Pedro Remains On Mets’ Radar
Matthew Cerrone discusses an AP report stating that the Mets remain interested in Pedro Martinez. Omar Minaya met with Pedro in the Dominican Republic but did not make an offer. Pedro has yet to receive any offers, though the Pirates are known to have had exploratory conversations.
Cerrone also notes this Jon Heyman report, suggesting that some baseball people expect Minaya to attempt to re-sign Pedro after the Oliver Perez situation is resolved.
Where’s Rich Hill Headed?
ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine wrote yesterday that the Cubs are weighing offers for lefty Rich Hill, who is out of options. Hill, 29 in March, is clearly a change of scenery guy. He did fine big league work in 2006-07, but lost his feel for pitching in 2008. Teams hoping for a Cliff Lee-type renaissance are sure to inquire.
I don’t have the scoop on those teams, but it’s safe to say that Hill needs a smaller market and a team that can tolerate his peaks and valleys without demoting him. My guess at the six candidates to acquire Hill: the Royals, Mariners, Padres, Pirates, Marlins, and Orioles.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Wednesday
11:39pm: Dylan Hernandez and Ken Gurnick talked to Ned Colletti tonight about Manny, but there’s not much new to report.
3:50pm: Not sure where the rumor started, but you can cross the Cardinals off the list for Manny suitors.
8:39am: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times talked to Scott Boras, who anticipates that his client Manny Ramirez will be signed by Spring Training (February 14th). Boras claims the Manny negotiations are taking shape and progressing and "the train has left the station." Of course, we all recall Kevin Towers saying the same thing about a Jake Peavy trade.
Boras acknowledged that he’s still talking with the Dodgers and (of course) implied that he has more than one additional suitor.
In other Manny news, Mets manager Jerry Manuel said he’d like to add the slugger (despite the team’s lack of interest).
Randy Wolf Rumors: Wednesday
11:36pm: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick believes the Dodgers and Wolf "will remain apart until the Mets sign a pitcher," perhaps because the Mets have more money to spend than the Dodgers. Braden Looper is the Dodgers’ fallback plan.
4:42pm: Ken Rosenthal addresses Randy Wolf‘s situation now that Jon Garland is no longer an option for the Mets and Dodgers.
Wolf’s agents are still talking to both teams; the Mets are currently focused on Oliver Perez though. The Mets are also talking to Ben Sheets‘ agent. One Rosenthal source said the Mets "could sign Wolf quickly if they made him a pre-emptive offer." That won’t happen unless Perez is ruled out.
Rosenthal says the Dodgers "reassessed their positions with Wolf and Garland after the Yankees re-signed free-agent lefty Andy Pettitte for $5.5 million with the chance to earn $6.5 million in incentives." We’re left to read between the lines; does it mean the Dodgers are now offering less to Wolf?
White Sox Rumors: Garland, Dye
Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald has some White Sox info this evening.
- White Sox GM Ken Williams considered attempting to re-sign Jon Garland, but decided against it due to money as well as the possible emergence of Jeff Marquez. Williams "would rather save that money for a possible in-season addition," says Gregor.
- Gregor has touted the idea of the Sox signing Ivan Rodriguez as a backup catcher. Gregor believes Williams does intend to add a veteran backup of some kind. Mark Gonzales, however, says any backup catcher addition would not seriously cut into A.J. Pierzynski’s playing time.
- Williams "shot down" speculation that Jermaine Dye could be traded, says Gregor. Gonzales adds details – Williams told Dye it was unlikely he’d be traded, but would never be willing to give a player 100% assurance.
Rockies Lock Up Ubaldo Jimenez
WEDNESDAY, 5:27pm: Renck adds more specifics. If Jimenez is dealt before the contract’s final year, he can void the 2014 club option that could cover his first year of free agency.
TUESDAY, 3:04pm: Contract details from Renck: "It’s a four-year, $10-million deal with two club options, that if exercised, would bring value of contract to $22.75 million." The club options were crucial for the Rockies, said Dan O’Dowd.
12:06pm: The Rocky Mountain News says the deal locks up Jimenez through 2012 and has club options for 2013 (his final arb year) and 2014 (his first free agent year). Renck says Matt Cain‘s deal may be a comparable.
11:38am: Renck says the Rockies signed Jimenez to a four-year contract. I believe that will leave Jimenez unsigned for one arb year (2013) before he’s eligible for free agency.
TUESDAY, 8:33am: According to Troy Renck and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, the Rockies hope to sign starter Ubaldo Jimenez to an extension. Jimenez is open to the idea.
The 25 year-old with the blazing fastball had a fine 2008, posting a 3.99 ERA in 34 starts. His control needs work, but his 54.4% groundball rate meshed nicely with Coors Field. Jimenez won’t be arbitration-eligible until after the 2010 season.
The young pitchers recently signed to extensions aren’t good comps for Jimenez – Cole Hamels is a Super Two and one of the game’s best, while Zack Greinke is an odd case having earned $1.4MM in his first arb year. If Paul Maholm signs an extension, that might be a good match (despite the difference in service time).
Joaquin Benoit May Be Out For Season
Rangers reliever Joaquin Benoit had rotator cuff surgery Tuesday, which may make him unavailable for 2009 (or at least the first half). Benoit was not terribly useful in ’08 anyway, and perhaps the Rangers have known about the injury for some time. So today’s news may not affect their plans greatly, but they are known to be in the market for a reliever. Here’s a look at the remaining free agents.
Reds Avoid Arb With David Weathers
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Reds avoided arbitration with reliever David Weathers. He gets $3.5MM in ’09 with a 2010 club option ($400K buyout).
Weathers had asked for $4.6MM while the Reds countered at $3MM.
Cubs Rumors: Bako, Looper, Wolf, Uribe
Fresh off scooping the Cubs’ acquisition of Aaron Heilman, ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine has more info about the team’s plans.
- Levine says the Cubs will sign backup catcher Paul Bako to a one-year, $750K deal once they clear a spot on the 40-man roster. The 2-for-1 Heilman trade takes care of that.
- The Cubs are still looking at Braden Looper and Randy Wolf if they aren’t able to reignite the Jake Peavy talks.
- The Cubs have Juan Uribe on the radar as a bench bat and backup infielder.
Cubs Acquire Aaron Heilman For Cedeno, Olson
11:39am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says the Mariners acquired Cedeno and Garrett Olson from the Cubs for Heilman. Essentially, the Cubs moved two out of options players in Cedeno and Felix Pie to get Heilman, who they’ve coveted for a while. The Mariners did well here, adding a back-rotation candidate in Olson and competition for Yuniesky Betancourt in Cedeno. They released Randy Messenger to make room for the pair.
Bruce Miles says Heilman will be given a chance to start for the Cubs.
10:55am: Ken Rosenthal confirms the deal, saying the Cubs are on the verge of landing Heilman for Cedeno and a minor league pitcher. The deal is expected to be announced today.
10:25am: According to ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine, the Cubs are close to acquiring pitcher Aaron Heilman from the Mariners. The Ms want shortstop Ronny Cedeno and pitching in return. Heilman was dealt to Seattle in the J.J. Putz trade earlier this winter. Earlier this month, Ken Rosenthal mentioned that the Mariners were likely willing to trade Heilman, "who they did not consider a key component of the Putz trade."
Heilman, 30, is set to earn $1.625MM in ’09. He’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2010 season.
Levine also mentioned that three teams are interested in out-of-options Cubs hurler Rich Hill.