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It might be time for the Boston Red Sox and team president Larry Lucchino to go their separate ways.

Lucchino can’t resist being a lawyer. Deny, deny, deny.

Earlier this week, Curt Schilling told ESPN that a member of the Red Sox organization suggested that he use PEDs in 2008 to recover faster from injury.

It was the type of statement that people automatically wanted to dismiss as Schilling drawing attention to himself.

In a statement that may eventually cost him his job, Lucchino denied that he was aware that Schilling had been asked to use PEDs.

“Certainly is something to look into, but it came from out of left field, to use a baseball cliche,” he said (via the Boston Globe‘s Peter Abraham).

Current Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer, who was the Sox’s assistant general manager in 2008, calls it “preposterous” that Hoyer or former general manager Theo Epstein knew of Schilling’s PED claim (via CBS Sports Chicago).

OK. So current Red Sox management and former Sox management denied the story—no surprise there.

But then a funny thing happened: MLB confirmed the story.

Per MLB.com’s Evan Drellich, the Sox immediately brought Schilling’s PED claim to the attention of MLB during 2008. MLB reportedly investigated the incident and considers it closed, according to Abraham.

Schilling states that he immediately brought his concerns to Terry Francona and Theo Epstein. But he then absolves Hoyer and Epstein from being involved in the comments, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

It is very hard to believe that Lucchino, who has his hands in every facet of the Red Sox’s operations, was unaware of the incident from 2008. It is also hard to believe that Hoyer, Epstein’s right-hand man, wasn’t aware of the incident either—especially if Epstein knew.

This is the last thing that MLB or the Red Sox need right before a new season starts.

And MLB doesn’t need another PED scandal on the heels of the Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun bombshells from the last couple of weeks. The fact that it might be a member of management like Lucchino covering something up makes this potentially far worse.

The Sox desperately need to put last season behind them and focus on the promise that comes with spring training.

Lucchino could have simply said that he couldn’t comment on Schilling’s story. Instead, Boston’s ownership will have even more questions to answer in the coming weeks.

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Finally, the Mike Napoli saga is coming to an end well over a month after it was first announced that he was going to sign with the Boston Red Sox, according to this report from WEEI‘s Rob Bradford.

It was well worth the wait. Instead of a three-year deal worth $39 million, Napoli is now playing on a one-year contract worth $5 million, according to this tweet from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman.

According to the same report, Bradford details that Napoli has the ability to earn another $8 million in performance bonuses.

The reason for all of this is due to an existing hip condition that came up during Napoli‘s first physical with the team in December. The Sox and Napoli had been quietly working on restructuring the initial contract to something that protected the Sox if Napoli was injured due to the hip.

If the hip issue was a completely minor issue, it is likely that Napoli would have left in frustration. The fact that Napoli and his agent Brian Grieper kept at this meant that the Sox’s findings were going to be consistent with what other teams might have found.

Napoli is now guaranteed nothing past next season, meaning that he will be motivated to show that he is capable of remaining healthy and being an extremely productive player for the Sox.

Losing potentially $34 million will do that to a player.

However, this move could turn out to be a win-win for both player and team.

Napoli will have the ability to spend 81 games next season at Fenway, giving him a chance to really boost his numbers after a poor 2012 season where he hit 24 home runs and drove in 56 runs with a slash line of .227/.343/.469 while playing for the Texas Rangers.

If Napoli is able to recreate his superior 2011 season with the Rangers, where he hit 30 home runs and knocked in 75 runs, while hitting .320/.414/.631, he will earn back the $34 million left on the table and then some.

For the Sox, they will have an extremely motivated player who has shown that he wanted to play for the Sox, working through the frustration of the renegotiated contract and staying with the team.

The Sox retain the freedom and flexibility to do whatever they would like after next season; re-sign Napoli, look at a player like the Minnesota Twins’ Justin Morneau or a trade candidate like the New York Mets’ Ike Davis.

This also makes Napoli potentially the most appealing trade chip in baseball come the July deadline.

