Red Sox Rumors: Baldelli, Gonzalez
The latest on Rocco Baldelli and Alex Gonzalez…
- Baldelli tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that, though he prefers not to discuss his upcoming free agency, he has enjoyed his role with the Red Sox. The Red Sox signed him to a one-year $500k deal last offseason and he has responded with a .254/.315/.462 line.
- Billy Wagner insisted that the Red Sox agree to turn down his 2010 option as a condition of the trade that sent him to Boston. He had leverage because of his no-trade clause and decided to use it, as players in similar situations often do.
- Alex Gonzalez also had a no-trade clause, but, as he tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com, decided not to use it to obtain leverage of any sort. He knew right away that he wanted to join the Red Sox, so his decision was simple.
Stark On Red Sox Offseason Moves
In his latest column, Jayson Stark weighs in on the moves the Red Sox made this off-season. While Boston did not spend nearly as much as the Yankees, their moves have a ton of upside potential and that no team "had a more underrated offseason than the Red Sox."
- Stark spoke to one scout that thinks the Red Sox did a better job than the Yankees at filling their needs through free agency.
- Stark notes that the amount of guaranteed dollars for the Red Sox four free agents (John Smoltz, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito, Rocco Baldelli) is less than what the Yankees will pay AJ Burnett this season.
- The Red Sox moves also did not leave the team with "long-term inflexibility."
- One scout believes Smoltz will come back healthy at some point and compares the signing to trading for an impact pitcher at the trade deadline. Stark says the Sox believe $5.5MM for Smoltz is a better gamble than a five- or seven-year deal for "any free-agent pitcher."
- Stark notes that Penny did not need off-season surgery and one scout says pitching coach John Farrell is the one person that should be able to get the best out of Penny.
- One scout says that if Saito is healthy, the Red Sox got a steal.
- Stark says the Red Sox rotation is more "October-ready" than the Yankees, even if the Yankees have the better long-term outlook.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends
A few links on a slow Friday night:
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that Jon Garland was open to returning to the White Sox this winter. The Sox opted for Bartolo Colon and Garland signed with the Diamondbacks.
- Former major leaguer Gary Matthews had a front-row seat for President Obama’s inauguration, reports Brian Knapp of MLB.com. Matthews and Obama met when their daughters had a dance class together in Chicago.
- Rocco Baldelli made his Red Sox debut against his former team today. Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe writes that Baldelli will be a good fit in Boston.
- Tracy Ringolsby signs off in the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Rays, Pettitte, Cubs, Dodgers, Gomes, Mauer, Cruz
On this date 28 years ago, the Red Sox traded Fred Lynn to the California Angels for Frank Tanana and Joe Rudi. After six seasons that included an MVP and six all-star appearances, the Red Sox were forced to trade Lynn when the front office failed to mail a new contract to Lynn by the mandated deadline. Without the new contract, Boston was faced with the possibility that Lynn would be declared a free agent (Carlton Fisk was declared a free agent for the same reason). The player’s association dropped their case when Lynn agreed to a contract extension with the Angels. With many of this year’s free agent class still waiting for contracts to be mailed, let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Bucco Blog sees an Adam LaRoche-Jonathan Sanchez trade as a "win-win deal."
- DRays Bay would like to see the Tigers take either Troy Percival or Dan Wheeler off the Rays’ hands.
- Mets Geek makes a case for the Mets signing Andy Pettitte.
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse are not worried that the Cubs have traded away yet another former top prospect.
- Center Field isn’t buying that Jason Varitek didn’t know about the draft pick compensation as a result of his refusing arbitration.
- Her Rays isn’t taking the loss of Rocco Baldelli well at all.
- Dodger Thoughts doesn’t understand why the Dodgers keep spending money on veteran, offensively-challenged backup catchers that will never play.
- Anaheim Angels all the way says the Reds replaced "90% of Adam Dunn" with Jonny Gomes and a very favorable contract. On Baseball and the Reds is not sure Gomes’ offense will offset his horrible defense and sees him as a decent platoon option.
- UmpBump grades the Rays offseason favorably.
- El Lefty Malo laments the contract of Dave Roberts and feels he is the type of player that would be forced to retire if he were a free agent this off-season.
- Twins Geek speculates on what it would take to sign Joe Mauer to a long-term deal.
- Bullpen Call sees only the Mets and Yankees as options for Juan Cruz.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Fay, Jocketty Discuss Reds: Baldelli, Abreu, Nady, Swisher
Once again, John Fay and Walt Jocketty have discussed some Reds offseason activity.
- The Reds were very much in on Rocco Baldelli, and were offering about the same money as the Red Sox. In the end, it appears Baldelli made his choice based on geography. Of course, the Red Sox do have the better team, albeit in a much more difficult division.
- At first, Fay interpreted this to mean the Reds now have $7.5MM available to spend; however, when asked, Jocketty said that might not be true.
- Fay suggests Bobby Abreu might fill some team needs. According to Jocketty, "He’s still looking for a big contract," and thus, Jocketty says he’s "not sure he’s a fit."
- Fay holds to the theory that the Reds and Yankees could match up well, with Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher being mentioned specifically.
