Braves Still In Kawakami Mix?
According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta Braves remain a possible suitor for Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.
The Japan Times has reported that Kawakami had narrowed his choices to the Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals. O’Brien’s report disputes this by saying he spoke Saturday with Kawakami’s agent, who said the Braves were still one of the teams Kawakami had on his list.
D-backs GM, CEO Unlikely To Leave
Despite former CEO Jeff Moorad leaving the Arizona Diamondbacks for San Diego Padres ownership, two of his trusted colleagues will likely not follow him.
Current Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall and general manager Josh Byrnes have small ownership stakes in the Arizona franchise. That will likely keep the duo in place, The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports.
Hall and Byrnes each received contracts that run through 2015. Moorad negotiated both deals, Piecoro added.
Yankees Almost Set To Welcome Teixeira
Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports that the New York Yankees are about to introduce first baseman Mark Teixeira as the newest Yankee. McCarron’s source believes the press conference could be as early as Tuesday.
Teixeira agreed to an eight-year, $180MM contract before Christmas. The deal has not been officially announced because Teixeira must first pass a physical that could be scheduled for Monday, McCarron writes.
Mets Backup Plans for Lowe
Regis Courtemanche of Metsblog.com has a guest blog up at Newsday, discussing the Mets’ backup plans should they fail to sign Derek Lowe.
The Mets have expressed interest in Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland. Courtemanche’s first choice is Wolf.
Wolf posted similar numbers to Perez last year, and Perez is represented by Scott Boras, and will be asking for more years and money than Wolf. Additionally, Wolf is represented by the same agent – Arn Tellem – as Francisco Rodriguez, and is already on good terms with Omar Minaya.
Is not giving Lowe the money he wants really worth the drop-off in quality you might get with any of the backup plans though? Courtemanche doesn’t think so, especially because not going after Lowe leads to the possibility of him landing with the Braves or Phillies, which would harm the Mets even further.
Courtemanche also wonders why there has been no interest shown in Ben Sheets:
His susceptibility to injury is probably why, most notably the shoulder problems he incurred in 2006. Nevertheless, Sheets is much better than any of the above mentioned alternatives since he allows fewer homers, earned runs, and walks. Plus, his five complete games were third in the majors behind Roy Halladay, and his former teammate, C.C. Sabathia. Worth a second look if you ask me.
Braves Notes: Lowe, Jones
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution offers his opinion on what the Braves should do about Andruw Jones and Derek Lowe.
O’Brien actually advocates a minimal signing of Jones, following his inevitable release from the Dodgers. Because of his strong desire to return to Atlanta, O’Brien feels that Jones would take even a minor-league contract with an invite to Spring Training.
What’s the worst that could happen? He’d stink in spring training and the Braves could, once and for all, wash their hands of him. Fans would know they gave him another shot and it didn’t work out…
…Hey, don’t get your hopes up. I wouldn’t count on Jones being more than a shell of what he once was. But it’s probably worth a shot.
O’Brien feels that signing Lowe is almost imperative for the Braves’ chance of being a postseason contender, and feels that having offered A.J. Burnett $80MM, there’s no reason not to spend on Lowe:
If the Braves were willing to throw that kind of money at a pitcher as injury-plagued and relatively unaccomplished as Burnett, then shouldn’t they make at least a four-year-plus-option offer at a similar average salary for Lowe?
It’s hard to fault his logic. Lowe is a reliable workhorse with a nice postseason resume and isn’t anywhere near the injury risk that Burnett is. Lowe’s age may be a deterrent, but should it really be any scarier to a team than Burnett’s health issues?
Kawakami Down To Orioles, Cardinals, Twins
According to Wayne Craczyk of the Japan Times, Kenshin Kawakami has narrowed his options to three teams: the Orioles, Cardinals, and Twins.
Kawakami probably makes the most sense for the Cardinals out of those three. Baltimore isn’t near contention and the Twins already have a nice starting rotation. However, signing Kawakami could allow them to feel more comfortable about trading a young starter.
Odds & Ends: Sabean, Yankees, Reds, Jones
Links for Sunday afternoon…
- Peter Abraham asks if Andruw Jones would be worth a look for the Yankees on a minor league deal… and promptly answers his own question: no. He’d rather see Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner fight it out.
- River Avenue Blues takes a look at why the Yankees and Red Sox saw a drop in the rankings of their farm systems from 2008 to 2009.
- Athletics Nation asks whether or not Brian Sabean is "out-GMing" Billy Beane this offseason with his splashes in the free agent market.
- Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News doesn’t feel like the Reds have done enough to climb out of fifth place. He feels the Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals, and Astros are all still better teams.
Derek Lowe Rumors: Sunday
3:41pm: Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that the Braves are interested in Lowe, but not his price tag. Bowman says the Braves are "keeping tabs on Lowe," but also states that the Braves would be reluctant to even make a larger offer than the three-year, $36MM deal that he rejected from the Mets.
