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Archives for October 2008

Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday

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Time to collect today’s Manny Ramirez rumors.

  • Scott Boras tells Yahoo’s Tim Brown that Manny pays for himself.  Brown says the Giants are "believed to be considering" Manny; they similarly signed an aging Barry Bonds to a large extension back in ’02 (four years with an option).  Brown feels the American League is a better fit for Manny, though.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday talked to an NL exec who believes Manny will get four years.  He has a hard time figuring which team will seriously compete with the Dodgers for Ramirez.  If Boras succeeds in starting a bidding war, maybe he gets five years.
  • Peter Abraham says six years would be "madness," and sees the Dodgers going four years.  He predicts Ramirez re-signs with them after much drama.  Sounds reasonable.
  • The Phillies continue to be tossed around as a solid fit for Manny; Joel Sherman mentioned it yesterday.

A’s Chatter: Ellis, Giambi

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A few notes from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Peavy Rumors: Monday

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Let’s kick off the day with a roundup of Jake Peavy rumors.

  • Peavy is not a fan of the American League or New York, so don’t look for him to land with the Yankees or Mets.  The Mets don’t seem interested anyway.
  • David O’Brien figures the Braves will have to surrender Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, Tommy Hanson to get it done.  Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein says Hanson flies under the radar a bit, as he belongs in any discussion of the game’s top pitching prospects.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Padres were doing a lot of background work recently on Braves center field prospect Jordan Schafer.
  • Despite Peavy’s wishes, the Padres have identified four possible AL trading partners for him: the Yankees, Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox.  Peavy’s agent says he hasn’t closed any doors but the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman believes the Red Sox or Yankees would have to pay a steep price in extra compensation to entice the pitcher.

Cafardo’s Latest: Lowe, Maddux, Peavy

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Here’s a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

  • Interestingly, the Red Sox are reportedly Derek Lowe’s preferred destination.  It’s unknown whether the Sox intend to add a starter this winter, but they may lose free agent Paul Byrd (and will have to decide on Tim Wakefield’s $4MM option).  Cafardo names a dozen other clubs interested in Lowe: the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Cubs, Angels, Braves, Phillies, Rangers, Astros, and Blue Jays.
  • Bill Mueller, 38 in March, admits he’d like to play again.  Medically, it’s a long shot because he’d need to regrow cartilage in his knees.
  • One of Greg Maddux’s teammates feels he’ll retire. Maddux could return to the Padres as a player/coach (specifically, he’d prefer a bench coach gig).
  • The Brewers as a sleeper for Jake Peavy?  They’re not on his list, but he’s named other midwest clubs.
  • Cafardo believes catchers Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez will be available this winter.  Makes sense, given the weak free agent market at the position.

Twins Offseason Plans

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SUNDAY: Further reading on the Twins: a Q&A with Smith conducted by La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  Smith doesn’t tip his hand on whether he’d be more willing to trade an outfielder or a starting pitcher.

SATURDAY: Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press dishes on the Twins, who are holding their organizational meetings this weekend.

  • GM Bill Smith is looking for help in the bullpen and middle infield.  Powers still expects free agent Dennys Reyes to sign elsewhere; perhaps the Twins will sign a righty reliever.  Nick Punto seems more likely to be re-signed.  Another infielder will probably still be added.
  • Powers sees Smith as more likely to trade a pitcher than Delmon Young.  I agree – it’d be surprising to see the Twins give up on Young after one year.
  • Smith had all kinds of trade discussions this summer, but ultimately felt some GMs were "trying to pick on the rookie."
  • For more on the Twins, check out our Offseason Outlook.

Week in Review: 10/12 – 10/18

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It’s been a busy week here at MLBTR, with the news that a certain NL ace (some guy named "Jake Peavy…" heard of him?) is likely to be traded in the coming weeks. Let’s take a look back at the Peavy-mania and other notable stories of the past week:

