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Carl Crawford

Heyman On Crawford, Pavano, CarGo

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There’s word that many Angels people were in favor of offering Carl Crawford a seven-year deal worth $142MM or so, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Red Sox won the bidding for the All-Star left fielder with a $142MM offer that left the Angels without one of their offseason targets. Owner Arte Moreno has said that his team never made Crawford an offer, but he acknowledged the Angels' interest. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:

  • There are thought to be one or two teams looking at Carl Pavano other than the Twins and Nationals, according to Heyman. The Mariners and Rangers have been linked to Pavano this winter, but it's not clear if those clubs are currently interested.
  • Heyman reports that the Rockies are still trying to lock up Carlos Gonzalez. Meanwhile Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that the Rockies could move closer to an extension with the 25-year-old this week 

Angels Make Beltre “Significant” Offer

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SATURDAY, 8:40am: The offer to Beltre is believed to be in the five-year, $70MM range according to Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times. It has not been accepted and is unlikely to be increased.

FRIDAY, 2:42pm: Angels owner Arte Moreno told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that he has made Adrian Beltre "what [the Angels] believe is a significant offer." Beltre and agent Scott Boras, who also reportedly fielded an offer from the A’s, have not accepted Moreno’s proposal.

Moreno denies that the Angels made Carl Crawford a formal pitch before he signed with the Red Sox.

"There were rumors out there, but we never made an official offer, and no parameters were discussed," Moreno said.

Moreno says that GM Tony Reagins "never had the chance" to make the left fielder a proposal, since by the time the Angels met with him at the Winter Meetings, he already had a deal.

Odds & Ends: Arroyo, Varitek, Angels, Werth

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The Red Sox officially introduced Carl Crawford to Red Sox Nation at a press conference this morning, but that's not the only hot stove news today…

Red Sox Sign Carl Crawford

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The Red Sox are officially the winners of the 2010 Winter Meetings. Boston signed a seven-year, $142MM deal with Carl Crawford, just days after acquiring Adrian Gonzalez. The deal, which is official now that Crawford has passed his physical, includes a partial no-trade clause.

Not only will the move give Boston a tremendous everyday lineup, it will put pressure on a number of the team's rivals. The Rays will face their former outfielder 18 times per season; the Angels lose out on their top offseason target and the Yankees are left with no major free agent to pursue if Cliff Lee ignores their overtures. According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, the Yankees never made a formal offer to Crawford, while the Angels may have topped out at $108MM.

Crawford will become the first position player without a 20 homer season on his resume to sign a nine-figure contract. His representatives at Legacy Sports negotiated a deal that falls just short of the eight-year, $160MM Dan Duquette signed Manny Ramirez to a decade ago. However, it surpasses the seven-year, $126MM deal Jayson Werth signed this week.

The Red Sox add another outfielder to the roster and another left-handed bat to the lineup. It's likely that Terry Francona will play Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew in the outfield with Mike Cameron and Ryan Kalish as backups. Drew, Kalish, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz all bat left-handed.

Crawford, 29, batted .307/.356/.495 with 19 homers and 47 stolen bases in 657 plate appearances for the Rays last year. He made his fourth All-Star team and managers and coaches recognized his above-average defense with a Gold Glove.

It's not much compensation for losing a franchise player, but the Rays will get two draft picks next June for losing a Type A free agent after offering arbitration. They pick up a supplementary first rounder plus Boston's 24th overall pick. The Red Sox already obtained the 19th overall pick when the Tigers signed Victor Martinez.

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe broke the news (on Twitter) and  Jon Heyman of SI.com added detail on the partial no-trade clause (Twitter link).  Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link) has the yearly numbers: Crawford receives a $6MM signing bonus, $14MM in 2011, $19.5MM in 2012, $20MM in 2013, and then his pay increases by $250K each season before topping out at $21MM in 2017.

