Jays Fire Assistant GM
The Associated Press is reporting the Blue Jays have dismissed Assistant GM Bart Given. This was briefly reported yesterday on MLBTR. Given served also as vice president of baseball operations and has been with the club since 2004. His duties will be managed by Tony LaCava and Alex Anthopoulos, front-office staffers.
No reason for the firing was provided. As Bob Elliot wrote yesterday, "Making a change on Jan. 23 is an odd time on the baseball calendar since most contracts expire at the end of October or December."
Cafardo’s Latest: Crede, Gagne, Rangers, Brewers
Some quick notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
- The Twins and Giants will be monitoring Joe Crede‘s workouts in Arizona next week. Both teams have had ongoing interest this month.
- The Twins and Rangers are continuing to seriously consider Eric Gagne.
- Cafardo notes the growing sentiment among middle-market teams that patience could land an all star caliber player for a "low-risk one-year deal."
- Milwaukee would prefer to save and make a "Sabathia-like" deadline deal rather than spend now.
- Adam Melhuse signing with Texas could be a signal that Taylor Teagarden or Jarrod Saltalamacchia are en route to the Red Sox. Cafardo cautions that’s probably not the case since the Rangers have not come down on their asking price of Clay Buchholz.
- Watch for the Cubs to reengage the Padres and Jake Peavy now that they have found an owner in billionaire Tom Ricketts.
Orioles Rumors: Brian Roberts
In light of the imminent Nick Markakis extension, Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun is making a prediction: Brian Roberts will not receive an extension, and will start the season on the Orioles. The Orioles had reportedly offered a multiyear extension at about $10MM per, but the two sides had not made progress as of early January. Schmuck reasons,
"…the market for him right now is pretty soft. The proof in that is free agent Orlando Hudson, who is basically Brian without all the stolen bases and is still waiting to be signed. Why would anyone give up a package of young players for Brian, who has to be signed beyond this season? The same team could sign Hudson for less than Roberts wants without having to give up more than draft choice compensation."
Dan Connolly posited the same reasoning last week. For the record, Schmuck thinks the Orioles should extend Roberts to "mollify the fanbase" and support their young pitching staff by maintaining solid infield defense up-the-middle.
Cafardo’s Latest: Varitek, Sheets, Glavine
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a new article up in this Sunday’s paper:
- Mariners advisers have suggested bringing in Jason Varitek to improve the Seattle pitching staff.
- "Arbitration-strapped" Philadelphia may have interest in Ben Sheets as he becomes a bigger bargain by the day.
- Cafardo details the Kevin Youkilis contract extension, to the dollar.
- Kris Benson will work out for the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Cubs next Saturday.
- Tom Glavine would entertain an offer from Washington.
- If Atlanta takes on Andruw Jones, they would only have to take on $400K of the $21MM plus the Dodgers are paying him.
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Votto, Manny, Montero
A handful of Odds and Ends from around the bigs:
- The Brewers declined to offer a contract to any of the former players that attended their tryout camp last Tuesday in Phoenix, says Tom Haudricourt. Among the auditioning were Mark Bellhorn, Randall Simon, and Robert Fick.
- Mariners new GM Jack Zduriencik may find his patience will pay off as bargains begin to emerge in the free agent market, says Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune.
- Bill Madden of the NY Daily News breaks down the Manny Ramirez market, team by team, including notes on the Dodgers, Mets, Giants, Angels, Yankees, Nats, and Tigers. He notes that if the Yankees failed to land Mark Teixeira, they "were ready to go at least two years and an option for Manny." Madden expects to hear the word "collusion" any day now.
- According to Tom Krasovic, the Padres have a chance at drafting Stephen Strasburg, a San Diego native, in the 2009 draft if the Mariners and Nationals pass on the pitcher.
- Nick Piecoro of azcentral.com says the Diamondbacks are not budging on their price for Miguel Montero: "a legit impact player, like a solid starting pitcher or an everyday bat." The Red Sox remain interested, but Piecoro writes,
"It’s possible the Red Sox are using Montero as leverage to drive down [Jason] Varitek’s cost or get the Rangers to cave on their asking price for Jarred Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden."
- "No chance," says GM Walt Jocketty that Joey Votto will be traded, according to John Fay of the Cincinatti Enquirer.
Fielder To Aim High In Arbitration
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel expects Scott Boras and Prince Fielder to aim sky-high when they file his salary arbitration request. Fielder and Boras turned down an extension of 5 years, $60MM last season to "focus on his first year of arbitration eligibility," says Haudricourt. Last season Ryan Howard won his case for $10MM. Haudricourt makes a statistical comparison of the two sluggers in their first year of salary arbitration:
Fielder: .278 AVG, 114 HR, 312 RBI, .533 slugging percentage and .370 on-base percentage in 513 games.
