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Baseball’s offseason hot stove continues to heat up as MLB’s annual winter meetings in Orlando, Florida roll right along.

As always, super agent Scott Boras has landed some monstrous deals for his clients, with outfielders Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford each garnering seven-year deals worth well over $100 million.

And with former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee yet to sign on with a club (i.e. the Yankees), Boras’ busy winter is far from over.

Of course, Boras isn’t the only agent with clients on the move. He just so happens to be the most powerful.

Either way, there’s still plenty of action yet to take place and plenty of mega-millions yet to be wasted…errr…spent before the start of spring training. In that spirit, let’s have a look at the biggest deals of the offseason so far and the most intriguing ones yet to be made.

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According to a report by Jim Salisbury, Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has acknowledged that the Phillies have not only discussed dealing for Kansas City Royals’ ace Zack Greinke internally, but they have also talked to the Royals about potentially making a trade. While Amaro contends that the possibility of this deal occurring remains slim, any acknowledgement of interest from the highly ambitious and normally tight lipped Amaro means that the possibility does exist.

Much like Pat Gillick, the former Phillies GM and upcoming Hall of Fame Inductee who mentors him, Amaro has developed a reputation of being willing to trade for top quality talent, especially starting pitchers. In his two year stint as general manager for the Phillies, he has traded for three legitimate ace pitchers in Cliff Lee (who he later traded away to Seattle), 2010 National League CY Young winner Roy Halladay, and former Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt. 

What do all three of these trades have in common? They were all preceded with very little fanfare on the part of the Phillies and Ruben Amaro in particular. In the weeks leading up to the Cliff Lee trade near the trade deadline of the 2009 season, it was well known throughout baseball that the Phillies were trying to work out a deal for Roy Halladay, who was then a Toronto Blue Jay. As the deadline approached, Amaro decided to trade for Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Cliff Lee at a relative bargain price rather than sell the farm in order to acquire Halladay. Of course, this turned out to be a very good thing when Lee, pitching in his first postseason, led the Phillies to within two victories of a second consecutive World Series Championship.

In the end, however, Amaro got his man, acquiring for Roy Halladay last December in a trade that caught many off guard. In the time leading up to the trade, Amaro admitted that the Phillies still had an interest in Halladay but repeatedly said that the possibilities of a deal remained remote. Even more shocking though, was his decision to trade World Series hero Cliff Lee to Seattle in order to lower the payroll and restock the farm system. It was a decision that still haunts him to this day, although he did partially redeem himself by acquiring Roy Oswalt at last year’s trade deadline. (This trade was also a bit of a surprise.)

It is clear that Ruben Amaro is not only willing and able to make big time trades, but that he also likes to fly under the radar when doing so. This does not mean, however, that Amaro is being deceitful by calling any deal for Greinke a long shot. There are multiple obstacles that would hinder any trade for the Royals’ ace.   

First and foremost is that the Royals are listening to offers for Greinke, but have no pressing need to move him, so they will not accept anything less than what they feel is fair value. The Phillies’ farm system has lost some of its more valuable prospects in the previously mentioned trades, but there are still enough quality pieces there to get a trade done. The question is whether or not they will be willing to lose even more of their prospects, especially as fears that the Phillies are becoming too old have started to be raised by both the fans and the media.

Another potential problem is Greinke’s trade clause, which lets him veto trades to up to 15 different teams. Whether or not the Phillies would be one of these teams is not known, but it has been reported that Greinke wants to go to a contender, which the Phillies are. However, it has been speculated by some people that he would prefer a small market team where he would not be hounded by the media.

From the Phillies’ side of things, the biggest hold up if they decide that Greinke is worth the Royals’ asking price is the additional payroll that Greinke would add. In order to acquire him, they would either need to trade away at least one of their big league players (possibly Raul Ibanez or Joe Blanton) or go over their self imposed $150 million cap. They have stated that they would be willing to go over their cap for the right player, which Greinke, the 2009 AL CY Young Award winner, would probably be. 

