Brad Penny Rumors: Thursday
10:24pm: Olney reports that the Rockies will not pursue Penny this season.
4:29pm: Olney notes that Penny can decline any waiver claim. This essentially gives him the chance to assure himself free agency. Becoming a free agent would mean forfeiting the chance to earn the incentives on his contract.
3:37pm: The Yankees claimed Brad Penny earlier in August, only to see the Red Sox pull him back, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
3:19pm: Troy Renck of the Denver Post notes that it's becoming increasingly unlikely that the Rockies will add Brad Penny. Some people within the organization believe he'd help, but others are concerned that he would not fit it. Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies first reported that the Rockies weren't likely to add Penny this morning.
2:20pm: Joe Christensen of the Mineapolis Star-Tribune hears that the Twins would consider claiming Penny off release waivers and taking on the rest of his salary instead of waiting for him to become a free agent.
2:16pm: George A. King III of the New York Post hears that the Yankees have interest in Penny. The Yanks haven't heard anything to suggest Penny promised the Red Sox he wouldn't sign with an AL contender. Johnny Damon says he'd like the Yankees to add Penny.
1:16pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney confirms that the Rockies, Giants and Marlins are interested in Penny. None of those teams are likely to claim him before Monday, because they would have to take on the remainder of his salary to do so. If they wait until Penny clears waivers, he'll cost less than $100k.
12:01pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from one GM who believes Brad Penny "absolutely should go back to the National League" once he can sign with the team of his choice on Monday. "He's stupid if he stays in the AL," the GM adds.
Rosenthal says Penny makes sense for the Rockies, Giants and Marlins. The Dodgers could use him, but Rosenthal doubts Penny would re-join the team. Penny will cost less than $100k, because his incentives are negated once he's released.
And here's a roundup of the rumors we've already heard about Penny today:
Report: Chris Carter Claimed By Yankees
7:07pm: Buster Olney has some more color to this "he claimed, she claimed" story.
Olney writes in ESPN the Magazine, "The rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox burns strongly even when it comes to waiver claims.
"When the Mets and Red Sox worked out a trade for left-hander Billy Wagner earlier this week, Chris Carter, an outfielder-first baseman currently playing for Class AAA Pawtucket, became part of the deal as a player to be named headed to Boston. In preparation for the deal, the Red Sox placed Carter on waivers, with the intention of moving him on to the Mets.
"But the Yankees placed a claim on Carter — perhaps to create some 40-man roster discomfort for the Red Sox. In order to complete the Mets trade, the Red Sox are now pulling Carter back from waivers — and for the rest of the year, they must carry him on their 40-man roster.
"And Boston may struggle to squeeze bodies onto its 40-man roster in September. When Paul Byrd was a free agent, he informed teams that as a condition for signing him, he wanted a guarantee that he would be added to the 40-man roster for the final month. If Boston has made that same concession, the Carter claim by the Yankees might have made that just a little more difficult."
5:50pm: In what should come as a surprise to no one, Amalie Benjamin clarifies that the Red Sox have pulled Carter back, and will deal him in the offseason.
5:30pm: Because it wouldn't be a normal day without some bad news for the Mets, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports on her Twitter account that Chris Carter, the more significant of the two players rumored to be headed to the Mets in exchange for Billy Wagner, has been claimed by the New York Yankees.
It isn't clear that this hurts the Red Sox any, since the trade is not dependent on Carter passing through waivers. Instead, the claim prevents the Mets from getting a first-hand look at Carter until after the season. Presumably, the Red Sox will pull him back, though they also have the option of working out a deal with the Yankees (not likely) or letting the Yankees have him for nothing (see previous parenthetical statement). So much for city unity.
Worth noting: the Yankees have the best record in the American League, meaning that 1) no one else in the AL claimed Carter, 2) if they hadn't claimed Carter, the Red Sox could have traded him to the Mets without any problem had the National League followed suit, and 3) the Yankees, apparently, weren't willing to show pity upon their injury-shattered New York brethren.
Odds And Ends: Mahay, Hudson, Wagner
Some links to distract you from the Brad Penny rumors…
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune hears indications that the Twins could consider dealing for Ron Mahay, who the Royals just designated for assignment.
- ESPN passes along an AP report informing us that Tim Hudson will make his 2009 season debut on Monday. It would be a surprise if the Braves turned out to be the team that claimed Rich Harden given their pitching depth.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff points us to an interesting wrinkle in the rulebook. Teams that offer their free agents arbitration don't have to offer them anything close to the salary they made the previous season. So if the Red Sox decide they want to offer Billy Wagner less than $8MM next year, they can do so. This is not the case for players who don't yet have six years of service time.
Stark On Holliday, Lee, Yankees, Hoffman
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the Cardinals and Phillies may be better off letting their respective deadline acquisitions walk once they hit free agency. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:
- We know that Matt Holliday's interested in staying in St. Louis. But one AL exec doubts the Cards can afford to tie up $40-50MM per year in Holliday and Albert Pujols. It could work short-term, but could prevent the Cardinals from keeping Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Plus, the pair of sluggers may not be worth a combined $50MM in a few years.
- One team official believes Cliff Lee's agent will be looking for a $100MM payday once the lefty hits free agency after next season (assuming the Phils pick up his 2010 option). The official says the Phillies should consider letting Lee walk after next year, instead of committing long-term to him.
- The teams that considered dealing for Johan Santana after the 2007 season aren't surprised to hear that he's having elbow trouble now, though it's not something they anticipated with any sense of certainty. However, Mets assistant GM John Ricco says he doesn't regret the way the team handled its ace.
