Heyman On Pujols, Wilson, Angels, Crane
SI's Jon Heyman leads his latest column with an examination of Albert Pujols' impending free agency. An additional $20MM in total dollars wouldn't compel Pujols to leave St. Louis, says one person who knows the slugger well. The preseason gap was large, though, as Heyman says the Cardinals were at nine years and "a bit more than $200MM" while Pujols wanted to beat Alex Rodriguez's ten-year, $275MM deal. Wherever he lands, Pujols is certainly putting an exclamation point on his season. Heyman's other rumors…
- The Rangers almost surely would be out of the C.J. Wilson bidding if it reaches five years and $75MM, hears Heyman. A Rangers person tells Heyman Wilson hasn't actually named an exact asking price. The lefty is looking forward to free agency and noted to Heyman that he doesn't have a wife, a child, or a dog, implying the decision will be entirely his. The Nationals, Marlins, and Royals are likely to pursue Wilson, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Angels' desire for a scouting type in their GM job may favor the Yankees' Damon Oppenheimer, hears Heyman.
- Prospective Astros owner Jim Crane seeks a $50MM discount for moving to the American League.
- "I wish I stay here," remarked Rafael Furcal on his upcoming free agency. The 34-year-old shortstop joined the Cardinals at the trade deadline and is playing in his first World Series.
Free Agent And Trade Market For First Basemen
The Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, Indians, Cubs, Brewers, Pirates, Cardinals, and Dodgers could be in the market for first base help this offseason. Despite internal options at the position, the Angels, Mariners, Rangers, Marlins, and Nationals can't escape speculation either. It's a good time to be a free agent first baseman, as power pays and plenty of teams are looking even if the Yankees and Red Sox sit this one out.
Starting First Basemen Available In Free Agency
As many as six qualified starting first basemen are eligible for free agency this winter. Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are the best offensive free agent tandem in many years, and they'll sign contracts well over $100MM. The terms will be a minimum of five years. The many teams that cannot afford to bid at that level can still look at Michael Cuddyer, Carlos Pena, Casey Kotchman, and Derrek Lee. Cuddyer is undoubtedly a starter, though it's possible his preference will be right field. I think he'll find a three-year deal. Pena has an outside shot at two years, but his low batting averages may limit him to one. Kotchman needs to prove 2011 wasn't a fluke, while Lee has to get past memories of his ugly Baltimore stint if he decides to play in 2012.
Thinking Outside The Box
The Padres' signing of Brad Hawpe as a first baseman last winter didn't work out, but teams may still look beyond the six players listed above. While we won't be seeing David Ortiz putting on a glove regularly, it's less of a stretch to think Josh Willingham, Raul Ibanez, or Ryan Doumit could spend significant time at first base in 2012. Willingham is a lock for a two-year deal, with a ceiling of three.
Quality Backups
Eric Hinske, Lyle Overbay, Casey Blake, Eric Chavez, Mark DeRosa, Greg Dobbs, Carlos Guillen, Conor Jackson, Juan Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Jason Giambi are candidates for big league deals that could involve time at first base.
Non-Tender Candidates
The Dodgers' James Loney and the Athletics' Daric Barton are candidates to join the free agent frenzy as non-tenders. They're both more likely to be tendered than not at this point though. Both could become trade bait. Luke Scott is another name to watch when the December 12th deadline nears.
Other Trade Candidates
The Reds appear to have no interest in trading Joey Votto. It's easier to picture Adam Lind, Mark Reynolds, Adam LaRoche on the market, depending on how their teams' offseasons play out. The Angels could have a surplus between Mark Trumbo and Kendrys Morales, but only if Morales comes on strong after missing all of 2011. The Yankees could potentially consider Nick Swisher a trade chip, once they pick up his option.
Upgraded iPhone App Now Available
Just in time for the offseason, our iPhone app has received an upgrade! It is listed as Baseball Trade Rumors (Version 2.0) in the app store and costs $2.99. You can search the store or just click this link. Version 1.0 of the app was been described as "beyond belief" by legendary journalist Peter Gammons.
By popular demand, we've added the ability to filter the news page by teams or transactions for Version 2.0. We've revamped the refresh functionality to use the pull-down method, and a "last updated" timestamp has been added. We've also completely redesigned the graphics and made other minor improvements. Those who purchased the app previously can download the new version for free.
