Though Yankees general manager Brian Cashman did manage to utter the name "Johan Santana" yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park, that was about all that was emanating from the crop of assembled GMs - including the Red Sox' Theo Epstein and the Blue Jays' J.P. Ricciardi - in the way of news. With much of baseball on hold for the holidays, things have been quiet on both the Santana trade front and in other arenas for the Red Sox.
"We don't have a lot new to report," Epstein said after a Hot Stove Cool Music roundtable fund-raiser that benefited his Foundation to Be Named Later. "It's been a pretty slow holiday break. We've been back at work for about a week, but it seems like a lot of the industry is still out on vacation probably until Monday. We'll see how things develop."
While Santana is the most prominent name out there, the Red Sox have a number of other, more complementary areas to address before pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Fla., in six weeks. The team has yet to sign a fourth outfielder, a backup catcher, and additional bullpen help, though talks are expected to heat up in the coming weeks.
"There's a lot going on around baseball," Epstein said. "We reached a point with our situation, having most of a world championship club back, having a burgeoning farm system, which I think was just rated the second best in all of baseball, where we feel that we can improve by letting our young players play. We don't have desperate holes we need to go out and fill at any cost. We can pick and choose what makes sense for us, rather than be desperately in the marketplace."
So it is entirely possible the Sox will head to spring training without another significant name joining their roster. With Curt Schilling and Mike Lowell re-signed, the turnover will be minimal, though some of those prospects - from Baseball America's second-rated farm system - could be heading to Boston at some point during the season. And that only bodes well for a team coming off a World Series title, a team Cashman referred to when he said, "We've got a lot of work ahead of us because clearly we're chasing the Red Sox."
Epstein was similarly unwilling to talk about the other big topic in baseball this winter - steroids and the Mitchell Report, despite the appearance of his name in the document, relating to an e-mail sent about Eric Gagné's suspected drug use.
"That's not what I'm thinking about right now," Epstein said. "I'm thinking about spring training about six weeks away. Getting back out on the field where the game is played and enjoyed and our fans have a lot to look forward to this coming year."
But Cashman did weigh in on the controversy, especially in relation to former Yankee (and Red Sox) Roger Clemens, who was asked Friday to testify before Congress Jan. 16.
"Certainly over the years now you've learned that there's been a subculture in this game that's existed, and that's unfortunate," he said. "The powers that be in our game are doing what we can as we move forward to try to eliminate it. That's obviously the biggest task ahead for everybody involved.
"It's up to the leadership of our game to continue to [use] our power to put forth a great product and that means a clean product at the same time. Those efforts continue.
"We needed the help of Congress to push through a drug program - and there were efforts obviously prior to that - and there are going to be even more efforts going forward. Hopefully, at the end of the day, everybody involved will allow us to get to a higher playing field."
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.
