Brown’s Latest: Abreu, Manny, Looper
The latest from Yahoo’s Tim Brown…
- Bobby Abreu still wants $48MM over three years, according to Brown and Gordon Edes. Abreu may have lost three potential suitors today in the Cubs, Rays, and A’s. Buster Olney suggests Abreu is "probably out on the ledge, more than any other player in the corner outfield market."
- Brown says the Dodgers, Orioles, Nationals and Mariners "seem to have the most interest in adding an outfielder." Haven’t heard much about the Orioles looking for help there.
- Brown believes the Dodgers are "sitting on their original offer of two years and $45 million guaranteed" to Manny Ramirez. He says Scott Boras still wants four or five years at $25MM per.
- Starters on the Dodgers’ radar: Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, and Braden Looper. Looper might be a new name.
- Kenshin Kawakami is apparently "drawing solid interest from the Braves, Cardinals, Red Sox, Twins and Orioles." It’d be surprising to see Boston sign him after getting Brad Penny.
Braves Rumors: Pettitte, Glavine, Smoltz
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest hot stove info on the Braves.
- The Braves still have roughly $25MM to spend, with a starting pitcher and a power-hitting outfielder on the shopping list.
- Starters of interest: Derek Lowe, Andy Pettitte, and Jon Garland. Mark Bowman of MLB.com doesn’t believe the Braves would exceed three years and $36MM for Lowe, a Boras client.
- O’Brien isn’t sure if the Jake Peavy talks will restart. But Frank Wren did reiterate that he wants to re-sign both Tom Glavine and John Smoltz if they’re able to pitch.
- O’Brien notes that Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn remain on the free agent market, while the Cardinals could part with Rick Ankiel. All three bat left-handed, however.
Cardinals Sign Royce Ring
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.
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.