Howard, as of last season: .291 AVG, 129 HR, 353 RBI, a slugging percentage above .600 and an on-base percentage approaching .400, in 410 games.
Assistant GM Gord Ash said, "The number we put in has to be defendable in the event it goes to a hearing. We’ve been able to settle these situations in the past and that’s our preference, but we’ll go to a hearing if we have to." Haudricourt adds:
"The Brewers budgeted the expected increase in Fielder’s salary into their 2009 payroll and are prepared to pay it. But the expectation of a contentious arbitration hearing as well as Fielder’s likely exodus as a free agent after the 2011 season have prompted some to suggest the Brewers should trade him now. The thinking is that the closer Fielder gets to free agency, the less the Brewers would get in return for a player they have no chance of keeping long-term. But the club also wants to follow up on its 2008 playoff breakthrough and won’t trade Fielder merely to head off financial conflicts in the future."
Brewers Still Considering Cordero
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers are maintaining interest in Chad Cordero, even after signing Trevor Hoffman to close. Writes Haudricourt,
"[Brewers assistant GM Gordon] Ash said the Brewers were still discussing whether to put in an offer to the agent of former Washington closer Chad Cordero, who held a throwing session in California last week for interested clubs. Cordero is coming off shoulder surgery and is not expected to be ready to pitch until a month or two into the season. ‘It’s a risk decision,’ said Ash. "It’s a matter of how much (financial) risk you want to take. His agent has let it be known he’s going to sign somewhere.’"
Cordero auditioned 10 days ago for 7 teams, one of which was Milwaukee. The Marlins and Dodgers have since expressed interest. Also potentially interested: the Angels, Mets, Cardinals, D’Backs, Rangers, Twins, Nats, and Tigers.
Cardinals Inquired About Cano
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Cardinals called the Yankees to inquire about second baseman Robinson Cano. Goold says the Yankees asking price was an immediate deal breaker: Adam Wainwright. "The conversation did not last long," writes Goold.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman has expressed an unwillingness to part with Cano.
The Cardinals could potentially turn to infielder Brendan Ryan who is reportedly bulking up, Adam Kennedy who is trying to earn his job back, and a remote possibility: Skip Schumaker who played shortstop in college and has been taking groundballs in workout.
Olney’s Latest: Manny, Abreu, Dunn
Buster Olney reports that Scott Boras seems to be taking the same approach with Manny Ramirez as he did with Derek Lowe; that is, to wait.
Olney says "Camp Manny" is "waiting for some other team to be tempted by what Ramirez could do for them, waiting for an offer larger than that made by the Dodgers to develop."
The Dodgers are waiting as well. Olney reports they are not likely to increase their offer of 2 years, $45MM that was offered and promptly ignored in November. Also waiting for something to happen are Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn. Should Manny wind up on the Giants, Abreu and Dunn may find themselves with leverage to negotiate with the Dodgers. Olney writes, "And given that Dunn and Abreu know that they can find homes at any time for one-year deals, there really is no downside for them to see how the Ramirez situation plays out."
Mets Considering Sheets, Not In On Pettitte
David Lennon of newsday.com reports the Mets are keeping Ben Sheets on their radar as the market for starting pitching begins to thin. However, even in this thin market, they are apparently not considering Andy Pettitte:
"As for Pettitte, a person familiar with the club’s thinking said the Mets are not involved with the former Yankee."
Their primary focus still remains on Oliver Perez; however, should that fall through, Sheets is being looked at as a viable alternative.
"For his part, [Mets GM Omar] Minaya has played it cool, suggesting that he has other options… Two of the most intriguing names still available are Ben Sheets and Andy Pettitte, with the Mets only recently showing interest in the former Brewers ace. A person familiar with the situation said yesterday that Sheets is now being discussed, but it’s unclear what the parameters of such a deal would be."
John Harper of the New York Daily News makes his case for Ben Sheets here. And here, Tom Haudricourt clarifies the implications of a Sheets/Mets deal for the Brewers:
"If Sheets signs with the Mets, the Brewers would get their second-round pick next June, not their first. The Mets already have surrendered their first-round pick to the Angels for signing closer Francisco Rodriguez. Sheets’ ranking among Class A pitchers is 79.038; Rodriguez’s is 87.196. Thus, because Rodriguez is ranked higher, the Angels would get the Mets’ first-round pick, not the Brewers. That’s the way the system works."