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| HOT STOVE TALK |
THE RED SOCKS BLOG
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
As the offseason moves along we are two weeks from the 'winter meetings'.
So far the only move Ben Cherington has made is to acquire pitcher Burke Badenhop from the Milwaukee Brewers.Presumably,there will be more Red Sox action in the market around the meetings.
One of the things I have noticed that is of particular concern is the vibes (when you can find Ben),I'm getting from management about sticking to the blueprint of last year. For example,they seem,from the 'hot stove' gossip not willing to go past the two year contract.
The message that seems to be coming from management is we'll just replace the players we lose with one or two year contracts and sign players that have no draft picks attached to them. In other words,repeat what we did last year.
That is something I don't believe can be done.
Last year the Red Sox,due to the class of free agents available and that they were able to use their financial clout a year before all the owners received $ 20 - $ 25 million in television revenue,were able to secure seven of the top fifty free agents for less than $ 100 million. That by the way is not the cost of just 2013 but the total cost of their contracts which total 11 combined seasons. The price,they signed all seven for less than $ 10 million per season.
That will not happen this year.
The MLB owners are recieving their television revenue this year. This will move a lot of teams up into the middle-class of baseball. This in itself will increase the players salaries. For example,last year Shane Victorino signed for $ 39 million. This year Shane Victorino would cost about $ 59 million.
Which brings us to the present. The first problem is Mike Napoli. Mike's making a lot of noise about town,appearing here and there. But hanging over the Red Sox head are the Texas Rangers a team he has played for before. Mike seems to want more than a three year contract and that seems to be the sticking point.
The Red Sox,who are possibly going to lose all their free agents need to sign him. Not to mention the replacement of his 23 home runs and 92 RBI's.
Let's say they should give him a three year contract now with a club option for the fourth. Surely he would sign and first base would be locked up for the foreseeable future. If the Red Sox were willing to go for three years last offseason,there is no reason they should not go for it now that Napoli has proven he's healthy and can produce.
In salary commitments for the future the Red Sox have only $ 41 million for 2015 and $ 13.3 million for 2016. They could easily sign Napoli over their self-imposed two year limit.
The catching position is different.
The market moved quickly for this position. In any case the free agents that were available did not fit into the Red Sox model. And both Brian McCann and Carlos Ruiz signed for more than two years.
Some are speculating that the Red Sox should re-sign 'Salty'. This would be a great idea if not for two things. First,he wants more than two years. As the top rated free agent catcher he should now be able to secure at least a three and possibly a four year deal.
Secondly,from what I observed on the field in the final months of 2013,the pitchers are not happy with the way he catches. John Lester at this point uses David Ross in all his starts. Jake Peavy too has had trouble understanding Saltalamacchia. I think the decision has already been made that he will not be returning,although both sides are putting on a brave face.
That leaves a trade as the only option. But it becomes a crisis the more the offseason drags on. We can only hope Ben Cherington has the situation in hand. But since trading is such a sensitive issue we'll be the last to know.
The key for the Red Sox is not to let what happened last year reflect their judgments this year. Because last year was a enigma and will never happen again.
No matter what CEO Larry Lucchino believes about "falling in love with your veterans" they need to sign Mike Napoli now.
They need to use the proper judgement for down the road a bit. They have some real stars whose contracts are quickly running out in the not to distant future.
Let's remember,championship aside,this is still a team that will have to rebuild around spring 2016.
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