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Gammons On The Boston Closer

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Peter Gammons, in his blog yesterday morning, mentioned a few options for the Red Sox’s closer vacancy:

"Would Seattle deal J.J. Putz for Manny? Dubious. Scott Boras would like to get Eric Gagne to Boston; problem is, are the medicals real or off the set of General Hospital? Joe Borowski has been calling now that his medicals were declined in Philly."

With Manny and Matsuzaka at the forefront, it’s easy to forget that Boston is also in the market for a closer.  No sleep for Theo.  Perhaps he’ll be speaking to Dave Littlefield in hopes of acquiring Matt Capps or Mike Gonzalez?

Red Sox To Retain Nixon?

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Word from Gordon Edes is that the Red Sox are likely to offer arbitration to right fielder Trot Nixon.  He’ll be 33 next season.  As Edes says, the retention of Nixon seems to indicate a Manny Ramirez trade is likely.

If the Sox do keep Nixon and complete the J.D. Drew signing, Jose Guillen will be pretty much the only decent remaining RF on the market.

Red Sox Sign Okajima

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Many of you have emailed me with the news that the Red Sox have signed a LOOGY, 30 year-old Hideki Okajima from Japan.  It is a two-year deal with an option for 2009.  The Boston Herald says that while he does not throw hard, his curve is nasty.

Looks like he’ll rack up plenty of Ks and will be a good weapon against guys like Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano, Lyle Overbay, Johnny Damon, and Nick Markakis.

Latest On Manny Ramirez

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Found via RotoWorld – Curt Schilling yesterday confirmed that Manny Ramirez "wants out of Boston."  So that’s one roadblock out of the way – at least the does in fact desire a trade.

Meanwhile, Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe has a full update.  He expects that Manny is going to want more money whether via his options exercised or just a contract extension.  Theo Epstein is mum, but Edes says that the Sox have not spoken to the Dodgers on the topic.  Edes mentions that the Padres are interested. 

Murray Chass at the New York Times brings up the Mets, Giants, Padres, Rangers, Phillies, and Orioles as the suitors, naming Baltimore as a good fit.  He says that last year the Orioles tried getting Jon Papelbon in a Manny deal and couldn’t pull it off. 

Finally, from Buster Olney this morning in his blog:

"Heard that the Red Sox are kicking around specific names in their trade talks for Manny Ramirez, and that they feel they are going to get a good deal for Ramirez — if a deal is completed. To reiterate: If the Dodgers decide they want Ramirez, they will almost certainly get him because they have the most to offer."

Manny on the move?

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For real, this time!  Or not.

First off, Buster Olney thinks that Manny could be moved this week.  Maybe for a less-than-perfect package.  The team that keeps coming up is the Giants, but…how?  I can’t imagine the Red Sox would be very interested in the Bay Area chapter of the AARP.

I’ve heard speculation that the Giants rumors persist because the Red Sox want to up the bidding from the Dodgers, but I haven’t seen or heard any details about that deal.  I’d imagine it would include either James Loney or Andre Ethier, as one of those guys would end up on the bench if Manny came to L.A.  (And, of course, the Red Sox would want something of quality in return.)

A Cubs source e-mailed that Chicago has offered Matt Murton, Bob Howry, Sean Gallagher and Donald Veal, and that Felix Pie hasn’t come up.  That sounds like not quite enough, but if the Red Sox trade Manny, then turn around and sign J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo, the need for impact-quality major-league talent (say, Michael Young) is lessened.  The same source indicates that the Mets and Braves are also interested.

Olney says, "you get the sense that the Red Sox are increasingly comfortable with the idea of moving Ramirez even if they aren’t offered a perfect package in return."  If that’s true, it seems that the likelihood of a deal getting done is higher than ever.  If Drew is ready to sign with the Red Sox, teams that want a big bat have very few options, and most of them are expensive.  Manny’s contract has never looked better, and if the Red Sox aren’t asking for the moon, a trade looks very realistic.

By Jeff Sackmann

Tuesday tidbits

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Nothing in the news that is too breathtaking today, but there have been enough things worthy of mention that I thought I’d throw them all into one thread.

Here’s a fun trade possibility: the Red Sox are interested in Chad Cordero (uh, who wouldn’t be?) and may be dangling Wily Mo Pena, whom Jim Bowden is known to…how should I put this?…really like.  Bowden hasn’t acquired a toolsy outfielder for a couple of weeks now, so if the Sox found a way to sweeten the deal, perhaps Trader Jim would take the bait.

The Yankees have been quiet lately, but they may soon make an offer to bring back Ted Lilly.  They have also been linked to Shea Hillenbrand and Rich Aurilia to fill a spot at first base. 

