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Santana Counters Twins’ Offer

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Sid Hartman was correct – Joe Christensen confirms today that the Twins did offer Johan Santana a five-year, $93MM deal (18.6MM annually).  The pact was designed to top Carlos Zambrano’s by $1.5MM.  Problem is that Santana isn’t 1.6% better than Zambrano.  He’s a lot better than Z. 

Santana countered by asking for $126MM, according to Christensen.  His article implies that Santana asked for seven years in the counterproposal, since Santana’s agent cited Barry Zito’s deal and the dollar amount is the same.  The Twins balked at the counteroffer and expect to trade Santana.  This doesn’t compute, because the sides seem close.  I wonder – maybe Santana actually asked for $126MM over five years?  Santana could be a $25MM man on the open market, and maybe he’s not offering a hometown discount.  If Christensen’s source told him the number of years, he would’ve put that in the article. 

Michael Silverman notes that the Red Sox will certainly be involved if the Twins start entertaining offers.  An offer of Coco Crisp, Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester, and a third solid prospect might be their proposal.  Seems that the Yanks might offer Melky Cabrera and Phil Hughes, while the Mets would start with Carlos Gomez.

Christensen’s article also adds that the Twins recently swapped contract proposals with closer Joe Nathan.  Even at a discount Nathan would have to ask for four years, $40MM.

Stark’s Latest: Santana, Hamilton, Snell

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Ah, a new Rumblings and Grumblings from Jayson Stark.  Let’s dig in.

  • It sounds like the Yankees would discuss Phil Hughes and the Red Sox might part with one of Ellsbury/Lester/Buchholz to acquire Johan Santana.  The acquiring team would need an extension window though.  The Mets are in on Santana big-time and would have to give up Carlos Gomez and then some.  If the Twins do trade Santana, they would probably hang onto Matt Garza.  But otherwise Garza could be traded for a young hitter, as we’ve been hearing.
  • The Fish want four 0-3 players for Miguel Cabrera, pretty much the names we’ve been tossing around here at MLBTR for a while.
  • The Marlins would ask for two 0-3 guys for Dontrelle Willis, but aren’t inclined to trade him unless they’re blown away.  Stark names the Mets, Mariners, and D’Backs as suitors.  So think Gomez, Adam Jones, or Carlos Gonzalez.
  • The Orioles and Cardinals don’t want to eat any money on Miguel Tejada and Scott Rolen, respectively.  The Cards were asking for too much from the Yanks for Rolen – one of their top three young pitchers (you know the trio).
  • The Reds are willing to trade Ryan Freel or Josh Hamilton to clear space for Jay Bruce. 
  • Ian Snell could be available.  It’s not the first time his name has appeared in the rumor mill.  Hell, Snell for Hamilton kind of makes sense.

Cubs Rumors: Wood, Matsui, Crawford

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The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan has the latest on the Cubs this morning.

  • It’s been known for a few days now that the Red Sox like the idea of adding Kerry Wood as their setup man.  Sullivan confirms the interest, and quotes Cubs GM Jim Hendry saying Wood is "getting a lot of action around the industry."  In a pitching-starved market, teams will convince themselves Wood can stay healthy and dominant.  Sullivan speculates that it could take multiple years at $5MM per.  To see a team go 3/15 would not shock me.
  • Kaz Matsui is still on the Cubs’ radar for a three-year deal.  They could consider using him at shortstop or second base.  Two days ago Tracy Ringolsby had said Matsui "appeared headed to the Astros," but Ken Rosenthal chimed in noting the Cubs and Rockies are ahead of Houston in the Matsui derby.  Hendry met with Matsui yesterday, but no deal is imminent.
  • A left-handed hitting outfielder remains on Hendry’s wish list.  Carl Crawford hasn’t yet been made available according to Sullivan, but the Cubs will surely look into it if he is.  Kosuke Fukudome remains a possibility as well.  Bruce Miles adds Ryan Church to the mix.
  • The Cubs expect to increase payroll beyond last year’s $110MM.

