Not contend with making Chad Bradford a rich(er) man and extending Roger Cedeno a lifeline, the Baltimore Orioles are going to lock up a bunch more 2nd or 3rd tier free agents if it kills them. A day after Kevin Millar re-upped with the O’s, the club is said to be mulling an $8-$10 million offer for free agent OF Luis Gonzalez.
The Palm Beach Post’s Joe Capozzi reports the Marlins’ payroll for 2007 could go as high as $20 million. Possibly less if David Samson needs new cycling shorts.
While dropping an aside that the Mets might still have interest in Julio Lugo, despite keeping Jose Valentine’s Mustache for another year, the Providence Journal’s Sean McAdam details Boston’s Manny Options.
At least five teams have expressed varying levels of interest: San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Cleveland and Los Angeles. Of those, the Dodgers have by far the most to offer.
Some combination of the Dodgers’ many prospects — outfielder Matt Kemp, third baseman Andy LaRoche, first baseman James Loney, starter Chad Billingsley and reliever Jonathan Broxton — would greatly interest the Sox, but to date, the Dodgers have been unwilling to part with their best young players.
The Angels have plenty that the Sox like — shortstops Brandon Wood (above) and Erick Aybar, starter Ervin Santana — and Arte Moreno might feel compelled to overpay to land Ramirez while keeping him away from Chavez Ravine.
Unless the Giants can be talked into including starter Matt Cain, they don’t have much to satisfy the Sox and the same is true with Seattle and Felix Hernandez.
The Padres might match up, even if they’re unwilling to discuss Jake Peavy. Reliever Scott Linebrink remains someone the Sox covet, but they’d need considerably more to get a deal done with San Diego.
The Indians are a long shot, but their stash of young players is as good as any organization in the American League. And there’s this: there’s little doubt that Ramirez would agree to the organization with which he began his career.