Heyman On Holliday, Red Sox, Pedro, Bradley
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman covers numerous examples of National League GMs mining the American League scrap heap.
- Heyman agrees with Jayson Stark's note yesterday, that the Yankees will allow Derek Jeter to enter his walk year unsigned and worry about it after the 2010 season.
- The Cardinals will try hard to retain Matt Holliday, but Heyman believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox could be in the mix for the slugger.
- Heyman discusses future shortstop possibilities for the Red Sox – they could retain Alex Gonzalez or go after Marco Scutaro. He says they "don't seem anxious" to bring Orlando Cabrera back.
- Pedro Martinez is looking good, and Heyman says only the Phillies and Rangers had real interest. The Cubs and Brewers were on the fringes.
- Heyman talked to two GMs about the Cubs and Milton Bradley. One thought the Cubs could unload him by eating half his remaining $21MM; another thought they'd need to assume almost all the money. I am not a Bradley apologist; he's certainly been a distraction. But how would subtracting a .394 OBP make the Cubs' middling offense better?
Odds & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny
Links for Wednesday…
- Due to Bengie Molina's injury, the Giants have changed their mind and called up top prospect Buster Posey according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. So Posey's clock starts earlier than planned.
- Speaking of service time, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tells me Cameron Maybin's call-up gives him 129 days of service time after this year. That puts him on the fringe of Super Two status after the 2011 season.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick ranks the impact of trades made by contenders in July. He talked to an exec who thinks Matt Holliday "could make an extra $3MM a year as a free agent this winter because of his strong finish."
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes has his trade deadline winners and losers.
- Ryan Doumit's agent Matt Sosnick shot down recent negativity surrounding his client, while Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets to the bottom of the catcher's recent benching.
- Brad Penny still hates the Dodgers, a team he'll face twice this month according to Baggarly. Baggarly also has a quote from Penny ripping on the Marlins.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who knows he gained trade value when the team delayed his free agency.
- J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics wonders whether the Braves should pick up Tim Hudson's $12MM option for 2010. Hudson has the right to void that option, not that he would. Back in January Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Braves "fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes that Kendry Morales has matched the production of the Angels' former first baseman, $180MM man Mark Teixeira.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has comments from Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes on the team's Jon Rauch–Kevin Mulvey swap. Piecoro says the D'Backs have about $23MM to work with this winter as they presumably look to add pitching.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times guesses Ken Griffey Jr. will retire after this season.
Cardinals Extend Ryan Franklin, Trever Miller
11:20pm: Goold has the contract details. As he mentioned before, Franklin gets about $6.5MM plus incentives for 2010-11. As for Miller:
The contract finalized Sunday picks up and guarantees all of his bonuses for this season — some $680K worth for appearances yet to come — and pays him $2MM for next year. Miller has a $2MM vesting option for 2011. It triggers a $1MM buyout if he makes 45 appearances in 2010 and does not go on the disabled list with the shoulder imperfection discovered in the physical.
2:40pm: The Cardinals extended the contracts of relievers Ryan Franklin and Trever Miller, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). Franklin's deal runs through 2011, while Miller's is through 2010 with a vesting option for '11. Here's the press release from the Cardinals; terms are not yet known.
Franklin stepped into the Cardinals' closer role this year and saved 35 games in 37 tries. His 1.05 ERA is obviously not sustainable, as Franklin has been oddly unhittable and his flyballs have not left the yard. That said, it's hard to see fault in the two-year, $6.5MM price suggested by Derrick Goold of the P-D. Goold says Franklin can earn incentives if he remains the team's closer.
Lefty specialist Miller has answered the bell by holding southpaws to a .100/.161/.175 line this year. As a free agent signing in December, Miller was guaranteed only $500K by the Cardinals due to concerns they had about his shoulder.
Odds & Ends: Scutaro, Hardy, Glaus, Giants
Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and link to something like this… and totally redeem yourself!
- MLB.com's Drew Davison mentions that Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston expressed his desire about having shortstop Marco Scutaro around next year. "Well, I hope we get him back," Gaston said. "I don't know, maybe we have got a shot. It's just one of those things." Scutaro projects to be a Type-A free agent, so the Jays could stand to gain two draft picks if they offer him arbitration and he signs elsewhere.
