2006 Top 50 Free Agents Rumors

Ethier Likely Headed To Arbitration

According to Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News, "it now appears that an arbitration hearing is all but inevitable for Andre Ethier." Ethier's hearing is currently scheduled for Tuesday, February 17. He requested $3.75MM and the Dodgers countered with a $2.65MM bid back when figures were due. Jackson notes that the Dodgers have won their last two arbitration cases, with Eric Gagne in 2004 and Joe Beimel in 2007.   Continue Reading

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Heyman's Latest: Furcal, Sabathia, K-Rod

Jon Heyman has a few new posts on his Fan-Nation blog: Heyman thinks its peculiar that Rafael Furcal passed up his last offer of 4 years, $35-40MM, especially while the shortstop market is thinning out. The Giants signed Edgar Renteria. The Cubs want a lefty-bat. The Braves need to deal Yunel Escobar before they'll be interested in Furcal. Again, Buster Olney noted today that Furcal was asking 4 years, $52MM. Can the Giants afford CC Sabathia? They've already signed Renteria, Jeremy Affeldt, and Bobby Howry. And he would be the team's second $100MM contract having already made the mistake of...   Continue Reading

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Olney's Latest: Sexson, Ibanez, Ortiz

Buster Olney's blog post is overloaded with rumors today. Here's a rundown: Olney's Speculation: Will the Red Sox will express interest in Khalil Greene with Julio Lugo on the DL for 4-6 weeks? Olney also wonders if the Dodgers will seek Huston Street if Takashi Saito is seriously hurt. Scout Speculation: Huston Street and Matt Murton to the Rays for prospects? Bobby Kielty was granted release by the Red Sox. Richie Sexson could decide where to go based on greatest offered playing time. I'd say that's expected for a veteran starter. Olney says that requests for Max Scherzer are keeping...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Duncan, Mather, Huntington, Trachsel, Rusch

A few notes to wrap up what I've come across this Saturday: The Hardball Times has an interview with Pirates GM Neal Huntington. It's plenty long. He talks about the dynamics in dealing with his former team, the Cleveland Indians. Steve Trachsel might be on his way out with the Orioles. Tough to argue against that move. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the O's are in the cellar, and might not climb out for the rest of 2008. Chris Duncan down, Joe Mather up. Could Mather be the piece that rounds out a powerful outfield? Or could he...   Continue Reading

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More On Mike Lowell

Michael Silverman has a little detail on Boston's three-year offer to Mike Lowell: it's between $12-15MM per season. It's all guaranteed, and it doesn't seem to be a "take it or leave it" offer, but they won't add a fourth year. So it's for $45MM on the high end. If you agree with Jon Heyman's 4/52 prediction, Lowell would be leaving a minimum of $7MM on the table. Silverman adds that the Red Sox won't go nuts trying to replace Lowell with a big name if things don't work out. They figure that if Kevin Youkilis can win a Gold..   Continue Reading

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Top 50 Free Agents Review #11-20

We looked at how I did predicting the destinations of the top ten free agents back in March. I got four out of the ten correct, five if the Rocket stays in Houston. Let's take a look at the next group, where there weren't as many easy picks. My pick is first here. My Top 50 Free Agents list from last October can be found here. 11. B.J. Ryan - Phillies/Blue Jays. I definitely underestimated just how much cash the Jays were willing to toss around. I figured that the Phils would have room in the budget for a closer..   Continue Reading

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Top 50 Free Agents Review #1-10

With the season on the horizon, I figured that it's time to take a look back at my Top 50 Free Agents list. I published this baby on October 25, 2005, which was before any of the other lists came out. My goal was to beat Steve Phillips and ESPN, so we'll tally it up at the end. The list is in the format Player - Prediction/Actual. 1. Roger Clemens - Astros/Undecided. The Rocket has been holding up this entire review for quite some time. He'll probably come back to Houston, so this one will be a win. But does..   Continue Reading

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