Cafardo On Lowe, Red Sox, Millwood
As usual, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe brings us a Sunday morning column with some info from around the league. Let's check out a few highlights….
- Derek Lowe likes pitching for the Braves and would prefer to stay in Atlanta, but acknowledges that he doesn't have much control over the situation. "I understand this is a business and I know the Braves have some things they’d like to do," Lowe told Cafardo. "I hope I can be here because I really enjoy it."
- Cafardo doesn't think that Roy Halladay will be a Red Sox next season. He can't see a trade happening "unless some sense of realism overtakes the Blue Jays" and they lower the asking price for their ace.
- Boston's "ideal scenario" according to Cafardo is signing John Lackey and then dangling Clay Buchholz to acquire a bat. Ideal, maybe, but probably not likely.
- Although the Marco Scutaro-to-Boston rumors have gained momentum since Toronto signed Alex Gonzalez, the Red Sox could still explore other options, such as dealing for Stephen Drew or signing Adam Everett.
- Given Carl Crawford's strong leadership role in the Rays' clubhouse, Cafardo speculates that the team could eventually bite the bullet and pony up the money to extend Crawford's contract.
- The Brewers have inquired about Kevin Millwood, but the Rangers haven't actively tried to move the righty.
- The Giants, Rangers, and Orioles are among the teams who have Miguel Tejada on their radar.
Odds & Ends: Gonzalez, Lowell, Mariners
Links for Saturday…
- Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe thinks the Red Sox made a big mistake by letting Alex Gonzalez go to Toronto. I can't say I'd be too upset if my team let a guy with a 78 career OPS+ go, no matter how good his defense was.
- ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes writes that even if the Red Sox eat a big chunk of Mike Lowell's contract, they'll still have trouble trading him because of all the third base options on the free agent market.
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times wrote about all of the flexibility Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik has going into the winter meetings.
- Meanwhile, Larry Stone at The Seattle Times wouldn't be surprised to see Kevin Towers end up with the Mariners because of his relationship with Zduriencik.
- Lynn Henning of The Detroit News guesses that the Tigers will offer arbitration to Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, and Brandon Lyon before Tuesday's midnight deadline. Polanco is a Type-A free agent, Rodney and Lyon are both Type-B's.
- The sale is complete and the Ricketts family has assumed control of the Cubs, according to David Roeder of The Chicago Sun Times.
- The deadline for the sale of another team, the Rangers, passed more than a week ago, but owner Tom Hicks hasn't indicated what happened, or how many groups actually made a pitch, according to Barry Shlachter of The Star Telegram.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along the news that Jose Contreras has one less suitor in Japan. Meanwhile, Ryo Shinkawa writes that Hiroshima is looking into signing Giancarlo Alvarado, who pitched with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate last season, posting a 3.49 ERA.
- The best bet for the Red Sox to fill their need at shortstop might be to make a trade, says Tyler Hissey of MVN.com. Hissey suggests that Reid Brignac, Stephen Drew, and Yunel Escobar could be had via trade, but would cost the BoSox a pretty penny.
- Steve Melewski of MASN Sports says that the Orioles can find their next closer in-house. Recently, we learned that the O's are one of eight teams interested in free agent Billy Wagner.
Scutaro Prefers The Dodgers And Red Sox
1:13pm: In a slight correction to his article, Bastian says that the Mariners and Rangers have contacted the 34-year-old, but not necessarily about playing third base (via Twitter).
11:32am: Free agent Marco Scutaro is said to prefer the Dodgers and Red Sox because they give him the best chance to make the postseason, according to a report by Augusto Cardenas of Diaro Panorama, which was passed along by MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times has a quote from Scutaro on the situation:
"Boston is interested, like the Dodgers, Seattle and Texas,'' Scutaro said. "They have just called to say they have interest, but they haven't made an offer yet.
"The Dodgers want me to play second base, shortstop in Boston, and there are other teams who have called to play third. Although not close the doors, I would rather be between short and second.''
Bastian adds that Scutaro hasn't ruled out a return to Toronto, though the Jays will offer the Type-A free agent arbitration so they can receive two draft picks if he heads elsewhere. Baker mentions that the Mariners and Texas have contacted Scutaro about playing third, which makes you wonder what would happen with Michael Young.
Halladay Would Approve Deal To Yankees
SATURDAY 8:31am: ESPN's Buster Olney hears that Halladay's preferred destinations are the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, or Phillies.
FRIDAY 7:32pm: Roy Halladay would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to pitch for the Yankees, writes Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, in an article for Slam Sports.
A major league executive told Elliott that he doesn't know where Halladay might end up, but knows that he has told the Blue Jays that he would agree to be dealt to the Yanks. Doc has used his no-trade clause before to prevent being shipped to the Twins and Rangers.
Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has said that he would not be against trading a player in the American League East if it were the best deal on the table. Should he make an exception in the case of Halladay?
Red Sox Destined To Sign Scutaro?
The BoSox have "virtually no choice" but to sign free agent Marco Scutaro, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Toronto's signing of Alex Gonzalez means that the 34-year-old is now, by default, their most attractive option. There aren't a ton of quality shortstops available via trade either. Unsurprisingly, we've already heard reports this week of strong interest from both parties.
