Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays Willing To Trade Bartlett?

By | at

Rays Index points us to a Danny Knobler report that indicates the Rays are willing to trade shortstop Jason Bartlett.  Not only that, but the Rays had brief talks with the Twins about acquiring Delmon Young or Denard Span.

With Reid Brignac posting a .299 OBP in Triple A and Tim Beckham a year removed from high school, it’d be surprising if the Rays dealt their starting shortstop.

Odds and Ends: Thorman, Sabathia, Pettitte

By | at

Links for Tuesday…

Arbitration Offer Feedback

By | at

24 free agents were offered arbitration yesterday; several notable names were not.  The deadline for those 24 to accept or decline is Sunday at 11pm CST.  If a player accepts, he’s under contract on a one-year deal for ’09 and his salary cannot be reduced by more than 20% (most players get raises). 

Anyway, let’s round up feedback on yesterday’s decisions.

  • Plenty of good insight from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.  How about the idea that the D’Backs didn’t offer arbitration to Dunn because they didn’t want to shell out too much money on draft picks next year?
  • River Ave. Blues says yesterday’s arb decisions were the first clear indicator of the U.S. economy affecting MLB. I agree.  The decisions not to offer arb to Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn, Kerry Wood, and others serves as proof that teams are exercising extra caution.
  • Buster Olney agrees, suggesting that teams are scared of overpaying free agents.  He says some execs believe Abreu will be fortunate to make $8MM a year on his next deal.
  • Joel Sherman finds the Abreu decision fascinating.  He suggests Abreu would’ve gotten a $17.5MM arbitration award.  While the right fielder would’ve forfeited no-trade rights by accepting, the Yankees would’ve had to eat a significant amount to move him.
  • Ken Rosenthal says even the Yankees are cutting back, and their ’09 payroll will "almost certainly be below their $209 million figure at the start of ’08."
  • Tony Massarotti gives five possible reasons for the slow market.
  • Ken Davidoff feels Jason Varitek is a good candidate to accept Boston’s offer of arbitration.

Braves Rumors: Hampton, Lowe, Burnett

By | at

Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest on the Braves in a new blog post.

  • The Braves never intended Mike Hampton to be one of the two front-rotation starters they acquire this winter, so his rejection of their offer doesn’t affect their plans much.
  • O’Brien notes that he’s heard no indications that the Braves are actively pursuing Derek Lowe.  A.J. Burnett seems to be their top target, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jake Peavy talks revived at the Winter Meetings.
  • The Braves made trade inquiries on Roy Oswalt and Matt Cain and "haven’t received favorable replies in those pursuits."
  • Free agents Ben Sheets and Randy Johnson don’t seem to be on the radar due to concerns over their reliability.
  • The Braves continue to seek a power bat, with Ryan Ludwick and Jermaine Dye the two targets mentioned in recent weeks.

Mariners Offer Arb To Ibanez

By | at

TUESDAY: A quote from GM Jack Zduriencik on Ibanez:

"It’s a bonus to be able to get two picks if we don’t sign him.  But foremost, we’d like to have him come back to be a player for us this year."

It seems that if the Ms would really like Ibanez back, they’d offer him a reasonable multiyear deal.

MONDAY: According to Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune, the Mariners offered arbitration to outfielder Raul Ibanez.  It was an easy decision, as at least ten clubs have interest in Ibanez and he’s certain to decline the arb offer to sign a multiyear deal.  As a Type A free agent, the Ms stand to gain two draft picks for him.

For some reason, only 56.5% of MLBTR readers expected Ibanez to be offered arbitration in our recent poll.

Cards Decline To Offer Arb To Springer, Looper, Isringhausen

By | at

TUESDAY: Another note from Strauss – it seems the Cardinals are moving on from Springer.