- Anthony Witrado of The Journal Sentinel has a quote from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who felt like his demotion to Triple-A was a punishment. Because of how long he was sent down, Hardy's free agency was delayed by a year until after the 2011 season. As you can imagine, he's upset about it.
- Meanwhile, Tom Haudricourt tweets that he's not "expecting any last-minute deals tonight involving the Brewers," and that "all is quiet" on their front.
- Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post Dispatch notes that one of the Cardinals first callups will be third baseman Troy Glaus, who's been out all season due to injury.
- After signing Brad Penny earlier today, Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News says that he's "told the Giants don’t expect any more moves this evening." There was some speculation that the Giants could be interested in one of the White Sox veterans that suddenly became available tonight.
- Last night we learned that the Mets cancelled fall instructional league in a cost cutting move, but today Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News noted that the team will instead have its minor leaguers work out at their academy in the Dominican because "there's not enough competition in Florida, especially with the Cards purportedly no longer fielding an instructional league team in nearby Jupiter."
Perrotto’s Latest: Twins, Damon, Franklin, Penny, Dye
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus brings us his latest from around the leagues:
- When they come off the DL, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins will be used in relief. So, the Twins are hoping to add a starter who can pitch in the playoffs. This means they have until tomorrow at midnight to do so.
- The Yankees would like to re-sign Johnny Damon to a one year deal and give Austin Jackson a second year to develop at Triple-A, while pursuing Matt Holliday and Jason Bay in the offseason.
- The Marlins and Giants are frontrunners to land Brad Penny.
- The Cardinals expect to exercise Ryan Franklin‘s $2.75MM club option and then sign an extension with their closer for 2011.
- The Royals want to extend G.M. Dayton Moore who is signed through 2010.
- Perrotto says the Cubs are likely to deal Milton Bradley this winter, even if it means eating a large portion of the $21MM owed to him through 2011.
- Jermaine Dye will more than likely not see his $12MM option exercised by the White Sox after a dip in production in tandem with the salary demands of Alex Rios and Jake Peavy.
- For the postseason, the Dodgers are seeking “a left-handed bat with power” for their bench.
- The Nats are auditioning Livan Hernandez as a veteran innings eater for 2010.
- The Diamondbacks may non-tender Conor Jackson.
- Brewers manager Ken Macha said G.M. Doug Melvin “scoured the area for pitching” before the deadline but was unable to add a starter because he refused to trade Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar.
- After making seven trades this year, the Pirates are the youngest team in the MLB.
Cardinals, Franklin Near Agreement On Extension
Friday, 5:20pm: Via MLB.com's Matthew Leach, Franklin confirms that the two sides are close to an agreement that will keep him in St. Louis through 2011. He says:
"We've been talking for a couple months, and it's getting pretty close. Both sides are going to be happy. My whole thing to be happy is to be able to maybe finish my career here. I'm not saying that I'm done after this, if we get this done, but it would be an awesome thing to be able to end my career here in St. Louis. To be close to home, it's a great opportunity for me and my family."
Thursday, 9:34pm: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals and closer Ryan Franklin are near agreement on a two-year, $6.5MM contract extension that will keep Franklin with St. Louis through the 2011 season.
"A club source indicated some language had yet to be formalized but conceded that momentum appeared in place for an announcement, perhaps as soon as today," writes Strauss.
The agreement includes the previously negotiated $2.75MM club option in 2010, along with a $3.75MM deal for 2011. According to Strauss, there are also numerous other performance incentives for Franklin, 36, to attain to increase the total worth of the deal.
Franklin was not even the closer at the start of the 2009 season, but he has thrived in the role, with a 1.07 ERA in 50 1/3 innings so far this year.
Stark On Holliday, Lee, Yankees, Hoffman
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the Cardinals and Phillies may be better off letting their respective deadline acquisitions walk once they hit free agency. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:
- We know that Matt Holliday's interested in staying in St. Louis. But one AL exec doubts the Cards can afford to tie up $40-50MM per year in Holliday and Albert Pujols. It could work short-term, but could prevent the Cardinals from keeping Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Plus, the pair of sluggers may not be worth a combined $50MM in a few years.
