Some Red Sox links, as Adrian Gonzalez takes his first swings since undergoing shoulder surgery last fall…
- The Red Sox included a creative clause in Andrew Miller's contract that will discourage rival clubs from claiming the left-hander, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. If a team claims Miller, who is out of options, when the Red Sox try to send him from the majors to the minors, his 2012 option becomes guaranteed, according to Speier. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston says the option is worth $3MM, so a team would really have to want Miller to make a claim.
- Miller explained to Speier that he chose a minor league offer from the Red Sox instead of a Major League deal elsewhere because he wants to develop as a pitcher. The left-hander made a similar decision out of high school, when he chose to go to college instead of taking guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus.
- As Speier explains, Daniel Bard told the Yankees he wouldn't sign for less than $2MM when they drafted him in the 20th round out of high school in 2003. The Bronx Bombers never made Bard an offer and he's now a key member of their biggest rival's 'pen.
- John Lackey told Dennis & Callahan of WEEI that he expects Carl Crawford's transition to the Red Sox to be a little smoother than Gonzalez's, since Crawford is accustomed to playing in the AL East. Lackey, who is hoping for a bounce-back 2011 season, says he was trying to sink the ball too much early on in 2010, his first campaign with the Red Sox.
Yikes, $2 million right out of high school? Well in the end it looks like they should have done it, but I wouldn’t have blamed them back then for not giving it to him.
Not really unheard of for a terrific talent and a guy that wants to go to college. Boston took Alex Myer with the #20 pick as an example back in ’08 (Bora rep no less) and it was rumored that he turned down 2m to sign out of HS.
but Bard was drafted in the twenteth ROUND
So was Myer.. My not being plain there…
my bad i thot u ment first round 20th overall
Good call Cashman. He needed that money to overpay for aging free agents.
What a myopic, immature thing to say.
myopic
And all of RSN expects crawford and Gonzo’s transition to be smoother then lackey.
How won’t Crawfords? Sure it’s going to be different that he’s wearing a Sox uniform but other than that he’s in the AL East. As for Gonzo, there will be some bumps in the road learning the new pitchers but he’s a professional and one of the best in the game, why wouldn’t he figure it out?
Well, that is setting the bar pretty low.
Millers just another classic case of miss handled young pitcher. I irk’s me when small market teams throw hyped prospects out thier instead of letting them develope, sure every once in a while thiers a king felix and matt cain, but letting players develope and ease into the pressure is why the red sox have Lester and Buccholz.
And you know what people will say if they are able to turn miller into a good power arm out of the pen, thats right, the yankees suck.
Not sure how Detroit is a small market.
You see, anything non Yankees or Red Sox is small market.
He’s clearly talking about the Marlins.
Miller came up with Detroit, before being traded to Florida in the Miguel Cabrera deal.
Not detroit, the marlins.
You should have watched him with the Fish..It was 100% brutal. The guy could not make 2 deliveries in a row the same in his mlb games, whatever they taught him in that organization have a feeling here is going to take more than just ST to forget.
Miller’s FB was NOT in the mid 90’s anymore, but 91-93mph tops last year in his few games and he looked totally lost.
Not knocking the guy cause want to see him come back as well, just think he’s going to be a slow work in progress.
Agreed. He’s currently pitching in a corrected arm slot and is doing a rotator cuff strengthening regimen. I watched some tape of him pitching live BP this morning. They are all still throwing around 80-90% velocity, but Miller was repeating the proper arm slot, over and over. Tito and Young were standing directly behind him, watching and actively coaching. At one point, Miller let his arm get high and released early. Young was vocal immediately, but I couldn’t discern what he had said.
The good news here is he is very teachable, looks good, and is getting direct attention from the top down. I believe he’ll definitely need further developmental work in Pawtucket, and he’ll see some time in the ML this coming season.
Do you love that everyone jumped to correct you over the Detroit comment, saying you meant Marlins? Considering they were wrong and all.
wowwww, you seem like you are very educated, I wish I could right as good as you
Im sure if you looked back at all the late round picks that wanted more money it would suprise most people, one that come’s to mind is when the sox drafted Mark Texeria in the 9th round in 1998, heck the reason the sox didnt draft pujols in 10th round in 1999 was they thought he would of taken to long to sign because of the negotiations over money. That one makes me sad.
Yeah it’s kind of silly to bring up the Bard situation and say the Yanks were stupid. It happens so much in baseball.
