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Archives for October 2007

Bonds Comments

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Barry Bonds made a few comments on his future at a recent speech.  As usual, Barry’s comments seemed kind of weird.  He was asked whether he’d play for the Giants for $5MM, and replied:

I told Peter Magowan that if I’m a part-time player, I’m still better than your full-time player, and it’s a wise idea to keep me.  There’s still time.  Things might change. 

Hmm.  OK.  I don’t think that really means anything.  I won’t believe the Giants are leaving the door open until I hear it from them.  And Bonds never answered the $5MM question.

Meanwhile, Bonds associate and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal opined that the home run king might retire this winter.  Bonds said a month ago that he plans on continuing his career.   

Twins Hot Stove: Hunter, Nathan

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It’ll be an interesting offseason for the Twins, who have a new GM and two coveted free agents in Torii Hunter and Carlos Silva.  Here’s the latest.

  • Charley Walters quotes Hunter as saying he hasn’t had any contract offers from the Twins since the end of the season.  In August, the Twins reportedly offered a three-year, $45MM contract to Hunter.  They’re apparently open to adding a fourth year, while Hunter would take 5/75 from the Twins.  There’s still a chance he’s re-signed, but Hunter says the chances decrease the longer the team waits.
  • According to Tom Powers, the Twins have contingency plans in place in the event they can’t sign Hunter or Silva.  The 2008 payroll is expected to increase.  It stood at $71.4MM on Opening Day ’07.  They’ll need to spend at least $4MM extra just from current escalating contracts.  Also in Powers’ article, GM Bill Smith notes the team’s continued focus on left-handed hitters who can use a short right field to their advantage.
  • Joe Nathan’s $6MM option for ’08 will be picked up, a no-brainer if there ever was one.  Nathan and the Twins will discuss a contract extension as well.

Latest Cardinals Hot Stove: Antonetti, Eckstein, Maroth

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Let’s take a look at what’s going on with the Cardinals.

  • Viva El Birdos has a hunch that Chris Antonetti will be the team’s next GM.
  • According to RotoWorld, the team has released Mike Maroth.  The 30 year-old lefty was terrible with St. Louis, but will probably hook on somewhere for $2-3MM.  He would’ve been non-tendered anyway.
  • Interim GM John Mozeliak recently talked about his dealings with David Eckstein.  No deal is imminent, and he may test the free agent waters.  I don’t see the team going with Brendan Ryan, so look for some trade activity this winter if Eckstein departs. 

Iguchi Wants To Remain At 2B

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According to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies asked Tadahito Iguchi about re-signing to play third base in 2008.  He said he wants to stay at second base, so he won’t be re-signing with the Phils.  It was a creative thought by the Phillies given the weak market for third basemen.

Where might Iguchi land as a contender for the best free agent second baseman?  The Twins, Mariners, Mets, and Rockies seem like possibilities.

Mariners Hot Stove Chatter

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John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer discusses the Mariners’ offseason situation in today’s column.  Let’s summarize.

  • Jose Guillen will probably decline his $9MM option for ’08, no surprise there.  An "inside source" of Hickey’s doesn’t expect him back with Seattle.  That puts Ichiro in center and Adam Jones in right, which hopefully makes up for the unpleasantness of Raul Ibanez in left.
  • Hickey sees the Mariners having about $15MM to spend this winter.  If $10MM of that went to Guillen the Ms would be severely limited in pitching acquisitions.  Instead they should and probably will just spend all of it to get at least two hurlers.
  • As you know, Hiroki Kuroda is on the radar.  I can’t figure out what kind of contract to expect for Kuroda.  I’m guessing two or three years at at least $5MM per.  I can’t think of a good comparable, as Matsuzaka and Igawa were not free agents.
  • U.S.S. Mariner believes Bartolo Colon is the "hidden gem of free agent pitchers," and officially endorses signing him.  They suggest he could net a one-year, $9MM deal or maybe two years, $16MM.  That sounds fair and I agree that Bart looks like a possible bargain.  Scour the free agent list – who’s your #1 bargain among starters?  Viva El Birdos likes Jon Lieber.  I’ll cast a vote for Brett Tomko.   

Needs and Luxuries: Baltimore Orioles

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Here’s a look at Baltimore’s current setup for 2008.

C – Ramon Hernandez
1B – Kevin Millar
2B – Brian Roberts
SS – Miguel Tejada
3B – Melvin Mora
LF – Jay Gibbons
CF – Jay Payton
RF – Nick Markakis
DH – Aubrey Huff

SP – Erik Bedard
SP – Jeremy Guthrie
SP – Daniel Cabrera
SP – Adam Loewen
SP – Brian Burres/Garrett Olson/Hayden Penn

Setup/Closer:  Jamie Walker/Chad Bradford

Needs

Take a look at that starting lineup again.  The Orioles are a train wreck, and need to be blown to smithereens and rebuilt.  Their need is pretty easy to assess – they need cheap, young, talented players.  Sure, all teams need those, but the O’s need to abandon any pretense of winning in 2008. 

The ’07 Orioles were below average in every regard.  The long-term Orioles need corner infielders, a left fielder, and a center fielder at minimum.  If you don’t think they can win in by 2009, then they need middle infielders too.

