Heyman's Latest: Crede, Ethier, Teixeira

I'm surprised the Mets aren't on the list for Teixeira; that's actually who I think is gonna win. In any case, it'll be fun to see the two NY teams bidding each other up.

Also, when it comes to Pierre/Ethier, I'd make the argument that even Delwyn Young would put up better numbers than Pierre. Enough already, pay the money and pawn him off on somebody.

Texeria in LA? Loney seems like he'll be a permanent fixture at 1B for a while. I think Loney will get enough AB's this year to show he's capable of putting up some power.

That's sad that Colletti would rather waste talent on the bench than swallow his pride and dump Pierre. You're job is to put the eight position players on the field that give you the best chance of winning. Doing otherwise is just inexcusable.

If Ethier doesn't get enough AB's this year because of Pierre, he may never reach his potential. As nice of a guy as Pierre is, you really have to feel for Ethier.

Lets see can someone answer the question why the Mets wouldnt be in on texeira? Do the mets have a certain first baseman in the last year of his contract which will pay him 16 million this year. Mets will make either teixera or sabathia a met next season. Mark my words!!

How much money do you think the Mets have? Johan, Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and most likey a few others will be making more money.

I don't think I have seen a poll in the last 5-10 years where the Yankees weren't the winner in the 'who is going to get so and so' polls.

The mets are in the running, but i don't think they stand a chance.

you seee there's a team called the yankees, i'm not too sure if you know of them, they don't have a legit firstbaseman after this season, they have the most money coming off the books by FAR, and they are the team known to signing the big players, so it's really common sence on who's going to get tixera.

and do you think the mets would want 2 pitchers with a contract with over 100 mil each...? they were a little hesitant in signing santana who is better than CC sabathia, and Sabathia is looking for a deal like santana, so once again just use common sence there.

"1B should be Jeters position next year."

I agree, but there is no way that Girardi tells Jeter to move off short in his second year as manager. If Jeter didn't take it well, then all of New York would bash him into moving him back. Jeter already said he plans on staying at shortstop, so he likely won't be too open to the idea. Sadly for all the Yankee fans out there who appreciate defense, Jeter appears to be sticking at shortstop for a while.

And I can't see how the Mets wouldn't be near favorites to sign Teixeira. It is their biggest hole in the lineup long term after Delgado leaves (at least they have F-Mart as an outfielder long term). They'll need a big bat to join Wright and Beltran. They'll have money to spend with Citi Field and the fact that they're from New York. It'd be taking him away from the Braves, and potentially the Yankees. The list of reasons why the Mets are logical seems to go on for a while.

I would argue that the Yankees are the next most logical team, followed by the Braves, Orioles, Red Sox, Mariners, Giants, Angels and Dodgers, in order. Really I think the only teams that truly are in it will be the first four teams, with the others as long shots. Other than the Mariners, the rest of those teams all have a young stud first baseman already (Lars Anderson, Angel Villalona, Casey Kotchman, James Loney), but will likely have other holes that need filling. Even though those teams are all in need of a big bat, I think it's more likely that Boston would go after Adam Dunn.

Why would Baltimore wanna sign a massive deal to Teixeira when they really won't be challenging any team in that division for at least a couple years. They have a ton of high ceiling pitching, so this team could be incredibly good in a couple years, but I think it'd make more sense to wait until the team is closer to contention. This is a team that has done a pretty good job of stockpiling young talent, so they should wait a few years for all that talent to develop. But on the other hand, what if they keep Roberts, sign Tex and everyone develops like they should:
C- Matt Wieters
1B- Mark Teixeira
2B- Brian Roberts
3B- Billy Rowell
SS- Someone who can field
LF- Nolan Reimold
CF- Adam Jones
RF- Nick Markakis
DH- Someone who can hit

O's should do what the Tigers did. Sign a smart player every offseason. Det overpaid for guys like Rodriguez, Ordonez and others. But they went from a bad team to a very good team.

It isn't like they won't have money to spend too. And since Millar is a FA after this season there is a huge hole at 1B and clean up. well there is a huge hole there now too.

