The arbitration tender deadline has come and gone, and unsurprisingly, many players were not tendered arbitration contracts they had the right to accept or reject.
Also unsurprisingly, Boston offered arbitration to its two eligible players: Jason Bay and Billy Wagner. Let’s run through the implications for offering arbitration to the two, and then take a look at players who’s possible Boston future was impacted by their club’s decision.
With respect to both Evan and Mike’s blueprints and analysis preceding me, I chose to take a slightly different direction with the 2010 Red Sox.
I think Theo Epstein and company will be aggressive this off season. No matter what you heard at the end of the season in the “season wrap” press conference from Epstein, I think he’s learned from his mistake last hot stove in letting Mark Teixeira slip through their fingertips.
While I believe that Theo would rather spend his chips and time trying to pry a young, talented and under team control starter to slot in at the top of the rotation with Lester and Beckett (i.e. Felix Hernandez), I don’t believe that will be the route that the Red Sox take given the prohibitive ask that it would take to swing that deal.
Trade Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, Manny Delcarmen, and Michael Bowden to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez
Instead, despite reports that the San Diego Padres aren’t looking to shop their star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez this off season, I think that is exactly where Theo and team will level their gaze, rebuilding their team around a player with nearly all the strengths that they missed out on with Mark Teixeira at a fraction the cost.
Like most teams, the Boston Red Sox offseason will be defined by the willingness of their owner to open his wallet.
Fortunately for Sox fans nationwide, Uncle John certainly has some deep pockets. However, the amount he is willing to spend will have a lot to say about the direction that this team will be headed.
The prudent move by the Red Sox will be to look for incremental gains in what is partly a transitional year, while also being a year of opportunity. The club has nearly its entire 2009 starting lineup under contract, including its entire starting staff and at least seven of nine position players. For a team that won 95 games last season, that’s a recipe for success. Still, the American League gets more competitive every year, as the AL West, the Yankees, and our little brother Rays make it harder and harder to buy the Wild Card.
Today is the first in a three version series on an offseason blueprint the Red Sox should follow. What should their starting lineup and pitching staff look like entering the 2010 season?
I’ll take a look at one possible scenario while Mike and Tim follow up with their own in the next two days. Before I jump in, let me clarify something important: this is not necessarily a prediction of what the Sox will do, nor an endorsement of a particular path. All this is is simply food for thought. What possible scenarios could Boston pursue? Well, this particular one involves three major names being added to the team while losing Clay Buchholz.
Boston was named as a potential destination for Rich Harden today.
Tim Wakefield gave up 8 earned runs over 5 innings and Boston’s winning streak ended as they were beat by Rich Harden and the Oakland Athletics 8-3.
Harden struck out 8, [...]
Prev. Gm:
Boston Red Sox (31-19) @ Oakland A’s 25-23)
Tim Wakefield (3-2, 4.33) @ Rich Harden (2-0, 2.91)
10:05 PM EDT | McAfee Collesium (Oakland, CA)
TV: NESN RADIO: WRKO 680, SBN [...]
Each week, I will be participating in the 2008 MLB Blog Poll, put together by BaseballHappenings.com. Below are my current votes for the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young and Rookie [...]
Prev. Gm:
Boston Red Sox (2-1) @ Oakland Athletics (1-2)
Jon Lester (0-1, 9.00) @ Rich Harden (1-0, 1.50)
3:35 PM EDT | McAfee Coliseum (Oakland, CA)
TV: NESN | RADIO: WEEI 850, WROL [...]
Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out nine and gave up just two hits in 6.2 innings pitched to earn his first victory of the season. The Boston offense contributed with two [...]
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