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Archives for December 2007

Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 12-1-07 at 10:30pm: Yanks and Twins are haggling over the third guy – Twins want Horne or Austin Jackson per Jon Heyman.  The Yanks are apparently holding out on that front, trying to retain some dignity.  Peter Abraham says the Yanks will also slap a deadline on their offer and then turn their attention to Dan Haren. 

Concurrently, the Red Sox will only give up Ellsbury if they get more than Santana back.  How about making this thing a real blockbuster, getting Joe Nathan involved?  Imagine a 7-8-9 combo of Gagne-Nathan-Papelbon (if Gagne were to accept arb).  Peter Abraham is saying the Sox aren’t serious though.

UPDATE, 12-1-07 at 5pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Twins are asking for shortstop Alberto Gonzalez or starter Alan Horne as the third player from the Yankees.  Doesn’t sound like Hughes + Kennedy is any kind of possibility.  The Yankees cracked and put Hughes in…unless the Red Sox crack and put Ellsbury in it seems like Santana will end up in the Bronx.

UPDATE, 12-1-07 at 3:30pm: La Velle E. Neal III has a Santana update for us.  He says the Yanks are offering Hughes, Cabrera, and Ian Kennedy right now.  If that’s for real, I think the Twins should accept.  However, Neal’s assertion runs contrary to Jon Heyman’s take – he says the third player will not be Kennedy, Alan Horne, or Jose Tabata. 

Meanwhile it sounds like the Red Sox are still pushing Coco Crisp over Jacoby Ellsbury.  Neal adds that the Mets might re-consider their stance on Jose Reyes, and that the Twins would prefer to ship Santana over to the NL.

UPDATE, 12-1-07 at noon: Buster Olney says the Yanks’ upgraded offer is now on the table, but the Twins will meet with the Red Sox this afternoon to see if they can get Theo Epstein to include both Ellsbury and Buchholz.

UPDATE, 11-30-07 at 10pm: It’s been decided: the Yanks will put Hughes in their offer.  John Harper and Bill Madden feel that it was Brian Cashman who needed convincing.  Cabrera remains in the package, which will be rounded out by an additional pitching prospect.  This collection of youngsters apparently puts the Yankees in the lead for Santana. 

UPDATE, 11-30-07 at 6pm: The Yankees’ front office has been debating whether to surrender Phil Hughes in a trade for Santana.  Buster Olney reports that they’re leaning toward doing it.  Melky Cabrera and one other prospect would be sent over as well.  The Yankees, as well as the Red Sox, are hedging their bets by talking to Billy Beane about Dan Haren at the same time.

UPDATE, 11-30-07 at 11:25am: David Andriesen says the Mariners are not serious players on Santana.  However, Geoff Baker says the Ms have inquired but not made an offer for him.  However Baker talked to a friend of Santana’s who indicated the ace wouldn’t be jazzed signing a contract extension with a West Coast team.  U.S.S. Mariner recommends against a Santana acquisition.

FROM 11-30-07 at 8:45am:

I think it’s time for a new Johan Santana thread.  We’ll start today with a Peter Gammons report today on Mike & Mike In The Morning.  This comes from a trusted MLBTR reader.

Gammons favors the Yankees in the Santana derby, because he feels that Hank Steinbrenner could overrule Brian Cashman and include Phil Hughes in the deal.  Some feel that the Red Sox are just trying to pump up the price and would then turn to the A’s to get Dan Haren.  Getting Haren instead of Santana may have the added benefit of not pissing off Josh Beckett about his salary.

Kosuke Fukudome Rumors

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Kosuke Fukudome is expected to make an official announcement soon on whether he will come to the Major Leagues for the 2008 season.  Per Fukudome’s agent, it’s highly unlikely he stays in Japan.  He wants only a three-year contract, no more.  So who’s after him?

  • Cubs: They’re still after him, and Lou Piniella doesn’t see why the failure to sign his acquaintance Kaz Matsui would have any bearing on it.  The Cubs have a vacancy in right field plus perhaps a need to spell Felix Pie in center.  They also could use a nice dose of OBP.  Fukudome is a perfect fit.
  • White Sox: The Sox have openings in left and center and a strong need for OBP.  Aaron Rowand and Torii Hunter are out of the picture, leaving Fukudome as a prime target. It’s been said that the Cubs are prepared for a crosstown bidding war.
  • Padres: The Friars have already contacted Fukudome’s agent.  Kevin Towers has publicly expressed his interest.  Fukudome could play left or center for the Padres.
  • Rangers: With a center field spot up for grabs, the Rangers have "serious interest."
  • Giants: In late October, it was said that they were "seriously interested."
  • Yankees, Red Sox: They’ve both scouted him, for what it’s worth.  Little doubt he could play a better center field than Johnny Damon, but it’s hard to see where he could fit in with Boston since they’ve already got four starting outfielders.
  • Mets: They have a right field vacancy, but I haven’t seen too many published reports indicating they’re after him (as of now, I can’t find any).  Wouldn’t surprise me to see Omar jump in here though.

Did I miss anyone?

Rays Interested In Ron Mahay

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According to Marc Lancaster, the Rays are looking for a left-handed reliever.  Ron Mahay is on the radar, and Jeremy Affeldt is another possibility.  The Rays are moving quickly to plug up their holes – will this team finally break .500 in 2008?

Looking through the MLBTR archives, the Yankees, Brewers, and Royals seem to be the main suitors for Mahay.  Meanwhile Affeldt interests the Mariners, Braves, and Astros.