Lowell Signs With Red Sox

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UPDATE: ESPN reports that the deal is for $37.5MM, so $12.5MM per year.  Lowell took more than $10MM less to stay with Boston.

UPDATE: Rob Bradford says the Red Sox and Lowell have agreed to the parameters of a three-year deal worth between $12-13MM annually.  The Sox had set a deadline today for Lowell to decide on their offer, and he took them up on it.

Buster Olney is reporting in his blog this morning that Mike Lowell is close to a three-year deal with the Red Sox.  That has to mean he’s leaving a significant amount of money on the table to re-sign.  Can’t see the Sox going past 3/45 on him.  There is a conflicting report on this – Rob Bradford doesn’t think a deal is close, noting a "healthy divide" between the sides.

Olney adds that aside from the near-obligatory Coco Crisp trade, the Red Sox will look into Johan Santana if he becomes available.  Santana would obviously be a luxury.  Since the Red Sox are officially a superpower, they’d have to check in on him.  Also keep in mind that Crisp and Santana trades could be related, as the Twins would likely demand Jacoby Ellsbury in any deal.  So if Crisp is dealt, Santana becomes a bit less likely.  Of course Theo could always surprise us and convince Andruw Jones to sign a one-year deal. 

Odds and Ends: Kendall, Crisp, Gagne

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I’m back in the swing of things, kind of.  We’re still living out of boxes, but I’ve got a laptop and I’m digging into all the rumors I missed.  Joe did a great job the last couple of days.  Be sure to visit his Yankees blog, River Ave. Blues.  On to today’s random rumors…

  • I’m hearing that Jason Kendall could be a fallback for the Mets if they can’t pry Ramon Hernandez loose from the Orioles.
  • The Blue Jays have about $4MM to spend, and J.P. Ricciardi likes the idea of Michael Barrett splitting time behind the plate with Gregg Zaun.  It seems unlikely, though, because the Padres would have to not offer arbitration to Barrett.  And Barrett would have to take a one-year, $4MM deal.
  • Jamey Newberg discusses the idea of a Coco Crisp for Gerald Laird swap.  He notes that the market for Laird should be picking up, but the Red Sox might prefer to wait to trade Crisp.
  • Haven’t heard this one much yet…how about Eric Gagne for the Houston closer vacancy?  Would Scott Boras present a problem?
  • David Wells could be an option for the Mets, if he doesn’t retire or end up on the West Coast.
  • One free agent from Japan who hasn’t gotten much press is Marc Kroon.  He didn’t catch on in MLB but has been doing well for Yokohama the past few years.  Kroon holds the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown in a Japanese game (161 km/h, which is about 100 mph).  You can see that in this video (the second pitch he throws, the crowd loves it).  Kroon is considering trying the Majors again; he says so on his website (note that his site plays music when you visit). 

Wood On BoSox Radar

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In Nick Cafardo’s column in the Boston Globe today, he mentions that Kerry Wood is on Sox’s radar. He says they envision him as the guy they were looking for when they traded for Eric Gagne on July 31. Unfortunately, this may not jibe with Wood’s intentions. As Tim has discussed here, he might be looking to remain as a starter, though that would limit the teams that are interested in him. Presumably, given his injury history and temporary success as a reliever in ’07, more teams would line up to have Wood in their bullpens.

The Cubs, who could use Wood either as a starter or a reliever — even a closer — remain the front runners. Other teams with a noted interest include the Reds, the Rangers, and the Yankees.

Cafardo also offers up the standard-issue rumors regarding Matt Clement (Padres or Royals), Bartolo Colon (Giants, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies), and Kris Benson ("drawing a lot of interest"). He also mentions the Tigers in connection with Livan Hernandez, Carlos Silva, and obviously Kenny Rogers. He also notes that without Joel Zumaya, the team might be looking at Eric Gagne.

And then there’s the recycled Miguel Cabrera talks. Cafardo describes the situation as we’ve all known it for some time now (guess what…Angels and Dodgers!).

