest in Cliff Lee, but he's far from the only free agent they'll consider. Here are the details on which teams are interested in Boston's free agents and which players the Red Sox might like to sign:

Seven To Eight Teams Show Interest In Cliff Lee

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1:55pm: The Astros may make a run at Lee, in the opinion of SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  He names the Cubs, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, and Phillies as other surprising suitors.

11:40am: Seven to eight teams have already shown interest in free agent lefty Cliff Lee, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He says the Yankees and Rangers are still the favorites, but the Phillies, Dodgers, and others have checked in.

As Rosenthal notes, it's questionable as to whether the Phillies or Dodgers could come up with the money for Lee.  He's expected to sign for significantly more than $100MM.  I imagine the Nationals checked in as well; they do have the money and are known to be interested.  While the Red Sox and Angels appear poised to spend their money on position players, we won't count them out until they say so.  At any rate, I'm excited to use the Mystery Team category here at MLBTR for the first time this offseason.

Odds & Ends: Werth, A’s, Yankees, Berkman, D’Backs

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A few more Saturday night links….

Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Red Sox, Simmons, Bush

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We're now less than 12 hours away from the start of free agency. Here are some links to help you pass the time…

  • The Diamondbacks have outrighted pitchers Leo Rosales and Clay Zavada off the 40-man roster according to the team's official Twitter feed. 
  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe places odds on each of the Red Sox's four free agents returning the team. 
  • Larry Larue of The Tacoma Tribune reports that the Mariners have hired Ted Simmons as a senior advisor to GM Jack Zduriencik. Simmons was in the mix for various managerial jobs.
  • The Rays have added Matt Bush, the first overall pick in 2004, to their 40-man roster according to The Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Bush would have been eligible for minor league free agency otherwise. 
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears from a source that Terry Collins is anywhere from "a strong candidate to the front-runner" for the Mets managerial job. Collins will interview with new GM Sandy Alderson this weekend, and has a backer in Fred Wilpon. He's also a favorite of Paul DePodesta, who Alderson is trying to lure to New York.
  • Don Wakamatsu has plenty of job opportunities these days. FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that he has an offer to become the Blue Jays bench coach, an interview for the Mets manager's job forthcoming, and is also in the mix to be Baltimore's bench coach. 
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik unsurprisingly declined to comment about Hisashi Iwakuma two days ago, according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. Last night we heard that the Mariners appear to be the favorites to land the righty.
  • Robert MacLeod of The Globe And Mail passes along a quote from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos in which he indicates a willingness to bringing Kevin Gregg back. He just wasn't comfortable with the price of the reliever's options, which is why they were declined.
  • Scott Boras told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the Phillies "have the ability to do what they need to do to retain their players," referring to Jayson Werth. He compared Philadelphia's financial situation to that of the Yankees 
  • Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News offers some good and bad news about the Rangers' catching situation.
  • Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle speculates that the Giants will keep an eye on Derek Jeter's negotiations with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean ran New York's farm system when Jeter was drafted, so there's a connection there in the unlikely event that he can't work out a deal with the Yanks.

Olney’s Latest: Gonzalez, Lee, Crawford, Jeter

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Two days ago we learned that Padres GM Jed Hoyer is willing to listen to trade offers for Adrian Gonzalez (and Heath Bell), unsurprising since the first baseman is reportedly seeking close to $22MM annually when he becomes a free agent next offseason. In today's blog post (Insider req'd), ESPN's Buster Olney lists a few reasons why the Pads are more likely to wait until the trade deadline to move their franchise player…

  • Ticket sales. After surprising success in 2010, the team doesn't want to lose the trust of the fans by dealing their best player before the season.
  • The Padres have a chance to compete in 2011 with Gonzalez in the middle of their lineup, but without him it'll be close to impossible.
  • Other clubs wanting to acquire Gonzalez might be more desperate during the summer, which could result in a better package for San Diego.
  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe points out that Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod worked for the Red Sox before joining the Padres, so they have strong first-hand knowledge of Boston's prospects.

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, and Jayson Werth will dominate the headlines when free agency begins at 12:01am ET Sunday morning, but Olney lists ten more interesting free agents, led by Joaquin Benoit, Pedro Feliciano, and Orlando Hudson.
  • The Yankees could place their first bid on Lee very soon, perhaps within 72 hours. Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News hears something similar.
  • Crawford is in a unique situation because he's an elite player that could have six or more teams bidding for his services. Usually players of that caliber only have three or so teams after them.
  • The Yankees operate with the knowledge that no matter how popular the individual player is, the team and its fan base will move on. This of course refers to Derek Jeter.

Red Sox Not Exploring Ortiz Extension

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It doesn't look like David Ortiz will get the extension he was looking for. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says the club explored an extension with Ortiz before picking up his 2011 option and determined to go one year at a time, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter). Epstein says the one-year, $12.5MM option made the most sense for the Red Sox, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (on Twitter).

