Odds and Ends: Lowe, Redmond, Timlin
Linkage for Friday…
- River Ave. Blues discovered that Mike Mussina‘s wife may be a bigger factor than we thought in regard to his retirement decision.
- David O’Brien tosses out some names for the Braves to consider: Derek Lowe, Matt Cain, Roy Oswalt, and Josh Willingham. Everyone likes Lowe…Anthony McCarron says the Yankees and Mets should consider him. Those clubs could also enter a bidding war for C.C. Sabathia, says Bob Klapisch. Will C.C.’s postseason record diminish his contract? I don’t think so.
- Greg Couch doesn’t want Javier Vazquez pitching for the White Sox again. Maybe Ozzie is right, Vazquez is not a big-game pitcher. But why say that publicly?
- Joe Christensen seems certain the Twins will exercise Mike Redmond‘s $950K option.
- Chris Carpenter‘s shoulder injury is unprecedented among pitchers. Do the Cardinals need to add veteran rotation insurance? Speaking of unprecedented procedures…Takashi Saito had platelet-rich plasma injected into his elbow in July.
- Joe Starkey thinks the Pirates should…non-tender Adam LaRoche?
- Mike Timlin could retire.
- Huge E-Ticket Manny Ramirez feature from Bill Simmons, wherein Scott Boras is blamed for his Boston exit. Good read.
Odds and Ends: Byrnes, Teixeira, Swisher
Random links for Tuesday…
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman notes that a Cy Young award for Johan Santana would lock in his 2014 option at $25MM.
- Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball wonders if the Mets might end up signing Ivan Rodriguez.
- The Jays officially received Fabio Castro to complete the Matt Stairs deal. Buster Olney had this one in August.
- Bummer to see Larry Borowsky of Viva El Birdos stepping down from blogging. He’s been my favorite Cardinals writer.
- Nick Piecoro wonders if Eric Byrnes could be traded for another bad contract player like Luis Castillo.
- The Red Sox treated Mark Teixeira poorly when he was drafted as an 18 year-old. That will have no bearing this winter, though.
- From last Friday…Nick Swisher is frustrated with his lack of playing time in Chicago. Doesn’t make him trade bait, though.
Lohse Signing May Complete Cards’ Rotation
Today we have more on the Kyle Lohse signing from Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. After several weeks of negotiation, Lohse agreed to a backloaded four-year, $41MM deal with full no-trade protection (Rob Neyer calls this a "dreadful use of resources.") Scott Boras is certain Lohse could’ve gotten more money and years on the open market, but this doesn’t seem like much of a discount. It was Lohse who told Boras to initiate extension talks.
Strauss finds it unlikely the Cards will ink another starter to a long-term deal now, instead going after a swingman type. Chris Carpenter is expected to choose rehab over surgery; if that doesn’t work out the team’s plans could change. Strauss says the Cardinals have not talked to Braden Looper about a new contract. He seems likely to sign elsewhere.
Right now the Cardinals are situated with a rotation of Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Lohse, Todd Wellemeyer, and Joel Pineiro.
Kyle Lohse Signs Extension
6:04pm: The deal is official – four years, $41MM according to the AP. Lohse also gets a full no-trade clause. It’s a bit better than the Silva price.
10:19am: According to Derrick Goold and Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals plan to finalize a four-year extension for starter Kyle Lohse this morning. Sources tell Goold and Strauss the deal will be similar to Carlos Silva‘s four-year, $48MM contract.
It may be tempting to call this a loss for Scott Boras, since his client chose not to test the open market. Lohse settled for $4.5MM in March this year after turning down a three-year, $21MM offer from the Phillies. However, Boras still comes out a winner as the Cardinals are not getting any kind of discount. Plus, taking the Phillies’ offer would’ve been a mistake.
I’m with Viva El Birdos on this one – there’s no upside to signing Lohse at this price. What are the odds this deal looks solid even halfway through?
Goold and Strauss say the Cardinals earmarked about $15-16MM for the rotation this winter. That means Lohse is the big signing and the other pitcher will be a bargain buy. The Cards will use another $15MM or so to fill other needs. Brian Fuentes and Orlando Hudson could be considerations.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Laird, Strasburg, Chipper
Let’s gather up today’s linkage.
- Andy Pettitte will probably pitch next year, but Mike Mussina remains an unknown.
- Reader Peter H. reminds us that the Brewers’ playoff berth means the Indians get to choose the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia deal.
- Ross Newhan finds it indisputable that the Dodgers and Angels have to re-sign Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at any cost. Manny generated an estimated $7.6MM in extra revenue for the Dodgers. T.J. Simers snagged all kinds of quotes from Manny in recent articles, including one about Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick dissing Manny in front of his teammates prior to the shoving incident.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News names some possible fits for Gerald Laird this winter – the Tigers, Brewers, Reds, and Red Sox.
- The Nationals will pick first in the 2009 draft. Will they go for Stephen Strasburg?
- Kerry Wood felt bad about his three-year, $32.5MM deal, and basically signed a blank check after the ’07 season.
- Ron Villone would like to return to the Cardinals rather than attempt to tie Mike Morgan‘s record of playing for 12 different teams.
- Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson for next Tigers pitching coach?
- Athletics Nation puts together a plan to compete in ’09 without sacrificing the future.
- Chipper Jones wants to retire a Brave. But if he doesn’t sign an extension beyond ’09 and the Braves want to trade him next summer, he’s got a short list of teams to which he’d accept a trade.
Cards Talking Extension With Lohse?
3:26pm: General manager John Mozeliak recently said in an interview that the press conference will be held tomorrow at 4:30, and that Cardinals fans "would be very happy" with the announcement.
