Rosenthal’s Latest: Kotsay, Fuentes, Glavine, Smoltz
On August 18th, Rosenthal mentioned Mark Kotsay had cleared waivers, and that Brian Fuentes had not yet been placed. Here’s an update, from today’s Inside Pitch video:
- The Brewers and Red Sox are both showing interest in Kotsay. The Brewers would only pursue a trade if Ryan Braun‘s ribcage injury worsens, and so far he looks more than fine. The Sox made a play for lefty-hitting Brian Giles before Giles vetoed the deal, so it makes sense that they’d exert similar effort toward Kotsay. Even more so now that J.D. Drew has a herniated disc.
- Fuentes is expected to be put on waivers this week, a process that’s not usually made public, let alone announced, so the Rockies must be keen to see if they can do better in a trade than the two first round draft picks they get by keeping Fuentes. According to Rosenthal, as things stand, the Dodgers currently have waiver priority. If they pass for salary reasons, the Phillies could be a roadblock for the Mets.
- Rosenthal also mentions a delicate situation in Atlanta: Tom Glavine and John Smoltz both want to pitch next year, and Glavine only wants to pitch for the Braves. The Braves are faced with re-signing the inevitable Hall of Famers without being as reliant on their health as they were this year, or letting them go despite their long history with the team. Toss Mike Hampton‘s arm into the mix as well.
Braves Sign Rodrigo Lopez
The Braves signed 32 year-old righty Rodrigo Lopez to a minor league deal today with an option for ’09. Lopez had surgery on a torn flexor tendon as well as Tommy John surgery in August of last year. Braves pitcher Jorge Campillo apparently recommended the team take a look at Lopez, a friend of his.
We’ve seen teams take this strategy successfully in the past, signing a player coming off elbow surgery with an eye on the following season. Lopez had a decent half-season for the Rox last year before the injury surfaced.
Heyman’s Latest: Bowden, Helton, Maddux, K-Rod
Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- Despite the headline "Nats GM in trouble," Heyman says Jim Bowden has the support of his bosses. They do not blame him for Aaron Crow and are not concerned with his possible connection to the scout skimming scandal.
- Heyman suggests the Rockies could shop first baseman Todd Helton this winter if he demonstrates a healthy back in September. Here’s the thing – if Helton was a free agent and you had to give him a three-year deal, what would you pay? $5MM a year maybe? Are the Rockies going to eat $40MM? Helton might have to be swapped for another bad contract.
- Heyman sees Ryan Dempster getting four years and $48MM, and Oliver Perez snagging $60MM over five. Are they worth that?
- People close to Greg Maddux are saying he wants to pitch next year. Heyman also sees John Smoltz and Tom Glavine back in ’09.
- "Some are expecting" the Reds to be big players in free agency this year. The Reds figure to be in the market for catching and outfield help. Manny Ramirez would be interesting.
- Heyman wonders if the Mets will be players for Francisco Rodriguez this winter.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: O’s. Holliday, Glavine, Maddux, Cardinals, Jeter
A few notes on from around the baseball Blogospehere…
- Camden Chat feels the Orioles are stuck with players like Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff, even though both have cleared waivers.
- Drunk Jays Fans thinks Matt Holliday will be too expensive in terms of contract and prospects for the Jays.
- Talking Chop does not want to see Tom Glavine back in a Braves uniform next season.
- Gaslamp Ball is not happy about San Diego trading Greg Maddux to the Dodgers and wonders why the Padres would want to help their divisional rival.
- Ducksnorts hates the Maddux deal as a fan, but is happy for Maddux and understands the move from a business standpoint.
- Viva El Birdos does not see the Cardinals signing any free agent starting pitchers for ’09, noting that would go against the organizational philosophy.
- Derek Jeter is not a free agent until after the ’10 season, but that hasn’t stopped Was Watching from discussing his future.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Glavine, Dunn, Draft, Tigers
A few more notes from around the MLBiverse…
- Tom Glavine will not need Tommy John surgery and Glavine puts the chances of an ’09 return "50-50 at best."
- Scott Bordow takes a look at how the Adam Dunn acquisition is affecting the D-Backs.
- In Peter Gammons’ latest piece he takes a look at how small-market teams ignored the slot recommendations from the commissioner’s office, noting that the slot system "only rewards big market teams."
- In the same article, Gammons says the Tigers may have to reduce their payroll by $40MM next season. Gammons believes it will be very difficult, noting they are already committed to more than $100MM for ’09.
- The Hardball Times takes a look at several players drafted using compensation picks that turned out to be much better than the free agent the team lost.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Elias, Izzy, Silva, Colletti
Linkage for Wednesday…
- Eddie Bajek over at Detroit Tigers Thoughts has successfully reverse-engineered the Elias Type A/Type B formula. Today he assigns statuses to the American League catchers. Jason Varitek clings to Type A, while Ivan Rodriguez has slipped to Type B. Read more about how free agent compensation works here.
- Jason Isringhausen‘s season, and maybe his career, is over due to a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.
- J.C. Bradbury puts on his GM hat for the Braves. Rather than plug in free agent signings, he’d sell off most of the infield.
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone extinguishes a Carlos Silva rumor.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney grades the deadline deals. He has Ken Griffey Jr., Kyle Farnsworth, and Damaso Marte bringing up the rear.
