Red Sox, Mets Discussed Castillo For Lowell
TUESDAY, 12:52pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports finds Castillo "highly unlikely to be traded, for Lowell or anyone else." Joel Sherman of the New York Post learned that the Mets and Red Sox have not discussed a Castillo-Lowell swap for weeks.
MONDAY, 9:52pm: WEEI.com's Rob Bradford writes that a Castillo-for-Lowell deal is "not close." He feels that it's most likely Lowell will have to prove his health in Spring Training before a trade occurs. Meanwhile, Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Rangers "have not ruled out re-engaging on Lowell."
6:56pm: ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets, "I just heard that Red Sox have talked to the Mets about a Mike Lowell-for-Luis Castillo trade. Not sure how serious it is." He adds that Lowell is expendable with Adrian Beltre in the fold. Also, with Castillo gone, the Mets could go after Orlando Hudson.
The deal certainly clears an unwanted player for both teams. But while it is easy to see Lowell getting some at-bats for the Mets at first, and even spelling David Wright at third base, where Castillo fits in- given his poor defense at second base, and the existence of Dustin Pedroia– with Boston is harder to understand.
The money would be even in such a deal. Lowell is owed $12MM in 2010, while Castillo is owed $6MM in each of the next two years.
Mets “Very Interested” In Delgado
Erik Boland and David Lennon over at Newsday have a piece up reporting that the Mets are "very interested" in bringing back Carlos Delgado.
Delgado, who played in the Puerto Rican Winter League Sunday for the first time since surgery on his hip in May, went 1-for-4 as a designated hitter. As befitting a player who managed to play in just 26 games in 2009, the Mets are interested in Delgado on an incentive-laden deal.
Still, it is easy to understand New York's interest. Delgado was hitting .298/.393/.521 in 2009, one year after putting up a 2008 batting line of .271/.353/.518, including a tremendous second half.
Just for fun, let's combine rumors for a Delgado platoon with Mike Lowell, who was rumored to be in discussions to come to New York in exchange for Luis Castillo early this evening in a tweet by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
Delgado, against righties, had a .912 OPS in 2008, .902 in 2009. Lowell had a .961 OPS against lefties in 2008, an .867 OPS against them in 2009.
In other words, it would be an offensive option that would likely leave Daniel Murphy in the dust.
The piece also reports that the Mets are interested in starting pitching, with Joel Pineiro their preferred choice.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Twins, Beltre, Giants
On New Year's Day 49 years ago, the stadium on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Boulevard in Detroit was officially renamed Tiger Stadium. The then 49-year-old park had previously been known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. Tiger Stadium would serve as the home of Detroit's ball club until the 2000 season, and was demolished completely in 2009.
Here's a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- Bucco Fans takes a look at what could have happened if the Pirates had kept their 2008 roster together.
- Twins Overlook runs down Minnesota's top seven prospects, led by outfielder Aaron Hicks.
- Meanwhile, Nick's Twins Blog examines the current state of the Twinkies' starting rotation.
- The Bottom Line looks at how signing Adrian Beltre could affect the big picture in Boston.
- DRaysBay compares Matt Joyce to Matt LaPorta, and finds that the gap between the two may not be as big as you think.
- Jorge Says No! looks at the potential risk and reward of the Mark DeRosa signing.
- El Lefty Malo guesses that the Giants will wait to see how Jonathan Sanchez's arbitration case turns out before deciding on whether or not to move a starter for a bat.
- Pinstripes Published suggests David DeJesus as a possible left field solution for the Yankees.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Angels Preparing Offer For Chapman?
Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says that the Angels "appear to be lining up an offer" for Cuban southpaw Aroldis Chapman. The Halos might have an advantage over other clubs in the Chapman sweepstakes because of first baseman Kendry Morales, who has become a good friend of the lefthander.
"Selfishly, we're a nice fit. It's hard to come over here, and Kendry gives him some idea of the pitfalls of the adjustment," Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. "It's a fit, but who knows? It depends on the price."
So far only two teams have made an offer to Chapman (the Red Sox and Marlins), and Bane said that he doesn't "see a team like Oakland or Kansas City or someone like that getting him." We just learned about the A's interest in Chapman two days ago.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Byrd, Liriano, Duchscherer
Some links on the last day of a year we'll remember for Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols and the World Series Champion New York Yankees…
- Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother Brandon Laird, a prospect in the Yankees farm system, were arrested following a brawl at the Celtics-Suns NBA game in Phoenix, Arizona, according to the Associated Press. Gerald lives in Arizona during the offseason while Brandon played in the Arizona Fall League this past year.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via his newly minted Twitter account) that Chan Ho Park's name has come up in the Giants' front office.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears that Jason Bay was indeed interested in joining the Mets. The two sides didn't go longer than a day without talking once negotiations got started. An interesting note: Speier hears that the Mets never offered Bay a guaranteed five-year deal.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs considers Marlon Byrd an average player, but likes the Cubs' decision to sign him.
- Cameron tweets that the Mariners are "kicking the tires" on Francisco Liriano.
- Mike Lowell's thumb surgery was a success, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Lowell appears to be available, but health concerns may prevent the Red Sox from dealing the third baseman and some of his $12MM salary (the D'Backs face a similar challenge with Chris Snyder).
