Red Sox Considering Matt Albers
The Red Sox are considering reliever Matt Albers as a depth signing, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. We've seen Boston linked to most high-profile relievers, but Albers would likely be signed cheaply.
Albers, 28 in January, posted a 4.52 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9, and strong 56.5% groundball rate in 75 2/3 innings for the Orioles this year before being non-tendered. The Orioles had acquired Albers three years ago as part of the Miguel Tejada deal. He was diagnosed with a torn labrum in the middle of the '08 season, but chose rehab over surgery.
Phillies, Red Sox Discussed Joe Blanton
7:54am: No agreement has been finalized, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford. A deal is unlikely, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes. The talks were never serious, reports Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
7:35am: Word is that the Phillies have a Blanton deal in place with the Red Sox, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. As one MLBTR commenter noted below, Boston's goal might have been to help facilitate Lee signing with a National League club. The Red Sox could always flip Blanton in the coming months, taking that burden off the Phillies.
7:14am: The Phillies were deep in discussions yesterday about sending Joe Blanton to the Red Sox, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Moving some of the $17MM owed to Blanton seems to be a priority for the Phillies now that they've added Cliff Lee's huge salary to the payroll.
The Red Sox would be a surprising match for Blanton, as they've already got John Lackey, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Josh Beckett penciled into the rotation with Tim Wakefield under contract as well. Some teams have inquired on Matsuzaka, but Blanton wasn't great in his last American League stint and might not be an upgrade.
Odds & Ends: Rivera, Mets, Bruce, Orioles, Dodgers
Links for Sunday….
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that Mariano Rivera's representatives initiated contact with the Red Sox, who eventually offered the closer a contract. Boston was never inclined to non-tender Jonathan Papelbon had they signed Rivera; they valued him at the back of their bullpen in the short-term, and the draft picks that would come their way if he signs elsewhere as a free agent in the long-term.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman has the scoop on the Mets new coaching staff (Twitter link). Dave Hudgens will be the hitting coach, Jon Debus the bullpen coach, Ken Oberkfell the bench coach, and Mookie Wilson the first base coach.
- Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News thinks the Jay Bruce extension is an excellent message.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun speculates that the Orioles could still sign two more relievers even after Koji Uehara's deal becomes official, and he wouldn't be against them signing a designated hitter type either.
- Seth Livingstone of USA Today looks at what Cliff Lee would mean to both the Yankees and the Rangers.
- Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) breaks down the details of Jay Gibbons' contract with the Dodgers. $400K of Gibbons' $650K salary is guaranteed, and he could earn as much as $800K with incentives based on plate appearances (Twitter link).
- Hernandez's colleague at the L.A. Times, T.J. Simers, isn't a fan of the Dodgers' recent moves.
- Trading for Zack Greinke is still a possibility for the Brewers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Speaking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Andrew Friedman said the Rays are targeting "under-the-radar type guys that we feel fit us well and have a lot of upside."
- The Pirates haven't approached Andrew McCutchen about a long-term extension, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests Jay Bruce's deal would be a good comparable if the two sides discuss anything.
- Clint Hurdle tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his preference is for the Pirates to add two left-handed relievers.
- The Rockies agreed to minor league deals with a pair of players, including former Yankee first round pick Eric Duncan, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.
Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Pavano, Buehrle, Millwood
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names the winners and losers of the Winter Meetings in his newest piece, with the Red Sox, Nationals, and White Sox topping his list of winners. Cafardo also shares a handful of hot stove notes. Here are the highlights:
- Before they signed Carl Crawford, the Red Sox "did a ton of work" on Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran.
- Carl Pavano figures to wait for Cliff Lee to sign, so he can see the type of offers he receives as the top pitcher on the market. Cafardo thinks Pavano could be a backup plan for the Rangers if they don't land Lee, though the Twins still remain the favorites for the 34-year-old. Texas has also inquired on Matt Garza and James Shields.
- The White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle, whose contract expires after the 2011 season. Buehrle earned ten and five rights this year, so he'd have the option of vetoing any trade.
