Odds and Ends: Hughes, Tigers, Affeldt

Garland will stay with LA (think he has an option). Sheets with the Cards? Sheets just has WAY TO MANY injuries. The cards are use to that tho!

I can't wait till Hughes starts winning 12-15 games with a low 3 era every year so I can just shove it in all these reporters faces. We get it the Yankees could of had Johan! Hughes is 22! The guy is going to be amazing.

Oliver Perez- Mets
Sheets-Brewers
Garland- Braves
Looper- Out their I know but back to the Mets

Sheets: Atlanta
Garland: LA
Perez: St. Louis
Looper: St. Louis

Joe Morgan:

1.) could HAVE, not could of
2.) I don't think he's going to be amazing, that's a little overdone

Figured with Garland's price tag coming in well under Peavy's and the Padres having basically no one in their rotation outside of Chris Young, they're going to need someone.

You really think Looper is going to price himself out of consideration for the Cardinals?

Garland-Mets
Perez-Mets
Sheets-Yanks
Looper-Cardinals

Since it's grammar lesson time. "out their I know but back to the Mets" Huh? Do you mean there?

Garland DOES NOT have an option for the Angels in 2009.

If Garland is going to land a $12-14m deal over 3 or 4 years then the Angels will definitely pass. Only way he comes back is if it is for a very team friendly deal. Doesn't make much sense for Garland since some team will likely pay up on a 4/48 type contract.

I happen to agree with folks who think the Yanks screwed up with the Santana proposals.

While Santana's contract could get ugly there is no reason to think he won't be a very productive pitcher for the next 4 or 5 years. There is no doubt that the Yanks would have been a playoff team and a pretty darn good one at that with Santana leading the staff.

A team like the Yankees has a resource that few other teams can match - boat loads of cash. A cost-controlled player like Hughes is much less valuable to a team like the Yankees. They would be better off over-paying in cash for top talent than they would by risking their season on young player development.

Jon Garland: LA
Ben Sheets: Boston
Oliver Perez: San Diego
Braden Looper: Cincinatti

With Jocketty in Cincinatti, you could see him make some cardinal esque moves and Looper could be a cheap back of the rotation guy there.

Scrath that San Diego for Perez. I copied and pasted adn forgot to change. I would have him in New York.

"Garland will stay with LA (think he has an option)"

No option. Garland is an unrestricted free agent. The Angels are stupid to keep him if they pay the likely asking price, given that he is no more than a 5th starter in their current rotation.

"Jon Garland - San Diego, California guy and a fly ball pitcher"

Ugh. Did you really call Jon Garland a fly ball pitcher?

Jon Garland: San Diego
Ben Sheets: Yankees
Oliver Perez: Mets
Braden Looper: Cardinals

I think CC Sabathia won't be had by the Yankees and as a result, they will "settle" for AJ Burnett and Ben Sheets.

Ben Sheets - Atlanta
Oliver Perez - NY Mets
Jon Garland - Detroit
Braden Looper - St Louis

Really trading away Hughes in a johan deal would have been bad for the Yankees. Since they would have had to throw $20 mil a year at him too?

Well lets see I'd take Johan and $22 mil per season over CC and what will most likely be more then that. And Hughes might be a Cy young type. Drew Henson was also supposed to be playing 3B right now. And Steve Avery was a future multi-Cy Young winner.

Garland: Yankees or Tigers
Sheets: Dodgers or Astros

"The Braves would be a good spot for Perez, though I could also see the White Sox signing him after they trade Vazquez, who seemed to wear out his welcome down the stretch."

If the WSox do trade Vazquez, Bobby's had a mancrush on him for many, many years. Maybe the Braves would be the trading partner.

If I haven't heard of anything for a player, I tend to pick based on their background. Take Looper for instance, came up through the Cards system before he was dealt to the Marlins. The Cards evenually got him back, often it's because a scout that initally signed him, says to go get him again. But the Cards' rotation is full, so look at his birth, graduation, and college. I see Wichita for college, but I don't see him going to the Royals. Maybe, since he's from Oklahoma, he'll sign with a Texas team like the Astros, who need starters. You always see AT LEAST one story that headlines "Joe Schmo goes back to his home state", or back to the team that drafted him, if you have to gamble, why not that?

hughes has alot of unproven talent, the jury is still out on him. when he gets better from his injury and gets some good work in, will see what he is really capable of. the yankees need starting talent yesterday, i hope they dont rush him and wreck him

I think NY has the money for Perez, Lowe, and Fuentes with all the money off the books, ditching some bad contracts. I feel they re-sign Tatis as well and continue the platoon in LF between Murphy/Evans/Tatis/Chavez. Aside from Chavez, those three players can also move about the infield. If they stay healthy all years, that is a great bench with Castro and Schneider continuing to platoon catcher.

