CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban had his weekly A's and Giants-centric chat with fans on Tuesday, and here are the hot stove highlights…
- Urban thinks Giants outfielder Fred Lewis will be "cut loose near the end of camp." Lewis is one of several players who are out of options for 2010.
- Jermaine Dye isn't an option for the Giants. Urban says the veteran slugger turned down an offer of $2MM from an unnamed team, and San Francisco wouldn't offer Dye anything more than that. We already heard that Dye turned down a $3MM offer from the Cubs earlier this winter, so you have to wonder what kind of deal Dye thinks is still out there for him.
- Urban predicts the Giants and Athletics will eventually settle their territorial rights dispute over San Jose and "the San Jose A's will exist within the next 5-10 years." He also wonders why Sacramento has never been seriously considered as a possible new home for the A's.
- The Giants made an offer to Kiko Calero over the winter but Calero signed with the Mets last week. Urban agrees with a commenter that "the Giants did miss the boat" on not locking up the veteran reliever who posted a 1.95 ERA in 2009.
In a separate piece about Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki, Urban said that Suzuki and the A's have had "preliminary talks" about a contract extension. Suzuki is under control through 2013, and will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season. Urban quotes an anonymous AL West executive who says, "Billy [Beane] is way too smart to not lock him up at least through his arbitration years.” The deal might not run futher than that, however, since Urban points out that catching prospect Max Stassi could be ready to take over behind the plate by the time Suzuki is ready to hit free agency.
Yo mark you spelled Sacramento wrong.
Mybe that’s why it wasn’t being considered? Because sacremento doesn’t exist 🙂
Give the guy a break!
I think maybe the A’s should consider Jermaine Dye at $1.5MM. Strictly as a Right-Handed DH though.
Is it possible that the A’s can still be the Oakland A’s if they move to Cisco? Which is obviously in San Jose?
The Tampa Bay Rays are in St. Petersburg right? So Who are the Giants to say anything. They don’t own California. Plus, the A’s deserve the new ballpark.
It would be cool to see the As go to a really unlikely city. Like Las Vagas, Mobile AL, A city in the Carolinas, or Salt Lake City.
They all would probably get better attendence than they do in Oakland.
Charles O’Finley effect. Have the A’s ever drawn since he moved them from KC to Oakland?
We don´t need another declining veteran in SanFran… use those 2 million to lower the ticket pricing
Don’t need another veteran?
But I thought sabean was trying to make a collection??
Is San Jose really a bigger market then oakland?
Maybe not bigger but definitely more affluent.
It is a much bigger city, but they are both basically part of the Bay area.
Good old Freddy. I think if he gets waiver or DFA’d, I can see him mimic Rajai Davis. I can see the A’s claim Freddy. He could resurect his career like Rajai did. Now Davis is one of the top speedsters in the AL.
The thing about Lewis is that hes had so much potential to become a 5-tool type of guy but he just has too many holes in his game. He strikes out a ton, doesn’t make enough contact, and can’t read the ball right in the outfield, prompting him to make many errors in left. He looked promising for the Giants in 2008, but he just cannot get it together. He has a lot of speed, is very athletic, and offers a fair amount of power. But its not enough if can’t make enough contact against pitchers. I liked Lewis and thought he could be a promising lead-off hitter, but unless he improves his game, it looks unlikely. The A’s could be a possibility, but they already have 5 outfielders on their roster and I doubt Lewis would get a chance over Buck unless he gets injured.
I think he will take the Rajai Davis road and eventually hit his way in to the starting lineup. I completely agree about the A’s. He could serve as a back up until he proves that he’s capable of an every day job and that potential outfield of Davis, Lewis, and Taylor would be really nice. Freddy just needs a greener pasture to prove that he’s an every day player. Maybe the Marlins?
Shouldn’t Stassi have more than 50 at bats in pro ball and be old enough to drink before anyone talks about him taking over behind the plate?
i’d love for the A’s to move to Sacramento. Maybe I could actually find a job haha.
Actually, Molina recently said he turned down the Mets because they wouldn’t give him a two-year deal.
But where did Urban say in his chat that another player “didn’t want to play in San Francisco”? And which player was that? I must have missed that.
No JD talk? where the love? where you think he’ll land?
I’d love to see teams in:
Mobile
San Jose
Las Vegas
&
Another in the Boston/New England area.
And there are at least 3 teams doing nothing in their current locations:
A’s
Nationals
Rays
I’d love to see a massive shakeup in MLB.
Oh and Jermain Dye turned down $3 million?
Apparently some people CAN look a gift horse in the mouth.