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Red Sox Sign Mark Kotsay

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According to Sean McAdam and Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox reached an agreement with outfielder Mark Kotsay on a one-year deal worth $1.5MM plus incentives.  Kotsay will back up Kevin Youkilis at first base and complement Rocco Baldelli as an extra outfielder.

Kotsay was one of few viable options at center field among free agents this year, but he still could not find a regular job.

Braves, Orioles Eyeing Kenshin Kawakami

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11:14pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the Braves were aggressive on Kawakami even before John Smoltz left, so the Japanese pitcher is in a good position.  Brown’s list of Kawakami suitors includes some new clubs.  He names the Braves, Cardinals, Red Sox, Twins, Pirates, Orioles, and possibly Yankees.

A Nikkan Sports article about Kawakami (in Japanese) has been making the rounds lately.  I asked Patrick Newman about it; apparently it says Kawakami has advanced to final negotiations with the Braves.  My guess is that this report jumped the gun.

8:34pm: Steve Melewski of MASN reports that the Orioles are still in the hunt for Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.

"The O’s remain in the mix, no question," a source told MASN. "They’ve showed a strong pursuit of Kawakami."  Baltimore has already signed another Japanese import, Koji Uehara, but are looking for more starting pitching depth.  Kawakami, 34, has a career record of 106-62 and a 3.17 ERA in Japan.  The O’s extended an offer to him at the end of December, but he’s obviously keeping his options open.  The Braves, Twins and Cardinals are also believed to have interest.

Red Sox Still Working With Jason Varitek

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According to Ian Browne of MLB.com, the Red Sox are still pursuing free agent catcher Jason Varitek.

"There’s still some unfinished business," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said Thursday. "Jason is still out there. As I said at the beginning of the offseason, he’s been a really important guy here to this organization and by no means have we shut the door on him."  Varitek hit .220 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI last season and made $10.4MM.  He’s definitely in line for a pay cut.

Red Sox Agree To Terms With Baldelli, Smoltz

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7:00pm: Smoltz signed the offer sheet from the Red Sox, says Buster Olney.  Olney’s story has contract details as well.   There’s also an interesting quote from Theo Epstein:

"I think you’ll see us now turn to players who we can take chances on, players who represent potential impact players.  We still have some things going on."

2:31pm: Gordon Edes provides details on the Braves’ offer to Smoltz:

The Braves would have paid Smoltz incrementally based on his health up to a maximum of $5 million if he remained on the major league roster for 60 days, and the guarantee was for no more than $3 million. The offer also included another $5 million in performance bonuses and $2 million in additional incentives. So Smoltz could have earned up to $12 million by staying healthy and pitching extremely well.

1:55pm: David O’Brien says the Braves would not exceed $3MM guaranteed for Smoltz.  Braves CEO Terry McGuirk is "shocked and surprised" by his decision.  Buster Olney says Smoltz is set to sign Boston’s offer sheet and was perturbed by McGuirk’s comments.  In a statement, Smoltz said there were "large discrepancies" between the offers.

11:39am: Chad Finn of the Boston Globe sums up the reports: the Red Sox announced an agreement with Rocco Baldelli on a one-year deal and the AP says their one-year deal with John Smoltz will be finalized today.  Both players are pretty much luxuries for the Sox, but they had money to burn.  I never would’ve predicted Smoltz and Trevor Hoffman would be wearing new uniforms in 2009.

Baldelli’s deal has a $500K base with $1.75MM in roster bonuses and $5.25MM in performance bonuses.  The Phillies, Reds, Pirates, and Orioles were in on him.  Smoltz gets $5MM guaranteed with another possible $5MM in bonuses.

WEEI’s Alex Speier looks at Boston’s successful history of buying low, and the station also notes that Brad Penny’s physical is scheduled for today.

John Smoltz To Sign With Red Sox

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10:28pm: Buster Olney agrees Smoltz is on the verge of a deal with the Red Sox.  Olney wonders if Boston’s rotation surplus will allow them to trade a young starter.  Ken Rosenthal also confirms it, and says the Braves were not willing to guarantee significant dollars.

9:58pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says Smoltz will call the Braves tomorrow morning to tell them he will sign with Boston.  The incentives in the deal are said to be "very attainable."  Does this push Tim Wakefield to the bullpen during the summer?  It’s a good problem to have.

9:20pm: In addition to Rocco Baldelli, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox may be close to signing John Smoltz.

As of last night, sources indicated that Smoltz was leaning toward Boston’s offer which was said to be somewhere in the vicinity of $5.5 million guaranteed with the opportunity to earn a few million in incentives which could hike the salary up to $10 million. The Sox and Smoltz have been talking since before the Winter Meetings. The Sox do not anticipate that Smoltz will be ready until later in May, but one of the incentives being discussed would be a roster bonus if he’s with the team by June 1.

Smoltz will be 42 in May and made $14MM with the Braves last season.  It would be quite a surprise to see him leave the Braves after all these years.

