According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals signed lefty reliever Royce Ring to a one-year deal. He joins fellow southpaw imports Charlie Manning and Trever Miller. Ring hasn’t really shut down lefthanded hitters in recent years.
Cardinals Rumors
Braves Still In Kawakami Mix?
According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta Braves remain a possible suitor for Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.
The Japan Times has reported that Kawakami had narrowed his choices to the Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals. O’Brien’s report disputes this by saying he spoke Saturday with Kawakami’s agent, who said the Braves were still one of the teams Kawakami had on his list.
Kawakami Down To Orioles, Cardinals, Twins
According to Wayne Craczyk of the Japan Times, Kenshin Kawakami has narrowed his options to three teams: the Orioles, Cardinals, and Twins.
Kawakami probably makes the most sense for the Cardinals out of those three. Baltimore isn’t near contention and the Twins already have a nice starting rotation. However, signing Kawakami could allow them to feel more comfortable about trading a young starter.
Perrotto’s Latest: Ramirez, Lowe
Every Sunday we read John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday:
- The Giants may be considering two offers for Manny Ramirez. One for two years "with vesting and club options that could make it a four-year, $100MM contract." The other for 3 years, $63MM, with no options.
- Derek Lowe has not given up on a five-year, $80MM offer, although that remains doubtful.
- Barry Bonds had hip surgery and wants to return in 2009. Some still speculate he will pursue collusion charges.
- Tony La Russa is considering using Chris Carpenter as a closer.
More On Aaron Miles
Some interesting facts are mentioned in Derrick Goold’s article about Aaron Miles’ departure from St. Louis.
Apparently, the Cardinals were prepared to offer $4.3MM themselves – only $600,000 less than the Cubs. What drew Miles to Chicago, however, was a more sincere interest demonstrated by Cub management. As reported previously, the Cardinals waited until the last minute to give Miles their offer. Goold suggests that offer was delayed by dealings with Adam Kennedy.
Cardinals Have Flexible Payroll
Bernie Miklasz passes along some quotes from Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. about the team’s offseason plans. DeWitt didn’t pin the Cards’ 2009 payroll down exactly, but he said it will be over $100MM. Whether the payroll’s slightly or considerably higher than that "depends on who is available or what the value is."
DeWitt said the organization would "consider" signing expensive players if they could make a big difference on the team.
Miklasz heard Tony La Russa’s thoughts on the St. Louis bullpen now that they missed out on Brian Fuentes. La Russa said Chris Carpenter could close next year, since he’s reluctant to expect 30 starts from Carp and he doesn’t think Chris Perez and Jason Motte are completely ready.
Odds and Ends: Miles, Bako, Sheets
A couple of links for you bar-hopping kids with Blackberries. Happy New Year’s Eve. Be safe out there…
- Aaron Miles said the Cardinals jumped in on the last day, but by then it was too late. He was somewhat miffed by being non-tendered twice during his Cardinals career.
- According to the Chicago Tribune, Paul Bako is expected to sign with the Cubs for around $500,000. He’ll be a nice, cheap backup to Geovany Soto.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Mark DeRosa is the "perfect fit" for the Tribe.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wants the Diamondbacks to go after Ben Sheets. "Right now."
- San Francisco Chronicle beat writer Henry Schulman is preaching patience to the Giants’ fan base.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Pujols, McLane
Links for Monday…
- Daniel Cabrera passed his physical for the Nationals.
- Tony Massarotti writes that the Red Sox had a shot at Mark Teixeira. The Scott Boras camp was proposing $176MM guaranteed for eight years with vesting options that could’ve brought the total to $220MM over ten years. Ultimately the Yankees beat Boston’s offer by $10MM, with no options and a full no-trade clause.
- Viva El Birdos looks at what the Teixeira contract means for Albert Pujols. Will Albert seek the largest contract in baseball history? The Cardinals have him through the 2011 season.
- RotoAuthority looks at the power/speed shortstop options for fantasy baseball leagues.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane is the second owner to publicly admit he wants a salary cap (Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said it right after the Teixeira signing). Interesting take on the salary cap by Dan Symborski at Baseball Think Factory.
- The best of Big League Stew’s Answer Man series.
Cafardo’s Latest: Pettitte, Kotsay, Red Sox
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a number of items to cover in today’s Sunday paper:
- While the Mets are front-runners in the Derek Lowe sweepstakes, the Red Sox have a lot of money to play with having lost out on Mark Teixeira and could make a strong play to outbid competition.
- The Dodgers and Rangers are interested in Andy Pettitte if he doesn’t accept the Yankees reduced $10MM offer.
- Don’t rule out a return to the Red Sox for Mark Kotsay as a fourth outfielder and added infield depth.
- Cafardo reports a source close to the talks says Teixeira was "very concerned" with Mike Lowell’s fate should he sign with Boston, but that financial matters and the negotiations process removed that "awkward situation."
- Jose Fernandez can play first and third base. He’s 34 and just completed seven years in Japan, hitting 20+ HR every year. He could be an interesting right handed-hitting option for teams looking to add depth to their infield and DH.
- The Red Sox, Orioles, Braves, Reds, and Cardinals remain interested in Kenshin Kawakami.
- Now that Teixeira is gone, Jim Bowden is not interested in Manny Ramirez. Perhaps Adam Dunn?
- The Sox are still unwilling to deal Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Olney’s Latest: Lowe, Castillo, Hudson
Buster Olney focuses his new column on reluctant-to-spend teams and how they’ve changed the market. He turns up some interesting rumors…
- The Rays and A’s are in a "bidding war" of sorts over the likes of Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu. Both teams are willing to spend, but neither wants to go first since prices are higher now with both teams interested than they will be once the first team signs a player.
- The Mets are in a great position since the Cards and Brewers aren’t likely to compete for Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf. This means they can wait, knowing that bargains will likely surface.
- The Mets have "quietly continued to gauge" the Luis Castillo market and are interested in moving him and some of his salary.
- If they find a taker, they could pursue Orlando Hudson.
- As Joel Sherman predicted, the Nationals are now courting O-Dog.
- Olney asks whether aging stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Pedro Martinez will choose to play for the offers they’re likely to get.
- Brad Penny may soon decide where he wants to pitch next year. He’s weighing "an overture from the Cardinals" against other options.
