Stark On Greinke, Manny, Dunn, Swisher
The latest from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…
- The Cubs’ ownership situation is not close to the finish line, which is one reason the team won’t be acquiring Jake Peavy anytime soon.
- One source of Stark’s suggested Zack Greinke nearly left his current agent John Courtright of SFX for Scott Boras, a whisper I’d heard as well. But now Greinke is happy with his contract and agent.
- Free agents such as Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez could reasonably wait until March to sign. Not a bad thing for this website!
- Adam Dunn would like Manny to sign earlier, as he’s waiting to see what the Dodgers (his preferred team) do. The Nationals have been Dunn’s most aggressive suitor, the Orioles have mild interest, and the Braves have backed off.
- Stark questions the idea of talks for Manny heating up lately, since the Mets, Yankees, and Angels are out and the Giants are only conditionally interested.
- When Alex Rodriguez was a free agent last winter, Joe Torre advised the Dodgers against signing him.
- The Phillies would like to move Geoff Jenkins for a right-handed hitting outfielder, but Jenkins is paid too much. Jay Payton and Emil Brown are not on the Phillies’ radar; they still like Nomar Garciaparra.
- The Yankees are apparently "softening to the idea of trading Nick Swisher," with the Braves the top suitor.
Rosenthal On Abreu, Garland, Glavine, Sisco
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- The Mariners and Giants are interested in Bobby Abreu, if the price is right. Yesterday Buster Olney suggested that Abreu is willing to take a one-year deal. The A’s and Nationals have other targets, while the Mets, White Sox, and Braves are seen as long shots.
- Rosenthal examines the nuances of Jon Garland‘s December 7th decision to reject arbitration, saying that it wasn’t an obvious mistake at the time.
- Tom Glavine‘s agent Gregg Clifton did not attend yesterday’s meeting with Frank Wren; it was a health update and not a contract negotiation. Rosenthal says Glavine figures to seek a Freddy Garcia-like deal. The Braves need to save money to add an outfielder, with Nick Swisher atop their list. The Yankees’ goal in moving Swisher or Xavier Nady would be to recoup prospects.
- The Brewers are not interested in projects such as Kris Benson, Jason Jennings, Mark Redman, and Victor Zambrano. They’re just lukewarm on Mark Mulder. Benson is drawing interest from the Dodgers, Rangers, and Cardinals; one exec reviewed his audition as "so-so."
- Rosenthal doesn’t seem to buy the idea that Jason Varitek and Scott Boras feared the Red Sox could cut him if he accepted arbitration, noting that Boras client Travis Lee was advised to accept years ago.
- The Braves have reservations about re-signing Andruw Jones, who could be a Spring Training cut.
- The A’s deal for Russ Springer will be worth more than $3MM plus incentives. They’re also eyeing Brian Shouse and Andrew Sisco as possible pen additions. Sisco, recovering from Tommy John, has also auditioned for the Rockies and Giants.
Heyman’s Latest: Pedro, Alou, Pudge
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman:
- Some baseball people believe Omar Minaya will bring Pedro Martinez back to New York once Oliver Perez signs. Minaya loves Pedro and Pedro may prefer to return to the Mets
- The Phillies have about $3MM left to spend; Heyman wonders whether Moises Alou would sign for that kind of money.
- The Phillies have also considered Rich Aurilia and Nomar Garciaparra, but Aurilia may simply return to the Giants if they have room for him.
- Heyman says Ivan Rodriguez makes the most sense for the Marlins, but adds that they have little money to spend.
- Jeff Moorad’s attempt to buy the Padres will almost certainly go through.
- Heyman makes one clarification about Milton Bradley‘s deal after viewing the contract. It’s a two year $20MM deal with an option for a third year that kicks in if Bradley spends fewer than 75 days on the DL this year.
Odds and Ends: Sherrill, Kubel, Teahen
Links for Wednesday…
- T.R. Sullivan examines the Rangers’ interest level in 25 free agents.
- An article about Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus.
- Rany Jazayerli suggests the Jeremy Bonderman contract might have been a model for Zack Greinke‘s deal.
- George Sherrill‘s arbitration hearing is set for February 19th. The Orioles are at $2.2MM while Sherrill requested $3.4MM, putting the midpoint at $2.8MM.
- Jack Marshall discusses the ethics of Scott Boras.
- Barry Bloom looks at the remaining free agent starting pitchers and possible suitors.
- Dave Cameron questions the Twins’ recent Jason Kubel contract.
- Sam Mellinger talks about the Mark Teahen second base experiment.
- Will Clark is set to join the Giants’ front office.
