Drama Brewing Over Wagner Claim
9:15pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, "the Red Sox's chances of landing Mets reliever Billy Wagner are in serious jeopardy."
There are two main problems: Wagner wants to have the option of leaving after the 2009 season, and the Sox are not willing to guarantee that his 2010 club option will go unexercised. Boston management also wants to have the choice of offering the veteran salary arbitration, an idea to which Wagner's agent is adamantly opposed. The two sides have about 40 hours to come to an agreement.
6:14pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman is keeping tabs, via Twitter, on a war of words that has sprung up between Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and recently-claimed reliever Billy Wagner. As Heyman "tweeted" a few hours ago, "wagner said he 'loves boston.' also said he doesn't expect to go. why? "inside intuition.''
Papelbon seemed to take exception to the comments and said Sunday afternoon that he doesn't feel the Red Sox necessarily need to add the 38-year-old veteran. Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal passes along the quote: "We have a good dynamic down there in the bullpen and guys who work well together," Papelbon said. "Is Billy Wagner a good pitcher? Will he bring more depth to our bullpen and make our bullpen better? There's no question about it. But you still have to think about what we have now and what we've been able to accomplish to this point in the season."
And here's Heyman, back on Twitter, with Wagner's response: "i dont have anything to say about somebody like that … when he walks in my shoes then i'll say something. let him be 38 and have tommy john surgery."
We'll keep you updated as the situation progresses. Keep in mind that the Red Sox and Mets have until 1 p.m. EST Tuesday to work out a deal.
Odds & Ends: Wagner, Yankees, Pirates, Astros
A few links on a slow Sunday afternoon:
- Buster Olney says (Insider required) that the Red Sox made a "worthwhile gamble" placing a claim on Billy Wagner. Olney feels that with no obvious fixes to their starting rotation, trying to make their bullpen overpowering is a good strategy. As we learned last night, Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen don't necessarily agree. Olney says the Mets "are crazy" if they pass the opportunity to move Wagner's salary.
- Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger says that the Yankees need to address the communication problems between A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada. Both players have said they "couldn't get on the same page" during the recent blowout the Yankees suffered at the hands of the Red Sox.
- Dejan Kovacevic has a letter from Jack Wilson to the fans of Pittsburgh, thanking them for their support during his time as a Pirate. It's a good read; Wilson's a class act. Kovacevic's article also has Neal Huntington's thoughts on the extensions offered to Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, as well as a report on the Pirates' draft spending.
- MLB.com's Jen Langosch has Huntington's thoughts on September call-ups for the Pirates this season.
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's Alyson Footer tells fans what she would like to see the Astros do with the little money they have to spend this offseason. Her suggestions begin with picking up Brian Moehler's option and signing Randy Wolf. Moehler's option will be worth either $2.3MM or $3MM, depending on whether or not he exceeds 150 innings this season. Footer's rotation would consist of Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Wolf, Bud Norris, and Moehler. Is Moehler worth that money, or should the Astros pursue a cheaper free agent option?
Odds & Ends: Wagner, Red Sox, Kikuchi
I'm proud of you fellas. You all kept your head on a swivel, and that's what you gotta do when you find yourself in a vicious link fight…
- The Boston Herald reports that Bean Stringfellow, agent for reliever Billy Wagner, said his client is willing to waive his no-trade clause to go anywhere that would give him a shot to win a championship. "Certainly, the Red Sox would give him a chance to win a World Series, and this year that’s first and foremost,” Stringfellow said. “From where we sit, that’s all that matters right now. Over the next six weeks he’d have a chance to win, and then we could think about next year.”
- Meanwhile, Alex Speier of WEEI.com says that some Red Sox relievers are puzzled by the Wagner waiver claim. Closer Jonathan Papelbon said it's "kind of like the (Eric) Gagne thing, I guess.”
- Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report were Mets GM Omar Minaya commented on having some interest in Japanese high school pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. “I haven’t seen him throw myself, but I’ve heard his name. He wants to come to the majors? If so we’ll continue watching him," said Minaya. Patrick offered up a brief scouting report on Kikuchi earlier in the week.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Wagner, Holliday, Brewers
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…
- Don't expect the Mets to just give away Billy Wagner as a salary dump. He'll have "actual trade value" this winter, and his $8MM club option would not be outrageous money on a one year deal if he's healthy.
- Even if his team declines the option, they could offer him arbitration and receive two high draft picks if he signs elsewhere since he projects to be a Type-A free agent. Wagner would be much more than a six-week rent in that case.
- Matt Holliday's performance with the Cardinals has undoubtedly boosted his stock as an impending free agent. One GM still thinks Jason Bay is a comparable player on the open market, but Holliday is better defensively, younger, and better at hitting breaking balls than Bay.
- The real question is how each player will age, which is impossible to say at this point.