Lancaster’s article also indicates the Rays are looking for a left-handed hitter who can handle right field and first base.  DRays Bay thinks that means Darin Erstad, Ryan Klesko, or Mike Lamb.  I’ll add Cliff Floyd, Luke Scott, Shawn Green, Trot Nixon, Brad Wilkerson, and Eric Hinske to the discussion.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In

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We’ve got a new feature here at MLBTR called Baseball Blogs Weigh In.  It’s pretty self-explanatory.  I link to top-notch blogs giving their take on recent moves.

Padres Sign Randy Wolf

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According to Ken Rosenthal, the Padres have a preliminary agreement in place with starter Randy Wolf.  It’ll be final once Wolf passes a physical.  The Phillies and Astros had been in on him as well.

Wolf had Tommy John surgery in July of 2005.  He found his way back to a big league mound a year later.  He struggled through 12 starts in ’06 to finish off a solid Phillies career.  That winter the Blue Jays and D’Backs had interest, but Wolf opted to give the Dodgers a hometown discount by signing for $7.5MM in ’07 plus a $9MM club option for ’08.

Wolf felt good to start off 2007.  After stumbling through a mediocre April, he was phenomenal in May with a 1.48 ERA.  However he was knocked around in June and hit the DL in early July for shoulder soreness.  He had a cortisone shot and started rehabbing, but had a setback and wasn’t able to return.  He had shoulder surgery in late August.  There hadn’t been structural damage so it must’ve been minor.  He expects to be ready for Spring Training.  The Dodgers opted for his $500K buyout rather than his $9MM option.  The 31 year-old lefty seems a good value signing for the Friars.

Red Sox Sign Mike Timlin?

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Gordon Edes and Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe are reporting that a Red Sox official indicated that the team had re-signed reliever Mike Timlin to a one-year, $3MM deal.

Timlin turns 42 in March.  He showed his customary low strikeout rate and good control in 2007.  The less predictable part is hits allowed – 10.97 per nine innings in ’06, 7.48 per nine innings in ’07.  Luck plays a big part in that stat.

Scott Rolen To Milwaukee Rumors

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Apparently intra-division trading is no problem for John Mozeliak and Doug Melvin.  Here are two takes on the rumored Scott Rolen to Milwaukee deal.

  • Tom Haudricourt talked to Doug Melvin and learned that nothing is imminent with the Cards.  What’s more, Melvin hasn’t talked to the Cards for weeks. Hmmm.  This trade would require the Cards eating some salary.  Theoretically Ryan Braun would move to left field to accomodate Rolen.  The Brewers could send over Chris Capuano and might try to act like Kevin Mench would sweeten the deal.
  • Buster Olney said this morning that the Cards "have had their most extensive talks with the Brewers" regarding Rolen.  He also names Capuano as the likely target.  Olney ponders whether the Cards would be compelled to pursue Miguel Tejada to replace Rolen at third base.

Yankees Not Close With Loretta

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UPDATE, 12-01-07 at 1pm: Olney now says the Yanks don’t have any serious interest in Loretta, and haven’t spoken to him in over a month.

UPDATE, 11-30-07 at 10am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has more on this situation.  The Rockies got in touch with Loretta’s agent recently but weren’t optimistic on getting a deal done.  While Loretta is close with the Yanks, he will let the Rockies’ second base situation play out before signing because Colorado is his first choice.

FROM 11-30-07 at 8:40am:

Ryne Crabb of The Transaction Guy writes of a Buster Olney radio report wherein the Yankees were said to be close to signing Mark Loretta.

Before we punch Robinson Cano’s ticket to Minnesota, remember that the Yanks have liked Loretta in the past as a first base and/or backup infield option.  It may be as simple as that.  To his credit, Loretta posted a .352 OBP last year (though he was awful after the break).

Hiroki Kuroda Coming To MLB

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Hiroki Kuroda has publicly made the decision to leave Japan to pursue a career in MLB.  The L.A. Times reports the Mariners, D’Backs, Dodgers, and Royals as interested parties.  The Mariners already have a four-year offer out to him.

The Phillies, Cubs, Rangers, and Mets might be considered on the fringes of this pursuit, as all have been linked to him in the past.

Today’s Arbitration Decisions

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The decision whether to offer your own free agent arbitration can affect your team in two ways: you may end up retaining a player you didn’t want, or you may score a draft pick or two as compensation.  With that in mind let’s run down the rumors regarding some Type A and B free agents.

  • The Red Sox plan on offering arbitration to Type B Eric Gagne.  Worst case scenario, they hang onto him for one more year.  Best case, they get a sandwich pick.
  • The Astros have to decide on Trever Miller and Mark Loretta.  Both are Type Bs, but the Astros might not want them back.  Richard Justice notes that the old Astro regime made a mistake not offering arbitration to Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
  • The Angels decided not to offer arby to Bartolo Colon, because the most they could give him would be a 20% pay cut.  So best case scenario they could get him for one year, $11.2MM.  Colon is not a Type A or B, so there’s no compensation regardless.
  • The Phils will offer arb to Aaron Rowand but not Freddy Garcia.  Rowand is a Type A, Garcia a Type B.  It’s a no-brainer with Rowand, who will hopefully net them a first-round pick plus a supplemental depending on who he signs with.  With Garcia they risked getting burned as he might’ve accepted.   
  • The D’Backs will offer arbitration to Livan Hernandez, who will likely decline it to pursue a three-year deal.  He’s a Type B so they’ll snag a sandwich pick.
  • The Padres will offer arbitration to Michael Barrett, and Kevin Towers actually hopes he accepts.  No worries if he doesn’t – Barrett is a Type A.  The Friars will also offer arby to Mike Cameron and Doug Brocail.  Brocail nets them a sandwich pick for sure; Cameron still has a slight chance of accepting.
  • The Braves did not offer arb to Andruw Jones but did for Ron Mahay.  Both are Type Bs; I’m surprised they didn’t want to risk Andruw returning on a one-year deal.

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