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Archives for January 2009

Perrotto’s Latest: Ramirez, Lowe

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Every Sunday we read John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday:

  • The Giants may be considering two offers for Manny Ramirez. One for two years "with vesting and club options that could make it a four-year, $100MM contract." The other for 3 years, $63MM, with no options.
  • Derek Lowe has not given up on a five-year, $80MM offer, although that remains doubtful.
  • Barry Bonds had hip surgery and wants to return in 2009. Some still speculate he will pursue collusion charges.
  • Tony La Russa is considering using Chris Carpenter as a closer.

Olney’s Latest: Peavy, Braves, Lowe, Sheets

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More from Buster Olney’s notes from around the majors:

  • The Braves were so close to completing a trade a for Jake Peavy in November that they may want to revisit talks. Says Olney, "What they could do, if they are intent on contending in 2009, would be to sign Orlando Cabrera as a stop-gap at shortstop for 2009, and then deal [Yunel] Escobar in the package for Peavy." He also suggests the Braves give up on their refusal to give Peavy a no-trade provision for the entire length of his contract as that’s been a sticking point. Landing Peavy under any circumstances is a move their own players would support, even if he was given special treatment.
  • Derek Lowe may have missed out on the big money when the Yankees signed A.J. Burnett for 5 years, $82.5MM over him. Lowe’s highest offer is $36MM.
  • Olney says "there are more starting pitchers available than there are big-money offers available, so the Mets are bound to wind up with a good free agent pitcher."
  • Olney reports several teams are concerned about Ben Sheets’ medical reports; however, it’s his shoulder, not his elbow, that’s worrisome.
  • Pure speculation: "Jason Giambi will sign with Oakland, Pat Burrell will land with Tampa Bay."

Five Teams Interested In Griffey

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Five teams have expressed interest in Ken Griffey Jr., according to Jon Heyman who confirms the Rays and Mariners are two of them. One other AL team and two NL clubs comprise the five.

For Griffey, Seattle would be a nostalgic return; however, the Rays would provide the convenience of playing two hours from his Orlando home. Writes Heyman,

"Griffey always has been a dedicated family man, so the convenience would appeal to him. The Rays are looking for one or two hitters, and while Griffey’s on their list, a couple other younger players, such as Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, and perhaps Jason Giambi or Garrett Anderson may be higher on it. Adam Dunn is another big hitter in a free-agent market still stacked with sluggers."

The Kid is 39 years old. Despite hitting 15 homeruns for the Reds, he parked only 3 after being dealt to the White Sox. He hit only .249 last season with an OPS of .777. His agent, Brian Goldberg, says the low output was due to a hidden knee injury he suffered after tripping "over a misplaced foot locker in the Reds clubhouse," says Heyman; however, this excuse doesn’t build any confidence in his ability to stay healthy. Griffey could come at a bargain for a team looking for a short term solution at DH.

Olney’s Latest: Andruw Jones

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Buster Olney says that despite the Dodgers’ restructuring of Andruw Jones’ contract, serious regression in his abilities has resulted in minimal interest around the league. The Reds are not a good fit and the Mets aren’t interested. Regression may be directly related to a weight increase that could jeopardize his career. Olney writes,

"There is not a lot of confidence in the minds of evaluators that Jones is a candidate for a body transformation… he has never been known as a workout freak… he has looked bad in winter ball this year, reports one highly ranked executive.

The Dodgers will probably end up releasing him before spring training, and somebody will give him a chance — and he needs to show something, in a hurry, because there is a perception within the industry that he might be finished, despite his age, despite the fact that he slammed 41 homers in 2006."

Jones is owed only $5MM next season.

Odds & Ends: Rockies, Iguchi, Indians

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Some odds and ends for a quiet Sunday morning:

  • Troy E. Renck notes that after acquiring Jason Marquis, arbitration is going to result in a slight payroll increase of $5MM for the Rockies.
  • From Kyodo News: The Lotte Marines will begin talks with Tadahito Iguchi on Wednesday in Okinawa.
  • Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe points out that the Red Sox prefer short, low cost, low risk contracts for established talent (i.e. Wade Miller, Bartolo Colon, and now Brad Penny) rather than large free agent contracts for pitchers.
  • Keith Law says the Indians got Mark DeRosa for cheap, adding that a ".285/.365/.440 line is well within reason."

Manny Ramirez Rumors: Saturday

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10:11pm: Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Giants want to wait until the corner outfield market is "more precisely defined" before pursuing Manny. He adds that the Giants are unlikely to enter a bidding war so they need more financial flexibility than usual from Boras.

10:45am: Buster Olney adds that rival executives have "major doubts" about the Giants’ willingness to spend enough to sign Manny, especially in the midst of a recession. Olney points out that trading Randy Winn or Aaron Rowand to clear payroll would likely yield very little in the current market.

9:13am: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle carefully summarizes the Giants’ interest in Manny Ramirez to kick off the day’s Manny rumors.

Schulman reminds us that the Giants have talked with Scott Boras about Manny and writes that this is "not another case of Boras just trying to drum up another suitor."

That said, their interest is far from "an all-out assault on Ramirez in a bid to get him." They’re simply intrigued.

Like any team at this point in the year, the Giants are apparently considering other free agents and "trying to make trades." In other words, they’re interested, but they have other options.

Lowe Rejected Offer, Wants $16MM Per Year

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Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog passes on some comments made tonight by Jon Heyman on the MLB Network’s Hot Stove Live.

  • According to Heyman, Derek Lowe rejected the Mets’ three year $36MM offer because he hopes to sign a deal worth $16MM per season.
  • The Phillies and Braves are the Mets’ biggest competitors for Lowe.
  • The Red Sox and a mystery team are also involved.

Later on in the show, Mets GM Omar Minaya confirmed interest in Lowe, Randy Wolf and others. Cerrone notes that Minaya did not mention Oliver Perez.

More On Aaron Miles

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Some interesting facts are mentioned in Derrick Goold’s article about Aaron Miles’ departure from St. Louis.

Apparently, the Cardinals were prepared to offer $4.3MM themselves – only $600,000 less than the Cubs. What drew Miles to Chicago, however, was a more sincere interest demonstrated by Cub management. As reported previously, the Cardinals waited until the last minute to give Miles their offer. Goold suggests that offer was delayed by dealings with Adam Kennedy.

Jones Doesn’t Fit In Cincinnati

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John Fay has an update that addresses the recent rumors suggesting newly available Andruw Jones might be headed to the Reds–in short, Fay doesn’t see it happening.

As for reasons specific to the club, the Reds just picked up Willy Taveras to play center field, which is Jones’ position. Taveras’ status with the club makes it extremely unlikely that Jones would have a starting role, which he is apparently looking for.

More generally, Fay cites Jones’ rapidly declining OPS as a reason for the Reds to stay away. Unfortunately for Jones, that reason to stay away applies for every team.

Olney on Moorad, Peavy, Hoffman

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Buster Olney looks at the fallout for the Padres now that former D’Backs CEO Jeff Moorad has agreed in principle to buy the club with the help of some investors.

  • Will the new ownership retain Kevin Towers? Moorad once interviewed the Padres GM for a job with the D’Backs and, as Olney points out, Towers has an "excellent reputation within the industry" so his chances of keeping his job seem good.
  • The sale could give the Padres the financial stability to take Jake Peavy off the market. Peter Gammons wrote today that Cubs GM Jim Hendry "hasn’t given up" on Peavy.
  • Olney suggests it’s possible this change could spark a reconciliation with Trevor Hoffman.
  • Padres CEO Sandy Alderson’s future isn’t certain anymore and neither is Paul DePodesta’s.

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