PHOENIX -- Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington would not confirm a Boston Globe report that Pablo Sandoval and his agent, Gustavo Vasquez, are scheduled to visit Boston next week.
Signing the free-agent third baseman and free-agent pitcher Jon Lester, multiple sources have said here this week, represent Boston’s top two priorities, with the Sox said to be “all in” on Sandoval.
Vasquez has said that Sandoval, 28, is seeking a six-year contract, and a return to San Francisco is still a strong possibility. The Red Sox might have to outbid the Giants by a significant margin to wrest Sandoval away, but there is little doubt they will make a strong bid to sign him.
A Giants source said he has “no clue” if the third baseman will choose to leave San Francisco.
Cherington spoke in general terms of the value of a player visit.
“It's an opportunity for (players) to ask questions,” he said. “These are choices, big decisions that free agents make. Obviously, a big piece of it is going to be the economics. But it's a life decision and they should get an opportunity to ask questions about whatever they want to ask questions about.
“It doesn't make sense in every case, but at times, you offer that and ask for it, just to give them a chance to ask questions.”
A few other tidbits from the general managers’ meetings Wednesday:
• Despite Cherington’s comments that he views Yoenis Cespedes as a key component of Boston’s 2015 lineup, executives with other clubs said that the Red Sox have made it clear to teams they would be willing to move him. One executive said he would be “shocked” if the Sox don’t trade Cespedes by Christmas.
“He’ll hit home runs in Boston,” one evaluator said, “but he played below-average defense in left field at Fenway and would be worse in right field. He has poor plate discipline and doesn’t seem as motivated as when he first arrived. And with next year his walk year, it will all be about Yoenis Cespedes, not the Red Sox.”
Cespedes swung at 38.7 percent of the pitches he saw out of the strike zone in 2014, the highest percentage of his career, according to Fangraphs.com.
• The Sox talked with Mark Rodgers, the agent for Andrew Miller, the left-handed reliever who is among the prized pieces on the free-agent market. A four-year deal is not out of the question for Miller, who is viewed as a potential closer by some clubs. Cherington said Miller’s desire to close was not raised in his meeting with Rodgers, and while the Sox will remain engaged with Miller, his market may take him beyond where the Sox are willing to go.
• Speaking of bad-ball swingers, Sandoval led the majors in swinging at pitches out of the strike zone (48.1 percent, according to Fangraphs), but ranked 15th in bad-ball contact (79.8 percent).
• If the Red Sox are looking to trade some of their young pitchers, they may find a willing partner in the Atlanta Braves, who are looking for young, controllable arms for the back end of their rotation. Talks with the Braves could heat up if Atlanta decides to trade Jason Heyward, the left-handed hitting right fielder who plays superior defense and would give the Sox lineup better balance. Heyward, who is due to be paid $8.3 million in 2015, is eligible for free agency after next season. The Braves might inquire about Mookie Betts, who could be a nonstarter in any deal.
• Cherington went metaphorical in describing the scene here, then chuckled at himself afterward.
“You put free agent possibilities and trade possibilities in the same ocean, and everyone’s swimming in that ocean trying to figure out what fish they can catch,” he said. “The deeper we get into the offseason, the closer teams get to the fish they want and see which ones they can throw in the boat.”