MLBTR

According to Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has agreed to a contract extension.  Some details still need to be hammered out though.

Epstein's moves since winning the World Series last year:

• Re-signed Mike Lowell, Curt Schilling, and Mike Timlin.
• Exercised options on Julian Tavarez and Tim Wakefield.
• Offered arbitration to Eric Gagne; selected Bryan Price with compensation pick.
• June draft picks also included Casey Kelly and Ryan Westmoreland.
• Acquired David Aardsma.
• Signed Bartolo Colon and Sean Casey.
• Traded Manny Ramirez, Craig Hansen, and Brandon Moss; received Jason Bay.
• Acquired Mark Kotsay and Paul Byrd.

Next up in the Offseason Outlook series, the A's.  Here's how they might line up in 2009:

C - Kurt Suzuki -$400K
C - Rob Bowen - $410K+
1B - Daric Barton - $400K
2B - Eric Patterson - $400K
SS - Bobby Crosby - $5.25MM
3B - Eric Chavez - $11MM
IF - Jack Hannahan - $400K
IF - Cliff Pennington - $400K
LF - Aaron Cunningham - $400K
CF - Carlos Gonzalez - $400K
RF - Ryan Sweeney - $400K
OF - Rajai Davis - $400K
DH - Jack Cust - $410K+

SP - Justin Duchscherer - $1.2MM+
SP - Greg Smith - $400K
SP - Sean Gallagher - $400K
SP - Dana Eveland - $400K
SP - Dallas Braden - $400K

RP - Huston Street - $3.3MM+
RP - Brad Ziegler - $400K
RP - Joey Devine - $400K
RP - Santiago Casilla - $400K
RP - Andrew Brown - $400K
RP - Jerry Blevins - $400K
RP - Josh Outman - $400K

Other outfielders: Travis Buck - $400K, Chris Denorfia - $400K, Matt Murton - $400K

Other starters: Gio Gonzalez - $400K, Dan Meyer - $400K, Vince Mazzaro - $400K, Trevor Cahill - $400K, Brett Anderson - $400K

The A's opened the '08 season with a $48MM payroll, down $31MM from the year before.  They have roughly $29MM committed for '09, plus arbitration raises to Bowen, Cust, Duchscherer, and Street.  They'll surely come in under $40MM, and could trade Duke or Street.

Oakland's pitching has been strong once again, and their fourth-ranked ERA holds up even after you subtract Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, and Chad Gaudin.   Lack of offense is the problem - the A's are dead last in baseball in OBP, SLG, and runs scored.

Cust and Suzuki made positive contributions offensively; Sweeney was OK.  The infield could be an area to upgrade this winter (second base would require a stopgap solution due to the minor league depth).  Chavez will figure in if he can come back from shoulder surgery, but he may be incapable of playing third base.  The A's have tons of outfielders, but no real trade surplus.  Given Billy Beane's success developing and finding pitching, that's the surplus.  He could deal Duchscherer or Street or attempt to swap young pitching for young hitting.

The A's could target third basemen such as Edwin Encarnacion or Kevin Kouzmanoff, though neither player is an offensive monster.  Young shortstops are more difficult to find via trade.  Dan Uggla could be an interesting target for second or third base.  The A's probably aren't in the market for a first baseman, though Prince Fielder might be available.  That'd make for an amusing story.  Mike Jacobs could be a more feasible target.

Shrewd free agent signings might be a better and more likely path - Jason Giambi, Rafael Furcal, and Casey Blake could help.  The outfield market is strong, if the A's don't mind pushing various youngsters further down the depth chart.

Click here to read today's chat transcript.

Today's links...