- The Brewers have yet to place veterans like Mike Cameron and Trevor Hoffman on trade waivers, but with the team now out of contention, Rosenthal asks "why not?"
- GM Doug Melvin is disinclined to make such deals because he knows the return may not be significant, but Hoffman in particular would be attractive. The Rockies have already discussed him internally.
- Craig Counsell, Braden Looper, and Jason Kendall could have value as well.
- Earlier this season there was talk that Mark Mulder and Ben Sheets could help teams in the second half, but that hasn't happened. Sheets has decided that the risk of a setback isn't worth the reward of an accelerated return, but he should be healthy for next season.
- Mulder has only thrown 12.2 IP over the last two seasons, but he's been working with his former pitching coach Rick Peterson and supposedly wants to pitch this season.
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Odds & Ends: Duchscherer, Clark, Wagner
Friday Night Lights Links…
- Justin Duchscherer will miss the rest of the season with clinical depression according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. He's been on the disabled list just about all season with an elbow issue, but this is just sad, sad news. CSN California first had the scoop earlier tonight. Duke is scheduled to become a free agent after the season.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports that Tony Clark has had discussions with the Diamondbacks about possibly joining the team in a baseball operations role. The club released Clark last month.
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post spoke to an AL executive who speculates (key word) that the Red Sox "claimed (Billy) Wagner over worries that (Jonathan) Papelbon's mechanics and control are off." Remember, the key word is speculates.
- LeVon Washington, Tampa Bay's unsigned first round pick, has choosen to attend JuCo powerhouse Chipola College next season according to Marc Lancaster of The Tampa Tribune. The school has produced Buck Showalter, Mat Gamel, and Russell Martin, among others. Washington will be eligible for the draft again next year.
Billy Wagner Claimed On Waivers By Red Sox
6:08pm: Rosenthal updated his post to say the Mets "will be reluctant to include money in a deal, according to a source with knowledge of the club's thinking."
5:05pm: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reports that the Red Sox claimed Wagner. The two clubs have until 1pm ET on Tuesday to work out a deal. Earlier today we noted that Boston would like to add the veteran southpaw to their bullpen.
4:55pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says the Phillies didn't claim Wagner.
3:06pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says it's "almost inconceivable" that the Marlins would commit to about $3.5MM for a six week rental.
2:28pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that an unknown team has claimed Billy Wagner on waivers. Wagner, who has $2.5MM coming his way before the end of the season, will make $8MM next year if his team doesn't buy him out for $1MM. The Mets now have three days to work out a trade with the claiming team. Afterwards, they can either pull him back off waivers or allow the other team to take him and pay his contract, Alex Rios-style.
The Mets placed Wagner on waivers two days ago and we have since learned that the Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest. Wagner, 38, was sharp in his return from the DL yesterday, hitting 96 mph in a quick inning of work.
Newsday's David Lennon checked in with Wagner and the lefty sounds open to a deal.
"Might be the closest I ever get to a World Series," he said.
Red Sox Would Like To Trade For Wagner
Chad Finn of the Boston Globe hears that the Red Sox would like to trade for Mets reliever Billy Wagner, who was just claimed on waivers by an unknown team. The Globe's source didn't say whether the Red Sox are the team that has been awarded the claim, but confirmed that they would like to trade for Wagner if possible. If another team was awarded the claim, the Red Sox will not have the opportunity to work out a trade.
Red Sox DFA Fernando Cabrera
The Red Sox designated Fernando Cabrera for assignment according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe. The 27-year-old righty didn't do badly in four MLB games this year, walking two and allowing four hits in 4.0 innings and striking out seven batters along the way. He'd been striking out nearly a batter an inning at Triple A Pawtucket before getting the call to the majors.
Odds And Ends: Zambrano, Sheffield, Rockies
Links for the morning…
- Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times believes the Cubs need Carlos Zambrano, even if he hasn't endeared himself to everyone.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suspects that baseball is about to retire Gary Sheffield. After all, it will be hard for a "41-year-old, oft-injured malcontent" to find work.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at the Rockies and sees a team without glaring weaknesses.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times lists the best and worst free agent signings the Cubs have made since 2000.
- Sure, the Yankees and Red Sox are big spenders, but, as this Boston Globe piece shows, they develop lots of talent, too.
Red Sox Release Chris Duncan
The Red Sox released outfielder Chris Duncan, according to Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal. Duncan came to the Red Sox from St. Louis in the July 22nd swap for shortstop Julio Lugo. Duncan, 28, hit just .188/.255/.294 in 92 Triple A plate appearances for the Sox. Meanwhile Lugo has flourished with a .319/.367/.528 line in 81 plate appearances for St. Louis (with Boston paying the freight). Keep in mind that the Red Sox are also set to receive a player to be named later or cash as part of the trade.
Duncan crushed right-handed pitching in 2006-07, but has been derailed by injuries since.