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Archives for November 2008

Twins To Avoid Type A Free Agents?

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A note from Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

I’ve been told it’s highly doubtful the Twins will sign a Type A free agent, which would cost them their first-round draft pick next June, though they have checked into some of the Type A relievers and are in a “Never say never” mode.

The Twins own the #23 pick in next year’s draft.  Players such as Orlando Cabrera, Doug Brocail, Juan Cruz, Darren Oliver, and Russ Springer would presumably cost them that pick.

Christensen also notes that the Twins had strong interest in Jeremy Affeldt and scouted Dayan Viciedo.

Mets Rumors: K-Rod, Fuentes, Vazquez, Garland

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The latest on the Mets.

  • Joel Sherman believes the Brewers could interfere with the Mets’ attempts to sign Brian Fuentes or Francisco Rodriguez.
  • Ben Shpigel of the New York Times wrote this weekend that the Mets don’t appear likely to dabble in the second-tier relief market for pitchers like Juan Cruz or Joe Beimel.
  • Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog passes along a John Harper article from the New York Daily News, adding his own commentary.
  • Harper believes the Mets may have to move on to Javier Vazquez, Jon Garland, and Edwin Jackson due to the high price tags on Boras clients Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe.

Rule 5 Draft Info

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Several readers have emailed asking for information about the Rule 5 draft, which takes place on December 7th at the winter meetings.  First you should start with Kary Booher’s article at Baseball America explaining how everything works.

Booher also looks at notable additions to the 40-man roster for all 30 teams.  Between Booher’s article, Peter Gammons’ latest blog post, and an article from Nick James at Camden Depot, here are some available players (several are injured):

Juan Abreu
Jordan Brown
Bobby Brownlie
Matt Fox
Alan Horne
Kei Igawa
Chuck Lofgren
Daniel Mayora
Eduardo Morlan
Chris Nicoll
Jay Rainville
James Skelton
Tim Stauffer
Wade Townsend
Philippe Valiquette
Donald Veal
Ryan Wagner
Kyle Waldrop

Week in Review: 11/16 – 11/22

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More trades and a few signings over the past week, let’s dive right in:

  • The Royals continued their busy offseason when they acquired Coco Crisp from the Red Sox in exchange for Ramon Ramirez. Crisp gives the Royals some much-needed OBP and speed, but I don’t understand why the Royals are breaking up one of their strengths from 2008 by trading away their bullpen. If Moore can find a way to trade for some more established bullpen help, I’ll like this trade a lot more. I give the edge to the Royals in this deal, but you have to like the flexibility this gives Boston with their pitchers. Here’s some additional reactions.
  • The Cubs opened up the checkbook and re-signed Ryan Dempster to four-year, $52MM contract this week. I honestly thought Dempster would sign for much more than this wherever he wound up, as it’s only $4MM more than Carlos Silva received in 2007. Dempster put up a great 2008, but it’s hard to imagine him repeating those numbers for 2009. I wasn’t a Dempster believer, so it’ll take a strong repeat in 2009 to convince me that this is a good signing. Additional reactions on this one here.
  • The Giants signed Jeremy Affeldt to a two-year, $8MM deal. I’m not as much of a fan of Affeldt as Tim is, but this is still a nice, surprisingly affordable signing. If Affeldt gets a shot at starting, as suggested in these additional reactions, I like the move even more, though I understand the importance of San Francisco improving their ’pen.
  • Mike Mussina officially retired this past week. Moose went out on top after finally getting a 20-win season. Congratulations to Mussina on an great career.
  • One guy who’s not retiring is Pedro Martinez. He told the media he’ll pitch in 2009 this week. Does he have anything left though?
  • Philles fans got some disastrous news this week, when it was reported that Chase Utley will be on the shelf for 4-6 months following hip surgery. How will this affect their moves in the offseason?
  • The White Sox signed Cuban third baseman Dayan Viciedo to a four-year, $11MM contract. I absolutely love this signing for the Sox. The potential for a bat of his quality and that price are outstanding.
  • It’s five years or nothing for A.J. Burnett. So far, no one’s stepped up with that kind of offer. Who’s going to make the offer?
  • The Cubs are looking at Mark Teahen to fill their right field vacancy. Will they part with Sean Marshall in order to get him?
  • The Astros need to trim payroll, and are looking at moving both Ty Wigginton and Jose Valverde.
  • The Twins are still talking with Casey Blake, and making progress, though no formal offer has been issued yet. Minnesota is one of eight clubs with interest.
  • Orioles Notes: While they’re not major names, the Orioles signed Brad Hennessey and Donnie Murphy to minor league deals this week, and are looking at Cesar Izturis to play shortstop for 2009.

Darvish Wants 200 Wins In Japan

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Don’t look for Yu Darvish to be pitching in America any time soon. Patrick at NPB Tracker speculates that Darvish might actually be thankful for Junichi Tazawa taking some of the MLB spotlight and speculation off of him.

Darvish told a crowd of over 43,000 fans that he "isn’t dreaming of Major League Baseball," and wants to win 200 games in his Japanese career. He’s got a ways to go, but he’s about 25% of the way there with 48 career NPB wins.

