Rosenthal’s Latest: Bonds, Nathan, Barrett
Ken Rosenthal has a new rumor column up. Feels like it’s been a while.
- Rosenthal thinks it’s a sign of desperation that the Angels would entertain signing Barry Bonds, who doesn’t fit in with their club. His OBP would fit in anywhere, but he would tie up the DH spot at the expense of Juan Rivera and Vladimir Guerrero.
- The Cubs are expected to bring Daryle Ward back at $1.2MM (makes sense) and Steve Trachsel at $4.75MM (questionable). Cubs fans can only hope Trachsel would be considered a tradeable asset, as Rosenthal opines. Rosenthal also quashes the idea of trading Aramis Ramirez, both because of his full no-trade clause and the team’s impending sale.
- David Eckstein is expected to leave the Cardinals, no big surprise. Rosenthal reiterates recent rumors connecting him to the White Sox, Tigers, and Mets.
- Rosenthal’s idea for Bill Smith and the Twins: keep Johan Santana this winter, and instead trade the $6MM super-closer Joe Nathan. Teams would line up for him, and Pat Neshek wouldn’t be a bad replacement.
- Do you think Michael Barrett could be a free agent bargain? Rosenthal talked to one exec who feels this way, and it is a good point if he can bounce back to .280/.350/.480 for five million bucks.
Catcher Salaries
Dan Graziano noted in his column today that Ivan Rodriguez may have set the market for Jorge Posada when his option was exercised. Posada was the game’s second-highest paid catcher in 2007, with his $12MM salary behind only Jason Kendall‘s $13MM. Posada is coming off a .338/.426/.543 season, so he’s going to break the bank. Some team is probably going to offer $15MM per year over four years.
Now that Pudge is locked in at $13MM for ’08, he’s jumped to that top of the list. Behind him, Jason Varitek makes $9MM and Ramon Hernandez earns $7.5MM next year. Ramon Castro should prepare for a huge raise – he made $850K in ’07 but could be around $4MM in ’08.
Many catchers will definitely have to take a pay cut. Kendall won’t get $13MM again, of course. Paul Lo Duca probably won’t pull $6.25MM. Jason LaRue will come down from this year’s $5.2MM. Michael Barrett at $4.6MM? Probably not. Brad Ausmus at $3.5MM? No way.
If you’re interested, Download catcher_salaries.xls. It’s an Excel spreadsheet with all the 2007 and 2008 catcher salaries.
Tigers Exercise Pudge’s $13MM Option
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Tigers have picked up Ivan Rodriguez‘s $13MM option for 2008. It was a $10MM decision for the Tigers given the $3MM buyout price. The Detroit Tiger Weblog is OK with the decision, given the lack of better alternatives.
By my count, the Tigers have roughly $83MM on the books plus maybe another $6MM for those making near the minimum. Ballpark it at $90MM, which is $5MM below their Opening Day ’07 mark. The Tigers have some holes to fill, but it wouldn’t be surprised to see payroll rise past $100MM. The Tigers passed the 3MM attendance mark this year for the first time ever.
Odds and Ends: Aramis, La Russa, A-Rod
A random smattering of links this morning…
- I wrote a postmortem on why the D’Backs beat the Cubs over at The Hardball Times.
- Just a whisper at the moment, but I’m hearing that the Angels could pursue Aramis Ramirez if the Cubs make him available. They were in hard on him last year when he was briefly a free agent.
- Seems that Joe Torre is done as Yankees manager, but Tony La Russa is not interested.
- Another important date to mark down: November 10th. That’s when Alex Rodriguez decides whether to opt out of his contract. Right after the GM meetings.
- The Tigers will stick with Brandon Inge at third base next year, perhaps feeling that his defense justified his .236/.312/.376 line. There is hope for a rebound, since he slugged .463 the previous year. Plus Inge is locked in for $6.2MM in ’08, $6.3MM in ’09, and $6.6MM in ’10.
- The Mariners had a $2.7MM option on Chris Reitsma with a $0.7MM buyout and apparently some kind of option on Arthur Rhodes. Both were declined. Reitsma, coming off ulnar nerve transposition surgery in ’06, was supposed to be Seattle’s setup man. He tried to pitch this year but the elbow wasn’t fully healed. Rhodes had similar problems in ’06 and went under the knife for TJ in April.
- You may have noticed some of the in-post ads are showing as ugly blank white space or "This page cannot be found" errors…please bear with me as I try to get it back to normal.
Tigers Searching For Left-Handed Hitter
According to Jon Paul Morosi, Dave Dombrowski will pursue a left-handed hitter for the Tigers this winter.
Morosi likes the idea of trading for Seattle’s Raul Ibanez and putting him in left field. Ibanez makes $5.5MM in ’08 in the last year of his deal. He hit .291/.351/.480 this year, and is a minus on defense. Morosi thinks the Ms would ask for a big league starter or two (Nate Robertson?), but the folks at U.S.S. Mariner would settle for less.
