Mike Mussina Rumors
By Tim Dierkes [December 1, 2008 at 8:04pm CST]
8:04pm: One of Abreu's agents, Chris Leible, spoke to Peter Abraham. Though Cashman said he was still engaged with Abreu, Leible says he hasn't heard from the Yankees once since the end of the season. 4:48pm: According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Yankees declined to offer arbitration to Type A free agents Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, and Mike Mussina (and all other free agents). Peter Abraham and Ed Price may have had this on the web earlier; it was close. The Abreu decision comes as a surprise; until this morning most believed the Yankees were willing to risk a one-year...
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By Tim Dierkes [November 20, 2008 at 11:14am CST]
THURSDAY: Mussina's retirement is official. Peter Abraham and Tyler Kepner give insight into Moose's personality. WEDNESDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal, Mike Mussina is retiring to spend more time with his family. He goes on out top, with a 20 win season in 2008. The Yankees were already operating under the assumption he would retire. Moose finishes with 270 wins and a 3.68 career ERA. Is he Hall of Fame material?
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By Tim Dierkes [November 18, 2008 at 12:44pm CST]
George King of the New York Post and Kat O'Brien of Newsday have the latest on the Yankees, who are in hot pursuit of free agent starting pitching. The Yankees will offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu, according to Jon Heyman. No surprise there. King says the Yankees are preparing an offer for A.J. Burnett, "perhaps a five-year deal worth about $80 million." Burnett's agent says they're just discussing parameters. It would be a strong offer, dwarfing the Blue Jays' four years, $54MM. ESPN's Buster Olney believes a fifth guaranteed year will ultimately result in the winning bid for Burnett. The...
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By Tim Dierkes [November 17, 2008 at 11:21am CST]
Links for Monday... Pitcher Kelvin Jimenez was claimed off waivers by the White Sox. The Blue Jays had claimed him from the Cardinals previously. The Yankees hope Mike Mussina decides whether he's retiring soon. He says it might be this week. Aaron Gleeman runs through the more affordable middle relief options. Roch Kubatko had the scoop yesterday - Scott Proefrock, formerly of the Orioles, is the new assistant GM for the Phillies. Trey Hillman is familiar with Kenshin Kawakami, but it's not known whether the Royals are interested. Peter Abraham is wary of five free agents the Yankees might consider....
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By Tim Dierkes [November 13, 2008 at 3:37pm CST]
Linkage for Thursday... Viva El Birdos tries to put a price on Rick Ankiel, and decides now is the time to trade him. Ankiel, a Scott Boras client, is eligible for free agency after the '09 season. Derrick Goold runs through the lefty reliever options for St. Louis on his blog. It doesn't seem like Trevor Hoffman is on the Cardinals' radar. Hoffman wants to remain a closer, so he won't be going to San Francisco either. Brian Cashman explains that $6MM for one year of Damaso Marte was too much, but $12MM over three years works. Ken Davidoff still...
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By Steve Adams [November 9, 2008 at 2:35pm CST]
John Perrotto has his Every Given Sunday column up over at Baseball Prospectus. Perrotto offers a list of some educated guesses as to where some of the top free agents in baseball will land, with some surprises here and there. Let's take a look: Perrotto lists the Yankees loading up on starting pitching, landing C.C. Sabathia and Derek Lowe, while the Dodgers land Manny Ramirez after doubling their initial offer to four years, $100MM. Perrotto says the Nationals will land Mark Teixeira, as they could be prepared to offer Teixeira - a Maryland native - ten years, $200MM. Turning down...
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By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 8, 2008 at 10:09am CST]
Some new Yankees rumors surfaced at Joe Torre's charity event in New York last night. Derek Jeter talked to C.C. Sabathia about what it's like to play for the Yankees but says he's not "trying to sell anyone on New York." According to Newsday's Kat O'Brien, Andy Pettitte isn't looking for a long-term deal. He's waiting to hear from the Yankees, who know that "one year's fine" for Pettitte. Brian Cashman said this week he's looking to bring Pettitte back, and that was before Pettitte said he was looking for a one-year deal. Peter Abraham has news on Mike Mussina....
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By Tim Dierkes [November 7, 2008 at 2:40pm CST]
The Yankees chatter died down a bit today, but here's what we've got. Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes buzz about Robinson Cano going to the Dodgers amid Yankee interest in Russell Martin and Matt Kemp. He admits it's unlikely. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News talked to one big league exec about whether Mark Teixeira could handle the pressures of New York. Brian Cashman says nobody has asked him about Kei Igawa, who has three years and $12MM left on his contract. Cashman would not rule out the possibility of bringing back both Mike Mussina...
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By Tim Dierkes [November 6, 2008 at 5:06pm CST]
5:06pm: More on the Cameron situation: Ken Davidoff says Cabrera and Ian Kennedy have been discussed. However, the Brewers will probably wait to see if they can sign Sabathia, since he's good friends with Cameron. 10:26am: The latest Yankees hot stove buzz... According to Joel Sherman and George King of the New York Post, the Yankees inquired with the Brewers on Mike Cameron. The Yanks would be willing to send Melky Cabrera and pitching to Milwaukee. The Yankees are also talking to other teams about Wilson Betemit. The Yankees are only willing to do a one-year deal for Andy Pettitte,...
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By Tim Dierkes [November 5, 2008 at 10:30pm CST]
11:09pm: Brian Cashman sums up the Yankees' plan: "We're going to show a lot of love." 12:15pm: It's about time we check in with Yankees links. The Yankees will make their record-breaking pitch to C.C. Sabathia. If it fails, they'll move on to A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, and Oliver Perez. Joel Sherman says the Yankees could get involved on Manny Ramirez, but only if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira and manage to trade Hideki Matsui. Sherman says the Yanks are in on the catching market just to be safe, engaging the Rangers about Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. They'll...
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