Heyman On Holliday, Red Sox, Pedro, Bradley
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman covers numerous examples of National League GMs mining the American League scrap heap.
- Heyman agrees with Jayson Stark's note yesterday, that the Yankees will allow Derek Jeter to enter his walk year unsigned and worry about it after the 2010 season.
- The Cardinals will try hard to retain Matt Holliday, but Heyman believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox could be in the mix for the slugger.
- Heyman discusses future shortstop possibilities for the Red Sox – they could retain Alex Gonzalez or go after Marco Scutaro. He says they "don't seem anxious" to bring Orlando Cabrera back.
- Pedro Martinez is looking good, and Heyman says only the Phillies and Rangers had real interest. The Cubs and Brewers were on the fringes.
- Heyman talked to two GMs about the Cubs and Milton Bradley. One thought the Cubs could unload him by eating half his remaining $21MM; another thought they'd need to assume almost all the money. I am not a Bradley apologist; he's certainly been a distraction. But how would subtracting a .394 OBP make the Cubs' middling offense better?
Odds & Ends: Astros, Royals, Abreu
Let's kick off the day with links…
- Yahoo's David Brown caught up with Pedro Martinez as part of his Answer Man series.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes about the Astros' mistake of ignoring pitching.
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle notes that the Michael Bourn–Brad Lidge swap no longer looks lopsided. The Astros sent Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to Philly for Bourn, Geoff Geary, and Mike Costanzo in November of 2007.
- Rany Jazayerli has an open letter to Royals owner David Glass regarding the Dayton Moore extension.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times writes about Bobby Abreu's influence on the Angels' other hitters. In the article, Abreu says, "I definitely want to come back."
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the legend of Garrett Jones. The 28 year-old Rookie of the Year contender has crushed 18 home runs in 237 plate appearances. What kind of numbers do you see him putting up next year?
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that Johnny Damon makes more sense for the Yankees next year than Hideki Matsui.
Rosenthal On Cameron, Penny, Dye
Time for a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Yankees and Brewers discussed a Mike Cameron trade (again) in August, but never came close to a deal. We learned earlier today from ESPN's Jayson Stark that the Marlins were also interested. Cameron, however, hopes to remain with the Brewers past this season.
- The Yankees had "serious interest" in Brad Penny as well, but the big righty preferred the NL and the Giants' ballpark. Penny recently said he'd be willing to return to the AL East, but the smart money's on him signing in the NL after the season.
- Rosenthal learned that Jermaine Dye had the right to convert his $12MM mutual option into a player option if traded. That was probably one of several reasons the Giants did not pursue him. We learned from Stark that the White Sox "wanted something good" for Dye.
- Rosenthal expects Astros manager Cecil Cooper to be fired even though he's under contract through next year. He believes former Phillies manager Jim Fregosi could be a candidate to replace him.
Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter
More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column at ESPN.com…
- One of Stark's sources says the Angels' acquisition of Scott Kazmir is not linked to John Lackey's future. Lackey is said to have dropped his price from the C.C. Sabathia range ($161MM over seven years) to A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM over five years) due to his recent injury history. The Angels will attempt to re-sign Lackey, but they have their limit. Stark's suggestion that Lackey had a "Sabathia-esque" price tag in Spring Training runs counter to Mike DiGiovanna's report that the pitcher wanted Burnett money at that time.
- Stark feels that the Rays' trade of Kazmir will help them allocate money toward retaining Carl Crawford and/or Carlos Pena. Crawford's 2010 club option is worth between $10-11.5MM. Pena is signed at $10.125MM for '10 and is represented by Scott Boras. One positive: the slugging first baseman inked a below-market deal in January of '08.
- Derek Jeter is not talking about his next contract, but Stark feels the Yankees will take care of him. They may wait until after next season, when Jeter finishes his current deal.
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy is familiar with Brad Penny, and his opinion might have caused the team to back off. And the Yankees cooled Jon Garland because they didn't see him as a difference-maker in the AL East.
- The Marlins were in on Mike Cameron, but the Brewers decided to keep their players and win as many games as possible.
- The White Sox "wanted something good" for Jermaine Dye, according to one Stark source. He would not have been as easy to pry away as Jim Thome and Jose Contreras were.
- A couple of sources are skeptical that the Red Sox will shop closer Jonathan Papelbon this winter.
- Stark notes that only two players – Ryan Franklin and David Eckstein – signed extensions in-season. These days it makes more sense to talk during the exclusive negotiation period after the season. Plus, there were many bargains to be had on the free agent market last offseason.
Olney On White Sox, Rangers, Yankees
ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Giants catching prospect Buster Posey is probably more likely to be on the team's Opening Day roster, now that they club started his service time clock. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- Olney says Kenny Williams has a responsibility to publicly discuss the moves that sent Jim Thome and Jose Contreras elsewhere.
- Olney hears that the Rangers will likely consider various infielders now that Michael Young is hurt. A player like Jamey Carroll could help the Rangers, but Olney doubts they'll make a move.
- Here's a suggestion for the Yankees from Olney: offer both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui one-year deals after the season, but say "we'll keep whoever takes our offer first."
