Scott Kazmir Rumors

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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Odds and Ends: Cashman, Roberts, Lowe

Rounding up links for Thursday... Ken Davidoff of Newsday notes which player moves were entirely Brian Cashman's, and which came from above. Buster Olney wonders if Doug Melvin could replace Cashman as the Yankees' GM. Olney stresses that it's pure speculation on his part. Viva El Birdos asks what it would take for the Cardinals to acquire Brian Roberts. John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press says the Tigers should sign Derek Lowe this winter. Will Lowe get a four year deal? Bud Selig tells Ken Rosenthal the Manny Ramirez trade was completed before the deadline. Jerry Crasnick says the...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Kazmir, Thomas, Sweeney

We'll kick it off with a few links today and add more bullets periodically. Cole Hamels feels that he handled his contract renewal last year immaturely. Over at The Hardball Times, Geoff Young looks at the best compensation picks of the 20th century. Geoff Blum's '09 option vests with one more plate appearance. Bronson Arroyo has a plan to make the Reds competitive. Matthew Cerrone explains Carlos Delgado's '09 option. Jeff Passan on the Cardinals' brilliant signing of Ryan Ludwick. Baseball Prospectus profiles #26-50 on their list of players to build a team around. Twins reliever Brian Bass accepted a...   Continue Reading

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Scott Kazmir Signs Extension With Rays

5:59pm: Marc Topkin of The St. Pete Times has the details. It is four-year deal for $28.5MM with a team option for 2012 season at $11MM. It's a team-friendly contract, as you'd expect. The Rays are setting themselves up for a run of excellence. 5:47pm: Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus reports that Kazmir has signed and the deal will be announced tonight. 5:45pm: Rays Index transcribes a quote from Rays owner Stuart Sternberg via Mike & The Mad Dog. Sternberg hinted that the team is exploring a deal with Scott Kazmir. Kazmir made his season debut on May 4th following...   Continue Reading

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Rays Dealings: Pena, Kazmir, Shields

We discussed the Carlos Pena deal here, but now we have the breakdown via Marc Topkin. He'll get $6MM in '08, $8MM in '09, and $10.125MM in '10. Meanwhile fellow Boras client Matt Holliday will get $9.5MM in '08 and $13.5MM in '09. Holliday may be the superior player, but is he 60% better? Seems Pena just wanted the security and likes Tampa Bay. Topkin wrote earlier today that Scott Kazmir expected to have an arbitration hearing with the Rays. However, Kazmir and the Rays were able to agree on a $3.785MM salary for '08. Avoiding a hearing might help..   Continue Reading

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Signings Galore

Tons of one-year agreements were reached recently, which was to be expected. These are all players under team control rather than free agents, so we knew they weren't signing elsewhere. The options are to sign a one-year deal, sign a multiyear deal, or go to a hearing if no agreement can be reached. Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, Brad Lidge, Mark Teixeira, Joe Crede, Juan Rivera, Huston Street, and others reached agreements recently. The Jays gave Scott Downs a three-year, $10MM deal. The deal buys out two years of free agency, which makes it a little more palatable than when I..   Continue Reading

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Kazmir Too Pricey For Rays?

According to Eduardo A. Encina, the Rays explored a contract extension for ace Scott Kazmir last year. Nothing came of it, and now Encina says "there's already talk that Kazmir's days as a Ray are numbered." The dominant lefty, who turns just 24 in January, has three years left before free agency. His monster second half in '07 (2.39 ERA) may indicate an upward trend that could result in Cy votes in '08. It seems that Kazmir is represented by Brian Peters (rather than Scott Boras as I previously stated). If he does decide to go year to year with..   Continue Reading

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Latest Mets Rumors: A-Rod, Silva, Blanton

Plenty of action around the Mets lately; Omar Minaya has his work cut out for him. Hat tip to MetsBlog for several of the links. The sensational storyline here is that Minaya will meet with Scott Boras to discuss Alex Rodriguez. However, Boras and Minaya might spend more time discussing Kyle Lohse and Eric Gagne than A-Rod - the Mets' focus is pitching. Newsday's Ken Davidoff reminds us of past trade talks regarding Joe Blanton, Jose Contreras, and Jon Garland. Those talks may be re-opened, though Davidoff notes that the White Sox aren't enamored of Lastings Milledge. Additionally, the Mets..   Continue Reading

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Rays' Kazmir May Be Available

The week in hot stove kicks off with a bang: Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a source saying the Devil Rays might listen to offers for ace lefty Scott Kazmir. Kazmir turns 24 in January and carries a 3.64 career ERA despite pitching in the AL East. He's been particularly tough on the Red Sox (2.66 ERA in 101 innings). You have to think that if the Yankees are entertaining making an offer for Johan Santana, they'd consider Kazmir as well if the Rays would deal within the division. Sherman notes that Kazmir is under contract for..   Continue Reading

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