Heyman On Manny, Varitek, Madson, Swisher
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up…
- Heyman says half the teams in baseball may still have a big deal left in them, with roughly 100 free agents remaining.
- Manny Ramirez continues to wait patiently; Heyman guesses the Dodgers go to three years for him. They’d be bidding against themselves, unless Manny has an offer we don’t know about.
- When John Henry asked Jason Varitek why he didn’t accept their offer of arbitration, Varitek responded that he didn’t believe it would’ve guaranteed him a spot on the team.
- Heyman finds it odd that first-year arb closers are getting more money than starters.
- Scott Boras was in favor of Ryan Madson taking the Phillies’ three-year, $12MM offer based on Madson’s personal/familial circumstances.
- The Yankees are finding more interest in Nick Swisher than Xavier Nady.
- Heyman has the Ricketts family as the favorite to buy the Cubs.
- Heyman suggests Bobby Abreu‘s defense gets a bad rap. The plus/minus system, however, says the right fielder is among the worst in the game.
- The Nationals and Marlins share the Rays’ policy of not negotiating once arbitration figures are submitted. The Nats are apparently willing to bend and may keep talking with Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham (each about a million bucks apart).
Varitek Negotiations Dragging
According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have a proposal on the table for Jason Varitek. However, the two sides have not made recent progress on a deal. Varitek "has not given up hope of securing a two-year deal," according to Massarotti’s source.
More realistically, I am guessing Tek can accept around $4MM on a one-year deal. If he’s really stubborn he can wait until after the June draft, but it’d take a desperate team to give him more than a few million for a half-season.
Odds and Ends: Cordero, Varitek, Hudson
Links for Monday…
- The Twins watched Chad Cordero‘s recent long-toss session. As you know, they’re also eyeing Brandon Lyon and Eric Gagne.
- Baseball America has the minor league transactions. Charlie Zink stays with Boston and the Cubs signed Ken Kadokura, among other deals.
- Sean McAdam breaks down the Jason Varitek situation, saying his value isn’t much higher than Gregg Zaun. Zaun signed for $2MM.
- Athletics Nation asks: how about Orlando Hudson at shortstop?
- RotoAuthority finds some upside starters for fantasy drafts.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI explains why signing Jonathan Papelbon long-term will be more difficult than Dustin Pedroia or Kevin Youkilis.
Cafardo’s Latest: Varitek, Sheets, Glavine
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a new article up in this Sunday’s paper:
- Mariners advisers have suggested bringing in Jason Varitek to improve the Seattle pitching staff.
- "Arbitration-strapped" Philadelphia may have interest in Ben Sheets as he becomes a bigger bargain by the day.
- Cafardo details the Kevin Youkilis contract extension, to the dollar.
- Kris Benson will work out for the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Cubs next Saturday.
- Tom Glavine would entertain an offer from Washington.
- If Atlanta takes on Andruw Jones, they would only have to take on $400K of the $21MM plus the Dodgers are paying him.
Varitek Met With Henry, Hopes To Return
11:37pm: More on Varitek from NESN’s Heidi Watney. She says Varitek’s meeting with Henry was to "clear the air" rather than negotiate. The Red Sox had not been returning Scott Boras’ phone calls, but now they’ll reopen negotiations. Watney notes that Varitek was not aware when he turned down arbitration that any signing team would have to give up a draft pick. Tek does not blame Boras for this.
9:07am: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe reports that Jason Varitek thought last night’s meeting with Red Sox owner John Henry "went OK." Varitek confirmed he wants to play for the Red Sox this year in a text message.
Varitek, who requested the meeting, did not comment when asked if the Red Sox were interested in bringing him back.
Buster Olney asked multiple executives whether they’d sign Varitek at any price given that they’d have to give up an early draft pick for doing so. Everyone asked said no, they’d rather have the pick. Olney reminds us that some executives could think differently, but his informal poll shows that Varitek doesn’t have much leverage with the Red Sox.
Red Sox Owner John Henry To Meet With Varitek
According to WEEI’s Alex Speier, Red Sox owner John Henry said in a Comcast Sportsnet interview that he is meeting Jason Varitek tonight one-on-one. Tony Massarotti confirmed with Varitek that a meeting will take place. You have to think a meeting without Scott Boras might speed up talks.
Odds and Ends: Putz, Mitsui, Varitek
Links for Friday…
- Jacob Jackson proposes a new, simpler free agent compensation system.
- Jon Paul Morosi says the Mariners wanted Fernando Perez from the Rays in the failed talks that would’ve brought J.J. Putz to Detroit. The Rays were unwilling to do this in part because B.J. Upton will be unavailable to start the season.
- Koji Mitsui again failed to garner a bid from an MLB team.
