Gary Matthews Jr. Rumors

Cafardo's Latest: Contract Swap Meet

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo wonders: "I never really understood why there aren't more "swap meet" type deals in baseball. As in, 'You take what I can't use and I'll take what you can't use.'" It's a valid question if you believe a change of scenery can help a player and yet these deals rarely happen. Cafardo then goes on to list all of the players he considers "overpriced, underperforming, too old, or not useful to their present teams." Here's the list: Table 1, starting pitchers: Barry Zito (Giants); Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson (Tigers); Adam Eaton (Phillies); Carlos Silva,...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Dempster, Mora, Cameron

Ken Rosenthal has a new column up; let's take a look. Rosenthal agrees with those who considered C.C. Sabathia pitching the ninth inning Monday a needless risk. Sabathia already had thrown 112 pitches and the Brewers had a seven run lead, but he pitched the ninth to bring the total to 130. The innings shouldn't affect Sabathia's payday, but hopefully he remains healthy. Rosenthal sees a minimal chance of Ryan Dempster signing elsewhere, given his strong relationship with Cubs GM Jim Hendry. Dempster will be the Cubs' top offseason priority. I also consider Kerry Wood unlikely to leave. Add Melvin...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal: Angels Looking Into Holliday

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, residing in Orange County, California, are currently the second-worst run producers in the American League. That they have the second-best win percentage in the junior circuit is a testament to their superb pitching staff, led by John Lackey and his 1.44 ERA, though with about 40 fewer innings than most of the team's other starters. They'd like to add a bat before the trading deadline, though there are a few problems with that. Take, for instance, Ken Rosenthal's report that they are interested in Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday. In order to fit him...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Roberts, Gibbons, Matthews

The Cubs and Orioles continue to be linked in trade speculation involving Brian Roberts. The latest from the Chicago Tribune says that an Orioles scout was in attendance for Sean Gallagher's two hitless innings on Saturday. The amount of time it's taking for these two clubs to get their acts together on this deal continues to be mind-boggling. The Trib is also reporting that Jon Lieber took a big step towards earning the fifth spot in the Cubs rotation on Saturday, coming through with four shutout innings against the Diamondbacks. Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis are also in the mix....   Continue Reading

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Padres Rumors: Cameron, Jenkins, Colon

UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 10pm: Krasovic has an update on the Union-Tribune's sports blog. Cameron's agent said tonight that he would decline the Padres' offer of arbitration. That doesn't mean the Padres still can't sign him, but it seems unlikely. Krasovic also notes that the Friars are pursuing Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. As you know, they brought him in for a workout previously. The Rockies and Red Sox have been linked to him in the past. FROM 11-28-07 at 10:40am: Tim Sullivan and Tom Krasovic make are a productive tandem for Padres rumors. Sullivan and Krasovic both posted new articles today...   Continue Reading

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Angels Interested In Johan Santana

Hey, you can never have too much pitching right? Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports that Johan Santana is on the Angels' list. They're still all about Miguel Cabrera as Plan A and Miguel Tejada as Plan B, but they've inquired on Santana as well. Jon Heyman actually mentioned the Halos as a Santana suitor yesterday afternoon, but it didn't register with me. DiGiovanna says the Twins would ask for a third baseman, center fielder, and pitcher for Santana. Brandon Wood, Reggie Willits, and Nick Adenhart - is that too much? Another hurdle might be getting Santana to approve..   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Nathan, Garza, Bedard

Ken Rosenthal recently dished out a slew of fresh rumors for us to devour. Rosenthal still believes that if the Twins trade Johan Santana, they will also trade Joe Nathan in a separate deal. Back on November 11th, Rosenthal first suggested this might happen. About a week ago, Joe Christensen reported that the Twins exchanged contract proposals with Nathan. Nathan is in line to earn at least $15MM per season, if he wants full market value. Rosenthal suggests the Brewers, Indians, Tigers, Cubs, and Red Sox as possible fits for Nathan. The Angels may want to keep Gary Matthews Jr.,..   Continue Reading

