Walters On Joe Mauer
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote yesterday about Joe Mauer, whose contract runs through 2010. He says the Red Sox are "already salivating over Mauer." I’m sure many teams are. The Twins have yet to talk to Mauer about another extension. Since Mauer is just 26 in April and his next contract will cover only free agent years, the deal could be record-setting (for a catcher) if he stays healthy.
Rays In Joe Nelson’s Top Five
According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays are among the top five choices of free agent reliever Joe Nelson.
Since being non-tendered by the Marlins, 19 teams inquired on Nelson. Among them: the Rays, Indians, Royals, Cardinals, Red Sox, Braves, and Mets. Nelson hopes to sign before Christmas. The Indians are known to be in Nelson’s "fave four" and have made an offer.
Olney’s Latest: Lyon, Cabrera, Castillo
The latest from ESPN’s Buster Olney.
- Olney says the Brewers "might take a look at" free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, who’s been linked in other reports to the Twins and Red Sox. It’s been reported that Lyon seeks a multiyear deal and may wait until Brian Fuentes signs. Nick Piecoro suggested that one unknown Lyon suitor views him as a starter.
- Olney says the Brewers will probably reach out to Trevor Hoffman, and the Dodgers will also take a look. He adds that the Dodgers will not attempt to re-sign Derek Lowe despite his sinking price tag.
- The Dodgers turned back to Rafael Furcal after realizing Orlando Cabrera had an asking price close to the amount Furcal signed for. The market for Cabrera seems weak, perhaps since he will cost a draft pick. Cabrera signing with the Dodgers would’ve been ideal for the White Sox, who would’ve swiped L.A.’s #17 draft pick in June.
- Olney says the Mets continue to attempt to unload Luis Castillo, who has $18MM left on his deal.
- Interesting note: "For the first time in recent memory, the Yankees’ offices will be closed in the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day — one of the signs of the more measured leadership of Hal Steinbrenner."
Marlins Still Shopping Andino
You may recall one of the many rumors from December 10th – the Marlins discussed trading shortstop Robert Andino to the Pirates, perhaps for Brian Bixler. Andino is out of options.
According to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, the Marlins continue to discuss trading Andino. He says the Pirates remain the most viable match, even with Jack Wilson seemingly staying put.
Angels’ Top Priority: Fuentes
According to Mike DiGiovanna, closer Brian Fuentes has become the Angels’ top priority now that they’ve bowed out of the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes. T.J. Simers wonders if the Halos’ offer to Tex, which sat without a response for two weeks, was just for show.
DiGiovanna says that while Fuentes wants a three-year deal, he may settle for two years with an option. The Cardinals are lingering; they were said to be "turning the page but not shutting the door."
DiGiovanna sees a slim chance the Angels go after Manny Ramirez. He’d have to be willing to take a two-year deal (I am guessing that is also the Yankees’ limit). He also sees a remote chance for Jake Peavy. DiGiovanna discussed more reasonable Angels targets yesterday.
Pirates Pursuing Rocco Baldelli
Pirates rumors from the tireless Dejan Kovacevic…
- Kovacevic says the Pirates are in pursuit of free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli. The Bucs are serious about him, having spoken to his agents several times. The Reds, Phillies, Red Sox, and Yankees are considered other suitors.
- The team’s interest in Ty Wigginton has dropped off.
- Doug Mientkiewicz remains on the radar, but no offer has been made.
- Nothing cooking on the Jack Wilson front; he’s likely to remain the Pirates’ shortstop.
- The Pirates offered slightly more than the $2.6MM Daniel Cabrera signed for with the Nationals. D-Cab wanted to remain in the area. The Pirates may choose not to pursue any other free agent starters.
- We knew extension talks with Nate McLouth had fizzled; turns out nothing is close with Paul Maholm either. Pirates president Frank Coonelly described the disconnect at Ryan Doumit‘s press conference.
Twins Rumors: Lyon, Wigginton, DeRosa
La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest on the Twins.
- The Twins are one of several teams in on free agent reliever Brandon Lyon.
