Ken Davidoff of Newsday has the scoop after talking to Ted Lilly’s agent: his decision will come down to the Cubs or Yankees. He meets with the Yankees tonight.
Archives for December 2006
A’s Sign Alan Embree
As has been rumored for a while now, the A’s signed southpaw reliever Alan Embree. According to RotoWorld, he received a two-year deal with a club option for ’09. Embree will be 37 in January; he’s been around.
Embree has good command; he was one of the few free agent relievers with a K/BB ratio over 3. He also had a fine year in terms of ERA and WHIP.
RotoWorld mentions that the signing likely indicates Joe Kennedy will move to the rotation. Kennedy will be 28 next season. The southpaw last had success starting in 2004 with the Rockies, when he posted a 3.66 ERA in 27 starts.
Schmidt to LA?
According to MLB, Jason Schmidt is headed to Los Angeles to join all of Ned Colletti’s other acquisitions. The deal is reported as 3 years, $47 million. Sounds like LA waited to make their final bid until they knew they were out of the running for Greg Maddux, who is close to a deal with the Padres.
This gives the Dodgers a fantastic rotation: Schmidt, Derek Lowe, and Brad Penny at the top, followed by Randy Wolf and one of Chad Billingsley, Mark Hendrickson, Brett Tomko, and a few other possibilities. That, of course, would change quite a bit if Penny is included in a deal for Manny Ramirez.
By Jeff Sackmann, Brew Crew Ball
White Sox Starter Trade Possibilities
Here’s the action regarding those oh-so-available White Sox starters.
While the Sox have some interest in Rocco Baldelli, it doesn’t seem that their veteran starters would interest Tampa Bay. In addition to the Baldelli rumor, the Tribune said today that the Astros could be after Freddy Garcia or Javier Vazquez. What could the Astros offer up? Hunter Pence and then some, perhaps?
MLB.com has both New York teams as possible suitors for Mark Buehrle. If the Sox want young pitching in return, maybe Mike Pelfrey, Phillip Humber, or Humberto Sanchez would be involved.
Red Sox Rumor Roundup
The Red Sox have been kind of busy lately. Let’s round ’em up.
The team signed J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo yesterday, and the Manny talks seem dead. In case you have been living under a rock.
On the other hand, a few sources have rekindled the Manny stuff for one more day. ESPN Deportes mentions possible deals with the Ms or Dodgers, while the Boston Herald alludes to possible talks today.
Nine days left to reach a deal with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dustin Pedroia and Alex Cora will probably take care of 2B.
Best news is that Jon Lester has been cleared for spring training.
Indians Sign Joe Borowski
Baseball Digest Daily is reporting that the Indians have signed reliever Joe Borowski to a one-year deal with an option for ’08. Fantasy leaguers, take note – he’ll remain a closer.
Looks like the Tribe has changed their bullpen philosophy after last year’s disaster.
Mets Rumor Roundup
I owe you some rumors, yeah? Let’s get cracking by looking at the Mets. Can’t beat Matthew Cerrone’s MetsBlog for the latest. A rundown follows
The New York Post reports that the Mets would not even go to four years, $32MM on Julio Lugo. After all, it’s just second base.
Does the Ambiorix Burgos acquisition free up Aaron Heilman for a deal, perhaps with Oakland? Not automatically, given that Burgos is very raw.
The big fish is of course Barry Zito. The Mets don’t view him as a #1 starter and hesitate to top Roy Oswalt’s 5/73 deal. It will be hard to beat Tom Hicks, if he has his mind set on it. As Doc Brown told us, "if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." Sounds like the Mets have not yet made an offer but have met twice with Scott Boras. Word is that they will go five years at most.
The Mets talked to various teams about trading for starters like Javier Vazquez, Freddy Garcia, Rodrigo Lopez, Jake Westbrook, or Cliff Lee according to John Delcos.
The Mets met with Mark Mulder’s agent Gregg Clifton yesterday.
Bob Nightengale threw out a juicy rumor yesterday: Lastings Milledge and another prospect for Rich Harden. Seems rare to see a guy dealt with that kind of injury uncertainty, but you never know. Many sources have reported a more reasonable Milledge for Joe Blanton possibility. Any such deal with Oakland could involve Heilman as well. The A’s assistant GM said yesterday night that specific players had not been discussed.
MetsBlog reports that the team seems high on lefty Dave Williams, or at least proud of themselves for getting him for nothing.
The Mets talked to the Rangers about closer Akinori Otsuka yesterday, a player they almost acquired from the Padres for Xavier Nady last year.
Lastly, the Tribe has been connected to Milledge in addition to the A’s and Nationals. If talent like that is available, teams are going to call.
Red Sox Sign Julio Lugo
Busy day for the Red Sox – they signed shortstop Julio Lugo for four years and $36MM today. Lugo was the only decent shortstop on the free agent market from the start.
Perhaps he will bat leadoff for the Sox – fantasy leaguers take note. Lugo posted a .373 OBP for the Devil Rays last year and a .362 mark in 2005. He also showed surprising power by slugging .498 for Tampa Bay. He tanked in 49 games as a Dodger, which may have driven down his market price slightly.
Bannister for Burgos: done
ESPN is reporting that the Mets are sending Brian Bannister to Kansas City for Ambiorix Burgos. Neither pitcher is a difference-maker, but I’m a bit surprised the Mets are giving up a solid rotation option (albeit a back-of-the-rotation option) for a short reliever.
Burgos has upside, but this says to me that Omar Minaya is very confident of landing at least one more starter this offseason. The Mets rotation could be spectacular once everyone is healthy, but there are a heck of a lot of question marks for Minaya to be trading away his insurance. On the flip side, this seems like a solid deal for the Royals: they need somebody to eat a bunch of innings, and Bannister comes a whole lot cheaper than the Mark Redmans, Tomo Ohkas, and Miguel Batistas of the world.
By Jeff Sackmann, Brew Crew Ball
MORE RUMORS!!!
The just keep on comin in:
Brian Bannister for Ambiorix Burgos is near completion. I’m scratching my head on this one. Bannister, when healthy last year, was very promising as a young starter; Burgos on the other hand, probably won’t even make the bullpen for the Mets in any significant role. As a Phils fan though, this is pretty good news. Kenny Rosenthal again with the scoop.
Also, the Red Sox have spent some more money today, throwing 4 years and $36MM at Julio Lugo. Like Drew, Lugo gets on base and defends well, and maybe ~$9MM per is a decent deal for this market. Source: ESPNews
by Chris Hurst
