Multiple Offers For Kawakami?
Patrick at NPB Tracker writes that Kenshin Kawakami‘s agent says he’s received official offers from "more than one team."
It’s not known which teams offered contracts, but the Braves are interested and Patrick lists the Orioles, Red Sox, Angels, Giants, and Brewers as other possible suitors.
Here’s the link to the Hochi Sports article in Japanese.
Braves Not Interested In Lowe, Peavy?
According to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, the Braves aren’t interested in available starters Jake Peavy and Derek Lowe. The market for Lowe seems to be shrinking, as Scott Boras sticks to demands for four or five years at $16.5MM per (similar to A.J. Burnett‘s deal). Knobler says there’s still bad blood between the Braves and Padres over the Peavy talks.
It sounds like the Braves have turned to Kenshin Kawakami to complement their Javier Vazquez acquistion.
Why The Braves-Peavy Trade Fell Apart
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune had an article yesterday involving a couple of failed Padres trades.
Krasovic says the Padres and Braves were discussing a 4-for-1 Jake Peavy deal in November. Yunel Escobar and Gorkys Hernadez were agreed upon. The conflict came as the Padres wanted Charlie Morton over Jo-Jo Reyes as well as Jeff Locke or Tyler Flowers over Blaine Boyer. To me that gap looks pretty sizeable, so maybe the trade was never close. At this point it seems like the Braves could end up with Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami as their rotation upgrades. They’ve reportedly made Escobar unavailable, leading Dan Hayes of the North County Times to suggest the Braves would have to remove Tommy Hanson‘s apparent "untouchable" tag to get Peavy. Everything I’ve read about Hanson has said the Braves are adamant about keeping him.
Krasovic also says the Giants made a run at shortstop Khalil Greene before he was dealt to the Cardinals.
Japanese Free Agent Round-Up: Kawakami, Takahashi, Saito
Patrick at NPB Tracker has an interesting update on some notable Japanese free agents.
- If the Braves are in fact interested in Kenshin Kawakami, they may have to beat an eventual three-year, $21MM offer from the Red Sox.
- Omar Minaya thinks Koji Uehara projects as a starter, and future negotiations will be based on that projection.
- The Mets are the frontrunners for signing Ken Takahashi.
- The Dodgers would’ve been willing to do a $2.5MM deal plus incentives for Takashi Saito, but he did not accept that.
NBP Tracker has the source links, which are in Japanese. Kudos to Patrick for keeping those of us that can’t read Japanese in the know.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Braves Interested In Kawakami
Having lost out on A.J. Burnett, the Atlanta Braves are shifting their attention to a different candidate to fill out their starting rotation–33-year old Japanese veteran Kenshin Kawakami.
Dave O’Brien at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Braves are serious contenders for Kawakami’s services. While teams like the Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Orioles are also in on Kawakami, "the Braves are particularly motivated to improve their rotation," O’Brien says.
Failing to sign Burnett is certainly one motivating factor, but O’Brien also mentions the increasing chance that John Smoltz does not return to the Braves in 2009.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com
A.J. Burnett Rumors: Friday
2:45pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says both teams have guaranteed five years. The Yankees are offering "just beyond" $80MM and the Braves at least that amount. Sherman believes those to be the best and final offers and expects Burnett to choose sometime between today and Monday.
11:54am: Burnett is in "decision-making" mode, according to his agent.
9:05am: Kat O’Brien and Ken Davidoff of Newsday talked to Hal Steinbrenner, who said he’s optimistic about the Yankees signing A.J. Burnett. They have a five-year, $80MM offer on the table. It seems possible the Braves may have matched it, but it’s not confirmed.
Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Max Ramirez, Lowell
Links for Friday…
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon lost some dough.
- The Red Sox expressed interest in Kenshin Kawakami yesterday. Michael Silverman says Kawakami is expected to choose a team and sign in January (the Orioles are also interested).
