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Discussion: Jason Bay and Toronto

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Dave Perkins has an interesting idea in the Toronto Star: should the Blue Jays go get Jason Bay this offseason?

Perkins points out that Bay's .921 OPS certainly didn't suffer after coming to the American League- it was best in the junior circuit among outfielders. He's also Canadian-born and would make a solid addition to an outfield that also figures to have Travis Snider and Vernon Wells returning in 2010.

Perkins also adds that Bay will be just 31 on Opening Day 2010, and the Jays will not only benefit from having Bay, they will also benefit by taking Bay from the Boston Red Sox.

The reality is that Bay will probably be too rich for Toronto's taste. After all, despite just $63MM committed to next year's players, they spent the run up to the non-waiver trade deadline this summer trying to deal Roy Halladay, rather than sign him long-term.

But if April is a time for every team to dream of how the season will go, shouldn't October be for how the off-season will go?

Odds & Ends: Jaramillo, Varitek, D’Backs

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Links for Wednesday…

Red Sox Rumors: Bay, Baldelli, Papelbon

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Boston's season may have ended prematurely, but that just means the New England hot stove fires up sooner. Here's some notes from Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe and Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal:

  • To no one's surprise, Jason Bay indicated that he'll dip his toe in the free agent waters, saying he'd be doing himself "a disservice" if he didn't look around.
  • Alex Gonzalez's $6MM club option "might be a little rich for the Sox," so the two sides are likely to sit down and find a more palatable number. Nick Green could also come back, though it would strictly be a depth signing.
  • Unless Boston attempts to rekindle talks with the Mariners about Felix Hernandez, their 2010 rotation looks fairly settled.
  • As Benjamin notes, Boston's farm system doesn't offer much at the upper levels of the minors, so instead the team is "faced with re-signing their players, checking out a less-than-stellar free agent market, or going the trade route."
  • Rocco Baldelli's future with the club is up in the air, as GM Theo Epstein said they'll "sit down and talk about what the fit looks like next year –– if there is one."
  • In a radio appearance this morning, ESPN's Steve Phillips said he expects Boston to dangle Jonathan Papelbon, perhaps for an impact bat, according to WEEI's Alex Speier. The free agent market for closers isn't great, and at least Papelbon offers two years of club control. Those will be two expensive years, though.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Varitek, Sheffield

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A few links to browse while we watch to see if the Phillies can finish off the last of the Division Series….  

  • Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues wonders how Johnny Damon's recent slide and Hideki Matsui's hot streak will affect the New York Yankees' decisions this winter.
  • Josh Beckett wants Jason Varitek back in Boston in 2010, according to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
  • MLB.com's Kelly Thesier writes that Joe Mauer has spoken to agent Ron Shapiro about his contract status, but that there haven't been any "serious discussions" yet.
  • Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that Gary Sheffield wants to return to Florida. "It would be nice to finish my career with the Marlins," Sheffield said. "This is where I made a name for myself.''
  • The Houston Astros aren't handling the managerial interview process well, according to Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle. Justice's pick for the opening, Jim Fregosi, wasn't one of the ten candidates announced by the Astros.
  • Chris Ruddick of the Sports Network, via the Miami Herald, speculates on the next moves for St. Louis and Boston. He isn't opposed to letting Tony LaRussa and Matt Holliday walk, and suggests that Jonathan Papelbon could be shopped for a "young bat" this winter.
  • The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay writes that former Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Pryce is on the Reds' list of candidates for their pitching coach. The Brewers have also expressed interest in Pryce.
  • Within a mailbag on MLB.com, Chris Haft writes that players like Matt Holliday and Jason Bay will be out of the San Francisco Giants' price range, and that the team is more likely to acquire a "hard-hitting utilityman."

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Varitek, Sheffield

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A few links to browse while we watch to see if the Phillies can finish off the last of the Division Series….  

  • Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues wonders how Johnny Damon's recent slide and Hideki Matsui's hot streak will affect the New York Yankees' decisions this winter.
  • Josh Beckett wants Jason Varitek back in Boston in 2010, according to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
  • MLB.com's Kelly Thesier writes that Joe Mauer has spoken to agent Ron Shapiro about his contract status, but that there haven't been any "serious discussions" yet.
  • Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that Gary Sheffield wants to return to Florida. "It would be nice to finish my career with the Marlins," Sheffield said. "This is where I made a name for myself.''
  • The Houston Astros aren't handling the managerial interview process well, according to Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle. Justice's pick for the opening, Jim Fregosi, wasn't one of the ten candidates announced by the Astros.
  • Chris Ruddick of the Sports Network, via the Miami Herald, speculates on the next moves for St. Louis and Boston. He isn't opposed to letting Tony LaRussa and Matt Holliday walk, and suggests that Jonathan Papelbon could be shopped for a "young bat" this winter.
  • The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay writes that former Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Pryce is on the Reds' list of candidates for their pitching coach. The Brewers have also expressed interest in Pryce.
  • Within a mailbag on MLB.com, Chris Haft writes that players like Matt Holliday and Jason Bay will be out of the San Francisco Giants' price range, and that the team is more likely to acquire a "hard-hitting utilityman."

