Dan Uggla Rumors: Sunday
A roundup of the day's Dan Uggla rumors:
- An NL GM tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that the Marlins' top priority this offseason is trading Uggla for cheap, young players.
- We heard this week that the Orioles are interested in Uggla. Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun suspects that the O's will opt for a defense-first third baseman instead. Pedro Feliz, Chone Figgins and Adrian Beltre all have reputations as strong defenders, but Figgins and Beltre may be too pricey for the Orioles.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says it's a good time to trade for Uggla, whose approach at the plate is improving.
- Frankie Piliere of AOL FanHouse says the Marlins can afford to deal players like Uggla because they replenish their roster with top young players. Mike Stanton isn't far away from making an impact in the Majors, Piliere writes.
Odds & Ends: Morillo, Bay, Cabrera, Gonzalez
Some links to read before the weekend draws to a close…
- Juan Morillo, who pitched briefly for the Twins this year, has signed with a Japanese team, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
- Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors argues that Jason Bay fits best in the American League because of his suspect defense. Bay is a productive hitter, but questions about his ability to play the field may limit his appeal to NL clubs. His agent insists that Bay plays solid defense, but advanced metrics suggest that's not the case.
- Here, Hissey argues that the Yankees should consider signing Mike Cameron for a year until Austin Jackson is ready.
- Steve Kornacki of MLive.com reminds us that the Miguel Cabrera trade talk is just speculation at this point. It's fun to wonder about, though.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney doesn't think the Padres will face pressure to deal Adrian Gonzalez until next summer, so he doesn't expect them to be in a rush to deal their superstar. Instead, they'll wait to be overwhelmed.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic predicts where some big-name free agents will sign. He has the Yankees signing Matt Holliday.
Valverde Could Return To Astros
The agent for Jose Valverde says there's mutual interest between the Astros and their free agent closer, according to MLB.com.
The Astros have communicated to Jose their desire to bring him back," Gene Mato explained. "He really enjoyed his time there and is open to the idea of returning."
Valverde wants to explore free agency, so the Astros are just one of his options. As a Type A free agent, he'll cost a top draft pick if the Astros offer arbitration. That's not a sure thing, since the reliever could cost about $10MM next year, but rival GMs tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Astros should offer arbitration.
Astros GM Ed Wade said in September that he'd "love" to bring Valverde back. The righty saved 25 games and allowed just 40 hits in 54.0 innings this season, striking out 56.
Nats Notes: Guzman, Desmond, Carroll, Dunn
The Nationals are considering a number of options up the middle. Here's the latest:
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson expects the Nationals to try trading Cristian Guzman this offseason. It won't be easy, given his $8MM salary.
- Manager Jim Riggleman likes Ian Desmond, but others within the organization believe the infielder needs more minor league seasoning.
- Could Ronnie Belliard return to play second base? Ladson doubts it.
- Jamey Carroll doesn't seem likely to return to Washington, either. At least nine teams have interest in the 35-year-old.
- The Nats are considering a couple defensive shortstops, too.
- Since 2007, no fielder has cost his team more runs than Adam Dunn, according to Matthew Carruth of FanGraphs. Dunn will make $12MM in 2010 before becoming a free agent. It's hard to imagine him signing with an NL club again after next season.
Rogers On White Sox, Gamel, Cabrera, Yankees
The White Sox have a new third baseman of the future, writes Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. Dayan Viciedo held his own as a 20-year-old in AA this year (.708 OPS), but Brent Morel has passed him on Rogers' depth chart with a torrid stint in the Arizona Fall League. Here are the rest of Rogers' rumors:
- A's GM Billy Beane likes what he sees from pitching prospect Fautino de los Santos, who is hitting the mid-nineties as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
- Casey McGehee has emerged as a solid player, but the Brewers are reluctant to trade Mat Gamel, even if it would net them the starting pitching they covet.
- The Twins are talking to Orlando Cabrera about returning to play second base.
- Rogers says the Yankees are more likely to sign Johnny Damon than Hideki Matsui.
