Giants Rumors: A-Rod, Vizquel, Feliz
Brian Sabean acknowledged today that he’ll kick the tires on Alex Rodriguez but admitted that it could hamstring the team financially. That’s right – he’s considering tying up half of the Giants’ payroll in two players. Signing with the Giants would be A-Rod embracing his mercenary reputation – the team has no chance of competing next year.
Additionally, Sabean mentioned that the Giants hope to re-sign Omar Vizquel and Pedro Feliz for the left side of their infield. Discussions have begun with Vizquel regarding a one-year pact with a vesting option. It’s a very solid defensive tandem, but neither can hit much these days. They don’t make much sense for a rebuilding team, unless the angle is to build confidence for the young pitchers.
Sabean also implies that he’ll seek to upgrade the Giants by shopping Noah Lowry or Jonathan Sanchez. Shopping Lowry for a solid controllable position player actually seems reasonable.
One other tidbit is that Ned Colletti admitted that the Dodgers are also considering A-Rod, though signing him is just one of many scenarios.
Odds and Ends: Cook, Benoit, Griffey, Riske
Some random tidbits that didn’t get their own posts today…
- The Rockies picked up Aaron Cook‘s $4.5MM option as expected. The bigger question is whether they can sign him long-term, maybe for three years. They also passed on LaTroy Hawkins for $3.75MM but may still sign him.
- The Rangers agreed to a two-year contract with reliever Joaquin Benoit for two years and $6MM. He would’ve hit free agency after 2008. Smart move would be to let him rack up 10-15 saves next season and then trade him for something good.
- The Braves aren’t expected to get their next center fielder through free agency, and Terence Moore suggests trading for Ken Griffey Jr. to fill the position. More reasonable targets might be David DeJesus or Coco Crisp.
- The Royals may yet retain David Riske, who wants a multiyear deal and would like to stay. They’ll definitely offer him arbitration, since he’s a Type B free agent. Also, longtime Royal Mike Sweeney might finally play elsewhere.
- Free agent Shawn Chacon is looking to start in 2008, and he’ll make over $4MM.
- Charley Walters says the Twins won’t pursue Barry Bonds. If Bonds is to land in the AL, the Orioles, Devil Rays, Royals, Angels, and A’s may be his only options.
- McCovey Chronicles suggests a Noah Lowry for Bill Hall swap.
A-Rod Aftermath
Lost in the shuffle of Alex Rodriguez‘s opt-out media frenzy – the Yankees should be able to snag some nice draft picks for him. They’ll undoubtedly offer him arbitration, and he’ll decline that offer. If that does happen and he’s signed by the Cubs, Tigers, Mets, Angels, or Red Sox, the Yankees will get that team’s first-round pick. The Giants and Dodgers’ first round picks are protected however.
Joel Sherman names the Angels, Dodgers, Cubs, Mets, Red Sox, and Tigers as teams to watch in this bidding war. Kat O’Brien adds the White Sox to the mix, while Peter Abraham adds the Giants. My best guess is the Halos. Another thought – does it have to be Lowell or A-Rod for Boston? Couldn’t it be both if they believe Rodriguez can play a capable shortstop?
Giants Interested In Kosuke Fukudome
According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants are "seriously interested" in Kosuke Fukudome. The Padres will be in on him as well. Shea picked up this chatter from Japanese media at the World Series.
McCovey Chronicles is cautiously intrigued, but only around a 3/24 level. Mike Plugh has speculated that Fukudome could cost $12-15MM over three or four years, but that was written in May. Fukudome saw his power production decline and finished the year with elbow surgery. Still, .294/.443/.520 is a great baseline even if it translates to 15 HR power.
This isn’t the first time the Giants have been linked to Fukudome. Susan Slusser mentioned the possibility in early September. Other teams said to be in the mix: the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, White Sox, and Padres. I’m sure that list will continue to grow. Perhaps the Yanks will exit the picture since they plan to exercise Bobby Abreu‘s option.
Bonds Comments
Barry Bonds made a few comments on his future at a recent speech. As usual, Barry’s comments seemed kind of weird. He was asked whether he’d play for the Giants for $5MM, and replied:
I told Peter Magowan that if I’m a part-time player, I’m still better than your full-time player, and it’s a wise idea to keep me. There’s still time. Things might change.
Hmm. OK. I don’t think that really means anything. I won’t believe the Giants are leaving the door open until I hear it from them. And Bonds never answered the $5MM question.
Meanwhile, Bonds associate and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal opined that the home run king might retire this winter. Bonds said a month ago that he plans on continuing his career.
Will D’Backs Add A Starter?
There are two schools of thought regarding the young, successful Arizona club. The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro seems to think Josh Byrnes will stay quiet this winter, re-signing Tony Clark and letting Randy Johnson replace Livan Hernandez. The East Valley Tribune’s Scott Bordow would rather not rely on The Big Unit, instead trading a young position player for a young starter.
