Carpenter Injury Results Shape Cards’ Approach
4:31pm: The results were positive; Carpenter will start a throwing program in January. The Cards could still pursue another starter though.
9:43am: According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter had a nerve conduction test yesterday. The team will learn the results today, and if they’re concerned they could target an additional starter for 2009. Given this uncertainty, the Cardinals’ decision not to offer arbitration to Braden Looper seems strange.
Elsewhere on John Mozeliak’s agenda, Joe Strauss says he still seeks a second baseman and a closer. We haven’t heard many names in recent weeks, perhaps because Mozeliak was focused on the Khalil Greene and Trever Miller acquisitions.
Khalil Greene Traded To St. Louis
9:25pm: Just wanted to mention that this deal has been finalized. For the player to be named later, the Padres will choose from a list of three players (two of them pitchers). Padres exec Paul DePodesta weighed in on the deal at his blog. Next on the agenda: acquire a replacement shortstop. Kevin Towers prefers the trade route.
3:21pm: Tom Krasovic believes the Padres are kicking in at least $1MM, since the trade requires the approval of the commissioner’s office. Meanwhile, Jonathan Mayo takes a closer look at Worrell.
1:17pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock says it’ll be Worrell and a player to be named later.
12:48pm: Scout.com writer Dustin Mattison sent along this interview with Cardinals reliever Mark Worrell. Worrell is quite confident in his abilities and seems upset that the Cardinals didn’t give him more of a chance this year. Pure speculation, but Mattison wonders if he could be one of the relievers headed to San Diego for Greene.
8:15am: One of the relievers in the trade is right-handed, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
THURSDAY, 1:08am: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Padres have reached an agreement to send Greene to the Cardinals. Krasovic believes clearing Greene’s salary may improve the chances of the Padres retaining Jake Peavy.
WEDNESDAY, 10:41pm: Sherman has an update: the Padres are closing in on a deal that will send Greene to the Cardinals for two relief prospects.
8:29pm: According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Padres are expected to trade shortstop Khalil Greene prior to Monday’s Winter Meetings. Sherman was unable to ascertain Greene’s destination, but he guesses it could be the Orioles or Cardinals. The Padres are intent on clearing Greene’s $6.5MM salary.
The Padres requested Garrett Olson from Baltimore for Greene a few weeks ago, but maybe the price has come down. One team not expected to acquire Greene is the Tigers.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Izturis, Gaudin
Links for Thursday…
- Check out this week’s minor league transactions. Some familiar names were signed.
- The Red Sox officially announced the signing of Junichi Tazawa.
- J.C. Bradbury likes the Dustin Pedroia contract.
- Sox Machine has parting words for Javier Vazquez, whose trade to the Braves was officially announced today. ESPN’s Keith Law tells you all you need to know about the players involved in the deal. Tyler Flowers is the key, Santos Rodriguez the wild card.
- The Rockies’ talks for lefty reliever Joe Beimel continue. In another article, Patrick Saunders looks at the team’s wish list.
- Rob Neyer believes teams are starting to figure out defensive evaluation, creating a weak market for lumbering LF/1B/DH types.
- Jesse Spector spoke to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski.
- T.R. Sullivan says the Tigers’ talks for Rangers catcher Gerald Laird continue.
- Larry Dobrow offers suggestions to fix the Reds.
- Aaron Gleeman says the Twins have already missed several good opportunities to affordably improve their bullpen.
- Viva El Birdos explains why the Cardinals should’ve offered arbitration to Russ Springer and Braden Looper.
- Lee Jenkins provides insight into Mark Teixeira – the perfect baseball player and ideal Boras client.
- Roch Kubatko says Cesar Izturis remains a strong possibility for the Orioles.
- Fred Claire notes that Jack Zduriencik will always remember Russell Branyan as his first free agent signing. Geoff Baker examines the Branyan signing and the Ken Griffey Jr. idea.
- Paul Sullivan suggests Chad Gaudin is a non-tender candidate for the Cubs. He’s set to get an arbitration raise on this year’s $1.775MM salary.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Burrell, Manny
6:16pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves are not interested in Dunn because they seek a right-handed bat. Does that rule out Raul Ibanez as well?
1:51pm: The latest from Ken Rosenthal:
- The Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Phillies are pursuing free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.
- Now that Adam Dunn wasn’t offered arbitration, the market is starting to take shape. The Braves, Mariners, and Nationals are interested, and the Dodgers and Angels consider him a fallback option. How about Dunn and Russell Branyan in the same lineup? Rosenthal considers the Yankees another possibility.
- Teams considering Pat Burrell, who was also not offered arb: the Mariners, Angels, and Giants.
- Rosenthal considers the Giants a darkhorse for C.C. Sabathia. Tim Brown says the Giants may be closing in on Edgar Renteria; Rosenthal has the Dodgers and Cardinals as other suitors.
- The Brewers will need to increase their offer to Sabathia to six years to have a shot.
- Rosenthal believes Jason Varitek will accept his offer of arbitration. He also wonders if Orlando Cabrera could accept. He expects Ben Sheets to decline (I made an error on this eariler).
