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Archives for January 2008

Mariners Have Company In Bedard Pursuit

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Andy MacPhail told the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec today that teams other than the Mariners have "chimed in" on Erik Bedard.  What is the goal of this public statement?  To push the Mariners to up their offer?

MacPhail says he’s just having conversations with the Mariners currently.  He’s been in touch with Peter Angelos and not much has changed of late.

Hard to say which other clubs chimed in on Bedard, if it’s true.  I have heard that the Cubs haven’t talked to the O’s in over a week.  Teams like the Reds, Indians, Angels, and Rockies could theoretically jump in.

Rockies To Sign Scott Podsednik

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Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports that the Rockies are "finalizing details" on a minor league deal for outfielder Scott Podsednik.  The idea is to let Pods battle Cory Sullivan for the backup center field job in Spring Training.

Podsednik as an extra outfielder seems like a decent idea.  He may have been treated as a starter for a bit too long.

Ringolsby adds that the Rockies haven’t made progress on a long-term deal with Brad Hawpe and will probably just ink him for one year for now.

Thoughts On The Johan Santana Trade

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Seems that this deal is official enough to evaluate.  We know for a fact that the Twins will receive Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra.  The general consensus seems to be that Twins GM Bill Smith passed on other offers that were better than this.

If Smith had taken the Yankees’ best offer, he’d have an MLB-ready pitcher who was very recently regarded as the game’s best pitching prospect (Phil Hughes).  He’d also have a solid regular center fielder in Melky Cabrera.  And the Twins would’ve gotten a couple of upside players on top of that.

Boston’s top offer was better as well.  The Twins could’ve filled center field, shortstop, and closer needs immediately with Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson.

But that’s just my take.  The best folks to evaluate the Twins’ return will be Baseball America, Keith Law, and Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein.  The Twins could very well come out smelling like a rose; they just chose riskier, less proven players.  As for the Mets, Omar Minaya deserves all the accolades for acquiring the best pitcher in baseball without surrendering his top prospect or anyone from the big league club.

Johan Santana Traded To Mets

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UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 4:22: Ken Rosenthal says the 72-hour window to sign Santana is now open.

UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 3:15pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today says an agreement to trade Santana to the Mets has been reached.  They’ll send Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey to the Twins.  The Mets still have to work out a six or seven year extension for Santana, according to Nightengale.  If this baby reaches its true conclusion we’ll sit down and analyze.

UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 2:55pm: More from Olney.  His sources say the Mets have the best offer, the Red Sox also made offers, and the Yanks are out.  Santana apparently asked the Twins to make a decision, wrap this thing up.  Wrap it up!  Olney is not sure whether F-Mart is part of the Mets’ offer.

UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 2:06pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman weighs in.  He sees the Mets as the frontrunner, the Red Sox on the fringes, and the Yankees as nearly out of the running.  The Mets are offering Gomez/Humber/Mulvey/Guerra but not Fernando Martinez.  If they get Santana, the Mets will commit to only five years but with a high average annual value of $22-25MM.

UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 1:11pm: WFAN’s Mike Francesa believes the Twins upped their offer to five years, $100MM for Santana, but he rejected it.

UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 9:42am: ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Twins asked for each team’s "last and best offers" on Monday.  They could decide Santana’s fate as early as today.  Olney adds that the Yankees "appear to be not presently engaged whatsoever in the Santana talks."  Olney used to be a Yankees beat writer, so he’s bound to have a good line on this.

As for the Red Sox – Olney is hearing conflicting things about Jon Lester’s availability.  It’s possible that Lester could only be had in a more limited package – he, Coco Crisp, and not much else.

FROM 1-29-08 at 8:02am:

Over at MetsBlog today, Matthew Cerrone does a nice job summing up the Johan Santana situation. 

The New York Daily News indicates that the Mets are the one team pushing for Santana, but the Twins might use the Erik Bedard haul as a measuring stick.  Joel Sherman sees it as a Mets-Red Sox battle.  He notes that Carlos Gomez will skip the Caribbean Series not because of an impending trade but just to limit his games. 

We could finally get some kind of resolution with Santana this week.  Just to keep things interesting, check out Mark Healey’s note about the Dodgers "creeping into the picture."

Erik Bedard Rumors: Tuesday

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UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 3:45pm: The Baltimore Sun’s Roch Kubatko weighs in on a radio rumor going around.  The radio rumor says that the O’s are holding up the deal over a possible degenerative hip condition with Adam Jones.  Kubatko could only confirm that the Orioles "became concerned with something related to Jones."

FROM 1-29-08 at 7:50am:

Why can’t all megadeals be as simple as Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera acquisition?  The Erik Bedard to Seattle has become a full-blown mess.  As always, MLBTradeRumors.com has the latest.

Ken Rosenthal expounds on three theories as to why Orioles owner Peter Angelos may be holding up the deal.  Maybe he still wants to sign Bedard to an extension.  Maybe he’s mad about Adam Jones leaking the deal to the Venezuelan press.  Or maybe he just wants more/different players than Andy MacPhail negotiated.  Or my own theory – maybe he was just busy Monday with a family matter, as has been suggested, and nothing’s wrong.