Specifically, Bordow notes that Carlos Quentin and Conor Jackson could be expendable. However, injuries complicate possible trades of either player. With Quentin it’s direct – he had surgery to repair the rotator cuff and labrum of his non-throwing shoulder in October. It’s a six-month timeline for recovery, so he could be ready for Spring Training. Jackson is fine and healthy, but trading him becomes easier if Chad Tracy can prove his health. He had microfracture knee surgery and also expects to be ready in March.
Jackson seems to be the best trading chip – even if Tracy has complications, Clark wouldn’t be a terrible full-time stopgap. Jackson, who turns 26 next May, has a respectable if not spectacular .280/.362/.441 line in 310 games. He slugged .555 after the break this year. Which team has an available young starter and badly needs position players? The Giants, with Noah Lowry. I’m not sure if Lowry would impress the D’Backs, though. Plus, the teams are in the same division. The Twins also make for an interesting match, as they might be able to use Jackson in left field. The D’Backs could ask for Matt Garza or Kevin Slowey. The White Sox could use an outfielder; would one year of Jon Garland be an even swap?
Braves Notes: Hampton, Lowry, Andruw
Mike Hampton makes $15MM next year, and the Braves aren’t getting any relief from the Rockies or Marlins. However, it turns out the Braves actually spread around those payments so that they’d pay out about $8MM to Hampton in each year of the deal.
This is confirmed by Bill Shanks of Scout.com, for starters. Shanks notes that the Braves owe $8.25MM to Hampton next year because of amortization. I’ve heard that David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said something similar in the comments of one of his blog posts, but it’s been buried somewhere. Bottom line, the Braves have $7MM more than we thought they did. A $95MM payroll would give Atlanta some wiggle room to add a starter.
It’s not a stretch to add Tom Glavine, with this new information. However, O’Brien thinks the Braves need more. While Dan Haren or Joe Blanton may be out of reach, Noah Lowry seems a more realistic target. The point is to find a decent young controllable arm.
O’Brien’s also got some early interested parties in Andruw Jones: the Dodgers, Rangers, Giants, White Sox, Nationals, Phillies, and Mets. Seems like the idea of moving Beltran to right field has been discussed within the Mets organization. The Dodgers, I imagine, would shift Juan Pierre to left field.
Vote For McCovey Chronicles
Grant Brisbee, author of my favorite Giants blog McCovey Chronicles, is up for a $10,000 scholarship for college bloggers. I love the idea of giving such a scholarship, and Grant deserves it.
Check out McCovey Chronicles. Then go vote for Grant (no logging in, should take a second).
Odds and Ends
Here are some various trade rumors that didn’t quite have enough behind them for individual posts.
- There’s a gossip section in the Boston Herald called Inside Track, written by Gayle Fee, Laura Raposa, and Erin Hayes. They heard that Coco Crisp told fans at the recent Division Champs celebration that he expects to be dealt this winter to make room for Jacoby Ellsbury. By most accounts Crisp has developed into a fine defensive center fielder, and he’s under contract for $4.75MM in ’08, $5.75MM in ’09, and an $8MM club option in ’10. Perhaps Crisp could be used to acquire a third baseman in the event that Mike Lowell leaves and the Red Sox can’t sign A-Rod.
- Phil Wood of the Washington Examiner speculates that the Nationals could get in on Jason Bay. Not the worst idea, but the Nats don’t seem to have the available young pitching for the deal.
- Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution likes the Nate Robertson to Atlanta idea, tossing Joe Blanton and Shaun Marcum into the mix as other options.
- Bob Wickman may quietly retire, bumming out these guys.
- El Lefty Malo dissects recent comments from Giants GM Brian Sabean.
- Peter Abraham suggests the Mets trade Carlos Beltran for pitching.
Pedro Feliz Looking For Two Years
Pedro Feliz is making about $5.4MM this year. Has he been worth it? He’s hitting an ugly .249/.287/.421 while supplying what some consider to be Gold Glove defense. I am not a regular Feliz observer, so Giants fans feel free to weigh in.
It seems like nothing’s changed with Feliz, but as John Shea notes, he is making better contact in this his age 32 season. I’m surprised that hasn’t resulted in a better batting average.
If you subscribe to the Baseball Prospectus line of thinking, Feliz’s awful OBP actually results in negative offensive value. Even with the 20 home runs every year, he’s doing more harm than good to the offense.
Feliz, however, is hoping to snag a two-year deal from the Giants this time around. I imagine he’s looking for $12MM or so. I hope Brian Sabean resists the temptation and lets him go. The Bonds-less 2008 Giants are going to be desperate for OBP, and Feliz detracts from that goal. In my opinion, it’s time to let Feliz walk and use Rich Aurilia at third base because, well, the Giants are stuck with him.