Despite all of these obstacles, if the Phillies do find a way to acquire Zack Greinke, they would have not only the best pitching staff in all of baseball, but one of the top rotations of all time. With the offensive output down across the board last season, adding Greinke could go a long way, especially if this downward trend continues.  Although starting pitching is relatively low on the Phillies’ priority list for this off-season a pitcher of Greinke’s caliber is worth acquiring no matter what your other needs are. In his short time as general manager, Ruben Amaro has consistently shown that he usually has a card or two up his sleeve, and don’t be surprised if this time that card is another ace.

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So far this offseason, the Yankees have been uncharacteristically quiet. Their biggest free agent target, Cliff Lee, hasn’t even engaged them in formal discussions regarding a contract for next season.

Recently, the Yankees made their first offer for the prized lefty: Six years and between $140-150 million.

Almost immediately following the signing of Carl Crawford with the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees panicked and increased their initial offer to seven years and a yet undisclosed amount of money.

Is it possible the Yankees would pay Lee as much as $27 million per season? Given how badly the Yankees need Cliff Lee to bolster their flawed starting rotation, it might not be so far fetched.

While the Yankees have never wavered on signing Lee, Crawford was their second choice guy, but he’s gone now, leaving only Lee.

To be fair, the Yankees’ initial six-year offer to Lee was incredible and it’s unlikely any other team could match it.

But Lee and his agent, Darek Braunecker, seem perfectly willing to let the Yankees sit on their hands while other teams, namely the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, prepare their offers.

Recently, the Rangers directly asked Braunecker what it would cost to sign Lee. What was his response? Simple, he wouldn’t say. He would only tell them to make their best offer.

If he’s not going to give teams a starting price, and he’ll ignore the Yankees well above market value offer, what exactly is he expecting?

During the Winter Meetings, there were reports of two mystery teams willing go to seven years with Lee, while the Yankees were steadfast in their decision to not go past six years.

Well, that went out the window late last night with the Crawford signing. So if the Yankees are not only willing to offer a seven-year deal, but they’re also willing to offer the most money, is it possible that Lee doesn’t want to pitch in the Bronx and he’s hoping another team will step up?

While the signings of Crawford with the Red Sox and Jayson Werth with the Washington Nationals have basically wiped the free agent board clean, the Yankees don’t really have anything else to chase down.

They can sit back and wait for Lee to finally make up his mind and maybe try to make some smaller signings to bolster their team in other ways, namely in the bullpen.

On the other hand, Lee has the Yankees exactly where he wants them—starving and desperate.

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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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Just 24 hours ago, the Yankees made their first official offer to free agent pitcher Cliff Lee, a six-year deal worth about $140 million.

The Yankees have now come back the next day with a seven-year offer for Lee, according to Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.

This offer is coming about 12 hours after the Red Sox signed Carl Crawford to a seven-year deal worth $142 million.

Many felt the Yankees would try to sign Crawford and Lee this winter, or try to sign Crawford if the Yankees lost out on Crawford.

With Boston locking up the Yankees’ “Plan B,” the Yankees’ “Plan A” becomes more like the only plan they have.

Last week, Sports Illustrated and WFAN’s Jon Heyman had said the Yankees wouldn’t go for a seventh year and would stick to six years.

For Lee’s old team, the Texas Rangers, they wanted to stick to a five-year deal worth about $125 million, but president Nolan Ryan was considering offering Lee a sixth season.

The fact that Texas was willing to offer a sixth year, plus Boston signing Crawford, may have been enough for the Yankees to throw in the seventh year in the deal for Lee.

You can also throw in the fact that Andy Pettitte has been leaning towards retirement this offseason, which may make the Yankees more desperate for Lee’s services now than ever before.

According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, representatives from the Rangers are flying down to Arkansas today to meet with Lee and his agent Darek Braunecker.

One can only wonder what will take place at that meeting with Lee, Braunecker and the Rangers, as this is a developing story in progress.

Personally, I never thought the Yankees would stick to just six years because of the now desperate need for Lee.

