Red Sox Rumors

Quick Hits: McCourt, Maholm, Mariners, Axford

By Mark Polishuk | October 13, 2011 at 10:50pm CDT

Another night, another pair of exciting LCS games. The Tigers succeeded in stretching the ALCS to a sixth game while the Brewers evened the NLCS at 2-2 with the Cardinals.

Here's the latest from around the majors….

Frank McCourt's decision to take the Dodgers into bankruptcy means he could become the rare pro sports owner to sell his team and have no profits to show for it, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
The Pirates haven't yet declined Paul Maholm's $9.75MM option for 2012 yet, and MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch explains that the Bucs are trying to find a trade partner who "A) thinks $9.75 million is a fair cost for Maholm and B) doesn’t want to take the risk of letting Maholm go into the free agent market."
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times examines the Mariners' franchise value and how it may impact the club's payroll in the coming seasons.
The Mariners erred not once, not twice, but thrice in not keeping Ramon Santiago, writes Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune.
John Axford was released without fanfare by the Yankees after the 2007 season, long before Axford rose to prominence as the Brewers' closer. Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal looks back at the circumstances behind Axford's release.
The Giants won't be able to afford the likes of Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes or C.C. Sabathia this winter, but MLB.com's Chris Haft believes the club "will make a genuine offer to re-sign Carlos Beltran." Beltran, for his part, said last month that he was open to returning to San Francisco if the team added more offense to the lineup.
The week's minor league transactions are compiled by Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
Diamondbacks CEO and president Derrick Hall predicts a "relatively quiet offseason" for his team since most of the major pieces are already in place. Hall also discusses Aaron Hill, Willie Bloomquist and several other topics in his monthly chat with fans on MLB.com.
Baseball America's Jim Callis profiles Sean Buckley, the Reds' sixth-round pick in the June amateur draft and the son of Chris Buckley, Cincinnati's senior director of amateur scouting.
A multiyear extension for Jacoby Ellsbury, moving Daniel Bard to the starting rotation and a possible run at Jose Reyes are a few of the suggestions made by Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston that would help the Red Sox put their catastrophic month behind them and focus on returning to the playoffs next year.
Writing for Baseball Prospectus, Rany Jazayerli breaks down how just a year of age difference between teenage prospects reveals huge differences in projected production. "At least when it comes to high school hitters, young draft picks are a MASSIVE market inefficiency," Jazayerli writes.

Keith Law On Epstein, Sizemore, Votto, Ricciardi

By Mark Polishuk | October 13, 2011 at 9:00pm CDT

ESPN's Keith Law gave his thoughts on a number of prospects during a chat with readers today, and also expounded on a few Major League items. The highlights…

Cubs fans should be excited about Theo Epstein's "ability to turn the Cubs' baseball ops department into a process-oriented, professionally run organization. You can't run a baseball team the way they were run 20 or 30 years ago. It's a business now, one where smart decisions based on sound processes are necessary and innovation is increasingly critical."
Law describes Brett Jackson (taken 31st overall by the Cubs in the 2009 amateur draft) as a "non-star prospect" and thinks he would be fair compensation for Epstein.
Law doesn't think Grady Sizemore can remain healthy as an everyday center fielder. The Indians have a $9MM club option on Sizemore next season but will take their time in deciding on it, given that Sizemore just underwent knee surgery.
Between Joey Votto and Yonder Alonso, Law would deal Alonso and "look to win" in the remaining two years that Votto is under Reds' control. Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty recently shot down rumors that the Reds were listening to offers for the reigning NL MVP.
Law hears from his sources that J.P. Ricciardi isn't currently on the Orioles' short list of general manager candidates, as was reported on Tuesday by Law's ESPN colleague Buster Olney. Law worked for the Blue Jays' front office from 2002-06 when Ricciardi was the team's general manager.
The Mariners "might have the best rotation in baseball by 2013 or so."
If given a choice of signing either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols to a seven-year contract worth the same money, Law says he would choose the younger Fielder. "Pujols is the better player right now, but even at his listed age I worry about his durability and potential decline," Law says.
Despite Alex Avila's breakout 2011 season, Law said he still prefers Matt Wieters as the better long-term player.

