Rosenthal On Abreu, Garland, Glavine, Sisco
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- The Mariners and Giants are interested in Bobby Abreu, if the price is right. Yesterday Buster Olney suggested that Abreu is willing to take a one-year deal. The A’s and Nationals have other targets, while the Mets, White Sox, and Braves are seen as long shots.
- Rosenthal examines the nuances of Jon Garland‘s December 7th decision to reject arbitration, saying that it wasn’t an obvious mistake at the time.
- Tom Glavine‘s agent Gregg Clifton did not attend yesterday’s meeting with Frank Wren; it was a health update and not a contract negotiation. Rosenthal says Glavine figures to seek a Freddy Garcia-like deal. The Braves need to save money to add an outfielder, with Nick Swisher atop their list. The Yankees’ goal in moving Swisher or Xavier Nady would be to recoup prospects.
- The Brewers are not interested in projects such as Kris Benson, Jason Jennings, Mark Redman, and Victor Zambrano. They’re just lukewarm on Mark Mulder. Benson is drawing interest from the Dodgers, Rangers, and Cardinals; one exec reviewed his audition as "so-so."
- Rosenthal doesn’t seem to buy the idea that Jason Varitek and Scott Boras feared the Red Sox could cut him if he accepted arbitration, noting that Boras client Travis Lee was advised to accept years ago.
- The Braves have reservations about re-signing Andruw Jones, who could be a Spring Training cut.
- The A’s deal for Russ Springer will be worth more than $3MM plus incentives. They’re also eyeing Brian Shouse and Andrew Sisco as possible pen additions. Sisco, recovering from Tommy John, has also auditioned for the Rockies and Giants.
Joaquin Benoit May Be Out For Season
Rangers reliever Joaquin Benoit had rotator cuff surgery Tuesday, which may make him unavailable for 2009 (or at least the first half). Benoit was not terribly useful in ’08 anyway, and perhaps the Rangers have known about the injury for some time. So today’s news may not affect their plans greatly, but they are known to be in the market for a reliever. Here’s a look at the remaining free agents.
Odds and Ends: Sherrill, Kubel, Teahen
Links for Wednesday…
- T.R. Sullivan examines the Rangers’ interest level in 25 free agents.
- An article about Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus.
- Rany Jazayerli suggests the Jeremy Bonderman contract might have been a model for Zack Greinke‘s deal.
- George Sherrill‘s arbitration hearing is set for February 19th. The Orioles are at $2.2MM while Sherrill requested $3.4MM, putting the midpoint at $2.8MM.
- Jack Marshall discusses the ethics of Scott Boras.
- Barry Bloom looks at the remaining free agent starting pitchers and possible suitors.
- Dave Cameron questions the Twins’ recent Jason Kubel contract.
- Sam Mellinger talks about the Mark Teahen second base experiment.
- Will Clark is set to join the Giants’ front office.
Oliver Perez Rumors: Tuesday
4:57pm: Just to hammer the point home, Brewers GM Doug Melvin responded "absolutely not" when asked if he’s in on Perez.
4:02pm: Anthony Rieber’s source says the Mets are "a little bit closer" to signing Perez, but they’re maintaining dialogue with Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland. Rieber says the Mets have shown a willingness to go to four years for Perez.
1:34pm: Heyman says the Mets remain the favorite for Perez, even though talks slowed in the last day or two. The Mets’ offer exceeds three years and $30MM.
9:02am: Tom Haudricourt finds the Brewers-Perez connection to be Scott Boras propaganda – the Brewers don’t like his price and don’t want to give up a draft pick.
8:14am: Matthew Cerrone passes along a Jon Heyman MLB Network report of rumblings that the Rangers and Brewers may be in on Oliver Perez. The Mets remain the favorite.
At 27, Perez is the youngest free agent starter this year. However, I imagine a four-year deal would still be a tough sell for the Rangers or Brewers.
Odds and Ends: Lohse, Reyes, Greinke, Howard
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan called the Winter Meetings "a big waste of money and time."
- Nationals GM Jim Bowden implied that a Tom Glavine signing is unlikely.
- Kyle Lohse feels the pain of all the unsigned free agents; he didn’t sign until March 14th last year. Lohse said he "put a lot of pressure on all parties" to get his four-year, $41MM extension done on September 29th. Given that it wasn’t on the open market, Scott Boras did well for Lohse.
- The Dodgers prefer Dennys Reyes over Luis Ayala, says Ken Gurnick.
