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Jacoby Ellsbury

Red Sox Roundup: Kotchman, Epstein, McDonald

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With Red Sox Nation in full panic mode, a number of writers are surveying the wreckage in a 4-9 start that represents, to provide some clarity, just eight percent of the season.

Odds & Ends: Penn, Veras, Beimel, Mientkiewicz

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Links for Friday…

Discussion: Jacoby Ellsbury

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Alex Speier of WEEI confirms today what we heard reported last week by CSNNE.com's Joe Haggerty: neither Jacoby Ellsbury or his agent, Scott Boras, have discussed a long-term extension for the outfielder with the Boston Red Sox.

Speier points out that other core Red Sox players, such as Jon Lester and Dustin Pedroia, had about the same amount of Major League service time as Ellsbury when they signed extensions that bought out their arbitration-eligible seasons and their first year of free-agent eligibility. Ellsbury, however, says that there have been no conversations on the subject to date:

“I’m going to play this year. When the Red Sox talk with my agent, I guess that’s when that ball starts rolling…. I think it’s fine [that there have been no long-term talks]. I’d like to get one more year under my belt, but if they come with something tomorrow, then it’s a totally different ballgame."

Ellsbury is still only 26, and it's possible we haven't yet seen his ceiling. If he develops double-digit home run power and increases his 2009 OBP of .355, he could potentially make himself even more valuable in a year than he is right now. On the other hand, he's coming off a season in which he hit .300+ and stole 70 bases, two numbers it will be a challenge to improve upon in 2010.

So with Ellsbury's arbitration years approaching, who should be exercising more patience when it comes to negotiating a possible long-term contract for the speedster: Boras and Ellsbury, or the Red Sox? And if you're a Sox fan, what sort of price would you feel comfortable with?

Odds & Ends: Calero, Beckett, Robles, Bay

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Links to kick off the new month…

Epstein Discusses Lowell, Beckett, Offense

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Red Sox GM Theo Epstein did an informative interview on the Dennis & Callahan show this morning.  Click here for audio and here for the transcript.  Highlights:

  • Epstein said that by the time the offseason began, the Red Sox evaluated their chances of signing Jason Bay and Matt Holliday at less than ten percent for each.
  • Epstein has not expected a Mike Lowell trade since the Texas deal blew up.  At the time, the Red Sox GM envisioned using the $3MM savings on a hitter, but now expects Lowell to provide that insurance.
  • The team's numbers showed Jacoby Ellsbury as an above-average center fielder in 2009.  Epstein implied that he doesn't put any stock in Ellsbury's UZR.
  • Epstein considers John Lackey's five-year, $82.5MM contract a relevant comparable for Josh Beckett's next deal.  He does not see the Lackey signing as an impediment to retaining Beckett.
  • If the offense is subpar, Epstein is willing to make an in-season acquisition.  He noted that finding a bat at the trade deadline is easier than acquiring an elite pitcher.

Cafardo On Damon, Hernandez, Delgado

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In his new column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses the Red Sox' decision to move Jacoby Ellsbury from center field to left field, concluding that the 26-year-old should excel in left. Here are some other notes from Cafardo's piece:

  • Despite having a productive season, Johnny Damon acknowledges that he's expecting to take a pay cut. Right now though, he isn't willing to slice his earnings in half, which is what he'd be doing if he accepted a deal worth $6-7MM annually, after making $13MM in each of the last four years. Is returning to the Bronx still a possibility for Damon? "I don’t know. I haven’t had any conversations with them recently. Nothing would surprise me, but there’s nothing there right now."
  • Talks between Felix Hernandez and the Mariners are "getting serious" and there's a chance that they could work out a long-term deal before the season begins.
  • The Mets and Orioles are the primary suitors for Carlos Delgado. Baltimore is more interested in Delgado as a first baseman than a designated hitter, since they'd prefer a right-handed DH.
  • Gary Sheffield still feels he can be an everyday player, but says a market hasn't developed for him yet this offseason.
  • Cafardo describes the lack of interest in Miguel Tejada so far as "baffling."
  • Although Miguel Cabrera's name popped up earlier in the winter as a possible trade candidate, it looks like the enormous price tag (in terms of both his salary and the required return) has quieted those rumors for now.
  • Colby Lewis' impressive numbers in Japan over the past two seasons could earn him a multi-year contract. Cafardo says that at least six teams are interested, and that the Red Sox aren't one of them.

