Mets In Lead For Santana, Yanks Out?
UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 6:45pm: Santana’s agent says he has not demanded that the Twins trade Johan prior to pitchers and catchers reporting.
UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 5:30pm: One source told Ken Rosenthal that the Yanks "are no longer talking to the Twins about Santana." If that’s true, perhaps Hank will just announce it soon.
UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 3:51pm: Cerrone has a bit more, including a note that Santana and his agents are in lock down.
FROM 1-11-08 at 7:53am:
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone sums up the latest buzz around the Johan Santana trade talks. It seems the Mets are in the lead for Santana, proactively trying to find a way to make it work. They are Santana’s preference, they have the money for him, and they might have the players to get it done.
Cerrone says Santana would like to have this thing wrapped up before pitchers and catchers report, about five weeks from now.
David Lennon of Newsday also checks in on the situation, agreeing with most of Cerrone’s info. It’s still not completely clear whether the Twins have stopped bringing up Jose Reyes. Lennon adds that the Mets couldn’t complete the deal just by adding Fernando Martinez, as had been previously reported. Kevin Kernan says the Mets won’t do a five for one deal, anyway. There seems to be a lot of conflicting info floating about on this one.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Feliz, Ellis, Lohse
Ken Rosenthal checks in with a new column of hot stove material.
- Rosenthal says some suitors are popping up for third baseman Pedro Feliz: the Dodgers, Brewers, Phillies, and Giants. Phillies Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed interest today in an MLB.com chat. Rosenthal admits that the Dodgers don’t seem like a great fit. He says Bill Hall would have to be traded to make room for Feliz, though Tom Haudricourt implied today that Hall would stay put. It was said Wednesday that the Giants’ talks with Feliz were stalling over his three-year demand.
- Rosenthal suggests Mark Ellis would be a nice fit for Colorado, though keep in mind that the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser told us that he was the best bet among veterans to remain with Oakland for 2008. The Rockies’ current plan is to go with Jayson Nix and keep Marcus Giles around as another option. I’d be surprised if either pans out.
- Instead of the four or even five-year demands we were hearing about for Kyle Lohse, Rosenthal says three years with a vesting option for the fourth would now be acceptable. He believes Lohse’s salary could near $12MM. Lohse recently said he’s down to about three suitors.
- Rosenthal still expects the A’s to sign a free agent outfielder, with possible target Mike Cameron headed to Milwaukee. Take a look at our newly updated free agent list to see who’s out there.
Brewers Sign Mike Cameron
UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 5:21pm: Tom Haudricourt has the contract details. Cameron gets a $1.25MM signing bonus and will make about $4.22MM in ’08 (missed out on $780K due to his suspension). The 2009 option is for $10MM, plus a $750K buyout. As Haudricourt says, in a way it’s a one-year, $6.22MM deal. Were the Padres unwilling to pay this amount? By the way, the signing isn’t a precursor to a Bill Hall trade.
FROM 1-11-08 at 2:18pm:
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers have signed center fielder Mike Cameron to a one-year deal with a club option for 2009. The amount is not yet known, but this seems like a solid move by Doug Melvin.
Rosenthal adds that one reason the Yankees may have passed is that they were unwilling to pay both Cameron and Johan Santana. (Really?)
Once Cameron finishes his 25 game stimulant suspension, he’ll push Bill Hall to third and Ryan Braun to left field. So the Brewers gain defensively and get a career .251/.341/.445 hitter to play center (definitely above average for the position).
Odds and Ends: Morneau, Jocketty, Santana
Your usual dose of random rumors and links…
- Justin Morneau says he has had no extension discussions with the Twins.
- The Reds brought Walt Jocketty aboard as a special advisor to President and CEO Bob Castellini today. For now, Wayne Krivsky’s job appears safe. But jeez, with Walt in the house he has to be feeling a little pressure, doesn’t he? In other news, the Reds talked with Brett Tomko‘s agent this week.
- The Tigers signed Matt Mantei for the league minimum. He can ask for his release if he’s not in the bigs by May 1st. As Jon Paul Morosi notes Mantei hasn’t pitched in the Majors for more than two years.
- RotoAuthority ranks the third basemen for fantasy baseball.
- Buster Olney says the A’s talks with the Braves for Mark Kotsay "have a chance of becoming serious today."
- Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey has a source who believes the Mets will get Johan Santana "no matter what they have to do."