The bread and butter of the app is still the customizable push notifications. By default it sends an alert to your iPhone for all transactions, and you can also add alerts for any combination of players, teams, and leagues you desire. If you want to be the first to know where Prince Fielder is headed, who the Yankees are looking at, or anything else hot stove-related, this app can accommodate you. The headlines page of the app shows our 40 latest posts, no banner ads, easily refreshed. Individual posts with hyperlinks can be viewed, of course. You can also leave comments on MLBTradeRumors.com through the app. Check it out today!
Free Agent Stock Watch: Edwin Jackson
Last night's seven-walk World Series performance was one to forget for the Cardinals' Edwin Jackson, though the righty certainly isn't turning his attention to free agency yet. Jackson might be the fourth-best free agent starter this offseason; let's take a closer look.
One point Jackson's agent Scott Boras is sure to play up is sure to play up is his client's age; he just turned 28. No accomplished free agent starter is younger, and most are over 30. For Boras that will translate into years, perhaps with a target of four. Last winter only Cliff Lee exceeded three years, and only a handful of guys reached that level.
Though Jackson will be fighting a reputation of inconsistency, he has made at least 31 starts every year since 2007. Including the 2011 postseason, Jackson has averaged about 214 innings from 2009-11. In '09 with the Tigers Jackson's innings pitched per start jumped past 6.4, and it has stayed there since. He's not much different than Mark Buehrle in that regard.
Despite these numbers, Jackson doesn't feel like anything close to a #1 or #2 starter. He averages almost 95 miles per hour on his fastball, yet his strikeout rate stays around seven per nine innings and he's quite hittable. His last two pitching coaches were the game's best, Dave Duncan and Don Cooper. While Jackson had a flash of brilliance for 75 innings with Chicago last year, his strikeout rate came back down and his walks back up this year. Jackson was arguably worse in his Cardinals stint, with both his strikeout and groundball rates plummeting. Jackson's ERAs have bounced around and even his SIERAs tell us to expect anything from 3.85 to 4.30.
Six teams have tried to harness Jackson's potential, and potential suitors will have to wonder why he's been deemed so movable. Though he's had some moderate AL East success, I don't expect the Yankees and Red Sox to seriously enter the mix. I could see the Orioles, Blue Jays, Royals, Twins, Marlins, Nationals, Cubs, Pirates, and Rockies as matches for Jackson instead.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Free $400 Fantasy Football Contest (Sponsored Post)
Looking to show off your fantasy football genius this week? Try DraftStreet, where you can put together a new fantasy team each week and compete against other users for real money.
Right now DraftStreet has an NFL freeroll for MLB Trade Rumors readers, meaning you can take a shot at a chunk of the $400 prize pool for free, with no strings attached. Here's how it works.
The NFL freeroll begins Sunday at 1:00pm eastern time, so you have until then to create your team. You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet. Your roster will cover these positions: 2 QBs, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 2 FLEX, and 1 Defense. You get points based on how your team performs through Monday night's game. The teams with the most points get the prize money. For example Cam Newton might be good value even with a $19K price tag. Below is a screenshot of a sample roster:
If you're interested, sign up and create a roster prior to Sunday's games (1:00pm eastern time). It's quick, easy, fun, and the MLBTR league gives you a free chance to win some of the $400 prize pool. If you enjoy the competition you can try other leagues (college football, for example) for free and earn credits, or deposit real money.
Orioles GM Rumors: Dipoto, Levine
Arizona's Jerry Dipoto interviewed for the Orioles' GM opening yesterday, and Toronto's Tony LaCava is scheduled for today. The latest:
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that Dipoto has a “good shot” at the job (Twitter link).
- The Orioles originally planned to interview at least four candidates, according to Steve Gould of the Baltimore Sun. They've interviewed Dipoto and Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava so far and it would be surprising if they don't interview more people.
- Dipoto will also interview for the Angels job, and Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com expects him to get one of the two GM positions. Kubatko notes that the Orioles are likely to reassign director of player development John Stockstill, replacing him with coordinator of minor league instruction Brian Graham.
- Kubatko hears Rangers executive Thad Levine could be interviewed later, but he'd be surprised if the Orioles hire him (Twitter link). Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun believes Levine will be interviewed if the Orioles haven't hired someone by the end of the World Series. The Rangers' assistant GM is an Alexandria, Virginia native who told MLBTR he "grew up a big Orioles fan."
- Connolly tweets that as of Tuesday evening, the Orioles had not asked permission to talk to Levine, the Dodgers' De Jon Watson or Logan White, or the Angels' Tony Reagins, and the Marlins' Dan Jennings may be denied permission. He also considers the Tigers' Al Avila a longshot.
Padres Rumors: Front Office, Lackey, Bell
The latest Padres rumors:
- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts met with Padres owner Jeff Moorad, Byrnes and Hoyer during the regular season finale, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.