Odds & Ends: Mike Gonzalez, Second Base, Penny

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Links for Thursday…

Olney On Holliday, Bay, DeRosa

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Hot stove nuggets from ESPN's Buster Olney…

  • Olney doesn't see Jacoby Ellsbury as a great fit for the Padres in a potential Adrian Gonzalez deal, in that Ellsbury will be arbitration-eligible a year from now and is represented by Scott Boras.
  • Olney heard the Red Sox would be interested in signing Matt Holliday at less than the current Cardinals offer.  Here's the question: what exactly did the Cardinals offer to Holliday in guaranteed money and years?  $15-16MM a year for up to eight years is pretty vague.  Is it just a five-year offer, as Olney suggested a few days ago?
  • Jose Valverde is in a bad place, writes Olney, as there's no clear suitor looking to spend $8-10MM for a closer and give up a draft pick.  If Valverde lingers on the market into February he could be a bargain.
  • Olney heard that the Mets' "five-year concept" for Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, so much that the true value is similar to Boston's rejected four-year, $60MM offer.
  • Righty Edgar Gonzalez might be Japan-bound.  He spent this year in the Oakland organization.
  • Mark DeRosa's asking price appears to have come down – Olney says it's in the three-year, $18MM range.  Still seems too pricey, but it's a step in the right direction.

Adrian Gonzalez Rumors: Wednesday

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8:00pm: Edes tweets that the Orioles "made a pretty good run" at Gonzalez during the Winter Meetings.  It seems clear that Gonzalez has the potential to spark quite a bidding war.

1:36pm: ESPN's Gordon Edes tweets that there's "nothing going on" on the Gonzalez front.  Edes doesn't expect the Red Sox to land Adrian Beltre or Matt Holliday either.  Larry Stone of the Seattle Times believes that if the Padres do make Gonzalez available, the Mariners "won't let the Red Sox get him without a fight."

11:36am: Interesting tweet from ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. – he has a source close to Gonzalez who believes the player will be traded to Boston within the next ten days.

9:13am: The Red Sox are "working hard" to obtain Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, write Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The writers caution that a deal is "not close, and might not happen at all."  Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote late last night that the two teams are not talking, but wondered if they'd re-engage.

Rosenthal and Morosi suggest the signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron give the Red Sox flexibility to trade Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury, and the Padres would be tempted by the chance to acquire both for Gonzalez.  The Sox are reluctant to make that deal.  Still, getting Gonzalez at $10.25MM over two years would free up resources for other pursuits during that time.

Mike Cameron Agrees To Deal With Boston

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7:58pm: The deal is in the range of $15.5MM for two years, tweets Ken Rosenthal.

7:53pm: Mike Cameron has agreed to sign a two-year deal with Boston, the AP reports.

6:38pm: It is "believed" that Cameron would play left field for the BoSox, with Jacoby Ellsbury in center and J.D. Drew in right, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  This would make recently-acquired Jeremy Hermida the team's fourth outfielder.

The Cubs and Mariners both had interest in Cameron, but shied away for different reasons. The Cubbies were waiting on a taker for Milton Bradley while the M's continue to focus on Jason Bay.  The Braves also had interest, but it now it sounds as though Boston has the inside track.

Speaking of Bay, Crasnick wonders aloud (via Twitter) if this is the "final nail" in the free agent's chances of returning to Fenway.

5:40pm: Free agent outfielder Mike Cameron is in "serious talks" with the Red Sox, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The two sides are reportedly discussing a two-year pact.

Rosenthal adds that it is unclear whether the BoSox would place Cameron in left field or center field. 

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