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Red Sox Notes: Scutaro, Papelbon

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Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has been rather busy at the winter GM meetings, writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.  While the club has yet to make a move, Epstein is hopeful that something will soon come out of the trade talks that he has had.

  • Yesterday, we learned that teams are showing interest in shortstop Marco Scutaro and the club is willing to move him for the right return.  The market for Scutaro is rapidly heating up as McAdam writes that six teams are in on the 35-year-old.  Potential landing spots include St. Louis, Cincinnati, San Diego, and San Francisco if the Giants are unable to re-sign Juan Uribe.  The Red Sox are seeking bullpen help in return for Scutaro, according to McAdam.
  • Closer Jonathan Papelbon will seek $11.5MM in arbitration, $2.15MM more than he earned in 2010, a major league source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Papelbon is coming off of a down season in which he turned in career-highs in ERA (3.90) and BB/9 (3.8), though his 10.2 K/9 is consistent with his career average.

Justin Upton Rumors: Thursday

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Yesterday we learned that rival teams continue to kick the tires on Justin Upton. It will take four or five players to meet Arizona's demands, but GM Kevin Towers seems genuinely open to moving the 23-year-old. The Rockies, Marlins and Red Sox appear to be among the interested teams, but the Braves aren't likely to get involved. Here are today's rumors:

  • D'Backs president Derrick Hall isn't concerned about potential fallout if the club does not move Upton, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.  Arizona has talked to Upton and told him that they "owe it to [themselves]" to listen, Crasnick tweets.
  • The D’Backs are more inclined to move Upton than they were when the GM Meetings began, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who confirms that the Blue Jays, Mariners and Marlins “have expressed a high level of interest in Upton.”
  • The Blue Jays are showing "strong interest" in Upton, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). They are the mystery team from FOX Sports' earlier report.
  • The Mariners are not ruling out Upton and could construct a deal around pitching prospect Michael Pineda, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • The Orioles are not pursuing Upton now, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Towers is determined not to trade Upton within the NL West, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox are on the "backburner" in the Upton talks after a mystery team made a strong push yesterday, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. About half of MLB teams showed some interest in Upton, but the D'Backs aren't going to trade him unless they "win" the trade. Arizona wants four prospects in return and teams like the Yankees aren't comfortable parting ways with that much talent. The D'Backs and Red Sox have discussed expanded deals that involve at least one other team.
  • The Red Sox are showing more interest than the Yankees, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). He says the D'Backs would likely request Daniel Bard and Jacoby Ellsbury from the Red Sox.

Justin Upton Rumors: Wednesday

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Today's Justin Upton rumors…

  • One AL exec told SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) that Arizona's asking price for Upton is "ridiculous."
  • The Rockies inquired on Upton, according to the Denver Post's Troy Renck. A Diamondbacks official expects the team would be willing to deal within the division, though they'd have to receive a very strong offer.
  • The Upton rumors are more than just talk, says ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, who was told the D'Backs are "genuinely open" to moving the 23-year-old. However, it might take a package of five players who could help the team in the short- and long-term (Twitter links).
  • The Red Sox discussed Upton with the D'Backs late into Tuesday night, reports CSNNE.com's Sean McAdam, but talks are now stalled over Towers' latest demands.
  • The Braves are unlikely to pursue Upton after trading for Dan Uggla, GM Frank Wren implied (via Joel Sherman on Twitter).
  • The D'Backs will seek at least four or five players in return for Upton, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  He believes perhaps three of those players would have to be big league ready.
  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale introduced the idea of Upton as a trade candidate on Monday, and the rumors took off yesterday.  Today, Nightengale says the Yankees' offer for Upton has fallen short but the Red Sox remain engaged.  Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers described the Upton trade talks as "people kicking the tires right now." 
  • Towers told Joel Sherman of the New York Post, "[Upton] would be a tough guy to move.  But you always seek out the information on what teams will do because you never know if, to get one player, a team will grossly overpay."  Sherman added via Twitter that the D'Backs "have [a] growing belief [they] will trade Upton based on [a] ton of interest."
  • Sherman talked to one team executive who says the Marlins have had the most interest in Upton for a while.  An exec speculated that Logan Morrison and Ricky Nolasco would get it done, notes Sherman.
  • It's not known if the Rays would like to add a second Upton, but the execs Sherman spoke to consider them an early favorite along with the Marlins.

Odds & Ends: Jones, Mets, Yankees, Guerrero, Greinke

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A few more links for Wednesday night…

Rangers, White Sox, Blue Jays Interested In Olivo

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Miguel Olivo is drawing "varying levels of interest" from several clubs, including the Rangers, White Sox, and Blue Jays, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi adds that the Red Sox could also be interested if Victor Martinez signs elsewhere.

