| 09 November 2009
The Red Sox declined Alex Gonzalez's $6M option for 2010 over the weekend. It is believed that the Sox will continue to talk with Gonzo about staying in Boston at a lesser price. Some feel that Gonzalez's offense (or lack there of) could be a problem, but Gonzo hit .284 with five ding dongs in 44 games with the Sox. I'm not concerned. Sign him and us Lowrie as the utility infielder.
The Twin's picked up OF Michael Cuddyer's $10.5M option for 2011 on Saturday. That means they will be paying Cuddyer $8.5M in 2010 and $10.5M in 2011. At 30 years of age, Cuddyer showed surprising power this season with 32 homers, but that's a lot of money for a team that is constantly struggling to keep up with the Jones'... and by Jones' I mean the $100M teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Tigers.
I mention this because, the Twins need to do everything they can to convince Joe Mauer to stay in Minnesota after 2010. Maybe they think Mauer will like seeing Cuddyer rewarded for a solid season, but if you ask me, all they did was add a few million to Mauer's price tag. If Cuddyer makes $10M, Mauer should demand $20M at a minimum. With $10M locked up in Cuddyer, Justin Morneau set to make $14M in 2011 and 2012 and Joe Nathan making 11M+ in 2011 and 2012... I just don't see how the $70M Twins will be abale to afford Mauer.
But with Varitek, Ortiz, Lowell and possibly Beckett coming off the books after 2010, the Red Sox could...
MLB Trade Rumors posted their predictions for the Top 5- Free Agents of 2010. They have Matt Holliday going to the Mets, John Lackey in New York and Jason Bay, Mark Scutaro, Rich Harden and Aroldis Chapman all signing with the Red Sox.
I'm not sure, I agree on the Scutaro thing, but with Ivan Ochoa, Argenis Diaz and Yamaico Navarro still a year or two away, he might be a better option than Alex Gonzalez... maybe.
And the GM meetings start today in Chicago... it's too early to hope for any bog news, but the ground work for an Adrian Gonzalez trade or Jason Bay's extension could be laid over the next few days.
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