If Pettitte does in fact retire, that leaves a huge gap in the pitching staff, especially with how inconsistent A.J. Burnett has been over the last two seasons.

Plus now, as of last night, the Red Sox are looking to be a strong favorite in the A.L. East with Crawford and now Adrian Gonzalez in the lineup with the likes of Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz.

The only thing the Yankees can do to counter such an act would be to get Lee for whatever dollar amount or contract year it takes.

The Yankees offering Lee seven years shows that they don’t have any other backup plans if they lose out on Lee, because he is the only pitcher on the market that they want, so now it becomes desperation time for them to get Lee.

The Yankees are hoping to have a deal done by the end of the week, and with a seven-year offer now on the table for Lee, it might get harder for him to say no to the Yankees.

From the beginning, I have predicted Lee to go to the Yankees all along since this past July, and I still feel when this is all set and done, he will be wearing pinstripes in 2011.

Stay tuned.

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Free agent Carl Crawford signed a monster deal yesterday with the Boston Red Sox.

Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million deal, a huge move for Boston who recently traded for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

With Crawford off the market, who will be the next big name free agent to sign?

Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that the New York Yankees have offered starter Cliff Lee a seven-year deal. The Yankees originally had a six-year deal worth roughly $140 million.

After the seven-year deals Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford received, teams do not have much of a choice but to offer Lee the same type of deal.

Lee has been on the Yankees radar since the midpoint in the regular season and they are not about to let their top priority get away from them, especially since the Red Sox locked up Carl Crawford.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has reported that Lee will sign with a team by Sunday.

Also around the league, the Baltimore Orioles are working on a trade for shortstop J.J. Hardy, and the Milwaukee Brewers are trying to improve their pitching staff by signing Carl Pavano.

The two sides have yet to reach an agreement as the Brewers do not want to sign Pavano past two years.

Also in the National League, the Chicago Cubs have reportedly contacted the Tampa Bay Rays about pitcher Matt Garza, according to ESPN Chicago.

There are plenty of big moves being made and still some big names available. Expect a few signings and trades over the weekend.

Source: Jon Heyman on Twitter, ESPN Chicago, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports

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The city of Boston must be ecstatic tonight with the announcement of the signing Carl Crawford

Crawford’s home has been Tropicana Field for the last nine seasons, as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2010, Crawford’s batting average was .307, with 30 doubles, 13 triples, 19 home-runs, 90 RBIs and 47 stolen bases.

Add that to the other new Red Sox, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, who’s 2010 average at the plate was .298, with 31 home-runs, and 101 RBIs.

It would be hard to find anyone who doesn’t agree that the Red Sox are by far the AL East, if not baseball’s favorite heading into 2011.

The pressure is on like Donkey Kong for the New York Yankees to sign Cliff Lee. Maybe the new regime is fine with not being able to compete for a season, but that is just not going to fly.

You cannot forget the major backlash coming from Yankee fans if Lee is not in the Bronx come April. Especially with the Red Sox taking Crawford, who the Yankees were interested makes it a slap in the face.

The Texas Rangers clearly want Lee too; going as far as asking Lee’s camp what it will take to sign the Southpaw.

Lee has expressed how much he loved the Rangers clubhouse and it’s location to Arkansas where Lee lives.

GM Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner now have another reason to sign Lee.

First, the team is in desperate need to add to the starting rotation.

Second reason is pretty simply, the Yankees need to save some face considering it’s the first year the Boss is not in the background.

The rumor is that in two days, Lee will announce were he is bringing his talents in 2011, and my gut feeling is it’s not going to be to the Bronx.

Hopefully, I am dead wrong but Lee has not hinted or even given an inkling of a favorite.

This is why I believe Lee is waiting to give the Rangers a chance to match the Yankees, so he has reason to stay.

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The Boston Red Sox are making up for their poor 2010 season by making a big splash this offseason.