Olivo is seeking a two-year contract, so it appears likely that he would turn down an arbitration offer from the Jays, who acquired him from the Rockies earlier this month. In that case, perhaps Toronto's interest would dwindle, since they'd earn a supplemental pick if Olivo signed with another team.

With John Buck and Ramon Hernandez already locked up to deals, the catching market behind V-Mart is thinning rapidly. Check out our list of remaining free agent backstops here.

Twins, Red Sox Eyeing Nishioka?

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3:32pm: The Red Sox are also in on Nishioka, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  However, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe disagrees (Twitter link).

8:25am: The Twins' Orlando Hudson–J.J. Hardy middle infield combination may not stick around for 2011.  Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune runs through the possibilities.

For starters, the Twins are expected to bid on Tsuyoshi Nishioka this week.  However, Christensen finds the team unlikely to win the bidding.  Nishioka was posted Monday, and the high bidder should be revealed next week.

Only one of Hudson and Hardy is expected to be retained, and Christensen writes of "growing indications" the Twins will tender Hardy a contract at the December 2nd deadline.  In an August 17th poll, almost 84% of you expected Hardy to be tendered.  If they keep Hardy and lose out on Nishioka, it looks like Alexi Casilla will get a shot as the regular second baseman.

Odds & Ends: Gordon, Anderson, Phillies, Park

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Links for Wednesday, the second day of the GM Meetings, as Ron Gardenhire and Bud Black take home Manager of the Year honors…

Stark On Cubs, Kemp, Werth, Quentin

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ESPN's Jayson Stark leads his latest Rumblings and Grumblings with scouts' opinions on pitchers Jorge de la Rosa, Vicente Padilla, Carl Pavano, Brian Fuentes, Randy Choate, Joaquin Benoit, and Koji Uehara.  His rumors:

  • Adrian Gonzalez's labrum cleanup surgery downgrades the chances of an offseason trade considerably.
  • The Cubs "seem a lot less inclined" to trade Kosuke Fukudome and Carlos Zambrano, though some clubs believe they'd discuss the latter.  Stark says there's a vibe the Cubs will not go after Adam Dunn for their first base opening, instead looking for an above-average defender.
  • One team official who kicked the tires says of the Dodgers, "They ain't trading Matt Kemp."
  • The Phillies are far apart with Jayson Werth and are exploring right field replacements.  They've done extensive groundwork on Chicago's Carlos Quentin, and are considering Jeff Francoeur or Jermaine Dye for lesser roles.  The Red Sox, by the way, are not willing to spend $100MM on Werth.

Heyman On Weeks, Matsui, Pujols

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SI's Jon Heyman is gathering all kinds of information at the GM Meetings; here's the latest…

  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin will talk to second baseman Rickie Weeks today about a possible extension, tweets Heyman.  The arbitration eligible Weeks is one year away from free agency.
  • Heyman tweets that the White Sox are talking to free agent designated hitter Hideki Matsui, who would fit as one of two lefty bats they hope to acquire.  The Sox have already had preliminary discussions with Adam Dunn's agent.  Heyman says the Cubs have not appeared to be big suitors for Dunn so far.
  • Regarding Albert Pujols, Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt does not want to repeat Alex Rodriguez's ten-year, $275MM contract.  In fact, he believes the Yankees would retract A-Rod's deal if they could.  Heyman floated an eight-year, $240MM deal to DeWitt, who questioned the $30MM salary.
  • Expensive closers Jonathan Papelbon and Francisco Cordero are on the trade market, with the Red Sox and Reds willing to kick in money.  Still, Heyman sees the Red Sox retaining Papelbon, whose trade market is weak.
  • Heyman could see something around three years and $57MM for Derek Jeter.
  • Heyman believes the Orioles are looking at Paul Konerko and/or Adrian Beltre for their corner infield openings.

Red Sox Will Go No More Than Four Years For Beltre

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The Red Sox have said that retaining Adrian Beltre is one of their top priorities this offseason, but a source tells Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe that they will not offer him more than four years and $52MM. Cafardo adds that they appear to have a similar limit with Victor Martinez.

A dozen teams are reportedly interested in the 31-year-old Beltre, who is far and away the best third baseman on the free agent market. Interest in the soon-to-be 32-year-old Martinez is plentiful as well, with about half-a-dozen clubs expressing interest in his services at one point or another. While four years and $52MM is certainly a competitive offer, it's possible that Beltre could find more than $13MM annually on the open market, especially coming off a .321/.365/.553 season.

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