Braves Sign Soriano For Two Years
According to Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves have signed closer Rafael Soriano to a two-year deal. This buys out one year of free agency and also removes him from a deep free agent closer class.
The deal is worth $9MM: $2.4MM in ’08, $6.1MM in ’09, and a $500K signing bonus. Solid move.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Boras, Murton, Marquis, Clark
Ken Rosenthal is here to hopefully rescue what’s been a slow day for rumors.
- Rosenthal points out that it seems Scott Boras has been more flexible with his clients’ contracts this year, perhaps even as the result of his "failures" with Alex Rodriguez and Kenny Rogers. A new, gentler Boras? Wait til Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, and Prince Fielder reach free agency.
- The Padres are targeting Matt Murton for left field, a notion that gels with Kevin Towers’ stated quest to acquire a corner outfielder via trade. Plus, Towers gets along well with Cubs GM Jim Hendry. Not sure how the teams would match up, unless things expand to include Khalil Greene. The Cubs would have to be sure they don’t need Murton for other deals or because of other deals.
- Rosenthal agrees with the recent rumor that the Orioles will decide whether to trade Erik Bedard and Brian Roberts by month’s end. He notes that Cubs starter Jason Marquis actually does have trade value, and could be part of a package for Roberts. Other teams are interested in him too – go figure. Innings are innings I guess. Marquis, 29, is owed $16.25MM over the 2008-09 seasons.
- An MLBTR commenter questioned the other day why Troy Tulowitzki‘s deal was said to top Grady Sizemore‘s as the record holder for a player with less than two years service time. The commenter wondered why Brian McCann wasn’t part of the discussion – he signed for more than Sizemore ($26.8MM) in March of ’07 with about a season and a half under his belt. Anyone know why McCann’s name doesn’t come up in this discussion?
- One of Rosenthal’s sources believes progress has been made on a long-term pact with Holliday, and the recent two-year deal is a positive sign.
- Teams inquiring on Tony Clark: Mariners, Giants, and Red Sox. Clark has been mentioned as a Giants target before.
Multiyear Contract Discussions: Teixeira, Tulowitzki, Morneau
With today’s deadline for arbitration-eligible players, it only makes sense that all sorts of long-term contract discussions are going on. Even players and teams who do agree to one-year deals for ’08 may find themselves with groundwork laid for bigger deals.
- That could be the case with Mark Teixeira. His agent, Scott Boras, had "quite a bit of dialogue" with Frank Wren about an extension prior to Tex signing for one year and $12.5MM. I recently guessed the Braves have a 10% chance of getting this done.
- The Rockies have had "intense, serious dialogue" with Troy Tulowitzki‘s agent about a long-term deal. Tulo isn’t arbitration-eligible yet though, so Dan O’Dowd may choose to resolve his arb cases and get back to his shortstop afterwards. Tulowitski could sign a six-year, $30MM deal, a record for a player with his service time.
- Justin Morneau signed for one year and $7.4MM. LEN3 says the Twins may contact his agent about a multiyear deal but haven’t yet.
Rays Acquire Aybar, Fontaine For Ridgway
The St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays acquired infielder Willy Aybar today along with Chase Fontaine for Jeff Ridgway. DRays Bay caught wind of this one several days ago.
Aybar is out of options, so he’ll stick with the big club as a super-utility guy. He can bridge the gap at third base if Evan Longoria needs a little time. Aybar would be most interesting at second; he’ll be 25 and sports a career OPS over .800. However a few years ago Baseball America questioned whether he could handle second base defensively long-term. Regardless, if Aybar can get past the substance abuse problems this could be a steal.
BA doesn’t expect the 22 year-old Fontaine to stick at shortstop; he might have to move to second eventually. He’s considered a line-drive hitter.
Ridgway is a 27 year-old southpaw reliever; Frank Wren sold low on Aybar if this is all he could get.
Odds and Ends: Aybar, Wang, Selig
How about some late morning odds and ends? You don’t really have a choice, do you.