• Chat today, 2pm CST.
• Great stuff on the Pedro Alvarez situation from Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein.  Goldstein's source says the union will claim that the Pirates and MLB engaged in a premeditated conspiracy, perhaps designed to take Scott Boras out of the picture by negotiating past midnight.  The article is subscription-only.  At $40 a year, BP is well worth it.
• It seems that Type B status is slipping away for Tigers reliever Kyle Farnsworth.  Ivan Rodriguez recently fell from A to B, but the Yankees may choose not to offer him arbitration.
• Baseball America's Jim Callis says Mariners top draft pick Joshua Fields wants $2MM, while the team is holding firm at $1.5MM.  Fields is advised by Scott Boras.
• Interesting note from last week...Bernie Williams is training and does not consider himself retired.
• Patrick Newman discusses the Junichi Tazawa situation in-depth.  He says NPB's commissioner plans to meet with Bud Selig.  One reason MLB looks extra-appealing to Tazawa: NPB limits draft pick bonuses to $1MM.
• Geoff Baker discusses Jose Guillen.

Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News spoke to Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday regarding the team's contract offer.  Holliday revealed that the Rockies offered four years without a no-trade clause.  He is not looking to test the free agent market after the '09 season, but doesn't consider the Rockies' offer close to market value. Holliday knows he could get eight years on the open market, but it seems that six or seven years with a no-trade clause might do the trick for Colorado.  That'd still be a discount.

Unless the Rockies drastically change their offer, Holliday is a goner after '09.  That doesn't mean they can't hang on to him and let him play out the season.  That's a viable option that would've worked for the Twins with Johan Santana, in hindsight.  It's not an ideal offseason to shop Holliday - the free agent market features several big-name sluggers. 

According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, Giants catcher Bengie Molina hopes to sit down with team officials to discuss a contract extension.  Molina is set to earn $6MM in '09 before reaching free agency.  The 34 year-old is hitting .287/.316/.429 in 522 plate appearances, mainly as the Giants' cleanup hitter.

Molina knows the Giants can afford to let him go, given the presence of Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey.  If the Giants decide to use Sandoval at third base, perhaps they'll add one more year to Molina's contract.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wrote Saturday about the tough decisions the D'Backs face on relievers Brandon Lyon and Jon Rauch.

With Lyon, the D'Backs have to decide whether to risk an arbitration offer.  Would they want him back for '09 on a $4-5MM contract?  Lyon may make the decision easier for Arizona by falling out of Type B status.  Then, there'd be no draft pick to gain.  Lyon has a 7.52 ERA since June 1st.

Meanwhile Rauch's contract requires the D'Backs decide on his 2010 option five days after this year's World Series.  The option is for $2.9MM; an easy call if you ignore Rauch's last 20 innings or so.

The D'Backs also have Juan Cruz hitting free agency; he's expected to sign elsewhere.

Newsday's Ken Davidoff spoke to a "person informed of the Mets' thinking," and learned that they will not be signing free agent closer Francisco Rodriguez.  This is not because of the $10.5MM owed to Billy Wagner next year - that's a sunk cost.  It's just that the Mets would rather try internal options than hand out another record-breaking contract.  Davidoff does not expect the Mets to pursue Brian Fuentes either.  He sees the Mets re-signing Luis Ayala and then focusing on starting pitching.

Davidoff examines the likelihood of the Angels, Cardinals, or Tigers signing Rodriguez.  He seems to consider the Cards the favorite.  The Cardinals may entertain re-signing Jason Isringhausen, but that wouldn't take them out of the market for a closer. 

A closer vacancy and a ton of money...not many teams fit that description.  Will K-Rod have a disappointing winter?

Here's a look at the latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman.

• Heyman heard recent "scuttlebutt" that C.C. Sabathia does not want to play for the Yankees.  They're still expected to make a large offer, and Heyman also expects a big play from the Angels.  Sabathia reportedly prefers California but has become more open-minded to other locations.
• Cliff Floyd plans to play next year, hopefully for the Rays.  The team has a $2.75MM option with a $250K buyout.  He's worth it.
• Heyman notes that Randy Winn would've made a fine acquisition for another club.  The 34 year-old is hitting .315/.372/.438 in 611 plate appearances.  He's set to earn $8.25MM in '09 and can block deals to ten teams.

Digging into today's random links...

