Nate Robertson Rumors

Red Sox Rumors: Lugo, Varitek

According to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald, the Tigers' talks for Julio Lugo have stalled and a deal is unlikely. It seemed simple on the surface: Lugo for Dontrelle Willis or Nate Robertson. Also, the Red Sox plan to offer arbitration to Type A free agent Jason Varitek. McAdam says Tek "almost certainly won't accept the offer." In a recent poll, about 40% of MLBTR readers surveyed expected the Red Sox to offer arbitration to Varitek.   Continue Reading

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Cafardo's Latest: Teixeira, Ramirez, Baldelli, Furcal

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has a new article up with a few Red Sox rumors, and one for Oakland: Cafardo thinks Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez will not change jerseys this offseason because, while their teams might struggle to afford them, they can't afford to lose them. Teixeira is the protection and future replacement for Vladimir Guerrero that they have been seeking for a long time. He doesn't rule out the Yankees however. Rocco Baldelli could be Coco Crisp's replacement as Boston's fourth outfielder. Cafardo says Baldelli met with the Red Sox last week. He continues to hit on...   Continue Reading

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Cafardo's Latest: Lugo For Dontrelle?

MONDAY: Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is casting a wide net for his shortstop vacancy, but no deals are close. SUNDAY: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports on a trade that seems too obvious to actually happen: the Tigers are "contemplating a deal with Boston to send either Nate Robertson or Dontrelle Willis for Julio Lugo, but some money issues must be resolved. In the same article, he mentions Lugo had the lowest average with runners in scoring position in the majors, .139, and wishes him a happy 33rd birthday. Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press had speculated...   Continue Reading

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Tigers Rumors: Pudge, Varitek, Lugo, Thames

Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press doles out the latest Tigers rumors. How will the Tigers resolve their catching situation? GM Dave Dombrowski calls an Ivan Rodriguez reunion a longshot, and Scott Boras is asking the moon for Jason Varitek. The Tigers may not have the goods to swing a trade for Gerald Laird. Morosi likes the idea of Henry Blanco, but says the Tigers have yet to contact his agent. Check out the other free agent options here. Morosi considers a bad contract swap for Julio Lugo a viable option for the Tigers. He notes that Dontrelle...   Continue Reading

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Latest Red Sox Rumors

A few notes on the Red Sox... From Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe Scott Boras met with Theo Epstein about Jason Varitek. Boras is still seeking a deal similar to the one signed by Jorge Posada (four years/$52.4MM). Epstein continues to look at other catchers including Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden. Cafardo also notes that the Red Sox could go after a veteran through the trade market like Bengie Molina. Other teams have expressed interest in both Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo, but noted that Lugo would not be part of a deal to the White Sox. Cafardo says...   Continue Reading

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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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Odds and Ends: Springer, Sheffield, Bonds

How about some weekend odds and ends? Free agent reliever Russ Springer intends to pitch next year, and he prefers the Cardinals. The Cards haven't discussed a contract with him, though, and they might prefer their younger (and cheaper) righthanded relievers. Dave Cameron thinks Nate Robertson might be a sleeper, based on his peripheral stats. Boof Bonser is another pitcher whose ERA didn't match up with his other numbers this year. Peter Woodfork apparently bowed out of the Mariners GM job competition after his interview. The Ms could decide between Tony LaCava, Jerry DiPoto, Kim Ng, and Jack Zduriencik by...   Continue Reading

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Dontrelle For Lugo?

The Tigers 2009 season is going to be reliant on some bounce back candidates to do just that. According to Jon Paul Morosi, the Tigers will need to guess which of Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, and Nate Robertson will bounce back. And aside from Verlander, they will more than likely want to deal one of them to scale back an already unsustainable projected team salary of $130MM. Some speculation by Morosi: The Tigers need a shortstop and could swap Dontrelle Willis for Boston's Julio Lugo. Both guys are signed through 2010, Willis making $22MM and Lugo making $18MM....   Continue Reading

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Week in Review: 8/17 - 8/23

Another week in the books, and we keep seeing big names moved after the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Let's look back on the past week: The Dodgers acquired Greg Maddux from the Padres for two minor league players to be named later. Nice acquisition to bolster their rotation, and does anyone want to place bets on how excited 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw is to get tips from Maddux every day for the rest of the season? The Pirates are exploring the idea of trading Jack Wilson this offseason more and more. Given the slim free agent market for shortstops, he would...   Continue Reading

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Pondering Robertson's Future With The Tigers

