Red Sox Reach Deals With Bard, Penny
9:59pm: Ian Browne of MLB.com weighs in on Bard. He discusses the catching situation, and in particular, how the Red Sox will use Bard if free-agent Jason Varitek returns to the franchise.
SI.com points out Penny’s Interleague numbers: 7-11 with a 5.08 ERA in 24 appearances against American League opponents. Penny has spent his entire career in the National League.
8:41pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com spoke with Brad Penny, who confirmed his deal with the Boston Red Sox.
From Bradford:
“There were a lot of teams involved,” said Penny in a phone conversation. “But I wanted to go somewhere where I knew we had a great chance at winning, and Boston is that place.”
Bradford adds that Penny will be in Boston on Jan. 7 to take his physical and will begin his throwing program next week.
Bradford also updates the status of Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who has started exercises on his throwing shoulder, which is earlier than in years past. Bradford’s post states that the injury that plagued Beckett at the end of the 2008 season has subsided. The injury centered around the intercostal muscles near the ribs and not the oblique as previously thought.
7:33pm: Free-agent catcher Josh Bard has reached a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald and Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe are reporting.
The Bard agreement is a nonguaranteed major-league deal worth $1.6MM. According to McAdam, Bard is viewed as a backup, but he could see more time depending upon what Boston decides to do at catcher.
Bard, 31 in March, spent seven games with the Red Sox in 2006 before Boston traded him to the Padres. He hit .202 in 57 games with San Diego in 2008.
McAdam has more on the Brad Penny deal, too. The agreement, a one-year deal with a base salary of $5MM, will be finalized Monday. Incentives and performance bonuses can increase the total deal another $3MM if Penny pitches more than 160 innings, McAdam reports.
Penny, 31 in May, went 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA in 17 starts and two relief appearances in 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-hander played 4.5 seasons for the Dodgers. He played with the Florida Marlins from 2000 until he was traded in 2004.
With the addition of Penny, the Boston rotation now consists of Penny, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester.
The move also allows righty Justin Masterson to remain in a setup role for closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Peavy Trade Not Probable, But Padres Listening
Former Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy is likely to remain a San Diego Padre, this despite numerous trade rumors during the offseason, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Krasovic wrote that Padres general manager Kevin Towers will continue to listen to offers, though. A potential deal with the Chicago Cubs has fallen through, Krasovic added.
Odds And Ends: Otsuka, Orioles, Johnson
I’ll keep this updated as more comes in, but for now these are your Saturday links…
- Patrick Newman found that Akinori Otsuka will work out in front of reps from all MLB teams next month. Apparently Padres GM Kevin Towers is interested if Otsuka’s healthy.
- Roch Kubatko knows there’s pitching talent coming from the minors, but he doesn’t love the current Orioles rotation and expects them to add two more starters.
- The difference between 69 and 72 in 2009 wins isn’t worth much to the Orioles, Peter Schmuck writes.
- The Red Sox move on after missing out on Mark Teixeira.
- Eric Wedge doesn’t seem bothered by the Yankees’ big acquisitions.
- Vernon Wells knows how hard it will be to compete now that former-teammate A.J. Burnett‘s in pinstripes along with a couple other big names.
- Keith Law says the Randy Johnson signing moves the Giants "toward 2009 respectability, if not outright contention."
- Vlae Kershner doesn’t like the possibility of Garret Anderson on the A’s.
- Bleed Cubbie Blue argues that Adam Dunn‘s patience-power combination would work well for the Cubs. Last week Dunn said he thinks so too.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi revealed his favorite meal and dream date in a Q&A with the Sporting News.
Odds & Ends: Lowe, Penny, Padres, Red Sox
A couple of links from around the baseball world on a slow Christmas Eve…
- Ben Shpigel of the New York Times believes Derek Lowe will settle for a three-year deal with a vesting option. The Mets might be willing to make that offer.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune presents seven candidates for the Padres’ 2009 starting rotation.
- The New York Times jokes that Brad Penny "may be too cheap for the Yankees’ taste."
- According to the Providence Journal, the Red Sox could see a payroll drop of nearly $20MM if they make no further moves this offseason.