- The Rays have talked to the Braves about acquiring Willy Aybar, according to Marc Lancaster. Aybar has had some off the field problems. But he turns 25 in March and could still be a useful player.
- Reader Yu Hsing Chen checks in from Taiwan with news that Chien-Ming Wang might be heading to an arbitration hearing with the Yankees. MLBTR had 228 visits from Taiwan yesterday – welcome! Taiwan is our fifth biggest traffic source, behind the U.S., Canada, UK, and Japan.
- According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers have spoken to free agents Mark Sweeney and Rudy Seanez about bringing them back, but the discussions have stalled.
- Bud Selig’s contract extended through 2012. Thoughts?
Mailbag: Roberts, Teixeira, Johan, Nathan, And More
Time for this week’s mailbag. You can hit it up at mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com to get in your question for next week.
Do you see the Twins signing a big name middle of the order bopper or trading for one before the opening of the new stadium in 2010? – Jordan
Funny you ask this. I recently asked LEN3 whether the Twins would have a $100MM payroll for the 2010 season, and he said, "I don’t see it." So I’ll go with his wisdom and say business as usual for the Twins despite the stadium.
Why are the White Sox not aggressively pursuing any pitching? Do they realistically think that Gavin Floyd and John Danks can hold down the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation on a contender? I believe we need to fill the holes with some veteran pitching such as Livan Hernandez who can eat up innings and possibly add Corey Patterson at center field. – Joel
I was just discussing this with a former coworker of mine. I can’t see the White Sox sneaking into a Wild Card berth with this rotation, but what’s the alternative? I don’t like the Livan idea. I would consider signing a couple of swingmen/injury risk types such as Brett Tomko or Bartolo Colon if he looks decent. Just a few low risk/OK reward guys with good stuff who could pay off. There’s no place for Patterson in the current Chicago outfield, I wouldn’t do that.
Were the Cubs holding off on the Brian Roberts trade until they got Lieber? – Bryant
The Cubs/Roberts thing still seems possible, and trading both Sean Marshall and Sean Gallagher is slightly easier to stomach with Lieber on board. If I were Jim Hendry I would let the whole Roberts idea go though.
What is the likelihood of the Braves signing Mark Teixeira long-term? – Matthew
I’ll put it at a 10% chance. This is a $100MM+ contract and he’s represented by Scott Boras. He’ll probably want to test the open market, and there could be some ridiculous bids.
When, just when will this Santana situation be over?! It’s just killing me! – Dan
We all feel your pain Dan. Most folks seem sick of reading similar rehashed rumors about this. I would be surprised if we don’t know Santana’s fate one month from now. Of course if his fate is to start the season with the Twins, then the rumors will restart in June.
Are there any trade rumors involving Joe Nathan? – Justin
C’mon Justin, you know I’d never hold out rumors on you. If Bill Smith is shopping Nathan around or getting inquiries, all parties are running very tight ships. Desperation for closers seems to kick in midseason, when certain bullpens are established as clearly crappy. So guys like Nathan and Huston Street may be more likely to be moved in June or July.
Why did the Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell for Hank Blalock/John Danks deal fall through back in November of ’05? – Oliver
The Rangers believed the deal was done, and hoped to avoid any leaks before it was official. However, a source tipped off the Palm Beach Post. The Post and a Texas newspaper ran with it. It was at that point the Boston front office found out, swooped in, and beat the Rangers’ offer. Those reporters altered history.
What do you see the Milwaukee Brewers doing with their pitching surplus? Do you see them maybe using some of their excess pitchers like Capuano and Bush to acquire a young catcher with some upside? – Tyler
We’ve seen it a million times – these winter pitching surpluses turn into deficits by May. There is certainly a case to be made for the Brewers to just stand pat, though all those arms would be tough to squeeze in given the bullpen acquisitions. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy expects some of the surplus to be traded before Spring Training. I like the catcher idea – Jeff Clement (Mariners), Bryan Anderson (Cardinals), or Taylor Teagarden/Gerald Laird (Rangers) seem like possible matches.
