Cardinals Rumors

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matsui, Mariners, Callapso

By Mike Axisa | December 24, 2009 at 10:31pm CDT

On Christmas Day way back in 2001, Hideki Matsui became the highest paid player in Japanese baseball history, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $4.7MM with the Yomiuri Giants. In his seven-year (and counting) Major League Baseball career, Matsui has never earned less than $6MM annually.

Let's see what's being written around the blogosphere…

River Ave. Blues takes a look at the economic impact of Matsui leaving the World Champs for the Angels.
U.S.S. Mariner runs down some potential first base options for the Mariners, covering players available through trades, free agency, and those already in-house.
It's About The Money, Stupid! compares Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson to the two guys they're replacing, Johnny Damon and Matsui.
South Side Sox provides some thoughts on Kenny Williams' busy offseason.
Royals Authority says Kansas City needs an outfielder, and proposes a few deals centered around Alberto Callaspo.
Viva El Birdos has some concerns about signing Matt Holliday to a long-term contract.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Rollins, Orioles, Anthopoulos

By Mike Axisa | December 19, 2009 at 1:49pm CDT

Saturday morning links. Not quite as good as cartoons, but we'll do our best…

Paul Hagen of The Philadelphia Daily News says that Phillies' management "tacitly acknowledged that [Jimmy Rollins' next contract] could turn into a contentious issue." The club picked up J-Roll's 2011 option yesterday
Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said he'll probably "let the market percolate" from now on, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. In English, that means he'll let the hot stove play out and see what arises.
Blue Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos chatted with fans yesterday, discussing everything from the Roy Halladay trade to Travis Snider trade rumors to what it's like being a GM. I highly recommend checking it out.
Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post Dispatch says that Matt Holliday should learn from Johnny Damon, who essentially priced his way out of New York with his contract demands.
Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News writes that Marlon Byrd signing with the Cubs appears "to be the next domino to fall."
Curious about what the current 2010 draft order currently looks like? Well here it is. There's only three Type-A free agents left unsigned: Holliday, Jason Bay, and Jose Valverde.
Earlier today we heard that the Nationals are going after Jon Garland. Now, free agent outfielder Randy Winn is on their radar as well, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.

Olney’s Latest: Bradley, Damon, Yankees, Harang

By Mike Axisa | December 19, 2009 at 10:12am CDT

In today’s blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney writes that the presence of Ken Griffey Jr. should help Milton Bradley and the clubhouse culture in Seattle, however this might be the final straw for Bradley because he’s running out of second chances.

Let’s round up the rest of Olney’s rumors…

One GM said the Bradley deal “means that one more chair just got taken away,” referring to another corner outfielder being taken off the market.
Olney says that Johnny Damon might be a perfect fit for the Cardinals, who continue to talk with Matt Holliday.
Meanwhile, there was some concern in the Yankees’ organization that if Damon took a paycut to return, he would have come into the season very unhappy.
The rumored Aaron Harang to the Dodgers deal was never a good match, because LA doesn’t have much to spend and the Reds are trying to shed payroll.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Vazquez, Matthews

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 18, 2009 at 12:23pm CDT

Some links for Friday…

Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com expect the Cubs to go after free agent center fielders now that they've dealt Milton Bradley.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer doesn't expect the Reds to deal Aaron Harang in the near future.
The Chiba Lotte Marines signed Bryan Corey, according to NPB Tracker.
A source close to Javier Vazquez tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman that it's highly unlikely the pitcher would approve a trade to a west coast team like the Angels. The Braves are still interested in trading Derek Lowe.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale says it would be an upset to see anyone but the Cardinals sign Matt Holliday.
Now that the Dodgers have traded Juan Pierre, the Angels are optimistic about unloading Gary Matthews Jr. and his contract, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The Angels will have to eat some of the $23MM owed to Matthews if they hope to deal him.
O's reliever Jim Johnson tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's glad to have new acquisition Mike Gonzalez around.
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still need another arm. Brian Cashman says the Yankees aren't done.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times expects the Yanks to spend big on next year's free agent class.
New Blue Jay Kyle Drabek tells the Toronto Sun that he doesn't plan on changing his approach, though he does feel some pressure as a major piece of the Roy Halladay trade.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates evaluate players and then stand by the figures they decide on almost all the time. This approach prevents the Pirates from over-spending and sometimes prevents them from signing their targets (like Miguel Angel Sano).
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers expect Claudio Vargas to take his physical today and finalize his deal.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan examines Scott Boras' relationship with mystery teams.

