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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.

Much Ado About Manny

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Buster Olney refers to Manny Ramirez’s commitment thusly:

"Three years and $42 million because in the end, Ramirez, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract, will probably want a year added to the end of his current deal to make this happen. And the Red Sox will probably eat some of his salary — but not nearly as much as would have been required to make a trade happen even two months ago."

A host of teams would not balk at that relatively short-term commitment.  And you can be damn sure Manny would far exceed 3/42 on the open market.  What’s it gonna take?

Olney mentions Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman from the Mets.  I think the Mets would jump on that one.  Their NL East rival, the Phillies, will take a pass apparently.

Buster also threw out the Cubs and Astros as possibilities.  The Cubs have promising young players like Donald Veal, Felix Pie, Carlos Marmol, and Sean Gallagher to offer.  The Astros might offer players such as Jason Hirsh, Brad Lidge, Chris Burke, Luke Scott, or Willy Taveras.  Certainly seems like Houston could offer a better package.

I doubt they’re interested, but could you imagine Manny on the White Sox?   

McAdam: Red Sox Matsuzaka Rumor Probably Accurate

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Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal spoke to several baseball sources, and learned that Buster Olney’s report of a $38-45MM Red Sox bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka was "probably accurate."  Not something Yankee fans wanted to hear.

Newsday’s Ken Davidoff spoke to sources with connections to both New York clubs who indicated that neither team expects to win the bid.

 

Abraham On Matsuzaka: “Calm Down”

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Peter Abraham, Yankees beat writer for The Journal News, is telling us all to relax a little bit in his blog. He later checked in again after talking to Brian Cashman and says the Yankees haven’t heard anything about Matsuzaka yet.  Other interesting bits from Abraham’s fine blog:

– I quote: "The Japanese papers literally have people standing outside of the team offices waiting to get the news [on Matsuzaka]."

– Andy Pettitte’s wife doesn’t seem to like the idea of a return to the Yanks.

– Carl Pavano and Luke Scott carry guns.

–

Olney: Red Sox Placed Top Matsuzaka Bid?

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A little while ago, Buster Olney reported that the Red Sox may have won the Daisuke Matsuzaka bid with an amount between $38MM and $45MM.

Also, please email me if you can read Taiwanese.  And yes, I might mean Mandarin.  I can be ignorant sometimes.  Don’t take offense.  Anyway, I am tracking down a possible Matsuzaka/Yankees story.

UPDATE: Many kind folks have written in to help translate the above Yahoo article.  The general consensus is that the sources and reporting quality are subpar in this case and the article should be ignored as any sign that the Yankees have won the bid.

UPDATE 2:  Olney updated the above link to include info from a source that the Rangers may have bid $22MM.

Healey: Red Sox Like Heilman, Milledge

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Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball has a new but familiar trade rumor for us: it appears that the Red Sox would like to acquire Aaron Heilman to be their closer next year.  In addition, Theo Epstein and Co. may have their eye on Lastings Milledge.  It could be the makings of a Manny Ramirez trade, if the Mets want to pay Ramirez’s $39MM salary over the next two seasons.

Healey was not able to confirm this info from multiple sources, but has faith in his Boston source here.

Manny’s contract may be slightly less daunting than it looks.  That’s because $8MM of the $31MM is deferred and will be paid out in $1.94MM doses over 2011-2026.  I believe that is the first time MLBTradeRumors has referenced the year 2026.

Red Sox Interested In Barajas?

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I was clearing out my inbox a little bit when I noticed a rumor I haven’t mentioned yet on the site.

According to a WEEI chat with Sean McAdam from early October, the Red Sox are targeting free agent catcher Rod Barajas to back up Jason Varitek.  McAdam mentioned that Barajas’s ability to catch the knuckleball is attractive the Boston.

Barajas will be 31 next year.  He hit .256/.298/.410 this year, showing little plate discipline but decent power for his position.  You can see the other free agent catchers here.

Daisuke Matsuzaka Video

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A little more on Japanese hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Check out this video of him throwing his various pitches.  It’s the best look I’ve had at his breaking ball.  It might be a screwball or something weird, but let’s remember that Jeff Passan has established that it’s not a gyroball.

When we last checked in, there was a 50/50 chance of Matsuzaka being posted by the Lions.  Here’s a rundown on the suitors:

This Boston Herald article informed us that the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets are currently scouting Matsuzaka in Japan.  As of September 11th, his numbers looked like this.  Newsday tells us the Mets will be aggressive in their pursuit.  The Rangers are scouting Matsuzaka as well.  The Orioles expressed interest in August.   

The Dodgers and Mariners are often linked to Matsuzaka, but I haven’t seen anything lately on those clubs.

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