I agree with you, too, XD23. There are some real similarities to the Tiger circumstances.

Why would anyone want to be an Oriole? I promise they won't see the postseason this decade.

I think sexy-Texy will be here in Hotlanta for some time. We don't have any mega-dollar franchise players.

Does anyone realize that there are four teams with massive flows of top young talent coming out of the AL East right now? Other than Toronto it seems like every team in that division is churning out elite young players. Bad teams like Tampa have been doing that for a while because of all the high draft picks, but now the big budget teams can use their money to add top young players. The Yankees (Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy, Jackson, Tabata, Cabrera, Cano, Wang, Montero, Marquez, Brackman, Betances, Horne), Red Sox (Buchholz, Lester, Papelbon, Bowden, Ellsbury, Anderson, Pedroia, Lowrie, Kalish, Masterson, Declarmen, Tejeda, Hagadone), Rays (Longoria, Upton, Jennings, Brignac, Crawford, Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Price, McGee, Davis, Hellickson, Jackson, Jaha, Morlan, Niemann, #1 pick in draft), and Orioles (Markakis, Jones, Wieters, Reimold, Snyder, Rowell, Liz, Spoone, Olson, Loewen, Penn, Erbe, Patton, Albers, Arrietta, Beato, #4 pick in draft)

"If the Yanks sign anyone else this offseason, Tex goes to Atlanta. And since they'll probably be chasing after C.C. hardcore, things are looking up for the Braves."

Things are looking up for the Braves if you're right, which you're not. Braves are going to get Sabathia and Teixeira? Lies. No one seems to be more consistently wrong about their team spending big money than Braves fans.

When TEX. is a free agent what kind of contract would he demand? His value? eight yrs. 160 mil. about right?Any opinions?

I seriously doubt that any team would give Teixeira $20 million per season through his age 39 season, which is what it'd be if he signed for 10 years. I think eight years would be the high point, with $20M AAV being right on though. I'll say 6-8 years, $19-21M per year. This is why staying in Atlanta seems to be a long shot. And this is why giving up Saltalamacchia, Andrus, Feliz, Harrison and Jones was a huge, huge mistake unless they win this year. There are three potental stars (the first three) in that group.

And I would be willing to argue that Baltimore stands a chance in 2010. It'd take some seriously stunning events, but its possible. It'd take a lot of luck and a few incredibly good moves, but I have seen crazier stuff happen.

Uhhh, did nobody else notice this RIDICULOUS comment by OHAN?

"Sabathia and Nathan makes that much easier, not to mention we'd have arguably one of the best rotations in the past decade..."

Just, wow.

Scribble that may be true but I believe the chances of one of them becoming a #1 are less than all three becoming, as you said, D. Cabrera.

Sabathia, Cain, Linccumm, Zito.. 2 Cy Youngs and 2 young guys with Cy Young stuff. I admit its a bit of a bold statement BUT - they have the potential to be one of the best rotations of the decade.

Cabrera? he has so much talent. If he has a break out yr. what do u think the O's best option to do with him. Cabrera reminds me of ponson.

commenting on recent posts the last thing the giants need is more pitching. cmon guys seriously. i like the adam dunn to the giants idea. his numbers would drop but that guy is country strong. i have seen him in batting practice and its easy to tell whose hitting from the bleachers. only other guy ive seen hit balls consistently farther in bp is fielder. he drops bombs like hiroshima.

Zito has a CY award but he is nowhere near the same guy. CC is a legit #1. Lincecum and Cain probably won't be any worse than a #3 (barring injuries) until they're in their 30s. You are using WAY too many IFs to make such a bold statement about the rotation.

I'm really beginning to get sick of people jumping all over prospects' and young guys' nuts like all the potential in the world actually means anything more than potential.

Also, why do some of the boldest statements seem to come from the worst teams' fans?

Bedard not doing so well in the spring. 9inings 14 hits 2hr's. what's going on?