MONDAY: According to MLB.com’s Matthew Leach, the Cardinals declined to offer arbitration to Russ Springer, Braden Looper, and Jason Isringhausen (as well as their other free agents).  The Looper decision comes as a surprise, as he earned only $5.5MM in ’08 and would’ve been a solid addition or trade chip for ’09.  He’s a Type B free agent, but the Cards won’t get a pick now.  Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Looper is seeking at least a three-year deal.  Springer is a Type A, so now he’s much more attractive to other teams.

Strauss has a few other Cards notes.  He says the Cardinals are not one of the teams interested in Randy Johnson, but may have interest in Andy Pettitte.  Also, the signing of lefty reliever Trever Miller is being held up due to health concerns that surfaced at the physical.

Astros Decline To Offer Arb To Wolf, Brocail, Loretta

By | at

MLB.com’s Alyson Footer makes it official – the Astros did not offer arbitration to Type B free agents Randy Wolf and Mark Loretta or Type A free agent Doug Brocail.  The Astros still hope to re-sign Brocail.

Just like the Cubs with Kerry Wood and the D’Backs with Adam Dunn, Wolf is a quality player who was not offered arbitration due to payroll concerns.

Richard Justice figures it may have come down to Wolf or Jose Valverde for the Astros, and they chose Valverde.  Another note in Justice’s post – the Astros had their eye on Jose Ceda before he was traded to the Marlins.

Tigers Rumors: Renteria, Wilson, Zaun, Treanor

By | at

Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press has the latest on the Tigers.

  • GM Dave Dombrowski wasn’t sure Edgar Renteria would turn down an offer of arbitration, and he didn’t feel two draft picks were worth the risk.
  • Discussions with the Pirates regarding Jack Wilson are ongoing, but concrete proposals have yet to be exchanged.
  • The Tigers have interest in free agent catcher Gregg Zaun.  Zaun, 38 in April, hit .237/.340/.359 in 288 plate appearances this year while earning $3.75MM.
  • Morosi adds that the Tigers also like Marlins catcher Matt Treanor, but no deal is imminent.  MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro wrote yesterday that the Marlins are shopping Treanor.  He speculated that the Fish could be setting themselves up to sign Ivan Rodriguez.

Dunn Won’t Cost A Draft Pick

By | at

The Diamondbacks’ decision not to offer arbitration to Adam Dunn yesterday was an interesting development.  Now, the top home run hitter on the free agent market will not cost a draft pick to sign.  Ken Rosenthal says Dunn is sitting pretty, and should find increased interest.  He certainly makes more sense for the Nationals now, though they wouldn’t want to go beyond two years.

Rosenthal says the D’Backs made a late run at signing Dunn to a two-year deal shortly before the arbitration deadline.  D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes said getting two draft picks for Dunn was a premise of the July trade, but since then "the poor economy has affected some things."  The Astros had a similar situation with Randy Wolf.  They chose not to offer arbitration to the Type B free agent, who earned $8.5MM this year.

The D’Backs expect the market for Orlando Hudson to be strong, and they were willing to accept the risk of offering arbitration to Brandon Lyon and Juan Cruz as well.

Japanese Links: Kawakami, Tazawa

By | at

A few links today involving Japanese players…

  • Michael Silverman and Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald wrote yesterday that the Red Sox have scouted Kenshin Kawakami multiple times and he has interest in pitching for them.  Kawakami figures to receive multiple bids, assuming he commits to MLB first.
  • ESPN’s Keith Law says signing Junichi Tazawa was a "no-brainer" for the Red Sox.  Law figures Tazawa will start in Double A and could reach the Majors in ’09.
  • Aaron Shinsano of East Windup Chronicle respectfully disagrees; he doesn’t believe Tazawa is ready for Double A.  Shinsano suggests marketing played a part in the signing, as Tazawa is not a first-round talent.
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says Tazawa’s contract "does not seem right" and the Blue Jays are wise to stay out of the Japanese market.
  • Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker translates a Yahoo Japan article that indicates the Padres, White Sox, Indians, and Brewers will stay out of the Japanese free agent market.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top