As it stands, Jim Leyland's decision to drop Nate Robertson from the Tigers' rotation and send him to the bullpen is a strategic move to help the club now, but its impossible to look at the situation without an eye on 2009. Robertson acknowledged to reporters that his offseason plans will have to accommodate some kind of adjustment to his mechanics, pitching repertoire, or workout regimen. The slider is his signature pitch, but it hasn't been as effective this year, causing his ERA to hover around 6.04, the highest its been since his rookie season with Florida. The Tigers also...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Angels, D'Backs, Giambi, Ellis

Here is the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Many important Angels will reach free agency this winter: Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Jon Garland, and Juan Rivera. Rosenthal doesn't expect any of these four back. Garret Anderson's $14MM option will not be exercised, but he could be re-signed. John Lackey and Vladimir Guerrero both have reasonable club options for '09, but the Halos need to plan beyond that. Several journalists have noted the D'Backs may restock the farm system if they let Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson, Brandon Lyon, and Juan Cruz depart as free agents after the season. They're...   Continue Reading

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Stark's Latest: Braves, Robertson, Igawa

Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up. Let's take a look. While Greg Maddux is not out of the question, the Braves are more interested in a younger starter they can control for multiple years. One possibly available starter who hasn't gotten much buzz: Nate Robertson. The 30 year-old southpaw hasn't pitched well since '06, and he's signed through 2010. The Mariners will probably talk about Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn, but not Erik Bedard. No big surprise there. Both Batista and Washburn are signed through '09. Stark rattles off a bunch of available relievers. Mostly names...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Hendrickson, Soria, Sherrill

Here's today's random collection of links. The Marlins signed Mark Hendrickson as the veteran leadership guy for '08, at a cost of $1.5MM. He was knocked around in 15 starts for the Dodgers in '07 but was solid in the pen. The Marlins will put him in the rotation, perhaps to tutor fellow southpaws Andrew Miller and Scott Olsen. Craig Brown would like to see the Royals use Joakim Soria as a starter. There is a theory that the Mariners' signing of Arthur Rhodes will allow them to trade George Sherrill in an Erik Bedard deal. Seems a half-baked theory,..   Continue Reading

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Robertson Signs Three-Year Deal

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Tigers have signed starter Nate Robertson to a three-year, $21.25MM deal. The contract buys out two arbitration years and one year of free agency. He could get an extra million bucks in 2010 based on previous innings incentives. I thought this would cost $27MM. Solid move for the Tigers, given the price of pitching these days. Robertson is 30 years old and he's always good for 30 starts (though he did miss a few starts with a tired arm in the summer of '07). His peripheral stats were respectable despite his 4.76 ERA last year   Continue Reading

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Robertson Looking For Extension

30 year-old Tigers starter Nate Robertson is offering his team a chance to buy low. He just finished an off year (4.76 ERA) and doesn't reach free agency until after the '09 season. But he'd like to sign an extension now to stay in Detroit longer than that. My guess is that the Tigers might entertain the idea of buying out his two remaining arbitration years plus one year of free agency. A three-year extension in the $27MM range might make sense for both parties. Thoughts   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends

Here are some various trade rumors that didn't quite have enough behind them for individual posts. There's a gossip section in the Boston Herald called Inside Track, written by Gayle Fee, Laura Raposa, and Erin Hayes. They heard that Coco Crisp told fans at the recent Division Champs celebration that he expects to be dealt this winter to make room for Jacoby Ellsbury. By most accounts Crisp has developed into a fine defensive center fielder, and he's under contract for $4.75MM in '08, $5.75MM in '09, and an $8MM club option in '10. Perhaps Crisp could be used to acquire..   Continue Reading

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Tigers To Exercise Pudge's Option?

Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez has a $13MM option for '08 with a $3MM buyout attached. Last we'd heard, the Tigers were likely to exercise it for lack of a better option. Tom Gage of the Detroit News believes not only that the Tigers will exercise the option, but that privately the team has already committed to it. Gage mentions that Pudge is seen as a symbol of the team's rebirth and that he's been far too jovial in the clubhouse for a guy with an uncertain future. Wow, that last sentence was really poorly written. Gage also adds that Nate..   Continue Reading

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A's Looking At Nate Robertson

Interesting note from a Tuesday night MLB.com article: "An Oakland scout was in attendance on Tuesday, specifically to evaluate Tigers left-hander Nate Robertson." Robertson was battered around that night against the Rangers. He insisted he was healthy, but hit the DL the next day with a tired arm. It's obvious that Robertson does not believe he belongs on the DL and the Tigers decided this was best. The 29 year-old southpaw was excellent in April, but has really tanked starting May 9th. He's making $3.26MM this year and won't become a free agent until after the 2009 season. Robertson has..   Continue Reading

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