- Agent Scott Boras says a strong market is developing for Kevin Millwood.
- Team officials that spoke to Cafardo had mixed opinions on free agent backstop Russell Martin. One opined that Martin "can't call a game," while another raved about the enthusiasm the catcher brings each day.
- According to Cafardo, the Red Sox were the only team to discuss Justin Upton with the Diamondbacks, balking at Kevin Towers' insistence that Daniel Bard be included in a potential deal.
- The Astros would have interest in trading Matt Lindstrom and Jeff Keppinger.
- Grant Balfour is seeking a three-year contract. The Red Sox have looked into him, but are hoping Matt Guerrier will accept their offer. As Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston noted today (via Twitter), Guerrier is one of the top relief targets for Boston, along with Brian Fuentes and Jesse Crain.
Odds & Ends: Arroyo, Varitek, Angels, Werth
The Red Sox officially introduced Carl Crawford to Red Sox Nation at a press conference this morning, but that's not the only hot stove news today…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports provides the details of Bronson Arroyo's new contract. The righty will earn $6.5MM in 2011, $7MM in 2012, and then $18MM in 2013. All but $3MM of that 2013 salary is deferred, though it all has to be paid up front if he's traded.
- Jason Varitek told MLB.com's Evan Drellich that he was considering retirement earlier this offseason, and that he's glad the Red Sox made his decision for him.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan looks at some other pitchers that signed long-term contracts, with Cliff Lee obviously in mind.
- John A. Tomase of the Boston Herald gives us an inside look at how the Crawford deal went down.
- An Angels source denies that the club matched an offer for Crawford, writes ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford tweets that the Angels made Crawford a comparable offer and set a 11pm deadline on Wednesday, but the Red Sox got the deal done at 10:50.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets the breakdown of Jayson Werth's contract. His $4MM signing bonus will be paid between January 2011 and January 2012, and his annual salaries are as follows: $10MM, $13MM, $16MM, $20MM, $21MM, $21MM, and $21MM.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun wonders if there's room for the recently acquired Brendan Harris and re-signed Cesar Izturis on the Orioles. Harris is not on the 40-man roster, so he could start the 2011 season in the minors.
- Scott Ostler of The San Francisco Chronicle looks at why the Giants and A's have trouble luring free agents to their teams.
- Curious how all of last week's free agent activity affected the 2011 draft order? Then look at the changes here. Once the Kevin Correia and Miguel Olivo signings are made official, two more supplemental first round picks will be added.
Red Sox Haven’t Talked Possible Trade With Cameron
During this morning's press conference to introduce Carl Crawford to the Boston media, GM Theo Epstein told reporters that he hasn't addressed a trade with Mike Cameron, writes MLB.com's Evan Drellich. The club's big winter splash knocks Cameron out of the starting outfield but doesn't neccessarily mean that he doesn't have a place on the bench.
"This role is something he can embrace and really make the most out of and have a tremendous impact on this club with all the left-handed hitting that we have," the GM said of the right-handed hitter.
Cameron would also provide a solid insurance policy to the Red Sox as Jacoby Ellsbury missed the majority of 2010 and J.D. Drew hasn't played more than 140 games since 2006. However, the soon-to-be 38-year-old is owed $7.25MM in 2011, making him an expensive reserve option.
On Thursday it was reported that the Red Sox have received inquiries on Cameron and are willing to listen, though they intend on keeping him.
Odds & Ends: Guerrier, McCutchen, Blue Jays, Punto
As the baseball world says goodbye to Cubs great Ron Santo, here are some news tidbits heading into the weekend…
- The Red Sox have made an offer to reliever Matt Guerrier, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier (as passed along in a tweet from WEEI.com's Rob Bradford).
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at how Jay Bruce's extension might influence a future extension offer from the Pirates to Andrew McCutchen.