- Rosenthal ponders the chances of Manny Ramirez accepting the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration. Buster Olney says three GMs wondered the same. I was under the impression Manny declining arbitration was a condition of his trade.
- The Cardinals want to add a young starter with upside. They also may go after a closer like Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood if prices drop.
- Rosenthal believes the Reds could discuss a two-year deal with David Weathers.
Cardinals Sign Trever Miller
5:27pm: Miller gets $2MM if he reaches all appearance-based incentives. Strauss says the only team Miller considered while his deal was being redone was the Rays, despite inquiries from other clubs.
2:49pm: Here’s the press release from the Cardinals.
2:42pm: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals signed lefty reliever Trever Miller to a one-year deal. Strauss wrote on Monday that Miller’s physical raised concerns related to his 2000 surgery for a torn labrum, which put a hold on a two-year agreement.
Braves Rumors: Hampton, Lowe, Burnett
Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest on the Braves in a new blog post.
- The Braves never intended Mike Hampton to be one of the two front-rotation starters they acquire this winter, so his rejection of their offer doesn’t affect their plans much.
- O’Brien notes that he’s heard no indications that the Braves are actively pursuing Derek Lowe. A.J. Burnett seems to be their top target, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jake Peavy talks revived at the Winter Meetings.
- The Braves made trade inquiries on Roy Oswalt and Matt Cain and "haven’t received favorable replies in those pursuits."
- Free agents Ben Sheets and Randy Johnson don’t seem to be on the radar due to concerns over their reliability.
- The Braves continue to seek a power bat, with Ryan Ludwick and Jermaine Dye the two targets mentioned in recent weeks.
Cards Decline To Offer Arb To Springer, Looper, Isringhausen
TUESDAY: Another note from Strauss – it seems the Cardinals are moving on from Springer.
MONDAY: According to MLB.com’s Matthew Leach, the Cardinals declined to offer arbitration to Russ Springer, Braden Looper, and Jason Isringhausen (as well as their other free agents). The Looper decision comes as a surprise, as he earned only $5.5MM in ’08 and would’ve been a solid addition or trade chip for ’09. He’s a Type B free agent, but the Cards won’t get a pick now. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Looper is seeking at least a three-year deal. Springer is a Type A, so now he’s much more attractive to other teams.
Strauss has a few other Cards notes. He says the Cardinals are not one of the teams interested in Randy Johnson, but may have interest in Andy Pettitte. Also, the signing of lefty reliever Trever Miller is being held up due to health concerns that surfaced at the physical.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Monday
ESPN’s Jayson Stark has the latest on free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer doesn’t see his client signing before the winter meetings, which kick off next week.
Four teams are in on Furcal: the Giants, A’s, Braves, and a mystery team. Stark talked to execs who guessed the Red Sox or Orioles could be the fourth team. That team apparently has to make a trade to open up their shortstop position. In a recent poll of over 6,000 MLBTR readers, the A’s won the vote as the team most likely to sign Furcal.
The Braves’ interest will pick up if they trade shortstop Yunel Escobar first. We knew about the Padres; Stark says the Cardinals and Royals also expressed interest in Escobar.
Cards Make Offer To Rhodes
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals made an offer to lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes’ agent says nine teams expressed interest, and a handful made offers. More offers are forthcoming for the 39 year-old.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak continues to hammer out the details of a contract with Trever Miller; he hopes to add two lefties to the pen.
Goold says the Cardinals are also considering two righthanded relievers in Brandon Lyon and Jason Isringhausen. Three other teams have expressed interest in Isringhausen, who would like to regain his job as the Cardinals’ closer.
The Cardinals remain in the mix for Edgar Renteria, and they’ll be consulted before a deal is finalized with any other team. They’ll wait until after the December 1st deadline for offering arbitration.
Odds and Ends: Halladay, Lopez, Glavine
Links for Monday…
- The Cardinals still don’t have a deal with Trever Miller.
- Is a multiyear deal coming soon for Jamie Moyer? Ken Mandel’s source says it’s been delayed only because of scheduling conflicts.
- The D’Backs released infielder Jamie D’Antona, who is headed to Japan.
- J.P. Ricciardi says trading Roy Halladay hasn’t even crossed his mind. Dan Graziano wrote last Wednesday that some continued to insist the Jays would explore trading their ace.
- River Ave. Blues considers Ben Sheets a better investment than A.J. Burnett for the Yankees.
- Jim Allen profiled the five Japanese players who plan to come over to MLB. He’s not high on Junichi Tazawa, Ken Takahashi, or Ryoji Aikawa.
- I never mentioned this, but the Braves released Rodrigo Lopez earlier this month (thanks to Jeff at Cot’s for the link).
- Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune talked to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen about various hot stove issues.
- Murray Chass talked to Tom Glavine about his future. Chass’ blog is an oddity – a veteran journalist writing and researching newspaper-style articles for his personal site.
- Joel Sherman believes the Angels are the Yankees’ biggest threat for C.C. Sabathia. Ken Davidoff agrees.
- In another article, Davidoff summarizes the situations of the ten big-name players.
- Ken Rosenthal talked to an agent who says the market is moving slowly right now.
- Viva El Birdos assesses the trade value of Ryan Ludwick.
- South Side Sox offers more thoughts on Dayan Viciedo.