The latest from Joel Sherman of the New York Post…
- Sherman notes that in the past, A.J. Burnett signed close to his Maryland home because his wife hated flying. However, agent Darek Braunecker says this is no longer a restriction. Sherman mentions previous interest from the Angels and Rangers. Burnett is wise to expand his market, since teams like the Orioles, Mets, and Nationals are not generally looking to add starting pitching.
- The Padres are working to re-sign Josh Johnson. They already declined a $4MM option on the righty, who had Tommy John surgery in late April. No deal is close for Johnson, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish.
- The Dodgers have let teams know they prefer to trade Andre Ethier and/or Carl Crawford and will listen on Matt Kemp. The Dodgers are willing to kick in cash or take a bad contract back, and will pay more down for a better return in players. This is one of the few ways teams can still use financial clout to purchase young talent, in my opinion. Sherman says the Dodgers feel their current outfield situation is untenable, which fits with Ken Rosenthal’s report from Sunday. In a poll of 28 baseball industry insiders by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Ethier was considered the most likely to be traded.
- The Dodgers are also looking to add to their rotation and bullpen and are among the more interested suitors for Russell Martin. The Dodgers were one of four teams recently revealed to have a meeting in place with Martin’s agent.
- Johan Santana is “hellbent on coming back,” agent Chris Leible tells Sherman. Santana, 36 in March, was close to returning to the Majors with the Orioles last summer after April 2013 shoulder surgery, but he ruptured his Achilles tendon in June. Santana is currently jogging and playing catch.
I hope Santana signs a minor league deal with the O’s. We paid him quite a bit to do absolutely nothing last year, it would be nice to see him come back and actually earn some of that money.
The Mets might have some performance coming, too.
I was going to say the exact same thing. It’s a low-risk/high-reward situation.
Perhaps Ubaldo can take his innings.
Ethier, Pederson, Pedro Baez and Zach Lee for Papelbon, Chooch and Hamels. Lets do it.
Going to have to include 2 of Seager/Urias/Pederson to get Hamels.
Ethier, Pederson, Urias and Zach Lee for Papelbon, Chooch and Hamels.
That should never happen.
The Phillies gain very little in that trade, Ethier is of little use to a rebuilding team and his contract is far worse than Papelbon’s or Hamels’. Given his contract Ethier has negative trade value, including him only makes a trade less likely.
Ethier cancels out Ruiz and Hamels and give them a servicable outfielder to stick in left/right if we trade Byrd/miss out on Tomas. Then Pederson, Baez and Lee for Hamels.
Pederson and Lee are very highly thought of, and Ethier has some value as a player. If the Dodgers pay a chunk of Ethiers contract that makes sense but i dont think the Dodgers are going to spend more money on their bullpen. Plus Papelbon wants to close. Interesting ideas though.
I don’t see a scenario where the most analytically savvy GM guts his farm system for an over paid closer and an additional costly contract when he already has two on his pitching staff alone. Ruiz and Rollins might make more sense, but I still don’t see a great fit.
No thanks, with Scherzer, Lester, and Shields out there and Price next year, it is not in the Dodgers best interest to blow their prospect load on pitchers like Cole Hamels.
I’d make that trade if I was the phillies in a heartbeat. Though I do have a lot of concern with Pedersen’s high whiff rate. Too bad the Phillies have the worst GM in all of sports
Dodgers are “willing” to kick in cash in order to trade Ethier and/or Crawford?
No kidding?
I’m sure team will be lining up to bid on those contracts.
Crawford’s was a bad contract since year 1 and the Dodgers paid for the whole thing. Also, I never heard Ruben Amaro say he’s going to pay for Howard, Lee, Hamels, etc. if they are traded
Correction, Boston is paying .85M a year on Crawford’s contract. I guess its something…
Ethier is still a decent player. Not worth the 18m/year he will be getting, but it isn’t like he is a complete bust along the lines of BJ Upton. They might have to eat half of his salary to get anything good in return though.
I agree, and he could be worth a little more than half what he’s being paid. Look at what Markakis is lokely getting from the Orioles.
Oh Johan…give it up.
You were a great pitcher in your day, but that day has long since been and gone.
I feel for Johan, I hope he makes it back strong.
I’d be interested in taking Ethier or Crawford at half off for the next three years. Personally, seeing Crawford play full seasons at $15MM AAV for the next three years could be very much worth while.
and you’re a fan of?
Ethier may be a 4th outfielder from now on. They will have to eat a ton of that contract. As a Braves fan I’d love to see someone willing to trade bad contracts (BJ Upton), but the Dodgers already have too many outfielders.
Really the only contract that would be bad enough to swap with BJ’s straight up is EJax’s, and honestly I would rather have BJ than him. Ethier’s is pretty bad but it is not even in the same realm of bad as BJ’s.
Edwin Jackson’s contract is terrible in the sense that he’s performing so wildly below its value, but it’s not that bad in the sense that there is only 2/$22MM left. Certainly not worth taking on $54MM for Ethier or $46MM for BJ Upton to get rid of.
That’s true, but also BJ at least performed somewhat well enough last year to be a (ludicrously expensive) bench player, while Jackson deserves no spot on an MLB team anywhere. Really can’t decide which I would rather have.
Honestly, Jackson has no on-field value whatsoever, but I’d still take him over Upton. It’s much easier to absorb the money he’s owed than it would be to absorb the money that BJ is owed PLUS the extra years. Plus, you don’t have to play EJax every day. Hell, maybe he can put it together as a reliever – Wade Davis did it.
Sherman notes that in the past, A.J. Burnett signed close to his Maryland home because his wife hated flying. However, agent D. Braunecker says this is no longer a restriction…. Oh, how convenient! =P
Did they get a divorce?
I wrote last week that nothing Burnett does surprises me. He always says one thing and then goes out and does whatever gets him the most money. And more often then not he doesn’t produce at the level his salary would suggest. I said that he would go where the bucks are and was told that no, he had to play near his home.
What a difference a week makes.
I would be surprised if Santana got more than a camp invite and the major league minimum.
Wouldn’t it make sense if the Dodgers traded Kemp to the Marlins? Having another star with Stanton, plus the Dodgers get a huge return with prospects and unloading Kemp’s salary. Sounds like a win for both clubs.