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Odds and Ends: Saito, Teixeira, LaRoche

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More Tuesday links…

  • Over at RotoAuthority, David Chase examines more of the optimistic Spring Training reports of ’08.  Particularly interesting: did pitchers follow up on their intention to use a new pitch?
  • The Marlins’ Scott Proctor signing is official.  Also, Chan Ho Park with the Phillies.
  • Carl Pohlad’s three sons will take over for their father.
  • McCovey Chronicles trade idea: Randy Winn for Xavier Nady.
  • Add Randy Choate to the minor league deals for the Rays.
  • Economist J.C. Bradbury says "the economic downturn cannot explain the magnitude of Pat Burrell’s discount."  He believes teams are exaggerating the recession effect.
  • Keith Law says the risk in giving Milton Bradley a three-year deal "seems excessive" but notes that Bradley is an excellent hitter and above-average defender.
  • Patrick Newman learned that Takashi Saito received almost ten offers last month, including proposals from the Cardinals and Red Sox.  Newman also has new reports of various minor league-level Japanese players who want to join MLB organizations.
  • Tony Massarotti has all kinds of questions about Boston’s failure to sign Mark Teixeira.  Craig Calcaterra offers analysis on the team’s Boras relationship.  Check out stuff from today’s Yankees press conference here and here.
  • Sox Machine on how Jim Thome staying healthy messed up Ken Williams’ plans.
  • Dejan Kovacevic says Adam LaRoche would like to stay in Pittsburgh past ’09, but the team is not considering an extension.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Swisher, Nady, Kapler, Zaun

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal.

  • A recent Ned Colletti-Scott Boras conversation about Manny Ramirez didn’t result in progress.  Boras still has his sights on at least $100MM over four years.  Rosenthal adds that Manny is "cool to the idea of playing in San Francisco."
  • Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady are drawing "significant interest."  Rosenthal speculates that the Giants, Braves, or Pirates would make sense.
  • The door is not closed with the Yankees and Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte recently rejected the Yanks’ one-year, $10MM offer.
  • Some Mets people prefer Oliver Perez to Derek Lowe.  The Braves have yet to speak to Boras about Lowe, while the Brewers and Phillies have financial concerns about fitting him in.
  • Trevor Hoffman has a West Coast preference (the Dodgers or maybe a Padres reconciliation) but interest with the Brewers is mutual.  Other relievers on the Dodgers’ radar: Juan Cruz, Guillermo Mota, and Dennys Reyes.
  • Brian Fuentes’ agent had serious talks with the Yankees, but no offer was made.  Fuentes would’ve been Mariano Rivera’s set-up man and perhaps taken over upon his retirement.
  • Rosenthal notes that MLB kicked in a small part of the $10MM owed to Sidney Ponson from their luxury tax pool, which is not uncommon.
  • If they can afford it, the Rays would like to sign Gabe Kapler.
  • The Orioles, Red Sox, and A’s are interested in Gregg Zaun.
  • Perhaps because of the cool market for his services, Orlando Cabrera is willing to play second base.  The Yankees did not have interest.
  • That Gavin Floyd for Brian Roberts rumor "seemingly arose from internal discussions among Orioles officials."

Odds and Ends: Burrell, Bradley, Abreu

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Links for Tuesday…

  • RotoAuthority asks for your #1 fantasy baseball bust for 2009.
  • Keith Law calls the Pat Burrell signing a "major bargain," panning the Raul Ibanez contract by comparison.  River Ave. Blues says the recent Burrell and Milton Bradley deals prove that Brian Cashman was wise not to offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu.
  • Will the Rays have enough money to re-sign Rocco Baldelli now?  Buster Olney still thinks he will land with Boston.
  • Gordon Edes says Jim Hendry had a stealth dinner with Bradley during the November GM Meetings.  Edes adds that the Cubs believe Derek Lowe is too expensive.
  • Cool story about a guy trying to get an autograph on each card in the 1983 Fleer baseball card set.
  • Baseball America’s Jim Callis has the updated ’09 draft order.  Callis also weighs in on the broken free agent compensation system, which is up for discussion after the 2011 season.

Derek Lowe Rumors: Monday

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10:20pm: Newsday’s Ken Davidoff learned tonight that the Mets "do not intend to raise their three-year, $36MM offer to [Lowe] at this time."  The Mets don’t feel that they have serious competition for Lowe, for some reason.  Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf remain the alternatives.

8:28am: According to Kat O’Brien of Newsday, "negotiations are expected to heat up for righthander Derek Lowe" this week for the Mets, who reportedly offered three years and $36MM (though Scott Boras indicated yesterday the proposal was never made).  Jon Heyman said recently that Lowe didn’t take this offer seriously; he’s aiming for a $16MM salary.  Heyman named the Phillies, Braves, Red Sox, Brewers, and Angels as possible suitors, with the last three more on the speculative side. 

Mark Bowman doesn’t believe the Braves are willing to top the Mets’ reported offer, though.  In another article, Bowman suggested Jon Garland and Andy Pettitte are more likely options.

Phillies’ Romero Suspended 50 Games

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TUESDAY, 11:17am: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says he’s not dead set on replacing Romero with another lefty reliever.  The team has interest in several free agent relievers.

MONDAY, 9:26pm: The Philadelphia Phillies might need to pick up some help for their bullpen after reliever J.C. Romero found out he has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball.  Fortunately they signed Scott Eyre at the beginning of the offseason.

Romero failed a drug test, though he denies doing anything illegal. The MLB Players Association had told players that the supplement Romero took was acceptable, ESPN.com’s Peter Gammons reports.

"I still cannot see where I did something wrong," Romero told Gammons. "There is nothing that should take away from the rings of my teammates. I didn’t cheat. I tried to follow the rules."

Gammons notes that Romero will lose $1.25MM.  You can read the rest of the drama at ESPN.

The left-handed Romero, 33 in June, was an impact player in the Phillies’ bullpen in 2008. He went 4-4 with a 2.75 ERA in 81 appearances (59.0 innings). The Phillies could possibly explore the market for his replacement.

Eight Phillies Eligible For Arbitration

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David Murphy notes the Phillies’ large group of arbitration-eligible players: Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Ryan Madson, Joe Blanton, Chad Durbin, and Greg Dobbs.  Scott Lauber suggests their combined salaries could double in 2009 – from $19MM to $38MM.

Murphy says there’s not much of a precedent for Hamels, who will easily top Chien Ming Wang’s $4MM from last year.  Ryan Howard also stands to tack millions on to last year’s $10MM award.  Negotiations for a long-term deal are not active for either player, but the Phils will probably at least discuss it with Hamels’ agent.  Between these two players, the Phillies may add $10MM to the payroll.  Most of the others will also receive raises exceeding $1MM.

Derek Lowe Rumors: Sunday

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3:41pm: Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that the Braves are interested in Lowe, but not his price tag. Bowman says the Braves are "keeping tabs on Lowe," but also states that the Braves would be reluctant to even make a larger offer than the three-year, $36MM deal that he rejected from the Mets.

11:44am: Jon Heyman reports the Braves, Phillies, and Red Sox and perhaps the Brewers and Angels are all expressing interest in Derek Lowe. Lowe is still looking for $16MM per year and rejected the Mets offer of 3 years, $36MM, his highest offer to date.

Buster Olney feels Lowe may have missed out on the big money when the Yankees signed A.J. Burnett for 5 years, $82.5MM over him; however, as Heyman points out, Lowe has been far more consistent and durable: "He’s won at least 12 games each of the past seven seasons and thrown at least 199 innings in six of those seven (he threw 182 innings the one year he didn’t reach 199."

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says the Mets are likely to increase their offer.

Lowe Rejected Offer, Wants $16MM Per Year

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Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog passes on some comments made tonight by Jon Heyman on the MLB Network’s Hot Stove Live.

  • According to Heyman, Derek Lowe rejected the Mets’ three year $36MM offer because he hopes to sign a deal worth $16MM per season.
  • The Phillies and Braves are the Mets’ biggest competitors for Lowe.
  • The Red Sox and a mystery team are also involved.

Later on in the show, Mets GM Omar Minaya confirmed interest in Lowe, Randy Wolf and others. Cerrone notes that Minaya did not mention Oliver Perez.

Odds and Ends: Bard, Cubs, Guardado

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Links for Friday (feels like a Monday)…

Lowe Unimpressed By Mets’ Offer

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Derek Lowe was "hardly overwhelmed" by the Mets’ three year $36MM offer, Mike Puma of the New York Post heard from a baseball source. Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe heard from a source of his own that Lowe’s "likely to continue shopping for a more desirable offer."

It’s uncertain who would make such an offer, since Massarotti writes that the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies are not currently interested in Lowe.

As a result, the Mets could end up in what Puma calls a "protracted stare down" with Scott Boras and his client.

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