From Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
Mike Lowell may be closer to making a decision on whether he’ll play for the Red Sox in 2008, but he wasn’t letting on when asked about it at Disney World earlier on Friday.
The World Series MVP and his family seemed to have a nice time at Disney World where he served as grand marshal of the Magic Kingdom Parade. Lowell told one media person at the event, “We’ll see what the offseason brings. My family and I have a decision to make.”
The Sox have a 3-year offer on the table in the $36-$39 million range. It’s not known whether Lowell has another offer to consider. ESPN’s Peter Gammons reported earlier in the day that the Yankees no longer seemed interested in pursuing Lowell as a first baseman and will go with a combination of Shelly Duncan and Jason Giambi.
Another possible destination could be the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are balking at giving up three top prospects for Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, though word out of LA is they are now after free-agent center-fielder Aaron Rowand. Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi also said Friday that his team was not involved in Lowell talks and Philadelphia, which would appear the best fit for Lowell if he should depart Boston, have repeatedly denied it is in pursuit of the Sox third baseman.
Sox general manager Theo Epstein said Friday that talks with Lowell remained status quo
So what had started out as a bunch of teams offering him 4-year deals, now appears to be just the Red Sox 3-year deal. Hopefully over the weekend, Lowell will make his decision and give us an early present for the holidays.