Ortiz has repeatedly said he'd like the security of a multiyear deal and though the Red Sox aren't ruling it out completely, the chances seem remote at this point. The 34-year-old batted .270/.370/.529 with 32 homers last year.

Red Sox Acquire Brent Dlugach

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The Red Sox acquired Brent Dlugach from Detroit for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to the Tigers (on Twitter). The 27-year-old shortstop batted .258/.303/.360 at Triple-A this year. He had three plate appearances for the Tigers in 2009, but has spent the rest of his seven-year pro career in the minor leagues. Detroit drafted Dlugach in the sixth round of the 2004 draft.

Red Sox Exercise David Ortiz’s 2011 Option

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The Red Sox exercised David Ortiz's $12.5MM option for 2011, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Big Papi has continually voiced his desire for a multi-year deal, but he's only under contract for 2011 at this point. The sides could renegotiate the deal to cover 2012 and beyond if the Red Sox like the idea of keeping Ortiz in Boston.

The 34-year-old recently told Rob Bradford that he considers himself “one of the best hitters in the game” and he has some impressive numbers on his side. Ortiz was among the American League leaders in slugging (8th, .529), OPS (8th, .899), home runs (5th, 32) and walks (9th, 82) this year.

The Rangers declined their side of the $9MM option for DH Vladimir Guerrero yesterday.

Odds & Ends: Indians, Jeter, Ellis, Giants, Chen

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Happy 92nd birthday to one of baseball's all-time great pitchers, Bob Feller.  "Rapid Robert" piled up 266 wins and 2581 strikeouts in his Hall of Fame career.  In tribute to Feller, it's only appropriate that we start this batch of news items with something from Cleveland…

  • Infielder Drew Sutton is eligible for free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A by the Indians, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  The article notes that Andy Marte is expected to be removed from the Cleveland roster before the Rule 5 draft deadline.  Also from Hoynes (via Twitter), the Phillies claimed shortstop Carlos Rivero on waivers from the Tribe.  Rivero has a .676 OPS in 2156 minor league plate appearances, none above the Double-A level.
  • Hal Steinbrenner's recent comments about the Derek Jeter talks strike ESPN's Buster Olney "as if he's preparing the NYY fans for an ugly Jeter negotiation" (Twitter link).
  • Now that the A's have exercised Mark Ellis' option for 2011, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the team will look into an extension for the veteran second baseman.
  • Buster Posey and Brian Wilson are the key reasons why the Giants have a chance to win another World Series, says Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.  "How many teams can say, right now, they have zero interest in upgrading at the need-to-have positions of catcher or closer?", Morosi asks.  He cites just the Phillies and Twins, and even those two clubs come with question marks.
  • Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com thinks the Giants should sign Eric Chavez to a minor-league contract.  (Twitter link)
  • Bruce Chen wants a multiyear deal but the Royals are "unlikely" to make the left-hander such an offer, tweets The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton.
  • It could be a bad omen for David Ortiz's $12.5MM option that another slugging DH (Vladimir Guerrero) had his $9MM option for 2011 declined by Texas earlier today, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
  • Tampa Bay added Elliot Johnson to its 40-man roster, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.  Without the move, Johnson would've become a free agent.  Johnson had a breakout minor league campaign in Triple-A last season, posting a .319/.375/.475 line and winning the International League MVP award.
  • In response to a fan mailbag question about Adam Dunn, MLB.com's Bill Ladson warns about the dangers of the Nationals offering a long-term deal to a defensively-challenged slugger.  He points out how fans were also wishing the Nats signed Alfonso Soriano to an extension, but in hindsight Washington made the right move.
  • Nationals right-hander Collin Balester is looking for members to join his 'Movember' team.  Click here to sign up and join Balester in raising money and awareness in the fight against prostate cancer.

Pierzynski Yet To Hear An Offer From White Sox

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In an interview with Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio today, A.J. Pierzynski said that the White Sox have not made him an offer to return to the club in 2011. (Twitter link)  Pierzynski doesn't specify if the club has made any contact with him at all, and it's worth noting that Chicago still has three days left of exclusive negotiating time for pending free agents.  Given that Pierzynski said he would like to keep playing in Chicago "but they are going to have to want him first," however, it seems unlikely that the Sox have opened negotiations.

Pierzynski went into detail about his criteria for a new team (another Twitter link): in order, his new club must be a contender, be willing to give him a starting job, be located close to his home in Florida and along those same lines must also have their spring training camp in Florida and be a "quick flight home."  He says the Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays and Red Sox "would all be good fits."  All of these teams except the Rays were mentioned by MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith in his look at potential suitors for Pierzynski.  All make some sense on Pierzynski's checklist, though the Rangers and Padres are in Arizona for spring training and San Diego is a cross-country flight away from his home.

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