Astros Interested In Lieber, Linebrink
Ed Wade is contacting all sorts of free agents, and going public with it. The latest was starter Jon Lieber, who seems like a bargain and a decent fit for them. Wade was behind the Phillies’ signing of Lieber in ’04.
Lieber will turn 38 in April of next year. He only pitched 78 innings for the Phils in ’07 a strained oblique and a ruptured tendon in his foot. He had surgery on the foot in July. Maybe the Astros can get him on a one-year deal.
Jim Molony’s MLB.com article also mentions that the Astros have reached out to reliever Scott Linebrink. The Astros lost Linebrink to a Padres waiver claim in May of ’03.
It’s been previously stated that Wade has been in touch with Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand, Luis Castillo, and perhaps Tom Glavine.
Odds and Ends: Glavine, Kent, Kuroda
Picking up some rumors and tidbits that haven’t been otherwise posted during this busy day…
- An Atlanta TV station states that Tom Glavine would take a lot less money to play for the Braves. Also, the Astros have reportedly been in touch with him.
- Joe Torre senses that Jeff Kent will return in 2008. The Dodgers certainly hope so; he led the team with 20 home runs in ’07.
- Trey Hillman took a parting shot at Japanese reporters (hat tip to JapanBall).
- Reliever Masafumi Hirai might come over to MLB. I’ll have to learn more about him.
- Hiroki Kuroda prefers to play on the West Coast because he doesn’t like cold weather. Hmmm, Chicago might not work for him. Kuroda has declared free agency, and the Mariners are interested. There is word here that the Rangers have scouted him as well.
- The Braves are interested in Masahide Kobayashi to close, while the Mariners like him as a middle reliever (link in Japanese).
- There will be no Mike Lowell + A-Rod combo in Boston.
- Luis Gonzalez would like to return to the Tigers, while the team is interested in Cliff Floyd and Shannon Stewart for left field. Ben Broussard may also be on the radar.
- The Rangers also like Broussard, and they’ve contacted Mike Lamb as well regarding their first base vacancy. Lamb could play third if they trade Hank Blalock. Jon Daniels also has Kerry Wood in his sights.
- The Rockies like Shawn Chacon, but only as a reliever.
- Derrick Goold breaks down the options for the Cardinals at shortstop.
- Don’t forget to make an entry in our Hot Stove Hysteria contest. The deadline is November 12th. If you feel the need to edit your entry, just post a new one. They’re time-stamped; your latest entry will be used. A new prize has been added: a fantasy draft kit from Big Dawg Baseball.
Latest Mets Rumors: A-Rod, Silva, Blanton
Plenty of action around the Mets lately; Omar Minaya has his work cut out for him. Hat tip to MetsBlog for several of the links.
- The sensational storyline here is that Minaya will meet with Scott Boras to discuss Alex Rodriguez. However, Boras and Minaya might spend more time discussing Kyle Lohse and Eric Gagne than A-Rod – the Mets’ focus is pitching.
- Newsday’s Ken Davidoff reminds us of past trade talks regarding Joe Blanton, Jose Contreras, and Jon Garland. Those talks may be re-opened, though Davidoff notes that the White Sox aren’t enamored of Lastings Milledge. Additionally, the Mets will meet with Carlos Silva‘s people this week.
- Buster Olney discusses the Mets’ pursuit for pitching today in his blog. They need a horse, somebody who can chew up innings. Aside from the aforementioned Silva and Blanton, Olney names Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren, Scott Kazmir, and Dontrelle Willis as possible targets (though Marc Lancaster considers the declaration of Kazmir’s availability to be "dubious at best." Meanwhile one exec thinks the Rays would only make him available if "his arm is about to blow.") Olney’s guess is that the Mets will acquire Blanton. The Mets have some combination of Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber, Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, and Aaron Heilman to offer. There are pros and cons to dealing each.
- There are other concerns besides pitching: second base and catcher. Besides the forthcoming monster offer to Jorge Posada, the Mets are considering Paul Lo Duca and Yorvit Torrealba as fallbacks. Ramon Castro is looking for a two-year deal, and hopes it’s with the Mets. However, the Rockies have their eye on him.
- Pedro Martinez expects to pitch beyond 2008. Whether that will be for the Mets or someone else, who knows.
- Marlon Anderson‘s two-year deal will be announced today, according to Adam Rubin. The Mets will pass on Jose Valentin and Brian Lawrence‘s options.
Astros Hope To Sign Luis Castillo
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Astros are looking to inject some OBP into their leadoff spot by signing second baseman Luis Castillo. He adds that not many teams are looking to fill second base via free agency, so the Mets might be the only team battling for Castillo.
