Tom Gordon Rumors

Phillies Decline To Offer Arbitration To Burrell, Moyer

According to Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies declined to offer arbitration to Type A free agents Pat Burrell and Jamie Moyer. The decisions are somewhat surprising; MLB.com had a story this morning saying arb offers were likely for both. Paul Hagen adds that Type Bs Tom Gordon and Rudy Seanez also did not receive offers. Sluggers Burrell and Adam Dunn were both denied today, as the Phillies and D'Backs didn't feel two draft picks were worth the risk. The Phils are still working to re-sign Moyer.   Continue Reading

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Options Declined: Taguchi, Gordon, Counsell, Embree

Alright, time to lump today's remaining options together in one post. The Pirates declined Jason Michaels' $2.6MM option. He could re-sign for less. The Phillies declined their options on So Taguchi ($1.25MM with a $150K buyout) and Tom Gordon ($4.5MM with a $1MM buyout). The moves may have been Pat Gillick's last as GM. The Brewers declined Craig Counsell's $3.4MM option, paying a $400K buyout. The Athletics declined Alan Embree's $3MM option. As a Type B free agent, the A's could offer him arbitration. Susan Slusser spoke to Embree, who didn't mind having the option declined.   Continue Reading

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Cafardo's Latest: Hot Stove, Twins, Gordon, Pedro

Nick Cafardo from the Boston Globe has a nice article up catching up on some Hot Stove news, with a few other odds and ends tied in. Let's hit the highlights here: Cafardo seems to think the Yankees could entice C.C. Sabathia to pitch on the East Coast, and that the Angels would be crazy not to re-sign Mark Teixeira at whatever the cost. He also points out Joe Maddon's connection to Francisco Rodriguez from his days as a coach with the Angels, and covers other top names such as Jake Peavy, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, Pat Burrell,...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Beltran, Brewers, Padres

Links for Friday... The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants. Surprising to see the Giants let him go. Ted Berg at MetsBlog explains how a Carlos Beltran rumbling spun out of control. I recently did a Brewers Q&A with Bernie's Crew. The Padres called yesterday's report about John Moores selling his share of the team "highly speculative." Tim Sullivan considers the statement revealing, and notes that this is a bad time to sell. Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times chatted with Scott Boras. Mark Cuban mentions that the struggling economy is slowing down...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Garcia, Gordon, and Falkenborg

Astros GM Ed Wade is taking a close look at pitcher Freddy Garcia, currently rehabbing in Miami. Houston is currently 13.5 games out of first place. About 15 teams in all watched Garcia work out, leading to much speculation. His agent told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that the 33-year old "would prefer to sign a contract for the rest of 2008, show that he's fully recovered from shoulder surgery, then go on the open market as a free agent in November." Here's the full list of teams who watched him work out: The Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Tigers, Rangers, Mets, Phillies,...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Lieber, Tavarez, Oswalt

We've got mostly smaller stuff today, so let's kick it off with an odds and ends. The Mets designated Claudio Vargas for assignment. I'm a bit surprised, I think he's still a useful pitcher. Pitcher Jon Lieber may retire after the season. 130+ wins, that's a nice career. With Tom Gordon's shoulder barking, the Phillies' desire to add a reliever has intensified. Here's a look at the relief market. When a 2.93 ERA is considered underperforming, expectations were never reasonable. Anyone else get the impression that if Johan Santana's record was 10-3 instead of 7-6, there wouldn't even be a...   Continue Reading

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Trade Rumor Roundup: 7 Days Left

Here's the latest from around baseball... Dejan Kovacevic mentions that the A's are considering Sean Casey. Casey's doing his usual good batting average/low slugging thing and he's getting $8.5MM for it. The combined efforts of Dan Johnson and Nick Swisher have been inadequate at first, but would Casey really help? Johnson is hitting .485/.575/.848 in 33 Triple A at-bats; maybe he deserves another look. The Athletics, who are dead last in the AL in slugging, wouldn't be helped by adding the powerless Casey. They need Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, Pat Burrell, or even Raul Ibanez to make a difference. The..   Continue Reading

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Rubin: Mets Could Get Garcia Or Vazquez

According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, the Mets may be able to acquire Freddy Garcia or Javier Vazquez from the White Sox. He says: "The White Sox have been calling around to clubs - including the Mets - letting it be known that Javier Vazquez or Freddy Garcia would be available. The price: top-notch relief help, which would allow the Sox to fortify their bullpen leading to closer Bobby Jenks, sources told the Daily News. Chicago has 23-year-old Brandon McCarthy ready to step into its rotation." Seems like relievers are the hot ticket item of this..   Continue Reading

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Relievers On The Market

Sometimes trade deadlines come and go without any phenomenal blockbuster; such was the case last year when July's biggest deal may have been the Randy Winn trade. However, one type of player is sure to change hands - contenders will add relievers this month. Let's break down the best available. The reliever who could make the biggest difference this year is probably Tom Gordon. Trading him now could free the Phillies from the worrisome agreement to pay him $5-7 mil per season as he nears 40 years old. Gordon has been excellent this year. A return to the Yankees has..   Continue Reading

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Phillies Sign Tom Gordon

Ken Rosenthal deserves some sort of award for his offseason so far. He's scooped pretty much every major trade or signing. Given that it's entirely free and has better writers, I'm starting to gravitate towards Fox Sports more and more. Anyway, the Phillies signed Tom Gordon for three years and $18-21MM. It ain't pretty, but they did what they had to do (a.k.a., Plan C). I'm sure Beer Leaguer will weigh in and let us know how Phillies fans are feeling. Me, I'm a bit taken aback by a team giving three years to a man who just turned 38...   Continue Reading

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