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Jason Varitek

Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Teixeira, Peavy

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column yesterday; let’s take a look.

  • Rosenthal says the "expectation in some baseball circles" is that the Brewers will offer a four-year, $100MM contract to C.C. Sabathia.  However, between the Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers he could probably do significantly better.
  • Mark Teixeira should draw interest from the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels.  Rosenthal adds that Mike Lowell does not have a no-trade clause (I believe I wrote earlier that he did).
  • The Padres and Braves are at an impasse in the Jake Peavy talks, with the Padres seeking five players.  The Braves don’t want to surrender Tommy Hanson, as Tom Krasovic reported Saturday.
  • Scott Boras is reportedly pitching Jason Varitek as the Tigers’ next catcher.
  • Rosenthal suggests that Manny Ramirez’s defense may keep NL teams away.

Heyman’s Latest: Sabathia, Holliday, Griffey

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a look.

  • "The prevailing opinion around baseball" is that C.C. Sabathia will sign with the Yankees, and C.C.’s friend Jimmy Rollins agrees.
  • Matt Holliday "definitely intrigues" the Yankees.  But they’d have to give up a lot to get him for one year, and they seem full at the outfield corners.
  • Heyman, perhaps sensing a divide that does not exist, says Pat Gillick has relied on scouts rather than stats to make his decisions.  Heyman also speaks of "a new hesitancy on the part of some to go for another young Ivy League stat man" at the general manager position.
  • Heyman echoes the commonly held sentiment that the White Sox will not re-sign Ken Griffey Jr.
  • The Mets are prioritizing catcher, bullpen, rotation, and outfield over second base.  They’ve talked about Giants backstop Bengie Molina, owed $6MM in the last year of his deal.
  • Heyman believes Boston’s chances of trading Mike Lowell are "practically nil" due to his hip surgery.  His sources won’t rule out a run at Mark Teixeira though.  In other Boston buzz, Heyman sees Coco Crisp on the trading block and a two-year offer for Jason Varitek.

Cafardo’s Latest: Hot Stove, Twins, Gordon, Pedro

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Nick Cafardo from the Boston Globe has a nice article up catching up on some Hot Stove news, with a few other odds and ends tied in. Let’s hit the highlights here:

  • Cafardo seems to think the Yankees could entice C.C. Sabathia to pitch on the East Coast, and that the Angels would be crazy not to re-sign Mark Teixeira at whatever the cost. He also points out Joe Maddon’s connection to Francisco Rodriguez from his days as a coach with the Angels, and covers other top names such as Jake Peavy, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, Pat Burrell, Matt Holliday, and Garrett Atkins.
  • The Minnesota Twins were ranked as the #1 team in young talent by the 2009 Bill James Handbook. Minnesota had ten players in the top 150: Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, Justin Morneau, Kevin Slowey, Scott Baker, Carlos Gomez, Nick Blackburn, Jason Kubel, Denard Span, and Glen Perkins.
  • The article includes a Q&A with Tom Gordon, who has high praise for the Phillies, particularly Brad Lidge. Gordon says that having avoided Tommy John Surgery, he feels he can continue his career, and would love to pitch in Philadelphia next year. Gordon will understand if his option is declined, but is emphatic in saying he’s "going to pitch somewhere." Plenty of teams need bullpen help, and even with his injury, I can’t imagine him having a hard time finding work.
  • Cafardo likes the idea of either Rocco Baldelli or Gabe Kapler as a fourth outfielder for the Red Sox.
  • Would Pedro Martinez consider an incentive-laden contract to be Boston’s fifth starter next season?
  • Red Sox catching prospect Mark Wagner has shown improvement the Arizona Fall League. This only adds to the Jason Varitek dilemma that Boston is faced with.

Perrotto’s Latest: Red Sox, Mets, Burnett, Blalock

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John Perrotto over at Baseball Prospectus has his weekly column up… let’s take a look at what he has to say:

  • Couple of notes about the Red Sox: Perrotto expects Theo Epstein to re-sign Jason Varitek to a two-year deal in the $16MM range. This seems like drastically overpaying for what Varitek has become, in my opinion, but as Perrotto points out, there’s very little on the free agent market. Epstein will then look to trade for a young catcher who can become the starter in 2010 or 2011. Additionally, he’ll try to move Mike Lowell to open up a spot for either Mark Teixeira or Garrett Atkins, but that won’t be an easy task most likely. On a Manny-related note, Terry Francona said the last couple months of 2008 were the "most fun he’s ever had" in Boston, calling them "tremendous." He didn’t mention Manny specifically, but does he really have to?
  • Perrotto says the Mets have decided to pass on Francisco Rodriguez, and will instead pursue Brian Fuentes, as well as Derek Lowe. The Red Sox may also make a strong pitch for Lowe.
  • The Padres will likely take some gambles on rehabbing pitchers for 2009. Perrotto lists Mark Mulder, Matt Clement, and Mark Prior as candidates.
  • Toronto’s interim president Paul Beeston is making A.J. Burnett the organization’s top priority, and Perrotto feels that Burnett wants to stay. Personally, I’m in the other camp and see Burnett opting out and cashing in on a big payday.
  • The Rangers will almost certainly pick up Hank Blalock’s $6.2MM option for 2009.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Manny, Peavy, Cubs

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A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…

