BaseballTalkOnline.com

Rosenthal’s latest column hits a wide number of things ranging from players who may retire to an overcrowded outfield in Boston.

• Rosenthal believes that Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Kenny Lofton, Mike Piazza and Sammy Sosa may all show up on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot. With free agents having trouble to find work, time is running out for Lofton. With Piazza and Sosa best suited for designated hitter jobs with none really available, and Bonds and Clemens dealing with legal issues concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs, it seems like it may be time for these to hang it up.
• Because the Mets are deferring $5 million per season at 1.25 percent of Santana’s contract, Santana’s six-year, $137.5 million extension is actually $123.1 million according to the players’ union. Instead of $22.9 million annually, Santana is now set to receive $20.5 million per season in present-day money, which isn’t significantly higher than Carlos Zambrano’s current deal. Rosenthal lists out the scenarios for the 2014 club option changing to a player option.
• While Coco Crisp may be signed to an affordable contract, it’s the years on it that is creating more of a problem for the Red Sox in their attempts to trade him. The amount of years is turning teams off because they don’t want to block any of their young outfielders.

Filed under: Barry Bonds, Boston Red Sox, Coco Crisp, Johan Santana, Kenny Lofton, Mike Piazza, New York Mets, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa