Odds and Ends: Lohse, Reyes, Greinke, Howard
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan called the Winter Meetings "a big waste of money and time."
- Nationals GM Jim Bowden implied that a Tom Glavine signing is unlikely.
- Kyle Lohse feels the pain of all the unsigned free agents; he didn’t sign until March 14th last year. Lohse said he "put a lot of pressure on all parties" to get his four-year, $41MM extension done on September 29th. Given that it wasn’t on the open market, Scott Boras did well for Lohse.
- The Dodgers prefer Dennys Reyes over Luis Ayala, says Ken Gurnick.
- Joe Posnanski loves the Zack Greinke signing. Sam Mellinger says the Royals and fans are no longer allowed to complain about baseball’s financial structure.
- Maury Brown leans slightly toward Ryan Howard winning his arbitration case. I think the Phillies will prevail.
- Brandon Lyon turned down more lucrative offers for a chance to close in Detroit. ESPN’s Keith Law likes the Tigers’ signing, in part due to Jim Leyland’s track record with relievers.
- The Marlins seem to prefer the trade market, if they are to add a catcher.
- Joe Nathan knows his $47MM extension signed in March of ’08 is looking pretty good right now.
Rosenthal On Manny, Garcia, Greinke
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column…
- Rosenthal speculates that the Giants may not be the right fit for Manny Ramirez, given a challenging ballpark and questionable supporting cast of hitters. Rosenthal suggests a contract that might work for Manny and the Dodgers: two years with a third-year player option, with no-trade protection covering only the first two years.
- Many remaining free agents – Adam Dunn for example – may prefer a one-year deal because it will increase their options and allow them to re-enter the market after the season.
- The White Sox found the price for Freddy Garcia to be too high ($1.5MM plus $6.5MM in incentives). Rosenthal deems Oliver Perez a bad fit for the Sox in part because he’s a flyball pitcher. Also there’s the whole Scott Boras thing.
- Among the right-handed hitters the Phillies are mulling, Rosenthal feels that Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia make the most sense.
- The Angels may go to Spring Training with their current club.
- Zack Greinke received "very minor" no-trade protection in the first two years of his new deal, with seemingly no protection when his salary shoots up to $13.5MM in 2011.
Maholm Deal Becoming More Realistic
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes of Monday indications that a multiyear contract for Pirates starter Paul Maholm "is becoming more realistic by the day." The Pirates have a February 10th hearing scheduled with Maholm, with the two sides facing a $1.15MM gap over the salary for his first arbitration year. It’s been said the Bucs would like to sign Maholm for at least four years, which would buy out one year of free agency. Using Ian Snell‘s contract as a model, perhaps Maholm would get $24MM or so for those four years. Snell’s deal, signed in March of ’08, has the team-friendly element of two club options though.
Kovacevic does the math and finds the Pirates have roughly $4MM to spend to bring in additional players this year, maybe a few million more depending on where Maholm and Nate McLouth‘s salaries land. Two free agent starters known to be on the radar are Braden Looper and Pedro Martinez.
Jason Varitek Rumors: Monday
11:26pm: According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have set a Saturday deadline for their offer to Varitek. Silverman does not expect the Sox to sweeten their offer. He adds that Varitek "is believed to have instructed his agent not to discuss monetary terms with any other teams during the entire free agent process." For their part, the Red Sox will wait on Varitek before pursuing a trade for a catcher.
5:55pm: Rob Neyer of ESPN.com believes the Red Sox will get what they want no matter what: A cheap Varitek or no Varitek at all.
12:24pm: Tony Massarotti confirms Bradford’s numbers on Boston’s offer. The incentives are based on awards rather than health or playing time. Massarotti suggests Varitek could prefer to eliminate the ’10 option.
9:26am: Yesterday, WEEI’s Rob Bradford wrote that the Red Sox made this offer to Jason Varitek: $5MM for ’09, with a $5MM club/$3MM player option for ’10. The offer has a deadline attached.
The Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman writes today that the one-year plus an option offer to Varitek is worth between $3-5MM. He believes the Red Sox are "unwilling to wait much longer" and unwilling to budge much.
Jon Heyman wrote on Thursday:
It’s still a mystery to many why Varitek didn’t take arbitration. And even Red Sox owner John Henry asked Varitek in their well-publicized meeting a week ago why he didn’t take the arbitration offer. The reason is that Varitek didn’t believe that accepting arbitration would guarantee him a spot on the team.
Buster Olney called this notion "laughable" in today’s blog, labeling it as a Scott Boras talking point to cover for a poor decision. Peter Gammons agrees.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
9:46pm: Chris Haft of MLB.com wonders if Manny Ramirez would be given as many opportunities to hit the ball if he signed with the Giants, similar to how Barry Bonds was intentionally walked so often.
4:30pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Manny still wants a four or five-year deal at about $25MM per. On rival exec believes the Dodgers and Manny are in the "fourth inning" of negotiations.
10:17am: The latest Manny Ramirez information came from Bill Shaikin on Saturday, and there’s not much to report. It seems that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti awaits a counteroffer from Scott Boras after their two-year, $45MM offer was made almost three months ago. Boras wants the Dodgers to up their bid:
"We have let the Dodgers know what Manny’s position is. They are fully aware of the terms he feels are fair."
