Cardinals Rumors

Cardinals Working To Sign Trever Miller

By Tim Dierkes | November 21, 2008 at 5:24pm CDT

FRIDAY, 5:23pm: Negotiations continue between the Cardinals and Miller.

THURSDAY, 5:02pm: Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talked to Mozeliak, who said Miller’s deal has not been finalized.

THURSDAY, 8:42am: Rosenthal says it will be a two-year contract. Correction to my earlier statement, Miller is not a Type B so the Rays will not get a pick. Thanks to Mike A. for letting me know.

WEDNESDAY, 11:35pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Cardinals are in "serious discussions" with Miller, and would sign him to a one or two-year deal.

10:45pm: According to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals signed lefty reliever Trever Miller (pending a physical). GM John Mozeliak said southpaw relievers were flying off the shelves, so he acted quickly. It’s a bit of a surprise in that the Cards were said to be targeting Will Ohman and Arthur Rhodes.

Miller, 35, posted a 4.15 ERA in 43.1 innings for the Rays this year. He held lefties to a .209/.305/.308 line. Earlier this month, the Rays chose Miller’s $400K buyout over a $2MM option. Miller was a Type B free agent, so the Rays will get a sandwich pick for their loss.

Odds and Ends: Weathers, Montero, Springer

By Tim Dierkes | November 21, 2008 at 3:25pm CDT

Links for Friday…

MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says the Indians signed Andy Cannizaro and Damaso Espino to minor league deals.
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon says the Reds are still talking to David Weathers’ agent, despite the reliever’s comment about flipping the page.
RotoAuthority looks at Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider, from a fantasy baseball point of view.
Mum’s the word from C.C. Sabathia and his agents.
Rany Jazayerli likes the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp and respects Dayton Moore’s bullpen-building skills.
Click here to download an mp3 of me chatting with Greg Schaum of KCSP 610 about the Royals last night.
Nick Piecoro says the Diamondbacks haven’t been able to find a match on a trade for Miguel Montero, despite discussions with the Red Sox and other teams.
The Cardinals spoke to Russ Springer’s agent recently, but he’s drawing interest from several clubs.
The Phillies won’t make a move in response to the Chase Utley injury, but one blog believes Jerry Hairston Jr. now makes more sense.
John Van Benschoten, the 8th overall pick in the 2001 draft, chose minor league free agency over re-signing with the Pirates.
Sidney Ponson’s grievance against the Orioles will finally be heard next month.

Hampton Seeks One-Year Deal

By Tim Dierkes | November 21, 2008 at 11:32am CDT

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to Mike Hampton’s agent Mark Rodgers, who said, "We’re looking for a straight one-year deal – no option, no nothing." Hampton obviously just wants to re-establish himself as a healthy, useful starting pitcher after so many lost seasons. It’s unclear whether Rodgers’ statement means Hampton will avoid incentive-based offers.

Crasnick says Hampton wants to pitch near his Arizona home, but the Braves, Astros, Padres, Giants, and Cardinals could be fits. Astros GM Ed Wade said recently he’s had dialogue with Rodgers and Hampton is open to returning to Houston. The Braves have also had dialogue.

Hampton, 36, posted a 4.17 ERA in 11 starts over the season’s final two months. Still, his peripheral stats were not impressive during that period.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday

By Tim Dierkes | November 20, 2008 at 2:01pm CDT

2:00pm: David O’Brien says the Padres and Braves need each other and still believes Peavy winds up in Atlanta. I agree. O’Brien also says the Braves’ talks for Ryan Ludwick aren’t dead.

10:29am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod. Peavy hasn’t revised his original list of five teams, but Axelrod says the NL West would interest Peavy (aside from the Rockies). So, maybe Giants fans have something new to speculate about. Axelrod says the list was only guidance for Towers.

8:52am: Let’s round up today’s Jake Peavy linkage.

MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat said yesterday the Cubs’ talks for Peavy had ended due to budget restraints. Those limitations still exist, so the Cubs would have to get creative.
Padres GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com’s Corey Brock Wednesday night that he talked to Jim Hendry and the Cubs are still interested in Peavy. Yahoo’s Tim Brown heard the same from a source. It’d require a third or fourth team and the aforementioned financial creativity.
Towers told Tom Krasovic that talks with the Braves have not resumed and he hasn’t heard from the Angels. Krasovic also said, "Among some of his ballplayer friends, Peavy has created the impression that if he is traded, he would like to pitch for the Cubs."

Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Giles, Beimel

By Tim Dierkes | November 19, 2008 at 3:00pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

You can hear me on Lenny Melnick’s radio show at about 7:15pm CST.
The Marlins could be an interesting long shot for Raul Ibanez, but he’d have to leave significant money on the table.
Indians manager Eric Wedge really wants the team to bring in a closer.
George King likes Jason Giambi for the Rays; Cork Gaines imagines the negotiations.
Jesse Spector talking to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who wasn’t in a revealing mood.
Tony Massarotti expects the Red Sox to make a huge offer to Mark Teixeira.
Padres outfielder Brian Giles doesn’t expect to be traded this winter. If the team is in the tank next summer he might approve a deal, perhaps contingent on a contract extension.
Jacob Jackson says Kevin Towers has handled the Jake Peavy negotiations poorly so far.
Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky could end up in Baltimore’s front office.
Bernie Williams is still not ready to retire.
Derrick Goold believes the Cardinals have $17-21MM to spend.
At least six clubs are in on Joe Beimel. The Tigers are one, while the Cardinals, Rockies, and Mets may be others.

