Carlos Pena Rumors

Morning Links: Red Sox, Phillies, Rays

Plenty to absorb this morning, baseball fans: The Red Sox have asked the Braves for medical records of free agent relievers Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, according to George King of the New York Post. WEEI.com also notes that catcher George Kottaras has been released. Chan Ho Park wants to be a starter, while the Phillies, most other teams, and the results on the field see him as a reliever. Todd Zolecki also writes about why he's not surprised that the Phillies are considered by many to be the front runners to land Mark DeRosa. DRaysBay.com evaluates whether the Rays...   Continue Reading

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Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter

More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column at ESPN.com... One of Stark's sources says the Angels' acquisition of Scott Kazmir is not linked to John Lackey's future. Lackey is said to have dropped his price from the C.C. Sabathia range ($161MM over seven years) to A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM over five years) due to his recent injury history. The Angels will attempt to re-sign Lackey, but they have their limit. Stark's suggestion that Lackey had a "Sabathia-esque" price tag in Spring Training runs counter to Mike DiGiovanna's report that the pitcher wanted Burnett money at that time. Stark feels...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal On Competing In The AL East

When you're in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox, you only have so many chances to win. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports presents the long-term strategies the Rays and Jays are likely to adopt as they try to compete with their richer division rivals: Rosenthal says the Rays would likely trade Carl Crawford if they were in another division. They'll listen to offers for him this offseason, but they may decide they need to capitalize on their chance to win now and hold onto Crawford, even if it means they only obtain compensation picks in return. Like...   Continue Reading

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Rays, Red Sox Talking Blockbusters With Tribe

4:33pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hear that the Rays may be shying away from a blockbuster deal. They're 5.0 games behind Boston in the Wild Card race, so their next two games against the Yankees could determine the team's direction. If the Rays are discouraged after the Yankees series, they could make Dan Wheeler, Chad Bradford, Grant Balfour, Joe Nelson and Lance Cormier available, according to the FOX Sports source. 12:59pm: The Rays have shopped Scott Kazmir to the Mets and Rangers, according to Joel Sherman. The Rangers turned down an offer from the Rays...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg

Links for Monday... Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions, including the Dodgers' signing of J.D Durbin. Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says Rays Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez, a reliever, has been returned to the White Sox. Yahoo's David Brown talked to Carlos Pena about many topics, including his agent Scott Boras. According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Padres received pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal. The other player the Padres received, the now-injured Mark Worrell, was also a minor league closer....   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Phillies and Rays

A few notes regarding the Phillies and the Rays, since this is all anyone is talking about today: Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes that arbitration-eligible Ryan Madson could be in for a nice raise this winter. The Biz of Baseball ranked all 30 teams by marginal payroll/marginal win. I'll let them explain the mathematical details, but unsurprisingly, the Rays win by a healthy margin. Howard Bryant discusses Carlos Pena's success with Tampa and how he resisted requests to change his hitting approach while he was struggling with Texas, Oakland, Detroit, New York, and Boston. A lot of writers...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Yankees, Pena, Epstein

Let's round 'em up for Friday... The Royals claimed 24 year-old righty Jairo Cuevas off waivers from the Braves. I recently did a Q&A with a blog called The 'Burgh Blues. Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News expects the Yankees to spend big this winter. Meanwhile, Peter Abraham reminds fans not to panic. Joel Sherman examines why the Yankees and Red Sox discarded Carlos Pena in 2006. Theo Epstein's new deal will be made official after the World Series. Sox Machine debates whether the White Sox should add a starter this winter. Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire wonders...   Continue Reading

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Rays Dealings: Pena, Kazmir, Shields

We discussed the Carlos Pena deal here, but now we have the breakdown via Marc Topkin. He'll get $6MM in '08, $8MM in '09, and $10.125MM in '10. Meanwhile fellow Boras client Matt Holliday will get $9.5MM in '08 and $13.5MM in '09. Holliday may be the superior player, but is he 60% better? Seems Pena just wanted the security and likes Tampa Bay. Topkin wrote earlier today that Scott Kazmir expected to have an arbitration hearing with the Rays. However, Kazmir and the Rays were able to agree on a $3.785MM salary for '08. Avoiding a hearing might help..   Continue Reading

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Carlos Pena Signs Three-Year Deal

According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Carlos Pena has signed a three year deal worth about $24MM. The deal buys out one year of free agency. If the amount is accurate, the Rays have a serious bargain on their hands. I was guessing this would cost $36MM. Despite all the concerns about Pena's Boras representation, he's staying in Tampa Bay through 2010   Continue Reading

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Carlos Pena Could Sign Long-Term

The St. Petersburg Times' Rays blog has a note up about first baseman Carlos Pena. (Hat tip DRays Bay.) Pena is under team control through the 2009 season, but a multiyear extension is a possibility. The post says Pena will probably earn in the $4.5-7.5MM range in '08. In '09 he'd probably get up to the $12MM+ range. Maybe the Rays could work out a three-year, $36MM extension to buy out one year of free agency? There was an erroneous report in late November that Pena had rejected a three-year, $30MM extension. Pena is represented by Scott Boras, who didn't..   Continue Reading

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