Mark Teixeira Rumors: Sunday
To recap: Teixeira told Erin Andrews on Thursday that he wants to have it finished before Christmas, according to Mike Scarr of mlb.com. It’s reasonable to anticipate the winter meetings, December 8-11, to be a suitable high profile venue for Boras to break the news. The Angels are preparing an offer for Mark Teixeira, perhaps with a deadline. If he doesn’t accept it, they may make a move for Jake Peavy. The Yankees are "set to be aggressive" if they only land one of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, or Derek Lowe. The Red Sox are apparently "lusting" for him, but are otherwise hush-hush, a sign that they might offer Teixeira the biggest contract in club history, predicts Tony Masarotti of the Boston Herald.
Teixeira seems to be leaning towards East Coast teams, says Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register. Says Youngman,
"I don’t think it will be with the Angels. If he were going to re-sign in Anaheim, I think it already would have happened. Just a gut feeling. Even the people I talk to in the organization don’t seem optimistic. Teixeira would be ridiculed if he signed with perpetual losers such as the Baltimore Orioles or Washington Nationals, so my guess is he’ll sign with the Boston Red Sox."
The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo thinks Teixeira will wind up with the Angels because, while the Angels might struggle to afford him, they simply can’t afford to lose him.
Olney’s Latest: Sabathia, Varitek
Olney’s latest from his blog:
- He puts out a one liner: "The Red Sox are preparing, full-steam ahead, to play 2009 without Jason Varitek." This may in part be posturing to counter Boras seeking Posada money.
- Olney suggests that if the Knicks are making a move for Lebron James, then further incentive would exist for CC Sabathia to accept the Yankees $140MM offer. Take this with a huge grain of salt of course. The two are friends from their days in Cleveland. More realistically, he cuts to the point: if no California teams make a nine-figure offer, "folks involved" say he’ll be in pinstripes.
A.J. Burnett Rumors: Saturday
According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Yankees won’t offer A.J. Burnett a five-year contract.
Ken Davidoff writes that Burnett’s agent, Darek Brauneker, is confident that his client will sign a five-year deal somewhere.
McCarron talked to a source who said that “the Yankees are not ready to go five years.” The source also said that the Red Sox are more interested in Mark Teixeira and Derek Lowe than Burnett.
The Blue Jays are still talking with Burnett, but they haven’t yet offered him a deal.
Heyman’s Latest: Lowe, Teixeira, Guillen
SI.com’s Jon Heyman recently published several new blog posts.
- Free agent outfielder Garret Anderson has a new agent: Scott Boras. Click here for our full list of Boras clients.
- Rangers starters Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood are drawing interest from the Braves, Dodgers, and Mets. Padilla is owed $12MM in 2009 with a 2010 option for the same ($1.75MM buyout). Millwood gets $23MM over the next two seasons and has a limited no-trade clause.
- Heyman says rather than battle for A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox and Yankees may duke it out for Derek Lowe. Other suitors for Lowe: the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Mariners and Dodgers. There he goes naming the Mariners again as a player for a major free agent…interesting. The Giants are a new one as well, though Heyman says Lowe may prefer to head back east.
- Heyman agrees with info from Nick Cafardo, that the Red Sox and Tigers have discussed swapping Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admitted to interest in C.C. Sabathia. Colletti said he’s waiting to hear from Scott Boras regarding Manny Ramirez, even though the Dodgers pulled their two-year, $45MM offer.
- It hasn’t happened yet, but the Angels plan to make a "very serious" offer to Mark Teixeira. A competing exec guessed eight years, $160MM. Remember, that’s a non-Angels exec making a guess. Heyman tosses a new team into the mix for Tex: the Mariners.
- The Royals are "quietly shopping" Jose Guillen. Guillen, 33 in May, hit .264/.300/.438 in 633 plate appearances this year while playing below-average defense. He’s owed $24MM for the 2009-10 seasons.
- Competing execs tell Heyman the Mets appear open to trading Ramon Castro or Brian Schneider. The Mets would then presumably sign a free agent catcher.
A.J. Burnett Rumors: Friday
4:14pm: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says that while the Red Sox have reviewed Burnett’s medical records, they’re still in the early stages of negotiations.
2:32pm: Robert MacLeod of The Globe and Mail has more from Ricciardi on the five-year idea:
"I’m not going to commit to a five-year deal. There’s some things we could do to maybe make it a five-year deal but that would have to be based on a lot of different things."
9:22am: The Blue Jays haven’t made an offer yet to free agent starter A.J. Burnett, and GM J.P. Ricciardi doesn’t expect to win the bidding by offering the most money. However, the Jays may separate themselves by being willing to offer Burnett the five-year contract he craves. Ricciardi didn’t say he would go that far, but the concept does not scare him. He’ll wait to make his offer until after other teams submit their bids.