- The Rangers made the Eddie Guardado deal official, and also brought Jamey Wright back on a minor league contract. Guardado got a bit more than I expected – $2MM base plus $4MM in incentives for games pitched and finished.
Ruben Amaro Jr. Chats Phillies
Phils assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. recently did a chat at MLB.com. I remember Frank Wren did one in mid-November; this is a cool trend.
- Amaro admits that the Phils are still considering upgrading at third base. They’ve had discussions about Pedro Feliz as one such option, while Morgan Ensberg is not on the radar.
- It’s unlikely that the Phillies re-sign Jose Mesa.
- Also unlikely would be a Bartolo Colon signing. On the other hand, discussions with Scott Boras about Kyle Lohse are ongoing.
White Sox Eyeing Bartolo Colon
WHBF-TV, a CBS affiliate for the Quad Cities, reports that Ozzie Guillen was present in the Dominican Republic yesterday to watch Bartolo Colon pitch. Guillen was sent to gauge Colon’s health.
Health is the reason the Mets reportedly backed off on Colon. The big righty pitched for the White Sox in 2003, racking up 242 innings with a 3.87 ERA. Chicago’s rotation could use a little depth, in Ken Rosenthal’s opinion.
Tigers Still Hope To Sign Miguel Cabrera To Extension
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press has an article up today in which he tosses around some numbers regarding a possible Miguel Cabrera contract extension. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski admitted his desire to sign Cabrera long-term recently.
Morosi expects Cabrera to receive an $11MM contract for ’08, if he doesn’t sign long-term soon. Morosi calculates that if Cabrera signed right now, six years and $105MM might be a reasonable amount. That would be $11MM for ’08, $14MM for ’09, and $20MM per year thereafter.
By the way, I’m happy to report that Morosi has agreed to answer some questions for our Rumor Royalty series. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments.
Olney: Mets Backed Off On Colon
Buster Olney has a note about the Mets and Bartolo Colon in today’s blog:
Heard Thursday that Colon on the verge of signing with the Mets last week, but the Mets backed off after taking a closer look at the condition of his right arm.
This jives with the info we’ve seen previously, that Colon hasn’t topped 90 mph in the Dominican Winter League. Many teams have seen his medical reports, but he remains unsigned. On December 4th, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson said the Nationals believed Colon would not accept a one-year deal.
A’s Interested In Cameron
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports in with new info regarding an A’s target. She says Mike Cameron is in their sights, and the A’s have had "several conversations" with his agent. The A’s weren’t mentioned as a contender for Cameron last night; he is expected to land with the Brewers or Yankees.
Slusser also names a couple of available right-handed hitting free agent outfielders in Reggie Sanders and Rondell White. Those are just examples, though – there is no current indication that the A’s have interest.
Slusser adds that there’s nothing to recent rumors of a Huston Street for Coco Crisp swap. That one sounds like fan speculation (in fact I think I saw it in our comments somewhere).
Brewers, Yankees Interested In Mike Cameron
UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 11:58pm: Ken Rosenthal checks in, adding that the Cubs and Twins are on the fringes for Cameron. However he expects Cameron to end up with the Yankees or Brewers, before anything is determined with Johan Santana. The Yanks could always just keep Melky Cabrera or spin him off for prospects. The Braves and Pirates have expressed interest in him in the past.
UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 9:04pm: Haudricourt says the Yankees’ are the Brewers’ main competition for Cameron, in the event they trade Melky Cabrera. It’s known that A-Rod has been "privately endorsing" him.
UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 10:23am: Haudricourt adds that the Brewers could be considering trading Hall, rather than changing his position again. He says the fact that Doug Melvin didn’t return his calls may indicate something is going on.
FROM 1-09-08 at 9:20pm:
Both Ken Rosenthal and Tom Haudricourt are saying this evening that the Brewers are interested in free agent center fielder Mike Cameron.
Haudricourt is surprised, since the Brewers were supposedly targeting a left-handed hitting left fielder like Kenny Lofton or Luis Gonzalez. Instead, they could shift Bill Hall to third base and Ryan Braun to left to make room for Cameron.
Rosenthal calls it "serious interest," but notes that moving Hall again might be a "delicate situation." I’m sure Hall would understand if the signing made the team better. Rosenthal says Cameron is drawing interest from at least two other clubs, which could include the Reds.