Red Sox Rumors: V-Mart, Varitek, Crawford
The latest on the Red Sox, including details on the team's final offers to the Tigers' newest free agent signing:
- The Red Sox offered Victor Martinez a three-year, $36MM deal and a four-year $42MM deal before he signed in Detroit, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.
- As Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald points out, the Red Sox could bring Jason Varitek back in 2011, even though they declined to offer him arbitration. Click here for all the updates on which ranked free agents were offered arbitration.
- Wondering how the Red Sox have handled ranked free agents under Theo Epstein? Alex Speier of WEEI.com has all the details.
- Red Sox manager Terry Francona told the Dale & Holley Show on WEEI that he's confident the team will be strong by Spring Training, even though Epstein and the rest of the front office have some needs to address now.
- Francona called Carl Crawford a "game changer," not unlike Johnny Damon.
- The skipper also suggested that reports about Marco Scutaro's availability don't mean "anything."
- Francona was careful not to say much about Justin Upton, but he did repeat that the Red Sox value their own young players highly.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Collins, Minaya, Pirates, Rays
Some links on a Sunday evening:
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Chip Hale will be on Terry Collins' coaching staff after losing out on the Mets' managerial job. Meanwhile, Andy Martino of The New York Daily News tweets that both Mookie Wilson and Dave Wallace will "definitely be considered" for the coaching staff as well.
- ESPN's Adam Rubin offers up ten tidbits about new Mets' manager Terry Collins.
- Omar Minaya is in no hurry to accept one of the many offers he's received, writes ESPN's Enrique Rojas. The former Mets GM says he's received offers for various positions from several teams, including some to be an assistant general manager.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tells us that the Pirates are set to hire four coaches for Clint Hurdle's new staff: Ray Searage as the pitching coach, Gregg Ritche as the hitting coach, Jeff Bannister as the third base coach, and Nick Leyva as the bench coach.
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times feels that the Rays will hang onto B.J. Upton this offseason and likely won't trade a pitcher (candidates include James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, or Wade Davis) until July, unless the offers get "crazy good" once Cliff Lee signs. He does believe, though, that Jason Bartlett will be traded by Spring Training.
- Bartlett's availability will likely have a negative impact on the market for Marco Scutaro, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
- Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at Ruben Amaro's five best and five worst moves, and says the jury is still out on the Philly GM.
Cafardo On Crawford, Lee, Upton, Dodgers
This week's Sunday Baseball Notes piece from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is packed with juicy hot stove tidbits. According to one of Cafardo's major league sources, the Angels have had "serious talks" with Carl Crawford. The team's front office has been mum on the subject, but they've long been viewed as a strong potential suitor for the speedy outfielder. When five MLBTR writers predicted free agent destinations, all five guessed Crawford would sign with the Halos. Here are some of the other highlights from Cafardo's column:
- "Word is" that the Yankees are currently willing to offer Cliff Lee about $115MM over five years. Cafardo says the Rangers are aiming to match whatever the bidding gets up to, while the Nationals are also still in the hunt. Earlier in the week, Nolan Ryan said he didn't expect Texas to be able to outbid the Yanks for Lee.
- One National League scout said if he had limited trade chips to put toward a big bat, he'd acquire Adrian Gonzalez over Justin Upton. Gonzo is, as the scout notes, currently a "much better hitter," though he's also five years older than Upton and only under contract through 2011.
- While Cafardo adds Kansas City to the list of teams who have "considerable interest" in Upton, we learned Friday that the 23-year-old can block a trade to the Royals.
- The Dodgers would like to add a veteran "who can step up and be vocal when times are tough." Cafardo speculates that A.J. Pierzynski, Juan Uribe, or Johnny Damon could be a good fit.
- The Dodgers are also considering signing a low-cost starter, and haven't ruled out bringing back Vicente Padilla.
- "More and more teams" in need of middle infield help are eyeing Uribe.
- The Nationals and Giants, in addition to the Orioles, have some interest in trading for Jason Bartlett. The Rays are looking for young bullpen help in return.
- Mark Prior, attempting to make it back to the bigs, has three teams waiting on his decision, according to his agent, John Boggs.
- Not all of the clubs who are showing interest in acquiring Marco Scutaro would necessarily use him at shortstop. The Dodgers could have interest in Scutaro as a second baseman, Cafardo says.
