According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, Jim Bowden and the Washington Nationals remain interested in bringing back Chad Cordero.
It’s unknown when Cordero will next be able to throw off a mound.
Offer For Varitek, With Deadline
Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox have made an offer to Jason Varitek.
Varitek would be paid $5MM for 2009. The offer also includes a team option for 2010 at $5MM, as well as a player option for $3MM. The deal includes a deadline, but that date is not known by Bradford.
O’s Not In On Sheets
While the Ben Sheets market continues to be quiet, this evening we can more forcefully eliminate another team from the list of potential suitors. It appears the Baltimore Orioles are not interested.
In a post that looks at the Orioles’ young staff, Steve Melewski ends with a comment about Baltimore’s lack of interest in the potential staff ace. Melewski estimates that signing Sheets may require a two-year offer at $8MM per; he also mentions Sheets’ six DL stints. Considering these two factors, Melewski writes, "unless the club has a radical change of heart, they are just not going to take that chance."
Wolf Makes Sense For Dodgers
Yesterday, we did a write-up on a Gammons post that said Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Braden Looper were all receiving similar offers in the $5MM-a-year range. A report this evening conflicts with that notion.
Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says Garland does not fit the Dodgers’ budget, but Wolf does. In reference to Wolf, Jackson writes: "Sounds to me like this is the guy the Dodgers are going to end up with."
Madden On The Slow Free Agent Market
Bill Madden of the New York Daily News has an article up that talks about the lack of activity in the free agent market.
Madden cites an interesting prediction from an unnamed baseball executive near the end of his report. He writes:
The same executive predicted that most of the over-30 free agents left on the market will wind up having to settle for one-year deals "because, with all the uncertainty about the next couple of years, clubs just don’t want to commit risky money on older players or players with injury histories."
Griffey Jr. Market Remains Quiet
Hal McCoy at the Dayton Daily News has a story up about Ken Griffey Jr.’s offseason thus far.
Brian Goldberg, Griffey’s agent, is quoted in the article as saying there was some mutual interest between Griffey and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays’ signing of Pat Burrell ended that interest, however.
Perhaps the most noteworthy thing to take from this article is the lack of any specific teams being mentioned going foward. The market for corner outfielders with declining defense remains quiet, as players like Griffey, Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, and Manny Ramirez continue to look for a contract.
Hudson On Braves’ Radar
In the comments section of his blog, David O’Brien reports that the Braves either previously had or currently have their sights on free agent Orlando Hudson.
In the same comment however, O’Brien mentions that he’s not sure the Braves would be too excited about moving Kelly Johnson out to left field. As an alternative to signing Hudson, the Braves may stick with Johnson at 2B, and test the outfield market.
A’s, Duchscherer Avoid Arb
The A’s have signed Justin Duchscherer to a one-year, $3.9MM contract to avoid arbitration, according to ESPN.com.
Duchscherer had asked for $4.6MM, while the team offered $3MM, so this is just about right in the middle. There’s also a $150K bonus if Duchscherer makes 32 starts.
Gammons On Pitching: Wolf, Garland, Looper
In a blog post that leads off with a discussion of the effect of the WBC on pitching, Peter Gammons offers up a quick update on a few back-end starting pitchers.
According to Gammons, Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, and Braden Looper are all receiving similar offers at this point: roughly $5 million per year, plus options and incentives.
Gammons also mentions that Wolf in particular was not close to a deal with any particular team as of Friday, perhaps adding his two cents to the recently debunked rumor that the pitcher was close to signing with the Dodgers.
Phillies Considered Trading Myers?
Reader Connor Garrison has identified an interesting point made in the middle of an article from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
The article focuses on the addition of Derek Lowe to the Braves’ rotation, but offers a reason as to why the Braves went so strong so quickly after Lowe.
Says Bowman: "Motivated by last week’s meeting and under the belief that the Phillies might attempt to create payroll space by trading Brett Myers, the Braves acted quickly and provided an offer that Lowe couldn’t refuse."
Myers may have been taken off the block after Lowe signed with the Braves. On the other hand, perhaps a bigger-than-expected deal for Ryan Howard could convince the Phillies to revisit the idea of trading Myers.