After trading for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez last week from the San Diego Padres, the Red Sox have reportedly signed free agent outfielder Carl Crawford to a 7 year, $142 million contract, according to the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal has confirmed the deal as well.

As of Wednesday the Red Sox were not considered Crawford’s first choice, many believed the coveted outfielder was leaning toward signing with the Los Angeles Angels.

Crawford has played in the AL East his entire career as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, so he knows the Red Sox front office is dedicated to building a winner every season.

With the additions of Gonzalez and Crawford, are the Red Sox the favorites to win the World Series next season?

Right now, you’d have to say yes.

Boston nearly made the playoffs last year despite missing major players such as Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Jacoby Ellsbury to lengthy injuries. 

With Crawford likely to be the leadoff man in the lineup, the Red Sox finally have a speed demon on the basepaths. Ellsbury’s constant injury struggles have rid the Sox of their only speed threat.

Crawford is a very good fielder, and like most everyone, will probably see his batting statistics improve due to playing 82 games a year in the hitter friendly confines of Fenway Park.

With Crawford playing the role as the best outfielder on the team, and still at a young age, Ellsbury becomes expendable.

Although, coming off a poor season, Ellsbury is not likely to be moved until the tradin deadline, because he currently has perhaps the lowest trade value of his young career.

Gonzalez gives the Red Sox a little bit of everything. His hitting credentials are well known, but he is a superb defensive player, having won two gold gloves.

Gonzalez has accumulated at least 30 home runs and 99 RBIs in each of the least four seasons, and accomplishing this feat in the pitcher heaven of Petco Park in San Diego makes it more impressive.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has done well so far this winter to improve the team, but he has yet to improve the biggest weakness of 2010, the bullpen.

The bullpen roster is likely to be much different on opening day than it is now. With the Red Sox having spent a lot of money on two guys already, they will likely find some cheap, veteran relief pitchers.

With the Red Sox asserting themselves this offseason with a determination to go back to the World Series, their archrival New York Yankees now have to sign Cliff Lee. Do they even have a choice?

The only Yankees headlines this winter were the re-signings of captain Derek Jeter, and hall of famer to be closer Mariano Rivera.

With the additions of Crawford and Gonzalez, the Red Sox have a better all around lineup than the Yankees, and are younger as well.

Boston’s starting pitching is very deep too, and veterans Josh Beckett and John Lackey are sure to bounce back after injuries and inconsistency plagued their 2010 seasons. 

Jon Lester has emerged as a staff ace, and Clay Buchholz has become a player who could be a perennial all star.

The Red Sox are not done loading up for a serious 2011 run, but what they’ve done so far is very impressive.

They have acquired an offensive machine in Gonzalez for not to steep of a price in terms of prospects given up, and have acquired a young and athletic outfield star in Crawford.

But more importantly, they have kept these two players away from their competitors in the American League.

Boston will be fully healthy to start next season, and will be armed with the best lineup Red Sox fans have ever seen.

It’s fair to say, that for now, the Red Sox are the clear favorites to win the 2011 World Series.

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As the Yankees continue their efforts to court free agent pitcher Cliff Lee, their fallback guy was Carl Crawford.

Well, the Yankees can forget about that as Crawford has agreed to a seven-year, $142 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees need Lee even more than they did just a few short hours ago, and while their initial offer of six years and $140-150 million was incredible, they might have to up it just a little bit.

There have been rumors floating around that there are at least two teams willing to offer Lee a seven-year deal.

The Yankees have been firm in their stance they won’t go past six years with Lee. Well, they’re going to have to now, as will any other team interested in signing Lee.

Last season, Lee went 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. Lee is one of the most dominant postseason pitchers of his era, with a career 7-2 record and a 2.13 ERA in 10 career postseason starts.

The Crawford signing might be the best thing that ever happened to Cliff Lee, as he can now expect every legitimate offer to go up in both years and dollars.

The Yankees HAVE to sign Lee now just to keep up with the Red Sox, who also traded for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez earlier in the week. They no longer have a Plan B—or even a Plan C for that matter.

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