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MLB Rumors: Edgar Renteria was a member of the San Francisco Giants when they won the World Series last season.

But he’s now stuck in no-man’s land, seemingly unsure of what his future entails.

According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants have offered Renteria a one-year deal to but that’s to serve as a utility infielder.

Not to mention the deal is for $1 million, which is a huge decrease from his previous two-year $18.5 million deal with the team.

Renteria has gone on record in saying that he wants to finish his career with the Florida Marlins or St. Louis Cardinals, but the Marlins don’t seem to be a fit for him right now and there’s no word on him ending up in St. Louis.

There is speculation right now that Renteria will wind up back in San Francisco because of his friendship with Miguel Tejada, who recently signed with the team.

However, the Giants would have to restructure their infield if Renteria does re-sign.

Take a look at the Giants’ offseason outlook. 

MLB Rumors: Cliff Lee holds the key to the MLB free agency puzzle.

Whenever and wherever he signs, Lee is expected to have a ripple effect throughout all of baseball.

And perhaps no one’s future will rely on Lee’s signing more than Kansas City Royals pitcher ZackGreinke.

According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, the market for Greinke will heat up once Lee is off the market.

The reported asking price for Greinke?

Dutton says the Royals wants”two high-impact prospects, preferably a starting pitcher and either a middle infielder or center fielder, and two players capable of supporting roles.”

Damn, that sounds like a lot.

Greinke is coming off a so-so season, and it’s unclear how many teams would be willing to part with that much talent to acquire a pitcher who’s not a surefire ace.

FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal notes that the Marlins have been in touch with the Royals aboutGreinke’s services but nothing is on the horizon.

So where would Greinke fit? Check out 10 possible destinations for the star pitcher.

Despite a flurry of movement at baseball’s winter meetings, free agent pitcher Cliff Lee remains unsigned.

But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been fielding offers.

According to reports, both the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers are bidding aggressively for the ace and an agreement may soon be reached. However, with some of the contracts that are being handed out (Jayson Werth – seven years/$126 million, Carl Crawford – $142 million), the price for the 31-year-old left-hander has become astronomical.

Lee and his agents have all the leverage right now in negotiations and any number of teams may be interested in his services. Here’s a look at the teams believed to be in the hunt for Lee, and which one may have the advantage in eventually striking a deal.

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MLB Rumors: The Boston Red Sox have stolen all the headlines early on in the MLB offseason.

They pried Adrian Gonzalez away from the San Diego Padres and signed Carl Crawford to one of the richest contracts in baseball history.

But now all the attention is on Cliff Lee.

The most coveted prize of this year’s free agent market has been linked to only a few teams, most notably the Texas Rangers—who he helped get to the World Series last season—and the New York Yankees.

When it’s all said and done, Lee will probably return to Texas or be wearing pinstripes next season.

But what will it be?

Well, I’m here to keep you updated on the latest news concerning the left-handed ace who will soon crush a team’s dreams or make them come true.

I’ll also talk about some of the latest news coming out of baseball’s winter meetings.

There’s no need to refresh this page. It’ll update every few minutes.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the latest MLB rumors.

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Since signing Carl Crawford to a seven-year deal worth $142 million, last the Boston Red Sox have been the talk of the town. This massive signing comes on the heels of yet another blockbuster deal – one that sent Adrian Gonzalez to Boston in exchange for a trio of top prospects. 

The addition of these two all-star players to an offense that ranked second in runs last season makes Boston one of the top offenses in baseball. But are they the best?

Here we take the time to examine all 30 line-ups based on opening day projections. Although it is impossible to compare an NL team to their AL counterpart, please enjoy this list of the MLB’s top offensive line-ups.

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Petco Park will no longer restrain Adrian Gonzalez from becoming a fantasy monster.

You can just picture him ripping the chains away from Petco Park in a surge of glory. He is free at last.

