Two days prior to the formal start of baseball’s winter meetings, the Red Sox seemingly had their white whale, nabbing Adrian Gonzalez in a trade with the San Diego Padres. The next item on their checklist figured to be signing free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth, filling in a few holes in the bullpen and on the bench, and then resting atop everybody’s preseason favorites list.
One day before the formal start of baseball’s winter meetings, the club is back at square one. The Gonzalez deal is in peril over a separation in extension negotiations, and Werth is off to the nation’s capital in an eve-of-the-meetings stunner.
In addition, Werth got $126 million for seven years from the Washington Nationals, an extremely healthy package that figures to make the Red Sox’ next target, Carl Crawford, a demanding individual. Crawford wants an eight-year deal, and now has more ammunition in such a request. The overall value could flirt with $150 million.
Add it all up, and it is a rough beginning to the yearly gathering for Boston. The Gonzalez deal is not dead yet, and if that doesn’t work, an Adrian Beltre return could still be in the cards. But if neither Adrian finds his way back into the fold and Crawford uses Werth’s newfound wealth to drive up the price even more, the Sox’ front office has some work to do.
That work continues in earnest Monday morning, when the meetings formally begin.