Theo Epstein Links: Compensation, Baker, Quade

By Mark Polishuk | October 13, 2011 at 7:59pm CDT

The Red Sox and Cubs began negotiations today about the compensation package required to finalize Theo Epstein's move to Chicago, and WEEI's John Dennis reports that the talks have gotten off to a slow start. The Cubs just want to send money as compensation, while the Red Sox are looking for prospects instead. This seemingly represents a shift in Boston's stance from just yesterday, when SI's Jon Heyman reported the Sox preferred cash.

Here's the latest on those talks and a few other Theo-related items…

Negotiations between the Cubs and Red Sox "are moving along at a snail's pace," according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. "There's no such thing as a timetable for these transactions," but there doesn't appear to be anything major that would keep Epstein from eventually joining the Cubs.
Also from Levine, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has presented a list of players to interim GM Randy Bush, scouting director Tim Wilken and director of player personnel Oneri Fleita. The front office members will report back to Ricketts indicating which of the players they would be comfortable trading to Boston as compensation.
"The Red Sox like utilityman Jeff Baker," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, though Baker alone wouldn't be suitable compensation. Cafardo says the Sox would also "love" to send John Lackey to the Cubs but unsurprisingly, "that is also a long shot." Cafardo lists a few of the Cubs' notable prospects who could conceivably go to the Sox, though I'd personally be surprised if Chicago would part with top minor leaguers like Brett Jackson or Matt Szczur.
In addition to taking some Boston front office members with him to Chicago, Epstein may also take some of the Red Sox medical staff, tweets Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe.
Mike Quade says he wasn't consulted about the Cubs' pursuit of Epstein, the incumbent manager tells ESPN Chicago, though he has no hard feelings about not being a part of the GM search.
With no deal finalized yet, it was "business as usual" for Epstein, pending new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and other front office staffers today, reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston.
Edes notes that the Red Sox gave Jed Hoyer and Josh Byrnes permission to take two front office members each when Hoyer and Byrnes left Boston for the GM jobs in San Diego and Arizona, respectively. Edes believes Mike Hazen, Boston's vice president of player development and amateur scouting, is "untouchable" both because the Red Sox brass his contribution to the club's minor league system and because the Cubs already have Wilken performing similar duties.

AL East Notes: Ortiz, Cherington, Swisher, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | October 13, 2011 at 4:42pm CDT

The Red Sox' reputation may have been damaged in recent weeks, but Shi Davidi of Rogers Sportsnet writes that Boston isn't going to suddenly stop being a major force in the AL East. Some other notes from around the division….

David Ortiz wouldn't be a fit with the Yankees, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Ortiz called the Yankee organization "a great situation" earlier today, but Feinsand points out that Ortiz wouldn't be willing to come to New York only as a part-time designated hitter. The Yankees still need to give some DH at-bats to Alex Rodriguez and Jesus Montero, so Ortiz wouldn't be able to play every day.
Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, who worked with incoming Red Sox GM Ben Cherington in Cleveland, praised Cherington's humility and experience to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
Josh Beckett may not be a popular figure in Boston right now, but Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe thinks the Red Sox would be foolish to trade the right-hander given the club's need for pitching.
Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog thinks that Nick Swisher's $10.25MM option for next season is an obvious pickup for the Yankees, even if New York picks up the option with the intent of trading Swisher elsewhere.
The Rays want to add a big hitter this winter, but won't do so at the expense of their core of pitching and defense, reports MLB.com's Bill Chastain. "If you add offense, more than likely you're detracting from the defense," said Andrew Friedman. "So we're not going to do things where it's a net neutral move, or even to where we take a step back."
Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has been open about how critical a new stadium is to his franchise's future in the Tampa Bay area, but Fangraphs' Alex Remington gives several reasons why the Rays won't be leaving Tampa and/or Tropicana Field anytime soon.
Joe Jordan, formerly the Orioles' director of amateur scouting, talks to MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski about his seven years in Baltimore. Jordan was hired yesterday as the Phillies' new director of player development.
Unsurprisingly, the Orioles are holding off on any coaching and front office staffing decisions until their new head of baseball operations is hired, reports Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.

