Closing time by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox acquire closer Andrew Bailey from A's in exchange for Josh Reddick, prospects


You should probably be over your Jonathan Papelbon blues by now, but if not, this trade should do the trick.

After weeks of discussions, the Red Sox have finally acquired their replacement for Papelbon in the closer's role by sending a package that includes outfielder Josh Reddick to the Oakland A's in exchange for right-hander, Andrew Bailey.

While many had been campaigning for the Red Sox to sign former Phillies closer Ryan Madson to a deal that likely would have cost Boston upwards of $40+ million, Ben Cherington trades for a closer that will be under team control at an affordable rate through the 2014 season.

Bailey is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, and will likely be awarded somewhere between $3-5M, a considerable increase from the $465,000 that Oakland was responsible for paying the closer last season.

In Bailey, the Red Sox get a battle-tested closer who, when he...READ MORE!

Published on December 28, 2011 View Comment(s)

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Ortiz to return to Red Sox by Jared Carrabis
ESPN Deportes reporting David Ortiz will accept Red Sox' offer of salary arbitration


After weeks and months of speculation over whether or not David Ortiz would return to the Boston Red Sox, we finally have our answer.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes is reporting that Ortiz has opted to accept the Red Sox' offer of salary arbitration.

Earlier today, we learned that the Red Sox had made an offer of $18 million over two years to retain Ortiz's services, but apparently the designated hitter chose the bigger annual dollar figure over another year of job security.

In accepting the Red Sox' offer of salary arbitration, Ortiz will get a one-year deal that will guarantee him a figure somewhere slightly north of the $12.5 million that he made in 2011.

From Ortiz's side, it obviously makes sense for him to accept arbitration and make more on a one-year deal than it would be to take...READ MORE!

Published on December 06, 2011 View Comment(s)

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The old switch-a-roo by Jared Carrabis
ESPN hires Terry Francona to replace Bobby Valentine as Sunday Night Baseball analyst


Ah, the old inter-profession switch-a-roo; a beautiful thing when perfectly executed.

Last week, the Red Sox announced that former ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst Bobby Valentine would be the man to replace Terry Francona as the new manager of the Boston Red Sox. Last night, ESPN announced that former Red Sox manager Terry Francona would be the man to replace Bobby Valentine as the new ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst.

As a GM, I wouldn't have made this move. But now that it has happened and I had absolutely no say in it, I could get used to it. It's certainly going to be great to hear Tito in the booth on Sunday Night Baseball, especially during Red Sox games. I'm really looking forward to that.

We got our first taste of Tito in the booth during the ALCS this past October, but now we'll get to travel inside the mind of Francona for several teams around baseball.

In an interview with WEEI on the day that Valentine was introduced, READ MORE!

Published on December 06, 2011 View Comment(s)

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Bailout plan? by Jared Carrabis
Jon Heyman reporting Red Sox "will make an attempt" to acquire A's closer Andrew Bailey


In a market full of free agent closers, I'm going to try to make sense of attempting to trade for closer Andrew Bailey.

In scenario number one, a trade for Bailey will help keep the Red Sox' payroll under the luxury tax threshold, whereas signing someone like Ryan Madson to a four-year deal north of $40 million would bump the Red Sox' payroll up significantly more than Bailey would. This winter, Bailey will be eligible for arbitration for the first time, and won't become a free agent until 2015.

Scenario number two could be that, while Daniel Bard prefers to be a starter, Bailey could be brought in to replace Bard's innings in the bullpen. The Red Sox could go out and sign a closer like Francisco Rodriguez for less money than Madson, and the two relievers would essentially be interchangeab...READ MORE!

Published on December 06, 2011 View Comment(s)

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Buck no by Jared Carrabis
Reports say Red Sox "front office is resistant to the idea" of Bill Buckner joining coaching staff


25 years later, and the man still can't catch a break.

As you already know, Bobby Valentine is the new manager of the Boston Red Sox. What you may not already know, Valentine and former Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner have had a friendship that dates back four decades.

There had been rumors swirling that Valentine would bring Buckner on as part of his coaching staff here in Boston, although the 1986 scapegoat hasn't coached at the major league level since Nomar Garciaparra's Rookie of the Year campaign of 1997 when he was the White Sox's hitting coach.

At Valentine's introductory press conference, the 61-year-old was asked if he would entertain the idea of bringing Buckner on as a part of his coaching staff, and while he did not confirm that he was considering, he also did not deny the possibility.

Thanks to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com, today we lea...READ MORE!

Published on December 05, 2011 View Comment(s)

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Building the bridge to Farrell? by Jared Carrabis
SI.com's Jon Heyman reporting Bobby Valentine's deal with Red Sox is for two years


It would make absolutely no sense for the Red Sox to admit this, but I think you guys know where I'm going with this.

According to a tweet from SI.com's Jon Heyman, Bobby Valentine's new deal to be the Red Sox' manager will be for two years when he finally dots the I's and crosses the T's.

When Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and team president Larry Lucchino unveil their new manager tonight at 5:30pm, one thing that I can promise you that you won't hear is that Valentine was their first choice. If that is said, then you'll be smart enough to know that it's a lie.

On October 23, Nick Cafardo wrote, "When the Red Sox and Terry Francona parted ways, Blue Jays manager John Farrell was the preferred candidate to manage the team, according to a major league source."

Of course, READ MORE!

Published on December 01, 2011 View Comment(s)

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