Halama Hopes To Sign With Brewers
John Halama hopes to sign a minor league deal with the Brewers by early next week, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Halama's agent said his client "would love to reunite with both [Ken] Macha and [Rick] Peterson." Halama, 37, will take the mound for Aguilas tonight in the Dominican Republic.
Earlier this month, the Blue Jays were named as one team with an eye on Halama. Halama pitched in the Independent League this year and also tossed 90.3 Triple A innings for the Braves.
Heyman On Gonzalez, Wellemeyer, Rivera
SI's Jon Heyman kicks off his newest column with thoughts on his top 50 free agents. A few highlights from the list and elsewhere in the column…
- Via Twitter Heyman says Mets GM Omar Minaya likes Luis Castillo more than any of the 29 other teams do.
- Heyman groups the Cubs in as a possible Matt Holliday suitor, which does not seem feasible given the team's payroll situation.
- Lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez has "drawn interest from as many as 15 teams."
- A new name on the Brewers' radar as a "No. 5-type guy": Todd Wellemeyer.
- Heyman speaks of "indications the Angels might be willing to trade outfielder Juan Rivera." One such indication popped up earlier this month when Ken Davidoff said the Angels and Tigers discussed a Curtis Granderson deal. Rivera had a solid year – .287/.332/.478 – and has $9.5MM remaining over two years.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wood, Sheets, Bradley, Wagner
On this date two years ago, Mike Lowell re-signed with the Red Sox for three-years, $37.5MM. In this first two years of the deal, Lowell has taken in $25.5MM, and according to his WAR has been worth $19.9MM. In '10, Lowell will be 36 as he enters the final year of his deal. Today is the first day of free agency, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Howard Megdal and Chris Pummer of The Perpetual Post debate the Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe signings of a year ago.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham looks which teams might be interested in trading for Kerry Wood.
- Jorge Says No! look at which teams might be a good fit for Ben Sheets, with eight teams that could be in the hunt.
- The Sports Banter ranks the top free agents.
- MetsCitiBlog doesn't see the Mets signing Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, and feels they should set their sights on Adrian Gonzalez.
- UmpBump is running a series on what each team needs this off-season. Here is the Giants.
- Bleacher Nation wonders why the Braves aren't rumored to be in on the Milton Bradley sweepstakes.
- Baseball Time In Arlington thinks there should be plenty of money in the budget to bring back Bradley.
- 10 Scoreless projects the Twins' roster for next season.
- MLB Notebook looks at what it would take for the Mariners to compete next season.
- The Pinstriper makes some free agent predictions, with Billy Wagner ending up with the Rays.
- River Ave Blues breaks down what Hideki Matsui is worth to the Yankees.
- Sox and Pinstripes discusses the ramifications of a salary cap in baseball from the point of view of a Yankees fan.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Royals Sign Jorge Campillo
The Royals signed righty Jorge Campillo to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. Campillo was limited to 9.3 pro innings in the Braves organization this year due to shoulder issues, and elected free agency a month ago. In 2008 he logged 158.6 innings with a 3.91 ERA, making 25 starts.
Discussion: Derek Lowe’s Value
Braves righty Derek Lowe makes for an interesting discussion topic. Lowe is owed $45MM over the next three years, and is widely known to be on the trading block. The Braves seem unwilling to eat significant salary. There are arguments on both sides of the fence as to Lowe's value.
On one side we've got Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports saying the Braves are finding Lowe difficult to trade. The financial commitment is significant, and I must note that Lowe's strikeout, walk, and groundball rates moved in the wrong direction this year. I think the free agent market offers plenty of mid-rotation options at one year and less than $10MM.
How about the other side? In that same Rosenthal piece, he writes that the Braves feel that if Lowe were a free agent, only John Lackey would be in higher demand among starters. And maybe Lowe at 3/45 is better than Lackey at 5/80 (or whatever).
Other pro-Lowe points from MLB.com's Mark Bowman: he took pressure off the other Braves' starters, he's durable, and he had a 3.88 ERA this year if you subtract his worst three starts. (In fairness, we can play that game with anyone – Jon Garland's ERA drops from 4.01 to 3.24 if we remove his worst three). Frankie Piliere of AOL FanHouse sides with Bowman, saying, "Don't expect teams to be any less impressed with Lowe than they were when he was free agent last offseason." And while I pointed out that Lowe's numbers declined this year, it should also be noted that his .333 BABIP and subsequent 232 hits allowed might be a reflection of the Braves' shaky infield defense aside from Yunel Escobar. Plus, one year isn't a big sample.
The bottom line for me is that Lowe certainly has value as a pitcher, but he's also overpaid in this market. What's your take?
Chien-Ming Wang Open To Dodgers
Chien-Ming Wang appears open to pitching for the Dodgers if the Yankees cut him loose, according to a Taiwanese report passed along by Diamond Leung. Reporters brought up the Dodgers idea and Wang replied, "Not bad" and talked about his comfort pitching for Joe Torre. Whether the Dodgers are interested, we don't know.
Wang is nearly certain to be non-tendered by the Yankees after having surgery in July to repair a torn ligament in his shoulder capsule. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote earlier this month that the Yankees might not even offer an incentive-based contract after non-tendering Wang.
Keith Law’s Top 50 Free Agents
Keith Law's Top 50 Free Agents list is up at ESPN, and as always it's a must-read (Insider required and recommended). A few lines from his capsules that caught my eye…
- Randy Wolf is viewed as "much more of a No. 4 starter than a No. 2."
- 19-year-old Cuban lefty Noel Arguelles ranks tenth overall, with Law suggesting he'll top an $8MM contract.
- Law considers Mike Gonzalez the best available reliever, ranking him a few spots ahead of Rafael Soriano. He says Soriano "should be looking for K-Rod money, given his skill set and track record." Law is also a fan of hard-throwing Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi. He's not terribly high on Jose Valverde, ranking him 36th.
- Law does not see Marlon Byrd as a starter on a contending club.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Orioles, Padres, Lo Duca
Let's round up some leftover Thursday links….
- The Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin spoke to Joe Urbon, Jason Bay's agent. Urbon suggested that discussion would continue with the Red Sox, but that interest in his client so far has been "extraordinary."
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times warns Mariners fans not to get too excited about rumors of a three-way deal involving Brandon Morrow and the Tigers' Edwin Jackson. He thinks Morrow could be a valuable trade chip for Seattle though.
- In a Baltimore Sun column, Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly point out that the Baltimore Orioles' lack of big contract commitments puts them in a great spot if they want to pursue free agents this winter. The article also examines what players the Orioles might go after.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock writes that the San Diego Padres could have a little bit of "wiggle room" to sign players this winter, though their payroll will once again be minuscule.
- The Mets need to take the same approach this offseason that the Yankees did last year, according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.
- Marty Noble shares his own thoughts about the Mets' offseason strategy in his latest MLB.com mailbag.
- Paul Lo Duca wants to make a comeback after spending last year out of the league. Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News passes on the comments Lo Duca made on Sirius XM about returning.
- The Chicago Cubs might not be done moving arbitration-eligible players to save money, according to the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson recaps some of the big names that the Washington Nationals have already been linked to this month.
- Speaking of Ladson, be sure to follow him on Twitter for the latest Nats updates.
Marlins Rumors: Gload, Paulino
After declining his option earlier in the month, the Florida Marlins have offered Ross Gload a lesser contract, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Spencer indicates the offer is similar to the one that Wes Helms signed with the Marlins last winter, which was a two-year deal worth $1.9MM. The option that the Marlins turned down was for $2.6MM.
Gload hit .261/.329/.400 as a pinch-hitter and occasional starter for Florida in 2009, and stated previously that he'd like to stay with the Marlins. As of midnight tonight, of course, any team will be able to negotiate with Gload.
Later in his article, Spencer adds Ronny Paulino's name to the ever-growing list of Marlins players that teams have looked into acquiring. Ricky Nolasco, Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, and Cody Ross have also "received nibbles."
Rockies Notes: Atkins, Barmes
The Colorado Rockies will keep Garrett Atkins on their 40-man roster for now, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Not releasing Atkins yet will give the Rockies a few more weeks to attempt to trade him, before the non-tender date of December 12th (coincidentally, Atkins' 30th birthday).
Renck mentions that interested teams, such as the Rangers and Orioles, have been reluctant to deal for the corner infielder, since the Rockies will almost certainly be forced to part ways with him anyway. Atkins is in his final year of arbitration, and made $7.05MM in 2009. After losing his starting role last season, Atkins isn't worth nearly that much to Colorado. This move, however, suggests the club is still hoping to salvage some return, rather than letting him go for nothing.
In the same piece, Renck mentions that the Rockies have started discussing a multi-year contract with Clint Barmes. The Rockies are hoping to sign Barmes, who earned about $1.6MM last year, to a two-year deal with a club option for a third year.