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The Red Sox have extended six more non-roster spring training invitations. Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe compiled the list:
Infielders Angel Chavez, Nick Green and Ivan Ochoa; outfielder Chip Ambres; right-hander pitcher Fernando Cabrera; and catcher Carlos Maldonado.
By Tim Dierkes | at
11:26pm: According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have set a Saturday deadline for their offer to Varitek. Silverman does not expect the Sox to sweeten their offer. He adds that Varitek "is believed to have instructed his agent not to discuss monetary terms with any other teams during the entire free agent process." For their part, the Red Sox will wait on Varitek before pursuing a trade for a catcher.
5:55pm: Rob Neyer of ESPN.com believes the Red Sox will get what they want no matter what: A cheap Varitek or no Varitek at all.
12:24pm: Tony Massarotti confirms Bradford’s numbers on Boston’s offer. The incentives are based on awards rather than health or playing time. Massarotti suggests Varitek could prefer to eliminate the ’10 option.
9:26am: Yesterday, WEEI’s Rob Bradford wrote that the Red Sox made this offer to Jason Varitek: $5MM for ’09, with a $5MM club/$3MM player option for ’10. The offer has a deadline attached.
The Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman writes today that the one-year plus an option offer to Varitek is worth between $3-5MM. He believes the Red Sox are "unwilling to wait much longer" and unwilling to budge much.
Jon Heyman wrote on Thursday:
It’s still a mystery to many why Varitek didn’t take arbitration. And even Red Sox owner John Henry asked Varitek in their well-publicized meeting a week ago why he didn’t take the arbitration offer. The reason is that Varitek didn’t believe that accepting arbitration would guarantee him a spot on the team.
Buster Olney called this notion "laughable" in today’s blog, labeling it as a Scott Boras talking point to cover for a poor decision. Peter Gammons agrees.
By Alex Walsh | at
Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox have made an offer to Jason Varitek.
Varitek would be paid $5MM for 2009. The offer also includes a team option for 2010 at $5MM, as well as a player option for $3MM. The deal includes a deadline, but that date is not known by Bradford.
By Steve Adams | at
Daniel Barbarisi weighs in on the Red Sox, saying that following whatever their solution to the hole at catcher is (Barbarisi figures it to be Jason Varitek), they should call it quits for the offseason.
Barbarisi notes that one potential bargain could be Orlando Cabrera, but points out that Cabrera’s projections for 2009 don’t figure to be any better than Jed Lowrie’s.
He also points out that while Ben Sheets is the exact type of low-risk/high-reward player the Red Sox like to gamble on, they’ve signed enough of those already this offseason.
What does everyone else think? Do the Red Sox need another piece?
By Nat Boyle | at
Stephen Strasburg and Alex Meyer were interviewed by Eric SanInocencio on his live radio talk show, Baseball Digest Daily Live. Head over there and click the play button.
For those unfamiliar with Strasburg, he is a power-righty from San Diego State and the odds on favorite to go first overall in next years draft. He was the only collegiate player to play in the Beijing Olympic games where he allowed only 1 hit and struck out 11 in his first 7 innings against professional hitters. He describes himself as a fastball-slider pitcher with an added sinker. He is working on a changeup and is a big fan of Josh Beckett’s approach to hitters.
On the show, Strasburg discusses the upcoming draft. While the Washington Nationals are expected to pick him first overall, he isn’t concerned with being the first player off the board. His head coach, Tony Gwynn, has fed him advice on how to handle the pressure of being a top draft pick during the season. Stras seems to have a very level head and gives all the right answers.
Right handed pitcher Alex Meyer, ranked the #5 prospect in all of high school baseball by Baseball America, was drafted by the Red Sox last year but had his mind set on going to the University of Kentucky. On the show, he discussed his experience with the Sox as they tried to sign him.
Meyer heard first from his advisors that he had been selected. Three weeks before the signing deadline, Theo Epstein and others flew out to talk to Meyer. On signing deadline day, Sox Assistant GM Jed Hoyer and Vice President of Player Personnel Ben Cherington showed up unannounced on his front porch. Hoping to sit down and convince him to sign with the team, they were turned away by Meyer and his dad. They returned twenty minutes later for another attempt only to be told that Meyer wanted to go to Kentucky.
By Nat Boyle | at
Some quick notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
By DJ Blatter | at
Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has reported that Sean Casey has signed on with the MLB Network, making his retirement official.
Casey, 34, hit .322/.381/.392 in 218 plate appearances for the Red Sox in 2008. Casey finishes his career with a .302 lifetime batting average.
By DJ Blatter | at
According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have made a formal proposal to Jason Varitek that could satisfy both sides.
Though the exact terms of the offer are unclear, Massarotti reports that a baseball source said that the offer could include a second year for the 36-year-old catcher. Varitek rejected the Red Sox arbitration offer in December that could have been worth $10-12MM in 2009.
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to spring training in less than three weeks, it would be ideal for both sides to reach an agreement sooner rather than later.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Links for Saturday morning…
By Tim Dierkes | at
Links for Friday…
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