5 bits of Red Sox news that came out of the Winter Meetings
David Price and Jackie Bradley Jr. may be traded soon.
The 2019 Winter Meetings have officially come and gone, and it was a quiet week in San Diego for the Red Sox and first-year chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.
Although the cost-cutting Red Sox signed pair of low-radar free agents late Thursday, much of the news surrounding the club this week was subjective to rumors. But with Spring Training still two months away, there is plenty of time for those rumors to turn into actual deals.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Red Sox from the Winter Meetings as the MLB offseason enters its next phase.
The Red Sox signed Jose Peraza and Martin Perez.
Chaim Bloom inked his first two free agents as Red Sox boss on Thursday, signing utility infielder Jose Peraza and left-handed pitcher Martin Perez.
Red Sox agree to deal with free agent infielder Jose Peraza. Close to 3M and incentives. @ByRobertMurray 1st with agreement
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 12, 2019
Peraza, 25, signed a a one-year deal worth $3 million and incentives after being non-tendered by the Cincinnati Reds earlier in the offseason. He brings versatility, having played shortstop, second base, and outfield during his five-year career. Peraza hit .239 and had a .285 on-base percentage with the Reds in 2019. However, he was once a top prospect with the Los Angeles Dodgers and posted a solid 2018 season with 14 home runs and a .288 batting average. Peraza’s signing could spell the official end of Brock Holt’s tenure in Boston.
Free-agent left-hander Martin Perez in agreement with #RedSox on one-year contract with club option for 2021, source tells The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 13, 2019
Late Thursday night, the Red Sox added left-handed pitcher Martin Perez to a one-year $6 million deal with a club option for 2021. Perez posted a 10-7 record with a 5.12 ERA with the Minnesota Twins last season but had a promising start to his career with the Texas Rangers when he finished sixth in Rookie of the Year in 2013 voting after compiling a 3.62 ERA and a 10-6 record. The 28-year old is 53-56 with a 4.72 ERA in eight MLB seasons. At this point of his career, Perez is a back-of-the-rotation innings eater, having made at least 32 starts in three of the last four seasons.
The Red Sox also acquired Houston Astros minor league infielder Jonathan Arauz in the Rule 5 Draft.
David Price may be traded.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Thursday that pitcher David Price may be on his way out of Boston. According to Feinsand, the Red Sox have had talks with the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Angels about Price.
Price has three years and $96 million remaining on his deal, and one Major League executive told Feinsand that the record-setting signings of Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg will help the Red Sox move Price.
“All of a sudden, Price’s deal doesn’t look so crazy,” the executive said.
Feinsand also mentioned a scenario floating around where the Red Sox include outfielder Andrew Benintendi in a deal with Price in order to sweeten the pot of taking on the pitcher’s contract. But a source shut down that idea to Feinsand.
“That’s not going to happen,” the source said.
According to Feinsand, potential names that could come back to Boston in a Price deal are Padres outfielder Wil Myers and Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal also noted that the Padres have talked to the Red Sox about Myers.
No progress for #RedSox in trade discussions involving David Price, sources tell The Athletic. #Padres, who badly want to moves Wil Myers, are among clubs Boston has spoken with. Pads extremely active, involved in a large, almost dizzying, number of pursuits.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2019
The Red Sox are actively shopping Jackie Bradley Jr.
Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweeted Monday that the Red Sox have been trying to trade Bradley and were in talks with the New York Mets before they acquired Jake Marisnick from the Houston Astros.
Couple of #RedSox items;
* They are actively trying to trade Jackie Bradley Jr. and were engaged with the Mets before they turned to Marisnick.
* Sox are not actively involved with any of their free agents (Holt, Porcello, etc) beyond keeping tabs on them.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) December 9, 2019
There have been no rumors on Bradley since, but it appears his time in Boston may be over. The 29-year old center fielder is a free agent after the 2020 season.
Rick Porcello signed with the New York Mets.
Rick Porcello’s tenure with the Red Sox ended Thursday morning when the right-hander signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Mets. Porcello won the 2016 AL Cy Young award and was a part of the 2018 World Series team, but he had a career-worst 5.52 ERA in 2019 with the Red Sox. The recently acquired Perez will likely fill Porcello’s spot in the rotation in 2020.
Free-agent right-hander Rick Porcello in agreement with #Mets on a one-year contract, pending a physical, sources tell The Athletic. On it: @enosarris.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 12, 2019
All is quiet with Mookie Betts.
The biggest story heading into the offseason for the Red Sox was outfielder Mookie Betts, but there were no rumblings about a potential Betts’ trade at the Winter Meetings. The Globe’s Alex Speier reported that the Red Sox hadn’t given any indication of Betts’ availability to a team interested in Betts as of Monday night.
Rosenthal said even if Betts is traded, it’s unlikely to happen any time soon, because Bloom is exploring other avenues to help the Red Sox get below the $208 million Competitive Balance Tax threshold.
Over the next couple months, time will tell what groundwork was laid out at the Winter Meetings as the Red Sox try to trim payroll with trades. Pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers on Feb. 11.
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