I think the Braves could go after Garland. Remember, they were interested in trading for Garland when he was with Chicago.

I could see Detroit going after Perez - that would really indicate whether they thought Dontrelle Willis was going to come back strong.

Ben Sheets I could see many teams going after. This is going to be a guy who might wait until Sabathia gets signed, so that it will drive up his price tag from all the teams looking for pitching who missed out on CC. I could see a team from the AL East going after him - maybe Toronto?

Braden Looper - I have an uneducated guess on him - maybe Houston?

Garland: My first choice is the Dodgers. They need a starting pitcher. If they don't get CC, Garland is also a hometown guy. The Dodgers don't need frontline starters (Billingsley and eventually Kershaw), and may opt to pick up a BOR guy instead, using the extra money to shore up the offense, which was their primary weakness anyway, whether that be in the form of signing Manny or making other additions.

Second choice: Mets or Rangers (big bidders on FA pitching, need pitching badly)

Perez: Mets. He struggled big-time in Pittsburgh, and found a niche in NY, although those BB rates are Barry Zito-esque. I think Perez and Garland will be big gascan signings, but I just can't see how the Mets don't pick up one of them. They probably won't sign a frontline (CC/Burnett/Lowe) guy b/c Johan's on the books, but they do need starting pitching.

Second choice: White Sox. I could see the ChiSox trading Vazquez, especially with that potential rift b/w Vaz and Ozzie.

Sheets: Astros. Ed Wade is dumb enough to give a big contract to an injury prone pitcher. Sheets and Oswalt are buddies.

Second choice: Rangers. Again, need pitching. I could see them being a darkhorse in any of the pitching FA bidding.

Looper: Tigers. I know, I know, probably won't see any major FA signings here, but unless they add a pitcher, they will be seeing last place again. Verlander-Bonderman-Galarraga-Looper-Someone looks decent if Bonderman's healthy and Verlander reverts to form. Maybe ditching Chuck Hernandez might help.

Second choice: Phillies if Moyer retires, maybe even the Nats, White Sox, so many different places.

"There's no way in HELL the Braves will even THINK about signing Ben Sheets. Remember Mike Hampton?? AJ Burnett is the most injury prone player the Braves will look at, Sheets is out of the question."

Agreed. I don't even think the Braves look at AJ. Too many injuries. I also don't see Garland. I haven't seen the Braves go after a BOR guy like Garland via FA/high profile trade that often.

Although, no way in hell A's/M's even go near a FA pitcher. FA hitter, maybe.

"I think NY has the money for Perez, Lowe, and Fuentes with all the money off the books, ditching some bad contracts."

I hope you don't mean Castillo's contract is ditched, because if that is the case, Murphy moves to 2nd, and that kills the LF platoon (do you really think Tatis repeats his performance of 2008??).

Perez + Lowe + Fuentes will probably be about 40MM combined per year, which probably means no other additions, especially when you factor in raises to current players. So, the bullpen will now blow leads in the 6th, 7th, and 8th.

@melonis rex:

Chuck Hernandez has already been fired, replaced by Rick Knapp

http://www.freep.com/article/20081017/SPORTS02/81017043

I wounder if the Rangers will take a risk signing like a Prior or a Clement.

Ok, on the Hughes/Santana front, YOU CANNOT say that the non-deal was a complete mistake. First of all, Hughes is still only 22 and has relatively few big league innings. Second, and more importantly, it is not known that there was an offer on the table of Hughes + B prospects for Santana. No one outisde of the Yankees and Twins knows that.

There are reports that Wang and/or Cano were Minnesota's targets. So if the deal was Wang + Kennedy for Santana, would you have done it? I don't think so.

