Mark Teixeira Rumors: Friday
The latest on free agent slugger Mark Teixeira:
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox burn, lust for, and love Teixeira. Silverman says Tex should end up with a salary of at least $20MM and a term of at least six years. Also, Silverman talked to one source who suggested the Yankees’ acquisition of Nick Swisher "could be a prelude to another deal with a National League club."
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still plan to add an impact hitter. He agrees that "several National League teams have had their eye on Swisher." MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves are among them.
- Teixeira told Erin Andrews last night that he hopes to sign by Christmas.
Braves Rumors: Hampton, Ludwick, Burnett
Braves GM Frank Wren chatted with fans on MLB.com today and David O’Brien has some new Braves rumors as well.
- Wren told O’Brien that the Braves have had "a number of conversations" with Mike Hampton about keeping him in Atlanta. In his MLB.com chat, Wren said he thinks Hampton is still a "very good pitcher."
- O’Brien says that talks with the Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick "aren’t dead." Wren doesn’t comment when asked about Ludwick in the chat, but that is in itself something of a statement.
- O’Brien says that if Atlanta can’t trade for Ludwick, Raul Ibanez would be an outfield target. Wren said in his chat that he’d like to acquire a "productive bat in the outfield," and that a right-handed hitter would be ideal.
- Not surprisingly, Wren writes in the chat that he’d like to have A.J. Burnett in the Braves’ rotation next year. Wren adds that the Braves have had discussions about bringing back Paul Byrd for a third time.
- Wren told O’Brien that he’s going to worry about assembling the 2009 team before working on extensions for players like Chipper Jones.
- And Brian McCann‘s already lost 22 pounds since the end of the season.
Braves Claim O’Flaherty
According to Larry LaRue of The Tacoma News Tribune, the Braves claimed southpaw reliever Eric O’Flaherty off waivers from the Mariners today. O’Flaherty, 24 in February, was terrible in seven appearances with the Ms this year and struggled with walks and hits allowed in Triple A.
In 2007, though, he held lefties to a .183/.278/.204 line.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday
2:00pm: David O’Brien says the Padres and Braves need each other and still believes Peavy winds up in Atlanta. I agree. O’Brien also says the Braves’ talks for Ryan Ludwick aren’t dead.
10:29am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod. Peavy hasn’t revised his original list of five teams, but Axelrod says the NL West would interest Peavy (aside from the Rockies). So, maybe Giants fans have something new to speculate about. Axelrod says the list was only guidance for Towers.
8:52am: Let’s round up today’s Jake Peavy linkage.
- MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat said yesterday the Cubs’ talks for Peavy had ended due to budget restraints. Those limitations still exist, so the Cubs would have to get creative.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com’s Corey Brock Wednesday night that he talked to Jim Hendry and the Cubs are still interested in Peavy. Yahoo’s Tim Brown heard the same from a source. It’d require a third or fourth team and the aforementioned financial creativity.
- Towers told Tom Krasovic that talks with the Braves have not resumed and he hasn’t heard from the Angels. Krasovic also said, "Among some of his ballplayer friends, Peavy has created the impression that if he is traded, he would like to pitch for the Cubs."
Stark’s Latest: Putz, Manny, Lackey, Ibanez
Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
- Stark does the math and finds 15 potentially available closers versus six clubs in the market for one. Should result in a few bargains or teams holding on to their surpluses.
- The Mets don’t seem willing to extend to four years for Francisco Rodriguez. Stark says J.J. Putz would become the Mets’ top closer target if he’s made available. MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone wrote a few days ago that the Mets are likely to trade for a reliever with closing experience before attempting to sign one.
- J.P. Ricciardi quote: "We won’t be involved with Manny." Ricciardi last month: "He’s on our radar, but maybe not on our radar like some people will report."
- Despite reports to the contrary, Stark talked to a rival executive who says Jake Peavy made it "onto [the Angels’] radar pretty hard." Stark speculates that Peavy could fit if the Halos sign Mark Teixeira.
- It seems likely that the Angels will put out an offer to Teixeira with a deadline, and then either sign him or move on.
- John Lackey‘s been telling friends he expects to have an extension with the Angels by Opening Day. Lackey indicated last month he’d wait to see the Halos’ offensive plans before re-signing.
- Stark suspects the Players Union might be OK with C.C. Sabathia turning down a larger offer from the Yankees if he still signed for more than Johan Santana‘s $23MM per year. I don’t really see why Sabathia would worry about the union in any regard.
- The Dodgers inquired on the asking price of Jason Varitek, with the idea of moving Russell Martin to third base in mind. They balked at Scott Boras’ demand for Tek, however.
- Curt Schilling is "more likely than ever" to attempt a late June or early July comeback.
- Tons of teams have expressed some degree of interest in Raul Ibanez: the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels, and Mariners. Some interesting new ones in there.