Odds & Ends: Giambi, Upton, Crawford, Yankees

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On this date last year, the Brewers signed Randy Wolf to a three-year, $29.75MM deal. Now, GM Doug Melvin is still on the lookout for pitching, even after acquiring Shaun Marcum. Here's another round of links for the evening…

  • The Rays have some interest in Jason Giambi, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
  • Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger wonders how Carl Crawford’s $142MM deal will impact the Mets’ efforts to keep Jose Reyes around long-term.
  • Arizona GM Kevin Towers told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he talked to one team about Justin Upton at the Winter Meetings (Twitter link).
  • In another piece, Nightengale details the financial commitments the Yankees and Red Sox have made. As Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail points out, it's not easy competing with those two big spenders. "We're going to start a mid-Atlantic states division,''  MacPhail said.
  • The Angels offered Carl Crawford a six-year deal worth $108MM, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). That fell well short of the seven-year $142MM offer that lured the left fielder to Boston.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Jack Curry of the YES Network that the team dined with Crawford's representatives even though they weren't interested in signing the outfielder. Curry suggests the dinner could have been a bluff.
  • Speaking of the Yankees, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark names them on his list of 'losers' at the 2010 Winter Meetings.

Crawford Fallout: Lee, Downs, Ordonez, Beltre

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While Boston's agreement with Carl Crawford is, of course, a huge move in its own right, the impact it could have on other free agents can't be overlooked. Here are a few players and teams who may be affected by the Crawford signing:

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post speculates (via Twitter) that the Angels and Rangers, who were in on Crawford, could make a stronger push for Cliff Lee now. Brian Cashman, however, says the move won't affect the Yankees' tactics with Lee (Twitter link). Regardless, Crawford's contract is widely viewed as great news for the southpaw. Newsday's Ken Davidoff writes that "it just gets better and better to be Cliff Lee this winter."
  • As Lou Merloni writes at WEEI.com, the Red Sox could become more interested in Scott Downs now that the Type A free agent wouldn't cost a first round pick. Boston will send its first round pick to Tampa Bay as compensation for Crawford, so they'd only have to surrender a second rounder if they signed Downs.
  • The Red Sox have almost certainly been eliminated as a suitor for Magglio Ordonez now, which is good news for the Tigers. According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, Detroit "badly wants to re-sign" Ordonez, and while the veteran has a handful of suitors, it appeared Boston's interest was serious.
  • Having missed out on Crawford, the Angels are expected to turn their "full attention" to Adrian Beltre and perhaps Rafael Soriano, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

Carl Crawford Signing Reactions

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The Red Sox landed another big bat Wednesday night, outbidding other suitors to reach an agreement with Carl Crawford. After Jayson Werth signed his $126MM deal with the Nationals, it was thought that it might take an eight- or ten-year contract to secure Crawford's services; ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes (Twitter link) hears that Crawford was originally seeking $20MM annually over ten years. However, Boston got it done for seven years and $142MM. Here are some early reactions to the move:

  • Dave Cameron of Fangraphs likes the deal for the Red Sox, noting that just because a contract is unique doesn't mean it's bad.
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law (Insider required) is also fairly positive, opining that Crawford figures to hold his value through the length of the contract.
  • At least one AL executive thinks Crawford's athleticism will be wasted in left field at Fenway, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com passes along another executive's first impression on the deal: "Holy (expletive). Think about that lineup."
  • It appears few people took news of Crawford's signing harder than Torii Hunter, who congratulated the outfielder, but is disappointed he won't get a chance to play with him. "That hurts my heart, man," Hunter told Scott Miller of CBS Sports. "But hey, what can you do?" (all Twitter links). Speaking to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, Hunter said, "I'm sitting here in a daze right now, like, what the heck just happened?"
  • There's virtually no downside to the move for the Red Sox, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
  • A former teammate of Crawford tells Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal that, even at $142MM, the Sox got a bargain.