- Tim Brown explains that Ned Colletti’s job is safe.
- Johnny Damon hopes A.J. Burnett opts out of his deal. Does he just want Burnett out of the league, or is he hoping the righty joins the Yanks’ rotation next year?
- Twins reliever Brian Bass may become a free agent, if he refuses a Triple A assignment.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Holliday, Fuentes, Kotsay
Ken Rosenthal posted a new Full Count video this weekend.
- Rosenthal believes the Rockies are "almost certain to trade Matt Holliday this offseason." Should be a hot topic at the Winter Meetings in December. Rosenthal says to watch out for smaller-revenue sleepers on Holliday like the Nationals, Royals, and Blue Jays. Holliday, a Boras client, is set to earn $13.5MM in ’09 before he hits free agency.
- Rockies closer Brian Fuentes has yet to hit the waiver wire, but he will soon. Rosenthal wonders if the Dodgers would win the claim if their record is worse than Arizona’s when Fuentes hits the wire. The Marlins, Astros, and the NL non-contenders would have to pass first. I could see the salary-shy Dodgers passing on Fuentes, but the Phillies probably wouldn’t let him get to the Mets. At any rate, a team would have to beat two draft picks to pry Fuentes loose in a trade.
- Somewhat surprising new addition to our cleared waivers list – Braves center fielder Mark Kotsay. Apparently a number of teams are interested in the resurgent Kotsay, though not enough to take on his remaining salary.
- The Braves nearly acquired Jason Bay in July, and will be in the market for a slugging outfielder this winter. They’ll also be looking for a quality starter, likely in the Ryan Dempster/A.J. Burnett/Jon Garland range. Click here to browse the free agent market.
Odds and Ends: Heyman, Vidro, Glavine, Falkenborg
Let’s round up today’s links.
- Great interview with SI.com’s Jon Heyman at The Big Lead. He talks about scoops, Buster Olney, and his wife helping him do his job, among other things.
- Aaron Gleeman doesn’t understand why the Twins claimed Alan Embree but not Chad Bradford.
- Unsurprisingly, the Mariners weren’t able to find a trade partner for Jose Vidro.
- Richard Justice on what he’d have done as Astros GM.
- Tom Glavine‘s next six weeks will determine whether he’ll pitch in ’09.
- The Padres claimed reliever Brian Falkenborg from the Dodgers. Paul DePodesta likes his stuff.
- Danny Knobler writes about the Tigers’ numerous offseason needs.
- Tim Marchman doesn’t think the Yankees will have the money for multiple big-time free agent signings.
- The White Sox have signed seventh round OF Jordan Danks, brother of lefty pitcher John. Jordan hit .321/.444/.564 for the Texas Longhorns this year. The bonus is reportedly just north of $500K.
Perrotto’s Latest: Waivers, Extensions, Garcia, Braves
John Perrotto over at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up:
- Perrotto lists off several people which he believes are the most likely to be made available if and when they clear waivers. While the list is comprised of a lot of the usual suspects this August (Greg Maddux, Jarrod Washburn, Paul Byrd, Randy Winn), Perrotto lists some other names that we haven’t seen as much: Francisco Cordero, Tyler Walker, Todd Jones, Jose Bautista, and Doug Mientkiewicz. Perrotto also says that he feels Aubrey Huff has the best chance to be traded of any impact bat available.
- Perrotto states that the Rockies would like to sign both Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday long-term. If unsuccessful, they will both be on the trading block this offseason.
- The Pirates would like to sign Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit long-term as well, buying out their arbitration years.
- Perrotto lists the Yankees as the front-runners to sign Freddy Garcia. The Mets and Rays are also suitors for Garcia, though I personally don’t think Garcia makes sense for the Rays.
- The Yankees have "little interest" in pursuing Manny Ramirez this offseason, despite possible reports that Manny would like to play for them.
- The Twins would still like to add a late-inning reliever this season to boost their bullpen as the AL Central race winds down.
- The Braves’ top priority this offseason is pursuing a front-line starter, Perrotto says. He lists possible candidates as: C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Ryan Dempster, Derek Lowe, and Jon Garland. Seems a bit odd to consider the last three "front-line," though Dempster has certainly been impressive this season.
Odds And Ends: Royals, Rockies, Rhodes, Braves
Let’s round up some remaining links in this lazy Saturday afternoon:
- The Royals DFA’d Yasuhiko Yabuta. The White Sox had tried to sign the Japanese reliever last winter but were unsuccessful. Yabuta was 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA and had signed a two-year, $6MM deal with Kansas City.
- The Rockies tried desperately to acquire a fifth starter before the non-waiver deadline but couldn’t match-up with the Mariners for Jarrod Washburn or the Nationals for Tim Redding; and Paul Byrd had Colorado on his no-trade list. The Rockies will continue to look for a starter via waiver wire claims.
- Arthur Rhodes was shocked when he learned he had been traded to the Marlins. ”There had been a lot of talk about me being traded to a couple of other teams, but I guess Florida wanted me more."
- The Braves DFA’d back-up catcher Corky Miller yesterday, and Royce Ring today.
- Also today (and in that Ring link), the Astros DFA’d Chad Paronto.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Post-deadline rumors? Comments? alexo05 [at] umpbump [daught] com.