- Just because Lowell's still in Boston doesn't mean the Red Sox won't consider other third basemen. Adrian Beltre is one option and R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs doesn't think $10-15MM is an unfair asking price for the Scott Boras client.
- Justin Duchscherer tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he returned to the A's because he's comfortable in Oakland and appreciates the club's support through his struggles with depression. Slusser also has details on the incentives in the righty's contract.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues wants the Yankees to stay away from free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates' failure to sign Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano was one of the club's low points this year. As Kovacevic says, "not every signing can be an absolute steal."
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wallace, Chapman
A few notes as we head into the final day of 2009….
- ESPN.com's Insider news page passes on some Orlando Hudson-related speculation from Buster Olney on the Mike And Mike In The Morning radio show. Olney "wouldn't be surprised" if the Mariners got into the bidding for the veteran second baseman, adding that Hudson would "be a perfect fit in what they're doing" in Seattle.
- Andrew Stoeten of the Drunk Jays Fans blog runs down some of the highlights of Keith Law's appearance on Toronto's FAN 590 station this afternoon. Law opined on the type of free agents the Blue Jays should sign, said the Jays should focus on scouting and noted that if Brett Wallace wasn't going to be used at third base, "you can probably play him opening day."
- Chad Jennings of the LoHud.com Yankees blog says Aroldis Chapman "might be this winter’s most intriguing available player, period." He brought up Chapman with Yankees senior vice-president of baseball operations Mark Newman, who said the Cuban left-hander would start the year in Single-A or Double-A if he signed with New York. Newman was impressed by Chapman's workout session two weeks ago, but noted that Chapman is "not where (Stephen) Strasburg was."
- Mike Lowell underwent surgery today to repair the injured right thumb that prevented him from being dealt to Texas. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports that Lowell had a 95-percent tear in his thumb's radial collateral ligament but is expected to be ready for spring training. This latest surgery will almost surely, as Newsday's Ken Davidoff surmised last week, put an end to the Lowell trade rumors unless Lowell proves himself to be healthy in Grapefruit League action.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Guardado, Yankees, Marlins
Let's round up some lingering Tuesday links….
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox kept in touch with Jason Bay's representation right up until the outfielder agreed to terms with the Mets. Boston was a longshot destination for Bay though, with the Angels and Mariners also involved.
- Like Brian Bruney, Eddie Guardado hopes to close for the Nationals in 2010, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Doesn't seem too likely, with Bruney and Matt Capps on board, but Guardado could earn a setup role for the Nats.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs argues that even if they have the money to sign Matt Holliday, the Yankees don't need him. ESPN.com's Rob Neyer and Joseph Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues respond to Cameron's piece.
- The Florida Marlins haven't been aggressively signing their arbitration-eligible players so far this winter, but they should take care of it soon, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (via Twitter).
- Frisaro also tweets that the Marlins remain "firmly" entrenched in the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes.
Jason Bay Reactions
With an agreement in place between Jason Bay and the New York Mets, reactions to the deal are already starting to pour in….
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that the Mets will regret signing Bay within a few years.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan feels that Bay's money would've been better spent on John Lackey.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says that Bay's defense will dictate whether the contract is a good one or not, and argues that the Mets will need to make a few more moves to contend.
- It may have taken a while to get done, but "all's well that ends well," writes Rob Neyer of ESPN.com.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff is on board with the deal, and hopes the Mets continue to stay financially responsible for the rest of the winter. This means going "nowhere near" Joel Pineiro at his current asking price, and not guaranteeing Bengie Molina two years (Davidoff suggests that reports of an imminent two-year deal for Molina are inaccurate).
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal looks at what the move means for the Phillies, both as a division rival and as a club that will have their own free agent outfielder (Jayson Werth) next year.
- Articles from Ian Browne of MLB.com and Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune examine the signing from Boston's and Seattle's perspectives, respectively.
- R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs explains why, even if it's heavily backloaded, the Mets' offer was more financially appealing than one the Red Sox made earlier.
Red Sox Remain Interested In Adrian Beltre
The Boston Red Sox are still involved in discussions for Adrian Beltre, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
Edes notes that a couple factors stand in the way of Beltre signing with the Red Sox. The club no longer has as convenient an opening at third base, after the Mike Lowell trade with Texas fell through. On top of that, signing Beltre could put the Sox over the luxury tax threshold. Still, Edes reports that the Red Sox plan to resume talks with Beltre and agent Scott Boras in the new year.
We heard earlier in December that the Red Sox had "significant interest" in Beltre, but that was before the team cut into their budget to sign John Lackey and Mike Cameron. It's possible that the Sox could add another pricey free agent, but it certainly seems less likely now than it did a few weeks ago.
Odds & Ends: Thome, Chapman, Mariners
Links for Tuesday, as we wait for the hot stove to reignite…
- MSG's Tina Cervasio tweeted that she saw Jim Thome at a Detroit area hotel, prompting ESPN's Jerry Crasnick to wonder (via Twitter) if there's a match with the Tigers.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. points out that Aroldis Chapman stands to lose millions of dollars due to taxes if he signs in 2010.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times looks at the Mariners' remaining trade bait.
- ESPN's Buster Olney feels that Scott Boras' reputation "will remain cemented" no matter how the rest of the offseason plays out. Olney also notes that other agents, such as the Levinson brothers, moved quickly to get many of their top clients signed.
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald has a few free agent relief names for the Red Sox to consider.