- Most baseball people expect Hoyer, not Byrnes, to join Epstein in Chicago, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Padres have internally discussed the possibility of acquiring John Lackey from the Red Sox if Boston takes on most of the right-hander's salary, according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Lackey pitched for the Angels when Padres manager Bud Black was the team's pitching coach.
- When Theo Epstein joins the Cubs, he'll likely bring along someone from the Padres front office, according to Center. GM Jed Hoyer, assistant GM Jason McLeod and senior VP of baseball operations Josh Byrnes are candidates to join Epstein in Chicago.
- Contract talks have begun between the Padres and Heath Bell, tweets Center. The Padres are aiming for a two-year deal with an option, while Bell wants three guaranteed years. He's never had a multiyear deal in his career. Center recently wrote that the Padres are in the two-year, $15-16MM range. If no deal can be worked out, the Padres must decide by November 23rd whether to offer arbitration to the Type A reliever.
- Theo Epstein wouldn't tell the people he'd want to bring to Chicago until he's officially part of the Cubs, a source close to Epstein tells Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link). The source believes recent rumors are "just speculation." Yesterday, SI's Jon Heyman reported that Epstein is interested in poaching some combination of top Padres executives Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod, and Josh Byrnes. Today, Heyman writes that Hoyer is "definitely in the mix for a job with the Cubs once Epstein officially goes to Chicago."
- Tom Krasovic thinks that if Hoyer joins the Cubs he'd bring McLeod with him. Byrnes, a favorite of Padres owner Jeff Moorad, would likely become San Diego's GM.
Angels To Interview Ng, Interested In Levine
7:55pm: The Angels will interview Rick Hahn of the White Sox and Tory Hernandez, their own manager of baseball information, along with Oppenheimer, Eppler, Ng and Dipoto, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (Twitter links). The interviews will likely take place in the coming week.
12:18pm: The Angels are also interested in Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine, report Olney and Mark Saxon. Levine has ties to the area, having worked for the Dodgers for a year and earned his MBA from UCLA.
10:59am: The Angels will interview Kim Ng for their GM opening, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Ng currently works for MLB with a focus on international operations. She was previously the Dodgers' assistant general manager for nine years, and interviewed for three GM vacancies during that time. Before that, Ng was assistant GM with the Yankees and also worked for the White Sox and MLB. Ng, who ranked tenth on our list of GM candidates, would be the first female to take on the role.
So far we've heard that Diamondbacks' Jerry Dipoto and the Yankees' Damon Oppenheimer and Billy Eppler will be interviewed for the Angels GM job. Owner Arte Moreno outlined his criteria earlier this month.
Offseason Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have money to spend this offseason, but their team has more holes than free agency can possibly fill.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Kevin Correia, SP: $3MM through 2012
- Pedro Alvarez, 3B: $700K through 2012
- Jose Tabata, LF: $13.5MM through 2016
Contractual Options
- Paul Maholm, unranked SP: $9.75MM club option with a $750K buyout
- Chris Snyder, Type B catcher: $6.75MM club option with a $750K buyout
- Ryan Doumit, Type B catcher: $7.25MM club option for 2012 and $8.25MM club option for 2013 with a $500K buyout
- Ronny Cedeno, unranked SS: $3MM club option with a $200K buyout
Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)
- Garrett Jones, RF: $2.4MM
- Charlie Morton, SP: $2.1MM
- Chris Resop, RP: $1.1MM
- Evan Meek, RP: $900K
- Brandon Wood, UT IF: $700K (non-tender candidate)
- Steve Pearce, UT IF/OF: $600K (non-tender candidate)
- Joel Hanrahan, RP: $4MM
- Jeff Karstens, SP: $2.8MM
- Ross Ohlendorf, SP: $2.1MM (non-tender candidate)
- Jose Veras, RP: $1.5MM
- Jason Grilli, RP: $800K
Free Agents
- Derrek Lee (Type B 1B), Ryan Ludwick (Type B OF)
The Pirates hired GM Neal Huntington in November 2007, and this year we finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. The team won 72 games for the first time since '04, and was enough of a contender to justify acquiring Lee and Ludwick while taking on their salaries. In September, the Pirates rewarded Huntington with a three-year extension that included a club option for 2015.
Huntington's first order of business will be making decisions on the options of Maholm, Snyder, Doumit, and Cedeno. Snyder and Doumit are easy choices to decline. Maholm's $9MM net price seemingly doesn't work for the Pirates, but they can check with other teams before making that decision official. Just by virtue of his ability to play shortstop for 130 games Cedeno is worth $2.8MM in a technical sense, but the Pirates might prefer to use those starts in an attempt to find a long-term answer. The safe move would be to pick up Cedeno's option but leave the starting job as an open competition.