- John Perrotto says the Marlins like Max Ramirez and are willing to trade pitching prospect Ryan Tucker.
- Bernie Williams will play winter ball in preparation for the World Baseball Classic.
- Paul Sullivan says Cubs manager Lou Piniella was upset at the thought of losing Mark DeRosa.
- Rany Jazayerli weighs in on the Royals’ signing of Kyle Farnsworth. Joe Posnanski talks about Farnsworth and many other topics.
- Andrew Baggarly says the Giants are not interested in Mike Lowell.
- Bob Elliott says the Blue Jays had an agreement to pay the Braves to take Everth Cabrera seventh in the Rule 5 draft, but the Padres picked him third.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Tigers, Braves, Red Sox, Pirates
Today is free agent Orlando Hudson’s 31st birthday and the 29th birthday of Garrett Atkins, the subject of many recent trade rumors.
Also, on this date 10 years ago, Kevin Brown became the first player to sign a contract worth at least $100MM, when he signed a seven-year/$105MM contract with the Dodgers. The deal came when Brown was 34, one season after going 18-7 with a 2.38 ERA. Brown’s first two seasons with the Dodgers (18-9, 3.00 and 13-6, 2.58) were solid, but he would only make 29 starts in years three and four combined. Since then, two pitchers have signed deals for at least six years. Mike Hampton and Barry Zito. That doesn’t bode well for C.C. Sabathia, but it’s a small sample size…With the winter meetings now wrapped up, let’s take a look at what is being said in the Blogosphere…
- Take 75 North feels the Tigers are going to regret acquiring Edwin Jackson and lament the loss of Matt Joyce.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog does not get the Edwin Jackson/Matt Joyce deal noting that at least Joyce has shown signs of being a very good player.
- When Sid Slid weighs the merits of acquiring Jake Peavy or A.J. Burnett and sees Burnett as the better option.
- Infield Chatter warns the Red Sox about signing Mark Teixeira, feeling Theo Epstein should be more concerned with acquiring a pitcher and noting the Red Sox have Lars Anderson waiting in the minors.
- Pirate Revolution feels the Pirates need to move Adam LaRoche, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson and John Grabow to unblock the paths of younger players.
- DraftInfo has a Q&A with Max Stassi, a high school catcher that is projected to be selected in the first round.
- Fire Brand of the American League takes a look at the impact C.C. Sabathia will have on the AL East.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday
10:56pm: Axelrod suggestion the Giants as a possible destination for Peavy in a talk with Tim Sullivan. He said, "I think they’ve got the money. But I don’t know if they’ve got the prospects."
8:20pm: Jon Heyman says that Peavy is frustrated by the team’s inability to trade him. His agent, Barry Axelrod, says that Peavy had begun to get used to the idea of being a Cub, and now that opportunity is apparently gone. Axelrod says if the Padres approach he and his client with a trade, they’ll consider it, but there won’t be any more lists of approved teams.
Axelrod also criticizes the majority of baseball executives for their lack of action at the Winter Meetings.
"It’s amazing to me how many people can waste time, money and resources, and get nothing done," Axelrod said. "Baseball moved lock, stock and barrel into that town, and absolutely nothing happened."
6:45: Mike DiGiovanna at the LA Times says that the Angels are now in the mix for Peavy. Trade talks could begin as soon as next week, with Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, Reggie Willits, Nick Adenhart, and Kevin Jepsen all names that could be talked about. The Angels will only pursue Peavy if they can’t re-sign Mark Teixeira.
5:02pm: Talked to a person familiar with the Cubs’ thinking…he really could not see the Cubs revisiting a Peavy trade. The Padres need to get Peavy’s $63MM off the books soon, yet were trying to swing 6-for-1 or 7-for-1 deals for him despite the extremely limited market. Marshall was never in the mix, by the way.