Red Sox Notes: Scutaro, Papelbon
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has been rather busy at the winter GM meetings, writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. While the club has yet to make a move, Epstein is hopeful that something will soon come out of the trade talks that he has had.
- Yesterday, we learned that teams are showing interest in shortstop Marco Scutaro and the club is willing to move him for the right return. The market for Scutaro is rapidly heating up as McAdam writes that six teams are in on the 35-year-old. Potential landing spots include St. Louis, Cincinnati, San Diego, and San Francisco if the Giants are unable to re-sign Juan Uribe. The Red Sox are seeking bullpen help in return for Scutaro, according to McAdam.
- Closer Jonathan Papelbon will seek $11.5MM in arbitration, $2.15MM more than he earned in 2010, a major league source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Papelbon is coming off of a down season in which he turned in career-highs in ERA (3.90) and BB/9 (3.8), though his 10.2 K/9 is consistent with his career average.
Red Sox Willing To Trade Marco Scutaro
Multiple teams are showing interest in Red Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, and sources tell the Fox scribe that they're willing to move him for the right return. The Sox would then install Jed Lowrie at short while presumably strengthening another aspect of the team.
Scutaro, 35, signed a two-year deal worth $12.5MM with Boston last offseason. He hit .275/.333/.388 in 695 plate appearances during his first year with the team, solid but not on par with his 2009 performance (.282/.379/.409). Bonafide everyday shortstops are tough to come by, plus the sheer number of teams looking to shore up the position likely means that the Red Sox will get a good return if they do make Scutaro available.
Odds & Ends: Sheets, Padres, Scutaro, Nationals
A few links to check out while the Yankees play their first game without George Steinbrenner at the helm since 1972…
- Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Phillies have had a "top scout" on hand for the A's last four series, though Oakland isn't going to move Mark Ellis and Ben Sheets isn't scheduled to pitch this weekend.
- James Schmehl of MLive.com says that Sheets could be a "rather inexpensive" trade option for the Tigers if they're looking to add a starting pitcher.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock reports that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer told reporters he would like to make a move to improve the team, not just a cosmetic one (all Twitter links). He says the prices must first come down, and that he has the resources to add multiple pieces.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford says (via Twitter) that the Braves did not talk to the Red Sox about a potential Yunel Escobar–Marco Scutaro deal. He says that the Blue Jays were the only team Atlanta spoke to about an Escobar trade.
- Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo ranked the team's international free agent signings for MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that the Tokyo Giants have a scout attending tonight's Dodgers-Cardinals game. If nothing else, it shows that Japanese teams scour the U.S. for talent just like MLB teams do in Japan.
Cafardo On Ortiz, Iannetta, Atkins, Lowell
The key to the Rays' success so far has been their pitching staff, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, who praises Tampa Bay for playing so well despite a few slumping bats. Cafardo says that it may be hard for the club to add another piece or two before the trade deadline, since their budget is already maxed out. However, Cafardo acknowledges that with Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena facing free agency, the Rays may go all-out this year and stretch their budget a little in hopes of winning a championship. Here are some of Cafardo's other notes:
- After this season, David Ortiz is probably "done in Boston unless he takes a massive pay cut." Ortiz might have trouble catching on anywhere next year, since there's virtually no market for one-dimensional players, and he may not be willing to accept a role similar to Jason Giambi's in Colorado.
- If Ortiz and Victor Martinez continue to hit, the Red Sox are very unlikely to pursue Chris Iannetta.
- One of the winter's most disappointing new additions has been Garrett Atkins, who is homerless and sports a .221/.261/.283 slash line in 119 plate appearances. The Orioles will have to consider releasing him if he doesn't turn things around.
- The Rangers are looking for a starting pitcher and a productive right-handed bat. A Rangers official tells Cafardo that he'd still love to see Mike Lowell in Texas.
- Cafardo thinks that if the Red Sox fall out of playoff contention and become sellers, they could replenish their farm system, acquiring multiple players for Martinez, Lowell, Ortiz, Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Jeremy Hermida. I'm less optimistic than Cafardo about the caliber of talent the Sox could land for most of those guys.