Darvish, 22, has posted a 31-9 record with a 1.85 ERA and 418 Ks through 408.1 IP in the past two seasons. He also said he would accept an invitation to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Rogers’ Latest: Royals/Cubs, Peavy, Phillies

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Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has an interesting piece covering many topics throughout MLB:

  • The Royals are specifically eyeing Sean Marshall and Mike Fontenot as targets while discussing a trade for Mark Teahen with the Chicago Cubs. We’ve heard some conflicting reports recently about whether or not this trade was actually being talked about. Teahen could fill the Cubs’ right field vacancy, but his offensive struggles since moving to the outfield have been well-documented.
  • Houston could still be a dark-horse candidate for Jake Peavy. Roy Oswalt has been telling Peavy the two of them could make Houston contenders together. I can’t see a sensible package coming from Houston without opening new holes, however.
  • The Phillies don’t plan on making any drastic moves, despite Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz undergoing surgery.
  • The Dodgers and Tigers are both interested in Orlando Cabrera.

Other Suitors For Sabathia, Rodriguez, Fuentes

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post offers some potential spoilers for the Yankees and Mets in regards to C.C. Sabathia and closers Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes.

Sherman suggests that Sabathia could wind up in an Angels uniform if Mark Teixeira isn’t re-signed. Owner Arte Moreno won’t wait around for Scott Boras’s games, and has stated that he’ll make an offer with a time limit. If Teixeira can’t be had, the Angels will likely shift their focus to Sabathia.

Sherman likens this situation to that of the 2004 Astros, who waited until mid-January for Boras and Carlos Beltran to decide on the Mets. That loss crippled the Astros’ offseason, as their #2 and #3 targets had by that point been signed. Sherman feels Moreno won’t make that mistake. Sabathia has pointed out a strong desire to pitch in the National League and/or on the West Coast:

He has placed a value on either the NL and/or West Coast, and could take less to fill at least one of those desires. How? Remember that Johan Santana’s current pitching record deal of six years at $137.5 million is loaded with deferrals that make the real present-day annual average not $22.92 million, but $20.66 million. So maybe a West Coast team only has to beat that lower annual total.

Sherman also feels the Brewers could swoop in and snatch up a top-tier closer away from the Mets. The Brewers have shown a willingness to pay for this position (offering Francisco Cordero a four-year, $40MM contract, and then signing Eric Gagne to a one-year, $10MM deal when Cordero went to the Reds). Sherman offers a scenario where the Ben Sheets accepts the Brewers’ arbitration offer to re-build his reputation on a one-year, $15MM deal, which could alleviate the need for starting pitching and lead to the Brewers signing a top-tier closer.

With the Angels freeing up a lot of money, and Salomon Torres telling the Brewers he’s hanging it up, both of these situations seem plausible, particularly the Brewers scenario if you ask this guy. What does everyone else think? Can the Angels really land Sabathia?

Cafardo’s Latest: Teixeira, Ramirez, Baldelli, Furcal

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The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo has a new article up with a few Red Sox rumors, and one for Oakland:

  • Cafardo thinks Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez will not change jerseys this offseason because, while their teams might struggle to afford them, they can’t afford to lose them. Teixeira is the protection and future replacement for Vladimir Guerrero that they have been seeking for a long time. He doesn’t rule out the Yankees however.
  • Rocco Baldelli could be Coco Crisp’s replacement as Boston’s fourth outfielder.  Cafardo says Baldelli met with the Red Sox last week.
  • He continues to hit on the Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis or Nate Robertson deal, but now suggests Theo Epstein may also eat some of Lugo’s salary and deal him elsewhere.
  • The A’s are looking closely at Rafael Furcal.

Mark Teixeira Rumors: Sunday

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To recap: Teixeira told Erin Andrews on Thursday that he wants to have it finished before Christmas, according to Mike Scarr of mlb.com. It’s reasonable to anticipate the winter meetings, December 8-11, to be a suitable high profile venue  for Boras to break the news. The Angels are preparing an offer for Mark Teixeira, perhaps with a deadline. If he doesn’t accept it, they may make a move for Jake Peavy. The Yankees are "set to be aggressive" if they only land one of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, or Derek Lowe. The Red Sox are apparently "lusting" for him, but are otherwise hush-hush, a sign that they might offer Teixeira the biggest contract in club history, predicts Tony Masarotti of the Boston Herald.

Teixeira seems to be leaning towards East Coast teams, says Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register. Says Youngman,

"I don’t think it will be with the Angels. If he were going to re-sign in Anaheim, I think it already would have happened. Just a gut feeling. Even the people I talk to in the organization don’t seem optimistic. Teixeira would be ridiculed if he signed with perpetual losers such as the Baltimore Orioles or Washington Nationals, so my guess is he’ll sign with the Boston Red Sox."

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo thinks Teixeira will wind up with the Angels because, while the Angels might struggle to afford him, they simply can’t afford to lose him.

With Billingsley Hurt, Dodgers Eyeing Peavy?

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Chad Billingsley slipped on ice, fell, and broke his leg according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, spreading the Dodgers rotation thin as it stands.

"How this will affect the Dodgers’ maneuverings in the free-agent and trade markets, if at all, is… uncertain. General Manager Ned Colletti was unavailable for comment Saturday night. With [Derek] Lowe and [Brad] Penny expected to sign elsewhere and Greg Maddux likely to retire, the Dodgers’ rotation at this point consists of only Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw."

Hernandez reports the Dodgers are saying he’ll be ready for spring training. Buster Olney thinks that’s what you say when you might suddenly be re-interested in front-end rotation depth, namely Jake Peavy.

The Dodgers had previously lost interest when Kevin Towers asked for a package including Billingsley.

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