• Joel Sherman looks at what went wrong for the Yankees this year.  Did they fall too in love with their farm system?
• At least six teams have called the Pirates about third baseman Andy LaRoche in recent weeks.  If LaRoche pans out and Pedro Alvarez comes aboard, the Bucs could have a surplus at some point.
• Craig Harris examines the rise of D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes.
• Eddie Bajek updated the Elias rankings for the AL 1B/OF/DH category.  They're fluctuating wildly.  Eddie also did catchers for both leagues; Ivan Rodriguez is headed into Type B territory.  Gregg Zaun lost Type B status.
• Mike Hindman conducted a roundtable asking what kind of contract the Rangers should offer Milton Bradley.
• 29 teams passed on Rays reliever Grant Balfour last spring.  Now he has a 1.62 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 50 innings.  Balfour's been through a lot.
• Joe McDonald and Sean McAdam don't see the Red Sox signing A.J. Burnett (or any big-name free agent starter).
• Padres CEO Sandy Alderson scoffed at the idea of a $40MM payroll for '09.  I never heard that figure tossed around; Buster Olney suggested the $50MM range.
• Maury Brown heard a rumor that Thomas Ricketts won the bid for the Cubs.

Let's take a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

• The Red Sox are "intrigued" by Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (I believe they have been for some time).  Jamey Newberg would like to see Clay Buchholz in a Rangers uniform, but admits the deal would have to be expanded.
• The Red Sox will not have to pay the $3MM buyout on Edgar Renteria if the Tigers decline his $11MM option for '09.  The free agent market for shorstops is weak, but the Tigers will probably look elsewhere given Renteria's .269/.318/.375 showing.
• Cafardo wonders if Jason Bay or Matt Holliday will be on the Braves' radar this winter (both are signed through '09).  You'd have to think the Sox will want to keep Bay.  The Braves will have $30-40MM to spend, and Bobby Cox expects two starting pitchers to be added.
• Cafardo talked to a scout who feels Ivan Rodriguez still has something left to offer despite his poor performance for the Yankees.  Ideally he'd sign a one-year deal.  It won't be with the Yankees; Jorge Posada noted that Pudge is "going to have to go somewhere else."

The Brewers fired manager Ned Yost today, replacing him with third base coach Dale Sveum for the rest of the season.  The timing is bizarre - the Brewers have not been playing well lately, but they are currently tied for the wild card with 12 games left to play.  Tom Haudricourt thinks the decision to fire Yost came from the top.

According to Timothy Wolfmeyer of the Northwest Herald, the White Sox have cleaned out Joe Crede's locker (hat tip to South Side Sox).  Wolfmeyer heard the Sox are fed up with Crede's Boras-influenced drawn-out rehab from another back injury.  It seems the Sox will either use Josh Fields at third base next year or explore the market.  Fields had a disappointing year at Triple A.  Another option would be to re-sign Juan Uribe.

Crede, 30, played very little in August and September due to his back injury.  He had surgery in June of last year.  The White Sox were unable to trade him during spring training after agreeing to a $5.1MM salary for '08.  Boras could recommend a one-year deal to allow Crede to establish his health and re-enter the market.

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via team president Frank Coonelly, the Pirates will slightly increase their payroll beyond $54MM next year.

Coonelly says the Bucs will not get involved with high-end free agents, but the money will be there if they see good baseball investments in the mid or lower tiers (free agent list here). 

I did an Offseason Outlook for the Pirates on Friday.  Even with arbitration raises to eight players, the Pirates should still come in around $40MM (less if Jack Wilson and/or Adam LaRoche are traded).  That could mean $10-15MM to spend on free agents.  I could see them signing a veteran shortstop as well as a starting pitcher.

According to Scott Lauber of The News Journal, lefty Scott Eyre would like to return to the Phillies next year.  Eyre is a free agent after the season.  He told Lauber he'd be up for a one-year deal to stay.

Eyre, 36, has tossed 11 strong innings for the Phillies since coming over in a trade with the Cubs.  Eyre has shown he can still be effective when healthy.  He's earning $3.8MM this year.  If he'll take a one-year deal, the Phils might as well do it.  It beats giving three years to Damaso Marte.