Obviously, if the Sox are in contention, they aren’t going to move Napoli. But, if the Sox are on the outside of the playoffs looking in, then trading Napoli could continue to beef up the Sox’s farm system.

With about a month to go before pitchers and catchers report, Sox’s general manager Ben Cherington has made all of the major moves that he is likely to make this winter.

It’s almost time for the Sox to put last season behind them.

Information used from MLB, Baseball Reference, MLB Trade Rumors, WEEI, CBS Sports

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If the Boston Red Sox are still looking to make a big splash and add star power to their roster, there is one player still left on the free-agent market who fits that description.

Josh Hamilton has been an All-Star level commodity in every season he has played for the Texas Rangers.

Hamilton is seemingly waiting for one team to make him a big, multi-year offer. His numbers speak for themselves. His 2012 slash line of .285/.354/.577 would fit very nicely into the middle of the Sox order for the next three or four seasons, as would the 43 home runs that he hit last season.

With the news from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the Seattle Mariners are making a strongest push for free-agent outfielder Hamilton, the question is where are the Boston Red Sox when it comes to signing Hamilton.

That tweet from Rosenthal is extremely interesting for a couple of reasons.

One, if Seattle turns out to be the main competition for the Red Sox in signing Hamilton, the difference in markets and home stadiums should give the Sox a clear advantage.

The other part of that tweet that is very interesting is that Seattle is talking to Hamilton about a contract in the three-year range with an average annual value of $20 to $25 million.

If that is the contract being discussed with Hamilton, the Sox need to be all over that.

The Red Sox are interested in Hamilton, as this tweet from WBZ’s Dan Roche mentions a meeting between Ben Cherington, John Farrell and Hamilton at the winter meetings.

Hamilton would be viewed as a risky signing at $25 million per year, given his history of injuries and drug abuse. But, given that the Sox have just committed $26 million per season combined between Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino over the next three years, that seems like a pretty fair deal in comparison.

The simple question: Would you rather have Josh Hamilton over the next three seasons or Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino? I think the answer to that is pretty easy given Hamilton’s potential impact on the Sox.

The contracts for Napoli and especially Victorino will look really bad if it causes the Sox to be unable to opportunity to sign Hamilton. The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported Napoli‘s deal in this tweet and WEEI’s Alex Speier was the first to tweet about Victorino‘s deal.

If it has become a soft market for the 31-year-old slugging outfielder, the Red Sox need to take advantage of the situation and use some of their newfound payroll flexibility that they gained from the blockbuster trade with the Dodgers last summer.

The Rangers might have become distracted with the Zack Greinke and Justin Upton discussions and are holding up the market according to this tweet from Bob Nightengale at USA Today.

The Sox need to pounce before other teams start to get involved, like the Yankees, who have started looking into Hamilton according to another tweet from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

Cherington and Sox need to do something to excite the fan base again. If it means signing a star player to a potential short-term deal that could pay huge dividends, even better.

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With ESPN reporting the signing of OF Shane Victorino tonight, it gives the Boston Red Sox a ton of flexibility moving forward with their outfield.

One of the options might be to trade Jacoby Ellsbury for pitching, something that I tweeted out in the wake of the deal.

“Is a Ellsbury trade coming after this?” was what I sent out.

Victorino‘s contract seems too big on the surface and the only way Victorino‘s deal makes sense is if the Sox have a deal in mind for Ellsbury.

The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reports that the Sox are open to trading Ellsbury and ESPN’s Buster Olney has since tweeted out that other teams believe that the Sox have something lined up for Ellsbury.

The Sox still need to address their pitching staff in a major way heading into 2013. Obviously the clubhouse culture was a bigger issue than the team was willing to admit since Boston has been collecting good-character player after good-character player.

David Ross, Jonny Gomes, Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino all have similar reputations around baseball: good players, quality people, hard workers and good examples for younger players.

Ellsbury has been a good player for the Sox, but he has never quite lived up to the expectations that the team has had for him except for his near-MVP season in 2011.