  • Sox and Pinstripes has eight questions the Red Sox must address this offseason including whether or not to re-sign Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield.
  • Dodger Thoughts notes that there is not a lot of substance behind the rumors of the Dodgers offering Manny Ramirez a contract worth $60MM for two years.
  • Fanhouse wonders if Ramirez could make more money in the long run if he signs a two-year deal with the Dodgers now.
  • Gaslamp Ball wonders if the Padres are not getting the offers they expected for Jake Peavy and are starting to get "cold feet."
  • Talking Chop notes that Frank Wren’s public posturing during the Peavy negotiations is in stark contrast to what Braves fans are accustomed.
  • Bleed Cubbie Blue projects a Cubs ’09 roster, including Aubrey Huff at first base and Luke Scott in right field.
  • The Sports Bank says the biggest need for the White Sox lineup is to add speed. They look at some potential moves and project an ’09 lineup that includes Rafael Furcal and Chone Figgins.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Boras Discusses Varitek

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Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe talked to Scott Boras recently about free agent catcher Jason Varitek.  As you’d expect, Boras’ spin is heavy on leadership and inherent value, so as to draw attention away from the .313 OBP and .359 SLG.  Boras hinted that a multiyear deal would be appropriate.

Calls a great game, can’t hit…that sounds like the mass of freely available backup catchers floating around.  To pay Varitek like a starter is to assign a multimillion dollar value to his intangibles.  That doesn’t sound like a Theo Epstein approach, especially with his recent quotes about striving for at least league average at every position.

Red Sox Review

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Red Sox GM Theo Epstein spoke to the press yesterday, resulting in a slew of articles in the Boston papers.

Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe runs through the team’s entire 25-man roster.  Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald looks at Epstein’s to-do list, as does Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal.  Paul Kenyon of the Journal looks at the team’s minor free agents.  An overview of various common topics:

  • Jason Varitek.  Silverman sees an effort to re-sign him for one or two years, while McDonald thinks he will look for three or four.  Massarotti thinks things could get nasty here, with Scott Boras in the middle.  Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald has an article discussing the Varitek situation.
  • Julio Lugo, Jed Lowrie, Jacoby Ellsbury, Coco Crisp.  Four players for two starting spots.  Epstein didn’t tip his hand as to whether he’ll move any of these players and diminish the depth.
  • Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Jason Bay.  The Sox may explore long-term deals for each.  There’s already been talks with Pedroia, though Massarotti thinks he might prefer to go year-to-year as Youkilis has.  He suggests Papelbon wants a long-term deal but the Sox may choose to play it safe.  McDonald and Massarotti feel the Sox will also explore an extension for Jason Bay.
  • Sean Casey, Mike Timlin, Alex Cora, Mark Kotsay.  Cora might go if Lugo stays.  Timlin may retire.  Massarotti does not think Casey will be re-signed, while McDonald doesn’t see Kotsay returning (he wants to start).
  • Outside options: Epstein could make a big move, or do very little again.  As I mentioned in the Offseason Outlook, C.C. Sabathia might be a better fit than Mark Teixeira.

Odds and Ends: Dice-K, Varitek, Rolen

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Links for Monday…

  • Tim Brown and Peter Abraham offer their takes on the top free agents.
  • A note from Abraham – if Daisuke Matsuzaka finishes top three in the AL Cy Young vote, he’ll get an extra $2MM in each of the ’09 and ’10 seasons.
  • The Mariners could hire their new GM as soon as tomorrow.  Geoff Baker discussed the merits of the four candidates in two recent posts.
  • Jason Varitek was mum on his future last night.
  • Joe Frisaro has the Marlins’ 2009 payroll in the $30-35MM range.  They have 15 arbitration-eligible players.
  • I came across an interesting note about B.J. Upton.  Back in 2004, Devil Rays GM Chuck LaMar wanted to sign Upton to an unprecedented eight or nine-year contract before he reached the Majors.  The new Rays regime eventually succeeded with a similar deal for Evan Longoria.
  • The Diamondbacks signed a Korean high school catcher named Kim Jae-yoon for $150K.
  • Jordan Bastian would be stunned if Scott Rolen exercises his right to opt out of his contract or demand a trade.
  • T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers are not in the running for C.C. Sabathia.
  • SI.com’s Jon Heyman looks at how the Phillies were built.

Odds and Ends: Iguchi, Varitek, Bonds

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Linkage for Thursday…

Olney On The Free Agent Market

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ESPN’s Buster Olney has a great blog post up today with his musings about this winter’s free agent market.  Let’s take a look.

  • Industry people believe the current state of the economy might temper offseason spending.  We’ve already heard the rumblings that typically high-spending teams like the Angels, Tigers and Mariners backing off or holding the line on payroll.
  • Olney feels C.C. Sabathia could draw a $140MM offer from the Yankees, but something more in the $90-100MM range from the Angels or Dodgers.  So he may have to decide whether playing close to home is worth $30-50MM.
  • Olney extols the virtues of Derek Lowe, who could get a deal comparable to Jason Schmidt’s three years/$47MM.  That was two years, ago though…I think Scott Boras gets Lowe $18MM a year.
  • Olney considers this a strong market for starting pitching.  Maybe so, but we might see a lot of multiyear deals for injury-risk hurlers after Sabathia and Lowe sign.
  • Olney likes the match between the Cardinals and Brian Fuentes.  Other teams that could consider Fuentes: the Rays, Indians, and Brewers.
  • Olney is convinced the Yankees will offer Bobby Abreu arbitration but nothing more.  Abreu is comfortably set to earn Type A status.  If the Yanks offer arbitration, they’ll either get Abreu for one year and $16MM or so or they’ll get two draft picks.  In contrast, Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman have said they expect the Yankees to let Abreu leave.
  • Olney guesses the Red Sox will offer Jason Varitek two guaranteed years with a vesting option for 2011.  The Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin wrote in August that she expects Varitek to re-sign.
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