Cardinals Rumors: Holliday, DeRosa, Smoltz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 18, 2009 at 9:42am CDT

Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and John Smoltz are all possibilities for the Cardinals. Joe Strauss and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have the latest on the trio of free agents.

The P-D reported that the Cards offered Holliday up to eight years, but they now revise that, saying the club hasn't guaranteed any more than five years. The Cards don't appear likely to guarantee more than six seasons.
DeRosa hopes to sign soon and he isn't going to wait around for Holliday. The Yankees have some interest in DeRosa.
Smoltz's agent, Keith Grunewald says the Cardinals are interested, though Smoltz is still in contact with other teams.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Dodgers, Beltre, Pujols

By Luke Adams 2 | December 17, 2009 at 9:28pm CDT

Let's round up some Thursday evening links….

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly hears from Orioles officials that the team isn't serious about Matt Holliday or Adrian Gonzalez. This probably means that, despite their flurry of recent activity, Baltimore is done spending for now.
Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts takes a look at the Dodgers' salary obligations for 2010.
Todd Zolecki of MLB.com follows up on the Roy Halladay–Cliff Lee blockbuster by breaking down Halladay's extension and relaying Lee's reaction to the trade.
While the Cardinals wait on Holliday, Mark DeRosa is exploring his other options, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Yahoo's Tim Brown adds a surprising team to a list of otherwise predictable suitors for Adrian Beltre: the Oakland Athletics. ESPN.com's Buster Olney follows up on this point, noting that the A's do have interest, but not at $10MM a year.
The Marlins still could retain Dan Uggla, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. However, the team hasn't been in contact with his agent since the Winter Meetings, so a trade looks more likely. We heard some details earlier today about discussions the Marlins and Giants have had regarding Uggla.
Albert Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Cardinals' negotiations with Holliday won't affect a possible Pujols extension: "Albert respects Matt and would love to have him as a teammate and hopes he gets his money, but Matt’s situation must be seen as independent of Albert’s."
A source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Adam Dunn "is not going anywhere for now."
Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks that Johnny Damon's run in New York is about to come to an end.
Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News says that if the Mike Lowell trade falls through because of Lowell's health, the Rangers have other targets, including Vladimir Guerrero, Jermaine Dye, and Jim Thome. Morosi says we should know about the Lowell deal "one way or the other" by the end of the weekend.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington answers fans' questions about his team's future in an MLB.com mailbag.

Market For Mike MacDougal

By Tim Dierkes | December 17, 2009 at 2:22pm CDT

ESPN's Jayson Stark looks at the market for recently non-tendered reliever Mike MacDougal in a Rumor Central post today. Stark says eight to ten teams are "actively pursuing" MacDougal, with the Phillies most interested. Stark names the Orioles, Pirates, Cardinals, Mets, and A's as other suitors.

The Nationals had the worst bullpen ERA in baseball in 2009 (5.09), so their decision to non-tender MacDougal isn't a good sign. The righty, 33 in March, struck out only 34 while walking 38 in 54.3 innings this year. Despite a 96 mph fastball and a strong groundball rate, MacDougal would be a risky late-inning bullpen addition if he costs several million.