Red Sox Close To Signing Rocco Baldelli

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9:25pm Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has sources close to the talks that say Baldelli "appears to be inching closer" to signing with the Red Sox.  Were the Orioles one of the suitors?

8:28pm Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox are close to signing Rocco Baldelli, with an announcement expected Thursday night.

The Boston Red Sox were close to signing free-agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli on Wednesday night. It is expected to be announced at the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner, where Baldelli will be honored.

The Boston Baseball Writers Dinner is scheduled for Thursday evening. Baldelli will be in attendance to receive the Tony Conigliaro award.

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

Gammons On Varitek, Teixeira

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7:21pm Here is a link to the actual radio clip.

6:01pm Chad Finn of the Boston Globe recaps Peter Gammons’ appearance today on WEEI.

  • Gammons believes the Red Sox would sign Jason Varitek if he offered his services for $2MM. Gammons still believes the Red Sox would prefer to take the draft picks and trade for a different catcher.
  • Gammons says the player’s association was "strongly advising" agents to turn down arbitration offers, but that in the end it cost players like Varitek a lot of money.
  • Gammons says a lot of players could be looking for jobs in the spring, noting that AJ Burnett’s agents did a great job considering the Yankees wanted Derek Lowe. As a result, Lowe (a Boras client) is now without a job.
  • Gammons called Mark Teixeira Scott Boras’ "ultimate client" and that Teixeira is "very well-programmed."
  • He notes that there was a lot of "testiness" between Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez in Texas and Gammons wonders how Teixeira will handle the high expectations that come with playing in New York.

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

Mark Teixeira Leftovers

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More Mark Teixeira info…

  • Tony Massarotti chronicles the Red Sox-Yankees angle to the Teixeira negotiations from start to finish.
  • Lisa Olson says the Yankees lured Tex with a montage backed by his beloved band Twisted Sister (and also $180 million).
  • Teixeira says the botched negotiations with the Red Sox in ’98 had nothing to do with his decision.
  • Jack Curry got some comments from Red Sox owner John Henry on the situation.
  • Yankees president Randy Levine accused Brewers owner Mark Attanasio of "sour grapes."
  • Ken Davidoff banters with Hal Steinbrenner about the Yankees’ approach.
  • Gordon Edes says the Red Sox put together an offer with vesting options that would’ve reached ten years and $212MM; Scott Boras made a similar pitch to the Angels.  Boras wanted either nine years or $23MM per from the Sox; he told them the Nationals did commit to a ninth year.  That was when John Henry emailed the media.  As for the Angels, Arte Moreno believes no player is worth more than $160MM.
  • Joel Sherman says the Angels were Teixeira’s first choice.

Odds and Ends: Saito, Teixeira, LaRoche

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More Tuesday links…

  • Over at RotoAuthority, David Chase examines more of the optimistic Spring Training reports of ’08.  Particularly interesting: did pitchers follow up on their intention to use a new pitch?
  • The Marlins’ Scott Proctor signing is official.  Also, Chan Ho Park with the Phillies.
  • Carl Pohlad’s three sons will take over for their father.
  • McCovey Chronicles trade idea: Randy Winn for Xavier Nady.
  • Add Randy Choate to the minor league deals for the Rays.
  • Economist J.C. Bradbury says "the economic downturn cannot explain the magnitude of Pat Burrell’s discount."  He believes teams are exaggerating the recession effect.
  • Keith Law says the risk in giving Milton Bradley a three-year deal "seems excessive" but notes that Bradley is an excellent hitter and above-average defender.
  • Patrick Newman learned that Takashi Saito received almost ten offers last month, including proposals from the Cardinals and Red Sox.  Newman also has new reports of various minor league-level Japanese players who want to join MLB organizations.
  • Tony Massarotti has all kinds of questions about Boston’s failure to sign Mark Teixeira.  Craig Calcaterra offers analysis on the team’s Boras relationship.  Check out stuff from today’s Yankees press conference here and here.
  • Sox Machine on how Jim Thome staying healthy messed up Ken Williams’ plans.
  • Dejan Kovacevic says Adam LaRoche would like to stay in Pittsburgh past ’09, but the team is not considering an extension.

Cafardo’s Latest: Quota, Saito, Mulder

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The column is from Sunday, but we missed a lot of good stuff from Nick Cafardo’s latest.

  • Finally an answer!  Cafardo learned that teams can sign as many as nine Type A or B free agents this year.  So to all those who emailed: yes, the Yankees can technically sign Manny Ramirez.  I tried to decipher the quota section of the Basic Agreement in October, but didn’t come up with nine.
  • At some point this winter, the Red Sox made an offer to Takashi Saito.
  • Cafardo says Boston does not have interest in Michael Young.
  • The Brewers and A’s "are big on" Mark Mulder.  The Red Sox will also watch him throw this month.
  • Luis Gonzalez is likely to sign somewhere as a fourth outfielder.
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