Olney’s Latest: Gonzalez, Lee, Crawford, Jeter
Two days ago we learned that Padres GM Jed Hoyer is willing to listen to trade offers for Adrian Gonzalez (and Heath Bell), unsurprising since the first baseman is reportedly seeking close to $22MM annually when he becomes a free agent next offseason. In today's blog post (Insider req'd), ESPN's Buster Olney lists a few reasons why the Pads are more likely to wait until the trade deadline to move their franchise player…
- Ticket sales. After surprising success in 2010, the team doesn't want to lose the trust of the fans by dealing their best player before the season.
- The Padres have a chance to compete in 2011 with Gonzalez in the middle of their lineup, but without him it'll be close to impossible.
- Other clubs wanting to acquire Gonzalez might be more desperate during the summer, which could result in a better package for San Diego.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe points out that Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod worked for the Red Sox before joining the Padres, so they have strong first-hand knowledge of Boston's prospects.
Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, and Jayson Werth will dominate the headlines when free agency begins at 12:01am ET Sunday morning, but Olney lists ten more interesting free agents, led by Joaquin Benoit, Pedro Feliciano, and Orlando Hudson.
- The Yankees could place their first bid on Lee very soon, perhaps within 72 hours. Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News hears something similar.
- Crawford is in a unique situation because he's an elite player that could have six or more teams bidding for his services. Usually players of that caliber only have three or so teams after them.
- The Yankees operate with the knowledge that no matter how popular the individual player is, the team and its fan base will move on. This of course refers to Derek Jeter.
Red Sox Not Exploring Ortiz Extension
It doesn't look like David Ortiz will get the extension he was looking for. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says the club explored an extension with Ortiz before picking up his 2011 option and determined to go one year at a time, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter). Epstein says the one-year, $12.5MM option made the most sense for the Red Sox, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (on Twitter).
Ortiz has repeatedly said he'd like the security of a multiyear deal and though the Red Sox aren't ruling it out completely, the chances seem remote at this point. The 34-year-old batted .270/.370/.529 with 32 homers last year.
Red Sox Acquire Brent Dlugach
The Red Sox acquired Brent Dlugach from Detroit for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to the Tigers (on Twitter). The 27-year-old shortstop batted .258/.303/.360 at Triple-A this year. He had three plate appearances for the Tigers in 2009, but has spent the rest of his seven-year pro career in the minor leagues. Detroit drafted Dlugach in the sixth round of the 2004 draft.
Red Sox Exercise David Ortiz’s 2011 Option
The Red Sox exercised David Ortiz's $12.5MM option for 2011, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Big Papi has continually voiced his desire for a multi-year deal, but he's only under contract for 2011 at this point. The sides could renegotiate the deal to cover 2012 and beyond if the Red Sox like the idea of keeping Ortiz in Boston.
The 34-year-old recently told Rob Bradford that he considers himself “one of the best hitters in the game” and he has some impressive numbers on his side. Ortiz was among the American League leaders in slugging (8th, .529), OPS (8th, .899), home runs (5th, 32) and walks (9th, 82) this year.
The Rangers declined their side of the $9MM option for DH Vladimir Guerrero yesterday.
Odds & Ends: Indians, Jeter, Ellis, Giants, Chen
Happy 92nd birthday to one of baseball's all-time great pitchers, Bob Feller. "Rapid Robert" piled up 266 wins and 2581 strikeouts in his Hall of Fame career. In tribute to Feller, it's only appropriate that we start this batch of news items with something from Cleveland…
- Infielder Drew Sutton is eligible for free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A by the Indians, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The article notes that Andy Marte is expected to be removed from the Cleveland roster before the Rule 5 draft deadline. Also from Hoynes (via Twitter), the Phillies claimed shortstop Carlos Rivero on waivers from the Tribe. Rivero has a .676 OPS in 2156 minor league plate appearances, none above the Double-A level.
- Hal Steinbrenner's recent comments about the Derek Jeter talks strike ESPN's Buster Olney "as if he's preparing the NYY fans for an ugly Jeter negotiation" (Twitter link).
- Now that the A's have exercised Mark Ellis' option for 2011, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the team will look into an extension for the veteran second baseman.
- Buster Posey and Brian Wilson are the key reasons why the Giants have a chance to win another World Series, says Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. "How many teams can say, right now, they have zero interest in upgrading at the need-to-have positions of catcher or closer?", Morosi asks. He cites just the Phillies and Twins, and even those two clubs come with question marks.
- Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com thinks the Giants should sign Eric Chavez to a minor-league contract. (Twitter link)
- Bruce Chen wants a multiyear deal but the Royals are "unlikely" to make the left-hander such an offer, tweets The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton.
- It could be a bad omen for David Ortiz's $12.5MM option that another slugging DH (Vladimir Guerrero) had his $9MM option for 2011 declined by Texas earlier today, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
- Tampa Bay added Elliot Johnson to its 40-man roster, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Without the move, Johnson would've become a free agent. Johnson had a breakout minor league campaign in Triple-A last season, posting a .319/.375/.475 line and winning the International League MVP award.
- In response to a fan mailbag question about Adam Dunn, MLB.com's Bill Ladson warns about the dangers of the Nationals offering a long-term deal to a defensively-challenged slugger. He points out how fans were also wishing the Nats signed Alfonso Soriano to an extension, but in hindsight Washington made the right move.
- Nationals right-hander Collin Balester is looking for members to join his 'Movember' team. Click here to sign up and join Balester in raising money and awareness in the fight against prostate cancer.