Two Teams Interested In Garland
11:00pm: Heyman says a deal between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers "looks pretty likely to happen."
10:22pm: Heyman tweets that talks between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers about Garland are "heating up." He also mentions that the Rockies and Yankees look less likely at the moment.
9:02pm: ESPN's Buster Olney says the Yanks "are not involved in any on-going trade talks for Jon Garland."
8:03pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the Rockies and Yankees have inquired about Garland.
7:26pm: Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that two unknown teams have been "actively discussing" pitcher Jon Garland with the Diamondbacks. He mentions that a "potential trade likely would require the Diamondbacks to include cash to offset what remains on
The supremely durable Garland has started at least 32 games in the last seven years, and he's five starts away from making it eight consecutive years. The soon-to-be 30-yr has a 4.29 ERA and cleared waivers earlier this month. A team would need to acquire him before midnight tonight for him to be eligible for the postseason roster.
Yankees Acquire Freddy Guzman
The Yankees have acquired speedy outfielder Freddy Guzman from the Orioles, according to The Star Ledger's Marc Carig. Baltimore gets a player to be named later in the deal
Guzman will head to Triple-A Scranton initially, and was hitting .219-.261-.289 in stops with the top minor league affiliate of three different organizations this year. The Orioles signed him to a minor league deal earlier this month.
Odds And Ends: Yankees, Wagner, Byrd
Some links to start the week off…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post argues that the Yankees were smart to spend on elite free agents last offseason. Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia have contributed to the Yankees' dominance this year.
- Johnny Damon repeated to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that he wants to return to the Yankees next season.
- The Toronto Sun notes that Mike Hampton won't pitch again this year.
- Billy Wagner didn't expect his Red Sox debut to go as smoothly as it did, according to Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe.
- As Alex Speier of WEEI.com notes, Paul Byrd earns incentives for every start he makes with the Red Sox.
- Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News says Barry Zito and Edgar Renteria, whose contracts have often been criticized, have helped keep the Giants in the race.
Perrotto’s Latest: Twins, Damon, Franklin, Penny, Dye
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus brings us his latest from around the leagues:
- When they come off the DL, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins will be used in relief. So, the Twins are hoping to add a starter who can pitch in the playoffs. This means they have until tomorrow at midnight to do so.
- The Yankees would like to re-sign Johnny Damon to a one year deal and give Austin Jackson a second year to develop at Triple-A, while pursuing Matt Holliday and Jason Bay in the offseason.
- The Marlins and Giants are frontrunners to land Brad Penny.
- The Cardinals expect to exercise Ryan Franklin‘s $2.75MM club option and then sign an extension with their closer for 2011.
- The Royals want to extend G.M. Dayton Moore who is signed through 2010.
- Perrotto says the Cubs are likely to deal Milton Bradley this winter, even if it means eating a large portion of the $21MM owed to him through 2011.
- Jermaine Dye will more than likely not see his $12MM option exercised by the White Sox after a dip in production in tandem with the salary demands of Alex Rios and Jake Peavy.
- For the postseason, the Dodgers are seeking “a left-handed bat with power” for their bench.
- The Nats are auditioning Livan Hernandez as a veteran innings eater for 2010.
- The Diamondbacks may non-tender Conor Jackson.
- Brewers manager Ken Macha said G.M. Doug Melvin “scoured the area for pitching” before the deadline but was unable to add a starter because he refused to trade Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar.
- After making seven trades this year, the Pirates are the youngest team in the MLB.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Penny, Harden, Lidge
Rumor machine Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count Video up at FoxSports.com. Let's dive on in…
- The outcome of this weekend's games could determine which team the recently released Brad Penny signs with. The Giants and Marlins are the two teams pursuing him the most, but the Giants are in a better position in the NL Wildcard standings.
- The Yankees, Twins, and A's are also expressing interest in the righthander, but "what pitcher in his right mind would want to stay in the American League?"
- The A's and Padres have even "floated the idea" of signing Penny beyond the rest of this season, but Penny's best bet might be to go to a team like the Giants and reestablish himself in a pennant race, then go back into the free agent pool this winter on a high note.
- The Cubs are more open to dealing Rich Harden to the Twins than you might think. The Cubs could receive two high draft picks if they offer Harden arbitration after the season and he signs elsewhere, but that's a risky strategy. Given his injury history, the club might not want to take a $10MM or so hit if he accepts, even for only one year.
- The bigger question with Harden may be how aggressive the Twins will be in trying to deal for him. Remember that stars Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan have said the team needs more to contend, with Morneau mentioning that the team needs to impress Joe Mauer since he's due to become a free agent after next season.
- Yes, the Yankees were messing with the Red Sox when they claimed Chris Carter off waivers, but Boston's 40-man roster only has 38 players on it at the moment. Daisuke Matsuzaka will assume one of those spots when he comes off the 60-day DL, and the other is reserved for Paul Byrd.
- People might need to relax when it comes to Brad Lidge's struggles. His recent blown save against the Pirates might be the result of overuse, as Lidge was pitching for the fourth straight day. He had done it twice before this season, but he entered game three of that stretch with a four-run lead. Manager Charlie Manuel may need to be more careful with how he uses his closer down the stretch.