Fox Sports reports that the Boston Red Sox will not put the same deadline on their Johan Santana talks with the Twins that the Yankees have.

Hank Steinbrenner gave the Twins until midnight tonight to accept the Yankees offer of Melky Cabrera, Philip Hughes and a third prospect. The third player could be Triple-A SS Alberto Gonzales or Double-A RHP Alan Horne.

The Red Sox are offering Jon Lester or center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury along with shortstop Jed Lowrie. Coco Crisp would also be included if the Twins chose Lester, and not Ellsbury.

Peter Abraham on his blog for the Journal News reports the following.

The Yanks and Twins are meeting tonight. Hank Steinbrenner, quiet all day, told an AP reporter at Legends Field that he expected some sort of conclusion.

The Yankees and Red Sox have not budged from their offers, I’m told. Theo Epstein said he willing to let the process play out as long as it takes.

It could be a long night. I’ll keep you posted once something happens.

Hat tip to Gary Grund for the Abraham link.

According to Steve Phillips and Peter Gammons on ESPN news the majority of the Yankees brass is flying in tonight and they will meet with the Twins contingency soon to talk about Johan Santana.

Gammons continues to say the Mets dont have the horses to compete with the Yanks and the Red Sox for Santana. They both believe something will get done tonight.

Check out ESPN 2 at 5:00 PM EST for a Winter Meetings Special.

Here’s a rundown of Hot Stove news this morning…

ESPN reports that the Yankees seem to be backing away from going after Mike Lowell to play first base and use Shelly Duncan or Jason Giambi instead.

The Red Sox have reportedly offered Lowell a three-year offer worth between $35 million and $45 million.

The Sox have been reported to have interest in Miguel Cabrera as well. Back in April, according to Enrique Rojas on ESPN, Cabrera expressed interest in play alongside Albert Pujols in St. Louis.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com believes the Angels have emerged as a most intriguing possibility for Marlins 3B Miguel Cabrera to land through a trade. The Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees all have interest as well, however the Red Sox are trying to re-sign Mike Lowell and the comments from Yankees’ representative Hank Steinbrenner saying that he would not trade one of the big three young pitchers.

Rosenthal also adds that the Washington Nationals would like to sign CF Andruw Jones but will likely have a tough time chalking up the money it will take to get him. He also notes that he sees the Giants and White Sox as two potential suiters with the Dodgers a possibility. The Padres would be more involved with him if his price dropped.

The Phillies believe that CF Aaron Rowand may command a four-year, $52 million contract. Both the Astros and Mets remain interested in free agent 2B Luis Castillo. The Indians, Padres and Dodgers could also enter the mix pending decisions within their franchise. The Twins are one of the teams attempting to trade for Red Sox CF Coco Crisp, but the Red Sox are demanding too much in return it appears. Teams with too many starting pitchers may look to the trade market to get rid of them. Indians starter LHP Cliff Lee, Brewers RHP Dave Bush and LHP Chris Capuano are amongst the possible choices.

Rosenthal ends on one final note. The Washington Nationals would like to trade for another young major league-ready starter. Mets 2nd-round draft pick in 2006 Kevin Mulvey is among one of the choices that Rosenthal adds, with the other being the Twins Kevin Slowey.

With the Mets in need of bullpen help. Could we be looking at a trade for one of the Nationals relievers? Chad Cordero or Jon Rauch could help this team in the bullpen and the Nationals are looking to get younger. The Nationals reportedly have interest in OF Carlos Gomez as well.

Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox have reached a preliminary agreement on an $8 million, one-year contract, the Associated Press reports.

Schilling can make $5 million in bonuses to match his 2007 salary. $3 million in can be earned based on innings pitched and $2 million based on weight clauses to make sure Schilling remains fit.

Schilling comments on the deal on his blog 38 pitches.

I have to say it is incredibly cool and surreal how involved Schilling is with his blog and giving us such a deep insight into everything going on. I can’t recall an athlete that is so connected to the blog medium and it would have been interesting to see him doing so as a New York Met.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is seeking a one-year deal worth $13 million and he believes there is a “realistic chance” that the Red Sox will not re-sign him. The Phillies have been rumored to have interest in Schilling, however the team reportedly only has $20 million to spend on free agents this season.

According to the Yankee’s website and numerous other sources, Alex Rodriguez has opted out of the 3 years left on his contract. According to the article :

“Rodriguez’s decision was first reported by Sports Illustrated’s Web site on Sunday evening. According to the report, agent Scott Boras sent word of the opt-out in writing and left phone and text messages for general manager Brian Cashman on Sunday.”

A-Rod’s agent, Scott Boras later confirmed the opt-out in an e-mail sent to the Associated Press. The decision was made public during Game 4 of the World Series.

Also, the article reminded us that the Yankee’s front office has said if he opts out they will not pursue him.

Say what you will, I don’t want him, we don’t NEED him as much as we need a starting pitcher. If we didn’t have a shortstop or a first baseman…then MAYBE I would want him. But I can’t see paying his ridiculous contract when we don’t have a place for him.

