Some links as Sunday turns into Monday…
- In a mailbag, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says he still expects the Indians to pursue a veteran hitter before the season. The Tribe recently made a run at Carlos Beltran.
- Each year is a different story for the Red Sox, but the club typically meets its biggest needs in November and December, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. However, since the current ownership group took over a decade ago, they have made some key additions in January and February, including their pickup of David Ortiz off of waivers in early 2003.
- The Red Sox were among several suitors for Carlos Beltran who dangled the designated hitter spot as a way to prolong his career, but the veteran wanted to continue to play in the outfield, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Blue Jays, and Indians were also among the American League teams in the mix for Beltran.
- The Orioles aren't counting on Brian Roberts being ready for Spring Training, so Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com takes a look at the club's second base situation heading into 2012. Based on executive vice president Dan Duquette's comments yesterday, it doesn't sound as though the club is looking to trade for a solution at second.
- Agent Scott Boras, who negotiated Daisuke Matsuzaka's six-year, $52MM deal in 2006, is no fan of the Japanese posting system, Silverman writes. Boras says that the actual talks with Boston weren't unpleasant, but he would have preferred to see his client choose between other cities that might have fit him better.