Pirates Inquired On Hairston
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates inquired in free agent Jerry Hairston Jr. John Perrotto mentioned this connection Sunday. Other known suitors include the Mariners, Phillies, and Reds. Hairston, 33 in May, hit .326/.384/.487 in 297 plate appearances for the Reds while playing second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions. He missed time with a broken thumb and strained hamstring.
Mets Discussed Kawakami At Meetings
MLB Trade Rumors has learned from a baseball source that the Mets were one of many teams to discuss free agent starter Kenshin Kawakami with his agent during the Winter Meetings. Kawakami’s agent, Dan Evans, touched base with about half the teams in baseball during the Meetings, including the Orioles. The Braves are also known to have interest. The Cubs were not among those teams.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Monday
10:42pm: The fourth team is the Braves, according to Ken Rosenthal. Kinzer told Rosenthal the Braves are "in deep" and Furcal is seriously considering their offer. Rosenthal believes it’s a three-year offer with a vesting option. Rosenthal spoke to an exec who felt the same as Joel Sherman, that Furcal does not want to sign with the A’s.
Adding Furcal would give the Braves a middle infield surplus. Good shortstops are hard to find and the Braves would have two.
4:40pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer, who said his client will sign by Tuesday. He’s mulling offers from the Dodgers, Royals, A’s, and…a mystery team.
1:32pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Blue Jays have dropped out of the bidding for Furcal (now confirmed by Furcal’s agent). Sherman adds that Furcal prefers the A’s the least but they are offering the most money.
1:10pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney says the A’s offered four years and $40MM, up about $4MM from their previous offer.
8:10am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s appear to be the frontrunners for free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. Joel Sherman said the same on Friday. Rosenthal says the A’s have upped their initial four-year offer to Furcal, and it appears to be the only four-year proposal on the table. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan suggested on Wednesday that the Royals believe it will take four years and $44MM to sign him. The A’s were reportedly in the $35-40MM range previously.
The Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Royals were identified as other finalists last week by Furcal’s agent. Those teams all have issues coming up with the money or years Furcal desires. Rosenthal suggests Orlando Cabrera, Angel Berroa, and Jack Wilson as possible alternatives for the Dodgers.
Mets Considering Randy Wolf, Oliver Perez
10:14pm: Wolf told MLB.com’s Marty Noble tonight that the Mets have shown "some interest." Noble says the Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Braves, and Giants are also "thought to have interest."
7:58am: According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Mets have checked the bullpen off their list and will now look to upgrade the rotation. It seems that Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf are the top targets, with the pricey Derek Lowe a less likely possibility. McCarron notes that the Mets have a strong relationship with Wolf’s agent Arn Tellem, who brokered the Francisco Rodriguez contract.
With A.J. Burnett off the board, perhaps the market for Lowe will heat up this week. The free agent starting pitching options remain strong – look at what was available on this date a year ago.
Offensively, McCarron doesn’t see much more than an Alex Cora addition on the horizon for the Mets.
Peavy Trade Unlikely This Winter
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune has a quote from Padres CEO Sandy Alderson regarding Jake Peavy:
"It’s likely Jake will be with us Opening Day. We said from the very beginning in connection with both of those possibilities that we would not make a trade unless it made baseball sense. We are no longer actively pursuing any trade for Jake, which is not to say someone won’t approach us."
Mike Cameron-Yankees Rumors
8:48pm: Tyler Kepner of the New York Times spoke to people involved with the deal and he gets the feeling that "the Yankees are backing away" for baseball reasons, not financial ones. Kepner adds that the Yankees know they don’t have to make this trade immediately if they don’t want to.
6:18pm: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy heard from a source that talks between the Brewers and Yankees are at a "stalemate," and did not resume today.
Peter Abraham writes that Igawa may no longer be a part of the deal.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News wrote earlier today that the two teams have agreed on which players to trade. He heard from a source that the Yankees would likely send Igawa, Melky Cabrera and cash to the Brewers for Cameron.
A second source told Feinsand that the Brewers could send Bill Hall along too, an idea Tom Haudricourt suggested last week.
11:54am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Yankees’ talks for Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron are expected to resume soon. He says the Yankees still want the Brewers to either pick up a few million of Cameron’s $10MM salary or take on some of Kei Igawa‘s contract. The Brewers don’t want to do that.
I’m not sure how the Yankees have managed to steer the conversation toward Cameron being overpaid. He’s not, and a fair baseball trade would involve the Yankees paying all of Cameron’s salary while giving up something useful.
Eleven Teams Interested In Daniel Cabrera
6:36pm: The Pirates contacted Cabrera’s agent this weekend, so they’re one of the many teams considering him. Powers told Rob Biertempfel he has "two firm offers" in hand. Dan Connolly notes that the Blue Jays and Nationals have shown interest in the past.
3:32pm: The Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly talked to Daniel Cabrera‘s agent Mike Powers, who says eleven teams have expressed interest in his client. One even offered a multiyear deal. Cabrera, 28 in May, was non-tendered by the Orioles on Friday.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Abreu, Griffey, Varitek
The latest hot stove info from Ken Rosenthal…
- One executive told Rosenthal Bobby Abreu seeks a three-year, $48MM deal. He may have a hard time convincing someone he’s worth $16.5MM more than Raul Ibanez.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, rather than his bosses, has final say on whether to sign Ken Griffey Jr.
- If the Mets can move Brian Schneider, they could pursue Jason Varitek. They might have to give him a multiyear deal (and also surrender their second-round pick to the Red Sox). The Mets reportedly discussed Schneider with the Red Sox several weeks ago. Rosenthal says some execs still believe in the Mark Teixeira-Varitek package deal idea though. It doesn’t really make sense to me.
Scioscia Asked Francona About Manny
Newsday’s Ken Davidoff passes along a report from The Sports Lodge radio show. According to Davidoff:
The skipper [Mike Scioscia] disputed the idea that he wouldn’t want Manny Ramirez on his team, and he said that the Angels have reached out to Red Sox manager Terry Francona to get a feel for what it’s like to have Manny on your team. I wonder how that conversation went?
Ken Rosenthal has quotes from Scioscia. Scott Boras is going to have to play a few teams off each other if he’s going to get three guaranteed years for Ramirez.
Davidoff also has a quote from Scioscia suggesting Jake Peavy "would be a good fit" for the Angels (and vice versa). Meanwhile, SI.com’s Jon Heyman explains why the Angels are still players for Mark Teixeira.
Phillies Re-Sign Jamie Moyer
4:02pm: Larry LaRue says Moyer’s two-year deal is worth $16MM. Scott Lauber says there’s $13MM guaranteed.
3:25pm: Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com believes the Phillies are done with their winter shopping now that they’ve added Moyer, Raul Ibanez, Chan Ho Park, Ronny Paulino, and John Mayberry, Jr.
1:25pm: According to Howard Eskin of WIP 610 in Philadelphia, the Phillies re-signed Jamie Moyer to a two-year deal. It’s since been verified by a press release from the Phillies; a conference is scheduled.