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Yankees Pursuing Manny

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3:26pm: Ken Davidoff has a different opinion on the subject of Manny’s future in New York, as well as a couple of other interesting free agent names. From his Sunday update:

"I would not bet so much as a penny on the Yankees acquiring Manny Ramirez, Ben Sheets or Mark Teixeira. Andy Pettitte can come back, and Mike Cameron will come aboard if the Brewers take Kei Igawa. If deals involving those two guys can’t happen, then maybe a starting pitcher/centerfielder in those price ranges (one-year investments for about $10 million) will wind up in the Bronx. But that’s about it."

9:21am: The New York Post’s George A. King III reports that if the Yankees can’t get Mark Teixeira, they’re "right there on" Manny Ramirez.

"If they pass on Teixeira, the Yankees will try and bolster a sagging lineup with Ramirez… And to clear some money, they might entertain offers for outfielder Xavier Nady, who made $3.35 million last year, is arbitration eligible and a free agent after the 2009 season."

The article mentions a three-year deal despite Scott Boras seeking five.  King suggests Jermaine Dye is another option; however, Dye has the Yankees listed as one of six teams to which he would veto a trade.

This article was updated by Alex Walsh, who can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.

Mike Cameron Yankees Rumors

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SUNDAY, 1:51pm: George A. King III with the New York Post writes that the Yankees want the Brewers to take on Igawa’s contract as well, but that Milwaukee doesn’t want to pay much of the $12MM he has left. The Brewers are trading Cameron to trim payroll, and don’t want to unload $10MM for Cameron just to take on another $4MM for Igawa.

New York has told Milwaukee that no pitcher on their 40-man roster is available.  Both sides still expect a deal to get done eventually; Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt talks will resume tomorrow.  River Ave. Blues thinks the Yankees should hold off, for now.

FRIDAY, 3:50pm: Haudricourt heard this might get tabled until Monday, though now with Burnett signed maybe the Yankees will switch their focus.  Or maybe they’ll spend the weekend working on Andy Pettitte/celebrating the Burnett signing.

THURSDAY, 5:40pm: Haudricourt now writes that the Cameron negotiations are back underway after a "hiccup". Haudricourt heard from Doug Melvin that there’s a "strong possibility it could still happen." The clubs are negotiating over finances and whether a second player would go to the Brewers with Cabrera.

1:01pm: Cameron’s agent told Tyler Kepner nothing has been completed.  Kepner says the Brewers have actually been asking about Igawa.

11:49am: Joel Sherman talked to a top exec involved in the talks who called the chances of a deal "remote." Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times was told the deal is done, however.

11:17am: Ken Rosenthal says the potential deal hit a roadblock over the Yankees’ desire to have Milwaukee pick up part of the tab on Cameron.  Also, the Brewers want a second player after Cabrera.  Tom Haudricourt says the Yankees tried to unload Kei Igawa on them.

9:28am: The Cabrera for Cameron deal is close but not done, according to Joel Sherman’s source.  He says the Brewers could receive a pitcher as well, with the quality depending on whether they’ll assume salary.

8:41am: Tom Haudricourt is not sure this is done. He says the Yankees like Bill Hall as well.  The Brewers could gain quite a bit of payroll flexibility here.  It’d be interesting to see all three Brewers friends (including Sabathia) move to the Yanks.

7:15am: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are set to acquire Cameron for Cabrera.

12:55am: According to Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger, the Yankees met with the Brewers Wednesday to resume trade talks for Mike Cameron that began at the GM Meetings.  Whatever mild concern the Brewers reportedly had about trading away a friend of C.C. Sabathia’s is gone.

On November 7th, Peter Abraham wrote that Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera were on the Brewers’ radar.  Clearly the Brewers want to add a starting pitcher.

Odds and Ends: Sheets, Moeller, Yankees

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Links for Saturday…

  • As more teams lock up lefty relievers, Jon Paul Morosi sees the Tigers as more likely to land Joe Beimel.
  • Tom Haudricourt has heard that Ben Sheets is more likely to sign with the Rangers, who have Mike Maddux campaigning for them, than the Yankees.
  • Peter Schmuck hears that the Orioles have signed catcher Chad Moeller to a minor league deal.
  • Ken Davidoff writes that the Yankees shouldn’t concern themselves with Andy Pettitte just yet.
  • Dave Perkins of the Toronto Star doesn’t like the Yankees’ aggressive spending.
  • Jack Curry of the New York Times writes that the Yankees are instant favorites for the World Series.
  • Another New York Times writer, Ben Shpigel, writes that the Mets especially need Oliver Perez now that the Phillies have signed Raul Ibanez.
  • RotoAuthority breaks down the re-vamped San Francisco bullpen for fantasy baseball purposes.
  • Matt Clement’s optimistic about his fresh start with the Jays.
  • Two players re-signed with their clubs after being non-tendered: Norris Hopper of the Reds and Scott Mathieson of the Phils.
  • Hideki Okajima will run a marathon Sunday, and the Red Sox aren’t thrilled.

Crasnick on Lowe

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Central Maine Sports Blog had an e-mail conversation with Jerry Crasnick regarding the current status on Derek Lowe.

The Yankees are likely out of the Lowe sweepstakes, says Crasnick, considering the $243 million they’ve already committed to the rotation. By process of elimination, Crasnick names the Mets as frontrunners for Lowe’s services.

Check the link to read more of the e-mail. Kudos to Matthew Boudwell for the update.

Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Saturday

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Jake Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod explains his client’s preferences:

"Jake has a strong preference to stay in the National League. If Jake’s ever going to accept anything to the American League – and I don’t want this to be taken wrong – I can safely say that it’s going to be the Yankees or Red Sox or maybe the Angels. Those teams are going to be in contention and are going to spend money. If there were circumstances where he would be asked to go to the AL, kicking and screaming, those are the three places."

