A report yesterday had claimed the Boston Red Sox were in the process of finalizing a deal that would see perennial all-star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez shipped to Boston for a plethora of prospects including pitching prospect Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Raymond Fuentes and a player to be named later (PTBNL).
Breaking news came to light today as the Red Sox and Gonzalez could not agree on a contract extension by this afternoon’s deadline according to SI‘s Jon Heyman.
The sticking point was Gonzalez was asking for an eight-year deal, while the Red Sox were only willing to go a maximum of six years with their deal. Early reports state he may have been asking for $180 million over the eight-year contract, which averages to around $22.5 million per year.
There was talk that the Red Sox would pull the trigger on the deal, despite not having Gonzalez signed to an extension; however, it looks like the Sox are going to retract the deal.
This is great news for all teams in the AL East, as Gonzalez would’ve added quite the left-handed punch to a powerful Red Sox lineup which includes hitters like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and speedy outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.
With uncertainty surrounding Adrian Beltre’s future, the Sox were looking to move Youkilis to third and bring in Gonzalez; however, the Sox will now have to look in another direction to fill the void left by a possible departure of Beltre.
So with the deal falling through, there is talk that the Blue Jays are showing great interest in adding Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
For right now, I expect the Jays to only be interested in him for a single season, so they don’t have to give up blue-chip prospects for him. The price tag for an extension with Gonzalez is far too rich for the Jays tastes.
Don’t count out the Red Sox from re-negotiating a deal; however, the Jays I believe could put up a better rental package than the Sox.
The Jays would more than likely have to give up a top-12 prospect along with another top-25 prospect for Gonzalez and keep it at that, due to his rental status. The Padres would be looking for pitching and a possible first base replacement for Gonzalez, just in case blue-chip prospect Kyle Blanks “fires a blank” at first base next season.
Gonzalez last season hit .298 in 591 at bats with San Diego, clubbing 31 home runs and adding 101 RBIs along with an OPS of .904. Nobody on the Jays outside of Jose Bautista (.995) was over .850 last season.
Feel free to add your thoughts on adding Gonzalez to this Jays lineup.
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