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Rocco Baldelli

Red Sox Agree To Terms With Baldelli, Smoltz

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Odds and Ends: Burrell, Bradley, Abreu

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Links for Tuesday…

  • RotoAuthority asks for your #1 fantasy baseball bust for 2009.
  • Keith Law calls the Pat Burrell signing a "major bargain," panning the Raul Ibanez contract by comparison.  River Ave. Blues says the recent Burrell and Milton Bradley deals prove that Brian Cashman was wise not to offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu.
  • Will the Rays have enough money to re-sign Rocco Baldelli now?  Buster Olney still thinks he will land with Boston.
  • Gordon Edes says Jim Hendry had a stealth dinner with Bradley during the November GM Meetings.  Edes adds that the Cubs believe Derek Lowe is too expensive.
  • Cool story about a guy trying to get an autograph on each card in the 1983 Fleer baseball card set.
  • Baseball America’s Jim Callis has the updated ’09 draft order.  Callis also weighs in on the broken free agent compensation system, which is up for discussion after the 2011 season.

Reds Still Looking At Baldelli, Hairston Jr.

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The Cincinnati Reds remain interested in free agents Rocco Baldelli and Jerry Hairston Jr., MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports.

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told Sheldon that he has talked with their agent, Casey Close, during the weekend.

Jocketty said that he expects something to happen this week with regard to Hairston Jr.

The Reds have had no talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Andruw Jones and appear not to be interested, Sheldon notes.

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay also spoke with Jocketty. In addition to the Reds’ stance on Baldelli, Hairston Jr. and Jones, Fay notes that the Reds won’t be trading first baseman Joey Votto.

Jocketty also told Fay that Votto (Canada), Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto (Dominican Republic) might play in the World Baseball Classic.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Jays, Mets, Red Sox, Nats, Yankees

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On this date 32 years ago, commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended Braves owner Ted Turner for one year for tampering. Turner had announced publicly that the Braves would sign free agent-to-be Gary Matthews. Unfortunately, 30 years later, nobody was disciplined when the Angels signed free agent Gary Matthews Jr. to a $50MM contract. In the first two years of the deal, Matthews has been paid $15MM and his play has been worth -$600K (yes, that is negative) according to Fangraphs. With several big free agents still looking for new teams, will any of them be the next Matthews Jr? Only time will tell. In the meantime, let’s see what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • The Eddie Kranepool Society is not worried about Derek Lowe, feeling the deal will get done once the Mets add a fourth option year and sweeten the pot just a tad. They are also putting the Mets front office on notice about the possibility of letting Manny Ramirez slip through their fingers.
  • Mets Geek feels the Mets still need to add one more piece to their revamped bullpen and suggest Wil Ohman or Joe Beimel are better options as a lefty specialist than what is already in-house.
  • The Southpaw takes a look at some young players the Jays should try to target in the trade market, with Chin-Lung Hu at the top of the list.
  • My Baseball Bias is not satisfied with just Mark Teixeira and wants to see the Yankees sign Manny Ramirez.
  • Fire Brand of the American League makes a case for three players to be the Red Sox fourth outfielder, including Rocco Baldelli, Brad Wilkerson and Eric Byrnes.
  • MLB Notebook takes a look at how the Nationals could spend the $20MM that would have gone to Mark Teixeira.
  • River Ave. Blues says this offseason is proving to be a test of just how good Scott Boras can be.
  • Sully Baseball is running a series of posts breaking down each team’s all-time home grown versus all-time acquired teams. Here he looks at the Astros.

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

More Jocketty Talk On The Reds

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C. Trent Rosecrans of TheLotD.com also talked with Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty today. Here are some conversation highlights:

  • The Reds are still talking to Jerry Hairston Jr. to play left field. “We’re still trying to get Hairston,” Jocketty told Rosecrans. “We’ll have a different look on our club, but we still have guys like (Joey) Votto, (Jay) Bruce, (Brandon) Phillips, (Edwin) Encarnacion and even (Ramon) Hernandez with power.”
  • Jocketty hasn’t spoken with Pat Burrell in awhile. They are holding back on that one right now.
  • Health remains a serious issue with Rocco Baldelli, Jocketty said.
  • The Reds have been in discussion with the New York Yankees about their extra outfielders, but no deals are close.
  • No Barry Bonds; no Sammy Sosa.

Jocketty On Taveras, Hairston, Baldelli

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John Fay has a quick update following a discussion with Walt Jocketty, providing us with some interesting quotes from the Reds GM.

Regarding Willy Taveras, Jocketty likes his solid defensive ability in center field, as well as his potential to lead off. That "potential" depends on Tavares’ ability to replicate his 2007 offensive numbers, featuring an on-base percentage of .367, as opposed to a repeat of 2008, in which he posted a .308 OBP.

Jerry Hairston Jr. remains a possibility for the Reds. Says Jocketty: "He could end up being the left fielder if we can’t get that RBI man, which might be hard to do at this point."

Rocco Baldelli is also on the Reds’ radar. "We’re looking into the medical a little more," Jocketty said.

Alex Walsh can be reached at alexwalshatmlbtr@gmail.com

Odds and Ends: Boras, Wigginton, Burrell

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Tuesday linkage…

  • Changed my mind on the chat…we will not be holding it at 2pm today.  The time/day of the chat is TBD.
  • Here’s a list of the largest contracts in baseball history.  You can see why Scott Boras would want Teixeira to reach $190MM.
  • Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times notes that aside from Felipe Lopez, all of Boras’ free agent clients are unsigned.
  • Peter Abraham explains the Yankees’ large luxury tax.
  • The Reds have yet to open talks with Aaron Miles, Ty Wigginton, and Pat Burrell.  Talks are ongoing with Jerry Hairston Jr. and Willy Taveras, though Walt Jocketty is not making much progress with Rocco Baldelli.
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