Pettitte Rejects Yankees’ Offer
4:39pm: Joel Sherman says the Yankees are "strongly inclined to lower the $10MM offer" made to Pettitte now that he’s rejected it. A deal seems unlikely, though moving some salary might compel the Yanks to put the $10MM offer back on the table.
3:34pm: Sam Borden, attending the Mark Teixeira press conference, said Hal Steinbrenner "did not seem particularly optimistic" about re-signing Pettitte.
TUESDAY, 10:17am: John Harper and Ken Rosenthal are both saying the Yankees haven’t closed the door on signing Pettitte. Brian Cashman has talked to Pettitte’s agents recently, according to Harper. He adds that the Yanks "seem determined to draw the line at $10 million."
MONDAY, 10:18pm: According to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, Andy Pettitte rejected the Yankees’ one-year, $10MM offer. The Yanks could certainly find a useful free agent arm for a similar price, or else just go with internal options. But one more veteran in the rotation could go a long way.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Tuesday
4:35pm: Brian Sabean was on MLB Home Plate’s The Show with Rob Dibble and Jody MacDonald on XM 175 today. His comment on Manny:
"In our case I’m not sure yet. We’re monitoring the situation. We’ve had talks. We have not made an offer. We’ve talked in parameters of what would be yearwise. It would have to be a perfect fit dollarwise and more so what we’re doing to try and build this thing going forward on a younger basis. It’s actually not what we’re looking for, except that he’s such a profound middle of the order hitter. Which we need."
4:16pm: According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark:
According to one source familiar with the Giants’ thinking, just about every recent rumor connecting the Giants with Manny is "unfounded" or "baloney." "If a million things came together over the next few weeks, would it be possible? Maybe," the source told ESPN.com. "But for where [Boras] is right now and where the team is right now, it doesn’t make sense economically and it doesn’t make sense for how the team fits together."
Boras continues to set the floor at four years and $100MM, a stance which has caused the Dodgers to focus on other needs. Stark’s sources also believe the Giants’ interest in Joe Crede is exaggerated. The team cannot extend payroll to the $100MM range; they’re already around $85MM.
Nationals Rumors: Wolf, Dunn, Hudson
Rounding up Nationals rumors…
- According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals are interested in free agent lefty starter Randy Wolf. The Mets and Dodgers are also known to be in on him, while we haven’t heard much about the Brewers, Cardinals, or Orioles lately.
- The Washington Post’s Chico Harlan says the Nats want to acquire players who will still be in their primes in 2010 or 2011. Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson make sense, at the right price.
- The Nationals aren’t interested in Xavier Nady and don’t believe they "have a legitimate shot at trading for Nick Swisher."
- Odalis Perez remains under consideration, but isn’t a priority.
Scioscia Signs Extension
TUESDAY, 4:06pm: This is getting crazy…MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer says Scioscia’s extension runs through 2018.
MONDAY, 10:35pm: Now DiGiovanna says it runs through at least 2015.
6:55pm: Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times says Scioscia’s extension runs through at least the 2014 season.
3:05pm: According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, Angels manager Mike Scioscia signed a multiyear extension that will run through at least 2012.
Crasnick On Abreu, Eckstein, Bloomquist, Lowry
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a bunch of new info.
- The Braves’ interest in Bobby Abreu is described as "lukewarm at best." And he’d have to be a huge bargain for the Mets to get involved. Abreu’s agent has his work cut out for him.
- Two middle infield possibilities for the Royals: David Eckstein and Willie Bloomquist. The Royals also considered Jerry Hairston Jr., but are concerned with his health record. Also, Dayton Moore continues to deal with payroll limitations.
- The Rangers are "keeping an eye on" Giants starters Noah Lowry and Jonathan Sanchez. Lowry had arthroscopic elbow surgery in September.
Marquis To Rockies Deal Finalized
TUESDAY, 3:21pm: The Marquis for Vizcaino swap has been finalized. Gordon Wittenmyer says the Cubs are sending $875K to the Rockies. Jim Hendry said today he hopes to add another pitcher before Opening Day.
