Carlos Lee Rumors

Lee, Williams, Catalanotto, Barajas, and Roberts

Tim sends his best from Cancun and wishes everyone was with him. Not! They are still trying to find their honeymoon hotel so he's not quite sure when he'll be back. And, no, he didn't send any Cancun beach shots. Dang.. Speaking about vacations, how about the Astros signing Lee at $100m/6? Wow. My take is this - the power starved Astros obviously felt they were one player away and Lee happened to be available. He'll probably hit 40 home runs despite all the talk about his lack of power after April last year. Don't forget Minute Maid is full..   Continue Reading

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Carlos Lee to Houston

Baseball Digest Daily is reporting that Carlos Lee has agreed to a six-year deal with the Astros. The last dollar amount I saw for this deal was $73M, and that was a five-year deal. I figure we must be up to at least $85M now. Back in July, it seemed ridiculous that Lee would reject a four-year, $48M deal out of hand. Back then, I was glad the Brewers didn't spend that much on him! But after the Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr. signings, this deal doesn't look that crazy. Now the market for bats is a much slimmer..   Continue Reading

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Carlos Lee Sweepstakes

The Houston Chronicle provides the latest update on the chase for Carlos Lee. It suggests that Tim Purpura could ultimately decide to give El Caballo an Aramis Ramirez-type contract-5 years, $73 million. Right now, the deal the Astros have offered Lee is believed to be 5 years for $60 million. The Chron has a source saying that an AL team (gotta be the Orioles) has floated a $70M/5 deal. It sounds like the Phillies haven't made an offer; maybe Pat Gillick will realize that signing Lee just to replace Pat Burrell would be a bizarre waste of time. As it..   Continue Reading

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Tuesday tidbits

Nothing in the news that is too breathtaking today, but there have been enough things worthy of mention that I thought I'd throw them all into one thread. Here's a fun trade possibility: the Red Sox are interested in Chad Cordero (uh, who wouldn't be?) and may be dangling Wily Mo Pena, whom Jim Bowden is known to...how should I put this?...really like. Bowden hasn't acquired a toolsy outfielder for a couple of weeks now, so if the Sox found a way to sweeten the deal, perhaps Trader Jim would take the bait. The Yankees have been quiet lately, but..   Continue Reading

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Astros Offer Deals to Lee and Soriano

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros have offered multi-year deals to Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee. Houston has been viewed by many as the frontrunner for El Caballo, but I hadn't heard anything about their interest in Soriano. The article also notes that the Astros "are in serious discussions" with Woody Williams. I suppose if they aren't counting on getting Roger Clemens back for another year, they may feel the need to add a different 40 year old in the rotation. By Jeff Sackman   Continue Reading

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Paul Sullivan On Cubs Hot Stove

Could the hiring of Gerald Perry as hitting coach signal an era of change in Chicago? Thus far Jim Hendry has made a point of ignoring the free pass, but Perry is said to encourage a little patience. Of course, Oakland's walk mandate was organization-wide so we can't give Perry all the credit. Anyway, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has the word on the Cubs' latest hot stove dealings. - Final offer for Aramis Ramirez will probably come in Saturday night. - The Cubs wouldn't mind adding Dave Roberts as the new leadoff man. He walks at about 10%..   Continue Reading

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Justice: Astros To Sign Carlos Lee?

On his SportsJustice blog, Houston Chronicle writer Richard Justice seems pretty adamant that the Astros are going to sign slugger Carlos Lee. My Astros team outlook has the team with roughly $30MM to spend. If Luke Scott can play right field, I wouldn't disagree with a Lee signing. This will leave Tim Purpura with about $15MM to spread amongst two starting pitchers and perhaps a catcher. I could see Pettitte for $10MM and Woody Williams for $5MMish. Trade Willy Taveras for something useful, and I think the Astros will be in decent shape for 2007   Continue Reading

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ESPN: Carlos Lee To Rangers

Breaking news from ESPN's Keith Law: "The Milwaukee Brewers are trading slugger Carlos Lee to the Texas Rangers as part of a multi-player deal, ESPN.com learned Friday. The Brewers are sending Lee, minor-league outfield prospect Nelson Cruz and a player to be named later to the Rangers for relief pitcher Francisco Cordero and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix." Initial opinion: Jon Daniels got the best of Doug Melvin here. Daniels gets a player comparable to Mench in Cruz, only cheaper. He adds a huge addition to the middle of the lineup for the stretch run in Lee. Mench is..   Continue Reading

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Latest Carlos Lee Trade Rumors

Doug Melvin, who I think is one of the game's better GMs, is currently fielding offers for Carlos Lee. According to Ken Rosenthal, Melvin recently offered a four-year, $48MM contract to the slugger, which was immediately rejected. A source close to Lee tells me that he had planned to come to Chicago on yesterday's off-day (he owns a house there), but was instructed by his agent and Milwaukee management to sit tight in because he's close to being traded. Lee mentioned that the Cubs are his number one choice in the offseason. ESPN's Jayson Stark indicated that the Twins are..   Continue Reading

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Trade Rumor Roundup: 4 Days Left

What's cooking this morning in the world of MLB trade rumors? Gotham Baseball's Mark Healey spoke to all sorts of baseball sources; here's his latest Rumor Mill. New developments: the Mets could pursue various Rockie pitchers, and the Yanks crave John Smoltz. My Mets guy indicates that the Wilson Betemit for Scott Linebrink deal that's been bandied about could go down at the last minute. What? He hears things outside of the Mets. SportsBlah sorts through the Alfonso Soriano rumors. Jimmy Gobble was scratched from his start last night. Let the rampant rumormongering begin. Actually, KC just switched him with..   Continue Reading

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Carlos Lee: Best Available Slugger?

Carlos Lee is still The Man, one of the biggest names likely to switch teams this season. This could be a massive development for AL-only fantasy players, but that's a post for a different blog. What we're trying to figure out here is where Mr. Lee might end up. Back in early February, this topic was the talk of the town. The Carlos Lee trade thread got 100 comments (of course, no log in was required back then.) That thread is not to be confused with my ever popular April Fool's joke about Lee. I listed four reasons the Brewers..   Continue Reading

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Carlos Lee To Cubs Deal Imminent

MLBTradeRumors has learned of a blockbuster deal that is expected to go down by the end of the day. Talks between Jim Hendry and Doug Melvin are in advanced stages of a rare interdivision trade. The Cubs will send Matt Murton, Rich Hill, and Angel Guzman to the Brewers for slugger Carlos Lee. Lee will be a free agent after the 2006 season, and the Cubs intend to lock him up after finishing the Derrek Lee deal. According to my source, the Brewers view Lee's impending free agency as a distraction and desperately want to shed his $8.5MM salary. Lee..   Continue Reading

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Carlos Lee Trade Possibilities

There are all sorts of reasons to expect Carlos Lee to get traded sometime between now and the July deadline. 1. He's an impending free agent making $8.5MM. 2. Doug Melvin is a savvy GM, and knows when to sell high (see Dan Kolb). 3. The Brewers have an able replacement left fielder in Corey Hart, who is projected by PECOTA to hit .272/.337/.475 in 2006. Lee is projected by the same system to hit .282/.347/.506. Accepting that difference in production would allow Melvin to net a top prospect or two. 4. Lee may be overrated in some circles because..   Continue Reading

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