Also, Padres GM Kevin Towers revealed in a radio interview that the Angels asked about a Peavy-Adrian Gonzalez package deal, but the Padres don’t want to trade Gonzalez.  As a baseball fan, I like it when Towers reveals things like this.  It must be incredibly frustrating for rival GMs though.

Yankees Sign A.J. Burnett

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According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Yankees reached a preliminary agreement with A.J. Burnett on a five-year, $82.5MM deal ($16.5MM per year on average).  The deal is pending a physical, and some final terms must be hammered out.  The Blue Jays will receive the Yankees’ second-round pick in next year’s draft, plus a supplemental pick.

That’s $243.5MM spent by the Yankees on starting pitching, unless C.C. Sabathia opts out.  The Braves will have to figure out a Plan B.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Friday

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2:45pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says both teams have guaranteed five years.  The Yankees are offering "just beyond" $80MM and the Braves at least that amount.  Sherman believes those to be the best and final offers and expects Burnett to choose sometime between today and Monday.

11:54am: Burnett is in "decision-making" mode, according to his agent.

9:05am: Kat O’Brien and Ken Davidoff of Newsday talked to Hal Steinbrenner, who said he’s optimistic about the Yankees signing A.J. Burnett.  They have a five-year, $80MM offer on the table.  It seems possible the Braves may have matched it, but it’s not confirmed.

Willy Taveras Will Be Non-Tendered

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Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says to expect outfielder Willy Taveras to join the free agent market:

The Nationals’ unwillingness to take Taveras and Juan Morillo for Tim Redding — a deal Colorado thought was done — will lead the Rockies to non-tender the center fielder today, making him a free agent.

Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News agrees he’ll be non-tendered, noting the Yankees, Red Sox, Reds, Marlins, and White Sox also had trade discussions for Taveras.

Renck adds that Glendon Rusch has a minor league offer for $750K in hand, and is weighing offers from four other clubs.  Rusch would be the Rockies’ second lefty behind newly signed Alan Embree.

A few more notes: the Rockies have mild interest in bringing back Josh Fogg…they’re the favorite for Redding if he’s non-tendered too…the Rox will make a non-guaranteed offer to Scott Podsednik…Joey Gathright would be of interest if non-tendered.

Mark Teixeira Rumors: Thursday

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9:56: Jeff Zrebiec says that even with larger offers on the table, the Orioles do not plan on upping their offer for Teixeira. The Orioles’ offer is believed to be seven years, and in the $140-150MM range. The Orioles have discussed Eric Hinske and Hank Blalock as fallbacks if Teixeira signs elsewhere.

2:38pm: Tim Brown and Gordon Edes talked to involved execs (not with the Angels) who believe the Boras camp is "using the media to ratchet up the price beyond what any team had actually offered." 

Brown and Edes say the Angels were told the Red Sox and Nationals offered eight years at about $20MM per.  The Angels don’t want to do an eighth year, so they’ll look into trades for Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and possibly Adrian Beltre.  Raul Ibanez is the top free agent backup plan.

Brown and Edes believe Boras could insist on an opt-out clause in a deal with the Nationals.

8:59am: Mike DiGiovanna says the Angels "are believed to be willing to offer at least seven years for something in the $160-million range" for Tex.

8:51am: Jon Heyman says the Yankees have re-entered the Teixeira sweepstakes.

2:40am: Summing up the reported offers made to Mark Teixeira:

By the way, Joe Haggerty transcribed the full Scott Boras talk from yesterday at his site.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Thursday

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7:18: Mark Bowman at MLB.com says it’s down to the Braves or the Yankees for Burnett. Interestingly, he notes that A.J. might not necessarily want to be an "ace" of a staff like he would be in Atlanta. He has the Yanks’ offer between $80-85MM.

12:12pm: Rosenthal heard indications the Braves were preparing a final push for Burnett and would guarantee a fifth year.

10:33am: Rosenthal and Fraley see the Yankees as the clear frontrunner for Burnett.  They say Braunecker will contact other clubs today to give them one last chance to beat the Yanks’ five-year, $85MM offer.  Will the Braves counter?  Burnett signing with the Yankees would be undesirable for the Blue Jays in two ways – they’d have to face him fairly often, and they’d (tentatively) get the Yanks’ second-round pick instead of a first-round one.

9:46am: Buster Olney says the Yankees are confident they won’t be overbid for Burnett, at least.

9:19am: Chipper Jones spoke to Burnett about ten days ago, and the pitcher told him that if he does play in the NL, it’ll only be with the Braves.

8:53am: Ken Davidoff and Kat O’Brien wrote that the Yankees "appeared to be closing in on a deal" for Burnett late last night.  They put the offer at about $80MM.

8:32am: Ken Rosenthal and Gerry Fraley say the Braves have not offered Burnett five guaranteed years.  The fifth year is an easily attainable vesting option, though.  Dan Graziano says that this time around, Braunecker is not seeking an opt-out clause for Burnett.

2:19am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has been all over the A.J. Burnett talks.  Today he says the Yankees have a five-year deal worth about $85MM on the table.  Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker isn’t seeking much more than that – he’s eyeing a Carlos Zambrano-influenced $91.5MM payday.  It’s an interesting comparison, given that Z’s deal was signed over a year ago and not on the open market.

Crasnick says discussions continued with the Yankees late Wednesday.  Yankee players have been calling Burnett, lobbying him to choose their team over the Braves.  Crasnick believes a deal could be in place as soon as today.

Yesterday we heard conflicting reports about whether the Braves guaranteed a fifth year in their offer.

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