1:59pm: Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals are possibly discussing an extension with free-agent-to-be Kyle Lohse.
Lohse was scratched from his start today to meet with team doctors, according to manager Tony La Russa, who was quoted as saying:
“There is no Lohse ‘announcement.’ I think what it means is there is interest and possibly progress in the negotiations.”
This situation is very similar to a situation in Spring Training, when the Cardinals had Adam Wainwright meet with team doctors the day before announcing an extension. The Cardinals have a press conference scheduled for tomorrow.
Lohse signed a one-year $4.5MM deal with the Cardinals in the offseason. It’s been well-documented over the past few years that he has been seeking a multi-year deal worth over $10MM per season. He may very well have earned himself that with a career year this season. Lohse will finish 15-6 for St. Louis, with a 3.78 ERA and 119 Ks in 200 IP.
Goold writes that senior baseball writer Joe Strauss has learned that the deal could be similar to the value of the four-year, $48MM contract that Carlos Silva signed with Seattle in the offseason. If it happens, this seems like a considerably better signing than the Silva deal, and one the Cardinals need with some question marks in their starting rotation next season.
I imagine a lot of teams are upset that they passed on Lohse in the offseason, while the Cardinals are very happy with how affordable he was to them, and how late they were able to sign him. Fifteen wins and a 3.78 ERA for $4.5MM is hard to come by from a free agent these days.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Tigers, Teixeira, Burnett
A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- MVN Outsider takes a look at some potential offseason moves for the Tigers, including trading Magglio Ordonez and Gary Sheffield and signing Brian Fuentes.
- Baseball Banter takes a look at the five teams most likely to go after Mark Teixeira this winter.
- River Ave. Blues wonders if the Yankees should consider signing A.J. Burnett because of his strong career numbers against the Red Sox.
- Pending Pinstripes takes a look at the Yankees 40-man roster and some potential offseason changes.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Olney On The Free Agent Market
ESPN’s Buster Olney has a great blog post up today with his musings about this winter’s free agent market. Let’s take a look.
- Industry people believe the current state of the economy might temper offseason spending. We’ve already heard the rumblings that typically high-spending teams like the Angels, Tigers and Mariners backing off or holding the line on payroll.
- Olney feels C.C. Sabathia could draw a $140MM offer from the Yankees, but something more in the $90-100MM range from the Angels or Dodgers. So he may have to decide whether playing close to home is worth $30-50MM.
- Olney extols the virtues of Derek Lowe, who could get a deal comparable to Jason Schmidt‘s three years/$47MM. That was two years, ago though…I think Scott Boras gets Lowe $18MM a year.
- Olney considers this a strong market for starting pitching. Maybe so, but we might see a lot of multiyear deals for injury-risk hurlers after Sabathia and Lowe sign.
- Olney likes the match between the Cardinals and Brian Fuentes. Other teams that could consider Fuentes: the Rays, Indians, and Brewers.
- Olney is convinced the Yankees will offer Bobby Abreu arbitration but nothing more. Abreu is comfortably set to earn Type A status. If the Yanks offer arbitration, they’ll either get Abreu for one year and $16MM or so or they’ll get two draft picks. In contrast, Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman have said they expect the Yankees to let Abreu leave.
- Olney guesses the Red Sox will offer Jason Varitek two guaranteed years with a vesting option for 2011. The Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin wrote in August that she expects Varitek to re-sign.
Odds and Ends : Snyder, Ludwick, Bradley
Reading material for Tuesday…
- Chris Carpenter is reportedly dealing with a unique and career-threatening nerve injury, which could increase the Cardinals’ need for starting pitching this winter.
- Viva El Birdos says the Cardinals should offer Ryan Ludwick and others for Matt Cain. Can’t hurt to ask.
- The Cubs claimed outfielder Brad Snyder off waivers from the Indians. He was the 18th overall pick in 2003, but hasn’t produced enough in the minors.
- Milton Bradley stands to earn another half-million bucks if he can snag seven more plate appearances. Bradley met with the Rangers a few months ago to discuss a long-term deal, but nothing is close. Bradley feels the Rangers are dragging their feet, and gives 50-50 odds on a return. He said he’d quit baseball if he couldn’t find a multiyear deal somewhere.
- Sam Mellinger reminds Royals fans that their long-term success hinges on the development of in-house youngsters rather than free agent signings.
- Steven Goldman notes that the Red Sox are far better prepared for the future than the Yankees.
Odds and Ends: Hawkins, Pettitte, Strasburg
Rounding up the day’s links…
- Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News talks about the future of Garrett Atkins. We discussed the possibility of an Atkins trade in this post.
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony says the Astros would like to re-sign reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Amazingly, Hawkins has thrown 17 scoreless innings as an Astro.
- This is a popular link lately…Vegas Watch examines April predictions from various analysts. Meanwhile, Scott Long digs in deeper on PECOTA’s American League predictions. Personally I am more interested in the logic behind projections. Did anyone predict Rays starters to post a 3.88 ERA? Did anyone peg Dioner Navarro and Carl Crawford‘s seasons?
- Viva El Birdos hopes the Cardinals do not sign Jon Garland this winter.
- Sam Mellinger wonders how the Royals would replace David DeJesus if they traded him.
- Andy Pettitte remains undecided on 2009. He’s hinted a desire to come back, but it’s unknown whether the Yankees want him. Houston could make sense.
- The Mariners are currently in line to have first crack at drafting Stephen Strasburg. They could even use Erik Bedard‘s money to sign him.
- Javier Valentin hasn’t heard from the Reds regarding 2009.