The Tigers could stick a lump of coal in the Red Sox' stocking by signing Jayson Werth. (AP)

For the Red Sox, there was a silver lining to the fact that the Detroit Tigers signed Victor Martinez to a four-year, $50 million deal. Because the switch-hitting catcher was a Type A free agent who was offered arbitration, the Sox stand to receive a pair of draft picks for his departure, both the Tigers’ top pick and a sandwich pick.

The Tigers actually have the highest unprotected pick in the draft at No. 19 overall. The teams with the worst 15 records in the game cannot forfeit their first-round pick if they sign a Type A free agent; it is only the teams in the upper half who can lose their first rounder. The Tigers, who finished the year with an 81-81 record, were the worst team without a protected pick. Because three teams did not sign their first-rounders, Detroit was positioned to draft in the No. 19 spot in the draft. Now, that pick would appear likely to go to the Sox.

But that is not a certainty. The Tigers could truly play the part of offseason spoilers for the Sox if they elected to sign a free agent outfielder like Jayson Werth. (The Detroit Free Press reports that Detroit may pursue either Werth or Crawford, depending on how much owner Mike Ilitch wants to spend.) Werth (as well as shortstop Derek Jeter, closers Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera and starter Cliff Lee) is rated ahead of Martinez in the Elias Player Rankings used to determine what kind of compensation (Type A, Type B, or none) a player will net if signed as a free agent. If the Tigers signed one of those free agents, then their top pick would go to another club (the Phillies for Werth), while the Sox would get Detroit’s second-round pick, roughly 50 picks later in the draft.

So, if the Tigers were to sign Werth, they would not only be grabbing a player who might hold significant interest for the Sox — a player who arguably rates as the best right-handed hitter on the market, and an excellent defensive outfielder to boot — but also they would be tarnishing the one silver lining for the Sox of Martinez’ decision to head for greener backs (and pastures). Read the rest of this entry »

Ramon Ramirez

A major league source confirmed a report by Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com that the Red Sox and Mets discussed a potential deal that would have sent Sox reliever Ramon Ramirez to New York. One of several possibilities discussed, the source said, included sending catcher Rod Barajas (who landed on the disabled list on Monday with a mild left oblique strain) to Boston.

The source said that the two sides had discussed different scenarios (some including Barajas, some not) in a potential swap, but indicated that a deal sending Ramirez to the Mets was “probably not going to happen at this point.”

The talks, which fizzled late last week, were driven chiefly by the Mets’ interest in Ramirez, who is 0-3 with a 4.69 ERA in 42 appearances for the Sox this year, but whose stuff has some clubs believing that he could become more effective with a change of scenery.

Barajas is hitting .228 with a .266 OBP, .419 slugging mark, .685 OPS and 12 homers in 73 games this year.