Heyman On Manny, Lowe, Crede, Redding, Hinske
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…
- The Giants "look like a major threat" to the Dodgers for Manny Ramirez and are "making a serious run at him." Former teammate J.T. Snow apparently raved about him. Nonetheless Heyman says the Dodgers are "probably still considered the favorite." Heyman lists the Rangers as "intrigued." He believes Ramirez will get three guaranteed years somewhere.
- Heyman says Derek Lowe is "quite possibly" in play for the Phillies, though we heard from Ken Rosenthal today that the team denied interest. Heyman also sticks with the Brewers and Angels as outside possibilities despite reports to the contrary. He believes Mets GM Omar Minaya prefers Oliver Perez to Lowe.
- The Giants, Twins, and Rangers are in on Joe Crede.
- Players said to be in on Freddy Garcia: the Mets, White Sox, and Rangers. We can probably cross off the Mets with their Tim Redding signing.
- Heyman believes the Dodgers want to replace Brad Penny with Randy Wolf.
- Heyman says the Pirates offered more guaranteed money than the Red Sox to Rocco Baldelli. Dejan Kovacevic had this first in an article published early this morning.
- The Red Sox were looking at Eric Hinske but with Baldelli and Mark Kotsay in tow it’s unlikely. A Japanese team has "allegedly shown interest" in Hinske.
- Before signing with the Rays for two years and $16MM, Pat Burrell was getting offers in the one-year, $5MM range.
Red Sox Agree To Terms With Baldelli, Smoltz
7:00pm: Smoltz signed the offer sheet from the Red Sox, says Buster Olney. Olney’s story has contract details as well. There’s also an interesting quote from Theo Epstein:
"I think you’ll see us now turn to players who we can take chances on, players who represent potential impact players. We still have some things going on."
2:31pm: Gordon Edes provides details on the Braves’ offer to Smoltz:
The Braves would have paid Smoltz incrementally based on his health up to a maximum of $5 million if he remained on the major league roster for 60 days, and the guarantee was for no more than $3 million. The offer also included another $5 million in performance bonuses and $2 million in additional incentives. So Smoltz could have earned up to $12 million by staying healthy and pitching extremely well.
1:55pm: David O’Brien says the Braves would not exceed $3MM guaranteed for Smoltz. Braves CEO Terry McGuirk is "shocked and surprised" by his decision. Buster Olney says Smoltz is set to sign Boston’s offer sheet and was perturbed by McGuirk’s comments. In a statement, Smoltz said there were "large discrepancies" between the offers.
11:39am: Chad Finn of the Boston Globe sums up the reports: the Red Sox announced an agreement with Rocco Baldelli on a one-year deal and the AP says their one-year deal with John Smoltz will be finalized today. Both players are pretty much luxuries for the Sox, but they had money to burn. I never would’ve predicted Smoltz and Trevor Hoffman would be wearing new uniforms in 2009.
Baldelli’s deal has a $500K base with $1.75MM in roster bonuses and $5.25MM in performance bonuses. The Phillies, Reds, Pirates, and Orioles were in on him. Smoltz gets $5MM guaranteed with another possible $5MM in bonuses.
WEEI’s Alex Speier looks at Boston’s successful history of buying low, and the station also notes that Brad Penny‘s physical is scheduled for today.
Red Sox Close To Signing Rocco Baldelli
9:25pm Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has sources close to the talks that say Baldelli "appears to be inching closer" to signing with the Red Sox. Were the Orioles one of the suitors?
8:28pm Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox are close to signing Rocco Baldelli, with an announcement expected Thursday night.
The Boston Red Sox were close to signing free-agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli on Wednesday night. It is expected to be announced at the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner, where Baldelli will be honored.
The Boston Baseball Writers Dinner is scheduled for Thursday evening. Baldelli will be in attendance to receive the Tony Conigliaro award.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Pirates Still In On Baldelli
7:53pm Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times says Baldelli could be close to signing, saying "there were indications Wednesday that a deal could be completed very soon." It is not clear whether this is based on reading other reports or if he has inside information. Topkin does write that a return to the Rays "doesn’t seem likely" noting that the Rays have very limited funds available after signing Pat Burrell.
1:44pm Dejan Kovacevic talked to a source directly involved in the Rocco Baldelli negotiations who believes the field may be down to the Pirates and two AL teams at this point. The Rays and Reds seem less likely to sign Baldelli given their recent signings. I imagine the Red Sox are one of the remaining AL clubs.
Kovacevic says all of the contracts being discussed are short term and heavy on bonuses.
Reds Rumors: Swisher, Nady, Baldelli
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has a few notes from Walt Jocketty…
- Jocketty has talked with Brian Cashman of the Yankees "a lot" and that the Yankees are looking to move either Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady.
- The Reds remain interested in Rocco Baldelli, but "probably not" Ty Wigginton, noting that the Reds plan on keeping Edwin Encarnacion.
- The Reds did not sign Jerry Hairston Jr to be the everyday shortstop, noting that Alex Gonzalez is progressing well from his injury.
C. Trent Rosecrans of AM1530 also spoke with Jocketty and has these notes to add…
- Jocketty says the Reds are not being handcuffed by the economy.
- Jocketty said that he had spoken with the Yankees "a couple of weeks ago" but not recently.
- Jocketty spoke with Baldelli’s agent today speculating that Baldelli may prefer to stay in the American League.
- Jocketty would be fine going to camp with the group in place but that the Reds are still looking to upgrade the bench, preferably adding a player with some power.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.