The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to make Pablo Sandoval an offer at some point today, leading many to believe it's a possibility that could be the third baseman's next team. Could the Los Angeles Dodgers be shortstop Alexei Ramirez's next team?
According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe on Wednesday evening, "Sandoval is expected to receive an offer from the Blue Jays within the next 24 hours." Additionally, Dennis O'Donnell of CBS San Francisco said there's a "90 percent chance he signs with the Red Sox. The other 10 percent goes to the Toronto Blue Jays." The fact that the taxes are lighter in Canada (for MLB players), coupled with the team's high-powered offense, has likely kept them in the running.
However, Sandoval wants a six-year deal, but the Blue Jays have a club policy of not offering contracts greater than five years, which could affect their ability to sign him. According to sources early on, the Red Sox and Giants were believed to be the front-runners for Sandoval while the Blue Jays, White Sox and Padres were thought to have limited interest. Toronto seems serious in their free-agent endeavors, signing catcher Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million contract on Monday. It's probable they let Melky Cabrera move on, and with Brett Lawrie as their third baseman (he's played 177 games over the past two seasons), they might be pressing hard to land Sandoval.
Additionally, the Red Sox claimed third baseman Juan Francisco off waivers from the Blue Jays, which could indicate Boston is providing themselves with insurance in case they don't sign Sandoval. Toronto also may have let him go because they're confident they can lure Sandoval.
In the AL Central, the White Sox have been listening to offers for shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted on Tuesday that the Dodgers are "aggressively pursuing" Ramirez in a trade with Chicago. This comes as no surprise because Los Angeles isn't expected to re-sign Hanley Ramirez and with that void they'll be in need of an everyday shortstop. The White Sox have depth at the middle infield positions and would be glad to get rid of Alexei Ramirez's $10 million salary for 2015.
But it's even more interesting because Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes, "Any potential swap could be aided by the strong relationship between White Sox general manager Rick Hahn and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman." The two made a trade back in 2013 when Friedman was with the Rays, but it'll be different this time around because Alexei Ramirez would be filling an absolute need for the Dodgers, whereas the previous trade was of no such caliber.
Ramirez has been the subject of a number of trade talks, but what he would wield in return for the White Sox is unknown. The Dodgers have a deep farm system as well as a number of outfielders they're looking to get off their hands, so a trade between the two is certainly possible.