It has long been the hope of those who owned Gonzalez in a keeper league for him to be dealt to another team. Almost any team. Even in non-keeper leagues, people have been waiting for him to be dealt just to see how he will produce.

Despite the fact that his home park has held him back, Gonzalez has still managed to produce Top 30 numbers.

It’s not just Petco, either. He has been the centerpiece of a very weak lineup since arriving in San Diego. Because of this, Gonzalez rarely saw anything worthy of hitting and he was often pitched around.

Opposing managers won’t have the same luxury of pitching around him in a loaded Red Sox lineup. He could very well be in for a career year.

In 2009, Gonzalez finished the year with 40 homeruns and a .277 batting average. He hit twenty-eight of his 40 homeruns on the road. His batting average away from Petco was .306 and he finished the season with more walks (119) than strikeouts (109).

The splits between home and away tell the story.

So how much better can a career .284 hitter get?

It’s easy to get carried away making gaudy projections for a guy like Gonzalez.

Gonzalez will play pepper with the Green Monster and rack up doubles. The short porch in right field (302″ down the line) is a slugging left hander’s dream and it could increase his homerun totals. He’s not a dead pull hitter, but 22% of balls in play to the outfield go to right field, according to Inside Edge.

He was already an RBI machine in San Diego, averaging 104.8 RBI the past four seasons in a mediocre lineup. His RBI totals could approach the 140-150 range with the Red Sox.

We’re talking about a potential MVP candidate for 2011. Gonzalez flies under the radar in San Diego, but his keen batting eye and mighty bat should almost certainly make him worthy of a first round selection.

How high do you draft him?

Last season, Gonzalez had an average draft position of 29.1 in ESPN leagues. That placed him as a late second-early third round choice at first base.

Notable first basemen who were selected ahead of him were Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira and Prince Fielder. Gonzalez was the sixth first baseman off the draft board in an average draft.

I rate Gonzalez as the third best 1st baseman now—even ahead of Joey Votto. It’s close, though.

I would have no problems drafting Gonzalez late first-early second, even with first base being a deep position. He’s going to produce—there’s no question about that.

What Does This Mean for the Rest of the Red Sox Lineup?

The Red Sox lineup was already quite beneficial to the fantasy game, but it has quickly turned into a gold mine with the recent signing of Carl Crawford. 

It remains to be seen if the Red Sox will keep Jacoby Ellsbury around, but Crawford will certainly hit near the top of the lineup and score a ton of runs.

Dustin Pedroia will also reap the benefits of hitting at the top of the lineup as well. He has yet to top a .300 average since his first two full seasons in the majors, but I can certainly see him going over .300 in this lineup—so long as he stays healthy.

I think the biggest beneficiary of the Gonzalez trade will be Kevin Youkilis. He will gain third base eligibility early in the season and that will give him a spike in value. He’ll be a nice option to consider on draft day, especially given the possibility of a discount due to his injury shortened 2009 season. What’s not to like about .300-25-95-90 from a third baseman?

The 2011 Boston Red Sox lineup will be a fearsome foe, of which I daresay cannot be matched.

2011 Forecast for Adrian Gonzalez: .310 / 40 HR / 125 RBI / 100 R

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box below. You can e-mail me suggestions or questions at jtmcadams@aol.com. Follow me on Twitter @JoeSportswriter.

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Carl Crawford has agreed to a seven-year, $142 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. But what does that mean for Boston’s AL East rival, the New York Yankees?

Well if nothing else, we now know the Red Sox have big league money and are willing to spend it.

Just last weekend, Boston traded for San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez. The first baseman is expected to get a deal worth an estimated $154 million over seven-years.

No doubt now the Yankees are pressing to sign Cliff Lee and make a splash of their own this offseason.

After all, the Red Sox are on the verge of becoming the Miami Heat of the 2011 MLB season.

New York has a stellar team, there is little doubt. But can they really afford to sit back and watch the Red Sox reel in all the available talent?