Cards Focused On Ohman, Rhodes

By Tim Dierkes | November 18, 2008 at 10:31am CDT

The Cardinals want to sign a lefty reliever or two, but Scott Eyre, Damaso Marte, and Jeremy Affeldt went off the board quickly. GM John Mozeliak expects the rest of the southpaw relievers to follow suit, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Derrick Goold says the Cardinals have targeted Will Ohman and Arthur Rhodes, though no offer has been made to Ohman. The Cardinals have apparently made offers to others though.

If those options fall through, the Cardinals can turn to free agents Joe Beimel, Trever Miller, Darren Oliver, Dennys Reyes, Alan Embree, Eddie Guardado, or Brian Shouse. Scott Schoeneweis, John Grabow, Ron Mahay, Jimmy Gobble, Pedro Feliciano, George Sherrill, Jack Taschner, and Jamie Walker may be on the trading block.

Gammons’ Latest: Penny, Jenks, Salty

By Tim Dierkes | November 17, 2008 at 9:13am CDT

Let’s take a look at Peter Gammons’ Saturday blog post.

Gammons indicates that Brad Penny is working hard this offseason, and teams such as the Cardinals, Red Sox, Rangers, and Blue Jays "appreciate" his past success.
The Mets are apparently worried about Bobby Jenks’ declining strikeout rate, a sentiment echoed by Joel Sherman. Sherman talked to a Mets official who said the chances of acquiring Jenks are "close to zero."
The Rangers apparently wanted Clay Buchholz or two of Justin Masterson/Nick Hagadone/Michael Bowden for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Red Sox aren’t biting.
The Rangers would probably have to trade Hank Blalock ($6.2MM) to make room for Kerry Wood.

Closer Roundup: K-Rod, Fuentes, Wood, Hoffman

By Alex Walsh | November 16, 2008 at 6:35pm CDT

Joel Sherman of the New York Post takes a look at the sudden surplus of potentially available closers in major league baseball, a situation that certainly benefits the Mets considering their need to upgrade the bullpen this offseason.

Two free agent closers that seemed destined to retire with their 2008 teams, Trevor Hoffman and Kerry Wood, now appear to be more available than was expected in October. That pair, along with Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, give the Mets and other teams several options in free agency.

Other relief pitchers with experience in the 9th inning have been recently mentioned in trade rumors. The list includes Huston Street, who may move again before the 2009 season begins, along with JJ Putz, Jose Valverde, and Bobby Jenks, mentions Sherman.

Sherman also provides a short list of teams, beyond the Mets, that may need a reliever with closing experience for 2009. The Texas Rangers, seemingly always short on pitching these days, may be a good fit for Kerry Wood; the Detroit Tigers, the St. Louis Cardinals, and most recently the Milwaukee Brewers, faced with the sudden retirement of Salomon Torres, are also in need of 9th inning help.

Sherman suggests Fuentes may be the favorite for the Mets’ closing job at this point.

Odds & Ends: Kawakami, Renteria, Johnson, Ohman

By Nat Boyle | November 16, 2008 at 11:56am CDT

A number of Odds & Ends for your weekend update:

From Japanball.com, Kenshin Kawakami is filing for free agency.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports the Cubs are considering Randy Johnson for a one year deal. The 45 year old lefty is a career 13-0 against the Cubs, 4-0 at Wrigley, and needs 5 wins to reach 300.
The Cardinals are moving in on free agent Will Ohman, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and are reportedly interested in Jeremy Affeldt and Arthur Rhodes.
In the same article, Goold suggests the Cards will stall on their efforts to pursue Edgar Renteria until after the Tigers decline their offer of arbitration, since signing the Type A free agent beforehand would result in any team losing a first round draft pick. So despite "mutual interest", don’t expect the Cardinals, or anyone, to sign Renteria before the second week of December. Matthew Leach of mlb.com notes there are a lot of free agent shortstop options.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Giants are finding mutual interest in Rafael Furcal and Bobby Howry.
Utility man Donnie Murphy signed a minor-league deal with the O’s – from Peter Schmuck’s blog.
John Hickey at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says M’s GM Jack Zduriencik expects Raul Ibanez to wait for Seattle to name it’s next manager before making any decisions.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy, Teixeira, Burnett

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 15, 2008 at 9:54am CDT

Ken Rosenthal’s got an interesting new column up.

Now that talks with the Braves have ended for the time being, Padres GM Kevin Towers is talking with the Yankees about Jake Peavy. The Yankees have had “numerous discussions” with the Padres, even though they just offered C.C. Sabathia a contract and are still considering A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.
Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said that “the Angels probably would be more appealing” geographically, but “from other perspectives, they might be less appealing” than other teams
Rosenthal talked with an agent who said that the Angels could wait a week or 10 days before making Mark Teixeira a “knockout offer” with a deadline.
Even though the Yankees traded for Nick Swisher, they could still have interest in Teixeira if he’s willing to consider a shorter contract of four or five years for top dollar.
Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi knows that Toronto “won’t be the highest bidder” for A.J. Burnett. Ricciardi hopes that Burnett likes Toronto enough to re-sign.
The Indians are considering going after both Juan Cruz and Jeremy Affeldt instead of an experienced closer.
The Phillies and Giants could also bid on Cruz.
The Cardinals will have interest in Affeldt and Joe Beimel as they try to strengthen their bullpen.

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