Odds and Ends: Wigginton, Andruw, Royals
Links and notes for Tuesday…
- The Rays held a "get-to-know you" chat with free agent reliever Joe Nelson. Also, exec Andrew Friedman doesn’t see their pursuit for a hitter lasting into late January.
- The Mets will not be affected by the money a few of their owners lost in the Bernard Madoff scheme.
- Argenis Reyes and Ambiorix Burgos are now free agents after being non-tendered.
- RotoAuthority has a running list of pitchers who are moving from the AL to the NL for 2009.
- I chatted about the Yankees with Coast To Coast Baseball.
- El Lefty Malo discusses the idea of the Giants signing Ty Wigginton.
- Kevin Baxter passes along quotes from Andruw Jones regarding the future.
- Rany Jazayerli weighs in on recent Royals moves.
- Bleeding Blue and Teal tells us about Taiwanese lefty Fu-Te Ni, who may sign with a Major League team.
Mets Considering Randy Wolf, Oliver Perez
10:14pm: Wolf told MLB.com’s Marty Noble tonight that the Mets have shown "some interest." Noble says the Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Braves, and Giants are also "thought to have interest."
7:58am: According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Mets have checked the bullpen off their list and will now look to upgrade the rotation. It seems that Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf are the top targets, with the pricey Derek Lowe a less likely possibility. McCarron notes that the Mets have a strong relationship with Wolf’s agent Arn Tellem, who brokered the Francisco Rodriguez contract.
With A.J. Burnett off the board, perhaps the market for Lowe will heat up this week. The free agent starting pitching options remain strong – look at what was available on this date a year ago.
Offensively, McCarron doesn’t see much more than an Alex Cora addition on the horizon for the Mets.
Multiple Offers For Kawakami?
Patrick at NPB Tracker writes that Kenshin Kawakami‘s agent says he’s received official offers from "more than one team."
It’s not known which teams offered contracts, but the Braves are interested and Patrick lists the Orioles, Red Sox, Angels, Giants, and Brewers as other possible suitors.
Here’s the link to the Hochi Sports article in Japanese.
Phillies Sign Chan Ho Park
MONDAY: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News says Park held a press conference in Korea today to announce his signing with the Phillies. It’s a one-year, $2.5MM deal with up to $5MM in incentives, according to the Korea Times. Park relishes the chance to start for the Phils. He said the Giants, Diamondbacks, Royals, and Blue Jays also expressed interest.
With Park signing as a starter, where does that leave Jamie Moyer? The Phillies still have one unsettled rotation spot, though this may reduce their urgency.
THURSDAY: Todd Zolecki says the Phillies "are working on hammering out a deal with pitcher Park, who would work in relief."
WEDNESDAY: According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, the Phillies are close to signing Chan Ho Park. He says the Phils may view him as a starter. Park’s average fastball velocity jumped from 88.4mph in ’07 to 92.6mph in ’08, leading some to label him a sleeper.
Why The Braves-Peavy Trade Fell Apart
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune had an article yesterday involving a couple of failed Padres trades.
Krasovic says the Padres and Braves were discussing a 4-for-1 Jake Peavy deal in November. Yunel Escobar and Gorkys Hernadez were agreed upon. The conflict came as the Padres wanted Charlie Morton over Jo-Jo Reyes as well as Jeff Locke or Tyler Flowers over Blaine Boyer. To me that gap looks pretty sizeable, so maybe the trade was never close. At this point it seems like the Braves could end up with Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami as their rotation upgrades. They’ve reportedly made Escobar unavailable, leading Dan Hayes of the North County Times to suggest the Braves would have to remove Tommy Hanson‘s apparent "untouchable" tag to get Peavy. Everything I’ve read about Hanson has said the Braves are adamant about keeping him.
Krasovic also says the Giants made a run at shortstop Khalil Greene before he was dealt to the Cardinals.
Odds and Ends: Nelson, Atkins, Taveras
After a hectic Winter Meetings, it’s been a slow weekend. Today’s links…
- A 3.35 ERA for Phil Hughes next year? Bill James and Co. think so.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe talked to Mark Mulder‘s agent, Gregg Clifton. Clifton said, "He’s ready to go for any team right out of the chute." Clifton shot down talk that Mulder would not be ready in April.
- The Rays have contacted the agents for Joe Nelson and Scott Proctor.
- Keith Law likes A.J. Burnett‘s upside, but notes the risks. Peter Abraham compares the Burnett and Johan Santana deals.
- Law is in favor of the Indians’ Kerry Wood signing.
- Scott Ostler’s baseball source says people are scratching their heads about the Giants’ Edgar Renteria contract.
- Bruce Jenkins says the Rockies would trade Garrett Atkins for Jonathan Sanchez.
- Troy Renck says Willy Taveras has received interest from the Reds, Nationals, and White Sox.
- Drayton McLane says there are a lot of reasons for Astros fans to be optimistic.
- The Yankees like Andy Pettitte over Ben Sheets.
