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Burnett Open To Extension

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According to John Lott of the National Post, A.J. Burnett is expected to opt out of his contract, but if J.P. Ricciardi offers him a contract extension, Burnett says it "might" change his mind.

As MLBTR pointed out, the Jays are expected to go after Burnett, who could require $15-18MM. With Shawn Marcum needing Tommy John Surgery, the chances they pursue Burnett greatly increases.

Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg seems to think it won’t take much to keep Burnett in Toronto, perhaps only another year on the contract.

Burnett, already a perennial injury risk, has thrown over 3400 pitches this year, the most in the majors. In Lotts’ piece, should Burnett notch his 19th win in his next start, he would decline to pitch on short rest to go after number 20. Finishing healthy is his goal. With Ben Sheets suffering forearm pain, Burnett could find himself the most appealing free agent starter not named CC.

Rockies Need Pitching

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A common theme: The Rockies need pitching.  Troy E. Renck discusses the offseason focus of the team as they look ahead to a rotation anchored by Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, and Ubaldo Jimenez, and the loss of Brian Fuentes in the bullpen.

"Ownership needs to go beyond anticipating injuries. It needs to expect slumps from at least one key starter and critical reliever, and give general manager Dan O’Dowd money to address those areas. It makes a trade for a frontline starter imperative…"

Renck suggests a trade for Aaron Heilman and being ready to pounce on Chad Cordero if reports suggest he’s healthy. Both could be safety nets for Manny Corpas who will probably have first crack at closing provided he has a strong winter. Heilman, who made $1.2MM avoiding arbitration this year and might benefit from a change of scenery, could also start.

Would Dodgers Trade For Beltre?

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If Casey Blake returns to Cleveland, would the Dodgers be interested in Adrian Beltre? Bill Shaikin of the LA Times points out Beltre still calls Pasadena home.

The 29 year old third basemen is in the midst of this third consecutive 25 homerun season despite a torn ligament in his left thumb. Writes Shaikin:

"Beltre wouldn’t mind staying in Seattle, but the Mariners need to hire a general manager and get on with rebuilding. Assuming they do, Beltre would love to come back to the Dodgers. ’If I’m available, I’d be happy to,’ he said. ’I don’t know what is going to happen. I’d be more than happy to come back to L.A. It’s not under my control.’"

Still, the Mariners don’t have many trade pieces, need to rebuild, and third base will be in high demand this offseason so Beltre won’t come cheap. The Dodgers have given up a lot recently to acquire Manny Ramirez and Greg Maddux and may rather work hard to sign Casey Blake before other teams have a chance. Other options for the Dodgers might be to move Blake Dewitt to third, or pursuing Joe Crede or other less desirable free agents this offseason.

Cardinals To Be Aggressive This Offseason

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Joe Strauss of the St. Louis-Dispatch reports Cardinals owner John Mozeliak has vowed to be aggressive this offseason.

"Last year, I thought the only way we could improve was through addition by subtraction," Mozeliak said, referring to trades that sent away disenchanted third baseman Scott Rolen and center fielder Jim Edmonds. "This year is different. I think we will identify holes and aggressively pursue closing them in a number of ways."

Jason Isringhausen, Kyle Lohse, Braden Looper, and Russ Springer will free up some payroll.  In fact, over $40MM will be pared from the payroll. The Cardinals need a left handed reliever, a starting pitcher, and an impact bat.

It will be interesting to see if the Cardinals wind up in an arms race with the Astros.

Tigers Could Deal Ordonez?

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Last week, John Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press contemplated the Tigers’ offseason plans. Their payroll projects at $130MM assuming no free agent signings or extensions; however, according to Morosi the Tigers’ revenue can only sustain $110MM. Owner Mike Ilitch wants a World Series but spending more doesn’t seem likely without shaking things up.

Morosi thinks the Tigers might have to trade Magglio Ordonez:

"They need a shortstop who covers more ground than Edgar Renteria. They need a closer, unless they are comfortable with Fernando Rodney (36 innings, 25 walks) protecting leads in the ninth inning. They need one more setup man, because of the uncertainty surrounding Joel Zumaya’s health. They also need to improve their rotation."

Have fun with that one. Magglio is set to make $18MM in ’09, followed by team options of $18MM and $15MM in ’10 and ’11, so any realistic trades need to be with teams that can shoulder that contract.

Despite a disappointing campaign, offense is still the one area of depth for the Tigers so this move would make sense.

