Montreal expected to deal Martinez

Pedro Martinez soon may be wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform, Monday’s New York Daily News reported.

The deal will not to be announced until the end of the expansion draft today, the paper reported. The Red Sox reportedly will be giving up rookie pitching prospect Carl Pavano and two players to be named later.

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Martinez, the 1997 National League Cy Young Award winner, is only 26, but the Expos are forced to trade him because he will become a free agent after the upcoming season. They cannot afford to pay the $10 million or $11 million he is expected to want each season.

The Expos have been taking offers for Martinez, but did not give teams time to make long term deals with him. That resulted in lower offers and, in some incidents, teams rejecting the possibility of a deal.

There also has been some speculation that Martinez would like to pitch in Los Angeles because his older brother Ramon is in the rotation there.

If the deal goes through, it would be the second time that Boston general manager Dan Duquette has traded for Martinez. When Duquette worked for the Expos, one of his last moves was to trade Delino DeShields to the Dodgers for Martinez.

Martinez received 25 of the 28 first-place votes for the Cy Young Award. Martinez was 17-8 in 31 starts last season with an ERA of 1.90, 305 strikeouts and 13 complete games. He led the majors in ERA, complete games and lowest opponents’ batting average (.184).

Meyer dies of heart failure

Russ Meyer, who pitched in three World Series during the 1950s, died Monday of congestive heart failure at the age of 74. Meyer had been in poor health the last five years.

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Meyer began playing in the major leagues in 1942 and pitched from 1946-1959. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Athletics.

He had a career mark of 94-73 with a 3.99 ERA. In 1949, he went 17-8 with a 3.08 ERA for the Phillies. Meyer pitched in the 1950 World Series for the Phillies, and in the 1953 and the 1955 World Series for the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he posted a 3.09 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.

Meyer also worked for 12 years for the Yankees as the team’s bench coach until he retired in 1992.

Bell leaving Kansas City for Diamondbacks

Kansas City Royals infielder Jay Bell is expected to sign a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to the Tribune Newspaper in Mesa, Ariz.

The 31-year-old Bell had a career season last year with 21 homers and 92 RBI for the Royals. Bell hit .291 in 153 games and had 28 doubles.

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Bell to the Royals for Joe Randa, Jeff Granger, Jeff Martin and Jeff Wallace last December.