Rosenthal’s Latest: Howard, Burrell, Burnett
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up today.
- With Ryan Howard looking at maybe a $14MM salary in his second year of arbitration, the Phillies could shop him this winter. Rosenthal lays out a scenario where they trade Howard and use some of those young players to acquire Matt Holliday. In this scenario Pat Burrell could be re-signed to play first base. I was surprised to see that a club official sees the chances of retaining Burrell as better than 50-50.
- If A.J. Burnett opts out, he will again favor teams such as the Nationals, Orioles, and Cardinals. Rosenthal thinks the Yankees and Mets are possible as well. And it’s still possible the Jays convince Burnett to stay by adding to his ’09 and ’10 salaries.
- Rosenthal frowns upon the Mariners’ double-failure to unload Jarrod Washburn‘s contract.
Heyman’s Latest: Bowden, Helton, Maddux, K-Rod
Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- Despite the headline "Nats GM in trouble," Heyman says Jim Bowden has the support of his bosses. They do not blame him for Aaron Crow and are not concerned with his possible connection to the scout skimming scandal.
- Heyman suggests the Rockies could shop first baseman Todd Helton this winter if he demonstrates a healthy back in September. Here’s the thing – if Helton was a free agent and you had to give him a three-year deal, what would you pay? $5MM a year maybe? Are the Rockies going to eat $40MM? Helton might have to be swapped for another bad contract.
- Heyman sees Ryan Dempster getting four years and $48MM, and Oliver Perez snagging $60MM over five. Are they worth that?
- People close to Greg Maddux are saying he wants to pitch next year. Heyman also sees John Smoltz and Tom Glavine back in ’09.
- "Some are expecting" the Reds to be big players in free agency this year. The Reds figure to be in the market for catching and outfield help. Manny Ramirez would be interesting.
- Heyman wonders if the Mets will be players for Francisco Rodriguez this winter.
Twins Interested In Guardado
Everyday Eddie Guardado, a Twins mainstay for a decade, has apparently been placed on waivers by the Rangers. Joe Christensen says the Twins are interested and will probably make a claim, but don’t expect to make a deal. He says the Twins were eyeing Guardado in July but wouldn’t meet the Rangers’ price.
Guardado is currently closing for the Rangers, getting it done with a 3.21 ERA. A deeper look at his numbers indicates rougher waters ahead, but he’s certainly a useful reliever. As far as I can tell, Guardado only has about $680K left on his contract this year. I’d imagine several teams will put in a claim, but I would’ve said the same for David Weathers.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: O’s. Holliday, Glavine, Maddux, Cardinals, Jeter
A few notes on from around the baseball Blogospehere…
- Camden Chat feels the Orioles are stuck with players like Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff, even though both have cleared waivers.
- Drunk Jays Fans thinks Matt Holliday will be too expensive in terms of contract and prospects for the Jays.
- Talking Chop does not want to see Tom Glavine back in a Braves uniform next season.
- Gaslamp Ball is not happy about San Diego trading Greg Maddux to the Dodgers and wonders why the Padres would want to help their divisional rival.
- Ducksnorts hates the Maddux deal as a fan, but is happy for Maddux and understands the move from a business standpoint.
- Viva El Birdos does not see the Cardinals signing any free agent starting pitchers for ’09, noting that would go against the organizational philosophy.
- Derek Jeter is not a free agent until after the ’10 season, but that hasn’t stopped Was Watching from discussing his future.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Pirates May Shop Jack Wilson This Winter
Pirates GM Neal Huntington was diplomatic when asked about Jack Wilson‘s future with the Pirates. But it seems pretty clear the 30 year-old shortstop will be shopped this winter.
Wilson makes a fine trade chip for the Bucs, especially given the free agent market for shortstops. Orlando Cabrera may require three or four years, and he’ll be 34 in November. Rafael Furcal wants to stay with the Dodgers. All the other free agents are question marks. Teams such as the Blue Jays, Tigers, Twins, Reds, Cardinals, and Giants may be looking for a shortstop. The Jays would probably only enter the mix for Wilson if J.P. Ricciardi is fired.