His injury history is something that might make the Red Sox pause before talking about an extension with him.

It is also a potential problem that the Sox might want to trade before the season starts. The Sox have had two different seasons derailed by bad Ellsbury injuries. The Sox struggled during both seasons to replace him and last season he didn’t seem like the same guy when he returned.

They may have decided to cut their losses and move on.

Who could the Sox talk to? Seattle seems to be aggressively looking for offense and Ellsbury is from that area of the country. The Phillies are still looking for a center fielder. Texas may need to replace Josh Hamilton. The Diamondbacks might be involved in some three-way trades.

If Victorino is the bridge to Jackie Bradley Jr. for a season and then slides into a platoon with Jonny Gomes or another player, his signing and flexibility makes a lot more sense.

If the Sox are still looking to get Josh Hamilton on a short three-year or four-year deal, it makes sense as well. They don’t need to trade Ellsbury, but they have options.

Having productive outfielders is a good problem to have, especially on short contracts.

The Red Sox might have a big splash in mind after all.

Statistics used from Baseball Reference.

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The Boston Red Sox are making moves at the winter meetings that make sense, like signing Mike Napoli to play first base on a three-year contract.

First, there was a tweet from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo saying that the Sox are close to signing Shane Victorino to a three-year contract. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal then tweeted that the dollar amount for the potential signing would be $37.5 million.

WEEI’s Alex Speier has reported that it is a done deal.

Yikes.

$37.5 million for Shane Victorino seems like a lot of money for a player who looks to be on the downside of his career. The 32-year-old Victorino isn’t a bad player, but the Sox could have done better to upgrade their outfield.

The switch-hitting Victorino struggled in 2012, ending the season with a slash line of .255/.321/.383 split between time with the Phillies and Dodgers. Looking at his splits, he batted only .229 against right-handed pitchers last season while batting from the left side.

Given the heavy right-handed nature of the Sox lineup right now, this isn’t really going to help them.

As a three-time Gold Glove winner, Victorino will bring much better defense to right field, both at Fenway and on the road. He also has speed, racking up 39 steals last season.

Victorino is also viewed as a good clubhouse guy and a player that does a lot of the little things, as well as bringing energy and a very good postseason track record.

But it begs the question: Why would the Sox hold firm on Cody Ross for two years and then turn around and give Victorino three?

Offensively, Ross is the better player. Defensively, Victorino is the better player. Ross was a known quantity for the Sox, but they were unwilling to go to three years and $25 million for Ross.

But they felt fine going to three years and adding an extra $12.5 million to the contract that they wouldn’t give Ross to bring in Victorino. It seems like an odd decision when the Sox could have held out to see if the market would drop for Nick Swisher, Josh Hamilton or Michael Bourn.

It just seems odd.

The only way this move makes real sense right now is that it gives the Sox flexibility to do something with Jacoby Ellsbury this winter if a good offer comes along.

It also protects the Sox when Ellsbury potentially leaves at the end of the 2013 season as a free agent, giving the team insurance in both center and right field.

At first glance it sure seems like the Sox are settling for Victorino and overpaying for him at the same time. Not a good combination.

I’m sure the Sox have their reasons, but if this is their right field answer, I’d have rather had Cody Ross back.

Statictics used from Baseball Referece.

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The deadline to tender arbitration-eligible players a contract has come and gone.

A few names jump out as players the Boston Red Sox might have some interest in bringing to spring training.

Most of the attention will be placed on pitching, pitching and more pitching. If the Sox have learned anything the last couple of seasons, it’s that they can’t have enough pitching options available to them through the season.

Most of the these pitchers can be brought in on minor league deals with an invite to spring training or on a major league contract with a low base salary accompanied by incentives.

The Mets cut Mike Pelfrey loose, someone the Sox might bring in on a one-year, low-base contract with incentives. Pelfrey might be receptive to this coming off of Tommy John surgery to rebuild his value.