Odds & Ends: Mike Gonzalez, Second Base, Penny

By Tim Dierkes | December 17, 2009 at 11:41am CDT

Links for Thursday…

One official who spoke to MASN's Roch Kubatko called yesterday's Gordon Edes tweet about the Orioles making a run at Adrian Gonzalez "complete fiction."
ESPN's Keith Law doesn't mind the Orioles' Mike Gonzalez signing, but finds the loss of a decent draft pick to be the "real negative." Law does not expect much from Garrett Atkins.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says there's a surplus of available second basemen this year. He suggests some free agents will have to switch positions to find jobs.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about the "longstanding mutual interest" between the Cardinals and Brad Penny.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe does not think the Red Sox should include Jacoby Ellsbury in a trade for Gonzalez.
Talking to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said he'd like the team to acquire one more starter to allow Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain to work in relief. Also, Posada expects Johnny Damon to return.

Olney On Holliday, Bay, DeRosa

By Tim Dierkes | December 17, 2009 at 10:57am CDT

Hot stove nuggets from ESPN's Buster Olney…

Olney doesn't see Jacoby Ellsbury as a great fit for the Padres in a potential Adrian Gonzalez deal, in that Ellsbury will be arbitration-eligible a year from now and is represented by Scott Boras.
Olney heard the Red Sox would be interested in signing Matt Holliday at less than the current Cardinals offer. Here's the question: what exactly did the Cardinals offer to Holliday in guaranteed money and years? $15-16MM a year for up to eight years is pretty vague. Is it just a five-year offer, as Olney suggested a few days ago?
Jose Valverde is in a bad place, writes Olney, as there's no clear suitor looking to spend $8-10MM for a closer and give up a draft pick. If Valverde lingers on the market into February he could be a bargain.
Olney heard that the Mets' "five-year concept" for Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, so much that the true value is similar to Boston's rejected four-year, $60MM offer.
Righty Edgar Gonzalez might be Japan-bound. He spent this year in the Oakland organization.
Mark DeRosa's asking price appears to have come down – Olney says it's in the three-year, $18MM range. Still seems too pricey, but it's a step in the right direction.

Odds & Ends: Carroll, Crisp, Cameron, Hermida

By Tim Dierkes | December 16, 2009 at 11:18am CDT

Links for Wednesday…

The Tigers signed lefty Brad Thomas out of Korea, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that they paid $1MM.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed our report of the Pirates' interest in Kelly Johnson, explaining that the Pirates view him as a corner outfield option.
FanGraphs' Dave Cameron wonders why teams seem to undervalue Cliff Lee. In a related story, Lee's agent Darek Braunecker believes their position has been mischaracterized.
ESPN's Buster Olney expects Jamey Carroll to choose between two-year offers from the A's and Dodgers, probably today (I mistakenly wrote the Angels earlier).
Mentioned first on Twitter: I've heard that Coco Crisp would prefer a one-year deal with the Padres or A's.
Boston's Mike Cameron signing was officially announced today. Michael Silverman and John Tomase of the Boston Herald have details on the two-year, $15.5MM contract. John Lackey's deal was also announced.
WEEI's Alex Speier says the Red Sox told Jeremy Hermida they'd trade him if they re-signed Jason Bay. Speier wonders if the Cameron signing will prompt a Hermida deal.
The Angels' one-year, $6.5MM deal with Hideki Matsui was also announced, as was John Buck's one-year, $2MM deal with Toronto and Ross Gload's two-year, $2.6MM deal with the Phillies.
The Royals put out word they've re-signed outfielder Shane Costa to a minor league deal. Costa, 28, missed almost the entire '09 season with a leg injury.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets details on LaTroy Hawkins' two-year, $7.5MM deal with the Brewers.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker examines the reports about reliever Ryota Igarashi, who might be headed to the Red Sox or Mets.
The Mariners signed 19-year-old shortstop Pedro Okuda to a minor league deal, according to a team press release. Okuda was born and raised in Brazil but attended high school in Japan.

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