I'll give you 2 1/2 words why Baltimore won't sign Texeira: Andy McPhail. McPhail didn't make anything more than a half-hearted attempt to sign any big name FA while with the Cubs. He's a fiscal conservative...he believes in not getting into bidding wars. Teams hire him specifically because he DOESN'T spend money freely. What will happen is that Texeira will make some overtures that he wants to play in his hometown city. McPhail will make a low-ball offer, hoping he'll take a big hometown discount, but Atlanta or a big money team will come in and offer substantially more and like most people, he'll decide it's worth more than the allure of playing at home. Then McPhail will turn around and sign Richie Sexson and say, "We think we can catch lightning in a bottle with this guy."

Eh, I semi-retract that statement. It doesn't read like I want it to and I think it's kind of confusing. E.G. based on what I said, I'm wrong, because Team A can sign Player X for $ but Team can sign comparable Player Y for $$$. Overpay is too synonymous with "waste" and I'm having a hard time trying to convey what I'm thinking so I'll leave it.

XD23,do you see seattle winning the west or the wild card spot?

"XD23,do you see seattle winning the west or the wild card spot?"

Seattle is a lock for the playoffs? IMO Seattle will win <85 games

Mets - They need pitching. They lose El Duque and Perez definitley and they could lose Pedro. They need to either resign Perez or sign Sheets or C.C. I think they'll be a major player for Sheets and perhaps give Perez the money he'll need. Their lineup is adequate for the N.L even without Delgado. They have Wright, Reyes and Beltran. If they had pitching they would be players for Tex, but they don't

Yankees - Have a huge amount of salary coming off in the next two years, approximately 65 this year and 25 the following. They will be huge players in the FA market this coming offseason. They will probably bid on Tex and C.C. I doubt they get both, but they'll probably get one. It's a toss up. Depends on whether some team goes crazy.

Orioles - Although at the moment it may not make too much sense for the Orioles to sign him, Tex makes sense in the long run. if you're gonna sign him for 6,7,8 years, you don't have to compete next year. Maybe they see him as a peice of the puzzle. PLus, Angelos is out of his mind. So anything could happen. They do have a decent amount of good prospects, but not in the same class as Tampa Bay or even the Yankees or Red Sox.

Although Tex will not take a large hometown discout, if any, (his agent is Scott Boras) he might take Baltimore's offer if it is comparable to those from other teams simply because it is his "dream" or he would be "coming home".

Jeter would be a much better outfielder than first baseman. His skills now are made for them. His movement and glovework to his left is extremely limited and his footwork is awful. However, he would have good range in the outfield and his arm is still very adequate. Right Field would be a good fit. But Girardi is not going to move the captain of the New York Yankees and one of Baseball's most recognizable faces from his position.

Crunchy, I'm not sure you're right about MacPhail. Different circumstances. Different priorities. Different directives. Isn't the $6 million bonus to Wieters "out of character"?

And any owner is involved in a free agent signing of that magnitude. That wouldn't necessarily mean that Angelos was countermanding MacPhail's authority.

In fact, I believe MacPhail has been very bold this offseason. Not that he's been taking on money. So, I don't know if that translates. But he's certainly shown himself not averse to taking risks.

XD23, I think SEATTLE should trade for Roberts, in fact. (Maybe we finally get Triunfel?) And Huff might be a good move for them, as a platoon partner with Sexson.

I will say this in the Orioles favor though. McPhail wanted Prior first but he also liked Texeira a lot and would have drafted him had the Twins selected Prior instead of Mauer. That, the hometown thing, and the decent relationship is what gives the Orioles a shot...I just think it's a long shot.

Of course, we're all just making educated speculation on bits of innuendo and past history, so who knows? I think Baltimore has the hometown thing with Texeira, the MacPhail relationship with Boras, the MacPhail admiration for Texeira (as you suggest, crunchy), Angelos's adoration of Texeira, and the likelihood that the Orioles won't get outbid unless somebody goes crazy (always possible, I suppose). I think pretty much all but one thing tilts in Baltimore's favor, but that one thing is a huge thing, the question of pennant contention, and Texeira's perception of Baltimore's chances at contending.

Thats the odd thing about baseball. You can't contend without the players. And you can't get players without contending.

Unless ya overpay them.

