Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Rumors

Sherman On Crawford, Angels, Tigers, Greinke

By | at

In his latest Hardball piece for the New York Post, Joel Sherman previews the upcoming GM meetings and look specifically at what to expect for a few top free agents and trade targets. Here are some of the highlights:

  • "Three teams with money will definitely be bidding" on Carl Crawford, according to an American League insider. Those three teams? The Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels.
  • People around baseball expect the Angels to spend big this winter, with one of Sherman's sources indicating that it wouldn't surprise him to see the Halos end up with Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Adrian Beltre.
  • Several executives believe the Tigers will make a play for two bats from the top tier of free agents, which includes Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adam Dunn, and Victor Martinez.
  • Sherman predicts that Werth will sign a contract that lands somewhere in between the deals signed by Jason Bay and Matt Holliday a year ago. Five years and $90MM is the estimate from Sherman.
  • According to an NL exec, a Zack Greinke trade may be unlikely because the Royals "are starting from a position of not wanting to trade [Greinke], and when you start there, it is hard to get anywhere." Still, Sherman names the Rangers as a team to watch in the Greinke sweepstakes, particularly if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere.

Odds & Ends: Lopes, Maybin, Farrell, Cubs, Cousins

By | at

Links for Saturday…

  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff provides a primer for next week's GM Meetings in Orlando.  MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith will be on the scene there Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that former Phillies' first base coach Davey Lopes is close to joining the Dodgers' coaching staff in an unknown capacity.
  • Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse analyzes the Cameron Maybin trade, saying the outfielder doesn't need to develop into a star to represent an upgrade for the Padres.
  • Richard Griffin of The Star has a one-on-one interview with new Blue Jays manager John Farrell.
  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry told Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times that he's not worried about making a splash this offseason, but that it's "really imperative that we have two or three really good moves."
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says that in the wake of the Maybin deal, the Marlins will give Scott Cousins a long look in center field next year (Twitter link).
  • Meanwhile, Padres GM Jed Hoyer told Dan Hayes of The North County Times that Maybin is "exactly the type of player we hoped to acquire for Petco Park." (Twitter link)
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck states the obvious, saying that the Marlins probably would have been better off keeping Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis and then taking the draft picks when they left as free agents. I'm not sure that keeping those two would have been financially possible, though.
  • Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes that after catcher Erik Kratz signed with the Phillies, the Pirates will now have to bring in a catcher or two to provide depth at the Triple-A level.
  • The Nationals have signed righty reliever Tim Wood to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com. Wood, who turns 28 on Tuesday, appeared in 44 games with the Marlins over the last two seasons, pitching to a 4.32 ERA with nearly as many walks (25) as strikeouts (26) in 50 innings.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney expects the Cardinals to aggressively pursue Juan Uribe since they could use him at pretty much any of their non-first base infield positions (Twitter link).
  • Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald reports that GM Theo Epstein said the team has talked to Kevin Youkilis about moving to third base in the event that they are unable to re-sign Adrian Beltre, who we learned is one of their priorities.
  • Meanwhile, Alex Speier of WEEI.com separates fact from fiction with regards to Scott Boras' claims about Beltre.
  • SI.com's Melissa Segura tweets that a new league launched in the Dominican Republic yesterday, and it features the top young free agent players the country has to offer. 

Beltre, Martinez Are Boston’s “First Choices”

By | at

Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez are two of this winter's most sought-after free agents, but don't discount the possibility that both players remain in Boston next season.  In a conference call with media (including WEEI's Alex Speier), Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said that re-signing both Beltre and Martinez are top priorities for his club.

“Our first choice for our third baseman in 2011 and beyond would be to bring back Adrian Beltre,” said Epstein. “Victor would certainly be our first choice to be our 2011 catcher and beyond. He did an outstanding job for us in the year and a half he was here. … I know it’s been portrayed in the media a little bit as if we haven’t been pursuing him. … We absolutely want this guy back.”

The Red Sox are one of the few clubs that can afford signing two high-profile free agents like Beltre and Martinez, though Epstein noted that "it always comes down to years and dollars.”  The former is the more important factor for Boston.  Both players are 31 years old and signing either to a long-term contract might be tricky for a club that has Josh Beckett and John Lackey signed through 2014 to already borderline-regrettable deals.  Signing Beltre and Martinez would also make it virtually impossible that the Red Sox could afford Carl Crawford, their other big target of the winter.

Epstein said the club is "not particularly close to anything at this time" and doesn't expect any major signings before the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to free agents.  He also said that the Red Sox will trade or sign "at least one" new reliever this winter, though Epstein expects the market for bullpen help to be very busy this winter given the number of quality arms available.

Red Sox Acquire Andrew Miller

By | at

The Red Sox acquired Andrew Miller from the Marlins in exchange for Dustin Richardson, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports (on Twitter). 