3:27pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves "won’t even think about renewing their pursuit of Peavy unless the talks are initiated by the Padres, who will no longer find a compensation package that includes Yunel Escobar." Escobar is apparently off the table because the Braves no longer have Brent Lillibridge.
2:56pm: Tim Brown and Gordon Edes say the Cubs "remain optimistic that they can acquire Peavy, all but ignored Towers’ self-imposed deadline." Meanwhile, Gerry Fraley says the Angels have already put together a package for the Padres to consider.
12:01pm: Kevin Towers told reporters the proposed Peavy deal with the Cubs is dead. The Cubs pulled out. Mike DiGiovanna heard earlier that the Angels remain interested. Towers is not certain he wants to engage in further Peavy discussions at this time. I think even hot stove junkies wouldn’t mind a respite.
11:30am: Towers still hasn’t heard back from Hendry on the Peavy deal. Ken Rosenthal says eight to ten teams have called on DeRosa, adding the A’s to the mix of known suitors.
12:33am: Multiple reports suggested yesterday that the Cubs would not trade Mark DeRosa. But new stories in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times do not support that notion.
Paul Sullivan of the Trib says DeRosa "appears to be the key to any Peavy deal." Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times heard the Cubs would only trade DeRosa as part of a Peavy deal, and Jim Hendry inquired on Chone Figgins as a possible replacement. And La Velle E. Neal III believes DeRosa is fair game in a Peavy deal or separately for the Twins or Phillies. As far as Jason Marquis, both Chicago writers see him landing in San Diego with the Cubs eating about half his salary (one sign that the Cubs have "hand," as George Costanza would say).
Padres GM Kevin Towers wants to get a framework in place today. The Cubs have the leverage, with Wittenmyer suggesting they also want to keep Sean Marshall. One player most writers believe will be sent from the Cubs to the Padres is Josh Vitters. But Towers says it’s in the Cubs’ hands.
A.J. Burnett Rumors: Thursday
7:18: Mark Bowman at MLB.com says it’s down to the Braves or the Yankees for Burnett. Interestingly, he notes that A.J. might not necessarily want to be an "ace" of a staff like he would be in Atlanta. He has the Yanks’ offer between $80-85MM.
12:12pm: Rosenthal heard indications the Braves were preparing a final push for Burnett and would guarantee a fifth year.
10:33am: Rosenthal and Fraley see the Yankees as the clear frontrunner for Burnett. They say Braunecker will contact other clubs today to give them one last chance to beat the Yanks’ five-year, $85MM offer. Will the Braves counter? Burnett signing with the Yankees would be undesirable for the Blue Jays in two ways – they’d have to face him fairly often, and they’d (tentatively) get the Yanks’ second-round pick instead of a first-round one.
9:46am: Buster Olney says the Yankees are confident they won’t be overbid for Burnett, at least.
9:19am: Chipper Jones spoke to Burnett about ten days ago, and the pitcher told him that if he does play in the NL, it’ll only be with the Braves.
8:53am: Ken Davidoff and Kat O’Brien wrote that the Yankees "appeared to be closing in on a deal" for Burnett late last night. They put the offer at about $80MM.
8:32am: Ken Rosenthal and Gerry Fraley say the Braves have not offered Burnett five guaranteed years. The fifth year is an easily attainable vesting option, though. Dan Graziano says that this time around, Braunecker is not seeking an opt-out clause for Burnett.
2:19am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has been all over the A.J. Burnett talks. Today he says the Yankees have a five-year deal worth about $85MM on the table. Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker isn’t seeking much more than that – he’s eyeing a Carlos Zambrano-influenced $91.5MM payday. It’s an interesting comparison, given that Z’s deal was signed over a year ago and not on the open market.
Crasnick says discussions continued with the Yankees late Wednesday. Yankee players have been calling Burnett, lobbying him to choose their team over the Braves. Crasnick believes a deal could be in place as soon as today.
Yesterday we heard conflicting reports about whether the Braves guaranteed a fifth year in their offer.