With Pedro on hold, Sox talk deal for Johnson
[size=+1]Boston is pursuing Arizona's Randy Johnson via trade, with starter Bronson Arroyo and pitching prospect Jon Lester the main bait. [/size]
[size=-1]09:32 AM EST on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 [/size]
[size=-1]BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer [/size]
Randy Johnson
BOSTON -- Even as they determine how to respond to the three-year, $38-million contract offer made to Pedro Martinez by the New York Mets on Monday, the Red Sox continue to pursue other pitching options, which include re-starting trade talks for Randy Johnson.
The Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks have held numerous discussions involving Johnson in the last five days. Johnson will be in the final year of a multi-year contract that will pay him $16.5 million in 2005. The New York Yankees are known to have made Johnson their No. 1 off-season priority.
The Diamondbacks would likely require a package for Johnson that would include Bronson Arroyo, pitching prospect Jon Lester and at least one other top prospect. Johnson has previously signaled that the Yankees would be his primary -- and perhaps sole -- landing spot. It's likely that Johnson would demand an extension past 2005 in exchange for approving the deal. It was uncertain last night whether Johnson had indicated a willingness to a deal to the Red Sox.
Last summer both the Yankees and Red Sox expressed an interest in obtaining Johnson before the lefty told Diamondbacks' ownership that he would only approve a trade to the Yankees. New York ultimately was unable to satisfy the Diamondbacks' demand for several top prospects.
A trade for Johnson, though
considered a longshot for the Red Sox, would preclude re-signing Martinez, who grabbed the Sox' full attention following the Mets' proposal.
Previously, the Sox had presented Martinez with a two-year deal worth $25.5 million, another $2 million in incentives and what one baseball source labeled "an easiliy attainable" option for a third season.
An executive familiar with the Red Sox' thinking is unsure whether the Sox will be pushed into a guaranteed third season. The club's inclination had been to limit its offer to only two guaranteed seasons for the 33-year-old pitcher, citing concerns about his long-term durability.
The Sox want Martinez to prove himself capable of pitching well beyond 2006. But the Mets' preemptive offer, which included an option for a fourth season, may have changed that.
Martinez has become the Mets' top free-agent priority under new general manager Omar Minaya who met with Martinez in his native Dominican Republic last week and presented the offer Monday.
The Mets hold an allure for Martinez, since it would mean a return to the National League where he began his career. Without the designated hitter and with less powerful lineups in general, Martinez could dominate in the N.L. even more than he has in the American League, where he's posted a 50-17 record over the last three seasons.
The Mets are the second team in New York to meet with Martinez this off-season -- he dined with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner last month -- but the first to present an actual offer.
The Yankees' interest in Martinez, more than one baseball executive suggested, is limited.
That's not the case with the Mets, who desperately need an impact player to reverse the ill will generated by several losing seasons.
The Red Sox continue to court other free agent pitchers, including Carl Pavano, and to a lesser extent, Brad Radke and Matt Clement.
Meanwhile, Martinez' batterymate Jason Varitek has been offered a four-year deal thought to be worth approximately $36 million.
That falls fall short of agent Scott Boras' stated goal of five years, $55 million and there remains the sticky issue of a no-trade clause, to which the Sox are adamantly opposed.
But a market for Varitek has yet to emerge. Few teams are in the running for a catcher -- Texas and Los Angeles are two exceptions -- and it's doubtful that another club would be willing to top Boston's offer in length or annual average value.
[size=+1]Boston is pursuing Arizona's Randy Johnson via trade, with starter Bronson Arroyo and pitching prospect Jon Lester the main bait. [/size]
[size=-1]09:32 AM EST on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 [/size]
[size=-1]BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer [/size]
Randy Johnson
BOSTON -- Even as they determine how to respond to the three-year, $38-million contract offer made to Pedro Martinez by the New York Mets on Monday, the Red Sox continue to pursue other pitching options, which include re-starting trade talks for Randy Johnson.
The Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks have held numerous discussions involving Johnson in the last five days. Johnson will be in the final year of a multi-year contract that will pay him $16.5 million in 2005. The New York Yankees are known to have made Johnson their No. 1 off-season priority.
The Diamondbacks would likely require a package for Johnson that would include Bronson Arroyo, pitching prospect Jon Lester and at least one other top prospect. Johnson has previously signaled that the Yankees would be his primary -- and perhaps sole -- landing spot. It's likely that Johnson would demand an extension past 2005 in exchange for approving the deal. It was uncertain last night whether Johnson had indicated a willingness to a deal to the Red Sox.
Last summer both the Yankees and Red Sox expressed an interest in obtaining Johnson before the lefty told Diamondbacks' ownership that he would only approve a trade to the Yankees. New York ultimately was unable to satisfy the Diamondbacks' demand for several top prospects.
A trade for Johnson, though
considered a longshot for the Red Sox, would preclude re-signing Martinez, who grabbed the Sox' full attention following the Mets' proposal.
Previously, the Sox had presented Martinez with a two-year deal worth $25.5 million, another $2 million in incentives and what one baseball source labeled "an easiliy attainable" option for a third season.
An executive familiar with the Red Sox' thinking is unsure whether the Sox will be pushed into a guaranteed third season. The club's inclination had been to limit its offer to only two guaranteed seasons for the 33-year-old pitcher, citing concerns about his long-term durability.
The Sox want Martinez to prove himself capable of pitching well beyond 2006. But the Mets' preemptive offer, which included an option for a fourth season, may have changed that.
Martinez has become the Mets' top free-agent priority under new general manager Omar Minaya who met with Martinez in his native Dominican Republic last week and presented the offer Monday.
The Mets hold an allure for Martinez, since it would mean a return to the National League where he began his career. Without the designated hitter and with less powerful lineups in general, Martinez could dominate in the N.L. even more than he has in the American League, where he's posted a 50-17 record over the last three seasons.
The Mets are the second team in New York to meet with Martinez this off-season -- he dined with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner last month -- but the first to present an actual offer.
The Yankees' interest in Martinez, more than one baseball executive suggested, is limited.
That's not the case with the Mets, who desperately need an impact player to reverse the ill will generated by several losing seasons.
The Red Sox continue to court other free agent pitchers, including Carl Pavano, and to a lesser extent, Brad Radke and Matt Clement.
Meanwhile, Martinez' batterymate Jason Varitek has been offered a four-year deal thought to be worth approximately $36 million.
That falls fall short of agent Scott Boras' stated goal of five years, $55 million and there remains the sticky issue of a no-trade clause, to which the Sox are adamantly opposed.
But a market for Varitek has yet to emerge. Few teams are in the running for a catcher -- Texas and Los Angeles are two exceptions -- and it's doubtful that another club would be willing to top Boston's offer in length or annual average value.
