Odds & Ends: Lowe, Tigers, Halladay, Capps
Links for Monday…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the Braves made it known they were willing to eat $9MM of the $45MM owed to Derek Lowe over the next three years, but found no takers.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck talked to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who said nothing has changed in terms of using Scott Sizemore as the second baseman. Beck points out that if the Tigers wanted a veteran at the position they probably would've offered Placido Polanco arbitration.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Murray Chass they he expressed interest in Roy Halladay a couple of times, before the trade deadline and at the Winter Meetings. It sounds like Halladay's no-trade clause was an obstacle.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has a Q&A with new Nationals reliever Matt Capps, who agreed to a one-year, $3.5MM deal on Christmas Eve. MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Capps' physical is scheduled for Tuesday.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis gives us a couple of prospect "All-Bust" teams for the 2000s.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki notes that the Phillies have a minor league offer out to Scott Eyre.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon talked to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who will be looking at minor league deal possibilities. Sheldon indicated that the Reds' interest in Noah Lowry is now less than minimal.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan fills us in on the Rangers' offseason plans and potential targets in his mailbag.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues would like to see the Yankees buy low on Oakland's Travis Buck. Buck made our list of right field trade candidates back in November.
GM Trade Histories: NL East
Brendan Bianowicz is back with a bunch of updates to the GM Trade History series. The Excel spreadsheets linked below cover each GM's trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks via tabs along the bottom. It's interesting to see each GM's most frequent trade partner – for example, Omar Minaya has matched up with Larry Beinfest and Mark Shapiro most often in his career.
Odds & Ends: Byrd, Werth, Tigers, Brewers
Here's your first batch of links for 2010…
- Marlon Byrd signed with the Cubs partly because of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Jaramillo worked with Byrd in Texas.
- The Marlins are willing to spend on Aroldis Chapman because they don't anticipate handing big bucks over to their first round pick next year, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The Marlins have the 23rd overall pick in the draft.
- Jayson Werth is set to become a free agent after the 2010 season, and MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says he isn't sure the Phillies could retain him if he goes looking for a deal similar to what the Mets gave Jason Bay.
- Jason Beck of MLB.com says he'd be surprised if the Tigers didn't trade for a veteran reliever on a short-term contract to fill in at the back of the bullpen.
- Don't discount the idea of Brewers' GM Doug Melvin making another move to bolster his pitching staff, says Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Such a move could come before the season, or ahead of the trade deadline.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock notes that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer has talked about finding players that fit Petco Park, which would be "an athletic one, has doubles-power, someone who can run … if it's an outfielder, someone who can go get a ball, someone who won't clog the bases."
- The Rangers will bring in "at least one and possibly two" veteran catchers, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. He notes that the team has talked about Rod Barajas and Yorvit Torrealba, but both are looking for two-year deals.
- In an interview with Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones says that he's told team officials he'll only change positions if the team brings in "the right personnel." Chipper also reiterated that he's going year-to-year at this point of his career, and admits there's parts of being a ballplayer that he's sick of.
- Here's the current 2010 draft order based on the free agent signings that are official. At the moment, the Angels have five of the first 37 picks.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Byrd, Baez
Happy New Year everyone! Here are some links to close out 2009..
- MLB.com's Marty Noble isn't buying into the talk suggesting that Jason Bay won't be able to hit home runs in Citi Field.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry will come to regret signing Marlon Byrd, writes Keith Law of ESPN. Law says that while Byrd could play everyday for a non-contender, he's not worthy of being the everyday center fielder for a team with playoff aspirations.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com wishes Danys Baez good luck with the Phillies, his sixth major league club. Although he hopes that Baez will find success with the 2008 World Champions, Kubatko says that they might come to regret the contract they gave him.
Phillies Sign Tagg Bozied
The Phillies signed Tagg Bozied today, MLBTR has learned. Bozied, 30, hit .288/.360/.447 in 240 plate appearances for the Pirates' Triple A club this year after starting the year in Taiwan. He mainly played first base and the outfield corners. Bozied hit .306/.382/.569 for the Marlins' Triple A club in '08.
Bozied was a big-time power prospect in the Padres system several years ago, but he ruptured the patella tendon in his left knee in July of '04 jumping on home plate to celebrate a game-winning grand slam.
Jason Bay Reactions
With an agreement in place between Jason Bay and the New York Mets, reactions to the deal are already starting to pour in….
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that the Mets will regret signing Bay within a few years.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan feels that Bay's money would've been better spent on John Lackey.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says that Bay's defense will dictate whether the contract is a good one or not, and argues that the Mets will need to make a few more moves to contend.
- It may have taken a while to get done, but "all's well that ends well," writes Rob Neyer of ESPN.com.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff is on board with the deal, and hopes the Mets continue to stay financially responsible for the rest of the winter. This means going "nowhere near" Joel Pineiro at his current asking price, and not guaranteeing Bengie Molina two years (Davidoff suggests that reports of an imminent two-year deal for Molina are inaccurate).
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal looks at what the move means for the Phillies, both as a division rival and as a club that will have their own free agent outfielder (Jayson Werth) next year.
- Articles from Ian Browne of MLB.com and Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune examine the signing from Boston's and Seattle's perspectives, respectively.
- R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs explains why, even if it's heavily backloaded, the Mets' offer was more financially appealing than one the Red Sox made earlier.
Discussion: Pat Burrell
Pat Burrell's move to the American League did not go as smoothly as he or the Rays hoped. Burrell left the World Series-winning Phillies to sign a two-year, $16MM free agent contract with Tampa Bay last January, and then suffered through a season's worth of injuries and inconsistency to finish with a career-worst .682 OPS (.221/.315/.367) in 476 plate appearances.
