Jason Bay Rumors: Saturday
9:02pm: Urbon tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that nothing will be decided this weekend (via Twitter). Earlier today, Jon Heyman tweeted that he believes the Mets would be willing to give Bay a five-year deal if neccessary.
4:46pm: A major league source told WEEI.com that one club has "extended past" a five-year deal for Jason Bay – which could mean a five-year deal or a four-year deal with an option. Meanwhile, Ian Browne of MLB.com says that it's "starting to appear unlikely" that Bay will remain with Boston.
2:55pm: Bay has rejected Boston's latest proposal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Bay's agent Joe Urbon told Rosenthal there are "other offers on the table that are of greater interest" to his client.
The last known offer from the BoSox was a four-year pact worth $60MM. It has been said that Bay is seeking the security of a five-year contract.
10:14am: A team source indicated to The NY Post's Bart Hubbuch that the Mets' offer to free agent Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, starting out with a $10MM salary in the first year before ballooning to $20MM in the final year. Hubbuch notes that this is common practice for the Mets under Omar Minaya, citing Carlos Beltran's similarly structured deal.
Yesterday we learned that Bay's agent countered Boston's original four year, $60MM offer by asking for six years at $16-18MM annually. The general belief is that a fifth year will land the free agent.
Red Sox Acquire Boof Bonser
SUNDAY, 1:16pm: Bonser's deal is non-guaranteed and worth $650K, with a $25K bonus for either 20 starts or 45 appearances, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (via Twitter).
SATURDAY, 9:26pm: The Twins acquired righty Chris Province from the Red Sox for Bonser, according to a press release. It should also be noted that the Sox signed Bonser for 2010.
THURSDAY, 8:53am: The Twins confirmed the move in a press release. They'll receive a player to be named later or cash for Bonser. It'll be an A or AA player, reports Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
8:28am: The Red Sox acquired pitcher Boof Bonser, according to the pitcher's agency Reynolds Sports Management. Bonser was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for Carl Pavano. The 28-year-old had labrum and rotator cuff surgery in February. Bonser sports a 5.12 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 over 391.6 career innings spanning three seasons.
Gammons On Bay, Beltre, Red Sox
Peter Gammons' departure from ESPN has become a story in itself during this busy off-season, and Gammons' media rounds continued today as a guest on the WEEI Sports Radio Network's Big Show. A full transcript is available here, but here are some of the hot stove items that Gammons had to share….
- Gammons said that Jason Bay "does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple," in spite of the fact that the Giants would be willing to offer Bay the five-year contract that he is apparently seeking.
- The Angels won't be players in the Bay sweepstakes, as Gammons predicted they will instead spend their money to re-sign John Lackey.
- Gammons thinks the Mariners might still make an offer to retain Adrian Beltre, though such a move might create some issues with the newly-signed Chone Figgins, who came to Seattle under the impression that he would be the new third baseman. Gammons reported that Beltre "hates" Safeco Field.
- Given Roy Halladay's injury history, Gammons said "it would be a disaster" for Boston to trade Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz for Halladay and sign the Toronto ace to a long-term contract.
- If the Red Sox don't end up with either Bay or Matt Holliday, Gammons opined that Boston could pursue a defense-first strategy for a season by signing Mike Cameron and Xavier Nady. Or, Boston could just save their money now and stand pat until mid-season before making any trades.
- Even if the Red Sox add another big-money starter, the team would like to keep Josh Beckett because of the leadership he provides to the younger pitchers.
- Speaking of clubhouse leadership, Gammons said that Marco Scutaro's ability to mentor Jose Iglesias was a factor in Boston signing the former Blue Jays shortstop. Another reason was that Scutaro had a clean bill of health, unlike Mark DeRosa, who Gammons said the Red Sox were "a little bit cautious" on signing due to his wrist problems last season.
Odds & Ends: Boyer, Chapman, Non-Tenders, Cubs
Links for Friday…
- The D'Backs agreed to a one-year deal with arbitration-eligible righty Blaine Boyer, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. analyzes Aroldis Chapman's upcoming bullpen session – does it represent a loss of leverage? Arangure Jr. notes that Chapman received one offer so far – $15.5MM – from the Red Sox back when he was represented by Edwin Mejia.
- SI's Jon Heyman names his winners and losers of the Winter Meetings.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore expects a bigger non-tender group than years past, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald expects the Cubs to tender contracts to Mike Fontenot, Koyie Hill, Sean Marshall, Jeff Baker, and Angel Guzman, but not lefty Neal Cotts. Cotts is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and the Cubs could re-sign him to a minor league deal.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post criticizes the New York Times for letting his good friend Jack Curry go.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says the Cubs acquired righty Arismendy Mota from the Nationals for cash considerations. Mota was taken by the Nats from the White Sox with the first pick of the Triple A phase of the Rule 5 draft yesterday.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick believes that while the free agent dollars are flowing now, "the euphoria will fade after the New Year."
- The Nationals officially announced their two-year deal for Ivan Rodriguez today.
