Astros Rumors: Oswalt, Valverde, Tejada
The latest Astros rumors as they keep their payroll in check:
- Astros owner Drayton McLane decided not to take Roy Oswalt up on his offer to re-structure his contract and defer money. McLane told Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle that the contract “catches up with you at some point,” regardless of when it’s paid.
- Justice adds that barring something unexpected the Astros will hold onto Jose Valverde and Miguel Tejada .
- According to MLB.com’s Alyson Footer, McLane said adding a top pitcher to join Oswalt in the Houston rotation is “just not in the cards.”
Cubs Focusing On Bradley
Milton Bradley, a Cubs target since early in the Winter Meetings, has become the team’s “singular priority” according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Cubs were considering Raul Ibanez before he signed with the Phillies, but they have shifted their focus to Bradley according to a Cubs official. One of Bradley’s representatives said the 30-year-old has the Cubs at the top of his list as well.
The Cubs don’t appear to have made a formal offer yet and Bradley’s rep didn’t say what sort of offer he was seeking.
Harris Signs Two-Year Deal With Nats
The Nationals signed Willie Harris to a two-year, $3MM deal today.
The 30-year-old utilityman played in the outfield, and at shortstop, second and third for the Nationals last year, hitting .251/.344/.417 in 140 games. Though he played mostly in left last year, the crowded Washington outfield could mean more playing time on the infield for Harris.
He made $800K in 2008.
Odds and Ends: Burrell, Braves, Red Sox
Links for Friday night…
- The Reds are going to call Pat Burrell‘s agent.
- Ken Rosenthal breaks down the Braves’ options now that they’ve lost out on A.J. Burnett. Could they sign Rafael Furcal as a second baseman and move Kelly Johnson to left field?
- The Red Sox signed five players to minor league deals, including Paul McAnulty and Billy Traber.
- T.R. Sullivan takes a look at the market for Ben Sheets from the Rangers’ perspective.
- Keith Law calls the Raul Ibanez signing ‘absurd’ for the Phillies.
- Orioles manager Dave Trembley thinks his team is still in the running for Mark Teixeira.
- Dean Jones Jr. breaks down the Orioles’ Rule 5 draft selections.
- Dave Dombrowski isn’t the only one who’d like to bring John Smoltz to Detroit. Even college basketball coach Tom Izzo likes the fit.
- Jay Bruce also plays GM; he wants the Reds to keep their young pitching. Bruce also revealed that Jerry Hairston Jr. is considering the Phillies and Mariners in addition to the Reds.
Redding, Rockies Have Mutual Interest
Not surprisingly, the Rockies will pursue Tim Redding, who became a free agent after being non-tendered by the Nats.
According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, Redding’s agent Tom O’Connell said he and Redding have “significant interest in Colorado.”
Shoeneweis Traded For Connor Robertson
The Mets acquired 27-year-old righty Connor Robertson from the Diamobdbacks for Scott Schoeneweis and cash considerations. The Mets will pay $1.6MM of the $3.6MM Schoeneweis is owed in 2009, according to ESPN.com.
Robertson has made nine big league appearance with the A’s and D-Backs, including six this year with Arizona. He has an ERA of 2.82 and 24 saves in 305 minor league innings.
Schoeneweis had a 3.34 ERA in 56.2 innings for the Mets in 2008.
Sheffield Staying Put For Now
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers don’t expect to deal for Gary Sheffield. A Rangers official said the club would “consider it” if the Tigers took on enough of Sheffield’s $14MM 2009 salary, but the Tigers aren’t going to give him away.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski thinks that Sheffield “can still hit,” so he’s in no rush to trade him.
The Rangers inquired on Sheffield yesterday, but Sullivan says it “was not a serious conversation.”
Brewers Interested In Unit, Moyer, Smoltz, Wolf
Tom Haudricourt has the latest from Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin as the Brewers try to strengthen their rotation. Melvin just confirmed interest in Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Randy Wolf and John Smoltz.
Melvin acknowledged that “nobody’s going to replace C.C.,” but the Brewers have “ongoing discussions” with all four of the pitchers he mentioned.
Haudricourt writes that of the four, only Wolf seems likely to get offers longer than one year.
Giants, Johnson Have Mutual Interest
According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle Randy Johnson‘s agents say “San Francisco has a lot of appeal” for their client.
Barry Meister, who represents the Big Unit, said “Randy’s really interested” in playing for San Francisco because the Giants are in the National League, they train in Arizona and they have the chance to be competitive.
Giants GM Brian Sabean didn’t rule out Johnson either, saying the Giants “obviously would have a chance to win” with him on the mound.
C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Saturday
11:17pm: Ken Rosenthal explains why the idea of Sabathia signing with the Red Sox is not far-fetched. He notes that free agent markets in years to come may not offer a pitcher of Sabathia’s character.
7:23pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman jumps in on the Brewers angle. He says Sabathia is telling friends he expects the Brewers to upgrade their offer soon, perhaps when they get together at the Winter Meetings. Heyman’s heard deferred money in the Brewers’ current offer makes it closer to $90MM over five years.
9:14am: According to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff, the Brewers might offer a six-year contract to C.C. Sabathia. Davidoff has a source who said the possible sixth year would bring the total value of the deal to about $110MM, still $30MM short of what the Yankees have offered, but $10MM more than Milwaukee’s initial proposal. Jayson Stark first reported on Thursday that the Brewers could offer a six-year $110MM deal.
Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News has a source of his own who doubts Sabathia has serious suitors other than the Yankees and Brewers at this point. The source said to McCarron that a deal with the Giants is "not happening," and doubts that the Angels were ever involved. Yesterday, Jon Heyman wrote that the free agent lefty received two offers from teams other than the Yankees and Brewers.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins thinks that the Giants have a chance with Sabathia even if they can’t compete dollar for dollar with the Yankees.