MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Sheets Likely To Decline Arbitration

2008-12-03T17:06:35-06:00

According to Ken Rosenthal, Type A free agent starter Ben Sheets is likely to decline the Brewers' offer of arbitration. He and C.C. Sabathia could leave the Brewers with four draft picks but two holes at the front of the rotation.

Sheets would've had a one-year deal at more than $11MM if he accepted, but his agent apparently expects better on the open market.

Braves Close To Signing Dave Ross

2008-12-03T17:01:28-06:00

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Braves are close to a two-year deal with free agent catcher Dave Ross. He'd serve as Brian McCann's backup. Ross, 32 in March, posted a strong .381 OBP with the Reds this year. The Astros were also known to be interested, but I imagine Ross jumped when the Braves offered two years.

Giants Closing In On Renteria, Talking Cantu Trade

2008-12-03T16:49:00-06:00

4:49pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the Giants asked the Brewers about J.J. Hardy, but Milwaukee doesn't want to move him. So Brian Sabean moved on to Cantu.

4:12pm: Brian Sabean told reporters he hopes to sign a free agent infielder later this week.

3:42pm: Jon Heyman chimes in; he also thinks a two-year deal could be completed soon. Heyman says the Giants have yet to decide whether to target C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, or Manny Ramirez. Are we seeing a shift back to the win-now plan in San Francisco?

1:53pm: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick talked to Renteria's agent Barry Meister, who said they're "much, much closer" to a deal with the Giants but "nothing is done." Crasnick's source says it could be in the two-year, $18MM range.

12:58pm: According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Giants "believe they are closing in on signing shortstop Edgar Renteria." Brown also says the Giants have discussed trading Jonathan Sanchez to the Marlins for Jorge Cantu. That'd be a steal for the Marlins, who plucked Cantu off the scrap heap in January for a half-million bucks.

Brown adds that the Cubs remain in the mix for Jake Peavy, and they have two possible matches for a third team in the deal (the Orioles being one).

Nationals Rumors: Dunn, Votto, Greinke

2008-12-03T16:20:11-06:00

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick talks about the Nationals in today's column. A few hot stove nuggets:

Crasnick talked to several agents and execs who just can't see the Nationals ponying up $20MM+ per year for Mark Teixeira.
The Nats crave a lefthanded slugging first baseman, so Adam Dunn could fit the bill. Crasnick talked to a couple of officials who suggested Dunn might have to settle in the three-year, $36MM range. However, the Nationals may have to pay a premium to convince any prominent free agent to sign.
Crasnick says the Nationals have explored many interesting names: Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, James Loney, Joey Votto, and Zack Greinke. They may not have the young talent to pull off that kind of deal though.
The Nats are "looking forward to the opportunity" to select Scott Boras client Stephen Strasburg in next June's draft.

Giants Sign Bob Howry

2008-12-03T16:03:00-06:00

4:03pm: According to the AP, Howry gets a reasonable base salary of $2.75MM. He can earn an additional $500K based on games and another $1MM based on games finished. Dave Cameron calls it a bargain.

2:45pm: According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants signed Bob Howry to a one-year deal. They moved quickly after the Cubs decided not to offer arbitration to the Type A free agent. If Howry bounces back (the Giants think Lou Piniella overworked him this year), he'll be a nice complement to Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson in the late innings.

Howry came up through the Giants' system before being traded to the Sox in the White Flag deal of '97.

Odds and Ends: Griffey, Springer, Hoffman

2008-12-03T15:14:08-06:00

Links for Wednesday...