Wilson & Zduriencik On New Deal
When the Mariners acquired Jack Wilson this summer, he wasn't sure what to expect. But it didn't take long for him to realize he wanted to play in Seattle for a while.
"An hour? An hour and a half?" Wilson says he decided quickly.
Now that he has signed with the Mariners, the shortstop will be wearing blue and teal for at least two years. Wilson said he feels great after battling injuries last season. Though he was banged up, he maintained his reputation as a top defender. According to UZR, Wilson was the best defensive shortstop in baseball last season.
His defense didn't go unnoticed by Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, who admired Wilson's glove when both men were with NL Central teams.
"Does it fit in to what we're trying to do?" Zduriencik asked. "Absolutely."
The Mariners had the league's best ERA last year thanks, in part, to the strong defense of Wilson, Ichiro, Franklin Gutierrez and Adrian Beltre (whose contract has expired).
Trades Of The Decade: Hanley Ramirez For Josh Beckett & Mike Lowell
The only sure thing the Marlins obtained on Thanksgiving Day 2005 was salary relief. Yes, they acquired Hanley Ramirez, Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia and Anibal Sanchez, but none of them were considered certainties. For the four players, the Marlins gave up Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota.
The Marlins had to shed payroll, but they weren't going to relinquish Beckett in a deal that didn't include a top prospect. Hanley Ramirez fit that description perfectly. Baseball America named Hanley Boston's top prospect every year from 2003-05 and they considered him one of the game's most promising players.
But Hanley hit a pedestrian .297/.352/.430 in the minors, never tallying more than eight homers in a season. So Baseball America's Jim Callis described him as "something of an enigma" at the time of the trade.
"He has the bat speed, raw power and pitch recognition to hit .300 with 20-plus homers per season," Callis wrote. "But he has yet to show the focus and preparation to get him there."
Beckett, meanwhile, had already graduated from top prospect status to become one of the game's best young pitchers. In his last season with the Marlins, Beckett, then 25, pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 29 starts, lighting the radar gun up with a fastball that helped him strike out nearly three times as many batters as he walked. It didn't hurt that he was named 2003 World Series MVP after pitching the Marlins past the Yankees.
Beckett had a history of blister problems, but the Texan still drew interest from a number of teams, including the Rangers. He was two years away from free agency, set to make $4-5MM in arbitration.
In just one season, Mike Lowell had become a major hindrance for the Marlins. After averaging 25 homers per season in the five years preceding 2005, Lowell stopped hitting. He managed just a .236/.298/.360 line with just 8 homers in 150 games. He was due to earn a total of $18MM in 2006 and 2007, so the Marlins couldn't afford his contract
The Red Sox, under Bill Lajoie and Craig Shipley, could absorb it, so they took it on, insisting that the third baseman could revive his career. Theo Epstein was on leave at the time of the deal.
"It's not that we had to take Mike," Lajoie told the Boston Herald. "It's that we wanted Mike.''
The Red Sox were onto something. Lowell has turned in four solid seasons with the club, hitting about 20 homers per season and never posting an OPS below .798. The former Gold Glover lost a considerable amount of range this year (according to UZR) after undergoing hip surgery last offseason.
Much to the dismay of Red Sox Nation, Beckett struggled throughout his first season in Boston, allowing 36 homers and posting an ERA over 5.00 for the first time in his career. But he's been effective and durable since and hasn't come close to matching that 5.01 ERA. Only a handful of pitchers have out-performed Beckett since his first season in Boston, even though he's been playing in the AL East.
When Beckett won 20 games and Lowell slugged .501 in 2007, the Red Sox won it all. That World Championship alone makes this deal worthwhile for the Red Sox, despite what they gave up.
Hanley is one of the game's best players now, but as Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe wrote at the time, he was far from a sure thing in 2005.
"What's the worst that can happen here?," Ryan wrote. "Hanley Ramirez turns out to be the next Barry Larkin or maybe even Derek Jeter?"