Do the Yankees sign Bobby Abreu after the 2008 season? – Andrew
Andrew notes that the Yanks have some money coming off the books after the ’08 season. The right field alternatives are weak, so Abreu could make sense. If he’d take a two or three-year extension midseason I could see Cashman doing it.
Did you ever sell your place in Lombard? – Steve
Thankfully I did. I tried selling by owner for a month and barely got any bites. Then I hired an agent and she sold it in three days.
Odds and Ends: Adam Jones, Weaver, Jocketty
You know how it works…random rumors and links to clear out my inbox.
- Adam Jones left winter ball early, perhaps as a prelude to a trade.
- The Cardinals’ interest in Jeff Weaver is "at best, tepid" according to Derrick Goold. However, Goold thinks they should bring him back.
- Walt Jocketty said on XM Radio: "I don’t want to be a GM again." I guess that settles that, Wayne Krivsky can rest easy.
- This is kind of funny. Mark Teahen on meeting Jose Guillen: "For the most part he didn’t rub me the wrong way – he seemed like a good guy." Hmmm….for the most part?
Kotsay Traded To Braves For Devine
UPDATE, 1-12-08 at 5:01pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, an agreement is in place for the A’s to send Kotsay to the Braves for reliever Joey Devine. The A’s will also eat $5.325MM of Kotsay’s ’08 salary, leaving the Braves on the hook for only $2MM. Essentially Billy Beane bought Devine.
UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 3:54pm: MLB.com’s Mychael Urban has a source who believes the Braves would not pay more than $3MM of Kotsay’s $8MM salary.
FROM 1-11-08 at 3:09pm:
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution just posted his upcoming story in the comments of his blog. He says Billy Beane called Mark Kotsay this morning, informing him that he is discussing a trade with Atlanta. The Braves would get salary relief and give up a mid-level prospect, as expected.
Odds and Ends: Morneau, Jocketty, Santana
Your usual dose of random rumors and links…
- Justin Morneau says he has had no extension discussions with the Twins.
- The Reds brought Walt Jocketty aboard as a special advisor to President and CEO Bob Castellini today. For now, Wayne Krivsky’s job appears safe. But jeez, with Walt in the house he has to be feeling a little pressure, doesn’t he? In other news, the Reds talked with Brett Tomko‘s agent this week.
- The Tigers signed Matt Mantei for the league minimum. He can ask for his release if he’s not in the bigs by May 1st. As Jon Paul Morosi notes Mantei hasn’t pitched in the Majors for more than two years.
- RotoAuthority ranks the third basemen for fantasy baseball.
- Buster Olney says the A’s talks with the Braves for Mark Kotsay "have a chance of becoming serious today."
- Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey has a source who believes the Mets will get Johan Santana "no matter what they have to do."
- The Rangers made the Eddie Guardado deal official, and also brought Jamey Wright back on a minor league contract. Guardado got a bit more than I expected – $2MM base plus $4MM in incentives for games pitched and finished.
Braves May Be Interested In Kotsay, Patterson
As I mentioned in my Braves Needs and Luxuries post, the one piece missing from this puzzle is a decent big league center fielder. According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mark Kotsay and Corey Patterson could be options.
In regards to Kotsay, O’Brien doesn’t specifically say the Braves are interested. It’s more implied based on the fact that no one has told him the Braves aren’t interested. Kotsay has one year left on his deal at $8MM, and it’s thought that the A’s might eat half of that to ship him out. Who knows, maybe he can toss up 500 ABs with a .700 OPS one more time. I doubt he would require much in the way of a prospect.
Patterson is another option, though O’Brien thinks the Braves would top out at a one-year, $3MM deal. Surely Scott Boras can do better than that, right? He’s young and plays solid defense!
I still think the Braves should go after Cameron…he’s the best option and this is not the time to be cheap. Even going to one year and $6MM for Patterson makes more sense than Kotsay.