11:44am: Jon Heyman reports the Braves, Phillies, and Red Sox and perhaps the Brewers and Angels are all expressing interest in Derek Lowe. Lowe is still looking for $16MM per year and rejected the Mets offer of 3 years, $36MM, his highest offer to date.
Buster Olney feels Lowe may have missed out on the big money when the Yankees signed A.J. Burnett for 5 years, $82.5MM over him; however, as Heyman points out, Lowe has been far more consistent and durable: "He’s won at least 12 games each of the past seven seasons and thrown at least 199 innings in six of those seven (he threw 182 innings the one year he didn’t reach 199."
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says the Mets are likely to increase their offer.
Week in Review: 12/28 – 1/3
Happy 2009 to everyone out there! Let’s take care of the first Week in Review of the new year…
- The Angels found a replacement for the departed Francisco Rodriguez, when they signed Brian Fuentes to a two-year, $17.5MM deal with a $9MM option for a third. The sudden surplus of closers on the market obviously cost Fuentes, who entered the offseason seeking three years, and $30-40MM. The Angels got him at a nice price. Colorado will receive LA’s #33 pick in the draft.
- It was an insanely busy week for Cubs fans, so let’s go through it all: First, they’re near a swap of Jason Marquis for Luis Vizcaino with the Rockies. That link also has the scoop on their near-agreement with Milton Bradley (more details for that here). Next, they signed Aaron Miles to a two-year, $4.9MM deal. Speculation that this would allow them to trade Mark DeRosa proved to be spot on, as they sent him to the Indians for three minor league pitchers that same day. This is the second questionable trade Hendry has made this offseason; the Kevin Gregg/Jose Ceda trade awhile back was also highly scrutinized. The Cubs get little in return for DeRosa, who was terrific in 2008. Some were hopeful that this move signaled a rekindling of the Jake Peavy talks, but we heard that deal is still unlikely, and this trade was unrelated. Could they be targeting Brian Roberts again to replace some production?
- The Nationals could be competition for the Cubs in the Bradley market, but I highly doubt that. The more interesting piece of info on Washington this week was the report that Lastings Milledge could be trade bait prior to the 2009 season. Milledge was impressive in the second half and is immensely talented; I’d imagine the return would have to be quite nice.
- In other NL East news, the Mets made an offer to Derek Lowe for three years, $36MM. Not surprisingly, Lowe was hardly excited about it. Instead, he’s still said to be seeking $16MM per year. That number seems reachable, but it’s hard to imagine Lowe getting the five years he was initially seeking.
- The Red Sox reached one-year deals with Brad Penny and Josh Bard this week. Penny will receive an incentive-laden salary with a base of $5MM. Bard’s contract isn’t guaranteed, but has a base salary of $1.7MM with another $800K in incentives.
- Arizona signed Chris Snyder to a three-year, $14.25MM extension. Nice signing for the D’Backs. Snyder posted an .800 OPS last year and threw out 29% of attempted base stealers.
- The Giants have emerged as suitors for Manny Ramirez in the past week. We heard they were willing to spend money on C.C. Sabathia, so why not Manny? They need offense more than pitching anyway. San Francisco is said to alse be taking a look at Joe Crede.
- The White Sox and Orioles are discussing a potential swap of Brian Roberts for Gavin Floyd. Not sure I understand this one from Chicago’s perspective. They’ve trying to get younger, and are now looking to deal one of their best young players from 2008 for one year of Roberts?
- The Dodgers reworked Andruw Jones’ contract to lower his salary for 2009 to $5MM and give him the $15MM he’s owed over the next five years. The Dodgers will look to trade Jones, who was downright awful in 2008. I can’t imagine much interest given his last two seasons, but if he somehow rebounded, you’d have a massive bargain on your hands and a sure candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.
- We learned the terms of Willy Taveras’ contract with the Reds: two years, $6.25MM.
Gregg Zaun Interested In Boston
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Gregg Zaun would love to play for the Red Sox. In Cafardo’s interview with the catcher, Zaun said,
"I’d love it. My agent has had ongoing talks with Boston and I would love to see that happen. I feel one of the things I have going in my favor is being in Toronto for so long I have a deep knowledge of the AL East. I would also love the challenge of playing in Boston, where every day you go to the ballpark it’s a meaningful game and you’re fighting for something. That atmosphere, I’m telling you, there’s nothing like it, and to be a part of that would be unbelievable. I played for Tito [Terry Francona] back in the Arizona Fall League… Tito has been watching me a long time."
Zaun, 37, finished with six homeruns and a .340 OBP in 2008 while losing his starting job to Rod Barajas. In comparison, Jason Varitek is 36 and finished with a .313 OBP last season. Zaun has received a few offers but nothing from Boston.