The Rockies signed Jeff Francis to a four-year deal for $13.25M, which takes him through his arbitration years.  He’s still only 25, and if nothing else, he’s proven he can eat innings.  He may still turn into more than that.  Even if he’s no more than a 5th starter, he’ll be worth close to that amount, and the Rockies will probably want to exercise their ~$7M option for his first year of free agency in 2011.

According to the LA Times, who I would link to if they didn’t require registration, Carlos Lee isn’t interested in the west coast, which would rule out the Dodgers, Angels, and Giants.  You gotta admit, it would’ve been pretty funny if El Caballo signed in LA and he and Juan Pierre played side by side for the next five years.  By the end of those deals, Vin Scully would’ve said "double to the left-field gap" more times than he did in his first twenty years of broadcasting.

The Reds sent more than half of Jason LaRue’s salary along with him in yesterday’s trade.  I didn’t think it was a horrible deal for the Royals in the first place (though, admittedly, do they really need a mediocre stopgap catcher to help get them to 70 wins?) but this makes it a better one.  More coverage at Royals Review.  (You didn’t know there was a Royals blog, did you?)

By Jeff Sackmann

Speier and Stanton close to finding new homes

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The big news this morning is that the Angels are close to a four-year deal with Justin Speier, who is very possibly the best reliever on the market this year.  Tim predicted that Speier would get a three-year deal worth $17M–my guess is that the money per year is right, just with that extra year, for a total of $21-$22M or so.

Speier was a possible closer for many teams, so it’s something of a surprise that the team that ponied up for him already has a great closer and a solid setup man in Frankie Rodriguez and Scot Shields.  It’s not cheap, and it’ll certainly be more expensive once Frankie gets deep into his arbitration years, but LA could have the best 1-2-3 bullpen punch in baseball for a couple of years.

The market for relievers wasn’t pretty in the first place; now the best guys out there are, uh, Danys Baez and David Weathers?  The price was already high for Scott Linebrink; it just went up again.

One of the possibilities for Boston (who was presumed to be a suitor for Speier) is Joe Borowski, who sounds more than generically interested in the Red Sox.  And who wouldn’t be?  Short of every fanboy’s dream of Roger Clemens pitching the ninth inning, Borowski could end up closing games in Boston.

Yesterday I said nice things about the Reds signing of Alex Gonzalez.  Today I can’t be so kind to Wayne Krivsky.  Apparently he’s about to sign Mike Stanton to a two-year deal with a vesting option for a third.   Stanton turns 40 in June.  He had a nice run in San Francisco last year, but let’s face it: the guy hasn’t put up a good full season for two years.  Sure, he might be worth more than the $1M he got for last year, but a vesting option for 2009?  I guess that if you’re worried David Weathers won’t come back, there’s only one choice: get older.

By Jeff Sackmann

Two Year Offer For Drew?

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Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News has overheard a few possible offers to free agents.

He says that J.D. Drew is "expected to sign a two-year, $30 million deal with Boston."  It makes sense for the Sox to pay an extra $2MM or so annually to keep the years down on this deal.  Meanwhile, in a separate article, Larry LaRue writes, "Boston has offered J.D. Drew a huge contract – and Lou Piniella’s Cubs have matched it."

Ringolsby also notes that the Giants made a pair of three-year, $30MM offers:  one to Juan Pierre and one to Gary Matthews Jr.  The idea is that whoever says yes first gets the deal.  What if both say yes?  I don’t know how that works.  As McCovey Chronicles points out, Pierre doesn’t make a whole lot of sense on a team that already has Randy Winn.

Did you know that according to Bill James, Pierre has a 29% chance at reaching 3,000 hits?  If this causes players like Pierre to be considered for the Hall, I think we need to change the 3,000 hit standard.  Same goes for 500 HRs.

In addition, Brian Sabean is already talking to the agents for Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee.  Word from this same article is that the Giants may bid for Kei Igawa and haven’t had significant talks with Ray Durham yet.

J.D. Drew Set To Sign With Red Sox?

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Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote a blurb this morning in the notes of his column:

"Multiple sources say they are set to sign free-agent outfielder J.D. Drew, the Phillies’ old amigo, for a 4-year, $48 million deal."

Not sure what to make of that one.  I could see such an offer going out, but I expect Drew to relax and wait at least a few weeks before signing.  Maybe let one of the other big bats get signed first.

Ken Rosenthal and his sources see the Red Sox, Cubs, and Astros as the main suitors.  And while it’s just speculation right now, could the Jays get involved?  The Cubs are committed to Jacque Jones in right field, so perhaps Drew would take his brittle body to center.  The Red Sox would have to do something with Coco Crisp or Wily Mo Pena to make it fit.

Drew will be 31 next season; can Scott Boras squeeze any more than four years out of anyone?  It seems unlikely.  Perhaps, though, a team would pay extra to keep the commitment smaller.

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