This is a new daily BSJ offseason feature that will arrive in time for your lunch, Monday-Friday.
A spin around the leagues with the latest news, notes and rumors around Major League Baseball:
RED SOX
We’ll know more about whether Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani will be coming to Major League Baseball next year by the end of today. That’s because MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association have until 8 p.m. Eastern to come to an agreement on a revised posting process for Japanese players.
The old agreement expired Nov. 1. MLB would like, for now, to extend the same rules, where teams would pay a $20 million posting fee to a player’s former club (in this case, the Nippon Ham Fighters). The MLBPA is troubled by, among other things, the possibility of the team reaping more money than the player for signing.
In this case, because he’s under 25, Ohtani can only sign a minor-league deal and receive a signing bonus from a team’s international bonus pool.
If no agreement is reached, Ohtani won’t be able to come to North America for 2018.
The Red Sox, like most teams, are known to have interest in Ohtani. They only have $462,000 to give Ohtani as a signing bonus. That pales in comparison, say, to the Texas Rangers ($3.53 million), or the Yankees ($3.5 million). Then again, if money were the biggest factor for Ohtani, he would remain in Japan for another two seasons and then become an unrestricted free agent, reaping a contract in excess of $100 million.
On the newest Hall of Fame ballot – sent out yesterday and arriving at voters later this week – Johnny Damon appears on the ballot for the first time. While Damon was a very good player, amassing 2,769 career hits, 408 stolen bases and 1,668 runs scored, I don’t think he qualifies for Cooperstown.
Tim Healey, who covers the Marlins for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, has the latest on Giancarlo Stanton talks, ranking the Red Sox third among interested teams for the slugger.
AL EAST
- The Yankees made a trade yesterday, which accomplished two things: it thinned out their roster overcrowding, with teams having to protect players eligible for next month’s Rule 5 draft and landed them another $250,000 in international pool money. They sent pitcher Ronald Herrera to Texas, in, addition to the pool money, obtained two other prospects.
- While most teams spent Monday using every available spot on their 40-man roster to ensure that they wouldn’t be lost in the Rule 5, the Orioles added three prospects – and still only have 33 players on their roster. That’s an indication of either a team with a poor farm system or one preparing to be aggressive in free agency and the Rule 5 – or maybe both.
- If the Red Sox are going to be in on J.D. Martinez, as we expect, they'll have competition from the Blue Jays, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag.com
- The Rays, on the other hand, had a tough time narrowing down their choices. Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explains.
- Detroit is listening to offers for infielder Ian Kinsler, according to Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com. The New York Mets have already made a call, and the Los Angeles Angels may have interest, too, though they may view Kinsler as an option at third base.
- The Seattle Mariners have made an offer to retain free agent starter Hishashi Iwakuma.
- The Phillies, clearing roster space to add and protect some prospects, designated former No. 1 pick Mark Appel.