Rangers Like Clay Buchholz
11:29pm: Ryan was apparently just joking with the Buchholz lines.
3:01pm: Some chatter today about Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz today. Rangers president Nolan Ryan admitted to interest, but Theo Epstein values him tremendously. Ryan’s quote was a tad presumptuous:
I think he’s a real talent. Obviously being a Texas kid we think will look really good in a Texas uniform.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Tuesday
11:20pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to roughly half the teams in baseball, and could not identify a suitor for Manny aside from the Dodgers.
8:26pm: Tony Reagins said the Angels signing Manny is "not a likely scenario."
1:30pm: Manny apparently still seeks the same six-year type deal. Rosenthal says Colletti told Boras he’ll need to talk to Frank McCourt before further conversations can occur.
11:25am: ESPN’s Jayson Stark says "Scott Boras met with the Dodgers late Monday might to discuss the return of Manny Ramirez." While Manny is still open to signing with the Dodgers, they have not put their two-year, $45MM offer back on the table.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Tuesday
11:07pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has Phillies sources saying the deal is in place if the Cubs will pull the trigger with the Padres. Sullivan also talked to chairman Crane Kenney, who implied the Cubs included Peavy’s contract within projected budgets to bidders.
Sullivan adds that the Cubs have not had talks for Bobby Abreu yet.
9:17pm: Stark says there’s no way such a complicated trade will get done before the end of the Meetings. He adds that extra teams are not necessarily requirements. The Cubs will need to move a contract and get ownership approval, though.
8:39pm: Ruben Amaro Jr. came close to acknowledging the Phils are involved in the Peavy deal, says Jayson Stark.
8:31pm: Jeff Passan: the lone holdup in this complicated trade is the Cubs moving Marquis. A deal is not imminent, though, according to Towers.
7:26pm: Brock talked to Towers, who met today with Hendry and said a trade seems more likely today than it did yesterday. They’ll meet again tonight. If a deal is reached, it’d be announced after Thursday’s Rule 5 draft. Brock says the Phillies are believed to be the third team.
3:31pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock says nothing is imminent and the Cubs appear reluctant.
2:25pm: The saga continues…Kevin Towers does not think this deal lost steam in the last 24 hours, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown and Gordon Edes. However, they say the Cubs are having second thoughts about this four-team mess. The Cubs source says the price is too steep for them right now and they’re looking at another short-term option for the rotation (Randy Johnson maybe).
2:02pm: Tom Krasovic says the Padres are not seeking J.A. Happ or Chris Coste as has been previously rumored. Also, Ronny Cedeno is not the Padres’ first choice to replace Khalil Greene at short. Krasovic adds that the Braves apparently are now happy the Padres didn’t take their offer for Peavy.
Kras adds that the Padres did some fact-finding with Mark Grudzielanek‘s agent. Grudz wants to play for a winner though.
1:10pm: Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times says Peavy sang "Go Cubs, Go" at a Vegas bar last night. Good times. But did Roy Oswalt sing along? Also, Modrowski believes the Cubs would be willing to eat as much as $6MM of Marquis’ $9.875MM.
Jayson Stark says an Aaron Heilman-Marquis deal appears unlikely, as the sides cannot agree on what portion of Marquis’ contract the Cubs would assume.
12:08pm: Rosenthal says the Cubs maintain they’re not close on Peavy. And they still need to identify their new owner before a deal can get done. The Cubs are mulling Randy Johnson as a backup plan, and continue to prioritize the lefthanded bat.
10:36am: Phil Rogers says the key to this potential four-team Peavy trade would be the Phillies or Orioles taking on Marquis and some of his contract. Rogers says "it will be a stunner if the Cubs don’t acquire Peavy."
1:00am: Chris De Luca says a source close to Jim Hendry characterized a Peavy deal as "very close." De Luca’s sources say a Cubs-Orioles component is set (Felix Pie for Garrett Olson). This runs counter to Roch Kubatko’s report below. De Luca says the Cubs still want to trade Marquis and acquire a lefthanded hitter before closing the Peavy deal.
12:41am: Ken Rosenthal’s source says the Cubs’ attempts to bring in a third team have involved "probably 20 names with four to five clubs." So it’s not necessarily DeRosa or the Phillies. Rosenthal says an agreement is still not close.
12:30am: To summarize yesterday: Kevin Towers has facilitated an apparent three-team Jake Peavy trade that he will present to the Cubs. I say three because Roch Kubatko says the Orioles don’t know of any agreement. So the best guess right now (based on reports) is that the Cubs would send Mark DeRosa to the Phillies, and both teams would send young players to the Padres. The Cubs could offload Jason Marquis in the deal, and the savings from Marquis and DeRosa would seem to neatly equal Peavy’s $11MM salary for ’09.
Brian Fuentes Rumors: Tuesday
10:59pm: Rosenthal says the Nationals are also in the mix for Fuentes. His source says they want to sign Mark Teixeira or Manny Ramirez, plus Fuentes. Nationals GM Jim Bowden said on November 12th, "We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez."
9:49pm: Rosenthal says the Cardinals, Angels, and Tigers are showing interest in Fuentes.
8:29pm: Doug Melvin said he met with the agents for Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman, and Kerry Wood today.
8:05pm: John Perrotto expects the Brewers to move to the front for Fuentes. I imagine they might try to sort out the Sabathia situation first.
5:46pm: According to Derrick Goold and Joe Strauss, the Cardinals have engaged in conversation with Brian Fuentes‘ agents. With K-Rod setting a lower-than-expected ceiling to the closer market, Fuentes could enter the Cards’ price range. GM John Mozeliak said on 1380AM today that he’s yet to dig his heels in on Fuentes though. You have to wonder if the Tigers will take a serious look.