Look for the Pirates to make more cuts at the non-tender deadline, with Pearce, Wood, and Ohlendorf on the bubble. The five arbitration eligible Pirates relievers figure to stay, so the team's bullpen is in good shape for 2012.
The Pirates have four favorites for the rotation, though the group features a low-strikeout trio of Karstens, Correia, and Morton after James McDonald. SI's Jon Heyman says the team is looking for starting pitching. I'd expect another stopgap acquisition like Correia. The Pirates need bulk innings after their rotation provided the fewest in the National League in 2011.
The Pirates' search for a short-term first base solution led to $5MM spent on Overbay and a few million more on Lee. The team has interest in signing Lee, otherwise Huntington can look into Casey Kotchman, James Loney, or outside-the-box options like Raul Ibanez or Josh Willingham.
Questions don't stop there: the Pirates have needs at catcher, third base, and right field. Huntington will likely be thinking short-term at catcher, so maybe someone like Ramon Hernandez or Rod Barajas could draw the Pirates' interest. A new, more affordable contract for Snyder would also work. Michael McKenry and Jason Jaramillo are internal options.
The Pirates hope Alvarez can shake off his awful season, and again, they won't be adding any big names at his position. Right field is likely to be handled internally, as Alex Presley has earned a shot and Jones may still be in the mix. The Pirates have money to spend and needs to fill, but I'm still not sure free agency offers much for them. They could afford Jose Reyes or Prince Fielder, but the best remaining years of those prime free agents will not coincide with the Pirates' window of contention.
The importance of Huntington's tinkering pales in comparison to the importance of locking up Andrew McCutchen. The center fielder has a case for a six-year deal in excess of $50MM. Additionally, the Pirates also have interest in locking up Neil Walker, though that would be a much smaller, team-friendly type of deal.
The first two-thirds of the Pirates' season was different and fun, and it resulted in a 20% increase in attendance. Otherwise, the playoff bid didn't change much, as the team faded well before the stretch-run and is still is years away from transforming into a serious threat. The team is still trying to get to .500 for the first time since 1992, though I don't think .500 should be any kind of goal. Huntington has expressed a willingness to trade prospects, but I'm guessing he'd only do so to fill a long-term need. It's taken too long, but he's building the team the right way. It would be a shame to see hard draft slotting instituted, as it would severely limit the Pirates' best route to sustained success.
Free Agent And Trade Market For Catchers
The Rays, Angels, Pirates, and Twins may seek help at catcher this winter, and none of the available players will be expensive to acquire.
Starting Catchers Available In Free Agency
Ramon Hernandez and Rod Barajas qualify as starting catchers, though they're not quite full-blown regulars since they play 90-100 games per year. Hernandez has a shot at a multiyear deal.
Ryan Doumit hasn't caught 900 innings in a season since '08, but given his offensive ability there should be a hybrid role for him somewhere. Chris Snyder and Kelly Shoppach were starters not long ago, and free agency might allow them to pick teams with opportunities. Jorge Posada caught only one game this year, but feels he could handle the duty here and there. But would he do so for another team?
Quality Backups
Henry Blanco is expected back with Arizona, but Ramon Castro, Jose Molina, and Jason Varitek are a few backups who provided a touch of offense in 2011. Ivan Rodriguez and Matt Treanor also may be able to find big league deals. Our full free agent list can be found here.
Non-Tender Candidates
We've got nine speculative non-tender candidates: Jeff Mathis, Koyie Hill, Robby Hammock, Eli Whiteside, John Baker, Ronny Paulino, Jesus Flores, Rob Johnson, and Brayan Pena. By definition, some of these guys are trade candidates. Mathis, Paulino, Baker, and Flores have had semi-regular roles in the past.
Other Trade Candidates
Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd expects Chris Iannetta to be their catcher next year, though perhaps he could become available during the season if Wilin Rosario comes on strong. Similarly, the White Sox could trade A.J. Pierzynski if they deem Tyler Flowers ready for full-time catching, though Pierzynski would need to approve a deal. A team could eye George Kottaras for more than the backup role he held with the Brewers this year. Jake Fox is far from a regular catcher, but he could be available.
The Yankees currently have strong catching depth, with Russell Martin, Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli at the big league level. Austin Romine got a cup of coffee this year, while Gary Sanchez spent the season at Low-A ball.