Red Sox Will Tender Contract To Kotchman
On July 22nd, the Red Sox made a surprising acquisition in first baseman Adam LaRoche. Odder still, they shipped LaRoche to the Braves eleven days later for Casey Kotchman. Perhaps the Sox simply felt two potential seasons of Kotchman had more value than one potential supplemental pick gained if they offered arbitration to LaRoche and he signed elsewhere.
We learned today that the Red Sox will not cut the arbitration-eligible Kotchman loose on Saturday, as WEEI's Alex Speier says they fully intend to tender him a contract. Kotchman probably won't sign for much more than $3MM for 2010. The Sox seem intent on moving Mike Lowell, so Kotchman would be the default starter at first base (with Kevin Youkilis moving to third) unless Adrian Beltre or another corner infielder is acquired.
Speier relays a suggestion from Red Sox GM Theo Epstein that the Red Sox have one non-tender candidate for Saturday. Speier believes it to be outfielder Brian Anderson, who made our list. Other outfielders who, in our estimation, might be non-tendered tomorrow: Jack Cust, Jonny Gomes, Gabe Gross, Ryan Langerhans, Jeremy Reed, and Cory Sullivan.
Jason Bay Rumors: Friday
As you know, the Mets topped Boston's Jason Bay bid by $5MM by offering four years and $65MM yesterday. John Tomase of the Boston Herald provides some insight into Bay's asking price: he says Bay's agent countered the Boston offer with six years at $16-18MM annually. So, between $96-108MM. It's been speculated by one official that the team offering Bay five years will get him.
Odds & Ends: Beltre, Lyon, Nats, Rangers
Some more links for your Thursday night…
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox believe Adrian Beltre to be "one of the most game-changing defenders in the majors."
- Two GMs tell Tom Verducci of SI.com that they were shocked to see the Astros commit $15MM to Brandon Lyon.
- Verducci reports that the Yankees called the Tigers about Curtis Granderson before the World Series began.
- The Nats still plan on adding multiple veteran starters, according to Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post.
- Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers have to be "extremely selective with multi-year deals, stock a good farm system, fill in with low-risk, high-reward short-timers and churn regularly." So far, Sherrington likes Jon Daniels' strategy.
- MLB.com's Ian Browne expects Mike Lowell to be a positive presence in the Texas clubhouse.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti tells MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that he's "not close" on any deals.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that there's a chance Phil Coke starts in Detroit.
- The D'Backs don't appear to have much money to spend, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Marlins president Larry Beinfest tells MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that "there is still some stuff simmering." The club hopes to trade Dan Uggla, according to Frisaro.
- Orioles starter Brian Matusz told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he grew up watching Kevin Millwood pitch for the Braves. Now, the two will be teammates.
- Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports that the Dodgers turned down a Japanese club that wanted to buy Eric Stults' contract.
- Brian Cashman told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that Juan Miranda could potentially DH for the Yanks next year.
Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday
7:36pm: A source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets offered Bay more than $60MM, but less than $65MM.
5:57pm: The Mets confirmed that they made Bay and Bengie Molina offers, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
3:27pm: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets offered Bay four years and about $65MM. He feels "they'd probably have to bump it to five years to get him." Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the offer was in the four-year, $60MM range. Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News agrees with Heyman's figure.
12:57pm: Newsday's David Lennon tweets that the Mets' first two free agent offers are going out to Bay and Bengie Molina.
5:18am: Going into the fourth day of the Winter Meetings, the Angels, Mariners, Red Sox, and maybe even the Mets are suitors for free agent outfielder Jason Bay, writes Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald. One source indicated that Boston was in a "holding pattern" until the Bay situation was resolved, however they could turn to Matt Holliday, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes that if anyone offers Bay a five year contract, that would likely seal the deal. However, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that there are "concerns within the Boston organization about whether Jason Bay would hold up physically through a multi-year deal." For what it's worth, Bay has only been on the DL twice in his career, the last time coming way back in 2004.
Meanwhile, Kevin Baxter of The LA Times says that Angels' manager Mike Scioscia would prefer to re-sign John Lackey instead of importing Bay, noting that they have to be as balanced as possible.
Rays Acquire Rafael Soriano
7:18pm: Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times says it's a "done deal." It'll be announced tomorrow.
6:29pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the deal hasn't been finalized yet. The doctors didn't look at all the reports today, but it should go through tomorrow.
4:38pm: MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the medical reports have been reviewed and the Rafael Soriano–Jesse Chavez swap has been finalized.
11:00am: Rosenthal and Morosi say the Rays will sign Soriano for one year and $7MM or slightly more; the deal will be official after medical records are exchanged. They say Soriano's contract will be non-guaranteed.
Multiple Teams Interested In Darren Oliver
THURSDAY, 2:15pm: Evan Grant tweets that the Rangers met for a second time with Oliver's agents today, while the Red Sox and Angels are also still in.
WEDNESDAY, 2:14pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Angels and Rangers have been the most aggressive on Oliver.
TUESDAY, 5:51pm: Darren Oliver is drawing interest from multiple teams, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Along with the Mariners and his old team, the Angels, the Red Sox, Rays, Rangers and Mets are interested. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers are expected to meet with Oliver's agents sometime tonight.
Oliver wasn't offered arbitration, so he won't cost a draft pick.