- New York Yankees’ president Randy Levine backs up the club’s wild spending this offseason. Levine claims that the dollars spent "are essential to the revenues generated by Major League Baseball and its networks and other entities.”
Padres Sign Luis Rodriguez, Oneli Perez
The Padres made a few more cost-effective moves Wednesday. Corey Brock of MLB.com breaks it down:
- San Diego signed right-handed pitcher Oneli Perez to a minor league deal. Perez, 25, hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors, but sports a 2.72 ERA in 185 minor league appearances. There’s an outside chance he could pitch his way into the Padres’ bullpen this spring.
- The Padres avoided arbitration with switch-hitting infielder Luis Rodriguez, signing him to a one-year deal. He hit .287 in 64 games last season while Khalil Greene was sidelined with a broken bone in his left hand. Rodriguez, 28, is likely to open 2009 as the Padres’ starting shortstop. Greene, you’ll remember, was dealt to the Cardinals in early December.
Correia, Padres Reach Minor-League Deal
Kevin Correia will compete for a starting job with the San Diego Padres, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.
Correia, a righty, was previously with the San Francisco Giants. He agreed to terms on a minor-league contact with an invitation to spring training. If he makes the 25-man roster, Correia could earn $750,000, according to his agent. Krasovic notes that Correia is from San Diego.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Burrell, Dunn
Ken Rosenthal filed a new column earlier today.
- The Angels are lukewarm on Manny Ramirez, and for now are talking about filling their lineup with internal candidates.
- Kevin Towers says that if the Jake Peavy sweepstakes heats back up, "nobody is going to know it." Rosenthal discusses the chances of the Angels or Cubs.
- Mark Teixeira is "almost certain" to get an escape clause in his deal.
- The Cubs are confident about signing Milton Bradley, but the Rays, Yankees, and Nationals are interested too.
- Rosenthal looks at possibilities for Pat Burrell, discussing the Rays, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds.
- The Brewers expressed interest in Adam Dunn as they were mulling a Mike Cameron trade (Corey Hart would’ve played center).
- Bobby Abreu "remains in touch with the Yankees." Surprisingly to hear, as the two sides reportedly had not spoken for quite a while.
- The Rangers would like to move some salary, with Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, and Hank Blalock the candidates.
- The Royals like Jerry Hairston Jr., but don’t have the money to sign him.
Padres Sign Chris Britton
We missed this one – apparently the Padres signed recently non-tendered reliever Chris Britton, according to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The big righty will compete for the seventh-inning role in 2009. What better place for a soft-tossing righty reliever to land than PETCO.
Krasovic adds that the Padres and pitcher Kevin Correia have mutual interest. Also, while the Padres may consider Brad Ausmus, they have an eye on San Francisco catcher Eliezer Alfonzo. Alfonzo missed 50 games in 2008 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. UPDATE: The Padres signed Alfonzo to a minor league deal on Friday, actually.
Padres Sign Jody Gerut
The Padres signed arb-eligible center fielder Jody Gerut for ’09 at a salary of $1.1775MM, according to MLB.com’s Corey Brock. The 31 year-old had a surprising comeback season, hitting .296/.351/.494 in 356 plate appearances while playing above-average defense.
Peavy-Boston Possibility
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses the possibility of Jake Peavy being traded to the Red Sox:
The Red Sox have "some" interest in Peavy, but as of a few days ago the teams had not entertained any substantive trade talks as Padres GM Kevin Towers knew that Boston was not on Peavy’s wish list. But now that talks with Atlanta and the Cubs have broken down, Towers needs a new team to deal with and the 27-year-old Peavy, according to his agent, Barry Axelrod, probably would OK a deal to Boston. But if there’s a Mark Teixeira splash, the Red Sox might not have the money to entertain it.
Padres CEO Sandy Alderson recently said the team is no longer actively pursuing a Peavy trade, but left the door open in case a team approaches them. While the Red Sox easily have the young pitching to get it done, they’d also have the leverage to shoot for a bargain in a trade with San Diego. Kevin Towers has historically been Theo Epstein’s most frequent trade partner, but keep in mind that Peavy is in control.