Boston Red Sox Rumors

In our Prospect Preview series, Baseball Rumor Mill will take a look at a number of prospects for the upcoming 2010 MLB draft who figure to be selected in the early rounds.  Up first, Jameson Taillon.

Though SI coverboy Bryce Harper has received the lion's share of the press heading into this summer's MLB draft, we will be hearing a lot more about Jameson Taillon once the high school season gets started and the draft draws closer.

Listed at 6'7" and 230lbs and hailing from Texas has drawn Roger Clemens comparisons for the big right handed pitcher.  Taillon has been impressive in every venue he pitched at in 2009, culminating with a gold medal run with the 18-and-under USA team at the COPABE "AAA" Pan American Championships in Venezuela.  Sporting mid-90s velocity and a devestating curveball, Taillon figures to be the #2 pick in the upcoming draft. 

Jameson Taillon figures to be the #2 pick in the 2010 MLB draft

As Taillon heads into the 2010 season, he notes that he's working on improving his physical conditioning and perfecting his mechanics.  Beyond the Pan-Am Championships, Taillon was very happy with the summer he had playing in the AFLAC and Under Armour games as well as other showcases.  His favorite player is Josh Beckett and he really admires the way the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels operate.  Unfortunately for Taillon, he's unlikely to fall in the draft to either team. 

For more on Taillon's interview with the 2010 MLB Draft Blog, click here.

The Red Sox officially introduced Adrian Beltre at a Fenway Park news conference Friday morning.  The free-agent third baseman Beltre is well known for his defense and replaces Mike Lowell in the corner.  Beltre's contract is for one-year, $9 million that includes a 2011 option for $5 million, the amount will double if Beltre has 640 plate appearances in 2010.  The option also includes a $1 million buyout.

Beltre, 30, is a .270 career hitter with 250 homers and 906 RBI.  2009 was an offensively slow year for Beltre due to left shoulder problems, however on June 30, 2009 he had bone spurs removed and is expected to rebound for 2010.

Beltre marks the fourth free-agent acquisition press conference for Boston this winter which includes, shortstop Marco Scutaro, right-hander John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron.

Adrian Beltre is heading to Boston

The Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners finalized their trade sending Casey Kotchman to the west coast for Bill Hall, a Minor League player to be named and cash.  Hall is a versatile slugger who will be able to fill any defense gap for the Sox.  In 2009 Hall began the season with the Brewers and finished with the Mariners. Hall started 51 games at third base, 22 games in left field, 12 games in right field, two at second base and one in center field.

Last year Hall, 30, batted .201 (67-for-334) with eight home runs and 36 RBI in 110 games between Milwaukee and Seattle. If Hall can regain his form at the plate, career-high 35 homers in 2006, he may be an extremely pinch-hitter for Boston.

Kotchman was displaced from the infield rotation when the Sox aquired third baseman Adrian Beltre but is expected to start at first base in Seattle. Last year Kotchman, 26, batted .268 (103-for-385) with seven home runs and 48 RBI in 126 games between Atlanta and Boston.

The New York Mets have reached a tentative agreement to sign former Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay to a four year contract, reports Jerry Crasnick of espn.com.  The initial terms of the deal are four years, $66M, but the deal also includes a vesting option for a fifth year that would increase the total $80M over five years. Completion of the deal will wait until Bay passes a physical, rumored for next week.

Speculation is that the fifth year option will vest based on typically achieveable plate appearance goals over the first four years of the contract.  Bay has played in an average of 154 games per season since 2005.

Bay was offered arbitration by the Red Sox back in November and as such will receive a supplementary first round pick and the Mets second round pick, seventh of the second round, as compensation in the upcoming 2010 draft. 

Jason Bay is heading to New York

With Bay's signing, the next chip to fall is the winter's most prized free agent, Matt Holliday.  As Keith Law of espn.com suggests, with Bay's fifth year option likely to vest, Holliday is unlikely to sign for less than five years, $80M.

The Boston Red Sox landed one of the top free agents of the 2010 off season by signing former Angels pitcher John Lackey to a five year, $85M deal, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports had reported earlier in the day that Lackey was in Boston taking a physical.  Though numerous sources are reporting the deal as completed, Jerry Crasnick of espn.com believes that a formal agreement will not be reached until after today. 