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Yankees Pull Back Lowell Offer?

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According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Yankees have pulled their offer to Mike Lowell off the table since they’re close to signing Alex Rodriguez.  The last indication was that Lowell had a four-year offer from the Yanks in the neighborhood of $50-55MM.  Reportedly that offer was made with the idea of Lowell moving to first base.  If that was true, why would an A-Rod signing change things?  The offer was made with an A-Rod signing in mind.

None of the other suitors for Lowell are admitting anything right now.  The Phillies seem a logical fit but Pat Gillick is denying it.  The Brewers may also enter the market for a third baseman. 

Did Mike Lowell Really Receive Four Offers?

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This has all been covered here on MLBTR, but I guess it’s gotten lost in the shuffle because I’m receiving tons of email about it.  Maybe I’ll try to build something into the site to better keep up with the big names besides just reading through everything.  In the meantime, you can always use the search bar on the sidebar.

Anyway, let’s talk about this Mike Lowell rumor from WHDH Channel 7 News out of Boston.  These guys are getting a ton of traffic to this rumor and I just gave them more.  Oh well.

The uncredited rumor says a source close to Lowell indicates that he’s received four-year offers in the $55-60MM range from the Braves, Angels, Cardinals, and Yankees.

GM Frank Wren debunked the Braves portion today.  Esteemed St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Bernie Miklasz killed the Cardinals portion last night.  The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford shot down the Angels rumor.

So we have an uncredited rumor that is currently 0 for 3. 

A different Boston TV station, WBZ, said today that the Yanks did make an offer in the $56-60MM range to Lowell today (courtesy of Dan Roche).  That could be accurate but I would like to see some of the regular Yankees beat writers pick it up also.

Yanks Want Lowell For First Base

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UPDATE, 11-15-07: A reporter from WBZ TV out of Boston is saying Lowell has a four-year offer from the Yankees in the $56-60MM range.

UPDATE, 11-14-07: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch kills the Lowell-Cardinals rumor.

FROM 11-13-07:

A new twist!  Dan Graziano reports that an Alex Rodriguez signing wouldn’t stop the Yankees from pursuing Mike Lowell.  They’d like Lowell to play first base for them.  A big part of it would be to take Lowell away from the Red Sox, it appears.  Of course the Red Sox would get the Yankees’ 28th overall pick next June as a consolation prize. 

Graziano admits signing Lowell to switch positions would be tough, as teams like the Angels and Dodgers will be after him.  According to a Boston television station, Lowell has already received offers from the Braves, Angels, Cardinals, and Yankees.  Each is supposedly a four-year offer between $55-60MM.  Color me skeptical of that particular rumor, but you never know.

Anyway, the Yankees dropping $50MM+ on Lowell just to thwart the Red Sox seems kind of irresponsible to me.  Here’s what they’d have:

C – Jorge Posada – $13.1MM
1B – Mike Lowell – $14MM
2B – Robinson Cano – $0.5MM
SS – Derek Jeter – $20MM
3B – Alex Rodriguez – $28MM
LF – Hideki Matsui – $13MM/Johnny Damon – $13MM
CF – Melky Cabrera – $0.5MM
RF – Bobby Abreu – $16MM
DH – Jason Giambi – $21MM

That’s a $139MM starting lineup, and one of those guys would be on the bench.  I imagine a Lowell signing would compel Brian Cashman to shop someone.

Cafardo’s Latest: Crawford, Haren

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The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo has a new colum up this morning; let’s check it out.

  • The Carl Crawford/Cubs thing won’t die.  Cafardo says the Cubs are after him, possibly offering a package starting with Rich Hill and Carlos Marmol.  This rumor originated with Bruce Levine a few days ago, though Roger Mooney dismissed it yesterday.
  • While the Red Sox have discussed Miguel Cabrera with the Marlins, Cafardo believes they might instead be eyeing a blockbuster for Johan Santana or Dan Haren.  As if the Red Sox need more pitching.

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