Carl Crawford Rumors: Wednesday

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Carl Crawford is the biggest free agent prize among position players, but who can afford him?  The latest:

  • One Red Sox source says the market is likely "too crazy" for Boston to get seriously involved, according to ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes (on Twitter).
  • Multiple baseball sources and people close to Crawford tell Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles that they expect the left fielder to sign with the Angels.
  • Crawford was at the dinner with GM Brian Cashman and agent Brian Peters, according to Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. The Yankees are "very interested" in Crawford and could pursue him even if they sign Lee.
  • The Rangers met with Crawford's agent, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman had a long Crawford-related meeting yesterday, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  Joel Sherman tweets that Cashman met with his agent Brian Peters at a restaurant away from the meetings.  Olney feels the Yankees are "preparing to zig off Cliff Lee if necessary."  Meanwhile Olney's colleague Jayson Stark tweets that the Yankees are hinting that if Andy Pettitte retires, it becomes more likely they can afford both Crawford and Lee.  One Yankes official described that scenario as "highly unlikely" to Sherman.

Carl Crawford Rumors: Tuesday

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We heard yesterday that the Angels and Tigers are still in on Carl Crawford. GM Tony Reagins said the Jayson Werth deal doesn't affect the way the Angels approach the rest of their offseason, but it wouldn't be surprising if Crawford's camp has nudged its asking price up a little since Sunday. Here's the latest on Crawford, with more updates to follow throughout the day:

  • Signing Crawford remains by far the Angels’ top offseason priority, multiple sources tell ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
  • The Red Sox are still in on Crawford, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link).
  • The Angels are likely to have the money to sign just one of Crawford, Adrian Beltre and Rafael Soriano, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (Twitter link).
  • The Tigers aren't involved at Crawford's current asking price, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Sources tell Alex Speier of WEEI.com that it's premature to rule the Red Sox out of the Crawford sweepstakes, which could take some time to develop.
  • Not surprisingly, the Angels haven't ruled out a high-profile addition, manager Mike Scioscia tells Yahoo's Steve Henson (Twitter link).

Red Sox Notes: Buchholz, Gonzalez, Ellsbury, Okajima

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Here's the latest on the Red Sox, including some continued fallout from the blockbuster Adrian Gonzalez deal…

  • The Red Sox are interested in adding a complementary right-handed bat, GM Theo Epstein tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox have offered Taylor Buchholz a minor league deal and are one of 12 teams to express interest in the right-hander, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
  • Felix Doubront, Jed Lowrie, and Jacoby Ellsbury's names were all discussed in the Boston/San Diego trade talks, says John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  Ellsbury was the only one that drew much interest from the Padres, but they decided against him since Ellsbury's forthcoming arbitration raise would make him too expensive and a trade candidate himself in the near future.
  • Also from Tomase, both Chicago teams were "finalists" for Gonzalez and were offering at least one major league player in their trade packages.  Ultimately, San Diego decided that it preferred the prospects in Boston's offer.
  • John Boggs, Gonzalez's agent, talks to WEEI.com's D.J. Bean about the contract extension negotiations that nearly held up the trade on the weekend.  "We’re not working in a spirit to get [the Red Sox] by the jugular or squeeze every nickel, or set a precedent-setting deal," Boggs said.
  • The agent for Hideki Okajima tells ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes (Twitter link) that he will talk with the Red Sox "soon," though there has been "pretty strong" interest in Okajima from some other clubs.
  • It's not often the Red Sox are priced out of a signing, but FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says Jayson Werth's contract with Washington may have made Carl Crawford too expensive for Boston's liking, especially since the Sox now have to fit a Gonzalez extension ("the parameters" for which are $154MM over seven years) into their budget.  The Red Sox may instead focus on acquiring relievers or finding a cheaper outfield option, like trading for Josh Willingham.
  • Adrian Beltre's asking price is $85MM over five years, Rosenthal reports.  Boston would be interested in re-signing the third baseman if "the market for Beltre collasped," but the plan is to play Kevin Youkilis at third with Gonzalez taking over at first.  Rosenthal says the Red Sox aren't considering moving Youkilis to left field to make room for Beltre.
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