Wilson will earn $7.25MM in ’09 and may see his $8.4MM option for ’10 exercised. He can block trades to six teams. He’s hitting .279/.322/.355 this year in 288 plate appearances, down from last year but near his career marks. His defense is highly regarded.
Odds and Ends: Kazmir, Thomas, Sweeney
We’ll kick it off with a few links today and add more bullets periodically.
- Cole Hamels feels that he handled his contract renewal last year immaturely.
- Over at The Hardball Times, Geoff Young looks at the best compensation picks of the 20th century.
- Geoff Blum‘s ’09 option vests with one more plate appearance.
- Bronson Arroyo has a plan to make the Reds competitive.
- Matthew Cerrone explains Carlos Delgado‘s ’09 option.
- Jeff Passan on the Cardinals’ brilliant signing of Ryan Ludwick.
- Baseball Prospectus profiles #26-50 on their list of players to build a team around.
- Twins reliever Brian Bass accepted a Triple A assignment, so he won’t become a free agent.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo takes a preliminary look at the ’09 draft order.
- Jamey Newberg wonders if the Rangers could pry Scott Kazmir loose this winter. It’s hard to see the Rays trading him.
- Susan Slusser expects the A’s to add an impact bat this winter, but free agent DHs Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney will probably be let go. In a related note, ESPN’s Buster Olney says the A’s had a chance earlier this year to acquire Jason Bay for a package including pitching prospect Vin Mazzaro.
Odds And Ends: Lane, Taveras, Cubs, Reyes
Round three from the MLBiverse…
- The Red Sox have signed former Astros outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league deal.
- Troy E. Renck says that Willy Taveras could be moved this winter and speculates that the Nationals might be a good fit if Lastings Milledge is moved from center field.
- Paul Sullivan says the Cubs are not likely to make many changes this winter with only four key free agents. One of those free agents, Ryan Dempster, said that he would prefer to stay with the Cubs.
- Omar Minaya says Al Reyes turned down a major league job with another organization to take the minor league deal with the Mets.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Jays Acquire Jose Bautista
The Blue Jays have announced the acquisition of Jose Bautista from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Bautista is making $1.8MM this season, his first of arbitration eligibility. He signed a one year deal last winter, avoiding arbitration. Bautista was hitting .242/.325/.404 in 107 games for the Pirates, very close to his career marks of .240/.328/.397. Nothing amazing, but a decent pickup for a team with some question marks in the infield next year.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Glavine, Dunn, Draft, Tigers
A few more notes from around the MLBiverse…
- Tom Glavine will not need Tommy John surgery and Glavine puts the chances of an ’09 return "50-50 at best."
- Scott Bordow takes a look at how the Adam Dunn acquisition is affecting the D-Backs.
- In Peter Gammons’ latest piece he takes a look at how small-market teams ignored the slot recommendations from the commissioner’s office, noting that the slot system "only rewards big market teams."
- In the same article, Gammons says the Tigers may have to reduce their payroll by $40MM next season. Gammons believes it will be very difficult, noting they are already committed to more than $100MM for ’09.
- The Hardball Times takes a look at several players drafted using compensation picks that turned out to be much better than the free agent the team lost.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Looking At The Yankees’ Impending Free Agents
The Yankees have several big-name free agents looming this off-season, including Bobby Abreu, Andy Pettite, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Mussina, and Jason Giambi ($5MM buyout for his $22MM option). Deciding who to bring back, who to let walk and who to offer arbitration could be the key decisions that have a ripple effect throughout the rest of baseball.
Tyler Kepner says the Yankees have already decided to not bring back Abreu and Giambi at their current salaries, $16MM and $21MM respectively. However Kepler says the Yankees may be open to bringing Abreu back at a reduced rate, especially without any obvious replacements in the farm system.
Peter Abraham thinks Pudge and Giambi would accept arbitration if it is offered by the Yankees. Now that Pudge is only a type-B free agent the Yankees may not think the one compensation pick is worth the risk.
So let’s hear it in the comments…Who should the Yankees bring back this off-season and do they risk offering arbitration to Pudge and Giambi?
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.