Rosenthal rates Kaz Matsui and David Eckstein as the best second base alternatives behind Castillo. The Rockies are prepared to offer a two-year deal to Matsui but will move on if he wants too much. They can’t be thinking about offering more than $8MM, wouldn’t you say? Rosenthal says Matsui is not on the Mets’ radar because, well, they already gave him a shot.
As for Eckstein – his best bet financially may be to market himself as a shortstop. His estimated take is $6-7MM over two or three years, a figure that would be deemed pricey for second base.
Astros Contact Schilling
Ed Wade saw Curt Schilling’s list on 38pitches.com, and the Astros weren’t on it. He said he felt compelled to call Schilling yesterday anyway.
Schilling pitched for the Astros in ’91 as a 24 year-old, but was traded to the Phillies for Jason Grimsley. Yes, that Jason Grimsley. Nice move, Bill Wood!
Does this mean teams outside of Schilling’s dirty dozen are in play? Who knows…someone offers $17MM, he would have to listen.
Astros Interested In Hunter, Rowand
UPDATE, 10-31-07: A few more notes on the Astros’ interest in Hunter and Rowand. According to Wade, the Astros are looking to add either a center fielder or a right fielder – keeping Hunter Pence in center is an option. Also, he calls the contact with Hunter and Rowand "procedural," noting that the Astros will talk to roughly a third of all free agents.
FROM 10-30-07:
Looks like Ed Wade and the Astros will make a play for a free agent center fielder this winter. They’ve already made initial contact with the agents for Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand.
That didn’t strike me as a major need given the current outfield of Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence, and Luke Scott. I agree with RotoWorld on this – Scott could be a great acquisition if the Astros push him out of the picture. An awful April obscured Scott’s stats – he hit .267/.360/.534 from May forward. Same thing happened with Kevin Kouzmanoff.
On the other hand, Pence is better suited for right field than center. So as long as Wade gets full value in the form of a starting pitcher for Scott. Unfortunately they are not on Curt Schilling‘s list but three other NL Central teams are.
Astros Re-Sign Ausmus
As expected, the Astros inked Brad Ausmus to a one-year deal. It cost $2MM, about the going rate for backup catchers these days.
Hopefully J.R. Towles will get 120 games behind the plate as the starter as Ausmus can teach him a thing or two about handling a big league pitching staff.
Odds and Ends: A-Rod, Boras, Pettitte
Early Monday morning reading material…
- Interesting article in the New York Daily News regarding Scott Boras and Alex Rodriguez. Boras insists that many of his clients have not taken the largest deal offered to them, giving examples. The article also touches upon recent Boras clients connected to performance-enhancing drugs (Rick Ankiel and Scott Schoeneweis). Boras’ agency is known for its obsessive attention to detail for all of its clients, and seeing a few of them busted raises some questions.
- Last winter, we discussed the possibility of Hiroki Kuroda coming over from Japan. Well, he’s a free agent again, and Nick Cafardo is wondering if 2008 will be the year. Cafardo also noted that Daisuke Matsuzaka did not earn the Red Sox nearly as much marketing revenue as Scott Boras suggested.
- Newsday’s Ken Davidoff says Andy Pettitte intends to exercise his $16MM player option for 2008. Davidoff points out that Pettitte has the same deadline for this decision as A-Rod has for his opt-out. Davidoff also mentions that Roger Clemens‘ most likely destination for 2008 appears to be back in Houston, if he plays.
- You’ve probably heard by now that Hank and Hal Steinbrenner will have final say on baseball decisions (especially Hank). Hank will insist Joba Chamberlain be used as a starter in ’08, heightening the need to re-sign Mariano Rivera.
- The Hardball Times tries to place dollar values on some top free agents, plus Adam Dunn.
Astros Make Offer To Ausmus
The Astros hope to bring back Brad Ausmus one more time, recently offering him a one-year, $2MM contract. Ausmus, who will be 39 next season, hasn’t decided what he wants to do yet.
$2MM per year is becoming the going rate for backup catchers, which is probably the role the Astros have in mind for Ausmus next year. In November of last year, the Cubs set the market by giving Henry Blanco $5.25MM over two years. Mike Redmond and Vance Wilson had each signed for two years, $2MM a few months prior. Mike Lieberthal got one year and $1.25MM. The Cubs seem to set the market often.
The Cubs and Astros are in similar situations, with up-and-coming young backstops in Geovany Soto and J.R. Towles. Each is going to need a defensive-minded backup long on experience.
Cecil Cooper Named ‘Stros Manager
ESPN is just reporting that the Astros have named Cecil Cooper as Manager on a permanent basis.
Astros fans, how do you feel about this?
Posted by: Nat Boyle