Latin Links: Guerrero, Livan, Scutaro, Velazquez
Links in Spanish from both sides of the Atlantic …
- At a time when some Spanish-speaking players are feeling threatened by the political climate stateside, Vladimir Guerrero told Impacto Deportivo's Franklin Mirabal that the international makeup of the Rangers' roster contributed to his intradivisional move. "In Anaheim they treated me well, but in Texas I've found a lot of friendships, a lot of Latin players, and that makes me happy here. Right now, I don't think about retiring," he said. Guerrero is off to a strong start after managing only 407 PAs last season, his fewest since 1997.
- Resurgent 35-year-old Livan Hernandez predicts to El Nuevo Herald's Luis Rangel that a rigorous offseason racquetball regimen could extend his career another five seasons and allow him to achieve his ultimate goal of breaking Luis Tiant's mark for most wins by a Cuban pitcher (he's 70 back at the moment). A little further in the future, Livan says he is seriously considering an attempt at cracking the PGA Senior Tour. He adds that he personally called the Marlins this offseason to offer his services, saying he "always wanted to return" to the site of his World Series MVP triumph, but he received no response from the team.
- Small world: Marco Scutaro tells Lider en Deportes' Octavio Hernandez Pernia that he was in the gym with fellow free agent shortstop (and Caracas Lions teammate in the Venezuelan League) Alex Gonzalez at the precise moment when Gonzalez received a call from the Blue Jays expressing their desire to sign him as a replacement for Scutaro. "I think that was when I knew I was out of there," Scutaro says. Nevertheless, Gonzalez adds that Scutaro's praise for the city of Toronto and manager Cito Gaston helped steer him toward accepting the Blue Jays' one-year, $3MM offer.
- Braves minor league affiliates are looking downright NBA-esque after the team signed a fifth European player from their team academy in the Spanish Canary Islands. The latest addition is catcher Victor Velazquez, who will join outfielder Deion Galvan, catcher Roberto Machado, infielder Alejandro Sanchez Martinez, and Dutch outfielder Ruben Rijkhof in the Braves system.
- The Yankees signed 19-year-old Dominican RHP Erik Olivo for $300K out of the Dominican Prospect League, according to the league's Web site. The DPL also announced last week that it would once again resume play on Thursday after having been banned from Major League-affiliated facilities for the time being over a feud with the MLB Dominican office and its overseer Sandy Alderson.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Scutaro, Carroll
On this date eight years ago, Major League Baseball acquired the Montreal Expos from owner Jeffrey Loria for $120MM, who then purchased the Marlins for $158MM. Loria took everything not nailed down in Montreal with him to Florida, including manager Jeff Torborg. MLB ran the Expos for the next four-plus years until ownership was transferred to Ted Lerner in July 2006.
Here's a look at what's being written around the web…
- Capitol Avenue Club analyzes the players the Braves are bringing to Spring Training as non-roster invitees.
- The Bottom Line wonders if Marco Scutaro is going to be the next Julio Lugo.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness thinks the Dodgers jumped the gun when they signed Jamey Carroll.
- Mets Merized looks at the best of what's left on the free agent market.
- Camden Crazies tries to make sense of the Orioles' interest in Jarrod Washburn.
- U.S.S. Mariner breaks down the incentives in Erik Bedard's contract.
- TAUNTR touched on the Tigers' reported offer to Johnny Damon.
- Fantasy Rundown links to every prospect ranking you can think of.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
How Did Type A Free Agents Do This Winter?
You'd think it would be a good thing to be identified as a premium player at your position, but Type A status is more of a curse than a blessing for some free agents. Teams have to give up a top pick to sign Type A free agents who turn down arbitration, and that scares some clubs away. GMs covet high draft picks since they can become cheap, young contributors within a couple years, so there's a league-wide reluctance to hand over top picks for Type A free agents who aren't elite players.
- Matt Holliday signed a seven-year $120MM deal.
- John Lackey signed a five-year $82.5MM deal.
- Jason Bay signed a four-year $66MM deal.
- Chone Figgins signed a four-year $36MM deal.
- Jose Valverde signed a two-year $14MM deal.
- Marco Scutaro signed a two-year $12.5MM deal.
- Mike Gonzalez signed a two-year $12MM deal.
- Billy Wagner signed a one-year $7MM deal.