- Aaron Gleeman discusses the Twins’ decision not to use certain advanced statistics.
- Tony Massarotti and Curt Schilling talk about the Jason Varitek situation.
- Former GM Woody Woodward is back with the Mariners, as a scout. The Pirates added former Tigers GM Bill Lajoie as a senior advisor to Neal Huntington.
- The Nationals have done little in the Japanese market, and they were never involved on Koji Uehara.
Rosenthal On Lackey, Dunn, Young, Isringhausen
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal.
- John Lackey is due up for extension talks with the Angels, as he’ll be eligible for free agency after the ’09 season. He’d easily be the best available starter. Rosenthal says talks with the Angels should occur before the beginning of the season, but the Halos may not be willing to offer A.J. Burnett money (five years, $82.5MM). In November, Jayson Stark said Lackey had been telling friends he expects to have an extension by Opening Day. That came after Lackey’s confirmation he’d wait to see the Angels’ offensive plans before re-signing.
- The Braves paid $60MM for Derek Lowe, though no one else made a comparable offer. This is a testament to Scott Boras (and perhaps the Braves’ desperation), though Boras has more challenging work ahead in Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek.
- The Red Sox have shown interest in Adam Dunn, one rival exec tells Rosenthal. Rosenthal considers the possibility a longshot – "a square peg in a round hole." The Sox could always make a midseason deal if their offense isn’t cutting it.
- A Rangers official put Michael Young‘s chances of being with the team on Opening Day at at least 90%. The Rangers aren’t interested in moving Ian Kinsler to left field and Young to second base.
- Rosenthal believes Xavier Nady is likely to garner Type A status when he becomes a free agent after the ’09 season, but half of the equation (his 2009 stats) is missing.
- Jason Isringhausen is considering four teams, and he’d have a shot to close for those clubs. The Dodgers aren’t terribly interested, while the Cardinals and Tigers are possibilities.
- Should the Mets sign Andy Pettitte as well as Randy Wolf or Oliver Perez? One rival exec suggested the idea.
- The Astros apparently made a three-year, $28.5MM offer to Wolf before pulling it back. Looks like he’ll be settling for less.
- Rosenthal says a Rangers trade for Jermaine Dye is "not happening." They’ll go with Hank Blalock‘s left-handed offense rather than sign an aging veteran. Blalock is headed into a contract year.
- If Todd Helton has a healthy spring, the Rockies could shop Garrett Atkins.
- The Red Sox and D’Backs are not close to a deal involving catcher Miguel Montero. Arizona will need to add a capable backup catcher if they do find a deal for Montero.
Jason Varitek And Draft Pick Compensation
As you know, players such as Jason Varitek, Orlando Cabrera, and Juan Cruz are Type A free agents who declined offers of arbitration. As such, it costs a draft pick to sign one of these players. For Varitek in particular, no team seems comfortable with this cost.
WEEI’s Alex Speier looks at the Varitek situation, outlining four ways the catcher might get around this problem: wait until June, have the Red Sox waive their right to a compensation pick, a sign and trade, or a minor league contract. Bottom line, Varitek will probably not find a way to circumvent the draft pick compensation (which is why re-signing with the Sox makes the most sense). It’s never wise to bet against Scott Boras, but the agent’s apparent recommendation to decline Boston’s offer of arbitration looks like a miscalculation.
Red Sox Still Eyeing Miguel Montero
9:10am: WEEI’s Alex Speier talked to a source who said little has changed in the Montero trade talks. Speier says the D’Backs hope to receive a starter for Montero, meaning Daniel Bard might not cut it. The D’Backs aren’t in any rush to trade Montero.
TUESDAY, 8:40am: Massarotti says the D’Backs and Red Sox "clearly feel there is a fit." They’re still trying to determine which young Boston player is comparable to Montero. Massarotti reiterates that the Red Sox maintain interest in Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia as well.
MONDAY, 2:44pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic weighs in:
We’re hearing the Diamondbacks aren’t getting the impression that the Red Sox are zeroing in on Montero. The clubs are still talking — or maybe we should say they are again talking — and the Sox have tweaked their offer, but it apparently is not to the point where it satisfies the Diamondbacks.
8:59am: According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have been "intensifying talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks concerning 25-year-old catcher Miguel Montero." Silverman says the D’Backs have not been requesting Clay Buchholz, and the teams may be able to find a match. Last week Peter Gammons said the Red Sox would not give up Michael Bowden for Montero. Alex Speier wrote on December 9th that the Red Sox rejected that offer.
Silverman adds that the Red Sox are expected to continue to sign new players this week. They’ve already added John Smoltz, Brad Penny, Mark Kotsay, Rocco Baldelli, and Takashi Saito on one-year deals. Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire weighs in on Boston’s bargains at MLB.com.