- It does not seem that the Twins are pursuing Ty Wigginton.
- Nothing new on the Twins’ rumored interest in Mark DeRosa; the two teams don’t match up well (the Twins are not willing to trade Jason Kubel).
- Neal likes the match between the Twins and Brewers, but J.J. Hardy has not been discussed.
Holiday Coverage
UPDATE: All shifts have been filled. Thanks for your inquiries! MLBTR will not miss a beat during the holidays.
MLB Trade Rumors is looking for help with holiday coverage. We have three paid shifts available: 5pm til midnight on December 24th, 9am til 5pm on December 25th, and 5pm til midnight also on December 25th (all times in CST). Feel free to apply if you can take one, two, or all three of the shifts (please let me know which).
Here’s what we’re looking for, besides the availability:
- Knowledge of all 30 baseball teams, no discernible bias toward your favorite.
- Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing the news up in a few paragraphs. I want the best of both worlds, as you have to be able to do this quickly after the source article is published. It’s preferred that you add value to the article with your own insight, numbers, or links to other relevant articles.
- Attention to detail – absolutely no spelling errors, especially for player and journalist names. Ability to follow the MLBTR style and tone. Also it is important to avoid duplicating content previously covered on the site.
- Ability to use an RSS feed reader such as Google Reader. This is crucial.
- Blogging experience is preferred. We use TypePad, which is easy to use if you have blogged before.
- You have to be able to put up with me, responding to constructive criticism and digesting the MLBTR instruction document quickly.
- If you’re interested, email mlbtrweekend@gmail.com and explain your qualifications. Please don’t send anything to my other email address. Usually we receive a few hundred inquiries, so unfortunately I cannot reply to all. Thanks.
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Monday
8:07pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says baseball people expect Teixeira to sign before Thursday. Rival execs see the Red Sox as the favorite. The Orioles and Nationals remain engaged; the Yankees are the wild card. Heyman says the Yanks would only want to spend slightly more than the $161MM they committed to C.C. Sabathia.
7:20pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online learned from multiple sources that the Nationals "have sweetened their proposal to Teixeira, offering him an eight-year deal worth $178-184MM." He’s been told they’re willing to go nine years and there’s been talk of ten.
9:02am: ESPN’s Buster Olney sums up the Mark Teixeira situation in his blog today. Olney says Teixeira’s "leverage has probably maxed out, and now only runs the risk of being diminished." The status of the involved teams:
- Angels: out of the running.
- Yankees: Olney says they initially made an offer that was markedly less than other teams, and have since withdrawn it.
- Orioles: Olney says they’re at seven years, $140MM (as opposed to the $140-150MM range we’ve seen reported). Offer has not been upgraded.
- Nationals: eight years, $160MM based on published reports. Olney is not sure whether the Nats have raised this offer but heard from confidants of "one high-ranking executive" that they have not. Olney’s Nationals sources expressed pessimism about their chances.
- Joe Posnanski: out of the bidding.
- Red Sox: Were willing to do $170-175MM when they flew out to meet Teixeira and Scott Boras; "might be nudged to $180MM." We know that the Red Sox did not pull their offer, but haven’t spoken to Boras since Thursday night.
- Olney wonders: will Boras shoot for $190MM with the intent of topping Derek Jeter‘s $189MM? If he tops it, Boras would secure the third-largest contract in MLB history for Teixeira (with his Alex Rodriguez deals taking the first two slots).
Orioles Interested In Hendrickson, Miles
Peter Schmuck talks about two of many free agents on the Orioles’ radar, pitcher Mark Hendrickson and infielder Aaron Miles. Jeff Zrebiec named Hendrickson as an Orioles’ target back on December 6th; check out that article for many other names of interest. Baltimore could be a great opportunity for Hendrickson, as their rotation is wide open. Schmuck reminds us that the Orioles also have interest in starters Braden Looper, Tim Redding, and Kenshin Kawakami. Roch Kubatko says the O’s are not interested in Ben Sheets.
This is the first I’ve heard of the O’s being interested in Miles; the Reds are another suitor for the non-tendered infielder.