And I know MacPhail doesn't like to sign big names. I saw what the Cubs did after MacPhail re-signed. I wasn't a fan of him getting rid of our best pitcher and clean up hitter either. I rather have seen the O's get a power hitter or two.

Of course, the best laid plans, etc. I thought that the Cubs' rotation that had Prior, Wood, Zambrano, Clement, and Maddux had a chance to be the best that ever was. Fate, bad luck, or Dusty Baker intervened. So, while I'm excited about the O's prospects, I'm trying not to count unhatched chickens.

Dusty Baker is what happened to the Cubs staff. He was a poor managerial choice for a team trying to build itself around young arms. That's why, going back to the old Kyle Lohse thing, it may not be a bad idea to get a couple of innings eaters out there. Save those young arms!

DentalPlan--you're not understanding FineHamAbounds' point. Not saying the Braves are going after sabathia....has there been any mention of that anywhere? Ham is saying that the Yanks will most likely go after sabathia in favor of texeira, allowing the braves to retain him. i agree on this matter. tex would rather stay in atl, even if it means slightly less per year. and i don't know if the yanks can go after multiple guys next offseason who will likely command near or above 20 mil/year. even if they could, would they want to? sabathia fills a bigger need anyways so i think they will focus on him. please pay attention to the argument and make sure you understand someone's point before jumping all over them.

and by the way it doesn't matter if they spend big money or not. they're consistently one of the top franchises in the game.

It's funny, the hometown thing. Even MacPhail had Baltimore as a hometown for awhile (when his dad was general manager of the Orioles). Those were the Brooks and Frank and Boog days. I know he's level headed, but I don't know that he's above a bit of hometown sentimentality.

jacklaf, I certainly appreciate what a superb organization Atlanta has been and is. I teach at John Schuerholz's alma mater. Our baseball stadium is named after him (and the money for it was partly donated by him). And alienating and losing Frank Wren was one of Angelos's greatest blunders (if not so great as alienating and losing Pat Gillick and Davey Johnson; or putting Syd Thrift in charge). The Braves have done most everything right for nearly twenty years. They should have won the Series another two or three times. It just doesn't seem like they can get close enough in the bidding for Texeira. I mean, I just know what I read. Do you think they could be competitive in the bidding?

Base, all I'm saying is that the O's have to be competitive with their offer financially. And I think it's going to have to be Angelos who imparts to McPhail that he will do whatever it takes to get Texeira -- that will make it interesting. McPhail prefers to build his team the old fashioned way so I can't see him being the one going up to Angelos and saying, "I need the money to sign this guy." He's not a FA guy. I see it being the other way around, with Angelos saying, "I want this guy, Andy...I'm opening up my wallet, do what you gotta do." And like I said earlier, if the O's can make at least a competitive offer, a lot of factors favorable to the O's make them a legitimate player in the Tex sweepstakes...probably one of the favorites. But the money has to come first.

Teixeira is looking like he will be the best position player Free Agent available in a long time. I think the last time someone that good hit the market, and not just a player coming off a career year, in his prime was Beltran.

I am a Baltimore fan and I want Tex to be an Oriole but, seeing how things are shaping up, I can see the market going out of control and Baltimore opts out. Of late the Orioles have been pretty disciplined in their spending/trading (to everyones' dismay!) that the way Tex's price is likely to sky-rocket, it forces the Os to choose between him or scouting/development resources. And that's not happening.

Teixeira's deal will probably be so astronomically huge in years and money that everyone will roll their eyes in disgust and talk about how it handicaps that team for years a la Zito.

Arod money ? WOW

8 YRS. 160 MIL.I really couldn't imagin more then that.

And would Texeira want New York? I have no way of knowing, but his stated fondness for both Baltimore and Atlanta makes me think he might prefer their smaller venues. The Yankees could blow everybody out of the water with their offer, but I'm thinking the O's would go A-Rod money for fewer years. Just a hunch. I don't know that, of course. But with salaries coming off the books, MASN money kicking in, etc. Like you, base, I wouldn't have a problem, though, in passing on Texeira.

I'm going to say that it will be a 200M contract for 7-8 years.