Tim Brown from Yahoo Sports reports that the Angels still believe they are in the running for Lackey and that a deal has not been reached between Lackey and the Red Sox.

If the Red Sox do sign Lackey, the move affects the Blue Jays because both former Blue Jay Marco Scutaro and Lackey are Type A free agents.  Because Lackey is the higher ranking free agent, the Angels will receive the Red Sox first round pick, #29 overall, while the Blue Jays will be bumped to the Red Sox second round pick. 

John Lackey appears headed to Boston

The Rule 5 Draft was held today.  Here are the first round picks. Draft picks are listed by the team making the selection, player name and the team he was selected from.

As a reminder, players selected in the Rule 5 draft must remain on the 25-man roster the entire subsequent season or they are returned to the team from which they were taken.

1. New York Yankees* (from Washington): Jamie Hoffmann, Dodgers
2. Pittsburgh: John Raynor, Marlins
3. Texas^ (from Baltimore): Benjamin Snyder, Giants
4. Kansas City: Edgar Osuna, Braves
5. Cleveland: Hector Ambriz, Diamondbacks
6. Arizona: Zach Kroenke, Yankees
7. New York Mets: Carlos Monasterios, Phillies
8. Florida# (from Houston): Jorge Jiminez, Red Sox
9. San Diego: pass
10. Oakland: Bobby Cassevah, Angels
11. Toronto: Zech Zinicola, Nationals
12. Chicago White Sox: pass
13. Milwaukee: Chuck Lofgren, Indians
14. Chicago Cubs: Mike Parisi, Cardinals
15. Tampa Bay: Armando Zerpa, Red Sox
16. Seattle: Kanekoa Texeira, Yankees
17. Texas: pass
18. Florida: pass
19. San Francisco: Steve Johnson, Orioles
20. St. Louis: Ben Jukich, Reds
21. Colorado: pass
22. Philadelphia: Ken Herndon, Angels
23. Los Angeles Dodgers: pass
24. Boston: pass
25. Los Angeles Angels: pass
26. New York Yankees: pass

* Acquired from Nationals as part of Brian Bruney trade
^ Acquired from Baltimore as part of Kevin Millwood trade
# Acquired from Houston as part of Matt Lindstrom trade

The Tigers, Twins, Braves and Reds did not have picks because their 40 man roster was full.

The number 1 pick of the 2009 Rule 5 Draft, Jamie Hoffmann will now play all of 2010 on the Yankees 25-man roster

Mike Lowell trade speculation has run rampant for the past two years, but all the bluster finally seems to be amounting to something and numerous reports are indicating that the Boston Red Sox will trade Lowell to the Texas Rangers for prospect catcher Max Ramirez. 

If the trade is completed the Red Sox will likely have to pay a majority of the $12M remaining on Lowell's contract, which runs only through the up coming 2010 season.  Because the Red Sox will be paying more than $1M of Lowell's salary, the trade is subject to approval by the commissioners office.  Another potential hang up to the trade are Lowell's medical records.  Lowell has a history of injuries and is 35 years old. 

If the Lowell trade is completed, the Red Sox will have to look for another option at third base.  Kevin Youkilis is always an option for the team, having come up through the organization as a third baseman and recently he has split time between first and third base.  The Red Sox have been rumored to have interest in free agent Adrian Beltre, a Scott Boras client. 

In speaking with Boston Globe reporter Peter Abraham, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was elusive, but did not deny the trade rumors.  Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein was unavailable for comment. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting that if the deal is completed, it will not be for a while.  Nevertheless, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated believes the deal has a better than 50-50 chance of being completed.

Are Mike Lowell's days in Boston over?

The deadline for teams to offer arbitration to free agents was this past Tuesday and Keith Law of espn.com gives us his analysis of teams varying decisions to either offer or decline arbitration with their free agents.

• Billy Wagner was offered arbitration by the Red Sox and then signed with the Braves, giving the Red Sox the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft along with a compensation pick.  Law loves that decision, but questions the Braves move, wondering how much value they'll get out of Wagner at the expense of the draft picks.  However, it seems likely that the Braves are anticipating losing Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez making the draft picks a wash.  
• The Dodgers did not offer arbitration to Randy Wolf or Orlando Hudson, a clear indication that the team is in desperate financial difficulty and are afraid of the players actually accepting arbitration.  Both are Type A free agents meaning the Dodgers essentially gave up four draft picks if neither signed with LA. 
• Law agreed with the Giants decision not to offer Bengie Molina arbitration and hopes this means that the Buster Posey era - 5th overall pick of the 2008 draft - will start soon.

