Braves Sign Billy Wagner
11:36am: The Braves officially announced the Wagner signing, tweets MLB.com's Mark Bowman. That implies he passed his physical.
1:28am: The Braves have agreed to sign Billy Wagner, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal is worth $7MM and includes a $6.5MM option for 2011 that vests if Wagner finishes 50 games.
The Red Sox offered the lefty arbitration tonight, so they stand to gain the Braves' first round pick in next year's draft (#20), plus a supplemental rounder. The move is pending a physical, which could be more than a formality in this case. The 38-year-old returned from Tommy John surgery last year to strike out 15 batters per nine innings in 17 appearances with the Mets and Red Sox.
The Elias numbers rank John Lackey, Matt Holliday, Marco Scutaro and Jose Valverde ahead of Wagner, so if the Braves sign one of those players, the Red Sox would get the Braves' 52nd overall selection.
Red Sox Interested In DeRosa, Crosby
We learned yesterday that the Red Sox have expressed interest in infielders Marco Scutaro, Adam Kennedy, and Adam Everett already. Via Twitter, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald adds two more names to the list: Mark DeRosa and Bobby Crosby. Of these five free agent targets, only Scutaro would cost the Red Sox a draft pick.
Despite wrist surgery, DeRosa appears to have a slew of suitors. If he doesn't re-sign, the Cardinals will get a supplemental pick for their loss. The following 12 teams have been linked to DeRosa in reports: the Cardinals, Mets, Braves, Twins, Yankees, Mariners, Nationals, Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, Orioles, and Giants. The Red Sox bring the total to 13.
Crosby has been linked to the Rockies and Rangers as a possible utility infielder candidate.
Red Sox To Offer Arb To Bay, Wagner
8:58 PM CST: The Red Sox just sent a press release officially announcing the arbitration offers.
7:22 PM CST: Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe confirms (via Twitter) that the offers to Bay and Wagner have been made.
6:09 PM CST: Red Sox president Larry Lucchino told The Providence Journal's Dan Barbarisi that the club will be offering arbitration to Type A free agents Billy Wagner and Jason Bay. Lucchino said the offers would be officially sent out by tonight's 11:59 PM deadline, if they hadn't been sent already.
Neither move is a surprise, given that Boston stands to recoup as many as four extra draft picks should both players sign with other teams.
Red Sox Interested In Rich Harden
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports are reporting that Boston is "serious about pursuing" free agent starter Rich Harden. The Canadian right-hander had been rumored to be a target of the Red Sox given — as Rosenthal and Morosi note — the club's recent strategy of signing proven pitchers with health issues to short-term deals in an attempt to find a bargain. Unlike Boston's signings last season (John Smoltz and Brad Penny), Harden has proven that he can pitch well in the American League, which makes him particularly attractive to the BoSox.
Harden is a Type B free agent who was not offered arbitration by his previous team, the Cubs, earlier today. Rosenthal and Morosi were told by a source that Boston has yet to formally offer Harden a contract.
Red Sox Ask Pedroia About Playing Shortstop
3:09pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe learned from a team exec that the Red Sox will exhaust their free agent and trade options before turning to Pedroia at shortstop.
10:13am: The Red Sox asked Dustin Pedroia if he'd be able to play shortstop, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons. Pedroia's thoughts:
"They've put it out there and I've told them I'm all for it. I can do it. I can't wait for Tito [Terry Francona] to call me and ask, 'Can you do it?' I can do it. I really want to do it."
Right now it appears that the Red Sox are just considering the switch for Pedroia. As Gammons notes, shifting Pedroia would create flexibility, allowing the Sox to pass on Marco Scutaro and pursue Orlando Hudson or even Brandon Phillips.
As you know, other offseason considerations for the Red Sox include trading Mike Lowell and acquiring a third baseman, signing Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, and a possible Roy Halladay trade. Gammons downplays the idea of Boston acquiring Doc, saying the chances of them trading Clay Buchholz or Casey Kelly are minimal at best.
Red Sox Interested In Adam Everett, Adam Kennedy
1:53pm: Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox also expressed preliminary interest in infielder Adam Kennedy. Kennedy, 34 in January, hit .289/.348/.410 in 586 plate appearances for the A's while playing mostly second and third base.
12:16pm: The Red Sox called to express preliminary interest in free agent shortstop Adam Everett, according to WEEI's Alex Speier. Everett would be a defensive-minded signing, while the Dustin Pedroia idea would be more offensive-minded. Marco Scutaro is the most prominent free agent choice, while Miguel Tejada's name has come up as well.