  • October 13, 2008: Peavy-Mania officially begins. Since then it’s been Peavy, Peavy, Peavy, and, oh yeah… more Peavy. The current frontrunners appear to be the Braves, with possible centerpieces including Yunel Escobar, Tommy Hanson, and Jason Heyward. A combination of those would certainly be appealing, but it sounds unlikely that more than one is available. Peavy would like to remain in the NL, and other possibilities have included the Dodgers, Astros, and Cardinals, though none seem to match up nearly as well as Atlanta. Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal analyzed some of Peavy’s suitors, and seems to be leaning towards the Braves as well. Braves fans don’t seem thrilled with the concept of giving up Escobar, Hanson, or Heyward. Personally, Peavy leaving PETCO wouldn’t worry me. He’s posted three dominant seasons away from PETCO, and clearly has the stuff to be dominant in any park. Facing the facts, any team is going to have to give up more than they’re comfortable with to land Peavy, because otherwise Kevin Towers won’t pull the trigger. This isn’t Johan Santana giving his team an ultimatum like we saw last offseason; Towers is in the driver’s seat.
  • From one ace to another: The Brewers will at least make an attempt to keep C.C. Sabathia in Milwaukee.
  • Scott Boras is working his magic on Manny Ramirez, now stating that Manny deserves an "iconic" contract of six years, and $150MM. I can’t see anyone coughing up a deal for that much money, or that many years for Manny, regardless of his superhuman stint with the Dodgers. But hey, gas is up, and so is Manny. He’s a five-tool player now… just ask him.
  • MLBTR has suggested that Rafael Furcal would be a good fit for a lot of teams, and he will… if he ever hits free agency. That’s not necessarily a guarantee though, as we learned that Furcal wants to stay in LA, and the feeling is mutual.
  • Lots of talk about the Marlins trading some arb-eligible players, but if you ask Buster Olney, Dan Uggla won’t be one of them. The Marlins are now saying that they won’t have to make any payroll-motivated moves, though it’s possible they’re putting that message out there to re-gain a bit of leverage in trade talks.
  • Juan Pierre wants to be a starter again, and is willing to waive his no-trade clause if that will make it happen. Unfortunately for Pierre, he’s got a three years and $28.5MM left on his contract; he’s not going to be easy to move. Any suggestions on a fit for Pierre?
  • The Indians exercised Jamey Carroll’s $2.5MM option for 2009.
  • Jon Heyman takes a look at the Yankees’ upcoming offseason, while Tom Powers looks at the offseason for Minnesota.
  • If that’s not enough offseason news for you, Tim added Offseason Outlooks for the Yankees, Mets, Angels, Brewers, and Cubs.
  • Curious to see who’s going to net your team some draft picks? New Elias rankings are out for AL Starters, AL Relievers, and AL 1B/OF/DH.

Sherman’s Latest: Gonzalez, Guillen, Castillo, Martin

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Let’s take a little break from Peavy-mania and look at some other situations around the big leagues, courtesy of Joel Sherman.

  • Padres GM Kevin Towers can’t see any circumstances under which he’d trade first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.  He’s signed cheaply, and the Padres already have offensive problems.
  • Sherman knows that it will be extremely difficult for the Mets to move Luis Castillo this offseason, but offers one scenario that has been discussed before: Trade Castillo to the Royals for perennial hothead Jose Guillen. Guillen would bring the Mets a power bat and arm to put in left field, while Castillo would bring the Royals some much-needed OBP and a replacement for free agent Mark Grudzielanek. The difference would be the Royals saving $6MM over Castillo’s remaining three seasons, with the Mets taking on $6MM more, but only having two years of a bad contract. Personally, I think this move could make a lot of sense for both teams, although I’d prefer to have Guillen over Castillo. Also, the Mets apparently have no interest in an Eric Byrnes/Castillo swap.
  • The Phillies may be looking for a way to replace Pat Burrell cheaply in order to pursue a free agent starter. One proposed method would be to move Greg Dobbs to left field. Sherman notes that there wouldn’t be much difference in range between Burrell and Dobbs. Dobbs posted an .824 OPS this season in 226 ABs, but the alarming thing is that 217 of those ABs came against right-handed pitching. Dobbs was just 1 for 9 against lefties in 2008, and has just 52 career ABs against LHP, in which he’s posted a .579 OPS. A plattoon with Eric Brutnlett could work, but if I were a Philadelphia fan, I’d be hoping for an alternative solution. Sherman reminds us that the Phils were players for Manny Ramirez in July…
  • This one surprised me, but Sherman throws a new name as a possibility on the trade market: Russell Martin. Sherman cites rival executives in saying that the Dodgers aren’t "enamored with his makeup" and that with frontline catchers being hot commodities, the Dodgers could explore the market to see what Martin could bring in return. Personally, I think moving Martin would be a mistake, but I have to admit, Martin would indeed fetch a very nice return.

