The Boston Red Sox have not yet engaged in contract talks with Mookie Betts this offseason, team president and CEO Sam Kennedy said Wednesday.
“I’m sure we’ll have conversations at the appropriate time,” Kennedy said.
That news isn’t much of a surprise, as the Sox just hired new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom less than 10 days ago and have just started their offseason planning. Betts is entering his final year under team control and is scheduled to hit free agency after the season. The Red Sox have made previous offers to the reigning American League MVP but have been rebuffed in their efforts to lock him up to a long-term deal.
Betts’ name has been frequently mentioned in trade rumors in recent months due to Boston’s goal to cut payroll to get under the $208 million competitive balance tax threshold in 2020. His future with the Sox became even murkier Monday when slugger J.D. Martinez opted into his $23.75 million salary and made Boston’s wallet strings even tighter.
Betts is projected to earn $27.7 million in arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors, but would likely draw strong interest from contending teams looking to make a splash. At this point, the Red Sox are still hopeful of getting a deal done before having to seriously consider trading the four-time All-Star.
“We love Mookie Betts,” Kennedy said. “He’s such a special player and such a special person. We’ll continue to have conversations with him. He’s under club control and we’ll see what happens this offseason. We’ve engaged in discussions with him and his representatives in the past and we’ll continue to engage with them. We’ll see where it all takes us.”
ARBITRATION: Milwaukee closer Josh Hader just made the cutoff for salary arbitration eligibility with 2 years, 115 days of major league service.
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias also is on the list of 23 so-called Super 2s with 2 years, 117 days. The cutoff was down significantly from 2 years, 134 days last offseason.
Miami left-hander Jarlin Garcia just missed with 2 years, 114 days, and Arizona right-hander Luke Weaver had 2 years, 112 days.
The top 22 percent of players by service time with at least two years but less than three are eligible for arbitration as long as they had at least 86 days of service this year. They join the older group of 3- to 6-year players.
Players and teams are scheduled to exchange proposed salaries on Jan. 10, and hearings for those lacking agreements will be scheduled for Feb. 3 to 21 in Phoenix.
The New York Yankees have four Super 2s: right-handers Luis Cessa and Jonathan Holder, left-hander Jordan Montgomery and third baseman Gio Urshela.
Urias is joined by Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger and Hader by Brewers left-hander Brent Suter.
Other teams with two eligible Super 2 players include Colorado (left-hander Kyle Freeland and outfielder David Dahl), Tampa Bay (right-hander Tyler Glasnow and shortstop Daniel Robertson), the Los Angeles Angels (right-handers Kenyan Middleton and Noe Ramirez) and San Diego (outfielder Hunter Renfroe and right-hander Dinelson Lamet).
Also eligible are Atlanta infielder Johan Camargo, Oakland right-hander Jharel Cotton, Detroit outfielder Jacoby Jones, Toronto right-hander Derek Law, San Francisco left-hander Wandy Peralta, Miami outfielder JT Riddle and Chicago Cubs left-hander Kyle Ryan.
Milwaukee first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin, Texas left-hander Jesse Biddle, Cleveland right-hander A.J. Cole and Yankees right-hander David Hale would have been eligible but were dropped from 40-man rosters.
St. Louis shortstop Paul DeJong would have been eligible but will earn $1.5 million as part of a $26 million, six-year contract.
ANGELS: The Los Angeles Angels finalized new manager Joe Maddon’s coaching staff for the 2020 season, including the retention of hitting coach Jeremy Reed and the hiring of new pitching coach Mickey Callaway.
Brian Butterfield, a Bangor, Maine, native, will be the Angels’ third-base coach. The veteran infield coach spent the past two seasons working under Maddon in the same job for the Chicago Cubs and was third-base coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2013-2017.
Former Cubs hitting coach John Mallee joins the Angels as an assistant hitting coach to Reed, who was Brad Ausmus’ hitting coach last season with the Angels.
Callaway was the New York Mets’ manager for the past two seasons.
Jesus Feliciano returns as the Angels’ first base coach. Jose Molina returns as catching coach.
GIANTS: The San Francisco Giants have narrowed their search for a new manager to three finalists, a person with direct knowledge of the process said.
Former Phillies manager Gape Kapler, Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro are the final three vying to replace Bruce Bochy, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
CUBS: The Cubs missed the postseason for the first time in five seasons in 2019, and season-ticket holders will see an average price decrease of about 2.5 percent next year, according to the team.
UNION: Two days into the free-agent market, the players’ association already is angry at a club.
Union head Tony Clark issued a statement in response to remarks attributed to Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos during a conference call with media.
“Every day you get more information. And we’ve had time to connect with 27 of the clubs – obviously the Astros and (Nationals) being in the World Series, they were tied up – but we had a chance to get a sense of what the other clubs are going to look to do in free agency, who might be available in trades,” Anthopoulos said, according to the union.
Baseball’s labor contract prohibits clubs from acting in concert in free-agent negotiations. The union filed a collusion grievance following the 2017-18 offseason.
“The statements made by Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos call into the question the integrity of the entire free-agent system,” Clark said in a statement. “The clear description of club coordination is egregious, and we have launched an immediate investigation looking into the matter.”
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