- One team official believes Cliff Lee's agent will be looking for a $100MM payday once the lefty hits free agency after next season (assuming the Phils pick up his 2010 option). The official says the Phillies should consider letting Lee walk after next year, instead of committing long-term to him.
- The teams that considered dealing for Johan Santana after the 2007 season aren't surprised to hear that he's having elbow trouble now, though it's not something they anticipated with any sense of certainty. However, Mets assistant GM John Ricco says he doesn't regret the way the team handled its ace.
- There are increasing indications that the Yankees don't plan on being big buyers in the free agent market this offseason. The Yankees seem more likely to keep Johnny Damon and let Austin Jackson grow into a full-time player than pursue Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
- Stark hears that the Red Sox were the only team to claim Billy Wagner. We heard the Angels had interest, but apparently they never made a claim.
- One executive believes AL teams would have very little interest in Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman has value because of his status as a Type A free agent, which could factor in to teams' claims.
- Rival clubs expect the Blue Jays to try dealing Edwin Encarnacion after the season. He makes $4.75MM in 2010, so it won't be easy.
- The Royals are still trying to deal Ron Mahay and at least one scout expects a team or two to have interest in ther veteran lefty.
Holliday Interested In Extension With Cardinals
Matt Holliday's first month as a Cardinal could hardly have gone any better. The team's 20 games over .500 and 9.0 games ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central, largely because of Holliday's hot hitting. He has a .386/.448/.667 line with six homers in his first month back in the National League. Today, Holliday said on the Team 1380 in St. Louis that he hopes his stay in a Cards uniform lasts more than a couple months (You can listen in here).
"That would be really exciting for me to get a chance to be here and play next to Albert [Pujols] along with the rest of these guys and to do some special things over the next however many years," Holliday said. "Hopefully this will be a long-term relationship."
He hasn't begun negotiating an extension with the team, but says there's a chance he signs one before the season's over.
"Hopefully there'll be some progress and hopefully I'll be able to stick around here for a long time."
Holliday, who will turn 30 this offseason, makes $13.5MM this year. His improved offensive stats and strong outfield defense will likely make him one of most highly coveted free agents after the season if he doesn't sign an extension first.
Odds & Ends: Holliday, White Sox, Giants
Some more links to close out the evening:
- Scott Miller at CBS Sports says that Matt Holliday has enjoyed his stay in St. Louis, but remains uninterested in talking about his future.
- White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has pulled out of negotiations to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team, says Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune. Are Jake Peavy and Alex Rios hockey fans? Maybe they could help with the funding.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein likes the rebuilt product he's put out on the field at Fenway, reports Daniel Barbarisi at the Providence Journal.
- Matthew Pouliot at NBC Sports rolls out number 15 in his interesting "Restoring the Rosters" series, taking a look at the Giants.
- August 31st is around the corner, and there's still a chance some waiver deals sit on the horizon. Be sure to follow MLB Trade Rumors on Twitter.
Heyman On Damon, Minaya, Wagner
Jon Heyman of SI.com would like to see an Angels-Dodgers World Series. He breaks down lots of great possible matchups and, as always, provides some rumors:
- The Yankees plan on bringing back Johnny Damon and they figure to make him an opening offer worth $6-8MM. It would be a big paycut from the $13MM he's currently making, but Damon seems to want to return to the Yanks.
- As much as the Yankees like Hideki Matsui, they probably need the DH spot for players like Damon and Jorge Posada. Check out some possible destinations for Matsui right here.
- It looks and sounds as though the Mets plan on keeping Omar Minaya around as GM, and the $3.5MM remaining on his contract definitely has something to do with their stance. As Heyman says, one of the best deals Minaya made was his own.
- One GM believes Billy Wagner's a "difference maker" and suggested the Mets should seek a decent prospect in return for him.
- The Cubs don't appear likely to fire Lou Piniella, Heyman hears.
- Heyman guesses Tony La Russa will return when his contract with the Cardinals is up after the season.