Shaikin says the Dodgers "do not equate an asking price with a counteroffer." He adds, "The Dodgers do not believe the San Francisco Giants are serious about Ramirez. The Giants are happy to let the Dodgers think that way."
I have to side with Colletti on this one. His offer was initially laughed off, but now it looks quite fair. Manny doesn’t appear to have any other offers, and there are other quality free agent corner outfielders available who will likely play for one year and less than half the average annual salary.
Phillies Still Eyeing Right-Handed Bats
8:18pm: Philadelphia’s search for a right-handed bat continues. Alden Gonzalez adds an update on MLB.com.
Names the Phillies have been linked to in that regard include Nomar Garciaparra, Ty Wigginton, Moises Alou, Rich Aurilia, Mark Grudzielanek and Kevin Millar, Gonzalez wrote.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told Gonzalez that the addition does “not necessarily” need to be an infielder, though a little insurance while Pedro Feliz and Chase Utley recover from offseason surgeries wouldn’t hurt.
“We’re looking for a guy that has a bit of that versatility that’s needed in the National League,” Amaro told Gonzalez.
Jan. 23: Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the latest on the Phillies’ pursuit of a right-handed bench bat. Names of interest: Nomar Garciaparra, Moises Alou, Mark Grudzielanek, Rich Aurilia, and Kevin Millar.
Salisbury says Garciaparra is the team’s first choice, but Ruben Amaro Jr. remarked, "We can’t be held hostage by Nomar, though he’d be a guy we’d like to bring in." Salisbury’s source says the Phils are going "pretty hard" after Alou, who will attempt to re-establish his health in the World Baseball Classic. Two issues there: Alou’s playing time expectations may be too high, and he reportedly prefers the AL where he can DH.
Ben Sheets Rumors: Monday
6:38pm: T.R. Sullivan believes that now the New York Yankees have signed Andy Pettitte, Ben Sheets’ options are closing up.
“Anytime somebody signs another starting pitcher, that obviously lessens the competition,” Rangers president Nolan Ryan told Sullivan. “Obviously, Andy and Ben are at two different points in their careers, but I don’t think Andy signing hurts anything.”
Sullivan notes that the Rangers are the only team that has publicly stated interest in Sheets, but the process continues to move slowly. The Rangers are reluctant to offer a multiyear contract. Sheets wants at least a two-year deal while the Rangers are looking one year with a possible club option.
11:26am: The latest on the Rangers and Ben Sheets comes via a T.R. Sullivan report from yesterday afternoon. Sullivan wrote:
The Rangers remain deeply concerned about the medical reports. Sheets’ agent, Casey Close, is looking for a multi-year contract. The Rangers would prefer just a one-year deal, possibly with an option. The two sides have discussed financial parameters, but there hasn’t been an official offer from either side. Close would like to get other teams involved, most notably the two in New York.
If there’s another team infatuated with Sheets, it hasn’t leaked to the media yet. As Sullivan wrote, the Mets are focused on Oliver Perez. The Yankees are in serious talks with Andy Pettitte. The Dodgers are looking elsewhere, and the Orioles "just don’t seem interested." Doug Melvin won’t rule Sheets out for the Brewers but does not expect to re-sign him.
Who else needs pitching and can afford Sheets? We can’t rule out the A’s or Cardinals. The Pirates and D’Backs seem to be budgeting less than Sheets wants.
Royals Sign Zack Greinke To Extension
4:00pm: The AP has the yearly salaries.
1:49pm: Danny Knobler says Greinke’s deal is worth $38MM.
12:04pm: According to Sports Radio 810 in Kansas City, the Royals signed starter Zack Greinke to a four-year extension. The deal buys out two arbitration years (2009-10) and two free agent years (2011-12). Here’s the press release from the Royals. This will probably end up being Dayton Moore’s most important move of the offseason. Craig Brown offers instant commentary and a guess at the terms.
Yankees Sign Andy Pettitte
3:11pm: The Yankees announced today that they signed Pettitte to a one-year deal. The AP says Pettitte is guaranteed $5.5MM and could reach $12MM with incentives. The move should allow the Yanks to move Joba Chamberlain to the fifth starter role, with various other young pitchers ready to step in as needed.
A note from the conference call: Brian Cashman says not to expect any more moves of significance.
1:30pm: John Harper of the New York Daily News says the two sides have "essentially agreed" to a deal but final details need to be worked out.
12:28pm: Rosenthal now agrees that it’ll be less than $6MM guaranteed with incentives that could push the total to $12MM. He says the two sides are "closing in" on a deal.
11:53am: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees are close to a deal with Pettitte that could guarantee nearly $6MM with another $6MM in incentives. The deal could be done this afternoon. Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier that the incentives could push Pettitte close to $16MM.
10:09am: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Andy Pettitte and the Yankees are in serious talks and there’s a "lot of optimism" for a one-year deal. It would be for less than $10MM guaranteed.
Braves Rumors: Swisher, Hudson, Andruw
A few Braves notes from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
- Bowman believes the Braves are more interested in Nick Swisher than Xavier Nady. The two Yankees outfielders are among many options Frank Wren can consider.
- The Braves’ interest in free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson "died more than a month ago" over defensive concerns. Which seems odd, since Hudson’s defensive numbers didn’t change at any point during the offseason.
- Bowman says "it still appears" the Braves won’t offer Andruw Jones anything more than a minor league deal.