Pujols Seeking A-Rod Money?
Yesterday we learned that the Cardinals' brass planned to sit down with Albert Pujols' agent Dan Lozano and discuss an extension to keep the game's best player in St. Louis.
Today, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Cardinal slugger is thought to be looking for the type of contract that Alex Rodriguez received to stay in New York. A-Rod inked a 10-year, $275MM contract back in December of 2007 at the age of 32, so it would be no surprise to see Pujols, 31 in January, making similar demands.
Pujols boasts a career line of .331/.426/.624 with 408 home runs and three NL MVP awards to his name. He finished second in this year's voting to Joey Votto, his fourth runner-up finish.
Cards Out On Bartlett, Shopping Ryan
We know that St. Louis GM John Mozeliak met with the agent for Albert Pujols today in regards to a possible extension, but as Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch informs us, their immediate to-do list is far shorter.
Following the club's acquisition of Lance Berkman, the Cardinals are now focused on exploring trade interest for defensive whiz Brendan Ryan and securing a backup catcher. The $8MM allocated to Berkman, as well as the same figure that was allocated to Jake Westbrook and the acquisition of Ryan Theriot have left the redbirds with little financial flexibility.
Mozeliak adamantly denied rumors of continued interest in Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett, stating two reasons:
"One is, we've already made a trade for a player," he began. "And Number 2 is, after we did the Berkman deal, (finances) are something we have to become aware of, too. We're pretty comfortable now with what we've done in the middle infield."
Strauss says the Cardinals would want a pitching prospect or fringe major leaguer in return for Ryan's services. Mozeliak made his intentions clear when he prioritized their plans for Ryan in order: trade him for immediate help, trade him for depth, or retain him as a backup.
Ryan's bat doesn't bring much to the table — he hit just .239/.279/.294 last season — but his reputation as a defensive sensation is well-deserved. His UZR has increased in each of the past three seasons, and his cumulative UZR/150 at shortstop over that time is 11.4, second only to Jack Wilson (among players with 1500 innings or more). He's capable of swiping a base (25 SB over the past two seasons, career 75% success rate) and is arbitration-eligible for the first time, meaning he won't see a significant salary in 2011.
The Cardinals filled their backup catcher role with Jason LaRue from 2008-2010, but LaRue retired this season after suffering an injury in a team brawl with the Reds. Earlier today, they were linked to Gregg Zaun, who missed most of 2010 with an injury of his own. However at age 39 and coming off that injury, he should fit into the club's pay range.
As it stands, St. Louis is projected to have approximately a $106MM payroll, which includes a small allocation for a backup catcher in the mold of Zaun. Other options in that price range could include (my own speculation) Josh Bard, Gerald Laird, and Henry Blanco.
Rays Rumors: Howell, Johnson, Bartlett
The latest on the Rays, who are looking to re-build their bullpen and acquire a hitter or two:
- The Rays have progressed toward a deal with J.P. Howell, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter). The team non-tendered the lefty last week.
- The Rays avoided arbitration with Dan Johnson and agreed on a 2011 salary of about $1MM, according to Topkin (Twitter links).
- The Rays and O's were discussing a trade that would have sent Jason Bartlett to Baltimore for a package similar to the one the Orioles sent to Arizona for Mark Reynolds, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (Twitter link).
- Cardinals GM Joh Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's not looking to acquire middle infielders, so a Barlett trade seems highly unlikely.
- Rays President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Topkin that he wouldn't be surprised if he ends up making a trade or two this week (Twitter link).
International Links: Renteria, Pedro, Williamson
Links in Spanish from where winter is just a cool breeze…
- Edgar Renteria has "three options" for a 2011 contract, according to an AP story out of Colombia. "All of them are in the National League, and one is the Giants," Renteria said. "I'd like to return [to the Giants], but if it doesn't work out, there are the other teams." The Cardinals and Marlins could be the fallbacks, as Renteria has said he'd like to end his career playing for one of the two.
- No matter the season or league, Pedro Martinez wants to play for a winner. Martinez downplayed reports that he is training with the Licey Tigers in the Dominican Winter League, telling Pedro G. Briceño at Listin Diario, "I'm taking a break right now." In another interview, though, Martinez sounded more open, telling El Dia's Justo de la Cruz that he might change his mind if the Tigers improve in the standings or qualify for the Dominican playoffs. In regard to his plans stateside, Martinez told de la Cruz he hasn't hung up his spikes, but on the other hand said: "I don't rule out having an impulse to leave definitively."
- Scott Williamson is planning to pitch in Mexico this winter, and several Major League teams will be watching, Williamson's agent told the blog Baseball Mexico (link in English). The former National League Rookie of the Year hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007, but he put up impressive numers in part-time closing duty for the independent Somerset Patriots last summer.
Pirates Rumors: Correia, Accardo, Duchscherer
4:05pm: The Pirates are interested in Kevin Correia, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
3:25pm: The Pirates are aggressively pursuing Accardo, according to Kovacevic (on Twitter).
2:51pm: The latest on the Pirates:
- The Pirates are deeply interested in Jeremy Accardo, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Dodgers are also known to be in on the recently non-tendered reliever.
- A couple of teams have approached the Pirates about center fielder Andrew McCutchen, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes, but they'd have to be overwhelmed.