Four years later, Baseball-Reference lists Jeter as the most statistically comparable player to Ramirez (for his age) in baseball history. Hanley hasn't posted an OPS below .940 since his 2006 Rookie of the Year campaign and this year's NL batting champ has even become an average defender at shortstop, according to UZR.
Hanley wasn't even the only useful player the Marlins acquired. Control issues still trouble Sanchez, who's now 25, but he can strike people out and he pitched well this past season. It all came together for him when he no-hit the Diamondbacks in 2006.
Could the trade have worked out any better for the two clubs? The Marlins got the salary relief they needed and an elite shortstop to build around. Beckett and Lowell led the Red Sox to their second World Championship of the decade.
But that doesn't mean they wouldn't like Hanley back. Theo Epstein has tried to reacquire him before, so it's not hard to imagine a return to Boston.
So Far At The GM Meetings…
If you've had a busy couple days, you're probably overwhelmed by the number of rumors that have surfaced. But worry not – here's a summary of what's happened at the Chicago GM Meetings so far:
- The Twins are considering verteran starters, including Carl Pavano.
- Nick Green and Joey Gathright became free agents. The Red Sox prevented Victor Martinez from reaching free agency, when they picked up his 2010 option, and they reached a two-year deal with the ageless Tim Wakefield. Jason Varitek's future with the Red Sox is still uncertain. If he hits the open market, the Mets won't pursue him.
- Meanwhile, the Rays made some option decisions of their own. They picked up Carl Crawford's option, but declined their options for Gregg Zaun and Brian Shouse.
- The Yankees are likely to check in on Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and John Lackey, but they're focusing on Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte for now.
- Holliday and Bay may be too pricey for the Mets.
- The Dodgers aren't pursuing Aroldis Chapman.
- The Mariners have offered Russell Branyan and Jack Wilson contracts, but Branyan has rejected their offer.
- Randy Winn won't be back with the Giants, but there's still a chance Bengie Molina will return.
- The Cardinals would like to re-sign Matt Holliday, but they're prepared in case he signs elsewhere.
- The Cubs are looking to unload Milton Bradley, and the Rangers would consider re-acquiring him. Texas should be active on the trade market, but won't pursue top free agents.
- The Blue Jays won't settle for anything less than elite talent if they deal Roy Halladay.
- The Phillies are looking for a third baseman, but don't seem likely to pursue Halladay aggressively. Their division rivals, the Mets, will at least inquire about Doc's availability.
- John Smoltz will pitch again next year.
- Don't forget to check out MLBTR's list of free agents and Tim's list of the top 50 players to hit the open market.
Phillies Seek A Third Baseman
4:57pm: The Phils are seriously considering Chone Figgins, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
2:45pm: Here's the latest on the NL Champs' hunt for a third baseman:
- Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Phils are interested in bringing Pedro Feliz back if he's up for a deal worth less than $5.5MM. The club turned down an option worth that much this week.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News that other options are out there, even if he can't sign Feliz. "There are more third basemen available than there are third base positions to be filled," the GM said.
- Amaro Jr. expects to find a third baseman on the open market. He's open to offering multi-year deals and would consider signing Type A free agents, which is good news for Chone Figgins and Miguel Tejada.
- Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phils are more likely to pursue Mark DeRosa than Adrian Beltre.
Giants Rumors: Molina, Pudge, Bay, Holliday
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the Giants are open to bringing Bengie Molina back, but prepared in case the catcher signs elsewhere. Here are the details:
- The Giants won't likely offer Molina much more than the $6MM he made this year.
- Molina wants a two-year deal, so Baggarly says the 35-year-old is unlikely to re-sign with the Giants.
- The Mets could have interest, and Baggarly says an unnamed AL team expects to get involved, too.
- Baggarly expects the Giants to offer Molina arbitration, but would be surprised to see the team extend similar offers to Bob Howry, Randy Johnson or Randy Winn.
- The Giants have tried to acquire Ivan Rodriguez before, so they could bring him in to mentor Buster Posey and provide the club with insurance in case the top prospect struggles.
- The Giants believe Matt Holliday's defense regressed a shocking amount last year.
- Jason Bay seems like a better fit for the Giants.