Padres Close On Maddux
As has been speculated for some time, the Padres are close to signing Greg Maddux. Ken Rosenthal has the scoop; he describes the likely signing as a "significant blow to the Dodgers."
Maddux turns 41 next April. Overall in 2006 he won 15 games with a 4.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 3.2 K/BB. The Professor has reached 199 or more innings every season since 1988. He is one of a kind.
Cardinals Trade Rumors
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch checks in with some Cardinals trade rumors. And I quote:
"Talking Pavano trade with Yankees (but Jocketty denies)…still monitoring Schmidt…More focus on Padilla and Batista …front-runners for Luis Gonzalez, but price may be getting too high…Strauss thinks they will make a trade this week; could be part of a 3-way."
Leach: Carpenter Extended Through 2011
MLB.com’s Matthew Leach has the scoop: the Cardinals have extended Chris Carpenter’s contract through 2011 with an option for 2012.
Carp’s current contract calls for $7MM in 2007 and $8MM in 2008. Hat tip to Viva El Birdos for this one.
UPDATE: The AP reports that the deal is for about $65MM and that his ’08 option will be exercised including the $1MM buyout.
Giants Sign Molina For Three Years
According to Tim Brown of Yahoo, the Giants have signed catcher Bengie Molina to a three-year deal. Last year, Molina was left out in the cold in the free agent market. Another strong season got him his deal.
MLB Introduces First “Civil Rights Game”
Okay, so it’s not a rumor, and won’t have a monumental affect on your team necessarily, but this needs to be reported. MLB will have a "Civil Rights Game" on March 31st in an effort to continue honoring the African-American community and its tremendous impact on baseball. The Cards and Indians will play an exhibition game at AutoZone Park in Memphis, the city where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1963.
"This game is designed to commemorate the civil rights movement, one of the most critical and important eras of our social history," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said. "I am proud of the role that Major League Baseball played in the movement, beginning with Jackie Robinson’s entry into the big leagues on April 15, 1947, and very pleased that we have this opportunity to honor the Movement and those who made it happen."
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate baseball on another step in the right PR direction. The induction of Negro League players this past summer was long overdue, but it happened nevertheless. Then MLB and the MLBPA agreed on a new CBA nearly 2 months before the current one expired. Tremendous. Now they are continuing to change their image in the wake of the Steroid Era. Kudos to Bud Selig for being commissioner and obviously having a huge say in all of these events.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN, and Spike Lee will make a documentary for the game’s festivites.
Tickets for the game will go on sale Dec. 5, and will be available at Indians.com, stlcardinals.com and memphisredbirds.com. Tickets will also be available on MLB.com and at the AutoZone Park box office beginning Dec. 6. If you are able to go, it should be an amazing experience.
Quotes and this story came from an article on mlb.com by Barry M. Bloom
by Chris Hurst
Are You At The Winter Meetings?
Unfortunately, I am not. Good ol’ Chicago for me. But I am happy to link to any interesting reports from Orlando if you are in attendance. Drop me a line and I’ll link to your blog or article to help pass along any good info.
And if you’re not there, why the hell not? What, you have a job? Please.
MLB.com Reports From Winter Meetings
MLB.com’s Jim Molony has some Winter Meeting info to pass along:
Keith Foulke has five interested teams, and the Red Sox are still an option. The Sox will also talk to Octavio Dotel.
Molony also mentions that the lack of potent free agent sluggers has led teams to inquire about Kevin Mench, Geoff Jenkins, and Reggie Sanders. The Royals would probably trade Sanders for a good turkey sandwich. Which is not a liquid, even if you use a lot of mustard.
Richie Sexson Could Be Dealt
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the Mariners may consider trading Richie Sexson, a move that would please many Mariner fans. The Ms would presumably acquire a pitcher in the deal and move Raul Ibanez to first base.
John Hickey mentions Noah Lowry, Tim Hudson, and Dontrelle Willis as possible targets.
U.S.S. Mariner has a bunch of winter meeting predictions for Seattle; check it out.
Guillen Signs with M’s
Angels. Check. A’s. Check. Now Jose Guillen can add one more AL West team onto his list of teams he’s played for. The Seattle PI is reporting that the Mariners have signed Guillen to a one-year $5.5MM contract, $3MM of which will be incentives. There is also an option for 2008 at $9MM.
Seems like a decent deal for a guy who, when healthy, can hit somewhere between 25-30 homers. Of course the reason he wasn’t signed long-term is because 1) He’s a malcontent, and 2) He had reconstructive elbow surgery during the summer. All indications are though that he should be ready to go by January, so he should be fine for ST.
Rosenthal On Zito, Padilla, LaRoche
If you haven’t been at FOX Sports lately, be sure to check out Ken Rosenthal’s column. As always, it’s chock full of rumory goodness. A quick summary:
The Rangers are talking to both Barry Zito and Vicente Padilla. They could top the market by giving Zito six years and $102MM and would like to get Padilla on a three-year deal. I know Padilla could get four somewhere if he forces the issue. For CF, Texas could pursue Jeremy Reed or Kenny Lofton. Mike Piazza remains an option at DH, which could make Jason Botts trade bait. No talk of the Rangers going after Julio Lugo for CF.
The Braves can’t get Mike Gonzalez for Adam LaRoche, so the teams might not have a match on a trade.
The Fish would like to acquire Rocco Baldelli, one of the finest CF options on the market. I imagine one of Olsen, Sanchez, or Johnson would have to go.
The Phils could move Jon Lieber and bring in another starter via free agency. Not sure what that would accomplish.