Four Teams Interested In Wigginton
According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Indians, Giants, Pirates, and Reds have expressed interest in new free agent Ty Wigginton. Dejan Kovacevic confirms Pittsburgh’s interest. Neal says the Twins have admired Wiggy for years as well. He adds that Wigginton was nearly dealt to the Giants before being non-tendered. Ken Davidoff thinks the Mets should look into it.
What will it take to sign Wigginton? Casey Blake‘s three-year, $17.5MM deal might be optimistic, but Neal figures Wigginton could get a similar average annual salary. Still might take two years to sign Wigginton though. Beyond Joe Crede, there’s not much else out there for third base.
Odds and Ends: Sheets, Moeller, Yankees
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.
Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Max Ramirez, Lowell
Links for Friday…
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon lost some dough.
- The Red Sox expressed interest in Kenshin Kawakami yesterday. Michael Silverman says Kawakami is expected to choose a team and sign in January (the Orioles are also interested).
- John Perrotto says the Marlins like Max Ramirez and are willing to trade pitching prospect Ryan Tucker.
- Bernie Williams will play winter ball in preparation for the World Baseball Classic.
- Paul Sullivan says Cubs manager Lou Piniella was upset at the thought of losing Mark DeRosa.
- Rany Jazayerli weighs in on the Royals’ signing of Kyle Farnsworth. Joe Posnanski talks about Farnsworth and many other topics.
- Andrew Baggarly says the Giants are not interested in Mike Lowell.
- Bob Elliott says the Blue Jays had an agreement to pay the Braves to take Everth Cabrera seventh in the Rule 5 draft, but the Padres picked him third.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday
10:56pm: Axelrod suggestion the Giants as a possible destination for Peavy in a talk with Tim Sullivan. He said, "I think they’ve got the money. But I don’t know if they’ve got the prospects."
8:20pm: Jon Heyman says that Peavy is frustrated by the team’s inability to trade him. His agent, Barry Axelrod, says that Peavy had begun to get used to the idea of being a Cub, and now that opportunity is apparently gone. Axelrod says if the Padres approach he and his client with a trade, they’ll consider it, but there won’t be any more lists of approved teams.
Axelrod also criticizes the majority of baseball executives for their lack of action at the Winter Meetings.
"It’s amazing to me how many people can waste time, money and resources, and get nothing done," Axelrod said. "Baseball moved lock, stock and barrel into that town, and absolutely nothing happened."
6:45: Mike DiGiovanna at the LA Times says that the Angels are now in the mix for Peavy. Trade talks could begin as soon as next week, with Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, Reggie Willits, Nick Adenhart, and Kevin Jepsen all names that could be talked about. The Angels will only pursue Peavy if they can’t re-sign Mark Teixeira.
5:02pm: Talked to a person familiar with the Cubs’ thinking…he really could not see the Cubs revisiting a Peavy trade. The Padres need to get Peavy’s $63MM off the books soon, yet were trying to swing 6-for-1 or 7-for-1 deals for him despite the extremely limited market. Marshall was never in the mix, by the way.
3:27pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves "won’t even think about renewing their pursuit of Peavy unless the talks are initiated by the Padres, who will no longer find a compensation package that includes Yunel Escobar." Escobar is apparently off the table because the Braves no longer have Brent Lillibridge.
2:56pm: Tim Brown and Gordon Edes say the Cubs "remain optimistic that they can acquire Peavy, all but ignored Towers’ self-imposed deadline." Meanwhile, Gerry Fraley says the Angels have already put together a package for the Padres to consider.
12:01pm: Kevin Towers told reporters the proposed Peavy deal with the Cubs is dead. The Cubs pulled out. Mike DiGiovanna heard earlier that the Angels remain interested. Towers is not certain he wants to engage in further Peavy discussions at this time. I think even hot stove junkies wouldn’t mind a respite.
11:30am: Towers still hasn’t heard back from Hendry on the Peavy deal. Ken Rosenthal says eight to ten teams have called on DeRosa, adding the A’s to the mix of known suitors.
12:33am: Multiple reports suggested yesterday that the Cubs would not trade Mark DeRosa. But new stories in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times do not support that notion.
Paul Sullivan of the Trib says DeRosa "appears to be the key to any Peavy deal." Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times heard the Cubs would only trade DeRosa as part of a Peavy deal, and Jim Hendry inquired on Chone Figgins as a possible replacement. And La Velle E. Neal III believes DeRosa is fair game in a Peavy deal or separately for the Twins or Phillies. As far as Jason Marquis, both Chicago writers see him landing in San Diego with the Cubs eating about half his salary (one sign that the Cubs have "hand," as George Costanza would say).
Padres GM Kevin Towers wants to get a framework in place today. The Cubs have the leverage, with Wittenmyer suggesting they also want to keep Sean Marshall. One player most writers believe will be sent from the Cubs to the Padres is Josh Vitters. But Towers says it’s in the Cubs’ hands.