Jason Bay Rumors: Sunday
Bill Madden of the New York Daily News writes that Jason Bay can thank his agent, Joe Urbon, for pricing him out of a good situation in Boston. With no obvious bidders remaining for Bay besides the New York Mets, Madden says that Urbon returned to the Red Sox to see if they would revisit negotiations with Bay. The Sox, however, having signed Mike Cameron, no longer appear interested.
Madden thinks that Bay's reluctance to accept the Mets' four-year, $64MM offer suggests the outfielder is wary of playing in Citi Field for a team that "even with him, looks to be no better than a third-place club." Newsday's Ken Davidoff agrees that Citi Field could be a factor, as the Mets pursue Bay and other free agents. Davidoff points out that, statistically, the park doesn't seem all that bad for hitters, but it's hard to shake that perception.
Lowell To Texas Trade Is Off
10:03pm: Gorden Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter) says that the teams could revisit the deal at some point, though the Rangers can find a right-handed power bat elsewhere.
8:51pm: The exact injury is a torn radial collateral ligament on the right thumb. Lowell will undergo surgery on it shortly after Christmas, and it will require 6-8 weeks of recovery, says Rob Bradford of WEEI.
8:07pm: The trade of Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers has been called off, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The third baseman will require surgery for the torn ligament in his right thumb.
The deal, which has been talked about for some time, would have sent catcher Max Ramirez to the BoSox in exchange for Lowell. In addition, Boston would have paid $9MM of the $12MM owed to the soon-to-be 36-year-old.
Assuming that they are unable to move Lowell this offseason, do you see any scenario in which they could still sign Adrian Beltre or land Adrian Gonzalez? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.
Adrian Gonzalez Rumors: Saturday
9:04pm: This morning, ESPN's Jayson Stark told WJAB Radio in Portland, Maine that he was told by sources all throughout the winter meetings not to buy into any talk of Adrian Gonzalez being dealt this winter.
4:20pm: While GM Jed Hoyer and the Padres "won't never say never" to the possibility of an Adrian Gonzalez deal, Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter) says not to count on it, as it would take a monster deal to pry him away.
For months now, we've been hearing rumors of a Gonzalez-to-Boston trade. Earlier this week it was reported that the Mariners and Orioles have interest, while one source close to the player told Jorge Arangure that he believes he will be dealt to the Red Sox rather soon.
Do you believe that the Padres are intent on keeping Gonzalez or are they merely trying to see how high the bidding can get for the star first baseman?
Red Sox, Rangers Considering Mike Lowell Trade
SATURDAY, 11:59am: Lowell is flying to Texas today to meet with the Rangers' front office and medical staff, and to take a physical according to ESPN's Jayson Stark. Lowell saw a hand specialist in Arizona earlier this week.
FRIDAY, 3:30pm: The Rangers will have their medical staff look at Lowell this weekend, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. We should know by the end of the weekend if the trade is going to go through.
TUESDAY, 1:22pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the deal has a better than 50-50 chance of going through, though it's still not a lock.
8:40am: Peter Gammons tweets that Lowell may require thumb surgery.
MONDAY, 12:03am: According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, the Rangers will take a look at Lowell's thumb in-person at some point this week. Meanwhile, Boston is looking into the condition of Max Ramirez's wrists, which gave him problems in 2009.
Olney On Gonzalez, LaRoche, Holliday
ESPN.com's Buster Olney asked an "independent evaluator" to guess what the Red Sox would have to give up to obtain Adrian Gonzalez. Olney's source says the Padres need to acquire Ryan Westmoreland and Casey Kelly, plus other highly-touted prospects. Gonzalez is under control for two more years at $10.25MM. He'd probably be worth $40MM-plus over two years on the open market, so the Padres have some serious bargaining power. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- The A's are interested in Adrian Beltre, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."
- Some teams bristle at the idea of paying eight figures for Beltre.
- Some teams have been put off by Adam LaRoche's asking price.
- The Orioles checked out of the Matt Holliday derby when they learned that he's asking for considerably more than $75MM.