The Nationals let both John Lannan and Tom Gorzelanny go, two more options for the Sox if they wanted to add a lefty to the rotation.

Jair Jurrjens is a complete enigma at this point and the Braves finally gave up on him. Doesn’t mean the Sox shouldn’t give him a look, especially given his relative young age of 26 and the flashes of potential that he has shown in his career.

Jeff Karstens was non-tendered by the Pirates, and before you ask why the Sox would want a pitcher that couldn’t make it with the Bucs, he actually pitched pretty well for them. He might give the Sox what Alfredo Aceves gives them—you know, without the crazy.

Rich Hill actually pitched very well for the Red Sox last season and wasn’t tendered a contract mostly due to health concerns. When Hill has been healthy and been able to pitch, he has been a weapon for the Sox as a left-handed specialist, pitching to a 1.14 ERA over the parts of three seasons. All three seasons have been interrupted by injuries.

Obviously, former Giants closer Brian Wilson slots very easily into the back end of the Sox bullpen and gives the team insurance against the injuries and performance of Andrew Bailey.

Wilson is someone that I discussed here in the past. Jurrjens, Pelfrey and Wilson are options that I have broken down before in this article.

As far as hitters goes, it’s pretty slim pickings.

Mark Reynolds is an obvious name that sticks out, but the Red Sox can do better at first base and should only sign Reynolds if everything else falls through. Reynolds was a productive player down the stretch for the Orioles in 2012, but his strikeout numbers are still a major concern, as is his .221 batting average in his two years with the O’s.

Brandon Snyder is another first base option for the Sox, albeit cheaper and less experienced. Snyder has looked pretty good in his limited time in the majors with the Orioles and Rangers.

Other than that? Not much, unless the Sox want to get some 1B/3B insurance with Jack Hannahan, CF insurance with former Met Andres Torres or an OF platoon partner in Nate Schierholtz.

None of the players would immediately impact the Sox next season, but they would provide valuable and much-needed depth—especially to the pitching staff and bench.

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Ben Cherington and Larry Lucchino have both recently gone on local Boston radio station WEEI and given their thoughts to the fans about the current state of the organization.

The only problem is that they seem to have a somewhat different view of where the team stands right now.

Cherington has told Red Sox nation that he expects the team to have a “large” payroll earlier this month, something that I discussed here.

Lucchino addresses the chance that the Sox get involved with Josh Hamilton or Zack Greinke during this interview with WEEI and makes it sound like the Sox would be very reluctant to sign a free agent player to a huge contract after getting out from underneath Carl Crawford’s contract.

In this Q&A with readers on Boston.com website, Lucchino seems to shy away from the free-agent spending and be far more focused on the kids coming through the system.

It would serve Boston very well at this point if Cherington becomes the face of the Red Sox management dealing with the media or the Sox risk perception that Lucchino is still the de facto general manager and the one calling the shots.

Maybe it is something minor, but when asked about the payroll budget for 2013 Cherington says that it is “difficult to predict” while Lucchino makes a point to say this about having a set payroll for 2013 “Yes we do, but it’s not for public dissemination.” during the same Boston.com Q&A session.

Doesn’t make it sound like both guys are on the same page.

Larry needs to let Ben do his job and see what he can do. The president of the Red Sox shouldn’t be the most visible member of organization.

It’s just really rather unnecessary.

Even if the Sox have no desire to sign Hamilton or Greinke, it doesn’t hurt to be involved with the players and drive up the price for a competitor.

Even if the Sox have no desire to trade for a big contract, it makes no sense to let everyone else in baseball in on the secret.

The Sox appear to be blaming the free agent players for being too expensive instead of looking in the mirror at themselves. Nobody forced the Sox to sign Gonzalez, Crawford, Lackey or Beckett.

Maybe they should question the baseball ops department as to why they have done such a poor job evaluating major league talent recently.

Maybe they should ask how they won just 69 games last season with a payroll that opened the season north of $170 million.