The Cubs signed pitcher Chad Fox to a minor league deal.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s agent Brian Goldberg says he's fine with DHing but is capable of playing the field. Goldberg thinks Junior can bounce back and have a 30 home run season.
Click here to listen to free agent reliever Russ Springer talk to The ITD Morning After radio show on 1380 AM. He's gotten calls from teams in both leagues, including "World Series participants." Springer is known to be on the Phillies' radar.
Recently I talked to Sarah Small of the Daily Illini.
SI.com's Tom Verducci looks at the supposed shortstop revolution that seems to have petered out.
Dave Cameron respects the Astros' signing of Mike Hampton.
Tony Jackson says the Dodgers offered a minor league deal to Juan Castro.
Royals GM Dayton Moore did a Q&A with fans at MLB.com. His priority is adding right-handed relief help after trading Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez. Also, he says Mark Teahen is "more important to our team today then he was in all of 2008 -- and he was very important to our team in '08."
McCovey Chronicles is skeptical of all the teams blaming the economy.
Drunk Jays Fans predicts Kevin Mench's Japan experience.
Jesse Spector looks at comparable pitchers for C.C. Sabathia.
Trevor Hoffman may meet with the Mets soon. Also, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon spoke of "addition by subtraction" yesterday.
East Windup Chronicle disputes a Richard Griffin column.
The Phillies are still willing to sign Type A free agents who were offered arbitration, such as Raul Ibanez or Juan Cruz.
Evan Grant's latest Rangers mailbag, always a good read.
Joe Sheehan discusses various poor arbitration decisions by teams.
Pirates pitcher Jason Davis looks like a non-tender candidate.
Minor league deals for the Mets: Nelson Figueroa, Adam Bostick, and Rene Rivera.
Rany Jazayerli figures Mark Grudzielanek agreed in advance to reject the Royals' offer of arbitration.
As usual, ESPN will be all over the Winter Meetings. I'm told they'll be doing daily Baseball Tonight specials and will have a team of seven on the scene in Vegas.
ESPN's Peter Gammons says the free agent and trade markets are flooded with corner/DH type bats. There will be bargains.
Bruce Miles thinks Milton Bradley would be a nice match for the Cubs. The biggest issue would be his ability to play right field every day.

Cardinals Sign Trever Miller

2008-12-03T14:49:00-06:00

2:49pm: Here's the press release from the Cardinals.

2:42pm: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals signed lefty reliever Trever Miller to a one-year deal. Strauss wrote on Monday that Miller's physical raised concerns related to his 2000 surgery for a torn labrum, which put a hold on a two-year agreement.

Astros Interested In Ross, Zaun

2008-12-03T14:16:17-06:00

According to Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros have spoken to the agents for free agent catchers Gregg Zaun and Dave Ross. Ross we knew about, but Zaun is a new name. The Tigers have been linked to Zaun as well. It's also known that Paul Bako would be interested in playing for Houston.

McTaggart also mentions in the article that pitcher Brandon Backe is a non-tender candidate (that deadline is December 12th; we'll see a many additional players enter the free agent pool).

Braves Preparing Five-Year Offer For Burnett

2008-12-03T14:07:00-06:00

2:07pm: Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution believes the Braves will probably guarantee a fifth year to Burnett, at a salary of $15-16MM per.

9:56am: Will the Braves be the team to commit five years to A.J. Burnett? According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, they're preparing such an offer. Feinsand wonders if Burnett will jump at this offer without waiting to see what C.C. Sabathia does.

SI.com's Jon Heyman seems to agree with Feinsand's report. He learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that the Braves are in on Burnett but not Jake Peavy, and heard talk that the Braves might consider a fifth year. Wren described talks for Peavy as "pretty much" over.

Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves are one of six teams in negotiations with Burnett. Heyman believes the other teams to be the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Nationals.

Rosenthal's Latest: Dunn, Burrell, Manny

2008-12-03T13:51:11-06:00

The latest from Ken Rosenthal:

Now that Adam Dunn wasn't offered arbitration, the market is starting to take shape. The Braves, Mariners, and Nationals are interested, and the Dodgers and Angels consider him a fallback option. Rosenthal considers the Yankees another possibility.
Teams considering Pat Burrell, who was also not offered arb: the Mariners, Angels, and Giants.
Rosenthal considers the Giants a darkhorse for C.C. Sabathia. Tim Brown says the Giants may be closing in on Edgar Renteria; Rosenthal has the Dodgers and Cardinals as other suitors.
The Brewers will need to increase their offer to Sabathia to six years to have a shot.
Rosenthal believes Ben Sheets and Jason Varitek will accept their offers of arbitration. He also wonders if Orlando Cabrera could accept.
Rosenthal ponders the chances of Manny Ramirez accepting the Dodgers' offer of arbitration. Buster Olney says three GMs wondered the same. I was under the impression Manny declining arbitration was a condition of his trade.
The Cardinals want to add a young starter with upside. They also may go after a closer like Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood if prices drop.
Rosenthal believes the Reds could discuss a two-year deal with David Weathers.