Manager/GM Notes: Epstein, Sandberg, Cashman

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | October 13, 2011 at 12:14pm CDT

The Cubs are on the brink of completing a deal with the GM Theo Epstein and the Red Sox. Here are the details and more managerial and GM notes from around MLB…

MLB.com's Carrie Muskat hears that chairman Tom Ricketts is handling compensation discussions for the Cubs. However, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that assistant GMs Ben Cherington and Randy Bush will do most of the negotiating with upper management signing off on the expected agreement.
John Dennis of WEEI hears that the Red Sox and Cubs won't start talks about compensation for Epstein until today (link via Rob Bradford of WEEI.com).
Epstein will earn $3MM or more on his new deal with the Cubs, but it still falls short of what Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski earns, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). Heyman noted earlier this week that Dombrowski, one of baseball's longest-tenured GMs, earns about $5MM.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs expect a reconciliation with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg this week. Epstein interviewed Sandberg for Boston's Triple-A managerial position last offseason, but Sandberg turned the job down to manage in the Phillies' system. Cubs manager Mike Quade is under contract through 2012.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains the challenges GMs face in Boston and New York. One MLB executive is amazed that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has continued to do his job under such intense pressure for more than a decade.

David Ortiz Talks Yankees, Red Sox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | October 13, 2011 at 9:55am CDT

David Ortiz recently hinted that the offseason could get even more tumultuous for the Red Sox. The designated hitter, who will be eligible for free agency after the World Series, suggested to ESPN's Colleen Dominguez that he would fit into the Yankees’ culture.

"It's great from what I hear," he said. "It's a good situation to be involved in. Who doesn't want to be involved in a great situation where everything goes the right way?”

Ortiz says there's "too much drama" in Boston these days and acknowledged that he's thinking about moving on. “I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year."

Ortiz projects as a Type A free agent, which means teams will have to surrender a top pick to sign him if he turns down an offer of arbitration from the Red Sox. The 35-year-old completed his ninth season in Boston with 29 home runs and a .309/.398/.554 line.

The Yankees don't need a designated hitter this offseason. Alex Rodriguez and Jesus Montero could DH on a semi-regular basis and manager Joe Girardi could also use the spot to provide tired or banged up players with a partial day off.

Theo Epstein Signing With Cubs Reactions

By Zachary Links | October 12, 2011 at 10:52pm CDT

This morning we learned that Theo Epstein agreed on a five-year deal worth more than $15MM with the Cubs. Here' s a look at some of the reactions and fallout from around baseball..

Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal outlines some Cubs prospects that the Red Sox could receive as compensation for Epstein.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that the Cubs' signing of Epstein means that the NL Central is about to get even stronger, write Matthew Leach, Joe Frisaro, and Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
Would Yankees GM Brian Cashman be interested in the new Red Sox GM vacancy? It doesn't seem that way, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. "I have a job," said Cashman when asked about the possibility of leaving for Boston. Nothing official has been agreed upon yet, but Cashman is expected to sign a new deal with the Yankees in the near future.
Epstein's new average salary of $3MM is unlikely to affect Cashman's next deal with the Yankees, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Epstein's previous salary was roughly $2.5MM and Cashman will likely see a bump from his current $2.2MM average.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) heard that the Red Sox wanted to keep Epstein, but the GM made it clear that he would be leaving when his contract expired after 2012 . Epstein would have earned $3MM with a $4MM parachute payment at the year's end. That prompted the club to approve his discussions with the Cubs.
Ben Cherington is expected to be the next GM of the Red Sox and Dan Duquette had nothing but kind things to say about the long-time exec, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
In an interview on WEEI's "Mut & Merloni" show this morning, Peter Gammons said that he's "sickened" by the criticism he has heard of former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona, writes Justin Doubleday of WEEI.com. As for the matter of compensation, Gammons says that he could see the Red Sox receiving someone like 23-year-old center fielder Brett Jackson.

Cubs Agree To Deal With Theo Epstein

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | October 12, 2011 at 11:56am CDT

11:56am: There's some discussion as to whether the Red Sox will obtain minor leaguers or cash from the Cubs, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). It appears that the Red Sox prefer cash.