I don’t want to hear about injuries. The Yankees, Giants, Rangers, Tigers, Orioles, Cardinals and A’s all managed to overcome injuries and still make the playoffs. The Sox didn’t have a good enough team.

A good card player never shows their hand unless they have to, even when they fold.

It something the Sox could stand to learn from.

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Baseball’s winter meetings are scheduled to kick off on Monday, December 3.

A few teams are already starting to make some interesting moves prior to the annual baseball gathering.

Some of these interesting baseball moves will directly and indirectly affect the Boston Red Sox.

Russell Martin signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, definitely an unexpected and interesting development. It was first reported here by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Have to wonder if this will cause the New York Yankees to jump back in to the Mike Napoli sweepstakes.

Napoli will almost certainly get four years now, with competition coming between the Texas Rangers, Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners.

Martin’s contract at first glance seems very reasonable for the Pirates. Two years and $17 million. Wonder if the Sox ever talked to Martin about those terms. That contract may seem far more palatable than going to four years for Napoli.

The Sox will likely need to act fast if they plan to get Napoli under contract for next season.

Two other interesting moves have occurred that might indirectly help the Red Sox, plus there’s a rumor to talk about.

The Washington Nationals traded for CF Denard Span, effectively taking them out of the Michael Bourn sweepstakes. Also, mentioned in this Q&A session with Nats’ general manager Mike Rizzo, Mark Zuckerman brings more clarity to the position of 1B Adam LaRoche.

LaRoche sounds like a man without a country, or more specifically a team.

The Red Sox may have a very real choice to make between LaRoche and Napoli. It may come down to who the Sox can get on a shorter contract.

The other move that could impact the Sox was the Atlanta Braves‘ signing of B.J. Upton. I’m sure that Jacoby Ellsbury’s agent Scott Boras was probably a little frustrated with the relatively reasonable five years and $75.25 million that Upton received.

Ellsbury has more upside but Upton has been able to stay on the field more often and be more productive. They are not exactly the same type of player, but if I am the Red Sox, my contract offer to Ellsbury after next season would look very much like Upton’s contract.

Wonder if free-agent CF Michael Bourn will fall into someone’s lap on a short contract with the Nationals and Braves out of the bidding.

Lastly is the report from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the Sox are one the teams talking to Ryan Dempster. Three years for Dempster? No thanks.

Honestly, the Sox can do better than Dempster, a classic National League pitcher. Dempster was exposed in his half-season with the Rangers, struggling against the stronger lineups of the American League.

If the Sox didn’t have John Lackey, I could understand the interest in Dempster a little more. The Sox should be aiming higher for the third spot in their rotation.

By next Thursday, we should start to have a better idea of what the 2013 Red Sox will look like.

Hopefully we will like what we see.  

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I was looking around the major leagues, trying to see where the Boston Red Sox could do something similar to what the Toronto Blue Jays just accomplished with the Miami Marlins.

Then I read this tweet from ESPN’s Buster Olney today:

If Mets aren’t going to sign Dickey to an extension, the Wilpons ought to just sell the team.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 16, 2012

I keep coming back to the New York Mets and Ike Davis and R.A. Dickey.

In order to get those players, the Sox would likely have to take back Johan Santana.

Would the Red Sox consider this for the entire remaining $30.5 million on Santana’s contract? Highly doubt it. But if the Mets were to include $5 to $10 million to the Sox, it would make things more palatable.

Plus, the Red Sox wouldn’t have to give up their top-tier prospects in order to get this done. This would be a salary dump for New York. The Red Sox could offer catching, bullpen arms and B or C-level prospects.

Why would the Mets do all this? Money, of course. Trading these three players to Boston would save them roughly $25 million.

According to this tweet by Newsday’s Marc Craig, Mets GM Sandy Alderson was quoted as saying the Mets will need “a little more clarity” on the contract situations of David Wright and R.A. Dickey.

R.A. Dickey just won the Cy Young, and instead of talking about extending his contract, it sounds like to Mets might be inclined to trade him because of the financial commitment and Dickey’s age (38).