MONDAY, 9:55pm: The Chicago Tribune’s Dave van Dyck says the Cubs are "actively seeking more live arms, whether it be Jake Peavy or another starter to replace the innings of Marquis."
5:05pm: Chicago Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis is close to becoming a Colorado Rockies starter, according to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat.
Muskat believes the deal, which will ship Rockies reliever Luis Vizcaino to the Cubs, will be finalized Tuesday. The move will free up Cubs money for the newly-acquired Milton Bradley.
Marquis (11-9, 4.53 ERA) is scheduled to make $9.875MM in 2009, the final year of the three-year contract he signed with the Cubs in December 2006. The Cubs are expected to pay $1MM of Marquis’ ’09 salary; Vizcaino will make $4MM this year, Muskat continued.
Muskat also notes that moving Marquis does not mean the Cubs will resume talks with the Padres regarding Jake Peavy, but more likely, Sean Marshall will fill the fifth spot in the Cubs’ rotation.
Indians Sign Carl Pavano
2:21pm: Crasnick says the Indians signed Pavano to a one-year deal. He gets $1.5MM guaranteed plus another $5.3MM in possible incentives, according to Troy Renck. Anthony Castrovince says Michael Aubrey was designated for assignment to make room.
12:40pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says Pavano "has also been weighing a possible return to the Marlins," but the Indians are the "clear frontrunner."
12:30pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says the Indians "have emerged as a strong candidate" to sign Pavano. He may seek a contract similar to Hampton’s.
11:03am: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Indians are in serious discussions with free agent starter Carl Pavano. Pavano will visit Cleveland soon and a deal could be wrapped up quickly. We’ll have to see if Pavano can come close to the $2MM guaranteed Mike Hampton received from the Astros.
Yankees Sign Jason Johnson, DFA Duncan
According to Sam Borden, the Yankees signed pitcher Jason Johnson to a minor league deal. He will compete for the fifth starter job. Johnson, 35, is known for his ability to get groundballs.
Also, the accompanying move to the Mark Teixeira signing: Shelley Duncan was designated for assignment.
Brewers Not In On Lowe, Mulder
A couple of Brewers rumors were denied by GM Doug Melvin today.
First up, Ken Rosenthal’s suggestion that the Brewers "are interested in Derek Lowe, but only at a modest price." Melvin said, "We’re not in on him." Next, Nick Cafardo’s rumor that the Brewers are "big on" Mark Mulder. Melvin: "I really haven’t contacted his guy."
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy says the Brewers are not particularly interested in Oliver Perez or Jon Garland, but could re-sign Ben Sheets.
Odds and Ends: Saito, Teixeira, LaRoche
More Tuesday links…
- Over at RotoAuthority, David Chase examines more of the optimistic Spring Training reports of ’08. Particularly interesting: did pitchers follow up on their intention to use a new pitch?
- The Marlins’ Scott Proctor signing is official. Also, Chan Ho Park with the Phillies.
- Carl Pohlad’s three sons will take over for their father.
- McCovey Chronicles trade idea: Randy Winn for Xavier Nady.
- Add Randy Choate to the minor league deals for the Rays.
- Economist J.C. Bradbury says "the economic downturn cannot explain the magnitude of Pat Burrell‘s discount." He believes teams are exaggerating the recession effect.
- Keith Law says the risk in giving Milton Bradley a three-year deal "seems excessive" but notes that Bradley is an excellent hitter and above-average defender.
- Patrick Newman learned that Takashi Saito received almost ten offers last month, including proposals from the Cardinals and Red Sox. Newman also has new reports of various minor league-level Japanese players who want to join MLB organizations.
- Tony Massarotti has all kinds of questions about Boston’s failure to sign Mark Teixeira. Craig Calcaterra offers analysis on the team’s Boras relationship. Check out stuff from today’s Yankees press conference here and here.
- Sox Machine on how Jim Thome staying healthy messed up Ken Williams’ plans.
- Dejan Kovacevic says Adam LaRoche would like to stay in Pittsburgh past ’09, but the team is not considering an extension.