- The Pirates and Justin Duchscherer have mutual interest, reports Kovacevic.
- The Pirates have shown some interest in Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. She estimates Kawakami would only cost the Pirates $1-2MM and no significant players, as the Braves are just looking to unload part of his $6.667MM salary.
- Langosch says the Pirates have mild interest in Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan. Kovacevic says the Pirates continue to discuss shortstops with many teams, including J.J. Hardy with the Twins.
- Kovacevic adds that the Pirates would love to trade Ryan Doumit. He says they'd only trade Evan Meek or Joel Hanrahan for a very significant return.
Six Teams Interested In Koji Uehara
The Orioles, Mariners, Twins, Red Sox, Brewers, and Cardinals are interested in free agent reliever Koji Uehara, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun learned from an unnamed Japanese reporter. Uehara would like to return to the Orioles, but they're unlikely to give him a multiyear deal. If he finds such an offer, he'll sign elsewhere.
Uehara, 36 in April, was dominant out of the Orioles' pen this year in 44 innings but has had an injury-plagued couple of seasons in the U.S.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Cardinals, Bruce, Jeter
Links for Saturday night…
- Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post says the Marlins are still looking for bullpen help (specifically a veteran lefty), a lefty bat off the bench, and outfield help.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said that his team's lineup is set for 2011 after today's Lance Berkman pickup, reports Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links). Mozeliak described the team's payroll as "leaking," adding that Berkman received a higher salary as a trade-off for just one year.
- Jay Bruce is optimistic about a new contract with the Reds according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Bruce mentions that nothing is imminent, however.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that about five teams called to express interest in signing Derek Jeter before he re-upped with the Yankees, though the shortstop never considered going anywhere else. In fact, he didn't even listen to what they had to say (Twitter link).
- The recently non-tendered George Sherrill has drawn some interest according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (Twitter link). The Yankees are not one of the interested teams, however.
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News looks at Plan B and C should Texas be unable to retain Cliff Lee.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tweets that Chad MacDonald will be the Mets' new scouting director. He served as the Diamondbacks director of international scouting for the last two years.
Cardinals Sign Lance Berkman
The Cardinals have signed Lance Berkman to a one-year deal, the club has announced (via Twitter). Berkman will earn $8MM according to Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter). The former Houston Astro will be placed in left field with Matt Holliday being moved to right field.
Big Puma identified the Cardinals as one of his many suitors earlier this week. GM John Mozeliak says that the slugger will be an everyday player in St. Louis, according to Tom Ackerman of KMOX 1120 AM (via Twitter).
“He’s an impact player who not only helps solidify our everyday lineup, but he also brings a wealth of experience," the GM said.
Berkman was likely drawn to the Cards in part because of their ability to offer him a spot in the outfield. The veteran never ruled out signing on with an American League team as a DH though he made his disdain for it well known.
The 34-year-old last played in the outfield in 2007, and he owns an ugly -2.1 UZR/150 for his career, with most of his work coming in right field.
Cardinals Make Brendan Ryan Available
The Cardinals feel that Ryan Theriot is an upgrade at shortstop over incumbent Brendan Ryan. Ryan is now expendable, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "The Cardinals have let other teams know Ryan is available, and they'll look to trade him during next week's winter meetings in Florida, if not sooner."
Ryan doesn't want to leave, but he doesn't have any say in the matter. He's arbitration eligible for the first time, but his dismal offensive career numbers should keep his salary down. The Fielding Bible's love for his 2010 defense might not provide much ammo for his agents at WMG in an arbitration hearing.
Starting shortstops are hard to come by, but the Pirates, Orioles, and Padres might be the only teams in the market.
Jason Bartlett Rumors: Tuesday
10:55pm: The Giants are not in on Bartlett, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).
10:00pm: The Giants and Cardinals both added infielders today, but haven't completely ruled out acquiring Bartlett, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Bartlett, a long shot for the Giants, would be insurance in case Pablo Sandoval's struggles continue.
8:59pm: The Giants are one of several clubs engaging the Rays in trade talks about Bartlett even after reaching a deal with Miguel Tejada, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports.
5:00pm: The Giants are "wide open" on their options at short, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). They've considered Bartlett, Miguel Tejada, Orlando Cabrera and Marco Scutaro. Meanwhile, an Orioles source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that the Rays and O's aren't moving closer to a deal involving Bartlett.
TUESDAY, 3:45pm: The Giants have become one of the most serious suitors for Bartlett, according to Rosenthal and Morosi.
MONDAY, 5:40pm: The Rays are moving closer to trading Jason Bartlett, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The reporters’ sources say the Dodgers’ deal with Juan Uribe accelerated trade talks. The Cardinals, Padres, Giants, Orioles and Pirates have all expressed interest in Bartlett, who is arbitration eligible for the third and final time this offseason.
The Rays appear to be looking for bullpen help in any trade involving Bartlett. If they do trade the 31-year-old, they’ll likely replace him with Reid Brignac, who played 50 games at short in 2010 and posted a higher OPS than Bartlett (.692 vs. .675).
Bartlett slumped to .254/.324/.350 in 2010 after an All-Star season in 2009, but his career line (.281/.345/.385) suggests he's capable of more offense. He earned $4MM in 2010 and will likely earn over $5MM through arbitration in 2011.