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Heyman's Latest: Piazza, Matthews, Milledge

SI.com's Jon Heyman checks in with a new Daily Scoop column full of rumors. A lot of the standard trade talk we've seen regarding Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, Miguel Tejada, and Dan Haren. All these guys require two good young players or more in a trade. Mike Piazza is considering DHing in Japan if he doesn't find anything he likes in the U.S. Heyman talked to an AL exec who speculated that the Angels may try to unload Gary Matthews Jr. GMJ makes $9MM in '08, $10MM in '09, $11MM in '10, and $12MM in '11. He currently has a..   Continue Reading

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GMJ's Non-Answer Speaks Volumes

I understand that Gary Matthews Jr. has been advised by his agent not to comment on the recent steroid raid to which his name was connected. Any kind of admission might put his contract in jeopardy (although even that seems doubtful). Like it or not, though, Matthews has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion. This paragraph from the L.A. Times says it all: "Asked whether he had ever used performance-enhancing substances, accidentally or otherwise, Matthews said, 'I haven't read the story myself and I don't have all the information. Until I get more information, that's my..   Continue Reading

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Matthews Jr. Acquired HGH

According to SI.com, Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. was allegedly sent HGH in August of 2004. A number of other high-profile athletes were linked to Tuesday's steroid raid. Interestingly, Matthews's big league success actually began in 2004, and his isolated power has remained steady since that season. It seems possible that he started taking performance-enhancing drugs at the beginning of the '04 season, but who knows. Will the Angels be able to use this as a way out of his lousy five-year, $50MM contract? Highly unlikely, in my opinion. HGH wasn't on the banned substance list until 2005, and..   Continue Reading

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Sarge to the Angels

The Angels appear to have signed Gary Matthews Jr. to a 5 year, $50 million deal. I recognize that this is a new market, that the teams have tons of money, that free agents are getting paid more than they would've been last year. But I'm sorry, this is completely ridiculous. Matthews has had one good season in his career. Of course, that was last year, and it was great, so he positioned himself well for the market. But the dude's 32, he'd never been much above average before, he put up his good offensive numbers in a major hitter's..   Continue Reading

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The Giants Really Want a Centerfielder

And you know, if I had just given Steve Finley 429 at-bats, I would too! Apparently the Giants have offered identical 3-year, $30M deals to Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr. Both would appear to be a little young to fit in to the Giants clubhouse, but then again, so is Kevin Frandsen, and they haven't buried him yet. $10M per year seems to be the market value for Matthews right now, which-to me, anyway-is complete insanity. It's true that Matthews had a fantastic season in Arlington-.313/.371/.495, to be precise-but it's also true that he was 31, and his career..   Continue Reading

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Two Year Offer For Drew?

Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News has overheard a few possible offers to free agents. He says that J.D. Drew is "expected to sign a two-year, $30 million deal with Boston." It makes sense for the Sox to pay an extra $2MM or so annually to keep the years down on this deal. Meanwhile, in a separate article, Larry LaRue writes, "Boston has offered J.D. Drew a huge contract - and Lou Piniella's Cubs have matched it." Ringolsby also notes that the Giants made a pair of three-year, $30MM offers: one to Juan Pierre and one to Gary Matthews..   Continue Reading

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2007 MLB Free Agents: Gary Matthews Jr.

The Rangers would like to retain free agent center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., but competition could be fierce if he hits the market. It's important to remember that Sarge Jr. will be entering his age 32 season in 2007. Perhaps his athleticism will help him age better. While Matthews's .372 OBP is a career high, you'll notice that it's entirely batting average driven. He hasn't improved his walk rate at all this season. The improvement in batting average is tied to more frequent contact - he's up to 84% in that department. He's also got a career high SLG. The..   Continue Reading

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