- The Phillies never made a two-year, $21MM offer to Pat Burrell. Will the Phils at least offer him arbitration? The rumored offer was questionable from Day 1, as Paul Hagen said Burrell "reportedly turned down a two-year, $22MM offer" but didn’t reference a specific report.
- Stark believes that the Brewers were not thrilled with the Yankees’ "overbid" for C.C. Sabathia, and therefore would prefer not to trade Mike Cameron to them. Dan Graziano wrote yesterday about the Yanks’ conversations for Cameron.
- Roy Oswalt wants the Astros to sign Ben Sheets, but the price tag may be too high. Stark has the following names on their radar: Randy Wolf, Mike Hampton, Freddy Garcia, Paul Byrd, and maybe Pedro Martinez. Is Drayton McLane willing to bring Andy Pettitte back? GM Ed Wade seemed interested in his chat yesterday, saying, "We’ll have to see what develops down the road."
Latest On A.J. Burnett
WEDNESDAY: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Burnett is only considering five-year offers; the Yankees haven’t committed to that yet.
TUESDAY: Kat O’Brien of Newsday has the latest on free agent starter A.J. Burnett. She says the Red Sox have "significantly increased their involvement" on Burnett recently. They’ll butt heads with the Yankees, who have yet to make a formal offer. O’Brien shoots down George King’s recent suggestion of "perhaps" a five-year, $80MM offer from New York. The initial offer will be four years at more than $13.5MM per.
There’s talk that Ryan Dempster‘s four-year, $52MM deal will raise the stakes for Burnett, but he figured to soar well beyond $13MM per year regardless. The Dempster and Kyle Lohse deals could give Burnett’s agent justification in asking for five years though. Aside from the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays, the Braves, Phillies, and Orioles are in the mix. The Braves will have to be aggressive on Burnett and Derek Lowe, in case they aren’t able to acquire Jake Peavy.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday
Dan Hayes of the North County Times talked to Jake Peavy‘s agent Barry Axelrod, who said there are "probably six or eight more teams we’d be willing to look at" beyond Peavy’s initial preferred five.
Some suggest the Cubs are still in play; MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat says talks have ended. No other team is generating buzz. The Braves certainly have the goods, if they’re willing to up their offer (and give Peavy a full no-trade clause).
Odds and Ends: Perez, Lowe, Garland, Swisher, Neshek
Some Tuesday evening links:
- Odalis Perez is waiting to sign a new contract this offseason, says MLB.com’s Bill Ladson after a conversation with Perez’ agent. Ladson also notes that Nats’ GM Jim Bowden has expressed interest in resigning the lefty starter. Perez did start 30 games last season with Washington.
- The Braves have a significant interest in Derek Lowe, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Beyond Lowe, Atlanta may look next at Jon Garland, Randy Wolf, or Oliver Perez. Bowman categorizes the members of this group as potentially "profitable gambles."
- Nick Swisher will play almost exclusively at first base for the Yankees–at least for now, says Ed Smith of the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
- Twins reliever Pat Neshek had successful Tommy John surgery this morning, and will soon begin rehab. He’s targeting Spring Training 2010 for his return, according to Kelly Thesier at MLB.com.
Towers: Peavy To Braves Could Still Happen
Now that the Cubs have essentially taken themselves out of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes by signing free agent pitcher Ryan Dempster, Padres GM Kevin Towers is looking for a new trade partner.
MLB.com’s Corey Brock reminds us that "Towers indicated Monday that the Cubs were essentially his sole focus as far as discussions to trade Peavy, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner."
Now the Padres may try to rekindle talks with the Braves:
Towers wouldn’t rule out the possibility of circling back around to the Braves, who last week said they were moving on after a deal couldn’t be reached.
"You never know … we certainly made more progress with them," Towers said. "We were able to ID and agree upon a large part of the package."
The Braves have always been the logical landing place for Peavy. Atlanta GM Frank Wren said recently that he had given up on trading for the Padres ace.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Griffey, Peavy, Dempster
A look at the latest column from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:
- Rosenthal wonders if Jason Varitek‘s viral sickness and divorce last year contributed to his poor performance at the plate.
- Ken Griffey Jr.‘s wife gave him her blessing to play anywhere he’d like. If he’s focused on getting a ring, Seattle might not make sense. Griffey’s doctor believes his knee will be in better shape in 2009.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers wonders if Jake Peavy would’ve accepted a trade to the Braves, given Atlanta’s club policy against no-trade clauses. Towers isn’t talking to the Braves, Dodgers, or Yankees about Peavy, and Rosenthal says he’s "not making much headway" with the Cubs. ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the Cubs’ loss of Jose Ceda lessens their chances, while Frank Wren still believes Peavy will end up a Brave.
- The Cubs hope to resolve the Ryan Dempster situation this week. The team wants to do a four-year deal.
- The Giants are still in on Juan Cruz after their Jeremy Affeldt signing.
- The Phillies gave Pat Burrell "parameters" for a new deal, while Rosenthal speculates on the Giants and Dodgers as other possible fits.