A’s Re-Sign Mark Ellis

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SUNDAY: The A’s reached an agreement with Ellis, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  He’ll make about $5MM in ’09, $6MM in ’10, and has a $6MM club option for ’11.  There’s also about $2MM in possible incentives.  Olney believes the deal could be worth $18MM with all incentives reached.  Slusser has quotes from the happy second baseman in this morning’s article.

SATURDAY: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney:

Heard this: The Oakland Athletics are moving closer to signing second baseman Mark Ellis — who would be eligible for free agency after the World Series — to a multiyear deal.

Ellis, 31, hit .233/.321/.373 in 507 plate appearances.  He was stellar again defensively, making 26 more plays than the average second baseman.  He missed time for a sore hamstring and a torn labrum in his shoulder (which eventually required surgery last month).  Ellis would’ve been an intriguing alternative to Orlando Hudson, but it looks like he won’t reach the open market.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy Suitors, Lowe, Cardinals, Marlins

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, focusing largely on suitors for Jake Peavy, but also touching on some other news at the end… so let’s take a look!

  • Rosenthal states that the following teams have been speculated to be suitors for the Padres’ ace: Braves, Angels, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, Cardinals, Brewers, Rays, Rangers. While all of these are not serious possibilities, he elaborates on each team. He mentions Yunel Escobar as a likely centerpiece from Atlanta, and states that the Angels would love to acquire a frontline starter to allow them to send Ervin Santana and/or Joe Saunders to Colorado in a deal for Matt Holliday and/or Garrett Atkins. Rosenthal states that Howie Kendrick could be a big part of any trade, but his health seems like too serious of a concern to me. Rosenthal speculates on the possibility of a dominant rotation for the Yankees if they traded for Peavy and signed C.C. Sabathia. One rival executive’s speculative package for Boston included Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson. The Padres will likely charge the Dodgers considerably more for Peavy’s service, as they are division rivals. He lists Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy as a possible centerpiece for a Milwaukee blockbuster, but also points out that Ben Sheets has made the Brewers wary of injury concerns. The other teams don’t seem to match up well, in Rosenthal’s opinion.
  • Rosenthal says that he was wrong in stating that Derek Lowe would prefer to remain on the West Coast. Lowe has now told him that he’d prefer to go East, with Boston being his top choice. He reiterated this desire to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
  • The Cardinals prefer a short-term solution for their closer situation, and will likely give Chris Perez the ninth inning job, or seek a lower-budget option through the trade market. They may also trade a young outfielder for an established bat at a corner OF position.
  • Kevin Gregg is still likely to be traded (perhaps an option for St. Louis), and four teams have asked Florida about Jeremy Hermida. Rosenthal speculates that the Marlins will begin 2009 with Cameron Maybin in center field and Cody Ross in right.

Perrotto’s Latest: Peavy, Unit, Joba

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John Perrotto has his Every Given Sunday column up over at Baseball Prospectus. Here’s some highlights from his "Rumors and Rumblings section" this week:

  • Perrotto expects a Jake Peavy deal to be done before the Winter Meetings, stating that the Braves, Yankees, and Dodgers seem to be the leaders in the race right now. He notes that the Yankees will be willing to include Phil Hughes, while the Braves are willing to move Yunel Escobar. I personally like the Escobar idea for San Diego, as it would allow them to make Atlanta take on Khalil Greene’s salary. A package around Escobar and Tommy Hanson would certainly be tough to ignore.
  • Perrotto reiterates that a move to the Dodgers or Angels for California-native Randy Johnson seems like a strong possibility. Johnson posted a fine season for the Diamondbacks, despite being 45 years old. He’s maintained a very solid strikeout-rate even at this stage in his career, fanning 8.46 batters per nine innings.
  • The Yankees are planning on using Joba Chamberlain in their rotation next year, but are not planning on settling for what they have. Perrotto states that the Yankees will "go all-in" on the free agent market, making aggressive offers to C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, and Mark Teixeira. Add in the pursuit of Peavy, and decisions on numerous free agents, and it looks like a very busy offseason for the Bombers.

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