This whole Giants idea is ridiculus. First of all, they are not going to sign Sabathia and Nathan. Sabathia probably goes to the Yankees and Nathan to Mets or maybe any Central team in either league, most of who could use a dominate reliable closer. Nathan would not be able to save games in San Francisco because there would be no opportunities.
But for "Ohan's" sake lets say that somehow happens. So there is two more contracts of 15-20 million a year atleast . Add that with Zito's already sorry contract, and that sounds like a nightmare. But we will keep going with this. So Sabathia is a good number 1 and can stay healthy. Cain will be a good number 2, but he has not played long enough to show consistent health, but so far so good. Zito will not be a number 3. Judging by spring training so far, he will be a good guy to throw bp. Lincecum could be a good number 2. He has the stuff, but looking at the way he throws and his size, I see a tommy john surgery coming up very soon.
Then trade for Hanley with pitching prospects...Who might that be?? According to Baseball America, the Giants have 2 out of the top 100 prospects. #33 on the list is Giants 3b prospect, so you cant trade him. And #84 is the lone Giants pitcher that makes the list. I do not think the Marlins will accept that sorry offer.
So Ohan, just because you are a fan, does not mean you know what you are talking about. Get used to losing this year, because with the deep, young, talented west division, there will be many more losing years for SF.
Now, does that make sense to you retardo?!?!

So atticus,

Your points don't make any sense - "Linccumm will get tommy john soon," "Zito will suck forever" and "the Giants are doomed to suck for years even if they sign a Cy young winner"

Pitching has value, especially young pitching with good contracts. Signing a legit #1 SP in CC allows the Giants to go out and trade pitching for bats - how does that not make sense?

We obviously couldn't trade Linccumm or Cain this past off season b/c they are all we have AND we haven't been able to sign a FA position players the past 2 off seasons b/c we suck and our ballpark is a pitchers paradise.

The only way we're going to able to land a big bat for a Reasonable price is trading our young pitching and we can't do that unless we can add depth to our rotation - is that thinking too far ahead for you? Sorry I didn't mean to hurt your brain.

And how is Hanley a stretch? Miggie and DWillis were brought in for a handful of prospects that I'm sure the Giants could match in some way and if we can't do it with talent, we have a lot of $$$. And if not Hanley I'd take a Delmon Young or a handful of guys for a Linccumm - think Erik Bedard but cheaper and locked up for twice as long.

If you have a better suggestion for the Giants, I'd like to hear... I mean since you know all.

i'm not saying the braves will necessarily get tex back. it's just that a lot of people commenting are just writing him off to the yanks. i would be tempted to agree if they weren't going after sabathia. i don't think the yanks will get texeira after this year. just a gut feeling. that's not to say that someone else won't instead of the braves, but i certainly like their chances a lot better without having to worry about the stankees. FineHam, i think we are on the same page.

I think you guys overvalue the Yankees and Red Sox prospects. Most of the good Boston prospects have already been called up.They don't have a whole lot beyond Ellisbury, Bucholtz, Pedroia ect. and and the Yanks rolled the dice on Joba and it payed off, but the only other front end of the rotation talent they have is hughes and Kennedy. Orioles are much deeper in my opinion, with pitchers like Tillman, a 19 year old phenom picked up in the Bedard trade, Liz, Spoone, Erbe, Arrieta, Beato,(all potential top 100 prospects) not to mention young arms Patton and Olson picked up in the Tejada deal. When you couple that with the young position players like Wieters and the 4th overall pick (perhaps hs ss phenom Tim Beckham) and the young power hitting of Nolan Reimold and Bill Rowell, you see that the depth of the O's farm system is closer to that of the Rays as opposed to the Yanks or Sox.

7 to 8 YRS. 200 MIL. I wouldn't be surprised and after giving in more thought the O's should pass on that type of contract.I always think there is no way a player is going to get that kind of money and it happens.25 mil. a yr. The O's could get alot more for the 25 mil.First base is a big hole for the O's.Anyone in the minors that could convert over to 1b? Rowell,Snyder? Maybe Moore if he show's promise this yr?

Be afraid...the long winded one is here.