Burnett Decision Due Monday Before GM Meetings
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talked to A.J. Burnett‘s agent Darek Braunecker, who says his client will make his opt-out decision prior to the start of Monday’s GM meetings. We all know Burnett is opting out, of course.
Crasnick believes Burnett and Derek Lowe will seek salaries of at least $16MM per year. He names the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Red Sox, Orioles and Nationals as potential suitors for Burnett. The Blue Jays will remain in the mix as well.
Marlins Raise Payroll Limit To $40 Million
Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel talked an industry source who says Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has authorized a payroll of up to $40MM for 2009. This means they won’t be forced to trade any of their 16 arbitration-eligible players. Greg Cote first suggested this on September 30th, and Buster Olney reiterated it on October 15th.
However, Berardino confirms Olney’s note from Friday: Kevin Gregg, Mike Jacobs, and Scott Olsen are available. The Marlins discussed sending Jacobs to the Royals for righty Carlos Rosa, but the Fish are worried about Rosa’s August forearm soreness. A thought: why would the Royals consider trading pitching for Jacobs? Berardino names the Mariners and Blue Jays as other interested parties, and considers the Indians a fit. The Giants have also been named as a suitor.
Berardino wonders if the Rangers will pursue Olsen, perhaps offering a catcher. I don’t believe Olsen would succeed in Texas.
Expected to remain in Florida: Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, and Alfredo Amezaga. Berardino says the front office is divided on Jeremy Hermida‘s potential. Four teams have asked about Hermida. Josh Willingham may be available, but his back is worrisome.
Heyman’s Latest: Manny, Holliday, Peavy
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new rumor-packed article up.
- Heyman suggests the battle for the three elite free agents – Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and C.C. Sabathia – will mostly be fought by the New York and Los Angeles clubs. Heyman talked to one GM who believes the country’s economic situation will not affect the big names but could be bad for the lower-tier guys.
- Heyman’s potential Manny suitors: the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Phillies. The Phillies’ interest will depend on whether Pat Burrell stays. I’m not sure why the Orioles would be in the mix.
- The Rockies are "very likely" to trade Matt Holliday. The Rox would be willing to sign Holliday for five years and $100MM, but that won’t cut it. The team’s focus in a trade will be a young starter. Heyman echoes a Ken Rosenthal thought from a few months ago: surprising small-market teams may enter the Holliday bidding.
- Heyman has the Mets, Rangers, and Indians as teams looking at Brian Fuentes. The Mets are the favorite to sign him in the three-year, $36MM range.
- Jake Peavy has already turned down one American League team. Heyman believes hes particularly opposed to the Rangers and has mixed feelings about the Yankees. Peavy is reeling from the Padres’ decision to shop him.
- Heyman has unkind words for Luis Gonzalez, who may not be welcomed back to the D’Backs based on his "uneasy relationship" with Stephen Drew and Chris Young.
- Heyman does not think MLB has any evidence against Nationals GM Jim Bowden in the scout skimming scandal.
- Heyman gives Ruben Amaro a slight edge over Mike Arbuckle to replace Pat Gillick as Phillies GM.
- George W. Bush as baseball’s next commissioner? "Many have long believed" that Bush would like to be Bud Selig’s successor.
Dallas Morning News: Jon Daniels Q&A
Mike Hindman of the Dallas Morning News recently conducted a Q&A with Rangers GM Jon Daniels. A few highlights:
- Daniels thought the Rangers had a great chance to sign Michael Inoa, as ownership made a budget exception to pursue him.
- Daniels doesn’t seem inclined to trade his top pitching prospects for a young big league starter. He still has certain targets though.
- A contract extension for Josh Hamilton will probably be explored during the first three months of 2009.
- Daniels knows what he wants to do with Milton Bradley, but wouldn’t reveal it.
- He expects to exercise Hank Blalock‘s $6.2MM option for ’09.
- Daniels sees a "good possibility" of making a trade involving one of his four young catchers, but adds that it depends on the market. Daniels wouldn’t be opposed to trading both Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in separate deals. He also admitted that the Red Sox inquired about catching.
- Daniels will attempt to improve the bullpen via free agency this winter.
Dodgers To Offer Shorter Term, Higher Salary To Manny?
SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to "people familiar with the Dodgers’ thinking" recently. One such person told Heyman the Dodgers may offer Manny Ramirez a short term with a very high annual salary, perhaps something like $55MM for two years. GM Ned Colletti has taken this approach in the past with free agents Jason Schmidt, Rafael Furcal, and Andruw Jones.
Heyman’s sources say the Dodgers are "strongly disinclined" to give Manny five or six years. Colletti himself noted the Dodgers don’t have six-year contracts. However, "there are some who believe" Scott Boras won’t even sit down with a team offering four or fewer years. I can see Boras eventually finding a team willing to give four years.
Heyman lists six other potential suitors for Manny: the Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays, Mets, Orioles, and Rangers. Some of those suggestions are questionable though.
Japanese Team Pursuing Nelson Cruz?