Rosenthal On Manny, Garcia, Greinke
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column…
- Rosenthal speculates that the Giants may not be the right fit for Manny Ramirez, given a challenging ballpark and questionable supporting cast of hitters. Rosenthal suggests a contract that might work for Manny and the Dodgers: two years with a third-year player option, with no-trade protection covering only the first two years.
- Many remaining free agents – Adam Dunn for example – may prefer a one-year deal because it will increase their options and allow them to re-enter the market after the season.
- The White Sox found the price for Freddy Garcia to be too high ($1.5MM plus $6.5MM in incentives). Rosenthal deems Oliver Perez a bad fit for the Sox in part because he’s a flyball pitcher. Also there’s the whole Scott Boras thing.
- Among the right-handed hitters the Phillies are mulling, Rosenthal feels that Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia make the most sense.
- The Angels may go to Spring Training with their current club.
- Zack Greinke received "very minor" no-trade protection in the first two years of his new deal, with seemingly no protection when his salary shoots up to $13.5MM in 2011.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
9:46pm: Chris Haft of MLB.com wonders if Manny Ramirez would be given as many opportunities to hit the ball if he signed with the Giants, similar to how Barry Bonds was intentionally walked so often.
4:30pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Manny still wants a four or five-year deal at about $25MM per. On rival exec believes the Dodgers and Manny are in the "fourth inning" of negotiations.
10:17am: The latest Manny Ramirez information came from Bill Shaikin on Saturday, and there’s not much to report. It seems that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti awaits a counteroffer from Scott Boras after their two-year, $45MM offer was made almost three months ago. Boras wants the Dodgers to up their bid:
"We have let the Dodgers know what Manny’s position is. They are fully aware of the terms he feels are fair."
Shaikin says the Dodgers "do not equate an asking price with a counteroffer." He adds, "The Dodgers do not believe the San Francisco Giants are serious about Ramirez. The Giants are happy to let the Dodgers think that way."
I have to side with Colletti on this one. His offer was initially laughed off, but now it looks quite fair. Manny doesn’t appear to have any other offers, and there are other quality free agent corner outfielders available who will likely play for one year and less than half the average annual salary.
Rich Aurilia Still Talking To Giants
Andrew Baggarly has a little bit of info about free agent first baseman Rich Aurilia. Aurilia’s agent is having ongoing conversations with the Giants, and the team considers him their top option for a right-handed bat off the bench. A one-year deal seems likely, but Baggarly isn’t sure what’s holding up the process.
Aurilia, 37, hit .283/.332/.413 in 440 plate appearances while playing the infield corners. He earned $4.5MM, so a significant pay cut is in order.
Rosenthal On Perez, Manny, Pirates
Another new column from the hard-working Ken Rosenthal.
- Rosenthal doesn’t believe that the market for Oliver Perez is limited to the Mets; it’s more that they’re the only interested team we know about. Two teams we can cross off are the Rangers and Cubs. The Mets want to do three years for Perez while Scott Boras wants five. The Mets’ plan is to sign one of Perez, Randy Wolf, or Ben Sheets and then add a cheaper arm like Freddy Garcia.
- Rosenthal believes the Giants could justify signing Manny Ramirez as an attempt to "max out" while they still have Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum (they have Cain through 2011, Lincecum through 2013).
- Rosenthal notes that free agents who accept offers of arbitration do not have guaranteed contracts. However, players such as Orlando Cabrera and Jason Varitek would’ve had to be released for clear baseball reasons, not to save money. Otherwise the teams would be in hot water with the Players Association.
- Rosenthal notes that Scott Boras has worked out two-year deals covering arbitration years for past clients such as Matt Holliday and Mark Teixeira, so the current Prince Fielder talks don’t signify a change.
- The Pirates have no need to shed payroll.
Verducci On Hamels, Shields, Lowe, Manny
Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Tom Verducci.
- Interesting line: "One journeyman reliever, for instance, turned down a $2 million offer, saying he would retire before taking that kind of money." Many veterans will choose between swallowing their pride and retiring this spring.
- Verducci makes a comparison between Cole Hamels and James Shields, who were called up 19 days apart. The extra service time for Hamels gave him Super Two status, meaning he became arbitration-eligible four times instead of three. That decision probably cost the Phillies more than $10MM.
- The Mets were willing to give Derek Lowe $14MM per year.
- The Giants don’t believe Manny Ramirez is anywhere near a decision right now. He’s a special case for them (they’re not in the market for an outfielder) but they won’t enter a bidding war.
- The Blue Jays aren’t interested in Orlando Cabrera; they’re content with Marco Scutaro.
Quinlan, Taschner, Thompson Avoid Arb
Three more players avoided arbitration, according to the AP’s Ronald Blum: Robb Quinlan ($1.1MM), Jack Taschner ($835K), and Brad Thompson ($650K). We should have a full list of those who exchanged figures at some point this afternoon.