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Looking Beyond Varitek

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According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox.  Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys.  Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available.  It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.

On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox.  He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving.  Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.

Orioles Rumors: Burnett, Markakis, Japan

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3:08pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online gives thoughts on the Orioles and Mark Teixeira and Burnett.  Kubatko believes there’s no chance the O’s offer five years to Burnett, and even four would be a stretch.  He’d have to be willing to take a discount to come to Baltimore.  As for Tex, will he be willing to play for a team that may not be competitive in the first few years of his deal?

8:32am: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun talked to A.J. Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker, who said his client has narrowed his list from twelve to about six teams.  The Orioles remain in the mix after Andy MacPhail had a "nice conversation" with Braunecker on Friday.

It’s speculated that the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Braves are the other five clubs.  In his comments, Braunecker didn’t seem dead set on a five-year deal.

In other Orioles news, Nick Markakis’ agent had "active talks" with MacPhail about a contract extension.  Markakis is entering his three arbitration years.

Finally, Steve Melewski of MASN Online says the O’s have shown interest in four Japanese free agents: Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami, Junichi Tazawa, and catcher Ryoji Aikawa.  Tazawa seems close to signing with the Red Sox.  Uehara might be a more affordable alternative to Burnett.

No Varitek Talks Yet For Red Sox

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TUESDAY, 9:45am: Gammons emailed to explain that the ESPN Rumor Central report was erroneous, and he did not say the Red Sox made a one-year offer to Varitek.

TUESDAY, 8:48am: ESPN’s Peter Gammons sides with Bradford, confirming the Red Sox made a one-year offer to Varitek.  Boras denied it after Bradford’s initial report surfaced.

MONDAY, 12:41pm:  A day of denials.  The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo contacted Scott Boras, who said the Red Sox have not begun negotiations with Varitek.

8:43am: According to Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Red Sox made an initial offer to free agent catcher Jason Varitek.  It’s one year, and the salary does not approach Jorge Posada’s $13.1MM average.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dye, Burrell, Young

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Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

  • Rosenthal says the Braves are interested in A.J. Burnett, but you already knew that.
  • Rosenthal believes Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers "makes sense."
  • The Red Sox apparently have confidence they could trade Mike Lowell if need be, but rival execs believe he’d have to prove his health in spring first.  Lowell has two years and $24MM on his deal. 
  • The White Sox want a young starter and additional players for right fielder Jermaine Dye.  The Mets, Rays, and Phillies are "balking at such a price."  Rosenthal learned that most of the six teams on Dye’s no-trade list are in the northeast.  Interesting that the White Sox are still willing to trade Dye after moving Nick Swisher.
  • The Mets "aren’t enamored" with Javier Vazquez.
  • Rosenthal suggests the Rays will sit back and hope one of the free agent DH-types becomes a bargain for them.
  • SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote on Friday that the "Braves, Dodgers, and Mets are believed to be among teams that have inquired about Rangers starting pitchers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla."  However, Rosenthal says the Braves and Mets are not interested in either pitcher and the Rangers aren’t desperate to move them.
  • Rosenthal has Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Pat Burrell on the Angels’ radar if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, or Manny Ramirez.
  • A rival GM tells Rosenthal Twins outfielder Delmon Young is "very, very much out there."

Red Sox To Sign Tazawa?

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8:41pm: Several Japanese sources report the Red Sox are set to sign Tazawa as early as December 1st, according to Newman.  It seems that Boston did not have the top offer, but Tazawa likes their development plan.

MONDAY, 10:40am: Newman passes along another report that says the Rangers were the fourth team to make an offer to Tazawa, and their offer was the largest.  Jon Daniels won’t confirm or deny it.  Jim Allen recently wrote a scouting report on Tazawa for ESPN.com:

He has good command of his fastball and slurve, but he lacks velocity, stamina and the ability to keep the ball down.  At 22, Tazawa is unlikely to throw much harder than he does now; his fastball barely tops 90 mph when he is rested, and he struggled to hit 88 mph at the end of last season.

SUNDAY, 10:35pm: Newman has more on Boston’s offer to Tazawa, via Sponichi.  Another report from Nikkan Sports says Tazawa has already decided on the Red Sox.

2:01pm: Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker is reporting that Red Sox vice president of international scouting, Craig Shipley, had formal negotiations with Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa, which resulted in a $6MM contract offer. No word yet on whether or not it’s a Major League deal.

Current reports state that both the Red Sox, Braves, and Mariners have offered contracts to the 22-year-old right-hander.