Pierzynski Yet To Hear An Offer From White Sox
In an interview with Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio today, A.J. Pierzynski said that the White Sox have not made him an offer to return to the club in 2011. (Twitter link) Pierzynski doesn't specify if the club has made any contact with him at all, and it's worth noting that Chicago still has three days left of exclusive negotiating time for pending free agents. Given that Pierzynski said he would like to keep playing in Chicago "but they are going to have to want him first," however, it seems unlikely that the Sox have opened negotiations.
Pierzynski went into detail about his criteria for a new team (another Twitter link): in order, his new club must be a contender, be willing to give him a starting job, be located close to his home in Florida and along those same lines must also have their spring training camp in Florida and be a "quick flight home." He says the Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays and Red Sox "would all be good fits." All of these teams except the Rays were mentioned by MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith in his look at potential suitors for Pierzynski. All make some sense on Pierzynski's checklist, though the Rangers and Padres are in Arizona for spring training and San Diego is a cross-country flight away from his home.
Red Sox Hire Curt Young As Pitching Coach
The Red Sox hired Curt Young as their new pitching coach, according to WEEI's Alex Speier. The team already made a formal announcement. Young, formerly of the Athletics, replaces John Farrell. Farrell is now manager of the Blue Jays. A few other Red Sox notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…
- Former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi will probably decide later this week whether to join the Red Sox or Mets front office.
- The Red Sox told Bill Hall they'll reject his $9.25MM club option in favor of a $500K buyout according to Cafardo, though The Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson notes it's team policy to wait until the deadline to officially make option decisions.
- Cafardo says early talks with David Ortiz "haven't yielded much progress." Big Papi is known to be seeking multiple years, but the Sox have a $12.5MM club option just for 2011.
- Felipe Lopez has an "unspecified option" in his contract, writes MacPherson. He's a Type B free agent, but the Red Sox will need to decline the option, offer arbitration, and have him turn it down to sign a big league deal elsewhere if they're to get a draft pick.
- The Red Sox also have Adrian Beltre, Victor Martinez, and Jason Varitek as free agents. They have five arbitration eligible players: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kevin Cash, Hideki Okajima, and Jonathan Papelbon. Salty has already agreed on a contract for 2011.
Odds & Ends: Long, Romanick, Falkenborg, Carlin
Links for Monday, as Cliff Lee looks to leave a strong last impression on his 2010 season against Tim Lincecum and the Giants…
- The Yankees and hitting coach Kevin Long agreed to a three-year deal, reports George A. King III of the New York Post. He'll be getting a raise on his previous $400K salary.
- The Athletics named Ron Romanick their new pitching coach, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- King's colleague Joel Sherman doesn't believe Brian Falkenborg will be the next Colby Lewis, as Falkenborg is likely to remain in Japan.
- The Indians removed catcher Luke Carlin from the 40-man roster, according to the team's Twitter account. Carlin, 30 next month, hit .238/.332/.336 at Triple-A this year. The Indians' 40-man roster is at 38. Andy Marte is another candidate to find his way off the 40-man, in my opinion.
- If Carl Crawford has similar offers elsewhere, he'd need to be convinced to join a former rival like the Yankees or Red Sox says ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The Seibu Lions have again denied Hiroyuki Nakajima's appeal to be posted, according to a report passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter. The Japanese shortstop was said Saturday to be holding out hope.
- Check out the voting for the 2010 Fielding Bible Awards.
Cafardo’s Latest: Bautista, Varitek, Montero
Let's check out the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe….
- It's still up in the air whether Jose Bautista will go to arbitration this winter, or whether he'll sign either a one-year or multi-year deal with the Blue Jays. "Right now, there are no talks about a multiyear contract," said Bautista. "But I suppose we may hear something about that in December." MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith took an in-depth look at Bautista's arbitration case earlier this month.
- Cafardo speculates that the Brewers and Jason Varitek could be a good fit, since Milwaukee could use a veteran to mentor Jonathan Lucroy. Of course, the Brewers are probably hoping that the recently-signed Mike Rivera will fill that role.
- There is some doubt about whether Yankees prospect Jesus Montero will be able to handle a major league pitching staff. A "Yankee insider" tells Cafardo that he thinks Montero could be used in a big trade this winter, with Austin Romine waiting in the wings as a potential long-term backstop.
- Cafardo names a few candidates to replace Dave Eiland as the Yankees' pitching coach, noting that Scott Aldred appears to be the front-runner.
- Meanwhile, Curt Young looks like the favorite to become the Red Sox' next pitching coach. The Diamondbacks were "very interested" in Young, but ultimately ended up hiring Charles Nagy instead.
Poll: David Ortiz’s Future
Yesterday we heard that Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is still seeking a multi-year contract, brushing off criticism about his declining offense. The one they call Big Papi hit .270/.370/.529 with 32 homers last season, but he again had to overcome a brutally slow start (.143/.238/.286 in April). After hitting .302/.402/.612 with an average of 41 homers per year from 2003-2007, Ortiz has hit dipped down to .257/.356/.498 since 2008, which is still very good production.
The Red Sox hold a $12.5MM option for Ortiz's services in 2011, and last month we heard that they were prepared to pick it up. Their alternatives would be to decline the option and make him a free agent (no buyout), or attempt to work out the multi-year deal he desires. It's not an easy call, and it's made even more complicated by Ortiz's status as a franchise icon. Time to hit the polls…
What should the Red Sox do with David Ortiz this winter?
Click here to vote, and here to see the results.