Three Teams Interested In Sheffield
8:52pm: Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News has another quote from Jocketty:
"Sheffield and (manager) Dusty Baker have a history and they talked yesterday. He has to clear waivers today, but we'll talk. We have interest because he would be a legitimate big right-handed bat to add to our lineup."
McCoy believes a meeting between Reds officials and Sheffield might take place Thursday.
7:14pm: Fay continues with the updates: Reds GM Walt Jocketty has confirmed his club's interest in Sheffield. "He's still a threat in the lineup… If the price is right," said the Cincinnati GM. The Reds will also look at Geoff Jenkins, who was released by the Phillies on Tuesday.
6:54pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Reds manager Dusty Baker is meeting with Sheffield. It sounds like they're one of the "three interested teams" that Leyland alluded to this morning.
5:53pm: ESPN's Buster Olney has more from Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams. Williams says Sheffield will be able to play this season and "a couple more seasons, at least." Olney adds that "some in baseball are speculating whether Sheffield would be a good fit with the Braves, where he had a good experience in 2002-03 and was liked by manager Bobby Cox."
Talking to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. again confirmed his interest in Sheffield.
1:30pm: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Tigers manager Jim Leyland told Detroit reporters today that three teams are interested in Gary Sheffield. The Phillies are presumed to be one; some reports have suggested a slim chance despite Sheff's agent calling the talks "productive."
Chipper Jones Agrees To Extension With Braves
12:09pm: The AP has contract details. It's a three-year, $42MM extension. Click the link for the incentive and option details. Given Jones' offensive abilities I consider this a good deal for Atlanta.
TUESDAY, 8:30am: Bowman says Jones and the Braves have agreed to "a three-year extension worth over $40MM that includes an option for 2013." There's a news conference this afternoon. With Chipper signing, that's one less big bat on the 2010 free agent market.
MONDAY: According to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, Chipper Jones is close to an extension with the Braves that could keep him in Atlanta through 2013. An announcement is possible Tuesday. Bowman says it's believed Jones came in seeking a three-year extension covering 2010-12 with an option for '13. He'll turn 37 in April.
It'll be interesting to see the money on this one. FanGraphs valued Jones at $29.4MM in '07 and $34MM in '08.
Tigers Acquire Josh Anderson
According to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Tigers acquired outfielder Josh Anderson from the Braves for minor league pitcher Rudy Darrow.
Darrow, 24, is a former college wrestler who is listed at 5'10", 180 lbs. The Tommy John survivor uses a sidearm delivery to touch 94, and Baseball America suggests he could pitch in the Majors this year. As such, it seems odd that the Tigers would trade him.
The speedy Anderson was unable to win the Braves' center field job, which presumably goes to Jordan Schafer now.
Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Cubs, Melky, Lima
Links for Monday…
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about the Giants' lack of interest in Adam Melhuse and considers other players who could help.
- Alex Speier of WEEI looks back at the Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz trade of 1987. According to former Tigers GM Bill Lajoie, the Braves would have taken Steve Searcy instead of Smoltz.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says the Cubs "appear to be getting some trade feelers" on out of options relievers Chad Gaudin and Angel Guzman. Moving one could create space for Rule 5 pick David Patton.
- Tyler Hissey of Around The Majors looks back at the Delmon Young/Matt Garza swap. What did MLBTR commenters think when the deal went down on November 28th, 2007? Click here to find out. Garza will face the Twins for the first time today.
- Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts says the Tigers are apparently trying to recreate the bullpen of the 2007 Rays.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes Melky Cabrera would be best served as an NL bench player.
- T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times discusses the Dodgers' $47MM bust, Jason Schmidt.
- Aaron Shinsano of East Windup Chronicle has more Korean prospect news: the Royals signed catcher Shin Jin-ho, while the Mariners signed catcher Choi Ji-man.
- Jose Lima is back playing baseball in the U.S., according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
- Will Sommer of Mets Fans Forever talked to GM Omar Minaya.
- Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post looks at the Marlins' decision to non-tender reliever Joe Nelson. It would've made a lot of sense to bring him back.
Odds And Ends: Braves, Bernie, Boras
Links for Saturday…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that the Braves are considering dealing outfielder Josh Anderson. Bowman suggests the White Sox could be a fit even though Ozzie Guillen said he expects to find a center fielder internally. Bowman also passes along some fun anecdotes about Chipper Jones and Santonio Holmes.
- MLB.com's Sarah D. Morris likes the bench assembled by Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.
- MLB.com's Ed Eagle reports that Bernie Williams wants to play in the majors again, but not if it means playing in the minors or an independent league first.
- In this article by Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune Scott Boras says the Padres will spend more liberally on amateur talent now that Jeff Moorad's taking over the club.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer offers his take on a female knuckleballer from Japan.
- Tim recently did a Q&A about the Jays at The Blue Jay Hunter blog.
- Steve Melewski of MASN Sports breaks down the minor league free agents in Orioles camp.
- ESPN The Magazine's Jeff Bradley profiled Manny Ramirez.
- The Astros, Marlins and Pirates made decisions about their respective backup catchers.
Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg
Links for Monday…
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions, including the Dodgers' signing of J.D Durbin.
- Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says Rays Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez, a reliever, has been returned to the White Sox.
- Yahoo's David Brown talked to Carlos Pena about many topics, including his agent Scott Boras.