Is the Buster Posey era beginning in SF?

• Milwaukee did not offer Felipe Lopez arbitration, a curious decision.  Lopez only made $3.5M in 2009, did not have impressive HR, RBI or run totals and is represented by Scott Boras, so it seems unlikely that Lopez would have agreed to arbitration anyway.  Lopez is a Type B free agent and would have netted the Brewers two draft picks. 
• Similarly, the Angels raised some eyebrows by not offering Darren Oliver arbitration.  Oliver had a good year last year, likely would not cost much and as a Type A, if he left, would have netted the Angels two draft picks.  It's good news for Oliver, however, who might have had trouble finding suitors willing to give up a draft pick for him.
• Gregg Zaun and Brian Shouse were both offered arbitration by the Rays who would be ok whether the players accepted or rejected the offer.  Neither would have an unreasonable salary in 2010, but both are Type B free agents and would give the Rays a supplemental draft pick if they left. 
• The Twins have turned a "fringe prospect" into either 1.5 years of Carl Pavano or a half season of Pavano and a sandwich pick in the 2010 draft. 

Despite being offered arbitration by the Red Sox and alleging retirement, Billy Wagner has agreed to a one-year contract with the Braves. The contract will pay Wagner $7M in 2010 and has a vesting $6.5M option for 2011.

The bullpen is going to be a priority for the Braves this off season because they are at risk of losing their top two relievers, Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, to free agency. Wagner provides insurance for the Braves if one or both of them do not resign with the team.

For the Red Sox, Wagner's signing validates a calculated gamble on their part. It was widely considered that the Red Sox hoped Wagner would not accept arbitration after they offered it to him because they would prefer a compensation draft pick over having him return to the team for the approximately $8M a year he would receive in arbitration. The Red Sox will receive the 20th pick in the 2010 draft as compensation for losing Wagner along with a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds.

While the Braves lose a draft pick, it seems likely they'll get one back from losing either Soriano or Gonzalez. Wagner's signing is likely a sign that the team does not expect both pitchers to return to the team and each is a Type A free agent, as Wagner was.

Billy Wagner will take his services to Atlanta

The Tigers payroll was over $115M in 2009 and despite a competitive playoff run to the very end of the season, the team is looking to pare down its payroll for 2010 and moving Miguel Cabrera could save the team a lot of money.  Detroit has already openly shopped outfielder Curtis Granderson ($23.75M left on his contract from 2010-2012) and pitcher Edwin Jackson (arbitration eligible and due for a big raise) and not recieved too many bites.  Cabrera's contract blows away that of Granderson and Jackson, as he's set to make the following in each year of his deal: 10:$20M, 11:$20M, 12:$21M, 13:$21M, 14:$22M, 15:$22M. 

Despite being owed $126M over the next six years, there will still be interest in Cabrera because of his immense productivity.  Some potentially interested teams include:

Red Sox: David Ortiz and Mike Lowell come off the books after 2010 and if the Red Sox can convince the Tigers to give them some financial relief in 2010, the money might work out.

Angels: When Cabrera was traded from Florida to Detroit, the Angels were heavily involved in the bidding and would be happy to take Cabrera now, two years later.

Mets: With Carlos Delgado's likely departure, the Mets have a hole at first base that Cabrera could fill.

White Sox: Similar to the Red Sox, the White Sox remove Paul Konerko from the books after 2010 and Cabrera would fill in nicely.

Giants: They are in desperate need of offense, but already have two big contracts in Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand and would need to put Pablo Sandoval somewhere.

Mariners: Resigning Felix Hernandez is their priority, but Cabrera would be a big addition to their anemic offense.

Braves: Much like the Giants, they could really use the offensive help, but may lack the financial flexilibity to bring on Cabrera.  Moving Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez would allieviabe some financial constraints.

Financial reasons will force the Tigers to try and move Miguel Cabrera this off season