10:00am: The Cubs' overall payout to Epstein will be closer to $20MM than $15MM, because they're responsible for paying a $3.5MM conclusion bonus that he had negotiated into his contract with the Red Sox, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. MLB has monitored the Cubs' negotiations with Epstein, since there's concern that his deal will change the market for general managers. Epstein's salary will be similar to the one the Red Sox paid him, Olney notes (on Twitter). He was the Cubs' first choice and has met with them twice.

8:13am: Theo Epstein has agreed on a five-year deal worth more than $15MM with the Cubs, according to WEEI's John Dennis. The deal could be finalized this week, once the teams work out compensation and the Cubs decide on a title for the longtime Red Sox GM.

The Cubs were "on the cusp" of a deal with Epstein last night, but Boston's ownership still appeared interested in retaining Epstein. However, Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that Red Sox owner John Henry isn't the type to "chase" if he knows someone wants to leave (Twitter link).

The Cubs won't surrender Major League players or take on bad contracts in the deal, but they may send prospects and/or cash to the Red Sox. It appears that Epstein will need Boston's approval to bring employees with him.

Ben Cherington, Epstein's current assistant GM and likely replacement, spoke to MLBTR for our GM Candidates series. Alex Speier of WEEI.com chronicles Cherington's rise through Boston's organization.

Epstein ‘On Cusp’ Of Deal With Cubs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | October 11, 2011 at 8:25pm CDT

8:25pm: ESPN's Karl Ravech hears that the compensation would involve prospects and/or cash, but no MLB players. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe hears that the Red Sox wouldn't saddle the Cubs with bad contracts in the proposed arrangement and notes that Epstein remains undecided about the possible change (Twitter links).

8:05pm: Epstein would need Boston's approval to bring employees with him to Chicago, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Carrie Muskat of MLB.com hears that the Cubs made an offer and Epstein is now deciding whether to leave the Red Sox (Twitter link).

7:20pm: Epstein's nearing a deal with the Cubs, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com confirms. The deal isn't done yet, as some issues other than compensation have to be resolved. Meanwhile, Yahoo's Tim Brown hears that Red Sox ownership is making a play to keep Epstein, but won't ask him to continue in a job he doesn't want (Twitter link).

5:44pm: Boston GM Theo Epstein is "on the cusp" of leaving the Red Sox for a job with the Cubs, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. Red Sox ownership still hopes to retain Epstein and if he is to leave, Boston will demand "something real" as compensation.

Epstein's proposed deal with the Cubs would include more power than he has in Boston, according to Buckley. The teams could make an announcement within a day or two and the situation will be "resolved very soon."

When Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts outlined his ideal GM candidate after firing Jim Hendry, he said he wanted someone with a commitment to player development and a strong analytical background who came from a background of success. Epstein, who became Boston's GM in 2002, certainly qualifies.

The Red Sox won two World Series titles under Epstein (2004, 2007) and have made six playoff appearances since 2003. They missed the postseason for the second consecutive year in 2011 after a September slide that cost manager Terry Francona his job. Our Transaction Tracker has every one of Epstein's moves as GM. Check out Tim Dierkes' look ahead to the Cubs' offseason for a preview of Epstein's first winter in the Windy City.

Papelbon Discusses Free Agency

By Tim Dierkes | October 11, 2011 at 10:51am CDT

"It really truly isn't all about the money," closer Jonathan Papelbon told WEEI's Rob Bradford. In that case, he would have remained a starter. Instead, the impending free agent says, "I'm going to a place where I know I'm going to succeed. I'm going to a place where I know I have a chance to win a championship. I'm going to a place where I know that my family is going to be safe, my family is going to like the environment, and everything else that goes along with off-field stuff."

The door is still open for Papelbon to return to the Red Sox, though no talks have occurred yet. Papelbon told Bradford that he told Sox GM Theo Epstein, "Listen man, if you ever need anything, I'm here for you whether I'm going to be back here or whether I'm not going to be back here." Papelbon has set arbitration records for closers the past three years, but says contract talks were "extremely easy for both sides."

The next step may be the Red Sox offering arbitration to the 30-year-old stopper, who qualifies as a Type A free agent. Last year November 23rd was the deadline to offer arbitration to free agents, but it appears the deadline might be November 30th this year.

Top closers Papelbon and Ryan Madson will likely be vying to become the first free agent relievers to sign four-year deals since Francisco Cordero and Scott Linebrink four years ago.

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