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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Jays, Mets, Red Sox, Nats, Yankees

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On this date 32 years ago, commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended Braves owner Ted Turner for one year for tampering. Turner had announced publicly that the Braves would sign free agent-to-be Gary Matthews. Unfortunately, 30 years later, nobody was disciplined when the Angels signed free agent Gary Matthews Jr. to a $50MM contract. In the first two years of the deal, Matthews has been paid $15MM and his play has been worth -$600K (yes, that is negative) according to Fangraphs. With several big free agents still looking for new teams, will any of them be the next Matthews Jr? Only time will tell. In the meantime, let’s see what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • The Eddie Kranepool Society is not worried about Derek Lowe, feeling the deal will get done once the Mets add a fourth option year and sweeten the pot just a tad. They are also putting the Mets front office on notice about the possibility of letting Manny Ramirez slip through their fingers.
  • Mets Geek feels the Mets still need to add one more piece to their revamped bullpen and suggest Wil Ohman or Joe Beimel are better options as a lefty specialist than what is already in-house.
  • The Southpaw takes a look at some young players the Jays should try to target in the trade market, with Chin-Lung Hu at the top of the list.
  • My Baseball Bias is not satisfied with just Mark Teixeira and wants to see the Yankees sign Manny Ramirez.
  • Fire Brand of the American League makes a case for three players to be the Red Sox fourth outfielder, including Rocco Baldelli, Brad Wilkerson and Eric Byrnes.
  • MLB Notebook takes a look at how the Nationals could spend the $20MM that would have gone to Mark Teixeira.
  • River Ave. Blues says this offseason is proving to be a test of just how good Scott Boras can be.
  • Sully Baseball is running a series of posts breaking down each team’s all-time home grown versus all-time acquired teams. Here he looks at the Astros.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Sherman’s Latest: Red Sox, Lowe, Manny

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a new blog post up.

  • The Red Sox would like to trade for a young star player; they’ve already attempted to acquire Mark Teixeira and Hanley Ramirez this offseason.  The Sox seem willing to discuss some very talented young players of their own (Clay Buchholz seems a bit more available).  Sherman speculates on all kinds of names that could make sense for Boston.
  • Derek Lowe is not keen on taking less money and the same salary as Carlos Silva.  He and Scott Boras will take some time to see if someone can beat the Mets’ three-year, $36MM offer.  Ken Rosenthal wrote in November that most executives consider the Silva contract an aberration.
  • Sherman finds many reasons Manny Ramirez could make sense for the Giants.  He notes that Giants special assistant J.T. Snow can give the team the inside scoop on what it was like to be teammates with Manny.
  • The Cubs would’ve liked to send Jason Marquis home to New York (the Mets), but the Mets are addressing their needs one at a time and aren’t looking at the fifth starter role yet.  Sherman says the Rockies have long been fans of Marquis and like his bat.  He could accumulate 80 plate appearances, I suppose.

Lowe Unimpressed By Mets’ Offer

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Derek Lowe was "hardly overwhelmed" by the Mets’ three year $36MM offer, Mike Puma of the New York Post heard from a baseball source. Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe heard from a source of his own that Lowe’s "likely to continue shopping for a more desirable offer."

It’s uncertain who would make such an offer, since Massarotti writes that the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies are not currently interested in Lowe.

As a result, the Mets could end up in what Puma calls a "protracted stare down" with Scott Boras and his client.

Derek Lowe Rumors: Wednesday

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4:07pm: Jack Curry of the New York Times weighs in.  He can see the Mets bumping their offer to $39MM for three years, but agrees that they won’t add a fourth year (despite four-year deals given to inferior pitchers in recent times).

8:43am: MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says a Derek Lowe signing is "feeling inevitable" for the New York National League club.  They’ll have to up their three-year, $36MM offer; Cerrone sees the Mets as unlikely to guarantee a fourth year or reach $15MM per.

According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, Lowe told a friend that the Red Sox never showed serious interest.  Harper thinks the Mets’ limit is three years and $40MM.

The Mets’ competition for Lowe is unclear.  The Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox don’t seem interested.  Still, if Lowe is coming at a discount you have to wonder if the Braves, Indians, Rangers, Brewers, and Cubs will get involved (entirely speculation).

Odds and Ends: Nelson, Quentin, Penny

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Links for Tuesday…

Details On The Bard Signing

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Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe confirms that catcher Josh Bard signed with the Red Sox for $1.7MM.  He says there’s another $800K or so in incentives, though most of the contract is non-guaranteed.  Massarotti adds that the signing "in no way eliminates the chance of Jason Varitek returning to the club in 2009."  We still haven’t heard a clear suitor for Varitek, who’ll cost a draft pick to sign.

