Derek Lowe Rumors: Wednesday
4:07pm: Jack Curry of the New York Times weighs in. He can see the Mets bumping their offer to $39MM for three years, but agrees that they won’t add a fourth year (despite four-year deals given to inferior pitchers in recent times).
8:43am: MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says a Derek Lowe signing is "feeling inevitable" for the New York National League club. They’ll have to up their three-year, $36MM offer; Cerrone sees the Mets as unlikely to guarantee a fourth year or reach $15MM per.
According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, Lowe told a friend that the Red Sox never showed serious interest. Harper thinks the Mets’ limit is three years and $40MM.
The Mets’ competition for Lowe is unclear. The Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox don’t seem interested. Still, if Lowe is coming at a discount you have to wonder if the Braves, Indians, Rangers, Brewers, and Cubs will get involved (entirely speculation).
Yankees Outfield Surplus
According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News:
The Yankees are looking to move two from a group of outfielders of Xavier Nady, Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui. The Angels, Texas, Oakland and Atlanta are considered to have interest.
Joel Sherman has noted that the Braves attempted to acquire Swisher from the White Sox before the Yankees did. The Angels seem content with their outfield. Sherman and Ringolsby both seem to think the Yanks prefer to retain Johnny Damon.
Sherman cautioned that the "glut of hitters" remaining on the free agent market will make it more difficult for the Yankees to move one of their corner guys. From the emails I receive, Yankees fans would most like to see Matsui dealt. Perhaps he will be, but I believe his current trade value is negative. 34 years old, full no-trade clause, $13MM salary in ’09, September knee surgery and a questionable ability to play the outfield.
Mark Teixeira Signing Reactions
Here’s a quick look at some of the reactions to the Mark Teixeira signing. If you guys find any you find particularly remarkable, hit me up (josephp, Shift+2, riveraveblues dot com) and I’ll add it if it adds something. But for now:
- RotoAuthority has the fantasy analysis.
- Interesting angle from Joel Sherman – he says the team’s poor choice of passing on Carlos Beltran taught them to sign Teixeira now. He says they’d prefer to trade Hideki Matsui, among their outfield surplus. The Braves like Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio suggests a salary cap for the sport.
- Gordon Edes calls this a "staggering blow" to the Red Sox and Angels. I’m not sure I would go that far, at least in the case of the Angels. That could be my bias speaking, though.
- Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News notes the long-term implications of the deal. He wonders if Teixeira is really a $20 million player (or, rather, a $22.5 million player) and calls into question committing eight years to a position that serves as a transition for older players.
- Roch Kubatko got some quotes from Andy MacPhail. "We can’t devote that many resources to one player, no matter where he’s from," was the telling line. Roch wonders if the Orioles were even given a chance to counter the Yankees offer.
- Jeff Zrebiec backs up Roch. Boras didn’t give the Orioles a chance to counter. He instead informed MacPhail that Teixeira was going in another direction.
- Peter Abraham has learned a lesson from this. "This will also teach me not to believe anything Cashman says about living under a budget."
- Tony Massarotti isn’t pleased with how this turned out. "Instead, the Sox lost Teixeira for what amounted to about $10-$15 million over eight years, which is chump change for a franchise with an estimated value (including NESN and Fenway Park) or somewhere in the range of $1 billion." He notes also that the Sox had plenty of contracts coming off the books, much like the Yankees.
- Over on my home turf, Ben notes the obvious: "What this Teixeira signing indicates though is that a new generation of Steinbrenners is willing to spend what it takes to win just like George."
- Keith Law on the signing: "Signing three of the top four free agents on the market is a sign that they have excellent taste, even if they don’t seem to have a credit limit."
Furcal Comments On Braves
The AP has quotes from Rafael Furcal regarding the Braves negotiations: "We never, not my agents nor me, agreed to anything with the Braves."
Furcal also revealed Oakland’s approach: an initial four-year, $32MM offer, followed by a four-year $35MM offer of the "take it or leave it" variety.
What’s Next For The Braves?
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sums up the Braves’ current known targets in his latest blog post. As O’Brien notes, things have not gone according to plan for the Braves this winter.