Is the Yankee pitching staff good enough to carry them past Boston’s newly acquired sluggers in a seven game ALCS?

No one can answer these questions with a confident and definitive “yes.”

Thus making it essential to the Yankees’ future success that they sign Cliff Lee before someone else does.

Lee would solidify New York’s starting rotation and make them the odds on favorite to win the AL East in many minds.

The Yankees have six-year contract, which they increased to seven years following the Crawford signing, worth between $140-150 million on the table for Lee, but will he bite?

No one knows for sure yet. Lee likes living in Arkansas and maybe he doesn’t need another Escalade. Either way we will find out shortly.

But perhaps more intimidating than who they Red Sox signed, is how they signed them. Boston’s total disregard for it’s bank account has to be somewhat frightening to the Yankees’ front office.

Boston has laid out all the chips in order to win and now it’s New York’s turn to make a move.

Patrick Clarke is a student at Towson University and a writing intern for Bleacher Report.

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The MLB winter meetings have a lot of fans glued to their technology of choice. Twitter, ESPN, XM Radio, the Internet in general are all being utilized to absorb every nugget of info on the dealings going on in Orlando. 

So, lying in bed last night, with my headphones on pumping MLB Network Radio into my ears and my smart phone in my hand to comb tweets, I was made aware of the Red Sox stunning signing of Carl Crawford almost as soon as it happened. 

The next thing I was aware of was that if there was a trophy for winter meeting dealings, the Sox would have it on a truck to Boston by sun-up. 

Sleep would not come easily.

Even though the Yankees are about to sign Cliff Lee (after breaking their own promise to stay at six years or less by offering a seventh in response to the Crawford signing), the Red Sox have blown away the league with their two gigantic acquisitions of Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez.

A change in the years offered to Cliff Lee may come with an increase in the dollars, but that has not been mentioned so far. 

Assuming Lee signs with the Yankees, he could conceivably be the highest paid number two rotation guy in the history of the sport—assuming that the Yanks do the smart thing and keep the incumbent CC Sabathia in the ace spot. 

With a contract length of seven years, Cliff Lee will turn 39 in his last season.  While it is certainly possible that he’ll still be a good starter by the time the contract nears its end, the likelihood that he will still be worth the $23 million plus that he’ll be getting is extremely small.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, assuming the seven year extension that has been mentioned to be in the works for A-Gon, would have him under contract until 2018 and Crawford until 2017, meaning that each would turn 36 in the last year of their respective deals.

The Yankees have pushed Lee’s offer to seven years in part to deal with the he two Red Sox acquisitions, who also happen to have a history of faring well against Cliff Lee. In ten at-bats, Gonzalez is hitting in impressive .700 with an OPS of 2.00. Crawford posts only a .222 career, but almost half of his at-bats Lee were in 2010 where otherwise he has a .364 average and a .909 OPS.

Some more statistical info:  Cliff Lee, since 2008, posts an average 3.5 WAR (wins above replacement player).  For the same time period, Crawford posts a 3.83 WAR and Gonzalez comes in with a 5.4 WAR.

Combine this with the idea that Lee (like most hurlers) is a bit less proficient in Fenway and Yankee Stadium and that Crawford and Gonzalez will, by most expert opinions, thrive in both of those southpaw friendly parks, the balance of power in the AL East has shifted toward Bean Town—at least on paper.

Reports say that there is a deal in principal with Gonzalez for a seven year extension worth about $154 million.  There has been some conjecture that the Crawford signing might affect that plan, but it has also been reported that both Gonzalez and Boston have expressed great interest in making the relationship last.

Assuming that New York makes the playoffs, which is a safe bet, their having picked up Lee will be of more benefit.  Lee’s performance in the post season has been markedly better than in the regular season—almost a full two runs lower in terms of ERA.

Rumors abounded that the Yankees back-up plan was to scoop up Crawford in the event they lost the Lee sweepstakes.  Now that this “plan B” is gone, it is wonder that they have stepped up the offer to the left-hander.

