Olney on Bay, Beltre, Holliday
ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the Yankees and Red Sox when they say that they have budget lines that they are not currently willing to cross. When the trade deadline rolls around, however, it will likely be a different story. Olney brings us his take on the teams who are still willing to spend this winter…
- Since Jason Bay continues to sit on their offer, the Mets may soon give up on him and move on to less expensive free agents. Olney suggests that they ignore fans who are focused on big names and instead spend their money on players who can be had for short-term deals, such as Randy Winn and Orlando Hudson. The Mets "seem to have" something in the range of $15MM to $22MM in payroll flexibility.
- The Mets are shopping for a catcher, left fielder, and starting pitcher. Joel Pineiro tops their list of desired starters.
- Olney characterized the A's consideration of Adrian Beltre as "serious."
- As the Cardinals continue to wait on Matt Holliday's answer, Olney wonders out loud if the club might look into signing Bay as a backup plan.
- Rival executives sense that the M's have some money left to spend, but not a great deal. Seattle needs either a first baseman or second baseman plus help for the back end of their rotation.
- Because of the mass of arbitration-eligible players on their roster, the Angels have limited payroll flexibility. This means that they could pursue Pineiro if they chose to, but are unlikely to factor into the bidding for Bay or Holliday.
Discussion: Pat Burrell
Pat Burrell's move to the American League did not go as smoothly as he or the Rays hoped. Burrell left the World Series-winning Phillies to sign a two-year, $16MM free agent contract with Tampa Bay last January, and then suffered through a season's worth of injuries and inconsistency to finish with a career-worst .682 OPS (.221/.315/.367) in 476 plate appearances.
With $9MM due to Burrell in 2010, the Rays have been openly shopping the slugger this winter. Rumors of a deal of Burrell-for-Milton Bradley swirled for months before the Cubs dealt Bradley to Seattle last week. With seemingly their best trade option gone, it appears as if Tampa Bay will go into next season with Burrell back in the DH spot — which, if 2009 was just an aberration, might not be a bad option given Burrell's 251 homers and .852 OPS over his first nine years in Philadelphia.
If the Rays still want to move Burrell and save some cash, however, here are a few of the clubs that are in need of a DH/LF type and might have the payroll flexibility to absorb some or all of Burrell's contract.
- The Mets. Should they give up on signing Jason Bay (or lose him to the Red Sox), New York would still have a hole to fill in left field. The downside of Burrell going to a National League team, however, is his glove. He played just two games in the outfield last season, and according to Fangraphs, his defense ranged from mediocre to terrible (a -25.2 UZR/150 in 2007) over his last four years in Philadelphia.
- The Cardinals. Just as Burrell is a backup plan for the Mets if they don't sign Bay, he can also be a backup plan for St. Louis if they don't sign Matt Holliday.
- The Braves. Atlanta's biggest offseason need was a right-handed power hitter. While they are close to a deal with Troy Glaus, Glaus made just 32 plate appearances in 2009 after undergoing shoulder surgery last January. Burrell is perhaps a more reliable option, and may regain his batting stroke back in the NL East.
- The White Sox. Ozzie Guillen likes the idea of a rotating designated hitter, but GM Kenny Williams didn't close the door on the possibility of picking up an everyday DH if the right opportunity presented itself.
- The Giants. Mark DeRosa may be coming in as San Francisco's new left fielder, but Burrell could be an interesting alternative should DeRosa not accept the Giants' offer. Or, the power-starved Giants could acquire Burrell to play in left, and then sign DeRosa to play third base, thus moving Pablo Sandoval over to first. (Or, Sandoval plays 1B, DeRosa plays 2B and Freddy Sanchez moves over to 3B.) If the Rays pay some of Burrell's contract, then he is a much cheaper option for San Francisco than Johnny Damon.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matsui, Mariners, Callapso
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.