Red Sox Attempted To Acquire Hanley Ramirez

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According to Jon Heyman and Tom Verducci of SI.com, "the Red Sox made a play to re-acquire Marlins superstar Hanley Ramirez after losing out to the rival Yankees for star free agent Mark Teixeira."  The Marlins listened, but no agreement was reached and talks have ended.  The Marlins coveted players such as Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz, but they’d need to be bowled over to trade their young shortstop. 

Ramirez, 25, is signed at a discount through the 2014 season.  Juan C. Rodriguez says trading him would make no sense for the Marlins.

Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Pujols, McLane

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Links for Monday…

  • Daniel Cabrera passed his physical for the Nationals.
  • Tony Massarotti writes that the Red Sox had a shot at Mark Teixeira.  The Scott Boras camp was proposing $176MM guaranteed for eight years with vesting options that could’ve brought the total to $220MM over ten years.  Ultimately the Yankees beat Boston’s offer by $10MM, with no options and a full no-trade clause.
  • Viva El Birdos looks at what the Teixeira contract means for Albert Pujols.  Will Albert seek the largest contract in baseball history?  The Cardinals have him through the 2011 season.
  • RotoAuthority looks at the power/speed shortstop options for fantasy baseball leagues.
  • Astros owner Drayton McLane is the second owner to publicly admit he wants a salary cap (Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said it right after the Teixeira signing).  Interesting take on the salary cap by Dan Symborski at Baseball Think Factory.
  • The best of Big League Stew’s Answer Man series.

Red Sox Reach Deals With Bard, Penny

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9:59pm: Ian Browne of MLB.com weighs in on Bard. He discusses the catching situation, and in particular, how the Red Sox will use Bard if free-agent Jason Varitek returns to the franchise.

SI.com points out Penny’s Interleague numbers: 7-11 with a 5.08 ERA in 24 appearances against American League opponents. Penny has spent his entire career in the National League.

8:41pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com spoke with Brad Penny, who confirmed his deal with the Boston Red Sox.

From Bradford:

“There were a lot of teams involved,” said Penny in a phone conversation. “But I wanted to go somewhere where I knew we had a great chance at winning, and Boston is that place.”

Bradford adds that Penny will be in Boston on Jan. 7 to take his physical and will begin his throwing program next week.

Bradford also updates the status of Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who has started exercises on his throwing shoulder, which is earlier than in years past. Bradford’s post states that the injury that plagued Beckett at the end of the 2008 season has subsided. The injury centered around the intercostal muscles near the ribs and not the oblique as previously thought.

7:33pm: Free-agent catcher Josh Bard has reached a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald and Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe are reporting.

The Bard agreement is a nonguaranteed major-league deal worth $1.6MM. According to McAdam, Bard is viewed as a backup, but he could see more time depending upon what Boston decides to do at catcher.

Bard, 31 in March, spent seven games with the Red Sox in 2006 before Boston traded him to the Padres. He hit .202 in 57 games with San Diego in 2008.

McAdam has more on the Brad Penny deal, too. The agreement, a one-year deal with a base salary of $5MM, will be finalized Monday. Incentives and performance bonuses can increase the total deal another $3MM if Penny pitches more than 160 innings, McAdam reports.

Penny, 31 in May, went 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA in 17 starts and two relief appearances in 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-hander played 4.5 seasons for the Dodgers. He played with the Florida Marlins from 2000 until he was traded in 2004.

With the addition of Penny, the Boston rotation now consists of Penny, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester.

The move also allows righty Justin Masterson to remain in a setup role for closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Red Sox Close To One-Year Deal With Penny

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According to Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox are close to signing Brad Penny to a one-year deal.  The two sides are still hammering out the agreement, and Penny would have to pass a physical.  In November, the Dodgers chose Penny’s $2MM buyout over his $9.25MM club option.

Penny, 31 in May, dealt with shoulder and forearm pain all year.  The Red Sox have a sophisticated system for dealing with pitching shoulders, so it’s an interesting match.

Ian Browne of MLB.com expands on Rosenthal’s report. Browne notes that Penny in Boston would reunite him with fellow starter Josh Beckett and third baseman Mike Lowell, both of whom Penny played with as a Florida Marlin. The three were on the 2003 World Series-winning squad.

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