Are there any reasonable options for the Red Sox on the trade market? Probably not, unless they can pluck someone from the Angels.
Heyman On Lowell, Tejada, White Sox
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- The Phillies had a "brief talk" with the Red Sox about Mike Lowell, but Heyman finds a free agent signing more likely.
- A competing agent believes Fern Cuza might be able to get a three-year deal for Miguel Tejada, which seems unlikely to me. Heyman says Tejada is drawing interest from the Cardinals, Astros, Giants, Phillies, and Rangers. The Rangers keep getting linked to starting infielders, but they're really only looking for a backup.
- Heyman notes that the White Sox signing Andruw Jones represents a rare Kenny Williams-Scott Boras matchup. He says Boras tried to sell the Sox on bringing back Joe Crede, prior to their Mark Teahen acquisition.
- Kendry Morales apparently advised Aroldis Chapman to switch from API to the Hendricks brothers.
Do Red Sox Prefer Holliday Over Bay?
3:34pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Bay is still a top priority for the Red Sox, who are "trying to build on" their rejected $60MM offer. Cafardo says that offer was over five years, though most have reported it to be over four.
8:30am: How much do you trust the information of "one rival executive?" Such a source makes for the basis of the latest blog post from Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. This exec told the FOX writers that the Red Sox prefer Matt Holliday over Jason Bay, and do not intend to re-sign Bay despite ongoing negotiations.
The writers go on to explain that the Red Sox would stand to gain a draft pick by signing Holliday instead of Bay. They'd lose their #29 pick to the Cardinals by signing Holliday, but would get a pick back from the team that signs Bay and would also receive a supplemental pick. Furthermore, the writers believe Bay will not be signed by a team with a protected first-round pick (such as the Mets).
Odds & Ends: Matsui, Cardinals, Arb Offers
Links for Monday…
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders if Bobby Crosby could be a match for the Rangers as a utility infielder.
- MLB.com's Mychael Urban has an update on free agent lefty Mark Mulder.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball analyzes Tim Lincecum's possible 2010 salary, and predicts the pitcher might submit $16.8MM against the Giants' $8MM figure.
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Hideki Matsui's marketability is not a factor for the Yankees.
- Alex Speier of WEEI examines the chances of Roy Halladay remaining a workhorse over the next several seasons.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch doesn't see geography as a big factor for Matt Holliday. Meanwhile, Bernie Miklasz of the P-D doesn't understand Albert Pujols' reasoning as to why he needs to wait to discuss an extension.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart asks readers to predict the Astros' arbitration decisions for free agents. Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins are tough calls in that it makes sense but we're not sure if the Astros will. We'll have predictions on all Type A/B free agents later today.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explains why he feels only Felipe Lopez will get an arbitration offer from the Brewers.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says the Marlins are leaning against offering arbitration to Type B free agents Kiko Calero and Nick Johnson. Calero might be worth it.
- Jon Weisman of Dodgers Thoughts says the Dodgers' arbitration decisions won't necessarily be influenced by the McCourts' divorce.
- Staying with this theme, FanGraphs' Dave Cameron looks at the factors that should influence a team's arbitration-offer decision.
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports look at the market for Miguel Tejada.
- Morosi suggests ten teams that should talk to the Tigers about Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, and Edwin Jackson.
- Jacob Jackson of Athletics Nation has a detailed offseason plan for the A's.
- Righty Miguel Batista told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he has a few contenders interested in his services.
- Notes from NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman: the Orioles are eyeing pitcher Hisanori Takahashi, and Hideki Okajima would like a contract extension (he's under team control through 2012 as an arbitration-eligible player).
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the fates of Jeff Karstens, Robinzon Diaz, and Justin Thomas will be decided today.
- Elmer Dessens doesn't have a contract with the Mets quite yet, writes Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.
Eight Teams Interested In Takashi Saito
The White Sox, Cubs, Braves, and Mets make up half of the eight teams interested in signing right-hander Takashi Saito, according to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker.
Saito posted a 2.43 ERA in 55.2 IP for the Red Sox last year, in what was maybe his least effective MLB campaign. In 245.1 innings over four seasons in Los Angeles and Boston, Saito's ERA is a minuscule 2.01. Although he turns 40 before Opening Day 2010, Saito's track record should earn him an eighth-inning job, and perhaps even a chance to close.
The last rumor we heard on Saito was that the Red Sox weren't picking up the reliever's $6MM 2010 option, but were still open to bringing him back to Boston. So we can probably add the Sox to the list of teams interested in the veteran righty. Any speculation on who the others might be? Tigers? Phillies? Astros?