- The Braves have yet to indicate interest in Adam Dunn or Pat Burrell for their left field vacancy. Juan Rivera might’ve been an option; he re-signed with the Angels. Since the Braves struggled against lefties in 2008, Burrell would be a better fit.
- They have not indicated any interest in Ben Sheets, nor have they shown serious interest in Derek Lowe. The Braves’ #7 draft pick next year is protected, should they sign one of the two.
- The Braves are "squarely in the bidding" for Japanese starter Kenshin Kawakami.
Murray Chass: Furcal, Sabathia, Lowe, Teixeira
Murray Chass has a nice Sunday post covering some of the biggest names in the game. Let’s take a look:
- Chass summarizes the Rafael Furcal fiasco nicely, and explains the potential legal hazards that refusing to work with the Wasserman group could lead to.
- Brian Cashman has said that his refusal to trade for Johan Santana last year was because the Yankees knew C.C. Sabathia was going to be a free agent this year. Chass looks at their numbers side-by-side and points explains how by not trading for Santana, the Yankees risked missing out on both aces.
- The Mets are very interested in Derek Lowe, but not his pricetag. Boras wants similar money to Barry Zito – about $18MM per season – for the 35-year-old Lowe. The Mets also like Oliver Perez, but he’s another Boras client with a big price tag. The Mets don’t want to add another big contract.
- Is there really a team with a $200MM+ offer on the table for Mark Teixeira? Chass isn’t so sure. It seems that Boras always has a "mystery team" in on the negotiations, but his client never seems to sign there… Don’t count the Red Sox out just yet.
Furcal Signs With Dodgers
FRIDAY, 8:37pm: The Furcal deal is official. Jesse Spector has quotes from the conference call.
WEDNESDAY, 9:08pm: Just to keep this baby going, we have the contract numbers from Tony Jackson. A backloaded three years, $30MM, $3MM of which is a bonus at the end of the contract. The 2012 option for $13MM does vest with 600 PAs in ’11.
8:23pm: The deal may be done, but we still can’t get the numbers nailed down. According to Tim Brown’s writethru, it could be either $33MM or $30MM. Brown has "a Dodgers source" who says it’s the latter "and includes a fourth-year option for $12 million, vesting with 600 plate appearances in the third year. Other incentives could bring the total worth of the deal to about $45 million." The AP report (below) that gave the $33MM figure had quoted " a person familiar with the negotiations."
7:43pm: This MLB.com report from Ken Gurnick says "it is believed the deal is pending the passing of a physical exam." That’s probably about as final as we’re going to get for now. It’s worth noting that a little bit earlier, Tony Jackson talked to Kinzer, who said such a statement would be premature. (The Dodgers, like most teams, don’t confirm deals until after the physical.)
7:08pm: The AP says the final numbers on the contract are 3 years, $33MM:
Furcal gets $7.5 million next season, $9.5 million in 2010 and $13 million in 2011. The deal includes a $13 million team option for 2012 with a $3 million buyout.
7:02pm: This wire report from CBSSports.com has a quote from Kinzer:
"They know we didn’t have a signed contract, that we didn’t have even a verbal agreement. We had, ‘Things look very good and Raffy’s going to sleep on it,’" Kinzer said after a news conference for another client, Francisco Rodriguez.
5:53pm: Rosenthal has updated his post with a bit more info and a timeline from Wren. Around midnight on Monday, after much negotiating, Kinzer told Wren, "we’re good." Tuesday morning, says Rosenthal (note the slight discrepancy from Brown’s report below), Wren "got a voicemail from Kinzer" asking for the term sheet to be put together and faxed to him, which Wren did. "Shortly thereafter, Kinzer began ‘backpedaling,’ saying he promised the Dodgers he would talk to them." And on Tuesday, the Dodgers "suddenly" appeared willing to grant Furcal a third year — and today, the Braves were told that Furcal would not be joining them.
5:43pm: Tim Brown reports that the Braves had sent Furcal a signed term sheet, according to "a club source." Monday night, Kinzer asked for the paperwork to be faxed to him. Braves GM Frank Wren complied Tuesday morning. Writes Brown:
No member of the Braves’ front office – not Wren, not longtime former GM John Schuerholz – could recall a time when a signed term sheet was not the equivalent of a handshake agreement, ethically – if not legally – binding.
