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Odds and Ends: Barrett, Koufax, Santana

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A few notes from this evening…

  • Michael Barrett and the Padres avoided arbitration, arriving at a $3.5MM deal.  A little less than I expected given his $4.6MM salary in ’07.  If some team acquires Barrett on the cheap he could bounce back if he’s comfortable.  Wasn’t long ago he was one of the better-hitting catchers in the game.  Is there even a slight chance he wouldn’t embarrass himself back at the hot corner?
  • Great ShysterBall post in reference to Curt Schilling’s attempt to call out Roger Clemens.
  • Sandy Koufax did not do steroids.
  • Derrick Goold looks at how David Eckstein ended up leaving the Cardinals despite his desire to stay.
  • LENIII says it’s possible nothing has happened on the Johan Santana front since the Meetings ended.  Neal also names Kris Benson as a pitcher on the Twins’ radar.  They were one of many teams watching his recent session.  Plus they were eyeing Glendon Rusch before he signed with the Padres.

Stark’s Latest: Prior, Lofton, Otsuka

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.

  • Stark dug around to find all the Mark Prior suitors and came up with this list: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals (11 teams).  Let’s compare notes.  MLBTR readers have seen the Yankees, Mets, Cards, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Nats linked to Prior already.  So Stark has added the Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, and Giants.  The idea of the Mariners runs contrary to this MLB.com article.  Stark did not name the Rangers, who are said to be aggressively pursuing Prior.  Prior is dead set on a one-year deal and would take a big league mound in May in the best case.
  • The Phils are focused on Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, offering two year deals to each.  They might just take the first one to accept.  Stark says Kenny Lofton could be an option if both decline.  Lofton batted a career-best .335 for the Phils in ’05.
  • Stark rattles off a laundry list of pitchers the Phillies are interested in: Akinori Otsuka, Byung-Hyun Kim, Roberto Hernandez, Kris Benson, John Parrish, Sidney Ponson, Chad Durbin, Kyle Lohse, and Jeremy Affeldt.  Given Stark’s 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I imagine he has a connection or two.  Most of those are new names besides Benson, Lohse, Ponson, and Affeldt.
  • A source of Stark picks the Yankees as the favorite for Johan, but it should be noted that they’re having internal debates about pulling Phil Hughes off the table.
  • For all the crazy Cubs fans we’ve got here: Stark says they’ve talked to the Orioles about both Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, but couldn’t pull off a deal for both.  They favor Roberts even though they need Bedard much more.

Latest Johan Santana Non-Rumors

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After getting volumes of new information each day during the Winter Meetings, the rumors surrounding the Johan Santana talks have slowed to a boring trickle.  It’s still a big deal, though, so here’s the latest.

  • Yesterday Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe notes that it may make sense for the Twins and Red Sox to hammer out a deal before front offices shut down for a week to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s.  He says talks between the two parties are ongoing, and the Twins are sitting back and hoping for the Red Sox to crack and put two of Ellsbury/Buchholz/Lester in the package.  The Yankees are lurking but similarly won’t give up two of Chamberlain/Hughes/Kennedy.  The Mets aren’t deemed worthy based on their prospects.  Edes’ source doesn’t expect a deal soon.
  • Today, Charley Walters wrote that the Red Sox are the favorites with their firm offer of Lester/Crisp/Lowrie/Masterson.  He says there’s buzz something could be done within days.  Walters reiterates Edes’ take on the Yankees’ stance and tosses the Angels into the mix as a dark horse.

Crisp/Lugo For Cabrera Speculation

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Been getting this Phil Rogers blog post emailed to me quite a bit lately.  In it he speculates that the White Sox could send Orlando Cabrera to the Red Sox for Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp.  Or, they could send Cabrera to the Cubs for prospects.  Third, he suggests the Sox could sign Cabrera for around four years and $50MM, the offer they made to Kosuke Fukudome.

Nothing wrong with the speculation, Phil is just spitballing here it seems.  However, this talk gets passed around a couple of times, people don’t actually read what Phil wrote, and then people start saying this is a rumor or that there have been talks of this nature.  To me, speculation doesn’t graduate to a rumor until someone reports that it’s been discussed by execs of one or more teams.  Just my two cents on why this is not a trade rumor.  But, feel free to discuss.   

Odds and Ends: Garces, Aquino, McPherson

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Let’s round up a few Saturday odds and ends.