Theo Epstein Talks 2010

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4:21pm: MLB.com's Ian Browne has more from Epstein and Bay.  Epstein noted that discussions to date have been "under the radar screen and underreported even after the fact," and he hopes to keep them that way.  Bay continued to speak highly of the Red Sox while adding the caveat that he'll test the market.

3:30pm: Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe was one of many reporters at today's press conference with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona.  Let's take a look at a few hot stove highlights:

  • The Red Sox are penciling in Clay Buchholz for the 2010 rotation.  We can assume Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka will take three more spots.  Epstein is including Tim Wakefield in planning for next year, which implies the Sox will again exercise the knuckleballer's $4MM option.  My opinion – it won't be surprising to see the Red Sox sign an additional starter of the bargain variety.
  • Victor Martinez is the team's starting catcher, so look for his $7.7MM club option to be picked up soon.  WEEI's Mike Petraglia relays a comment from Epstein about locking up Martinez past 2010: "We'll see. We'd love to see him here long term."
  • Epstein finds it unusual that the Red Sox and Jason Bay both want a new contract but nothing is in place yet.  On a related note, check out this recent post from U.S.S. Mariner's Dave Cameron about the risk of signing Bay.
  • Epstein spoke about 2010 possibly being the last chance for several of the team's core players to make a run at another title.  David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Josh Beckett can be free agents after next season.  Petraglia quotes Epstein on Ortiz: "We need him to be a force."
  • Petraglia says the Red Sox are open to picking up Alex Gonzalez's $6MM club option for 2010.  Seems steep for a guy who missed all of '08 with a knee injury.

Jason Bay Talks About “Uneasy” Future

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WEEI.com's Alex Speier has Jason Bay's thoughts on his future in Boston, following today's loss to the Angels.

Bay and Matt Holliday will be heading the free agent class for left fielders, but Bay's destinations may be limited, as he says there aren't many other places he'd play.

This will be Bay's first venture into the open market, making him a bit uneasy about the process. It's been speculated that he'll receive a four or five year deal at as much as $15MM per season.

Bay made it clear that he would love to return to Boston, and described the thought of potentially playing his last home game in Fenway Park as "very weird." He had nothing but positive things to say about his time with the Red Sox:

“It’s very weird for me…This is uncharted for me. It’s a little uneasy,” said Bay. “I’ve loved every minute [of playing in Boston]. It’s been my quickest year and a half in the big leagues…The whole experience has been very, very positive. That makes it tough [about an uncertain future].”

Rosenthal On Pujols, Holliday, DeRosa

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports takes a look at what lies in store for the St. Louis Cardinals this winter. A few of his thoughts:

  • Despite the Cardinals' desire to sign Albert Pujols to a lengthy extension this winter, a reliable source tells Rosenthal that there is virtually no chance a deal happens so quickly.
  • Rosenthal speculates that the Cardinals' chances of retaining Pujols past 2011 aren't great. The first baseman will likely use Alex Rodriguez's $275MM contract as a benchmark, and might want to sign with a club "that would operate with fewer financial restrictions than the Cardinals."
  • Rosenthal suggests attempting to re-sign Matt Holliday, but not exceeding about $90MM over five years to do it. The thinking is that the Cards likely can't afford to commit over $100MM to Holliday and over $200MM to Pujols.
  • An alternative to signing Holliday would be pursuing Jason Bay or bargain-hunting for this offseason's Bobby Abreu.
  • St. Louis should make re-signing Mark DeRosa a priority.

Want to share your own thoughts on the Cardinals' potential offseason moves? Jump into the MLBTR discussion.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Hardy, Hammel

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Links for Wednesday…

Discussion: What’s Next For Baltimore?

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The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly details the questions facing a Baltimore team with some young offensive talent, some terrific young pitching on the way, and a lot of extra cash.

Connolly writes that while the 64-98 record Baltimore had in 2009 was the third-worst in team history, "there is a sense that the future has promise because of the emergence of young starting pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen, catcher Matt Wieters and outfielders Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie."

Left unsaid, of course, is the emergence of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis continuing to be a tremendous player.

The good news? The Orioles, according to Connolly, went from roughly $77MM owed in payroll at the start of the 2009 season-including $9MM to Jay Gibbons and Ramon Hernandez– to a $30MM commitment for 2010, not including raises through arbitration.

The bad news is that there aren't many marquee free agents (though there is Jason Marquis), and those that do qualify- Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, John Lackey– aren't great fits, particularly Bay and Holliday in an overcrowded outfield.

Connolly captures the problem of desires vs. realistic options perfectly here:

"The preference is to find a right-handed or switch-hitting first baseman in his prime, like the New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira. But there's no one who fits that profile in this year's class. The best free-agent options might be left-handed-hitting first basemen Russell Branyan and Hank Blalock or right-handed do-it-all Mark DeRosa."

So what's an Oriole to do?

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