Miller, 25, was picked sixth overall by Detroit in the 2006 amateur draft and was dealt to Florida as part of the big Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis swap in December 2007.  Miller was seen as arguably the biggest piece (along with Cameron Maybin) of the six-prospect package that Florida acquired for their stars, but the left-hander has struggled to become a consistent major league hurler.  In 79 career games, 54 of them starts, Miller has a 5.84 ERA and a 7.2 BB/9 rate.  Miller was out of options with the Marlins and could've been non-tendered, but the Red Sox were clearly willing to take a chance on a young pitcher who still has a high ceiling.

Richardson is also a 25-year-old southpaw originally chosen in the 2006 draft, though Richardson's pick came in the fifth round.  Also like Miller, Richardson has struggled with control issues — in 16.1 major league innings, Richardson has recorded 15 walks.  His control has been better (4.4 BB/9 rate) in the minors, plus he has a K/9 ratio of 10.0 over his five minor league seasons.  Richardson has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the last two years and the Marlins were known to be looking for relief pitching this winter.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cox, Crawford, DeJesus

By | at

Two years ago today the Athletics acquired Matt Holliday from the Rockies in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Greg Smith. Holliday hit .286/.378/.454 in exactly 400 plate appearances with Oakland before being dealt to the Cardinals for a package led by Brett Wallace at the 2009 trade deadline.

Street has battled injuries but has been solid when on the mound for Colorado, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 109 innings. Smith has appeared in just eight games for the Rox (all starts), putting up a 6.23 ERA. The real get was CarGo, who will certainly be in the MVP mix after a .336/.376/.598 season with 34 doubles, 34 homers, 26 stolen bases, and a batting title.

The hot stove league will certainly bring us more blockbuster trades, but for now you'll have to settle for this long collection of links, the best the blogosphere had to offer this week…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Counsell, Greinke, Kuroda

By | at

Thursday night linkage..

Red Sox Rumors: DeJesus, Matsuzaka, Crawford

By | at

There's been lots of chatter about the Red Sox and Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth, but Boston isn't necessarily committed to acquiring an outfielder through free agency. Here's the latest:

Royals Rumors: Greinke, Gordon, Francoeur

By | at

Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he doesn't expect to trade Zack Greinke any time soon. “There’s nothing in the works, and I don’t anticipate anything happening real quick unless someone calls and just blows us away," Moore said. "I haven’t made any calls to clubs.” Here's the latest on Greinke and the Royals:

  • The Blue Jays aren't the only AL East team to inquire on Greinke; the Red Sox have also expressed interest.
  • The Blue Jays are one of many teams with interest in Alex Gordon, but Royals officials say they won’t dump the former top prospect for a small return.
  • Moore says “Jeff [Francoeur] is a winning-type baseball player who brings a lot of energy.” It sounds like the Royals have some interest in the free agent, but Moore cautioned that a potential deal would have to work for both sides.
  • Japanese clubs are interested in Phil Humber and Bryan Bullington, but the players would have to approve any deal.
  • The Royals allowed former prospect Chris McConnell to become a minor league free agent over the winter.

 

Tigers Prioritizing Victor Martinez

By | at

The Tigers are making free agent catcher Victor Martinez their top priority among all free agent hitters, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. If Martinez signs in Detroit, he'd likely share the catching duties with Alex Avila, spell Miguel Cabrera at first and start occasionally at DH. The Red Sox expected the Tigers to pursue Martinez and are eyeing John Buck in case V-Mart signs elsewhere. 

The Orioles, Rockies and Rangers are among the teams with potential interest in Martinez. He batted .302/.351/.493 with 20 homers in 2010 and has already heard from six interested teams even though his Type A status likely means he'll cost a top draft pick. Earlier today, Morosi suggested that it's in Martinez's best interest to sign sooner rather than later. 

Rosenthal On A’s, Westbrook, Uribe, Soriano

By | at

You’ve heard by now that the A’s acquired David DeJesus, but he was far from the only bat they considered trading for. GM Billy Beane was after Josh Willingham and considered making a deal for Dan Uggla, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The A’s probably aren’t done adding offense. Beane told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’d still like to make an upgrade or two (Twitter link). Here are the rest of Rosenthal’s rumors.

  • The Red Sox aren’t likely to offer Adrian Beltre a five-year deal.
  • The Cardinals are still in contact with Jake Westbrook, but they would prefer to reach a two-year deal and Westbrook might be able to get three years from another club, so talks appear to be losing momentum.
  • Orlando Cabrera and Juan Uribe are already drawing more interest than they did at this time last year, according to Rosenthal.
  • The White Sox are checking in on Rafael Soriano and, as Rosenthal points out, that’s yet another sign that they’re open to trading or non-tendering Bobby Jenks.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top