What idiotic GM would give Miller a MLB deal (excluding Omar Minaya and Dayton Moore)?
Don’t worry Lackey, I’m sure A-Gon’s transition will be plenty smooth once he discovers Pesky’s Pole.
dodgers-giants.com/
Okay, that’s a brilliant option to make sure Miller stays put. Though I’m certain some non-Red Sox fan will try to call it cheating.
I’m certain you’re 100% right. And I agree, brilliant work by Theo.
That’s cheating! No, I’m just kidding, I just felt like saying that.
It is a very creative option.
It is really good for the Sox, but just for some additional info, Speier has another recent (much longer) article on Miller’s career up to this point, and the option was negotiated by both sides.
Miller wanted to make sure that if he was claimed by another team on waivers, it was because they were really committed to his development and not just taking a “why not, toss him in the minors” flier.
So it was a little less of just a sneaky way to get around waivers. It was a really good article, if you’re interested.
Edit: I’m a dope, the article above links to the article I’m referring to at the end.
Bingo!
Can you imagine the outcry if the Yanks did that? Why not put that clause in every prospect’s contract?
Idk, part of me thinks maybe it was Miller’s idea. He obviously chose the minor league deal with the SOx over major league deals, maybe he just really wants to play there. This clause helps him stay.
Andrew Miller seems to be really intelligent when it comes to developing himself as a pitcher. He knew he got screwed by the Marlins by being jerked around, and now he WANTS to go to AAA. The option shows that he signed with the intention of being a AAA starter, and agreed that he would be best of developing his skills.
We can only hope he actually develops those skills. He’s got good stuff.
He, or his agents, held out for a major league contract when he was drafted. If he was so concerned about developing himself why hold out for a contract that limits you to 3 or 4 minor league seasons???
It’s so easy to be a Red Sox fan.
It wasn’t in the 90s.
It is now.
Ah, the good old days…
It was brutal in the early 60s.
Am I glad to see another post about the Red Sox! Should be followed up by one about the Yankees, and of course the Albert Pujols contract. Be good if MLBTR could just stick to the Red Sox, the Yankees and Albert Pujols’ contract instead of the odd post about the other stuff.
Somebody’s whining.
Pssst… you’re the somebody.
But then we’d never know anything about Michael Young!
Oh, the horrors. When you read that, read it with a monotone voice.
Not hard for Joe Buck to do
VOICE IMMODULATION AFFECTS MILLIONS OF AMERICANS EVERY YEAR TINA
Speaking of draftees with the Yankees and Bard, and the Red Sox and Pujols, the Red Sox also drafted Matt LaPorta and Pedro Alvarez but never signed them. LaPorta was once a top prospect for the Brewers when he was traded to Cleveland for CC Sabathia. LaPorta has underachieved in the majors, but still has the potential to be a very good first baseman in the major leagues. At only 24, Alvarez was the top prospect on the Pirates last season and in only 347 at-bats last season, the 6-3 234 pound third baseman hit 16 homeruns and 64 RBI’s with a .254 BA and .461 slugging percentage. Alvarez is poised for a big season this year. I guess you can’t have them all, but boy would those two look good in Boston. Maybe Anthony Rizzo would still be around if the Red Sox supplemented LaPorta in the deal for Gonzalez instead of Rizzo. Who knows?
Laporta would look good in Boston?? LaPorta wasnt a top prospect at the time the Agon deal went down. Unless you are saying that he may have developed better in the Red Sox system then I agree it would of been nice.
“Daniel Bard told the Yankees he wouldn’t sign for less than $2MM when they drafted him in the 20th round out of high school in 2003. Then the Sox wanted to stick it to the Yankees by drafting him with the compensation they got by losing Damon.”
here’s this, red sox fans:
TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was blown away with Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias after working out with him in Miami this winter.
“That kid is gonna be sensational,” Rodriguez said. “I was so impressed with him. He works hard and he’s such a good kid.
“His hands … great hands. Really, really stood out for me. He’s gonna be a good one. The Red Sox fans should be very excited to see this kid in the future.”
Rodriguez invited Igelsias to work out with him at his gym after a mutual friend recommended him.
better hope only a-rod’s on-field attributes rub off on him. MULTIVITAMINS AREN’T DELIVERED BY SYRINGE, JOSE. JUST SAY NO
And all of New England area males just enjoyed a collective “nut”. Say “thanking you” to Notsosureifsrs.
He was hoping A-Rod could teach him his “secret” to hitting so well.
In your own words, Bingo!