Brown adds that the Braves believe Kinzer shopped the term sheet to the Dodgers, who had been reluctant to commit to a third year.
4:47pm: The latest from Rosenthal:
The Dodgers and Furcal were still hammering out an agreement Wednesday afternoon, sources said, but the Braves had been informed that Furcal would not accept their deal.
4:10pm: Ken Rosenthal says Furcal decided to sign with the Dodgers.
Mark Bowman’s latest doesn’t suggest Furcal made a decision, but he does explain why the Braves thought they had a deal. Bowman’s source believes the Dodgers offered three years plus a fourth-year player option.
11:48am: Yahoo’s Tim Brown: Furcal is "nearing an agreement with the Dodgers." Joel Sherman learned from Kinzer that the Dodgers are in the lead, having matched the Braves’ three-year, $30MM (plus a fourth-year vesting option) offer. Paul Kinzer told Sherman the idea of switching to second base for the Braves gave Furcal pause.
Kinzer told Danny Knobler there was never a verbal agreement with the Braves. Kinzer lives in Atlanta and received 50 phone calls from fans after the story broke yesterday.
9:39am: Yesterday we watched as Rafael Furcal and his agents seemingly ignored a gentleman’s agreement with the Braves to continue negotiating with the Dodgers. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times learned from Ned Colletti that the Dodgers improved their offer to Furcal (the original was two years with a vesting option).
According to Buster Olney, the Braves offered three years, $30MM with a vesting option for the fourth year. Olney says the A’s were at $38MM guaranteed over four years.
Sarah Green also contributed to this post.
Braves Re-Sign Greg Norton
4:58pm: Norton gets $800K, according to the AP.
3:33pm: According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves re-signed Greg Norton to a one-year deal. MLB.com confirms the signing. Norton, 36, hit .246/.361/.427 in 202 plate appearances for the Braves while playing left field and first base.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Crosby, Kawakami, Wolf
3:44pm: MLB.com’s Jim Street says Crosby cleared waivers.
9:00am: The word from Ken Rosenthal…
- The A’s placed shortstop Bobby Crosby on outright waivers in the hope that some team will assume his $5.75MM salary for ’09. After his lousy ’08, he may go unclaimed.
- The Braves were focused on Rafael Furcal; they’re not looking to add a different infielder as a backup plan. They still want another starting pitcher. Dave O’Brien names some possible targets.
- Rosenthal says some teams fear Kenshin Kawakami might want to match Hiroki Kuroda‘s three-year, $35.3MM deal.
- The Mariners would like to add a left-handed hitter with power; they’re waiting for a bargain.
- The Rockies are apparently debating whether to sign Tim Redding or trade for Jason Marquis. Reports in the Denver Post suggest Redding is the top target.
- Randy Wolf is looking for $30MM over three years. The Astros were in the $22-24MM range before pulling back.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Teixeira, Giants, Braves, Bradley, Pirates
On this date 17 years ago, the Blue Jays signed 40-year old future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to a one-year, $2.3MM contract. The signing was a good one as Winfield helped the Jays to their first title in 1992. That year he hit .290-26-108 with a .377 OBP and 137 OPS+, including what would prove to be the series-winning two-run double in the top of the 11th of game 6 of the World Series. Did I mention he was 40? With this year’s crop of free agents playing euchre as they patiently wait for Mark Teixeira to make up his mind, let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Sully Baseball is not worried about the Red Sox possibly losing out on Mark Teixeira feeling the money may be better spent on pitching.
- The Bottom Line wonders if the Red Sox are better off waiting a year and going after Matt Holliday to replace Jason Bay.
- El Lefty Malo projects the Giants offense for next season and shows that one more big bat would give them a league-average offense.
- Braves Blast laments the Braves inability to land a starting pitcher so far this off-season and wonders what options are left.
- The Launching Pad does not see any of the remaining free agent pitchers as an upgrade for the Braves over what is already on the roster.
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse is aggravated by the lack of big moves from the Cubs and while they would like Milton Bradley as a Cub, they think it is unlikely.
- Baseball Handyman offers grades for the free agent signings to date, with only the Francisco Rodriguez contract earning an ‘A’.
- The ‘Burgh Blues takes a look at the Pirates inability to find pitchers that can find the strike zone.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.