Odds and Ends: Iguchi, Varitek, Bonds
Linkage for Thursday…
- Tadahito Iguchi will consider playing in the U.S. or Japan, but he wants a starting job. He hit just .232/.292/.306 in 337 plate appearances, hobbled by a shoulder injury.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he does not have any side agreements with any of their free agents to decline arbitration if offered. That would’ve been nice for Ivan Rodriguez. River Ave. Blues thinks the Yanks should offer arb to Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, and Damaso Marte.
- Sox Machine would like to see the White Sox add a defensive player like Mark Ellis.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if Larry Bowa would campaign for the Yankees to sign Manny Ramirez, if Bowa joins the Yankees first.
- Tonight could be Jason Varitek‘s last game as a member of the Red Sox.
- What might’ve been: the Rockies seriously considered drafting Evan Longoria.
- Murray Chass talked to Barry Bonds‘ agent, Jeff Borris.
Odds and Ends: Gillick, Cashman, Burnett
Links for Tuesday…
- Tim’s chat will be moved to Wednesday at 2pm CST.
- J.C. Bradbury thinks A.J. Burnett would be wise to accept Toronto’s two-year, $30MM extension offer.
- Ken Rosenthal examines the Caucasian-ness of the Red Sox roster, and what it could mean to their free agent targets.
- The AL free agent catchers list is done at Detroit Tigers Thoughts. Eddie has Ivan Rodriguez as the last Type A, though that’s not concrete.
- Sox Machine tries to determine the trade value of the White Sox roster. They consider John Danks, Carlos Quentin, Gordon Beckham, and Aaron Poreda basically untouchable.
- The Tigers will start looking for a new pitching coach today, though the candidates are unknown.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post thinks Brian Cashman should hire soon-to-be-ex-Phillies’ GM Pat Gillick as a consultant. Surprisingly, Sherman never mentions that Gillick worked with the Yankees in the past. He was their scouting director in 1975 and 1976 before moving onto the Blue Jays.
- Craig at Fishstripes looks at the ridiculous Dan Uggla and Scott Olsen for Yorvit Torrealba and a pitching prospect speculation, which appeared on MLB.com.
Odds and Ends: Hoyer, Denker, Manny
Links for Monday…
- Baseball America ranks the teams by their total draft expenditures. The Royals spent over $11MM, leading the pack.
- SI’s Tom Verducci talked to one "club pitching expert" who considers free agent Chan Ho Park a sleeper starter for next year.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan figures a long-term extension for Josh Hamilton will be a top priority for the Rangers this winter. Sullivan also has a note about Jake Peavy only wanting to go to an NL team, despite the recent article about Peavy being open to three AL clubs.
- Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer turned down a chance to interview for the Mariners job, according to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald.
- McCovey Chronicles is baffled by the Giants’ decision to let second baseman Travis Denker go.
- Chad Durbin suggests Manny Ramirez charged in aggressively from left field yesterday for show.
- We took a look at Ryan Dempster from a fantasy baseball perspective a few days ago.
Odds and Ends: Beltran, Brewers, Padres
Links for Friday…
- The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants. Surprising to see the Giants let him go.
- Ted Berg at MetsBlog explains how a Carlos Beltran rumbling spun out of control.
- I recently did a Brewers Q&A with Bernie’s Crew.
- The Padres called yesterday’s report about John Moores selling his share of the team "highly speculative." Tim Sullivan considers the statement revealing, and notes that this is a bad time to sell.
- Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times chatted with Scott Boras.
- Mark Cuban mentions that the struggling economy is slowing down the sale of the Cubs.
- Terry Pluto believes the Indians should pursue Brian Roberts.
- David Brown at Yahoo profiles Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman.
- Freddy Garcia is headed to winter ball. The Tigers will have the first crack at signing him. Andruw Jones will also play winter ball; he seems to want a trade if he’s not a starter next year.
- Elbow surgery for Tom Gordon, which probably means the Phillies will buy out his ’09 option for $1MM.
Odds and Ends: Hudson, Cano, Mariners GM
Links for Wednesday…
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark reminds us that Manny Ramirez could’ve been traded to the Phillies in July. But the Phils wouldn’t offer Lou Marson, didn’t like the idea of Manny in right field, and were concerned about Ramirez’s hustle.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog gives his early sense of the team’s offseason approach. He doesn’t seem them splurging on one of the big free agent names.
- MLB.com’s Marty Noble heard Orlando Hudson "yearns to play for the Mets" (hat tip to MetsBlog).
- Jamey Newberg believes in the Rangers’ plan.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn’t believe Robinson Cano will be traded, because the Yankees are valuing him as if 2008 did not occur. He names Fausto Carmona as an example of a pitcher the Yanks would not accept for Cano.
- Sherman also notes that Bobby Abreu and the ivy-covered brick wall at Wrigley might not be the best match.
- The Mariners will interview five people for their GM vacancy this week: Peter Woodfork (D’Backs), Jerry DiPoto (D’Backs), Tony Bernazard (Mets), Kim Ng (Dodgers), and Tony LaCava (Blue Jays).