And as far as cost control is concerned, it is still valuable to big market teams. The Yanks are not going to fill the five-man rotation with five $15MM+ pitchers, and you also need youth on your club. Only by gradually integrating young impact players - as the Red Sox and Angels have done effectively - can you sustain a championship-caliber team for the long haul. If the Yanks don't hold on to their prospects, they will have a lot of holes to fill and be forced to fill them with elderly free agents at less-than-desirable rates.

Sheets: Brewers

Perez: Blue Jays

Garland: San Diego

Looper: Houston

Jaysfan99: Dempster to the Jays? Are u serious?!?!?! Dempster will not leave chicago, he has made it more then clear he and his family loves chicago.

I know I'm late to this post but people need to cut this kid Hughes some slack with this idea that he has health concerns. The dude was hit with a line drive on his shin continued to pitch and ended up pulling a hammy. Then in 08 he strained his oblique muscle and was pitching with a cracked rib. It's not like his injuries are arm, shoulder or elbow related. And while it would've been great to have Santanna I think Cash is scared to trade a top rpsopect just to see them thrive somewhere else.

JD, it is basically common knowledge that Hughes was what the Twins wanted. Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Jeff Marquez would have gotten them Johan at the end, right before the Mets got him. That was a mistake by the Yankees.

Jon Garland: Dodgers
Ben Sheets: Milwaukee
Oliver Perez: NY Mets
Braden Looper: Cincinatti

Don't look for the Pads to do anything other than take some risks on injured pitchers (Prior, Clement). No way they add any huge payrolls this year, or anytime in the near future.

I think Perez will go to the Yanks. They can certainly afford him and he seems like the answer to all of their offseason needs. He is a dominant lefty with great stuff. He is used to the pressure of pitching in NY since he's a Met. That is a big deal for Cashman, since many pitchers aren't good. He is also going to match up against well against some of the great AL East lefties, such as Ortiz, Markakis, Huff, JD Drew, Carlos Pena, Crawford, etc.

Sheets will prob go to either the Angels or Tigers.
Garland will be on the Tigers.

Braden Looper could go anywhere. Maybe the Rangers.

TheNatural-

You ask, "Why are the Reds even being discussed as a potential suitor for any of these FA pitchers?"

The answer, because we've seen the Reds pitching and it was good enough for 13th in the NL in ERA.

Seriously guys, its way too early to pass judgment either way on the Yankees' unwillingness to deal Hughes.

If Santana implodes/gets hurt in 2 years and Hughes is a solid MLB starter, it looks smart for the Yankees. If Santana wins 2 more Cy Youngs and Hughes fades into oblivion, it looks horrible for the Yankees.

TheNatural- I agree on the Reds. They aren't in need of SP right now.

And the reason for that was an injured Harang and two incredibly bad stretches for Cueto and Arroyo. Exactly who out of those 5 do you want to replace with say, either Looper or Garland and the corresponding $12+ million/year contract? SP for the Reds is not a priority...

@ The Derek ...

Because for every Danks there are 50 failures. It's just not good odds.

Personally, I think Hughes could still be a great pitcher (a solid 2/3 guy). This is really about risk mitigation. The Yankees could go with a cheap option that carries serious risk or go with a very expensive option that comes with substantially less risk. They chose the former and we can all see how that turned out.

If Hughes was on the Marlins or the A's then absolutely hold on to him. The value for cheap controllable talent is sky high for teams on a tight budget. With a team like the Yanks why gamble and hope that Hughes puts it together?

As for Kennedy - 5th starter. It's not giving up on him since I didn't think he was any good to begin with. Another of my favorites from last off-season, Melky, showed the world how overhyped he was coming into 08. I fully expect Kennedy to do the same thing come 09. Typical Yankee prospects who get all the attention and turn out to be duds.

The Reds are not overvaluing their own players. Volquez and Harang (when healthy) are both #1 starters. Cueto showed flashes of complete dominance last year and is valued highly enough that opposing GMs ask for him as the centerpiece in deals for players such as Dan Haren, Matt Holliday, etc. Slotted in as a #4 starter, Arroyo is well above average. In the last 15 years the Reds have never had the possibility of plugging in a pitcher with the talents of Thompson, Bailey or Owings in the 5 spot. Go ahead and stick with your ignorant opinion, but the Reds do not and will not sign a FA SP.