Mark Teixeira Rumors: Sunday

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To recap: Teixeira told Erin Andrews on Thursday that he wants to have it finished before Christmas, according to Mike Scarr of mlb.com. It’s reasonable to anticipate the winter meetings, December 8-11, to be a suitable high profile venue  for Boras to break the news. The Angels are preparing an offer for Mark Teixeira, perhaps with a deadline. If he doesn’t accept it, they may make a move for Jake Peavy. The Yankees are "set to be aggressive" if they only land one of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, or Derek Lowe. The Red Sox are apparently "lusting" for him, but are otherwise hush-hush, a sign that they might offer Teixeira the biggest contract in club history, predicts Tony Masarotti of the Boston Herald.

Teixeira seems to be leaning towards East Coast teams, says Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register. Says Youngman,

"I don’t think it will be with the Angels. If he were going to re-sign in Anaheim, I think it already would have happened. Just a gut feeling. Even the people I talk to in the organization don’t seem optimistic. Teixeira would be ridiculed if he signed with perpetual losers such as the Baltimore Orioles or Washington Nationals, so my guess is he’ll sign with the Boston Red Sox."

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo thinks Teixeira will wind up with the Angels because, while the Angels might struggle to afford him, they simply can’t afford to lose him.

Olney’s Latest: Sabathia, Varitek

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Olney’s latest from his blog:

  • He puts out a one liner: "The Red Sox are preparing, full-steam ahead, to play 2009 without Jason Varitek." This may in part be posturing to counter Boras seeking Posada money.
  • Olney suggests that if the Knicks are making a move for Lebron James, then further incentive would exist for CC Sabathia to accept the Yankees $140MM offer. Take this with a huge grain of salt of course. The two are friends from their days in Cleveland. More realistically, he cuts to the point: if no California teams make a nine-figure offer, "folks involved" say he’ll be in pinstripes.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Saturday

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According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Yankees won’t offer A.J. Burnett a five-year contract.

Ken Davidoff writes that Burnett’s agent, Darek Brauneker, is confident that his client will sign a five-year deal somewhere.

McCarron talked to a source who said that “the Yankees are not ready to go five years.” The source also said that the Red Sox are more interested in Mark Teixeira and Derek Lowe than Burnett.

The Blue Jays are still talking with Burnett, but they haven’t yet offered him a deal.

Heyman’s Latest: Lowe, Teixeira, Guillen

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman recently published several new blog posts.

  • Free agent outfielder Garret Anderson has a new agent: Scott Boras.  Click here for our full list of Boras clients.
  • Rangers starters Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood are drawing interest from the Braves, Dodgers, and Mets.  Padilla is owed $12MM in 2009 with a 2010 option for the same ($1.75MM buyout).  Millwood gets $23MM over the next two seasons and has a limited no-trade clause.
  • Heyman says rather than battle for A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox and Yankees may duke it out for Derek Lowe.  Other suitors for Lowe: the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Mariners and Dodgers.  There he goes naming the Mariners again as a player for a major free agent…interesting.  The Giants are a new one as well, though Heyman says Lowe may prefer to head back east.
  • Heyman agrees with info from Nick Cafardo, that the Red Sox and Tigers have discussed swapping Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis.
  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admitted to interest in C.C. Sabathia.  Colletti said he’s waiting to hear from Scott Boras regarding Manny Ramirez, even though the Dodgers pulled their two-year, $45MM offer.
  • It hasn’t happened yet, but the Angels plan to make a "very serious" offer to Mark Teixeira.  A competing exec guessed eight years, $160MM.  Remember, that’s a non-Angels exec making a guess.  Heyman tosses a new team into the mix for Tex: the Mariners.
  • The Royals are "quietly shopping" Jose Guillen.  Guillen, 33 in May, hit .264/.300/.438 in 633 plate appearances this year while playing below-average defense.  He’s owed $24MM for the 2009-10 seasons.
  • Competing execs tell Heyman the Mets appear open to trading Ramon Castro or Brian Schneider.  The Mets would then presumably sign a free agent catcher.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Friday

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4:14pm: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says that while the Red Sox have reviewed Burnett’s medical records, they’re still in the early stages of negotiations.

2:32pm: Robert MacLeod of The Globe and Mail has more from Ricciardi on the five-year idea:

"I’m not going to commit to a five-year deal.  There’s some things we could do to maybe make it a five-year deal but that would have to be based on a lot of different things."

9:22am: The Blue Jays haven’t made an offer yet to free agent starter A.J. Burnett, and GM J.P. Ricciardi doesn’t expect to win the bidding by offering the most money.  However, the Jays may separate themselves by being willing to offer Burnett the five-year contract he craves. Ricciardi didn’t say he would go that far, but the concept does not scare him.  He’ll wait to make his offer until after other teams submit their bids.

The Toronto Sun’s Mike Rutsey says the Orioles, Braves, Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox have also expressed interest in Burnett.

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