- Lyle Overbay would be a familiar solution to Toronto's search for a first base/DH partner for Adam Lind, but MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm thinks Overbay "does not appear to be a good fit" since Overbay wants an everyday job. Chisholm's piece also contains several quotes from Alex Anthopoulos from the winter meetings and what the Jays might look to do during the rest of the offseason.
- The Indians and Nick Punto had "meaningful negotiations" at the winter meetings, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- Manny Ramirez will receive $15MM in deferred payments from the Dodgers over the next three years and $1.94MM for each of the next 16 years from the Red Sox, reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (with a tip of the cap to Cot's Baseball Contracts).
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times looks back at the 11-year contract Dave Stieb signed with the Blue Jays before the 1985 season.
- Also from Stone, Jack Zduriencik says the Mariners could be in the market for an extra infielder.
Red Sox Re-Sign Jason Varitek
The Red Sox have re-signed catcher Jason Varitek to a one-year deal, according to a team press release. No contract details were mentioned by the club, but Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reports that Varitek will earn $2MM next season (via Twitter).
Varitek, 39 in April, will return for a 15th season in Boston. Last year, the Red Sox captain appeared in just 39 games and he'll likely assume a backup role again in 2011, when Jarrod Saltalamacchia could become the regular Boston backstop.
Thanks in large part to a torrid start at the plate, Varitek finished the 2010 season with a strong .232/.293/.473 batting line. The former Silver Slugger winner belted seven homers in just 123 plate appearances, proving that he still has some pop.
Though Varitek struggled to limit opposing base stealers early in the season, he threw out nine of 43 would-be base stealers overall. That figure (21%) is below average, but significantly better than the 13% mark he posted in 2009.
Heyman was the first to break the news of the signing on December 2, and MLB.com's Peter Gammons adds that the deal has $300K in incentives.
Ben Nicholson-Smith and Mark Polishuk contributed to this post.
Red Sox Sign Carl Crawford
The Red Sox are officially the winners of the 2010 Winter Meetings. Boston signed a seven-year, $142MM deal with Carl Crawford, just days after acquiring Adrian Gonzalez. The deal, which is official now that Crawford has passed his physical, includes a partial no-trade clause.
Not only will the move give Boston a tremendous everyday lineup, it will put pressure on a number of the team's rivals. The Rays will face their former outfielder 18 times per season; the Angels lose out on their top offseason target and the Yankees are left with no major free agent to pursue if Cliff Lee ignores their overtures. According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, the Yankees never made a formal offer to Crawford, while the Angels may have topped out at $108MM.
Crawford will become the first position player without a 20 homer season on his resume to sign a nine-figure contract. His representatives at Legacy Sports negotiated a deal that falls just short of the eight-year, $160MM Dan Duquette signed Manny Ramirez to a decade ago. However, it surpasses the seven-year, $126MM deal Jayson Werth signed this week.
The Red Sox add another outfielder to the roster and another left-handed bat to the lineup. It's likely that Terry Francona will play Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew in the outfield with Mike Cameron and Ryan Kalish as backups. Drew, Kalish, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz all bat left-handed.
Crawford, 29, batted .307/.356/.495 with 19 homers and 47 stolen bases in 657 plate appearances for the Rays last year. He made his fourth All-Star team and managers and coaches recognized his above-average defense with a Gold Glove.
It's not much compensation for losing a franchise player, but the Rays will get two draft picks next June for losing a Type A free agent after offering arbitration. They pick up a supplementary first rounder plus Boston's 24th overall pick. The Red Sox already obtained the 19th overall pick when the Tigers signed Victor Martinez.
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe broke the news (on Twitter) and Jon Heyman of SI.com added detail on the partial no-trade clause (Twitter link). Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link) has the yearly numbers: Crawford receives a $6MM signing bonus, $14MM in 2011, $19.5MM in 2012, $20MM in 2013, and then his pay increases by $250K each season before topping out at $21MM in 2017.
Russell Martin Rumors: Friday
Yesterday, we learned that free agent catcher Russell Martin has offers from the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. He also has a multiyear offer from a mystery team, but Boston may be the favorite to sign the former Dodger. Here are today's rumors: