Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe spoke to Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan who talked about free agent pickups Mike Cameron and Adrian Beltre. Let's take a look at his news and notes from around the majors:
- Free agent pitcher Jarrod Washburn could have a suitor in the Milwaukee Brewers. Back in November the lefty said that the Brewers were one of the teams "on his radar". Cafardo also writes that none of the free agent pitchers on the market should expect a commitment similar to Randy Wolf's three-year, $30MM deal.
- Meanwhile, Jon Garland could be a fit for the Giants, who are still looking to add a starter, although we heard otherwise on Friday this week. Recently we heard that the Dodgers contacted his agent, though they still appear to be hamstrung by their financial situation.
- Cafardo believes that Scott Boras played a role in MLB and the players' union coming down on the Marlins' thin payroll. Boras told him during the general managers' meetings in November that the Marlins were pocketing their revenue-sharing and central-fund sourcing money. Meanwhile, Cafardo wonders aloud how the Pirates have avoided similar scrutiny from the union and MLB.
Randy Wolf shouldn’t have even expected a commitment similar to Randy Wolf’s 3 year 30MM haha
Everyone thought the “Economics” had changed, that is why teams signed players to higher contracts fast.
Abreu and Randy Wolf benefited by it, they accepted their offers fast. Their agents read the market correctly.
i would like to see garland as the giants 5th starter so they can have madbum start in AAA or the bullpen if they can’t sign some bullpen help. i’d really like to see kiko in the pullpen along with garland in the rotation.
Very, very easy. You’re a contending team, you need to spend. The Fish are contenders in that division, easily. The Phillies do look like clear favorites, but that doesn’t mean the Braves or Marlins (or even the Mets, but they’ve got major holes), couldn’t break through and take the WC, or maybe even supplant the phillies for the division title.
The Pirates are in a totally different boat, signing even Matt Holliday or John Lackey wouldn’t push them into contending range. They’re not one FA away from contending, and keeping one of their former players like Bay/Sanchez/LaRoche/Wilson/Nady/McLouth wouldn’t have made them a contender (actually, they weren’t a contender with all of those guys on the team).
I think the bigger reason is the new Pirates regime has shown a willingness to spend in the draft and international free agency. No maybe they don’t get the biggest names but they have spent almost $20 million in the draft over the last two years, I believe that is the highest in baseball. I think its harder to make the case the Pirates are “pocketing” the money compared to the Marlins.
Why wouldnt the Mets be in on either Washburn or Garland? Aside from Santana, those guys are better than anything the Mets have this year.
Washburn and Garland were not so impressive last year, that is probably the reason they have not been signed yet. There agents are looking for big money and multiple years which they should, that is there job. Wolf pitched very well last year, he was healthy, and he left a lot of games with the lead, only to end up with nodecision. He also has a lifetime 18 more wins then losses. Of course with his history of injuries it could seem like an awful long contract if he is injured.I guess the brewers are moving on from Ben Sheets.
I hope that the O’s add Garland, especially if Bedard’s med records don’t pan out