Red Sox Catching: Bard, Montero, Kottaras
Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe has a wrap-up of the Red Sox’ catching situation heading into the beginning of the 2009 season.
Even after signing Jason Varitek, the Red Sox were rumored to have been continuing their pursuit of a trade for a young catcher. In today’s article, Massarotti writes that at the beginning of Diamondbacks camp, Miguel Montero was informed that "no deals were imminent." Instead, it appears the Red Sox will stick with Josh Bard for now.
However, Massarotti also mentions another interesting in-house option for the Red Sox in George Kottaras. Massarotti summarizes Kottaras’ situation:
Kottaras is out of options and could be a threat to beat out Bard, though the more likely scenario is that the Red Sox are trying to increase Kottaras’ trade value so that they do not simply lose him on waivers.
It’s probably going to be ‘Tek and Bard on Opening Day. We’ll see if the Red Sox end up acquiring, or even trading away, any young catchers in the meantime.
Lester Wants To Stay In Boston
Joe Haggerty of the Boston Metro has a Jon Lester update on his blog, Hacks with Haggs. Lester says he wants to play for the Red Sox for his entire career.
"If they approach me we can work something out to not only be a Red Sox for the next four or five years, but for my whole career."
Lester’s entering his last pre-arbitration season and isn’t scheduled to become a free agent until after 2012. Two of his teammates, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, signed long-term deals with the Sox this offseason. Yesterday, Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal suggested Lester could be the next to receive a multi-year deal.
Ortiz Comments on Teixeira’s Contract and His Own
David Ortiz indicates that he might have missed an opportunity for a Teixeira-like contract in this piece from Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. It is definitely worth reading in its entirety, but here are a few quotes from the Red Sox slugger:
- On Teixeira’s Contract: "He was put in a good situation. Everybody needed a player like him at the time and the market was wide open. He walked into a situation that was perfect for him, and on top of it he was a very good player. Everybody who performs at that level wants to be put in that situation."
- On Signing His Four-Year, $52MM Extension in 2006: "The market wasn’t like it is now. It wasn’t close to what it is now. The year after I signed my deal the market exploded with the big television deal."
- On His Next Contract: "I know it will be hard to get that kind of money a few years from now. I haven’t really sat down and thought about it. All my focus is about doing my thing. You work, try to get better every day for a reason. I’m not planning to go anywhere."
Ortiz is 33 years old and could have hit the free agent market at the age of 31 had he not signed his extension with the Red Sox. The contract includes a team option for 2011. Bradford notes that his $12.5MM annual salary is $1.5MM smaller than that of teammate J.D. Drew.
Heyman On Bay, Papelbon, Manny, Braves
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says he’s had "casual conversations" about a contract extension with Jason Bay. We learned a few days ago that Bay is open to an extension but doesn’t consider it the "end-all, be-all."
- Jonathan Papelbon says he’s a "gambling man," and he prefers to go year-to-year rather than sign long-term. Boston’s offer was far off his expectations, and he wants to set the market for closers. Papelbon is under team control through 2011, and will earn $6.25MM in his first arb year.
- Heyman says there’s "some indication Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is about to become involved in the Manny Ramirez negotiations." Maybe that’ll get things moving.
- Heyman says the Braves will look at Garret Anderson, Jim Edmonds, and Luis Gonzalez, though ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has indicated the Braves aren’t interested in the veteran free agents.
- The Orioles’ acquisition of Felix Pie cost Edmonds a chance to sign with the team.
Odds and Ends: Lester, Arbitration, Beimel
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority hosts a roundtable discussion of the worst fantasy picks of the first three rounds.
- Nationals president Stan Kasten expects "heavy trade talk," given the team’s surplus of first basemen/outfielders. Nick Johnson is the most likely candidate.
- Mark Sweeney may be forced into retirement, according to Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News.
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal wonders if Jon Lester could be the next Red Sox player to get a long-term extension.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball analyzes the salary arbitration class of 2009.
- Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle has Astros GM Ed Wade explain split contracts.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes the Yankees outfielders and Scott Boras clients Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon have been affected by the Stanford financial scandal.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says Joe Beimel turned down a minor league offer from the Rangers about a month ago. Tough time to be a lefty reliever.