Stark: Howard Not Likely To Accept Deal Similar To Pujols

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In a recent blog post, Jayson Stark notes that everybody should be paying close attention to the Ryan Howard arbitration case and speculates that Howard and the Phillies are much farther apart that the $3MM difference in their arbitration numbers. In fact, the distance between the two sides can be measured as the difference between Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez.

Stark says:

The Phillies renewed Howard at $900,000 last year–precisely the same amount Pujols got from the Cardinals the year before he was eligible for arbitration. Next up, the Phillies will no doubt offer Howard a long-term deal that mirrors the seven-year, $100 million contract Pujols signed with the Cardinals in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

That might sound reasonable from afar. But there is no chance –zero–that the reaction to that offer…is going to sound anything like: Where do we sign?

A-Rod is more what this particular family has in mind.

The $7MM arbitration figure offered by the Phillies is the same amount Pujols made in the first year of his contract extension (his first arbitration-eligible season). The biggest argument against the Pujols comparison is that the Cardinals signed their young record-breaking slugger to a 7-year, $100MM contract in 2004, and there has been an explosion in baseball revenue in the last four years. The Phillies would argue that Howard’s numbers, while historic, are not equal to what Pujols accomplished in his first three seasons. The Phillies appear to be trying to balance performance against inflation.

Stark does not go so far as to say that Howard is seeking $250MM, but does speculate that it would take seven years and at least $150MM. If Stark is right, and the two sides cannot work out an agreement prior to the arbitration hearing, this could get ugly.

By Cork Gaines

Odds and Ends: Closers, Benson, Reed Johnson

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Some random links for the day…

  • I have created a Fantasy Baseball Closers page at RotoAuthority.  With the help of readers it will be constantly updated with current closers and the pecking order of each team.
  • Kris Benson will throw for teams again, probably a week from now.  The Phillies will again be in attendance.  Benson may only get a minor league deal this time around.  I remember when he set the standard with his three-year, $21MM deal.  Also, the Phils could look to move Wes Helms or Greg Dobbs now that they’ve signed Pedro Feliz.
  • The Red Sox had their eye on Reed Johnson, perhaps thinking he would be non-tendered.  He wasn’t, and Joe McDonald says Bobby Kielty and Eric Hinske will probably sign elsewhere as well.  That leaves Brandon Moss for the bench job, unless the Sox sign Tony Clark, Sean Casey, or Brad Wilkerson.

Padres Eyeing Mike Sweeney

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The Padres "have expressed mild interest" in Mike Sweeney, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.  The problem would be finding a fit for Sweeney.  First base or left field would be the logical choices but between the presence of Adrian Gonzalez and Sweeney’s fragility, both seem a long shot.  And there’s no fit at catcher either, if you really want to stretch your imagination.

Crasnick notes that Padres GM Kevin Towers has found the talks for Xavier Nady or Matt Murton to be "slow going," so maybe he’s trying to get creative.

Sweeney, 35, has been a Royal his entire career.  He hasn’t topped 100 games or an .800 OPS since ’05.  It was said in mid-December that Sweeney’s agent had been in touch with the Royals and two other teams.

Johnny Estrada Signs With Nationals

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According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals signed catcher Johnny Estrada to a one-year, $1.25MM deal.  Estrada had been close to a deal with the Pirates. 

Ladson’s source says the signing is not a reaction to Paul Lo Duca’s knee injury (torn meniscus).  Lo Duca isn’t expected to miss too much of the regular season anyway.

Jim Bowden seems to have created a veteran surplus on his club at multiple positions.

Erik Bedard Rumors: Monday

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UPDATE, 1-28-08 at 8:58pm: The drama continues.  Baker believes the deal is still alive, and heard the original quotes from Jones with his own two ears.  Jones did say he was traded to the Orioles and that he was off to Baltimore for a physical, despite the KOMO 1000 backpedaling.  In other words, the Orioles asked him to kindly stop talking.

Jeff Zrebiec has the latest from the Baltimore side.  The O’s are holding this up over "unspecified complex issues," which might mean Angelos’ approval.  Zrebiec believes the framework of a deal has been agreed upon, and that Jones was at one point scheduled to fly to Baltimore for a physical.  Zrebiec also got in touch with Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, who apparently pulled Jones from winter ball simply because he "met his goals."

UPDATE, 1-28-08 at 5:46pm: According to KOMO 1000 News Radio, Jones has been ordered not to play but remains in Venezuela.  He was also misquoted by the Venezuelan press – he did not mention getting traded.

UPDATE, 1-28-08 at 4:51pm: I honestly didn’t think Angelos would interfere with this one.  But according to Ken Rosenthal, the deal is on hold and possibly off because of him.  Then again, we knew it was on hold until Tuesday anyway because of Angelos’ availability.

FROM 1-28-08 at 1:43pm:

Let’s get a fresh post going for the Erik Bedard rumors.

  • According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Bedard to Seattle trade awaits Peter Angelos’ approval.  Angelos will not be available today to evaluate the deal because of a family matter.  So this should drag a bit more.
  • Stark still expects the deal to get done but verifies that Adam Jones was not sent to Baltimore for a physical. 
  • Jerry Crasnick says both Jones and George Sherrill have been told to take physicals in anticipation of the deal.  Sherrill disputes this in the Seattle PI, though.
  • Stark and Crasnick say the current package from Seattle is Jones, Sherrill, Chris Tillman, and a fourth unknown prospect.  Tillman, however, hasn’t yet been informed of a trade.

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