Brewers Claim Todd Coffey
WEDNESDAY: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers claimed Coffey off waivers and designated Laynce Nix for assignment. With the Nix move, the Brewers’ summer ’06 bounty for Carlos Lee is all pretty much gone. They do have pitcher Jake Odorizzi, picked 32nd overall as compensation for Cordero.
TUESDAY: According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds designated reliever Todd Coffey for assignment today. On his 28th birthday, no less. Coffey did a fine job in ’06 (even closing for a brief period), but has struggled since.
Coffey was known for his sprint in from the bullpen, but apparently he abandoned the practice last year. This year, Coffey dropped 25 pounds in the offseason but subsequently lost a mile per hour off his fastball.
Heyman’s Latest: Hawpe, Pavano, Fuentes, Lowe
Let’s dig into the latest columns from SI.com’s Jon Heyman, found here and here.
- Brad Hawpe had choice words in response to team criticism from Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd.
- Heyman says Carl Pavano tried to "weasel out of" paying his former agent $2MM in commission from his current contract, signed in December of ’04. You get the impression Pavano is not well-liked among members of the media.
- Heyman wonders if Rickie Weeks could be the odd man out in the Milwaukee infield next year.
- The Mets are more likely to pursue Brian Fuentes than Francisco Rodriguez this winter. K-Rod’s agent hinted that his client would be a good fit in L.A. or New York, but the Mets will have to make the rotation their priority.
- Heyman says Derek Lowe prefers the East Coast.
- Heyman figures A.J. Burnett will consider the $24MM remaining on his contract "pocket change," and will surely opt out.
Elias Rankings: NL Relievers
Eddie Bajek has updated his projected Elias rankings, adding NL relievers. He explains the stats used in this post.
- Type A: Ryan Dempster, Russ Springer, Juan Cruz, Brian Fuentes, Doug Brocail, and Kerry Wood. The Cubs will probably re-sign both of their guys. The others stand a good chance of being offered arbitration, with Cruz and Fuentes likely to sign elsewhere and net picks for the D’Backs and Rockies.
- Type B: Brian Shouse, Jason Isringhausen, Joe Beimel, Jeremy Affeldt, Dave Weathers, Trevor Hoffman, Brandon Lyon, and Eric Gagne. Beimel and Lyon might receive arbitration offers.
- Just missed Type B: Arthur Rhodes, Luis Ayala, Will Ohman, LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Herges. Many other impending free agents have no chance of Type B.
Odds and Ends: Pettitte, Hampton, Tazawa, Blalock
Let’s round ’em up…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Andy Pettitte seems to want to play next year, but Peter Abraham believes he may have to take a pay cut.
- Gerry Fraley writes about the Rockies and Mike Hampton. It’s safe to rule out a return to Colorado for Hampton, who is currently auditioning for his next team.
- The Royals dismissed their scouting director Deric Ladnier, offering him another position in the organization. Craig Brown reflects on Ladnier’s tenure.
- More Royals linkage: Rany Jazayerli defends the Gil Meche signing and implores the team to lock up Zack Greinke this winter. Jazayerli would also like the team to pick up knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, recently designated for assignment by the White Sox.
- Patrick Newman continues to update us on Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa, who is coveted by several MLB teams. If Tazawa starts a trend, an interesting debate could follow. Newman also has a running list of Japanese free agents for this winter.
- Bobby Valentine may be clashing with his boss over in Japan.
- Will the Rangers cut Hank Blalock loose, or exercise his $6.2MM option? Blalock’s ability to play third base remains a question mark, but he will try to improve his arm strength this winter.
- Neither the Pirates nor Pedro Alvarez‘s people will be present at today’s hearing. ESPN’s Buster Olney says Alvarez can’t win – he’s either villified in Pittsburgh or forced into next year’s draft. In the latter case, Alvarez could lose money down the line.
Fuentes Unlikely To Re-Sign With Rockies
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post takes a look at Brian Fuentes‘ impending free agency. The 33 year-old closer would prefer to return to the Rockies, but he hasn’t heard from the team and expects to explore the open market.