- There are increasing indications that the Yankees don't plan on being big buyers in the free agent market this offseason. The Yankees seem more likely to keep Johnny Damon and let Austin Jackson grow into a full-time player than pursue Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
- Stark hears that the Red Sox were the only team to claim Billy Wagner. We heard the Angels had interest, but apparently they never made a claim.
- One executive believes AL teams would have very little interest in Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman has value because of his status as a Type A free agent, which could factor in to teams' claims.
- Rival clubs expect the Blue Jays to try dealing Edwin Encarnacion after the season. He makes $4.75MM in 2010, so it won't be easy.
- The Royals are still trying to deal Ron Mahay and at least one scout expects a team or two to have interest in ther veteran lefty.
Odds And Ends: Cordero, Schmidt, Griffey
Another round of links…
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that no team has inquired on Francisco Cordero.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports has a series of predictions for the season's final month. He doesn't expect Jake Peavy to win more than a single game for the White Sox.
- MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports that Jason Schmidt's season is over. Schmidt, who won three games in as many seasons for the Dodgers, hinted he may retire.
- Ken Griffey Jr. tells C. Trent Rosecrans of CNati.com he's having the time of his life back in Seattle. He's open to staying with the Mariners, but says he understands if the team decides to move on. Check out the entire interview – it's a great read.
- Roy Oswalt says there's "a dead feeling" in the Astros clubhouse, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Justice argues that "the people in charge have screwed up the franchise."
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe reports that the Red Sox evaluated Billy Wagner in depth before trading for him.
Rockies Interested In Penny
The Rockies have some interest in Brad Penny, who was just released by the Red Sox, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Renck sees indications that the Rockies have a decent shot at signing Penny, who should clear waivers Monday. At that point, Penny would cost the team less than $100k.
The Rockies, who had some interest in Penny over the winter, need pitching depth now that Aaron Cook appears likely to miss at least two more weeks. The club recently stashed Russ Ortiz in Triple A, so he could provide depth if they don't add Penny.
As Buster Olney pointed out this morning, Penny may embrace the chance to compete in the same division as his former team, the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Odds And Ends: Oliver, Wolf, Penny
Links for Thursday morning…
- Darren Oliver doesn't know for sure if he'll play again next year, but he tells Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he's leaning towards returning for another season
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets made the wrong choice last winter, when they went after Oliver Perez instead of Randy Wolf, who has quietly out-performed Perez for less money.
- Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald wonders if Brad Penny could return to the Marlins, now that the Red Sox released him.
- Padres starter Clayton Richard has been outstanding since joining the Padres in the Jake Peavy trade, as Adam Rosenberg of MLB.com notes.
Red Sox Release Brad Penny
10:54pm: John Tomase of the Boston Herald just spoke with Penny, who asked for and was granted his release Wednesday night from the Red Sox.
“I asked for my release and I got it,” Penny told the Herald after Wednesday's contest. “I enjoyed playing with all of the guys. I played for a great manager on a great team. I had a great time. I enjoyed it. I wish things had worked out better, but that happens.” He's hoping to sign on with another team before the end of August in order to become eligible for postseason play. Obviously he's looking to land with a contender.
10:11pm: Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe suspects the Red Sox may soon cut ties with right-hander Brad Penny. As Carfado reports,
After [Wednesday's] game, the Sox brass, which included owner John Henry, general manager Theo Epstein, director of baseball operations Brian O'Halloran and Terry Francona met with Penny before Francona's post-game press conference. Penny then chatted briefly with Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick and left without speaking.
The Red Sox need a 40-man roster spot for newly acquired reliever Billy Wagner, and Tim Wakefield's fine performance Wednesday night — seven innings, one run, three hits — should have the club feeling confident about dumping a pitcher. The 31-year-old Penny has a 5.61 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 24 starts this season and has expressed a lack of interest in joining Boston's bullpen corps. It's all specualtion and rumor at this point, but a release or DFAing does make some sense. Keep in mind that he can no longer be traded.
Heyman On Rockies, Wagner, Gonzalez
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Rockies are in contention because GM Dan O'Dowd has made more worthwhile moves than anyone in the last year. He acquired Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez for Matt Holliday, turned Luis Vizcaino into Jason Marquis and acquired Rafael Betancourt. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:
- O'Dowd's contract expires after the season, when Giants GM Brian Sabean and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti can also become free agents. One rival GM would be shocked if the Rockies didn't offer O'Dowd an extension.
- Heyman imagines the exact same scenario that Buster Olney brought up earlier today. The Red Sox could keep Billy Wagner to close next year while Daniel Bard sets up. This would enable the Red Sox to trade Jonathan Papelbon, who would bring in a nice return. Heyman says it's "mostly speculation" and reminds us that it's "far-fetched."
- The D'Backs put Chad Qualls on waivers. He's expected to be claimed, but the D'Backs aren't expected to move him.
- Some expect the Padres to listen to offers for Adrian Gonzalez after the season,
Olney On The Market For Billy Wagner
If he finishes the season well, Billy Wagner could see multi-year offers as a free agent after the season, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney. If, as expected, Wagner becomes a Type A free agent, teams would have to surrender a draft pick to sign him, but a mid-nineties fastball and high-leverage success could be enough to attract teams regardless. Of course, there's a chance Wagner pitches to mixed results with the Red Sox. If that's the case, he could become this year's Juan Cruz and see limited interest because of his Type A status.
Olney breaks down possible suitors in depth and finds that the Tigers, White Sox, Cubs, Brewers, Orioles and Braves could have some interest in closers this offseason. However, Wagner is one of many in a deep class of closers that includes Trevor Hoffman and Jose Valverde.
One talent evaluator suggested the Red Sox could keep Wagner as their closer while Daniel Bard continues to develop. This would enable them to trade Jonathan Papelbon. Two other evaluators believe teams will be willing to forfeit a draft pick to sign Wagner.