Gillaspie Promoted To Giants

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Chris Haft of MLB.com reports the Giants have promoted first round draft pick Conor Gillaspie after just 24 games at the pro-level, making him the first of his class to reach the show:

Manager Bruce Bochy said that Gillaspie wouldn’t start a game immediately but might be available sooner for pinch-hitting. The 21-year-old spent the previous few weeks batting a combined .269 with no home runs and 15 RBIs for the Giants’ Rookie-level Arizona League affiliate and short-season Salem-Keizer, so playing in the Majors would be an ambitious leap.

Gillaspie is a left-handed bat and if he shows anything this month and/or in spring training, he could earn a spot at a position with no given regular projected for 2009. This may be a speculative call up, however. Hitting only .269 with no homeruns, Gillaspie hasn’t shown a whole lot in pro-ball to merit this call up for competitive reasons, and the Giants certainly want to try to be competitive next season, don’t they?

Clay Timpner was sent down to Triple-A to make room for Gillaspie.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Mets, Brewers, Astros

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Ken Rosenthal has a lot to offer in his latest Full Count video:

  • The Mets will prefer to pickup Carlos Delgado’s $12MM option rather than buy him out for $4MM. That’s a guarantee for a guy who should finish the year around 35-100 despite not contributing for the first two months.
  • According to sources, Manny Ramirez is unlikely to go the Mets. They will more likely focus their spending on pitching. John Maine has a bone spur in his right shoulder. Pedro Martinez and Oliver Perez are free agents. The Mets will need to go after starting pitching.
  • If the Mets go after Francisco Rodriguez, would they dangle Billy Wagner on the trade market in his contract year?
  • If the Astros sign Ben Sheets and Randy Wolf, they’d become immediate contenders, if not division favorites.
  • To recoup the loss of Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia, the Brewers might want to trade J.J. Hardy or even Prince Fielder for a pitcher to join Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, and Dave Bush. I can’t see them trading Fielder and a lot will be determined by how they fare in the playoffs.
  • Casey Blake will be in high demand this offseason. As a third baseman, his only real competition is the fragile Joe Crede. Blake can play 1B, 3B, RF and LF. He’s a good fit for the Dodgers to re-sign but, according to Rosenthal, he may want to go closer to his Iowa home.

Tigers Offseason Plans

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John Paul Morosi discusses the Tigers’ potential plans for the offseason. They spent roughly $134MM on a fourth place team this season and project at another $130MM next year assuming no free agent signings or extensions. According to Morosi,the Tigers can sustain $110MM payroll based on revenue alone. Owner Mike Ilitch already approved a $40MM payroll increase to make this year’s team, so can they possibly go any higher? It doesn’t seem likely.

Still, Morosi notes that Ilitch wants a World Series and the Tigers need pitching to get it. After Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga, the Tigers have tied up $29.5MM in 2009 and $34.5 million in 2010 in Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, and Nate Robertson,  none of whom are guarantees to even make the rotation out of spring training. Considering how little these long term signings have contributed, Morosi wonders if spending on more pitching is the best solution.

One expected cost cutting measure would be to decline Edgar Renteria’s $9MM option and try to sign him for less. If they can’t, why not give Ramon Santiago a shot?  That’s a start.

Rockies To Shop Atkins?

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Everyone expects the Rockies to move Matt Holliday for pitching this winter, but Troy E. Renck suggests it might be Garrett Atkins instead.  Atkins is expected to make around $8MM in arbitration next year, and with Ian Stewart developing at third and Todd Helton returning to first, Atkins becomes readily expendable.

Renck points out that the third basement free agent market is sorely lacking, boosting Atkins value in a trade.  Atkins can also play first base, making him a valuable player for ball clubs like the Twins and Angels.  From those teams, Renck lists Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, Nick Adenhart, and Ervin Santana as young pitchers with huge upsides that could be a good fit.  Santana, however, has realized that upside so I wouldn’t consider him on the list.

Olney On The Free Agent Market

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Buster Olney’s latest below:

  • False Echoes: "the phenomenon of veterans who have quickly descended from productive players into something much less than that over the last couple of years," often from discontinuing PED use.  Olney thinks the industry is not going to throw "long-term dollars" at players in their mid 30s. That in combination with the economy and recent successes of small market clubs spells a bad market for mid-level free agents, according to Olney. If Olney’s right, that’s bad news for guys like Manny Ramirez; however, Manny has shown in L.A. that he can still produce.
  • Overlooking all of that, Olney thinks the Dodgers could land CC Sabathia if they make a nine-figure offer. For a salary-shy team, that would come as a mild surprise.  Olney suggests the Giants would go for Sabathia if not for their massive commitment to Barry Zito.

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