- The Angels signed Korean pitcher Jang Pil-Joong, who just finished serving in the army.
- I did a couple of interviews recently: over the phone with MLB Interviews and over email with Pinstripes Published.
Burnett’s Agent Speaks
George King of the New York Post chatted with A.J. Burnett‘s agent Darek Braunecker recently. Braunecker says Burnett does not want the free agent process to drag all winter if he does opt out. Burnett has a list of teams he does not want to play for, and the Yankees aren’t on it.
King notes that the Nationals were the only team besides the Blue Jays to offer Burnett five years back in ’05. This year King sees the Yanks, Red Sox, and Orioles in the mix. Burnett’s preference to be close to his Maryland home could be a factor. A few of other eastern teams that may be looking for pitching include the Braves, Mets, and Phillies.
Schilling Could Pitch Half-Season
Curt Schilling talked to the Sporting News yesterday, revealing his choice for 2009. He’ll either retire or pitch for a contender in the second half. It all depends on how Schilling’s shoulder feels this spring. He did not pitch at all in 2008.
A reminder of the 12 teams Schilling considered a year ago aside from the Red Sox can be found here.
Angels Rumors: Teixeira, K-Rod, Uggla
The Angels were eliminated, so it’s time to look forward to the offseason. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has the latest.
- Mark Teixeira said the right things again, about how his time with the Angels gives him something to think about as a free agent. Joel Sherman believes Tex is a great fit for the Yankees, even if he is the "ultimate Boras client." Sherman figures the Yanks, Red Sox, Orioles, and Angels will compete for Teixeira.
- Francisco Rodriguez‘s first choice is the Angels. Sherman believes the Angels’ apparent willingness to let K-Rod go is a warning sign for other teams like the Mets.
- Garret Anderson will be bought out for $3MM, and didn’t want to discuss whether he’d return after that. Shaikin says Chone Figgins could move to left field if Anderson leaves.
- Shaikin says the Angels have considered acquiring Dan Uggla as a way to compensate if Teixeira leaves. Uggla would probably play third base.
- John Lackey answered in the affirmative when asked whether he’d wait to see the Angels’ offensive plans before considering an extension. Lackey’s $9MM option is an easy decision but he is a free agent after the ’09 season.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Holliday, Teixeira, Mussina
A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- MetsBlog recognizes that Francisco Rodriguez will improve the team and appease fans, but is not sure he is worth a four or five-year deal.
- Mets Geek projects the Mets ’09 roster and looks at some options from outside the organization with Pat Burrell and Derek Lowe being the biggest offseason targets.
- Was Watching says bringing back Brian Cashman was a mistake.
- River Ave. Blues assesses the Matt Holliday market and feels that Phil Hughes and Robinson Cano for Holliday "doesn’t make much sense."
- Sox and Pinstripes provides an in-depth preview of the upcoming offseasons for the Yankees and Red Sox and wonders if Theo Epstein can convince the Rockies to take J.D. Drew and a top prospect for Matt Holliday.
- iYankees notes that Brian Cashman wants to make the Yankees’ OBP a priority this winter and feels Mark Teixeira fits the bill.
- Oriole Post does not want to see Mike Mussina return to the O’s and would prefer they "stay the course" with young players.
- C70 At The Bat takes a look at the Cardinals’ decision to sign Kyle Lohse and what it could mean for the offseason ahead.
- Viva el Birdos projects the Cardinals ’09 roster and payroll.
- McCovey Chronicles reacts to some quotes from Brian Sabean and what they mean for the Giants’ offseason.
- Newberg Report thinks the price for the Rangers to acquire Jake Peavy would be too high, even if he’d waive his no-trade clause to go there.
- Athletics Nation sees no point in signing Jason Giambi.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Lowe, Redmond, Timlin
Linkage for Friday…
- River Ave. Blues discovered that Mike Mussina‘s wife may be a bigger factor than we thought in regard to his retirement decision.
- David O’Brien tosses out some names for the Braves to consider: Derek Lowe, Matt Cain, Roy Oswalt, and Josh Willingham. Everyone likes Lowe…Anthony McCarron says the Yankees and Mets should consider him. Those clubs could also enter a bidding war for C.C. Sabathia, says Bob Klapisch. Will C.C.’s postseason record diminish his contract? I don’t think so.
- Greg Couch doesn’t want Javier Vazquez pitching for the White Sox again. Maybe Ozzie is right, Vazquez is not a big-game pitcher. But why say that publicly?
- Joe Christensen seems certain the Twins will exercise Mike Redmond‘s $950K option.
- Chris Carpenter‘s shoulder injury is unprecedented among pitchers. Do the Cardinals need to add veteran rotation insurance? Speaking of unprecedented procedures…Takashi Saito had platelet-rich plasma injected into his elbow in July.
- Joe Starkey thinks the Pirates should…non-tender Adam LaRoche?
- Mike Timlin could retire.
- Huge E-Ticket Manny Ramirez feature from Bill Simmons, wherein Scott Boras is blamed for his Boston exit. Good read.