The O’s need another reliable starter to complement the Bedard-Guthrie tandem.  They need to be patient with Cabrera, who at least set a career high in innings and starts.  They need some homegrown or otherwise cheap relievers with a pulse. 

Most of all, the Orioles need fiscal responsibility.  Hopefully Andy MacPhail will bring it.

Luxuries

The Orioles have frontline talent in Tejada, Bedard, Roberts, Markakis, and Matt Wieters.  The last two are cornerstones.

Tejada is not a part of the long-term future.  Despite signs of decline, he can still be dealt for a nice bevy of young players.  Maybe not a Teixeira-sized bounty, but two quality players.  The Tigers, Phillies, Red Sox, White Sox, Blue Jays, Angels, and half of the NL Central ought to be interested.  Tejada is the team’s most tradeable asset and he absolutely must be cashed in this winter.

The O’s are at a crossroads with Bedard and Roberts.  They’re locked in through 2009, and would have a lot of value on the trade market.  The Orioles have to at least listen on these guys.  Bedard is going to cost a king’s ransom to sign long-term, and Roberts may prefer to leave for a winner.

Then there’s the veteran riff-raff.  The Orioles have tons of expendable veterans with moderate to questionable trade value: Hernandez, Millar, Mora, Gibbons, Payton, Huff, Walker, and Bradford.  Gibbons and Mora are un-tradeable, but the rest should be swapped out for the most interesting 0-3 players available.  The Orioles must remain open to eating salary if they can in effect purchase some quality prospects.

Posada Could Join Mets, Marlins

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George King has some Yankee info for us this morning, much of it involving Jorge Posada.

Mark Feinsand noted yesterday that the Yanks plan to offer a three-year, $40MM contract to Posada.  King is on board, indicating that he expects a three-year deal in the $39-44MM range for the catcher.  I’m sticking to my guns – I think this requires four guaranteed years in the end.  But upping the average annual value to arrive at a 3/45 deal seems plausible.

King also mentions that the Mets and Marlins are both likely to be interested in Posada.  The Mets are no surprise.  But King indicates that the Fish have been "stockpiling dollars," which is news to me.  Mostly we’ve been hearing that they want to make a low-level veteran signing or two but don’t figure to be able to afford both Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera for 2008.

Marlins High On Floyd’s List

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We were a little late to the party a few days ago, linking to a September 30th article indicating that Cliff Floyd would like to end his career back in Florida.  As we mentioned at the time, Shannon Stewart seems to make more sense for the Fish.

Regardless, Floyd has now gone public with his desire to play for the Marlins.  He said he’d love to "come, chill out, and help Fredi win some ballgames."  Joe Capozzi notes that Floyd’s agents will reach out to every team this winter, and he’s hunting for a salary similar to the $3MM he earned in 2007.  It sounds like he’d prefer to jump to the AL if the Marlins or Cubs won’t have him.

Odds and Ends

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How about some Odds and Ends to kick off Hump Day?

  • Peter Abraham doesn’t think it would make sense for the Twins to acquire Chien-Ming Wang (presumably in a Johan Santana trade).  His reasoning: Wang’s sinker would suffer on turf, and his salary is due to climb via arbitration.
  • The Indians have decisions due on Kenny Lofton, Trot Nixon, Paul Byrd, Joe Borowski, and Aaron Fultz.  The first two will probably be gone.
  • My projection for Jeremy Guthrie in 2008 is up over at RotoAuthority.
  • Say Anything’s new album came out yesterday.  Highly recommended.
  • We sold our condo!  Literally in less than one week after hiring a real estate agent, we had a contract. Maybe they’re not so bad after all.   

Top 3 Japanese Free Agents

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I asked JapanBall’s Bob Bavasi for his thoughts on the Top 3 Japanese Free Agents who may come over to MLB this winter.  He kindly obliged, providing a couple of paragraphs on each.  His summaries are below.

1. Kosuke Fukudome, Dragons.  Left-handed hitting outfielder from the Dragons in Nagoya.  Can play any outfield position, but probably best in right.  A solid, no-nonsense type player, with a terrific glove and sound arm, he’s the best Japanese position player in either league.  Absolutely no secret about this guy. 

2. Hiroki Kuroda, RHP, Hiroshima Carp.  This fellow is probably a number three or four starter in the big leagues.   Was 12-8 this season in 26 starts with a 3.56 ERA.  A free agent last year, he decided to stay in Japan by signing a four-year deal with the Carp, but with a clause therein that allows him to test the waters when he so desires.  He’s probably going to do so now.  The Carp just announced that his arm was okay after a medical exam in the United States.  If you’re looking for more info on Kuroda, check out this post at East Windup Chronicle.

3. Masahide Kobayashi, RHP, Chiba Lotte Marines.  This closer was the number one draft pick by the Chiba Lotte Marines in 1999.  He may be the best available reliever on the free agent market, though he has not made the sort of overtures about wanting to leave Japan as the other two.  During the recent playoffs in Japan, his manager, Bobby Valentine, noted that Kobayashi keeps "looking better every time out.”  True enough, and a reason I like him.

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