- Joe Posnanski loves the Zack Greinke signing. Sam Mellinger says the Royals and fans are no longer allowed to complain about baseball’s financial structure.
- Maury Brown leans slightly toward Ryan Howard winning his arbitration case. I think the Phillies will prevail.
- Brandon Lyon turned down more lucrative offers for a chance to close in Detroit. ESPN’s Keith Law likes the Tigers’ signing, in part due to Jim Leyland’s track record with relievers.
- The Marlins seem to prefer the trade market, if they are to add a catcher.
- Joe Nathan knows his $47MM extension signed in March of ’08 is looking pretty good right now.
Benson Works Out In Front Of Nine Teams
Free agent right-hander Kris Benson worked out Saturday for nine teams and demonstrated that he should be ready to compete for a job in Spring Training, MLB.com reports.
Agent Gregg Clifton said the throwing session “went well, and he showed teams that he’s ahead of schedule in getting ready for the ’09 season.”
The article only lists the Rockies as being there, though it does note that nine teams were in attendance. This post lists the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Indians and Cardinals as teams that planned to attend.
Benson, 34, missed the 2007 season because of surgery on his right shoulder. He spent last season in the minors with the Phillies. He is 68-73 with a 4.34 ERA in 195 career starts.
Ben Sheets Rumors: Monday
6:38pm: T.R. Sullivan believes that now the New York Yankees have signed Andy Pettitte, Ben Sheets’ options are closing up.
“Anytime somebody signs another starting pitcher, that obviously lessens the competition,” Rangers president Nolan Ryan told Sullivan. “Obviously, Andy and Ben are at two different points in their careers, but I don’t think Andy signing hurts anything.”
Sullivan notes that the Rangers are the only team that has publicly stated interest in Sheets, but the process continues to move slowly. The Rangers are reluctant to offer a multiyear contract. Sheets wants at least a two-year deal while the Rangers are looking one year with a possible club option.
11:26am: The latest on the Rangers and Ben Sheets comes via a T.R. Sullivan report from yesterday afternoon. Sullivan wrote:
The Rangers remain deeply concerned about the medical reports. Sheets’ agent, Casey Close, is looking for a multi-year contract. The Rangers would prefer just a one-year deal, possibly with an option. The two sides have discussed financial parameters, but there hasn’t been an official offer from either side. Close would like to get other teams involved, most notably the two in New York.
If there’s another team infatuated with Sheets, it hasn’t leaked to the media yet. As Sullivan wrote, the Mets are focused on Oliver Perez. The Yankees are in serious talks with Andy Pettitte. The Dodgers are looking elsewhere, and the Orioles "just don’t seem interested." Doug Melvin won’t rule Sheets out for the Brewers but does not expect to re-sign him.
Who else needs pitching and can afford Sheets? We can’t rule out the A’s or Cardinals. The Pirates and D’Backs seem to be budgeting less than Sheets wants.
Rangers Close To Signing Marlon Byrd
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers are close to avoiding arbitration with outfielder Marlon Byrd by signing him for ’09. He submitted a $3.6MM figure while the Rangers submitted $2.7MM.
Cafardo’s Latest: Crede, Gagne, Rangers, Brewers
Some quick notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
- The Twins and Giants will be monitoring Joe Crede‘s workouts in Arizona next week. Both teams have had ongoing interest this month.
- The Twins and Rangers are continuing to seriously consider Eric Gagne.
- Cafardo notes the growing sentiment among middle-market teams that patience could land an all star caliber player for a "low-risk one-year deal."
- Milwaukee would prefer to save and make a "Sabathia-like" deadline deal rather than spend now.
- Adam Melhuse signing with Texas could be a signal that Taylor Teagarden or Jarrod Saltalamacchia are en route to the Red Sox. Cafardo cautions that’s probably not the case since the Rangers have not come down on their asking price of Clay Buchholz.
- Watch for the Cubs to reengage the Padres and Jake Peavy now that they have found an owner in billionaire Tom Ricketts.
Padres, Nats Interested In Ohman
According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick the Nationals and Padres are among the teams interested in Will Ohman. Both teams are "bottom fishing," and are considered secondary options for the lefty reliever.
Ohman hoped for a deal similar to the ones signed by Jeremy Affeldt ($8MM, two years) and Damaso Marte ($12MM, three years). He’s generated lots of interest and has a new contract offer from an unnamed team.
Crasnick mentions the Dodgers and Mets as potential suitors for Ohman, and the D’Backs, Orioles, Rangers, Indians, Rays and Braves have all reportedly had interest in him.