With $9MM due to Burrell in 2010, the Rays have been openly shopping the slugger this winter. Rumors of a deal of Burrell-for-Milton Bradley swirled for months before the Cubs dealt Bradley to Seattle last week. With seemingly their best trade option gone, it appears as if Tampa Bay will go into next season with Burrell back in the DH spot — which, if 2009 was just an aberration, might not be a bad option given Burrell's 251 homers and .852 OPS over his first nine years in Philadelphia.
If the Rays still want to move Burrell and save some cash, however, here are a few of the clubs that are in need of a DH/LF type and might have the payroll flexibility to absorb some or all of Burrell's contract.
- The Mets. Should they give up on signing Jason Bay (or lose him to the Red Sox), New York would still have a hole to fill in left field. The downside of Burrell going to a National League team, however, is his glove. He played just two games in the outfield last season, and according to Fangraphs, his defense ranged from mediocre to terrible (a -25.2 UZR/150 in 2007) over his last four years in Philadelphia.
- The Cardinals. Just as Burrell is a backup plan for the Mets if they don't sign Bay, he can also be a backup plan for St. Louis if they don't sign Matt Holliday.
- The Braves. Atlanta's biggest offseason need was a right-handed power hitter. While they are close to a deal with Troy Glaus, Glaus made just 32 plate appearances in 2009 after undergoing shoulder surgery last January. Burrell is perhaps a more reliable option, and may regain his batting stroke back in the NL East.
- The White Sox. Ozzie Guillen likes the idea of a rotating designated hitter, but GM Kenny Williams didn't close the door on the possibility of picking up an everyday DH if the right opportunity presented itself.
- The Giants. Mark DeRosa may be coming in as San Francisco's new left fielder, but Burrell could be an interesting alternative should DeRosa not accept the Giants' offer. Or, the power-starved Giants could acquire Burrell to play in left, and then sign DeRosa to play third base, thus moving Pablo Sandoval over to first. (Or, Sandoval plays 1B, DeRosa plays 2B and Freddy Sanchez moves over to 3B.) If the Rays pay some of Burrell's contract, then he is a much cheaper option for San Francisco than Johnny Damon.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Valverde, Phillies, Hanrahan
Just because it's Christmas Eve doesn't mean the hot stove is taking a holiday. Let's check out some links….
- Washington's signing of Matt Capps takes one more option off the table for the Chicago Cubs, writes Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune.
- Within today's blog entry, ESPN.com's Buster Olney notes that none of the remaining teams in need of a closer (Florida, Pittsburgh, and Detroit) have the payroll flexibility to spend $8-10MM on Jose Valverde. Valverde will probably have to settle for significantly less money than he is asking for, and could potentially even be forced into a setup role somewhere.
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News breaks down the options for the Phillies' bullpen.
- The longer Matt Holliday and Jason Bay remain unsigned, the more the rest of the league is asking the Red Sox and Yankees to swoop in, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Sam Borden at LoHud.com understands that logic, but is skeptical about the conclusion.
- Amidst talk that the Pirates are engaged in discussions with Kevin Gregg and Octavio Dotel, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if Joel Hanrahan could be the answer as the team's closer.
- If you want a full summary of the road to the Roy Halladay trade, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun has you covered. Elliott offers an extended look at the rumors that led to the deal, and the trade's aftermath. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times breaks down the most interesting piece of info from Elliott's account, involving Mariners prospect Michael Saunders.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com isn't a big fan of the Angels' offseason so far, and questions whether the team even has room to make additional moves.
Phillies Agree To Terms With A Reliever?
5:46pm: Todd Zolecki of MLB.com says that Baez is "a good bet" to be the mystery pitcher.
3:26pm: The Philadelphia Phillies have an agreement in place with a relief pitcher, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com — we just don't know yet who the pitcher is. Salisbury's source says that the agreement with the mystery player is pending a physical, which will occur in the first week of the new year.
With Fernando Rodney and the Angels having agreed to terms, the two likeliest candidates for the Phillies' bullpen appear to be Danys Baez and Mike MacDougal. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark linked Philadelphia to Baez earlier, and another of Salisbury's sources confirms that the team's focus has been on the right-hander lately. We also heard earlier today from Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who said that the Phillies had been in touch with MacDougal. Scott Lauber of the News Journal mentions some other possibilities, but agrees that Baez and MacDougal look like the top two relief targets for Philadelphia.
Angels Reach Agreement With Fernando Rodney
2:57pm: The Angels have agreed to terms with Fernando Rodney, according to ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas (Jayson Stark of ESPN.com provides an english version of the story). Rodney will sign a two-year deal worth $11MM, pending a physical.
WEDNESDAY, 11:58am: ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears that Rodney won't end up in Philadelphia. Instead, the Phillies will look for bargains in the new year. Stark mentions Danys Baez as a possibility for the Phils.
7:00pm: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Phillies are interested in Rodney as well, at two years and $12MM. Nice little offer.
TUESDAY, 1:07pm:The Angels are in serious discussions with free agent reliever Fernando Rodney, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Angels are a nice match for Rodney, as the number of teams with closing opportunities is dwindling. The Angels are already on the hook for $9MM for Brian Fuentes next year, but if they bump him to a setup role they can prevent his 2011 option from vesting.
Rodney, 33 in March, posted a 4.40 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 4.9 BB/9 in 75.6 innings. Not very impressive numbers, but he can at least boast of saving 37 games in 38 tries. Rodney operates with a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s changeup. Since he's a Type B free agent who turned down arbitration, the Tigers will gain a supplemental draft pick if he signs elsewhere.