Teams starting to make pitches

Just as the Red Sox were announcing a new $40.5 million contract for Dustin Pedroia yesterday, baseball's sputtering offseason finally began to whir. The pitching market began to develop, and the price appeared to be going up.

For the Red Sox, the question concerns whether they are willing to meet the eventual price.

While word of a potential five-year offer to free agent righthander A.J. Burnett (from the Braves) was beginning to circulate among some team officials, one baseball source confirmed that free agent Derek Lowe received offers from at least two teams, including the world champion Phillies. The identity of Lowe's second pursuer was unclear, though the same source indicated that the team was neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox, both of whom are expected to speak with Lowe's representative, Scott Boras, later this week.

Burnett, meanwhile, was rumored to be on the verge of a five-year deal that could be worth $80 million. Coupled with today's anticipated acquisition of righthander Javier Vazquez in a trade with the White Sox, Burnett's arrival could help rebuild an Atlanta rotation depleted by injuries to Tim Hudson (elbow surgery) and John Smoltz (now a free agent) last season.

To this point, teams interested in the soon-to-be 32-year-old Burnett had shown great reluctance in granting anything more than a four-year deal to a pitcher with a worrisome injury history. The Blue Jays, for whom Burnett went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA this past season, are among the teams that privately have said they will not go beyond four years.

Though the Red Sox, too, have expressed an interest in signing Burnett, club officials have made it clear to some free agents that they have no interest in overpaying. While it is unclear to what lengths the Sox would extend to sign Burnett or Lowe, it seems highly unlikely that the club would go to five years on either, particularly at an estimated annual salary of $15 million.

Having spent the last four seasons with the Dodgers after leaving the Red Sox, the 35-year-old Lowe is expected to command a three- or four-year deal, the latter being a more obvious target for Boras. Lowe's projected salary similarly is expected to fall in the range of $14 million-$15 million, putting a four-year commitment in the range of $55 million-$60 million.

According to the same source, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will visit with Boras today, when he could make a formal offer for Lowe. Red Sox officials similarly could present an offer to Boras later this week, though it is highly questionable as to whether the Sox have any intention of getting into a bidding war for any high-priced pitcher.

In recent years especially, the Red Sox have refrained from offering exorbitant contracts to pitchers in their 30s, particularly those with any injury history. Boston's blockbuster acquisition of Daisuke Matsuzaka two years ago came when the pitcher was 26. Josh Beckett was just 25 when the Red Sox acquired him in a landmark deal with the Marlins in November 2005.

Just the same, thanks to the financial flexibility afforded them this offseason, the Red Sox have anywhere from $40 million-$60 million to spend depending on where they set their budget. That could still allow them to make an aggressive run at free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, whom Sox officials have long coveted and who is expected to command in the neighborhood of $20 million annually.

Two years ago, while with the Rangers, Teixeira rejected an eight-year proposal worth $144 million, an average of $18 million per season.

Teixeira, like Lowe, is represented by the California-based Boras, meaning that both the Yankees and Red Sox may intend to discuss multiple clients with Boras later this week. The fact that Cashman is traveling to California to meet with Boras suggests some urgency on the part of the Yankees, though Cashman eventually will be traveling to Las Vegas, where baseball's winter meetings will begin Monday.

Based on statements made by Hank Steinbrenner, the Yankees entered this offseason intent on making pitching their primary target. While the team continues to wait for an answer from CC Sabathia on a six-year, $140 million proposal that would make him the highest-paid pitcher in history, the team's intention to begin earnest discussions with Lowe could be an indication that Burnett is indeed headed elsewhere.

With the departures of Mike Mussina (free agent, retired) and Andy Pettitte (free agent), the Yankees were in position to sign at least two prominent free agents. The Red Sox, on the other hand, had the flexibility to be far more selective, given the continued development of their young pitchers and the fact that virtually their entire 2008 pitching staff remains intact.