Also left in the cold by the Red Sox late Wednesday move are the Anaheim Angels.  They had been considered the front runner to get Crawford.  With both he and Jason Werth signed, the Angels will now have to settle for some player that most consider a step or two down from Crawford—Adrian Beltre’s name has been mentioned.

It has been a good few days for Boston fans who had been sharpening pitchforks and lighting torches, ready to storm down Yawkey Way during Sunday evening’s hiccup in the Gonzalez negotiations.  They are now ready to nominate  Sox GM Theo Epstien for Man of the Year.

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In the wake of Red Sox GM Theo Epstein channeling his inner Daniel Snyder and finally winning an off-season I find it interesting how investing somewhere around $300 million in your offense can make your fans forget what the real problem was last year-pitching and defense.  

While it’s exciting to see the likes of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez being brought to Boston—two players I’ve personally speculated for the last two seasons about seeing here-their presence does nothing to solve the real problems of last season-pitching.

Following the addition of John Lackey last off-season, creating what was supposed to be one of the strongest 1-2-3 punches in the league in terms of starting pitching, the Red Sox saw a decline from the prior season in the following statistical categories: Runs and runs allowed per game, complete games, shutouts, walks issued, and strikeouts.  To be fair another category also increased from ’09 to ’10; errors, which increased by 45 over the season before last.

What’s truly scary about the addition of Gonzalez and Crawford is the perception that offense was the problem in Boston last season, when in fact not much could be further from the truth. In the AL last season the Red Sox ranked second in runs scored, home runs, and RBI’s, trailing only the Yankees in runs and RBI’s and the Blue Jays in home runs.

While the best hope for a return to glory might seem to be hoping that John Lackey improves upon the third lowest ERA he’s ever posted (4.44), or that Josh Beckett can get away from posting the lowest strikeout total in a season since 2002 when he was 22 and only won 6 games for the Marlins, adding players of the caliber of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford that can help all over the field-and not just in the batter’s box-certainly can’t hurt.  

Of course neither can replacing Adrian Beltre and his team’s second worst 19 errors essentially with Gonzalez -who has posted double digits in errors in a season only once-probably won’t hurt either as the defensive prowess Beltre was supposed to bring to Boston never really materialized.

At the end of the day I think I speak for all Boston fans when I say: Welcome to Boston Carl and Adrian, it’s great to have you here.  Just so long as those same Boston fans don’t forget where our actual problems were last year…

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The Boston Red Sox have fired their second warning shot across the bow of the American League East by signing Carl Crawford to a seven-year deal valued at $142 million, according to multiple media outlets and first reported by the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham.

The ink likely still wet on the trade sending Adrian Gonzalez to Boston, Theo Epstein and the Red Sox ownership group have dug deep into their pockets and managed to deliver Crawford the largest single payday in Boston since the signing of Manny Ramirez.

When the deal is finalized, the Red Sox will have committed themselves to roughly $300 million within a week’s span, and Epstein will have staked his legacy to the performances of these two superstars.

Always reluctant to sign players to such lengthy and lucrative contracts, Epstein has earned a sometimes wise, sometimes miserly reputation across baseball. Given that reluctance, Epstein certainly is setting himself up for close scrutiny. Whether these deals prove sagacious will write much of Epstein’s story as the boy-wonder GM.

Also, when the deal is finalized, Boston will have acquired perhaps the fastest, finest defensive outfielder in the game today. The 29-year-old Crawford put up a 21.2 UZR/150 in 2010 en route to winning his first Gold Glove award.

Combine that defensive prowess with roughly 54 stolen bases per season and an 851 OPS last year, and one can understand why the four-time All Star and 2010 Silver Slugger could electrify both the Red Sox franchise and the Fenway Faithful in every facet of the game.

For breaking Red Sox news updates, follow Peter on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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