Boston Offered Holliday Five Years
Before they signed John Lackey, the Red Sox offered Matt Holliday a five-year deal worth $82.5MM, according to Peter Gammons (via Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney heard the same thing and adds, not surprisingly, that the Red Sox are no longer suitors for Holliday. That's comparable to the amount of money the Cardinals are willing to guarantee the left fielder, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Heyman On Bay, Molina, M’s, Dodgers
The Mariners are "not a serious player" for Jason Bay, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Braves and Giants don't appear to be engaged with Bay and the Angels aren't focused on him now, so the Mets are the lone known suitor for the left fielder. They're keeping in touch with Scott Boras, who represents Matt Holliday, but they may be willing to offer Bay a deal in the five-year $75MM range. They're hoping to hear back from him today.
Ideally, the Mets would like to sign Bay and Bengie Molina, who still wants a three-year deal worth about $20MM, or roughly twice as much as the team is presently willing to commit. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- The Angels have more interest in Javier Vazquez than Derek Lowe, according to one source.
- The Mariners are interested in locking up Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez.
- The Red Sox would like to acquire Adrian Gonzalez. If they can't pull a trade for Gonzalez off, they would like to sign Adrian Beltre. However, that could put them over the luxury tax.
- The Dodgers are interested in Ronnie Belliard and Felipe Lopez.
Padres Notes: Denorfia, Gonzalez, Payroll
The San Diego Padres have signed Chris Denorfia to a minor league contract, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. Denorfia, who will receive an invite to Spring Training, has posted respectable career numbers in the majors (.279/.356/.380), albeit in only 237 plate appearances. The 29-year-old outfielder spent the last two years with the Oakland A's organization.
Meanwhile, Brock also shares some information from Padres CEO Jeff Moorad regarding Adrian Gonzalez. Moorad says that "there's nothing active" or currently "on the table" involving the first baseman. The Red Sox have been linked to Gonzalez most frequently in trade rumors, but Moorad doesn't believe GMs Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein have had any conversations since the Winter Meetings. Still, Moorad concedes the Padres would "be silly not to listen" on any Gonzalez offer that would "dramatically improve" the club. The catch there, of course, is that even a strong haul of prospects probably has no chance of dramatically improving the Padres for at least a year or two.
One more note from Moorad: After the Padres slashed payroll by nearly $30MM heading into 2009, the team may have a little more breathing room this winter. Moorad says Hoyer "has money to spend, not a lot, but money to spend." San Diego's 2009 salaries totaled around $43MM, while 2010 could potentially see them up closer to $50MM. This slight flexibility perhaps explains the club's decision to retain Kevin Correia, following rumors that the righty would be non-tendered.
Odds & Ends: Mike Gonzalez, Second Base, Penny
Links for Thursday…
- One official who spoke to MASN's Roch Kubatko called yesterday's Gordon Edes tweet about the Orioles making a run at Adrian Gonzalez "complete fiction."
- ESPN's Keith Law doesn't mind the Orioles' Mike Gonzalez signing, but finds the loss of a decent draft pick to be the "real negative." Law does not expect much from Garrett Atkins.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says there's a surplus of available second basemen this year. He suggests some free agents will have to switch positions to find jobs.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about the "longstanding mutual interest" between the Cardinals and Brad Penny.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe does not think the Red Sox should include Jacoby Ellsbury in a trade for Gonzalez.
- Talking to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said he'd like the team to acquire one more starter to allow Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain to work in relief. Also, Posada expects Johnny Damon to return.
Olney On Holliday, Bay, DeRosa
Hot stove nuggets from ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney doesn't see Jacoby Ellsbury as a great fit for the Padres in a potential Adrian Gonzalez deal, in that Ellsbury will be arbitration-eligible a year from now and is represented by Scott Boras.
- Olney heard the Red Sox would be interested in signing Matt Holliday at less than the current Cardinals offer. Here's the question: what exactly did the Cardinals offer to Holliday in guaranteed money and years? $15-16MM a year for up to eight years is pretty vague. Is it just a five-year offer, as Olney suggested a few days ago?
- Jose Valverde is in a bad place, writes Olney, as there's no clear suitor looking to spend $8-10MM for a closer and give up a draft pick. If Valverde lingers on the market into February he could be a bargain.
- Olney heard that the Mets' "five-year concept" for Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, so much that the true value is similar to Boston's rejected four-year, $60MM offer.
- Righty Edgar Gonzalez might be Japan-bound. He spent this year in the Oakland organization.
- Mark DeRosa's asking price appears to have come down – Olney says it's in the three-year, $18MM range. Still seems too pricey, but it's a step in the right direction.