Red Sox Still Looking For A Catcher
According to ESPN's Peter Gammons:
The Red Sox say the backup/Tim Wakefield catching job has been won by George Kottaras, but they are still looking for another catcher. The Diamondbacks, who would like another starting pitcher, continue to insist on Michael Bowden for Miguel Montero, and Boston GM Theo Epstein still won't trade Bowden.
Montero, 25, hit .255/.330/.435 last year in 207 plate appearances as Chris Snyder's backup. He threw out 18.2% of attempted base-stealers. Meanwhile Bowden, 22, tossed 144.3 innings in the minors last year with a 2.62 ERA. Baseball America called him "a safe bet with a good chance to become a No.3 starter."
Red Sox Release Josh Bard
According to the Boston Herald's Michael Silverman, the Red Sox have parted ways with catcher Josh Bard.
It appears that 25-year-old George Kottaras has won the backup catching job. It probably had something to do with his ability, and Bard's inability, to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball. Kottaras is also out of minor league options and the Red Sox didn't want to risk losing him.
Bard, 30, was 6-for-14 this spring with one home run, five RBI and two doubles. He finished with a line of .202/.279/.270 in 178 at-bats last season.
Brewers Claim Wes Littleton
According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers claimed reliever Wes Littleton off waivers from the Red Sox. Rule 5 pick Eduardo Morlan was designated for assignment to make room. Morlan could end up back with the Rays if they’ll have him. The Sox had acquired Littleton from Texas for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Gammons On Sheffield, Tazawa, Kearns
ESPN’s Peter Gammons posted a new blog entry last night. Let’s take a look.
- Gammons sees Gary Sheffield as a "serious comeback player of the year candidate."
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Gammons his team bid $7MM for Junichi Tazawa, but the Red Sox signed him for $3MM due to their presence in Japan. According to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, the Rangers also offered more money to reliever Chad Cordero but he preferred the West Coast.
- Kicking Jim Bowden while he’s down: Gammons says Nationals outfielder Austin Kearns was claimed on waivers last summer but the Nationals pulled him back.
Red Sox, Lester Announce Extension
5:22pm: WEEI Alex Speier has the year-by-year breakdown of Lester’s deal. He’ll be paid pretty well over the next five years.
11:08am: Gary Dzen of Boston.com reports the Red Sox have announced the five-year deal. No details were given.
10:41am: Ron Borges of the Boston Herald reports the Red Sox and Jon Lester are expected to announce the signing of his $30MM extension this morning. The extension is expected to include a $13MM club option for 2014.
The cat was out of the bag last Sunday when Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan had the scoop.
Bay, Red Sox Stop Negotiations
12:40pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has Jason Bay’s side of the story:
“I don’t think anybody in my situation wants to play for six years and then you earn the right to be a free agent and on some levels sell yourself short, and that doesn’t mean there doesn’t have to be some concessions… But you put yourself in this position and I think it’s in my best interest to kind of explore. Not to say we’re ever going to go that far, but I definitely want to make sure it’s the right fit.”
Bay is making no predictions about the market:
"Like I said, if something comes up that makes some sense … I mean, you get to this position you don’t want to sell it short, but I also understand it’s a different time that it was three or four years ago.”
12:30pm: Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe has an explanation from Theo Epstein:
"The market has changed so much from two years ago to this winter, from a year ago to now… Who knows where it’s going to be a year from now? So that unpredictability, I think, has created a landscape that’s been difficult for us to navigate in terms of getting an extension done a year early. Both sides wanted it, so we tried. But both sides recognized that it’s just too difficult to get done right now. We had some talks [earlier in the offseason], but they weren’t really substantive. Recently, we’ve had more substantive talks. It’s become clear that because of the unusual marketplace, we’re not going to get anything done during spring training. We’re going to sort of halt talks for now, just table them. But both sides have committed to maintaining good dialogue throughout the course of the season."
11:59am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports the Red Sox have halted negotiations with Jason Bay. Both sides feel an agreement is not possible at this time, after the market for power-hitting corner outfielders has experienced dramatic changes.
Speier says the two sides remain open to discussion resuming during the season. Bay will make $7.5MM during the final year of his 4 year $18.25MM contract.
Lugo To Have Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Julio Lugo is going to have his knee scoped to determine the severity of a torn meniscus, reports Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal. Recovery from a meniscus tear can be a matter of weeks or months.
Lugo has a $9MM vesting option for 2011 that requires 600 plate appearances in 2010 (and 2400 PAs from ’07-’10) for it to kick in. That now looks improbable.
Red Sox To Pass On Bonds
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe heard from major league sources that the Red Sox will not sign Barry Bonds. They join four other teams who will not pursue him.
Jeff Borris, Bonds’s agent, asked GMs to consider Bonds in a letter sent to all 30 MLB teams.
Lester Announcement Coming Soon
9:13pm: WEEI’s Rob Bradford says the Red Sox will make an announcement about Lester Sunday morning, presumably regarding his new extension.
10:18am: According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester will take a physical this weekend. If he passes, his five-year, $30MM deal will become official.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Lohse, Pedro, Bay
On this date 72 years ago, Lou Gehrig signed a one-year deal for $38K and a $750 signing bonus. This contract came on the heels of a season in which Gehrig hit .354-49-152 with a strikeout to walk ratio of 130-to-46 and a 190 OPS+. The following season, Gehrig would hit .351-37-159 (177 OPS+) in what would turn out to be his last full healthy season. With only a few weeks left until the ’09 regular season begins, let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Launching Pad gives us a list of mid-season trade targets for the Braves, with Brian Giles at the top.
- Jorge Says No! lists Kyle Lohse as one of the Hot Stove’s big winners.
- Feeling Dodger Blue takes a look at the fifth starter options for the Dodgers and sees Pedro Martinez as the best available option.
- Fire Brand of the American League says Jason Bay is no Manny Ramirez, but he is a suitable replacement.
- UmpBump takes a look back at the off-season moves of the Cubs and the Dodgers.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.