Ryan Madson Rumors

Don't Expect Phillies to Pick Up a Bat

There are two factors working against the Philadelphia Phillies picking up a bat, even with Raul Ibanez sidelined with a groin injury, Jimmy Rollins languishing in the low .200s, and a three-game sweep by the Blue Jays now complete. First is that the Phils may have that replacement bat during Ibanez's recovery in John Mayberry Jr., who homered Thursday afternoon. Mayberry posted an .808 OPS during 210 Triple-A plate appearances in 2009, suggesting he can be an adequate bat in Ibanez's absence. But the bigger issue is the Phillies will need to save their prospects for a deal or deals...   Continue Reading

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Heyman On Manny, Varitek, Madson, Swisher

SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column up... Heyman says half the teams in baseball may still have a big deal left in them, with roughly 100 free agents remaining. Manny Ramirez continues to wait patiently; Heyman guesses the Dodgers go to three years for him. They'd be bidding against themselves, unless Manny has an offer we don't know about. When John Henry asked Jason Varitek why he didn't accept their offer of arbitration, Varitek responded that he didn't believe it would've guaranteed him a spot on the team. Heyman finds it odd that first-year arb closers are getting more...   Continue Reading

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Phillies Sign Madson To Three-Year Extension

TUESDAY: The Madson extension is official, says Scott Lauber. MONDAY: According to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies signed reliever Ryan Madson to a three-year extension worth $12MM plus incentives. The deal buys out his final arb year and two free agent years. It was previously thought that Madson, a Scott Boras client, might test the free agent market after the '09 season. Madson, 28, posted a 3.05 ERA in 82.6 innings of relief this year.   Continue Reading

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Phillies Arb: Howard, Victorino, Werth

In addition to backing up the facts behind today's Cole Hamels story, Todd Zolecki has an update on the Phillies' remaining arbitration-eligible players. After Greg Dobbs' 2-year, $2.5MM deal, six players are left on the arb list: Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Jayson Werth and Chad Durbin. According to Zolecki, "The Phillies have been talking with Madson about a contract extension, but he reportedly turned down a three-year, $12 million offer." Zolecki also doesn't expect Howard's deal to be done anytime soon.   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal On Andruw, Nady, Lyon, Madson

The latest from Ken Rosenthal... The Braves are pulling back for the moment in their search for an outfield bat. They'll hope for a free agent bargain or the right trade. Rosenthal says they're torn about Andruw Jones. The Braves seek a right-handed hitter but aren't dead set on it. They were unwilling to meet the Yankees' demands for Xavier Nady. Brandon Lyon's agent is telling teams he has a two-year, $9MM offer in hand (Kyle Farnsworth money). The Tigers or Twins are possibilities there, while the Cardinals may have offered one year. Jon Paul Morosi confirms Detroit's interest, but...   Continue Reading

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Cardinals Rumors: Downs, Gonzalez, Boyer

12:41pm: Marc Topkin heard chatter that the Rays and Cardinals are talking. Perhaps Ankiel or Ludwick could interest Tampa Bay. Meanwhile Scott Lauber says the Cards may be interested in Madson as a potential closer. 8:36am: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals remain focused on short-term deals for starters. Possible names include Oliver Perez, Andy Pettitte, Brad Penny, and Randy Wolf. They'll meet with Wolf's agent by tomorrow afternoon. John Mozeliak now seems open to a two or three-year deal for a reliever. He could trade an outfielder like Ryan Ludwick for a top guy, but...   Continue Reading

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Perrotto's Latest: Dye, Jenks, Werth, Madson

THURSDAY: David Lennon of Newsday talked to a source who said there's "nothing there" in regard to the rumor of a Dye and Jenks to the Mets blockbuster. Joel Sherman talked to a few Mets officials who called the rumor nonsense. Sherman says Martinez is "all but untouchable." WEDNESDAY: Let's dig into the latest column from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus. Perrotto speaks of whispers of a possible White Sox-Mets blockbuster. The Mets would receive Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks and the White Sox would receive Fernando Martinez among others. Regarding the Orioles' possible involvement in a trade that would...   Continue Reading

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Phillies Rumors: Baldelli, Hairston, Mench

5:44pm: MLB.com's Ken Mandel says the Phillies have Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Kevin Mench on the radar in the event they don't re-sign Burrell. The Phillies have long liked Baldelli, though the Rays hope to talk contract soon. Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently met with Hairston's agent, and feels he made progress. And the Hanshin Tigers hope to lure Mench to Japan. 9:38am: Checkin' in on the Phillies... GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had an informal five-minute talk with Casey Close, who represents Ryan Howard and Joe Blanton. Talks have not yet begun with free agents Pat Burrell, Jamie...   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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Craig Wilson, Cubs Bullpen, and More

Today seems to be a bit of a slow day on the trade rumors front. I'm still working on gathering some Tejada info. For now I'll just say that you shouldn't discount the White Sox even after both major Chicago newspapers quoted Kenny Williams saying no deal will happen. As commenters in this thread pointed out, Williams has been known to keep a low profile and be less than forthright when talking to the media. Somehow, a rumor came about yesterday that San Francisco's KNBR 1050 was reporting that the Pirates had dealt Craig Wilson to the Athletics for Kirk..   Continue Reading

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