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Sanspo.com story. Apparently the Hanshin Tigers plan to aggressively pursue Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz this winter. Cruz had an incredible 2008, both in Triple A and a month with the Rangers. It figures that they’ll pencil him in as next year’s starting right fielder rather than sell/trade him to Japan. A year ago, Cruz could’ve been had for little.
Odds and Ends: Dice-K, Varitek, Rolen
Links for Monday…
- Tim Brown and Peter Abraham offer their takes on the top free agents.
- A note from Abraham – if Daisuke Matsuzaka finishes top three in the AL Cy Young vote, he’ll get an extra $2MM in each of the ’09 and ’10 seasons.
- The Mariners could hire their new GM as soon as tomorrow. Geoff Baker discussed the merits of the four candidates in two recent posts.
- Jason Varitek was mum on his future last night.
- Joe Frisaro has the Marlins’ 2009 payroll in the $30-35MM range. They have 15 arbitration-eligible players.
- I came across an interesting note about B.J. Upton. Back in 2004, Devil Rays GM Chuck LaMar wanted to sign Upton to an unprecedented eight or nine-year contract before he reached the Majors. The new Rays regime eventually succeeded with a similar deal for Evan Longoria.
- The Diamondbacks signed a Korean high school catcher named Kim Jae-yoon for $150K.
- Jordan Bastian would be stunned if Scott Rolen exercises his right to opt out of his contract or demand a trade.
- T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers are not in the running for C.C. Sabathia.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman looks at how the Phillies were built.
Peavy Rumors: Monday
Let’s kick off the day with a roundup of Jake Peavy rumors.
- Peavy is not a fan of the American League or New York, so don’t look for him to land with the Yankees or Mets. The Mets don’t seem interested anyway.
- David O’Brien figures the Braves will have to surrender Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, Tommy Hanson to get it done. Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein says Hanson flies under the radar a bit, as he belongs in any discussion of the game’s top pitching prospects.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Padres were doing a lot of background work recently on Braves center field prospect Jordan Schafer.
- Despite Peavy’s wishes, the Padres have identified four possible AL trading partners for him: the Yankees, Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox. Peavy’s agent says he hasn’t closed any doors but the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman believes the Red Sox or Yankees would have to pay a steep price in extra compensation to entice the pitcher.
Cafardo’s Latest: Lowe, Maddux, Peavy
Here’s a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- Interestingly, the Red Sox are reportedly Derek Lowe‘s preferred destination. It’s unknown whether the Sox intend to add a starter this winter, but they may lose free agent Paul Byrd (and will have to decide on Tim Wakefield‘s $4MM option). Cafardo names a dozen other clubs interested in Lowe: the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Cubs, Angels, Braves, Phillies, Rangers, Astros, and Blue Jays.
- Bill Mueller, 38 in March, admits he’d like to play again. Medically, it’s a long shot because he’d need to regrow cartilage in his knees.
- One of Greg Maddux‘s teammates feels he’ll retire. Maddux could return to the Padres as a player/coach (specifically, he’d prefer a bench coach gig).
- The Brewers as a sleeper for Jake Peavy? They’re not on his list, but he’s named other midwest clubs.
- Cafardo believes catchers Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez will be available this winter. Makes sense, given the weak free agent market at the position.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy Suitors, Lowe, Cardinals, Marlins
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, focusing largely on suitors for Jake Peavy, but also touching on some other news at the end… so let’s take a look!
- Rosenthal states that the following teams have been speculated to be suitors for the Padres’ ace: Braves, Angels, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, Cardinals, Brewers, Rays, Rangers. While all of these are not serious possibilities, he elaborates on each team. He mentions Yunel Escobar as a likely centerpiece from Atlanta, and states that the Angels would love to acquire a frontline starter to allow them to send Ervin Santana and/or Joe Saunders to Colorado in a deal for Matt Holliday and/or Garrett Atkins. Rosenthal states that Howie Kendrick could be a big part of any trade, but his health seems like too serious of a concern to me. Rosenthal speculates on the possibility of a dominant rotation for the Yankees if they traded for Peavy and signed C.C. Sabathia. One rival executive’s speculative package for Boston included Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson. The Padres will likely charge the Dodgers considerably more for Peavy’s service, as they are division rivals. He lists Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy as a possible centerpiece for a Milwaukee blockbuster, but also points out that Ben Sheets has made the Brewers wary of injury concerns. The other teams don’t seem to match up well, in Rosenthal’s opinion.
- Rosenthal says that he was wrong in stating that Derek Lowe would prefer to remain on the West Coast. Lowe has now told him that he’d prefer to go East, with Boston being his top choice. He reiterated this desire to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
- The Cardinals prefer a short-term solution for their closer situation, and will likely give Chris Perez the ninth inning job, or seek a lower-budget option through the trade market. They may also trade a young outfielder for an established bat at a corner OF position.
- Kevin Gregg is still likely to be traded (perhaps an option for St. Louis), and four teams have asked Florida about Jeremy Hermida. Rosenthal speculates that the Marlins will begin 2009 with Cameron Maybin in center field and Cody Ross in right.