Signing Scutaro would mean surrendering a high draft pick to Toronto as he is a Type A free agent. It could also mean giving the versatile veteran a three-year offer rather than the two-year pact that Boston would prefer.
Is inking MLBTR's eighth ranked free agent worth the price? Are there better – but perhaps less obvious – options out there for the Red Sox?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Revenue Sharing, Bullington, Halladay, Mauer
On this date 18 years ago, Eddie Murray signed a two-year, $7.5MM deal with the Mets, the third of six teams he would play for in 21 seasons. In those two years, he would hit 43 home runs and post seasons of 115 and 111 OPS+. A week into this year's free agency, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Biz of Baseball looks at revenue sharing in baseball and why baseball no longer releases revenue sharing figures.
- DC Sports Plus evaluates the list of minor league free agent pitchers and who might get shots to stick with a big league club in the Spring.
- Royals Authority looks at what the signing of Bryan Bullington could mean for the Royals and whether he can contribute as a big league relief pitcher.
- River Ave Blues speculates on what the Yankees and Red Sox would have to give up to land Roy Halladay.
- MLB Notebook examines why the Tigers are looking to trade Edwin Jackson.
- UmpBump breaks down the Padres off-season needs and what San Diego needs to bring back should Adrian Gonzalez be traded.
- Jorge Says No! speculates on an extension that could work for both the Twins and Joe Mauer.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Cabrera, Mets, Contreras
Here's some discount links on Black Friday…
- ESPN's Keith Law notes that the Marlins have a history of moving players early, and says that they could land two big league ready players and two Double-A prospects for Josh Johnson.
- There's no evidence to suggest that the Red Sox have approached the Tigers about a trade for Miguel Cabrera according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
- Bob Klapisch of FoxSports.com writes that it'll take more than one offseason to get the Mets back on track.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says that next week's arbitration deadline will have a big impact on the Red Sox, and wonders if GM Theo Epstein has a trade for a shortstop in mind.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert says a marriage between the Diamondbacks and free agent Nick Johnson seems unlikely because the team has a little more than $10MM to spend and more pressing needs in the rotation.
- Jose Contreras met with officials from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, according to the AP (via NBCSports.com).
- SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that Jermaine Dye would like to go west, and suggests that he could be an alternative righty bat for the Rangers.
- Heyman also hears that the Blue Jays like Jesus Montero of the Yankees and Casey Kelly of the Red Sox, referring of course to a potential Roy Halladay trade.
- FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry takes a look at some free agents teams should avoid.
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs chimes on three recent moves: Dallas McPherson to the A's, Tug Hulett to the Red Sox, and Radhames Liz to the Padres.
The Price Tag For Roy Halladay
ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Red Sox would "almost certainly" have to part with prospect Casey Kelly and pitcher Clay Buchholz to acquire Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays. That would be an immense price to pay for a year of Halladay, and Olney says it "makes no sense" for the Red Sox to hand over that kind of talent, especially since it will take a considerable amount to lock Halladay up long-term.
One executive called the Halladay trade talks "Santana 2," in reference to the Johan Santana trade talks two offseasons ago. The Yankees and Red Sox held onto their prospects then, and their decisions look wise today.
But don't expect the Blue Jays to lower the asking price for their ace. One person who was involved in last summer's trade talks tells Olney that the Jays will continue to ask for top prospects, even if it means they don't make a deal.
"It'll probably be easier for them, as an organization, to just keep him and let him walk," the talent evaluator said.
If they do trade Halladay, they'll likely ask for shortstop prospects, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. It doesn't sound like the Jays are close to dealing Doc and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports expects trade talks to develop slowly.
Red Sox “At Or Near” The Top Of Scutaro’s List
The Red Sox are eyeing Marco Scutaro and, according to the Boston Herald, the interest is mutual. The shortstop's agent, Peter Greenberg, told Michael Silverman and John Tomase that Scutaro likes the idea of playing in Boston.
“Boston is at or near the top of Marco’s list of where to sign," Greenberg said. "But quite a few teams have expressed interest.”
Greenberg says his client will remain in contact with a number of teams, even though he has "a lot" of interest in the Red Sox. Boston is likely more comfortable with a two year deal than a three-year deal, since they have 19-year-old prospect Jose Iglesias in the minors.
Scutaro is a Type A free agent, so he will cost a top draft pick if he turns down the Blue Jays' arbitration offer. Talks with the Jays have stalled for now, and it would be a surprise to see Scutaro accept arbitration. The Red Sox could receive compensation picks if their Type A free agents (Jason Bay and Billy Wagner) sign elsewhere, which could make losing a top pick palatable.
Scutaro's contact skills and versatility make him perhaps the most appealing shortstop available via free agency or trade, though he turned 34 last month.
Wagner Will Be Presented With Offers Next Week
Bean Stringfellow, agent for free agent reliever Billy Wagner, said that a few interested clubs will be presenting his client with offers "sometime next week," according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Eight clubs have shown interest in Wagner, and all eight have the intention of using him as their closer according to his agent.
Stringfellow also indicated that Wagner is open to going back to Boston, even though he wouldn't be closing. He has “no doubt” the club will offer the Type-A free agent arbitration, and feels "Wagner will have enough offers in hand prior to that date that an informed decision can be made by the pitcher in regards to a possible return to the Red Sox."