Sounds like the Mets still have a money problem.

The last time the Red Sox traded for a pitcher coming off of his Cy Young season was Pedro Martinez. We all know how that turned out.

Dickey is making a team-friendly $5 million for 2013 and would likely want an extension of two years. The Sox could do a lot worse than trade for the knuckleballer and give him a two-year deal for $20 million plus or so. The Sox have extensive experience dealing with the knuckleball with Tim Wakefield and just signed a very good defensive catcher in David Ross.

Ike Davis would solve the Red Sox’s gaping hole at first base. Davis is a still-developing young power-hitter at the age of 25, and he would be under team control for another five seasons. He would also fill a need at a position where the Sox lack depth in their minor league system.

Then the question becomes: Does Santana have anything left? The 33-year-old lefty was simply okay last season. Maybe being a second season removed from shoulder surgery would improve his effectiveness, or maybe at that point one of the Sox’ young arms would be ready to take over the spot in the rotation.

Would the Mets be happy about doing this? Obviously not, but New York just agreed to pay Jason Bay his entire contract in order to release him. The stipulation? They wanted to defer some of Bay’s money and have him count for only roughly $6 million on the payroll for next season.

A team willing to do that in order to free up a few million dollars for next season might be willing to do anything to save $25 million—like sacrificing R.A. Dickey and Ike Davis.

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It is very telling that the first free-agent signing for the Boston Red Sox this offseason is a catcher.

The surprise signing of David Ross, detailed here in this report by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, basically puts the catching tandem of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway on notice.

Rosenthal quotes an anonymous source in the article saying that Ross will be “more than a backup but not a starter.”

More than a backup but not a starter sounds like 60 to 80 games to me. That also sounds like that would give Mike Napoli the ability to catch part time, play first base part time and also occasionally be designated hitter on David Ortiz’s days off.

Neither catcher should feel very comfortable in their standing with the team right now.

Maybe this tweet by Jon Heyman from CBS Sports about the Red Sox talking to Russell Martin’s agent and this tweet by the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo stating that the Red Sox will be a likely suitor for Napoli means the Sox are going to completely revamp their catching.

This could mean the Red Sox hold their catchers far more responsible for the poor results from the pitching staff the past couple of years than they have let on.

Now, both of the incumbent catchers could be traded to fill other needs. This certainly doesn’t sound like a vote of confidence.

The Red Sox have a former pitcher, John Farrell, as the manager. Farrell is going to value the defensive side of the position, as well as the ability to call a good game, more than years past.

Farrell and Ross would have crossed paths briefly during the 2008 Red Sox season. Farrell might have been impressed with what he saw in his limited time with Ross.

Maybe having the ability to watch the Red Sox pitching staff from afar the past couple of seasons in Toronto has allowed Farrell to notice things that have changed with how Boston pitchers and catchers operate and prepare.

Jon Lester and Felix Doubront are noticeably demonstrative every time a call goes against them on the mound. Having a veteran backstop who can go out to the mound and tell both lefties to knock it off might be exactly what the staff needs.

Since Jason Varitek has retired, Lester has regressed as a pitcher.

It has been a couple of weeks since Farrell has become manager. Maybe in his conversations with the pitchers on the team, Farrell and general manager Ben Cherington came to the realization that the pitching staff didn’t have any confidence in the catching tandem of Saltalamacchia and Lavarnway.

Both Saltalamacchia and Lavarnway struggled in 2012. Saltalamacchia‘s .222/.288/.454 slash line with 139 strikeouts really wasn’t salvaged by his 25 home runs. Lavarnway simply didn’t hit in his extended audition at the major league level last year, posting poor numbers .157/.211/.248 across the board in 46 games.

But the biggest problem is the Red Sox had the fourth-worst ERA in the league last season at 4.70.

For a former pitcher and pitching coach like Farrell, it might be as simple as that.

Statistics provided by Baseball Reference and MLB websites.

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