The Toronto Sun’s Mike Rutsey says the Orioles, Braves, Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox have also expressed interest in Burnett.
Odds and Ends: Weathers, Montero, Springer
Links for Friday…
- MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says the Indians signed Andy Cannizaro and Damaso Espino to minor league deals.
- MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon says the Reds are still talking to David Weathers‘ agent, despite the reliever’s comment about flipping the page.
- RotoAuthority looks at Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider, from a fantasy baseball point of view.
- Mum’s the word from C.C. Sabathia and his agents.
- Rany Jazayerli likes the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp and respects Dayton Moore’s bullpen-building skills.
- Click here to download an mp3 of me chatting with Greg Schaum of KCSP 610 about the Royals last night.
- Nick Piecoro says the Diamondbacks haven’t been able to find a match on a trade for Miguel Montero, despite discussions with the Red Sox and other teams.
- The Cardinals spoke to Russ Springer‘s agent recently, but he’s drawing interest from several clubs.
- The Phillies won’t make a move in response to the Chase Utley injury, but one blog believes Jerry Hairston Jr. now makes more sense.
- John Van Benschoten, the 8th overall pick in the 2001 draft, chose minor league free agency over re-signing with the Pirates.
- Sidney Ponson‘s grievance against the Orioles will finally be heard next month.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pedro, Sabathia, Peavy
A look at what is being written about the hot stove in the Blogosphere…
- Fire Brand of the American League looks at the ramifications of the Coco Crisp trade and what could happen if the Red Sox acquire Mark Teixeira and are unable to move Mike Lowell.
- Baseball Opinion says the Crisp deal leaves the Royals with a crowded outfield and a depleted bullpen and wonders if Mark Teahen or David DeJesus will be the next to go.
- Nationals Pride sees the Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham trade as a good start towards building a team with a core of young veterans that will be in place when the prospects are ready to contribute.
- The ‘Burgh Blues would like to see the Pirates go after Pedro Martinez, noting his close relationship with Joe Kerrigan and Denny Bautista.
- Sox and Pinstripes is worried about a potential signing of A.J. Burnett by the Red Sox and would prefer Derek Lowe.
- BaseBlog has a "tale of the tape" comparing C.C. Sabathia’s 2008 season to Johan Santana’s 2007 season.
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse wonders if the Cubs are better off with Jake Peavy and Kosuke Fukudome versus Jason Marquis and a high-priced free agent right fielder.
- DC Sports Plus takes a closer look at 79 minor league free agents, focusing on former major leaguers, former top prospects and left-handed relief pitchers.
- Padres Revolution offers up a list of the 10 best trades brokered by Kevin Towers.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Friday
The latest on free agent slugger Mark Teixeira:
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox burn, lust for, and love Teixeira. Silverman says Tex should end up with a salary of at least $20MM and a term of at least six years. Also, Silverman talked to one source who suggested the Yankees’ acquisition of Nick Swisher "could be a prelude to another deal with a National League club."
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still plan to add an impact hitter. He agrees that "several National League teams have had their eye on Swisher." MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves are among them.
- Teixeira told Erin Andrews last night that he hopes to sign by Christmas.
C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Thursday
8:15pm: According to ESPN.com, Hal Steinbrenner said Sabathia will have a deadline to accept his current offer. The Yankees made Sabathia a record-setting offer for a pitcher, but Steinbrenner said "it’s not going to be there forever."
2:22pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, and Angels have checked in on Sabathia since the Yankees made their bid. All four clubs face various obstacles.
9:26am: The latest on C.C. Sabathia…
- Ken Davidoff and Anthony Rieber pass along a Peter Gammons report saying Sabathia will not sign until after Thanksgiving. Perfectly logical, though I cannot find where Gammons wrote this. (I see he wrote that it will "take a while.") Send me the link (ESPN.com, not Newsday) if you can help out.
- Andrew Baggarly’s source says the Giants are "not in offer mode" with Sabathia. He does believe they will take a shot.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Lowe, Everett
Time to discuss Ken Rosenthal’s latest…
- Mark Teixeira is likely to sign before Manny Ramirez. The Nationals and Orioles are in the mix, but the Angels and Red Sox are more likely destinations.
- One GM predicted Raul Ibanez will receive a three-year deal worth $8-12MM per year. Not exactly going out on a limb there. ESPN’s Jayson Stark named a dozen teams that have expressed interest.
- Rosenthal says the Mets are more likely to sign Brian Fuentes or Francisco Rodriguez than to acquire a closer via trade. Doesn’t exactly fit with Stark’s statement that J.J. Putz would go to the top of the Mets’ list if available.
- Scott Boras emphatically disputed the notion that he wants a Barry Zito-like contract for Derek Lowe.
- Rosenthal wonders if Adam Everett would make sense for the Tigers.