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Archives for April 2008
Odds and Ends: Rauch, Fielder, Braun, Garcia
Some links for you to peruse…
- We suggested on Wednesday that Jon Rauch makes sense for Detroit. That same day, the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga wrote that the Tigers "will watch Rauch very closely."
- You have to appreciate Matt Morris’ candor regarding his salary.
- We learned on Saturday that the Brewers made offers to sluggers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Today the team’s owner said talks with both are ongoing. Other multiyear offers have been made, though the players are not known. Tom Haudricourt speculates on Corey Hart, Yovani Gallardo, J.J. Hardy, and Rickie Weeks.
- Ken Rosenthal sees Freddy Garcia landing with the Mets later this summer. I’ll stick with the opinion that he’s a nonfactor this year.
Bucs Sign Capps Through ’09
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates signed closer Matt Capps through the 2009 season. They added $65K to his ’08 salary and gave him $2.35MM for ’09 (his first arb year). They also tossed in a $500K signing bonus. Previously, Kovacevic had said talks with Capps fizzled because of Manny Corpas’ deal.
Corpas receives $2.75MM for his first arb year, so Capps gets about 85% of that. By that logic, perhaps the Pirates could buy out Capps’ last two arb years (2010-11) for a total of $8.3MM or so. Regardless, this is a nice little move for Neal Huntington. According to Capps, the Pirates made a four-year offer in December and remained persistent until now.
Blue Jays Sign Alex Rios, Aaron Hill
Surprise move by the Jays today – they inked second baseman Aaron Hill to a four-year, $12MM deal with club options for three years after that. The deal begins with the ’08 season and then covers his three arb years. Orlando Hudson, a decent comparable, got about $12.8MM for a similar slice of his career. Sounds fair, and the options are a nice bonus for the Jays.
The Jays also completed Alex Rios’ six-year, $64MM deal. This is another fine contract for Toronto, as they get four of Rios’ free agent years at a below-market price. The Jays have a seventh year option for Rios at $13.5MM, with a $1MM buyout attached. The contract includes a complete no-trade clause for the first two years and a partial thereafter.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pedro’s Injury
Earlier this week Pedro Martinez pulled a hamstring in his first start of ’08 and is expected to be out until mid-May. The loss of Martinez will likely only cost the Mets seven to eight starts, which might only be a difference in two to three wins over that span. Of course, two or three more wins in ’07 and the Mets would have spent October in the playoffs. With the importance of every single start magnified this year for the Mets, it would not be surprising for Omar Minaya to seek outside help as a contingency plan for Martinez (who at this point in his career cannot be counted on to stay healthy for any length of time). One long shot is Rich Harden, whom the A’s may be auditioning for possible suitors. Let’s take a look at what is being said in the Blogophere…
- The ’Ropolitans don’t see the Mets trading any more players in the near future, especially for an injury-riddled player such as Harden.
- Mets Fever doesn’t think the Mets have the pieces to land Harden and would rather see the money go to Oliver Perez after the season.
- Mets Merized thinks that Claudio Vargas would provide the Mets with some stability but if he isn’t willing to accept a minor league deal they feel the Mets have plenty of in-house options…Mets Merized also feels that the loss of Martinez will not have an effect on the Mets’ championship hopes.
- MetsBlog comments on the Vargas rumors and says that a backup plan for Martinez should be Minaya’s number one priority…MetsBlog also notes that the Mets should stay away from Harden as he will certainly cost Fernando Martinez.
- Faith and Fear in Flushing is reminded of Mets injuries from years past and won’t be expecting any contribution from Martinez in the near future.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Rios Extension To Be Announced Today?
Baseball Digest Daily is reporting a press conference scheduled at the Rogers Centre this afternoon. The belief, from BDD and many other quarters, is that they’ll be announcing Alex Rios’ extension. Standard PR move to wait until the home-opener.
It’s supposed to be a six-year, $65MM deal extension. It would start with the ’09 season with an option for 2015 for around $15MM. If those numbers are correct, it sounds like a smart move for Toronto.
Olney: Red Sox Looking For A Catcher
From Buster Olney’s blog today:
Scouts and officials with other teams say the Red Sox have been actively making inquiries about catchers.
Kevin Cash is Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher, for now. Not sure on their knuckleball-handling skills, but here are some other backstops who may be available: Gerald Laird, Michael Barrett, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Humberto Quintero, Brayan Pena, and Jeff Mathis. However, Laird may be off limits and Barrett isn’t known for his defense. Molina and Hernandez are signed through ’09.
Vargas Unlikely To Sign With Mets
David Lennon of Newsday talked to Claudio Vargas’ agent, Bean Stringfellow. Stringfellow indicated that the Mets are not the right situation for his client. That may be because the Mets want to send Vargas to Triple A, as Jayson Stark suggested yesterday.
The Mets are not completely out of the picture, but Stringfellow is looking for better opportunities and may get a contract for Vargas by the weekend. Apparently a deal with another team was close but fell through.
The Angels could work, as could the Mariners if they want to use Miguel Batista as their closer for a while. The Astros, Phillies, and Braves should probably consider Vargas as well. That’s all just my speculation, though.
Stark’s Latest: Bonds, Howard, Vargas
ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings up; let’s take a look.
- Stark surveyed execs from three teams about why Barry Bonds remains unemployed. They provided the answers you’d expect, and collusion isn’t one of them. One of the team officials believes a major injury to one of the 14 DHs could very well result in a Bonds signing. Related note: Gary Sheffield just tore a tendon in his finger. Meanwhile, Joel Sherman speculates that Bonds would be a nice match with the Blue Jays.
- There are signs that Ryan Howard wants an unprecedented contract – he won’t be using Miguel Cabrera as his model. A trade before he reaches free agency (after the 2010 season) seems likely.
- Stark says the Mets are eyeing Claudio Vargas but would want him to work at Triple A for a while first. They’re not showing interest in available guys like David Wells, Jeff Weaver, or Robinson Tejeda. David Lennon of Newsday counters by saying the Mets do have interest in Tejeda, though nothing is close.
Dodgers Almost Sign Marcus Giles
THURSDAY, 1:45pm: Not so fast. Miller has an update to his initial report below, which came from Marcus’ brother Brian. Marcus’ agent is now saying that Brian was misinformed – they never finalized anything with the Dodgers and he’s not playing for them, after all.
THURSDAY, 8:14am: Scott Miller says Giles will report to Triple A for the Dodgers, after all. The Dodgers still seem to have some interest in Wes Helms though.
TUESDAY: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News chronicles the odd tale of the Dodgers’ near-signing of infielder Marcus Giles. Apparently an agreement was reached but Giles changed his mind on the drive over to Cashman Field in Las Vegas. He was to re-acquaint himself with third base at Triple A before joining the Dodgers.
Jackson notes that this Giles debacle caused Ned Colletti to miss out on two available role players, one of which was Alex Cintron. A commenter on Jackson’s blog suggested Scott Spiezio was the other; not a bad guess. Seems possible that Giles might retire; he turns 30 in May.