Renck says Fuentes’ agent views Brad Lidge as a comparable. Lidge signed a three-year, $37.5MM extension in July. He’s a bit younger than Fuentes, but the comparision seems reasonable. Fuentes is in a great position this winter as the best alternative to Francisco Rodriguez, who will receive a record-breaking deal for a reliever.
Fuentes intends to sign with a team that will allow him to close, and has a slight preference for the West Coast. Both L.A. teams could consider him, though both have good internal options. Fuentes also acknowledged that Billy Wagner‘s injury could affect his situation.
Sabathia Compensation Situation
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer details an interesting arrangement between the Brewers and Indians regarding the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia trade (hat tip to Anthony Castrovince). Hoynes says the Indians get to choose the player if the Brewers make the playoffs; otherwise, the Brewers choose. The Brewers have roughly a 70-80% chance of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus.
Hoynes says the candidates include four possible players, with outfielder Michael Brantley and third baseman Taylor Green among them. Baseball America had Green ranked ahead of Brantley heading into the season, but it seems pretty close.
Elias Ranking Update: AL Relievers
I don’t believe we’ve mentioned this yet…Eddie Bajek added the AL relievers for his projected Elias rankings. He notes that these rankings can swing quite a bit in the remaining three weeks of the season.
- Type As: Francisco Rodriguez, Damaso Marte, and…Darren Oliver? No doubt the Yankees will buy Marte’s $6MM option out for $250K, but will they offer him arbitration? He is earning $2MM this year, and has been terrible for them.
- Type Bs: Jamey Wright, Dennys Reyes, and Alan Embree. Wright and Reyes are earning $1MM this year; Embree $3MM with a club option for ’09 at the same salary. Perhaps the Twins will offer arb to Reyes.
- Just missed Type B: Kyle Farnsworth, Trever Miller. Eddie Guardado is not close to Type B status.
A’s Release Mike Sweeney
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s released DH/good guy Mike Sweeney today. He signed a $500K deal in February, and played pretty well in April. However, the A’s signed Frank Thomas and Sweeney went down for eventual knee surgery in May. He tried to come back last week, but probably needs to go under the knife again.
Smoltz Willing To Pitch Elsewhere
4:10pm: David O’Brien is not surprised by Smoltz’s comments, and mentions a conversation a few weeks ago with GM Frank Wren. Wren suggested the Smoltz/Glavine situations might not be addressed until December or January. As expected, Wren is targeting veteran starting pitching and outfield help this winter.
11:40am: Jay Busbee of Atlanta Magazine asked John Smoltz about his rehab from shoulder surgery. To Busbee’s surprise, Smoltz offered up some interesting quotes:
"I say this for the first time, without reservation, if I’m going to bust my butt and if I feel like I’m good enough and it doesn’t work out here, I will be pitching somewhere else…My dream scenario would be to pitch in the playoffs again, and that’s coming from a guy who’s been in 13 of them. To me, that’s what I’m about. So if the door gets closed here, it’ll have to be explored somewhere else."
Smoltz also makes it clear that he prefers to play out the rest of his career in a Braves uniform. Busbee suggests Smoltz’s quotes are meant to apply pressure on the Braves to make their decision. He probably won’t make outlandish demands for his next contract; I expect him to re-sign with the Braves after the season.
Molony’s Latest: K-Rod, Helms, Valverde
Let’s dig into the latest blog post from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- Molony believes the Mets, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, Indians, and Cubs are considering signing Francisco Rodriguez this winter. I think K-Rod’s demands could cause a nice ripple effect for Brian Fuentes, the second-best closer on the market. Regarding Molony’s six teams, a strong case can be made against several of them signing Rodriguez. The Rays and Indians will probably take a careful approach to free agency, while the Tigers may not have room in the budget. The Cubs seem likely to bring Kerry Wood back.
- Also on the topic of K-Rod, ESPN’s Andrew Marchand (via MetsBlog) quotes the pitcher’s agent naming the Cardinals, Tigers, Dodgers, Angels, and Mets as the five likely serious suitors. They’re looking for 5/75.
- Wes Helms would like to return to the Marlins next year. Molony believes the Marlins may want to retain Helms or Luis Gonzalez but perhaps not both.
- The Astros would prefer an extension for closer Jose Valverde rather than a likely eight figure arbitration reward. Valverde, 29, could reasonably demand more than $50MM in a multiyear extension.