Rumors in full force on next to last day of meetings...

No major deals have been pulled off yet this week. Sox management said to have been in "clean up" mode on Tue, with Wed targeted as dealing only with teams that have real interest.

One notably quiet team is the Yankees, who have only signed a reliever to this point. Now that Pierre has gone to the Cubs, you would think they'd step up efforts for Damon. Word is that they would only discuss a 3 or 4 yr deal - at a significant discount to the current asking price of $13M per. Can't believe Georgie Boy has been quiet, and don't believe the BS about the Yanks losing $50-80M last season. Highest revenue in majors by far, so apparently their accountants left out revenues from the YES network on this one...



Congrats to Grady Little, the Dodgers new manager. Things will probably work out a little better for him this time around. He's got Gagne to bring in the 8th now...

Good luck to John Olerud, as he hangs up his cleats. Was looking forward to see him in a Sox uniform once again...

Most likely deals to happen...

Wells wil probably be gone in next couple of days. Apparently his request was "West Coast", which opens the door for more suitors. A's, Dodgers, Giants, and Padres all have interest. A perennial 15 game winner should yield a good return. Best case would be to package him with another pitcher or prospect to get Zito from the A's...

Mirabelli & prospect to yield Padres 2B Loretta. Not sure why deal hasn't been done yet - could be haggling over prospect.

Back burner...

Manny gate continues. Appears that Angels & Mets are cooling on deal. Managment stated that deal is too complex & will not get done this week

Damon - Management met with his agent Boras who said talks are going good. Apparently "good" is not a word he throws around lightly, but it will probably take 4yrs @ $44M plus option for a 5th year.

Renteria to the Braves has apparently lost some steam. Money the Sox would have to pay is reportedly the bottleneck. Hopefully it was more than a tease.

Seattle has been inquiring about Trot, but no reports of what they would give up in return...

Arbitration...

Teams have until midnight tonight to decide to offer their free agents arbitration. If they do not offer it, kiss that player goodbye.

Players can reject it, and then teams have until Jan 8th to sign them. If a player accepts but does not re-sign, their team receives compensation from whoever they sign with next. The downside is that the player is awarded a significant contract. Here's the list for the Sox:


Yes:

Damon - he'll reject it, giving the Sox until Jan 8th to re-sign


Decision time:

Mike Myers - reportedly fielding offers from multiple teams
Matt Mantei - no word on offseason surgery or timetable
Mike Stanton - might be a good idea especially with current reliever's pricetags

Probably a "no":

Bill Mueller - Mike Lowell unless he's traded, then Youkilis?
Kevin Millar - too steep a price for a backup
Gabe Kapler - too severe of injury? Already taken off 40 man roster
Tony Graffanino - looking for a 2 or 3 year deal (might do just to get compensation?)

Stay tuned, we'll be back later tonight or tomorrow the latest. Something is cooking!!!