The Tigers had a very good offense this year, but want a left-handed hitter anyway. More runs are always good, I guess. They may have openings at left field, shortstop, third base, and catcher. Besides Ibanez, who might be available to fit the bill?
Ken Griffey Jr., Jorge Posada, Milton Bradley, Ryan Church, Luis Gonzalez, Barry Bonds, Matt Stairs, Luke Scott, Chris Duncan, Mike Lamb, Chad Tracy, Cliff Floyd, Geoff Jenkins, Brad Wilkerson, and Shawn Green come to mind. Of course Bonds has already been ruled out. Who do you like out of this group? Any candidates missing?
Boras’s Approach With Pudge
I don’t have a ton to add on this one; I think Michael Rosenberg nails it when discussing Scott Boras’s disingenuous comments regarding Ivan Rodriguez. If I had to find one word that best describes, it would be disingenuous. He’s rarely straightforward and always calculating, and that’s why he’s the best agent in the game by far.
Rosenberg mentions that Boras’s approach indicates that he doesn’t think Rodriguez could earn a $13MM deal on the open market. I agree – the Tigers probably value Pudge more highly than other teams because he’s symbolic for them. Rodriguez’s situation has of course been discussed internally by the Tigers, but they’ve yet to meet with Boras or Rodriguez on the topic.
Odds and Ends
Here are some various trade rumors that didn’t quite have enough behind them for individual posts.
- There’s a gossip section in the Boston Herald called Inside Track, written by Gayle Fee, Laura Raposa, and Erin Hayes. They heard that Coco Crisp told fans at the recent Division Champs celebration that he expects to be dealt this winter to make room for Jacoby Ellsbury. By most accounts Crisp has developed into a fine defensive center fielder, and he’s under contract for $4.75MM in ’08, $5.75MM in ’09, and an $8MM club option in ’10. Perhaps Crisp could be used to acquire a third baseman in the event that Mike Lowell leaves and the Red Sox can’t sign A-Rod.
- Phil Wood of the Washington Examiner speculates that the Nationals could get in on Jason Bay. Not the worst idea, but the Nats don’t seem to have the available young pitching for the deal.
- Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution likes the Nate Robertson to Atlanta idea, tossing Joe Blanton and Shaun Marcum into the mix as other options.
- Bob Wickman may quietly retire, bumming out these guys.
- El Lefty Malo dissects recent comments from Giants GM Brian Sabean.
- Peter Abraham suggests the Mets trade Carlos Beltran for pitching.
Tigers To Decline Pudge’s Option?
This one’s been going back and forth for months. Just about a week ago, the buzz was strongly in favor of the Tigers picking up Ivan Rodriguez‘s $13MM option for 2008. One Detroit writer went as far as to suggest that the Tigers already privately agreed to pick it up. You may recall that Pudge’s option comes with a hefty $3MM buyout price attached.
Now Danny Knobler of Michigan Live writes that the Tigers are prepared to decline the option. They’d entertain a lesser one-year deal, but Rodriguez may not be interested. Remember, he’s represented by Scott Boras. Knobler indicates that the Mets would get involved if Rodriguez reached free agency.
I’m not sure what the Tigers have in mind here, as they don’t have internal options and the free agent market is weak. Perhaps they’ll pursue Yorvit Torrealba, Ramon Castro, or Miguel Olivo.
Leyland: No Barry For Tigers
Jim Leyland said it as plainly as he could:
Barry Bonds will not be a Detroit Tiger next year. End all speculation: He will not be a Detroit Tiger.
This isn’t huge news – as I mentioned earlier, the Tigers are paying Gary Sheffield $14MM to DH next year. They can’t add another expensive fielding liability. Now this Twins idea…very interesting. I’m glad Minnesota hasn’t ruled it out yet.
Carlos Guillen to Play 1B Next Season
The Tigers anticipated this. Carlos Guillen‘s okay with it. Despite signing Guillen in March to a 4 year deal for $48MM to begin next season, the shortstop is going to be moving across the diamond sooner than expected to play first base. The move is designed to protect his knees from the physical stresses of SS.
Tim argued that 4/48 was a bargain as long as he remained the Tigers’ shortstop. Unfortunately, it appears Manager Jim Leyland has had to talk him into moving to first, despite Guillen’s condition last week that the Tigers had to bring in a gold glove caliber replacement. However, Guillen now believes it’ll be better for the team and the longevity of his career.
Who then will be playing short for the Tigers in 2008? Omar Vizquel, David Eckstein, and Cesar Izturis are free agents that stick out. The Detroit Free Press notes there "could be other shortstops available in trade." Edgar Renteria seems to be a popular choice among MLBTR readers. Or will the Tigers make another attempt at Jack Wilson from Pittsburgh? Or would they stick with the in-house option of Ramon Santiago? The apparent good news is there are many options.
This also confirms the obvious: the Tigers have no plans to bring Sean Casey back.
Posted by: Nat Boyle