Astros Not Pursuing Dunn
MONDAY: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talked to Astros GM Ed Wade, who said Dunn "was never an item of discussion for us." The Astros are also not involved on Bobby Abreu. The Astros don’t have money to spend and would use it on pitching if they did.
SUNDAY: According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, the Astros may be planning to offer Adam Dunn a one-year contract before camp begins. Rogers writes,
"Dunn, a 40-homer man for five straight seasons, would allow the Astros to move Hunter Pence to center field and Michael Bourn to the bench. That would mean a huge lift to run-production. Dunn has multi-year offers on the table, including one from Washington, but clearly isn’t crazy about them."
It remains to be seen whether Dunn would seriously consider a one-year deal or not. For a recap, here’s a write up on the market for the unsigned slugger.
Ken Griffey Jr. Rumors: Monday
C. Trent Rosecrans of 1530 Homer spoke to Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent Brian Goldberg today. Goldberg expects Griffey to have a deal this time next week. He added that two teams are more serious than the others.
The Rays contacted Goldberg early in the offseason, but were upfront that they preferred to sign a younger player. The Pat Burrell signing took them out of the running.
A-Rod Admits To Steroid Use, Apologizes
Alex Rodriguez spoke to ESPN’s Peter Gammons, admitting to steroid use during 2001-03 only while with the Rangers.
Odds and Ends: Wigginton, Prior, Andruw
Links for Monday…
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are "bringing Ty Wigginton back for further examination this week."
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune snagged this Mark Prior quote: "If Kurt Warner can disappear for five years, I can disappear for three."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs points out that a Jermaine Dye career path is Andruw Jones‘ best case scenario.
- Baseball America has a run-down of all the minor league transactions between January 31 and February 6.
- Athletics Nation wonders if the A’s could bring Mark Mulder in to fill a lefty reliever role.
- I did a Q&A with We Should Be GMs.
Cardinals Release Adam Kennedy
According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals have released Adam Kennedy. They’ll still be responsible for his $4MM salary. The move was "apparently made at the strong urging of manager Tony La Russa," who didn’t want Kennedy to be his starting second baseman.
Skip Schumaker has been working out at second base, and could play there if the Cards don’t add anyone to replace Kennedy. Strauss mentions Brendan Ryan and a few others as possible competitors for the job.
This is good news for Orlando Hudson, who has another possible bidder for his services.
Chass On Griffey, Burrell, Orlando Cabrera
The latest from Murray Chass, who seems to be doing just fine without being employed by a newspaper…
- MLB "negotiated a new line of credit for $125MM, from which clubs can borrow." I’d like to learn more about the topic – which teams are borrowing, if any?
- Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent Brian Goldberg does not think the economy is a factor in his client remaining unsigned. Goldberg said, "Junior’s salary expectations have been modest from the beginning. He’s realistic." Perhaps Griffey is not seeking $5-6MM after all? Goldberg says he continues to talk to the same four teams about Griffey.
- Scott Boras says Pat Burrell "took a bad deal" when he signed for two years and $16MM on January 5th. Boras says Burrell’s contract froze the market for corner outfielders.
- One additional possible explanation for Orlando Cabrera remaining unsigned: a baseball person described him as a "very caustic guy in the locker room." Cabrera’s Type A status is probably the larger issue.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
Interesting note yesterday from ESPN’s Peter Gammons, related to the Manny Ramirez negotiations:
Scott Boras has put the heat on Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and there has been no love lost. The L.A. scouting department has been told it will not draft Boras clients come June.
Gammons adds that the Giants "may well be seriously considering constructing a three-year package for Manny."
Ramirez recently spoke with Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, and the slugger described his situation this way:
"We’re in the seventh inning and I’m waiting for my pitch."
Giants Offer Contract To Joe Crede?
MONDAY: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle weighed in on the Giants’ reported offer to Crede:
While I have no reason to doubt its accuracy, since special assistant Ron Schueler watched Crede’s workout and provided a good report, I have been told the Giants are not counting on a deal with Crede and expect to move forward with Travis Ishikawa or John Bowker at first base and Pablo Sandoval at third, unless something else comes along. General manager Brian Sabean said Saturday he explored some trades last week that went nowhere. One report had Crede seeking $7MM for one season. If the Giants did make an offer, I’d guess the guarantee was for less than half that.
It’s also possible that the Giants will have Rich Aurilia back in the mix; they have a minor league offer out to him.
SATURDAY: Kim Coyle of CBS 5 in San Francisco reports that the Giants have offered Joe Crede a one-year contract. The terms of the contract were not made available. The Twins have shown an interest in Crede as well, though there have been no reports of a contract offer from them.
Rangers Have Crowded Outfield
Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that the Rangers have six candidates for the outfield: Josh Hamilton, Andruw Jones, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Frank Catalanotto, and Marlon Byrd. Is a trade in order?
Hamilton is a lock for one spot, and last I read the Rangers were intent on giving the out of options Cruz regular work (perhaps even in center field). We may be looking at Jones, Murphy, Catalanotto, and Byrd battling for two spots.
The commitment to Catalanotto is ugly: $4MM in ’09 plus another $2MM for his ’10 buyout. The contract plus his ability to play first base may keep him in Texas unless he can be swapped for another contract.
Jones could be cut if he doesn’t impress in Spring Training, or he could opt out on March 20th if he doesn’t like the way his role is shaping up. Rangers president Nolan Ryan seems quite fond of Murphy.
Byrd seems the likeliest trade candidate, especially if Jones makes the team. Sherman likes Byrd as a center field stopgap for the Yankees; he’s earning $3.06MM in his last year before free agency. The Cubs were after him a year ago, but seem filled up now. The White Sox could make sense but have not been connected to Byrd in rumors.
Edgardo Alfonzo Headed To Japan
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passed along a Sponichi report yesterday: Edgardo Alfonzo will sign with the Yomiuri Giants. The AP says he’ll earn $380K. Alfonzo, 35, played for independent league teams the last few years. He hit .280/.355/.379 in the Venezuelan Winter League recently, winning the league’s Comeback Player Of The Year award.