Wright isn’t going to first base, Reyes isn’t be traded. Ugh I can’t wait for pitchers and catchers to start so the annoying pipe dreamers can shut up. Resign Castillo, leave Green (because you need a back up first baseman when Delgado get hurt) and Alou on the bench, sign Paulie for one year since no one else is available, then find a gosh darn left fielder and maybe start Milledge or Gomez.

My goodness it’s not rocket science, find a damn number one starter (and pipe dreamers, it will most likely not be Santana).

Sorry, I’m on edge, I just really miss baseball….and oh yea… Red Sox win the World Series.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, the Red Sox and Rockies are in serious discussions about a deal that would send 1B Todd Helton to the Red Sox for P Craig Hansen, OF Jacoby Ellsbury and another prospect.

Rosenthal
notes that a possible dealbreaker would be how much of Helton’s
contract the Rockies are willing to take on. Helton is guaranteed $90.1
million the next six seasons.

If this trade goes down, the Red Sox are expected to move current 1B Kevin Youkilis to third and ship off 3B Mike Lowell, most likely to San Diego for some relief help.

…why
are the red sox considering this trade? helton is on the downside of
his career and the club will be stuck with him for another six seasons.
not to mention the talent they are giving up could be used to get a
closer such as Chad Cordero…

…as for the rockies, if this deal goes down, they are making out like bandits in this trade as well as the Jason Jennings deal. they are going to be a team to watch in two or three years with all talent they’ve brought in…

The Boston Globe reports that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are planning to offer Daisuke Matsuzaka one of the largest contracts ever given to a amatuer player and the largest to a Japanese player. Hideki Matsui was given the biggest contract to a Japanese player at 4 years, $52 million.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein in a post-midnight conference call described the dramatic turn that took place last night in the negotiations for Daisuke Matsuzaka, saying that with John W. Henry providing the plane, he and CEO Larry Lucchino flew to southern California, unsolicited, for a meeting with agent Scott Boras in the Daisuke Matsuzaka negotiations.

Epstein said the team plans to make another offer, one that will be the largest ever given to a player who has never played in the big leagues, and the largest given to a Japanese player. But it remains to be seen if that will satisfy Boras, who has made the case that Matsuzaka is one of the game's elite pitchers and should be paid as such, with no weight given to the size of the bid the Sox paid for exclusivity to negotiate with him. That $51.1 million, Boras has stated, is just another indication of how valuable a talent Matsuzaka said.

A feisty John W. Henry, frustration evident in his voice, said: “I think it's also fair to say we're on Scott Boras's doorstep because he hasn't negotiated with us so far. We're taking the fight directly to him to try to have a negotiation here.''

At ESPN, Steve Philips is reporting that Julio Lugo will likely sign with the Red Sox.

About an hour ago it was reported that the Mets were close with Lugo for a 4 year $36 million contract with Lugo but I guess the Red Sox feel they need a middle infielder and since they couldnt get one via trade, they will top the Mets offer and sign Lugo. Im not a big fan of Lugo at all so im hoping this becomes official soon.

Ken Rosenthal reports on Fox Sports that the Dodgers and Red Sox are discussing a possible Manny Ramirez deal. The Dodgers. Rosenthal believes that a package of Brad Penny, third baseman Andy LaRoche and first baseman James Loney could be enough to make the deal happen, but the Red Sox are likely to be interested in right-hander Jonathan Broxton, as the Sox are seeking a closer.

However, The LA Times reports that the Dodgers think the Sox want too much reporting that the Sox want power hitting prospect Matt Kemp included in a deal along with Broxton and another player. The Sox also want the Dodgers to pay every penny left on Manny’s salary, which is $38 million over the next 2 years. Dodger scouts don’t want to deal Kemp or Broxton, but Grady Little is interested in the prospect of reuniting with his cantankerous former outfielder.

Rosenthal also reports that the Dodgers, Cardinals and Orioles are interested in Luis Gonzales.

A Jake Peavy for Manny Ramirez deal could be in the works.

The Mariners have contacted the agent of OF Luis Gonzalez.

The Giants and C Bengie Molina are in serious contract negotiations.

The Phillies as well as the Indians and P Joe Borowski are working on a 1-year deal.

The Cubs are more likely to trade OF Jacque Jones than OF Matt Murton.

The Red Sox have signed Japanese P Hideki Okajima and former Met Joe McEwing.

The Brewers will make an offer to 3B Jeff Cirillo.

The Blue Jays have inked SS Royce Clayton to a 1-year deal worth $1.5 million.

P Joe Borowski flunked his physical, nullifying a multiyear deal with the Phillies.

The Mariners could look into bringing back P Freddy Garcia.

The Devil Rays have signed 1B Hee Seop Choi to a 1-year deal and an option for 2008.

The Indians could have made a multi-year offer to P Keith Foulke.

C Mike Liberthal hopes to sign with the Dodgers as a backup to Russel Martin.

The Rockies have no plans to trade OF Brad Hawpe.

Blue Jays OF Vernon Wells has been omitted from all 2007 ticket advertisements.

The White Sox could send 3B Joe Crede and P Freddy Garcia to the Angels for OF Chone Figgins and P Ervin Santana.