  • Pitcher C.J. Nitkowski writes a semi-defense of Brian McNamee.  Nitkowski has his own blog and recently finished up a season in Japan.
  • According to Andrew Baggarly, the Giants have been in touch with Scott Boras regarding free agent corner infielder Dallas McPherson.  He missed the ’07 season with back surgery, but recently appeared in the Arizona Instructional League.  The 27 year-old has a career line of .247/.294/.461 in 360 ABs, including 121 strikeouts in those 117 games.  The 30 HR power may remain but he’ll need to show more than just that. 
  • Peter Abraham has a funny comment regarding the appearance of Rich Garces on the phony steroid list that circulated Thursday morning.  That bogus list actually hit my inbox the night before and it was an obvious delete.  I shouldn’t throw stones, because I have definitely put up a few bad trade rumors in my day.  But it was very surprising to see an NBC affiliate running with that crap on Thursday.
  • Andy MacPhail continues to leave the door open for an Erik Bedard contract extension.  That same article mentions the Orioles’ claim of 30 year-old reliever Greg Aquino.  Fantasy geeks recall Aquino’s stint as D’Backs closer in 2004, when they were the worst team in baseball.  Aquino supplanted Mike Koplove that summer. 

Clemens May Not Be Done

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The general assumption when Roger Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report was that he would quietly retreat from the public eye.  That might not be so, according to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff.

Davidoff talked to a couple of people "familiar with Clemens’ thinking."  These sources below The Rocket wouldn’t go out on such a low note – the steroid accusation plus the aborted Division Series start.  Clemens has already denied the allegations in a public statement, and a 2008 return could be an act of defiance.  He’s not likely to be suspended, anyway.

Davidoff believes the Astros and Red Sox are the two possibilities.  The ’Stros have a desperate need for rotation help.  Or, Clemens might be angling to finish his career in Boston.  That opportunity might grow a little larger if the Sox miss out on Johan Santana.  My guess is that Clemens might have to scale back his demands to the $12MM range.

Johan Santana Looking For $140MM?

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Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports today that Johan Santana’s agent has told teams interested in trading for his client that the cost of an extension will be around seven years, $140MM.  We’d previously seen estimates in the six-year, $120MM range.

Hartman reports that the Twins are still hoping for the Red Sox to surrender both Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz for Santana.  Not likely.

Latest Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 2:54pm: Jon Heyman puts the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets as the three leading suitors for Johan.  Matthew Cerrone, however, believes the Rangers, rather than the Yanks, are the third leading suitor.

FROM 12-11-07 at 8:52am:

Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest buzz surrounding the Johan Santana trade talks.

The Red Sox and Twins talked yesterday, and the Twins are leading toward Jacoby Ellsbury rather than Jon Lester.  Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson would also be included, and the sides are trying to figure out a fourth player.

The Yanks and Twins haven’t talked much lately, but apparently Kei Igawa’s name has come up in the talks.  He can’t have much trade value in the Twins’ eyes.

Christensen implies that the Mets might be trying to finish second here, staying involved for the sake of PR.

Christensen also notes that the Twins are fond of Jered Weaver, and the Angels could jump in if they decide to use their trade chips on another starter.

Also, the idea of the Twins including another player on their end has come up.  In the past Joe Nathan has been mentioned, but Christensen is referring more to Twins’ prospects.  They don’t have much in the system though.

Arbitration Decisions

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Free agents’ decisions on whether to accept their teams’ offers of arbitration are rolling in.

  • Eric Gagne told the Red Sox that he won’t their offer of arbitration.  The Boras camp had sent signals otherwise, but it was an idle threat.  He wants that multiyear deal or at least a chance to close.  The Red Sox get a delicious sandwich pick for their dalliance with Gagne.  Could’ve been more, if Gagne was lights out for them and snagged Type A status.
  • Mark Loretta accepted; Trever Miller declined.  Loretta should make $3MM+ to take on a utility role.  The Astros could always still trade him to a team looking for second base help.  As for Miller, he could still return.  The Astros will get a sandwich pick if he leaves.
  • Ron Mahay declined the Braves’ offer.  No surprise since he’s looking for three years.  You have to consider their sandwich pick as an added benefit of the Teixeira trade.
  • Aaron Rowand is expected to decline, which is a formality since he’s going to get at least three years.  As a Type A, the Phils probably hope he ends up with the Yankees somehow.

Coco Crisp’s Agent Speaks

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Coco Crisp’s agent, Steve Comte, supplied all sorts of quotes to the Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford.  Covelli’s not a fourth outfielder, he’s better than Jacoby Ellsbury, he’s a proven commodity, stuff like that.  It was interesting to read, and you can see where Crisp and Comte are coming from.  But it doesn’t really change anything, because if the Red Sox don’t trade Crisp and he wants his $4.75MM next year, he’s going to have to live with a reduced role.

Bradford mentions that the White Sox, A’s, Rangers, and Braves have inquired on Crisp.  The Padres, Twins, and Orioles have also been connected to him.

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