Coco Crisp
Rumors

Though John Lackey, Jason Bay and Matt Holliday will dominate the headlines and the dollars this off season, Buster Olney of espn.com breaks down the next tier of free agents who are sure to get plenty of calls when free agency begins on Friday.

Brandon Lyon: Though there are a lot of closers available via free agency, Lyon may be willing to take a set up role and is only a Type B free agent. The Phillies, Angles, Mets and Yankees are all likely to be interested

Mark DeRosa: As a player who can play multiple positions his flexibility is a good fit for the Phillies. His bat is a good fit for any team.

Jermaine Dye: His age, 35, precludes him from being able to command a long term deal, but an AL team might be able to snag a good DH for a short and small contract.

Miguel Tejada: Though he might not be able to play shortstop anymore and would require a move to third base, his 313/340/455 splits are still attractive. Philly and Oakland could be good fits.

Miguel Tejada hopes to get plenty of offers this off season

Nick Johnson: Defense and power are very suspect for Johnson, but his OBP (an absurd .477 in 35 games last year for the Marlins) is still attractive. Offense starved teams like Oakland or San Francisco could be interested.

Coco Crisp: He's unlikely to be an everyday outfield, but his defense and speed are still tremendous and he could be a good platoon outfielder.

JJ Putz: A big market team like the Red Sox (think Billy Wagner), Yankees or Angels might be willing to give Putz a one-year deal despite coming off of injury.

Placido Polanco: His 45 extra base hits along with solid defense at second base will certainly attract suitors.

Rafael Betancourt: If the Rockies offer him arbitration, he becomes a Type A free agent and interest will be minimal. If they don't, look out.

Olney notes at the end of his piece that the rational behind Betancourt also applies to relievers Wagner, Jose Valverde, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano.

The free agent ranks continue to grow as a number of players' teams declined their options.

• The Royals declined Coco Crisp's $8M option for 2010 and instead bought out the center fielder for $500K.  Miguel Olivo's $3.3M option ($100K buyout) and Yasuhiko Yabuta's $4M option ($500K buyout) were also declined.  Buster Olney speculates that Crisp might be a good fit for spacious Petco Park in San Diego.  The Padres are being run by former Red Sox assistant general manager, Jed Hoyer, who knows Crisp well form his days in Boston.
• David Weathers $3.7M option for 2010 was declined by the Brewers.  His buyout cost Milwaukee $400K.
• The Marlins declined their $2.6M 2010 option on outfielder Ross Gload.

Below is a list of center fielders that are eligible for free agency for the 2010 season, their age, current team, current contract and whether the player falls into a Type A or Type B free agent compensation status.

Free agent catchers
Free agent first basemen
Free agent second basemen
Free agent third basemen
Free agent shortstops
Free agent left fielders
Free agent right fielders
Free agent starting pitchers
Free agent middle relievers
Free agent closers

Rick Ankiel, 30, Cardinals - 09:$2.825M
Rocco Baldelli, 28, Red Sox - 09:$500K
Marlon Byrd, 32, Rangers - 09:$3.06M (Type B)
Mike Cameron, 37, Brewers - 08:$5M, 09:$10M club option ($0.75M buyout) (Type B)
Endy Chavez, 32, Mariners - 08:$1.8M, 09:$2.05M
Coco Crisp, 30, Royals - 07:$3.5M, 08:$4.75M, 09:$5.75M
Darin Erstad, 36, Astros - 09:$1.75M
Ryan Freel, 34, Orioles - 08:$3M, 09:$4M
Reed Johnson, 33, Cubs - 09:$3M
Andruw Jones, 33, Rangers - 09:$500K
Gabe Kapler, 34, Rays - Signed a one year, $1.05M contract for 2010
Mark Kotsay, 34, White Sox - 09:$1.5M
Corey Patterson, 30, Brewers - 09:minor league contract
Scott Podsednik, 34, White Sox - 09:minor league contract
DeWayne Wise, 32, White Sox - 09:$550K

Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals

Let's take a spin around the league tonight:

• The Astros are looking to trade Jose Valverde and Ty Wigginton.
• Jerry Crasnick of espn.com provides us with a number of players who could retire.
• The Orioles are reported to have interest in AJ Burnett.
• The Mets, Phillies and Dodgers have reportedly expressed interest in Raul Ibanez. The Marlins are also rumored as a long shot for Ibanez.
• Tony Masserotti of the Boston Globe believes the Red Sox will make the highest offer in team history to Mark Teixeira.
• Brian Giles doesn't expect to be traded this off season.
• Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at the Giants off season plans.
• Reds general manager Walt Jockety contends that they almost landed Coco Crisp.
• The are rumors of mutual interest between the Nationals and Teixeira.

The Red Sox traded Coco Crisp to the Royals today in exchange for Ramon Ramirez.  Let's review the reaction.

• Peter Gammons of espn.com gives his take on the trade.  Within his post he casually notes that the Red Sox might be interested in AJ Burnett.
• Royals general manager Dayton Moore will now likely try to rebuild his bullpen through a trade as well.  Mark Teahen is a name that comes to mind, but Dick Kaegel notes that the rumors out of Chicago do not seem to indicate much interest. 
• Keith Law of espn.com believes that both the Royals and Red Sox might not see the return they're looking for.
• Ken Davidoff believes the move allows the Red Sox to transition Justin Masterson back into the rotation.
• Ian Browne of mlb.com believes that the Red Sox will try to replace Crisp with a fourth outfielder like Rocco Baldelli.

There were two articles in the Chicago papers today about the Cubs plan to improve their offense during the 2009 season:

• Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke with Cubs manager Lou Pinella.  He mentioned that the Cubs #1 priority this off season is to add a left handed hitter.  De Luca suggests trading for Brian Roberts or signing Raul Ibanez.  Pinella also navigated around the idea of moving Alfonso Soriano out of the leadoff spot.
• Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that Cubs general manager Jim Hendry mentioned that one of the priorities of the off season is to acquiring left handed hitting.  Sullivan suggests Bobby Abreu or trading for Roberts or Coco Crisp who is assumed to be available.  There is also word that Jim Edmonds might retire.