Yankees not trading Phil Hughes was a big mistake... They could have gotten THE BEST pitcher in baseball hands down and they would have made the playoffs... on top of that they also could have let go of all the offensive pieces this year (Giambi, Abreu, Pudge,etc) saved that excess money and use it to pursue CC Sabathia...
A Rotation consisting of:
Johan Santana
CC Sabathia
Joba Chamberlain
Chien Ming Wang
Andy Pettitte
is DOMINANT now and possibly in the future as well
Lineup of:
Damon lf
Jeter ss
Matsui dh
Arod 3b
Nady rf
Posada c
Cano 2b
Miranda 1b
Jackson
with that rotation and this lineup the yankees are keeping the youth in their offense (it maybe shaky at first) but that doesnt matter since they would possess the most dominant 1-2-3-4 in probably all of baseball

For some reason I could see the Royals going after John Garland...like they did with Meche? I know they are in the market for a SP. Is Garland really going to get a good deal from a contender after posting a 4.90 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and a K-rate in the low 4s/9IP?

I kind of like the idea of Looper going to the Brewers and closing games for them.

"Garland: My first choice is the Dodgers. They need a starting pitcher. If they don't get CC, Garland is also a hometown guy. The Dodgers don't need frontline starters (Billingsley and eventually Kershaw), and may opt to pick up a BOR guy instead, using the extra money to shore up the offense, which was their primary weakness anyway, whether that be in the form of signing Manny or making other additions."

Garland will want WAY too much money to be the, at best, 4th starter with the Dodgers.

"Sabathia - Diamondbacks"

Riiiight. They have no chance at affording him.

CC - Brewers/Yankees. Depends on the offer that the Brewers make to him.

Garland - Atlanta i just hope they dont over pay for him 10-12 mm

Perez - Not to sure. i dont think he will be a met next year because the mets will prob evaluate where they stand with alot of the other FA's and by that time someone would have gone under the radar to get him. Brewers maybe?

Sheets - Houston
Perez - San Francisco
Looper - Colorado
Garland - Oakland

NRMax, I love most of your takes on things but I disagree completely on not trading Hughes for Johan. Phil Hughes will probably never be as good as Johan Santana. Right now (and back then), Hughes is a young kid with potential. He may someday realize it, he may not. Either way, young kids with potential come along all the time. In the meantime, Johan Santana is a bona-fide, 2 Cy Young award winning stud who with a few more similar seasons is a lock for the HOF.

(Not to mention a quintessential big-game pitcher who saved the Mets' season twice in a week.)

The money to pay him is nothing to the Yankees. They are the biggest team in the biggest sports market on Earth.

Mind you, I don't think it was a disaster to NOT trade Hughes for Johan. But if they did, Cashman could have done cartwheels down the Canyon of Heroes and lost zero sleep over it.

I'll offer something for the haters, trolls and moron Sux fans to lament about. How about this scenario:

Yankees trade Hughes, Melky, Humberto Sanchez and Britton to the Pads for Peavy.

Yankees trade Cano, Kennedy, Christian and Edwar Ramirez for McClouth and F Sanchez.

Yankees sign F/A: Burnett, Sheets, Teixera & Kotsay.

Wang, Sheets, Burnett, Joba, Andy

LF - Damon
SS - Jeter
3B - A Rod
1B - Tex
Cf - McClouth
RF - Nady
DH - Matsui
C - Jorge
2B - Sanchez

Pen - Mo, Melancon, Coke, Bruney, Aceves, Veras, Marte

Bench - Bettimit, Molina, Kotsay, Ransom, Gardner

Have fun with the insults and rude remarks trolls.

you have 26 guys on a 25 man roster, but other than that i like it!!! lol

garland - indians
perez - yankees
sheets - brew crew
looper - cards

cows are cool,

"ifs get gms and managers fired"

You telling me that the rays weren't full of IFs at this point last year? Your rational makes you look like a moron for one glaring reason...THE TAMPA BAY RAYS!!!

(last i checked, they are playing in the world series) if you haven't noticed...people all over the place are comparing the reds to the rockies of 2007 and the rays of 2008...that doesn't mean it will happen but it does make you really ignorant.

Red Sox Dynasty,

Too bad Theo didn't package Ellsbury or Buchholz for Santana. The Red Sox probably would have won the WS. OMG WHAT A BUST!!!!