Odds and Ends: Pirates, Royals, Gagne
Links for Wednesday…
- Joe Torre plans to retire as a manager after the 2010 season, learned MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
- Braves blog Talking Chop talked to ESPN’s Keith Law about the farm system.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis spoke to one assistant GM who believes teams will cut back in the international market, partially because they can do so without a major backlash from fans. Callis also has the ’09 draft order at that link.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at the $69MM+ teams spent on first-round draft picks last year.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates have anywhere from $41.75-$75.15MM tied up in Nate McLouth, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit, all of whom were signed this winter. In a blog post, Kovacevic notes how the McLouth talks did a 180 when Frank Coonelly stepped in.
- Alex Speier of WEEI talked to Red Sox execs John Henry and Larry Lucchino about the salary cap idea as well as the team’s offseason.
- Aubrey Huff, a free agent after the season, isn’t worried about the future according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.
- Chris Forsberg of the Boston Globe relays quotes from Jonathan Papelbon about the long-term deal that did not materialize this winter.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the idea of releasing Mark Teahen and John Buck to sign Orlando Hudson, which some Royals fans are pushing for.
- Pitcher Kevin Correia turned down better deals to sign with his hometown Padres, according to MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
- Newly signed Brewers reliever Eric Gagne hopes to atone for his 2008 season, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Brian Giles Likes Red Sox, Yankees, Angels
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune talked to Padres outfielder Brian Giles today. At $9MM, Giles is the Padres’ second highest-paid player behind Jake Peavy. He’s a trade candidate this season, though he has full no-trade rights. He carries the baggage of a lawsuit with his former girlfriend as well as an additional $2MM in salary if traded. The Padres exercised his ’09 option on November 7th last year, and I’m guessing they’re already regretting it.
Krasovic learned that Giles’ favored trade destinations would be the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels. The Yankees and Angels have surpluses in the outfield currently, though Giles would love to stay in California. Giles vetoed a trade to Boston last year due to playing time issues and an expectation that Theo Epstein would’ve traded him after the season.
Odds and Ends: Penny, Koskie, Lowell
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- RotoAuthority looks at the pitchers involved in the WBC.
- ESPN’s Keith Law weighs in on the Andy Oliver case.
- Brad Penny talked to Yahoo’s Tim Brown about his last season in L.A. UPDATE: Bowa’s amusing reaction to Penny’s comments.
- Corey Koskie is healthy and hopes to sign somewhere, says La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- Josh Willingham‘s arbitration hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Ryan Zimmerman‘s for Saturday.
- WEEI’s Alex Speier talked to Mike Lowell about Boston’s pursuit of Mark Teixeira.
- The Sports Business talked to former Dodgers GM Fred Claire.
Red Sox Rumors: Lugo, Bay, Varitek, Beckett
The latest on the Red Sox, courtesy of WEEI’s Alex Speier.
- Julio Lugo says he’s in the best shape of his career. The $9MM shortstop won’t be happy if he’s on the bench this year. Speier believes he’ll ask for a trade if he doesn’t win the competition with Jed Lowrie. Lugo was following the Tigers trade rumors earlier this winter.
- Jason Bay remains open to an extension, but admitted "it’s not the end-all, be-all." Bay will be part of the 2009-10 free agent class if the Sox don’t lock him up.
- According to the AP, catcher Jason Varitek spoke of spending the rest of his career with the Red Sox.
- WEEI’s Rob Bradford spoke to Josh Beckett, who hopes to remain in Boston past his current contract. The Red Sox have a $12MM club option for a $2MM buyout for 2010.
- Bradford also reports that the Brad Wilkerson signing is official; he’s in camp on a minor league deal.
Odds And Ends: Griffey, Varitek, Giants
A few links for Saturday morning…
- Russell Branyan wants Ken Griffey Jr. to join him in Seattle according to this AP story found in the Globe and Mail.
- If Griffey ends up in Seattle, Cameron Smith of the Washington Post says it’s nothing but a marketing ploy.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times likes the depth the Bobby Abreu addition gives the Angels.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants could make a trade in Spring Training if teams are looking to dump salary. Brian Sabean says he’s keeping his eye on teams who may need to free up money.
- Alex Speier of WEEI in Boston heard from Jason Varitek about his contract negotiations this offseason. Varitek says he never doubted that he would stay in Boston.
- This doesn’t have to do with rumors, but it’s a good read: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan shares anecdotes from 20 years of Spring Training.