- According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Padres received pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal. The other player the Padres received, the now-injured Mark Worrell, was also a minor league closer. Given the state of the Padres' pen, Gregerson could reach the Majors this year. UPDATE: Here is Paul DePodesta's take on Gregerson.
- MLB.com's Ken Gurnick noted yesterday that the Dodgers cut pitcher Shawn Estes, and he's yet to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment. UPDATE: Estes will head to the minors and attempt to reinvent himself as a lefthanded specialist.
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald quizzed Hanley Ramirez about Boston's attempt to reacquire him in November.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders about Frank Catalanotto's future. Useful player, but the Rangers would have to eat most of his $6MM to move him.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post talked to Nationals president Stan Kasten about the six-year, $50MM Stephen Strasburg rumor. We all know how Boras works…if he wants $25MM for Strasburg, he starts at $50MM.
- South Side Sox and Sox Machine comment on the Gavin Floyd extension, as well as the offers to John Danks and Carlos Quentin.
- Talking to David Lennon of Newsday, Tom Glavine responded to Pedro Martinez's distaste for signing a "Glavine-like" contract.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun spoke to Aubrey Huff, who "doesn't even understand the concept of a contract push."
- Ivan Rodriguez explained to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez why he didn't sign with the Marlins.
Braves Fielding Offers for Pitching
SUNDAY, 11:21am: According to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while the Braves are happy to maintain the surplus they've acquired, they are anticipating offers. Rogers says the most likely source of trade candidates would come from the bullpen, but she includes Josh Anderson and Martin Prado as expendable position players.
Rogers posits seeking a third basemen as a successor to Chipper Jones could be a logical area of interest for the Braves.
SATURDAY, 6:01pm: Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that Braves GM Frank Wren may look to trade surplus pitching as the season nears. According to Bowman, "Wren has already started to receive a number of pitches from teams that need arms."
Bowman writes that the "most expendable pitchers" appear to be Jeff Bennett, Buddy Carlyle, Manny Acosta and Jorge Campillo.
Braves Release Phil Stockman
The Braves are paring down their roster. According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, the team released pitcher Phil Stockman today. Stockman has dealt with various injuries over the last few years and is out of options.
Bowman adds that multiple teams have inquired on Braves reliever Buddy Carlyle, who had a solid ’08 with a 3.59 ERA and 8.47 K/9 in 62.6 innings.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Lohse, Pedro, Bay
On this date 72 years ago, Lou Gehrig signed a one-year deal for $38K and a $750 signing bonus. This contract came on the heels of a season in which Gehrig hit .354-49-152 with a strikeout to walk ratio of 130-to-46 and a 190 OPS+. The following season, Gehrig would hit .351-37-159 (177 OPS+) in what would turn out to be his last full healthy season. With only a few weeks left until the ’09 regular season begins, let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Launching Pad gives us a list of mid-season trade targets for the Braves, with Brian Giles at the top.
- Jorge Says No! lists Kyle Lohse as one of the Hot Stove’s big winners.
- Feeling Dodger Blue takes a look at the fifth starter options for the Dodgers and sees Pedro Martinez as the best available option.
- Fire Brand of the American League says Jason Bay is no Manny Ramirez, but he is a suitable replacement.
- UmpBump takes a look back at the off-season moves of the Cubs and the Dodgers.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Braves. Here’s what we wrote about them on September 18th. The changes for 2009:
Additions: Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Kenshin Kawakami, Tom Glavine (re-signed), Boone Logan, Eric O’Flaherty, David Ross, Garret Anderson, Greg Norton (re-signed), Brooks Conrad. Midseason: Casey Kotchman, Stephen Marek
Subtractions: Mike Hampton, Will Ohman, Julian Tavarez, Chuck James, John Smoltz, Royce Ring, Ruben Gotay, Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Flowers. Midseason: Mark Teixeira, Mark Kotsay
I’ll kick things off by annoyingly quoting myself from September:
Manager Bobby Cox expects to add two quality starters, whether via free agency or trade. I would target Derek Lowe due to his strong health record. He might cost $14-15MM per year. After that I’d ink a more affordable veteran like Paul Byrd, Freddy Garcia, or Randy Wolf. That bargain starter may come from Japan, with Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami considered the top names.
Granted the market shifted, but the Braves got Lowe at exactly $15MM per and Kawakami at $23MM over three years. On top of that GM Frank Wren added one of the game’s most reliable innings eaters in Javier Vazquez. The Jake Peavy talks didn’t work out, but Wren shifted gears and did a great job bringing in three solid starters as well as Glavine. Throw in Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson at midseason, and many others, and Wren turned a deficit into a surplus. The loss of Smoltz was surprising and disappointing but not really a big deal for the 2009 Braves.
The Braves had more drama with the near-Rafael Furcal signing, but they were already respectable in the middle infield. Anderson isn’t spectacular as the left field import, but he’ll help (and isn’t any worse than Ken Griffey Jr.). Presumably the Braves have some cash left over for a possible midseason addition. But using CHONE projections, their lineup projects to score a healthy 4.93 runs per game. The Mets and Phillies tied for second in the league last year with that same figure.
The Braves should have a pretty good defense again; last year’s was rated seventh in the game in The Fielding Bible II. Last year’s bullpen wasn’t great, but more pitchers are healthy this time around. Overall, this looks like a 90 win team to me.
Bottom line: Despite the offseason drama, Wren assembled a deep, revamped rotation to go with an already-above average offense. The Braves should return to their contending ways in ’09.