A.J. Burnett Rumors: Tuesday
10:57pm: Heyman says the Yankees’ topped the Braves offer for Burnett by a few million dollars. He says the Yanks apparently will attempt to sign all three top free agent starters – C.C. Sabathia, Derek Lowe, and Burnett.
8:34pm: J.P. Ricciardi says the Blue Jays won’t offer Burnett a five year deal or four years with an option. Braunecker still won’t admit the Jays are out of it.
5:18pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Yankees are considering making a five-year offer to Burnett. Dan Graziano believes Burnett has the personality to thrive in New York.
3:21pm: Ken Rosenthal says it’s not out of the question that Burnett’s price could rise to five years, $100MM if the Yanks miss out on Sabathia.
3:06pm: ESPN’s Keith Law says Burnett is unlikely to sign this week, barring a major change.
2:14pm: Rosenthal says the Braves will meet with Braunecker again today.
2:07pm: Some talk from Braunecker via Amalie Benjamin:
Braunecker also said that about a half dozen clubs have "significant mutual interest" in Burnett, including one team that entered the fray in the last 72 hours and one that has essentially been eliminated from the mix.
1:23pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says the Yanks’ meeting with Burnett took place Monday night, and they’ll talk again today. The Yankees are prepared to top Atlanta’s offer and wouldn’t mind signing both Burnett and C.C. Sabathia.
1:00pm: Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal says the Red Sox had "significant dialogue" with Burnett and he appears to be Boston’s main free agent pitching target.
12:26pm: Joel Sherman says the "Blue Jays have now acknowledged there is almost no way Burnett is returning," which J.P. Ricciardi pretty much said publicly a few days ago. Sherman notes that they hope to sign Carl Pavano to a minor league deal. He says the Jays are targeting an $83MM payroll, something I originally missed but Drunk Jays Fans didn’t.
11:15am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Brian Cashman hopes to meet with A.J. Burnett‘s agent Darek Braunecker today. The Yankees are expected to top Atlanta’s four-year, $60MM plus a vesting option bid. The Braves seem willing to counter, though.
D’Backs Rumors: Webb, Lopez, Jackson
10:25pm: The D’Backs met with Brandon Webb‘s agent for more than an hour last night. They discussed Webb’s desire to stay in Arizona but there is no extension offer at this time.
Also, the D’Backs could sign pitcher Mike Bascik to a minor league deal for depth.
7:55pm: D’Backs rumors for Tuesday…
- According to Nick Piecoro, the D’Backs met with Scott Boras on Monday to discuss Felipe Lopez. The D’Backs did not make an offer at that meeting. Lopez wants a multiyear deal, and figures to be out of their price range.
- Piecoro heard a Conor Jackson for Kelly Johnson trade was discussed, but it doesn’t have momentum.
- Joe Beimel does not seem to be a priority for Arizona.
- At least one team is looking at Brandon Lyon as a starter.
Andruw Jones Draws Inquiries
Diamond Leung talked to Ned Colletti, who said a few teams asked about Andruw Jones. However, those teams would ask the Dodgers to pick up the "vast majority" of the $22.1MM owed to Jones. Hmmm…would 150% of it be sufficient?
Reds Rumors: Rhodes, Reyes, Francoeur
10:18pm: Mike Berardino says the D’Backs are one of the other two Rhodes finalists.
TUESDAY, 4:37pm: Rhodes’ agent says he should make a decision within 24-48 hours. It’s down to the Reds plus two unknown teams.
MONDAY, 10:52pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Reds "may have some interest in Jeff Francoeur." However, the Braves don’t want to move him.
8:35pm: A few Reds rumors this evening…
- The Reds met with the agents for Jerry Hairston Jr. and David Weathers and will meet again tonight. Weathers is already a Red for ’09 after accepting arb, but his salary has yet to be determined.
- The Reds still have an offer to Arthur Rhodes on the table.
- Also on the lefty reliever front, the Reds have had talks with Dennys Reyes‘ agent.
Marlins Rumors: Cantu, Uggla, Pudge
10:17pm: Berardino says the Giants appear to be out of the running for Cantu due to defensive concerns. That sentiment has been coming from the Giants writers as well lately.
12:36pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Marlins "don’t have immediate interest" in Ivan Rodriguez.
10:49am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Marlins don’t expect to trade Dan Uggla or Jorge Cantu at the Meetings, "but they remain open to all ideas." Cantu has been linked to the Giants and White Sox in recent days.
Rosenthal names the Braves, Reds, and Rays as teams interested in Jeremy Hermida, though nothing is close. Nick Cafardo also suggested the Giants. The Cubs apparently haven’t discussed Hermida in a while.
MLB Trade Rumors Has The Winter Meetings Covered
Looking for obsessive coverage of baseball’s Winter Meetings? MLB Trade Rumors is the place to be. Here are some links if you’re new to the site.
- Click on the December archive to see headlines for the many, many posts we’ve written since the Meetings began. Sometimes news from even a few hours ago gets pushed off the front page of the website to make room for newer stories.
- Read about MLBTR and its creator and author, Tim Dierkes.
- Sign up for our RSS feed.
- Sign up as a fan of MLBTR on Facebook (7,518 and counting).
- Bookmark the MLBTR mobile site on your phone.
- Check out the commenting policy before joining the discussion.
- Bookmark our living, breathing list of this year’s free agents.
- Browse the list of Scott Boras clients.
- Check out the righthand sidebar for other good stuff.