Odds and Ends: Gammons, Kawakami, Buck
Links for Monday…
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik admitted to have a conversation with Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent, but wouldn’t reveal anything else.
- One of Matthew Cerrone’s readers dug up a Primera Hora article saying the Mets have been scouting free agent reliever Fernando Cabrera.
- Bob Klapisch looks at Pedro Martinez‘s four-year, $53MM deal and asks: was it worth it?
- Rays Index notes that Grant Balfour will use WBC participation as a bargaining chip in contract negotiations (he’s eligible for arbitration).
- Marc Hulet of Baseball Analysts looks at top hitters for the Rule 5 draft.
- Fire Brand of the American League did a Q&A with ESPN’s Peter Gammons. Some good stuff in there.
- A few notes from Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker. The Hanshin Tigers are reportedly considering offering $20MM over four years to Kenshin Kawakami, while Yu Darvish had his contract renewed at $2.7MM for next year.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets want to add one starter and push Jonathan Niese to the #5 spot.
- Rany Jazayerli notes that a John Buck trade would make sense for the Royals.
- I mentioned the Royals’ signing of J.R. House earlier, but should add that they also signed Franquelis Osoria and Matt Tupman to minor league deals.
Cafardo’s Latest: Lowe, Lowell, Dye, Saltalamacchia
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says when Derek Lowe sat down with his agent, he inquired first about the Boston Red Sox. Says Cafardo,
"This Lowe doesn’t bear much resemblance to the guy who left the Sox after 2004. Back then, his out-of-control personal life seemed to consume him. The Red Sox didn’t want to deal with it and let him become a free agent. Lowe feels leaving was the best thing. ‘I think I’m a lot better pitcher now, teammate now, than I was four years ago,’ he said. ‘Sometimes you have to learn, and I think getting out of Boston was the best thing for me.’"
Lowe notes the Red Sox fit the mold of what he’s looking for in his next team.
And around the bigs:
- Roy Oswalt is pushing Ben Sheets to consider the Astros.
- Split opinions on interest in Mike Lowell, but either way this shouldn’t affect the Red Sox pursuit of Mark Teixeira. Cafardo lists Dodgers, Angels, Indians, and Twins as possible destinations for Lowell.
- Jermaine Dye is a good fit for Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, and the Mets. The White Sox would want more than Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson in exchange for Dye.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia looks good in the Dominican League, hitting .435 with 4 homeruns and 2 doubles in 23 ABs.
- Willie Bloomquist could be Alex Cora’s replacement at utility in Boston.
Mets Rumors: K-Rod, Dye, Vazquez
6:22pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Minaya has reached out to K-Rod and Fuentes. He says the Mets prefer free agency to trading.
We also have a rumor from Joel Sherman of the New York Post. He says the Mets offered Aaron Heilman to the Rockies for Street shortly after Colorado acquired him. The Rox wanted the Mets to add Pedro Feliciano, and the Mets refused. MetsBlog has more insight into the team’s plans.
1:33pm: Rounding up today’s Mets rumors…
- On Friday, David Lennon of Newsday said the Mets had received Francisco Rodriguez‘s medical records. He also had Omar Minaya saying the club’s doctors were looking it over. However, Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post writes today that the Mets did not receive the records until yesterday afternoon. According to Hubbuch, the Mets told Paul Kinzer they’ll get back to him after Thanksgiving regarding K-Rod.
- Hubbuch names five other Mets targets: Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Trevor Hoffman, J.J. Putz, and Huston Street.
- Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News talked to Minaya, who said the Mets have not made offers to any free agents yet.
- In case you missed it, Ken Rosenthal had several Mets nuggets in today’s column. He said the Mets balked at Chicago’s asking price for Jermaine Dye, and aren’t enamored with Javier Vazquez. Rosenthal believes the Rays’ Andy Sonnanstine "represents a more desirable target" for the Mets.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman rattles off a list of the Mets’ free agent targets, which does not include Manny Ramirez.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dye, Burrell, Young
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Rosenthal says the Braves are interested in A.J. Burnett, but you already knew that.
- Rosenthal believes Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers "makes sense."
- The Red Sox apparently have confidence they could trade Mike Lowell if need be, but rival execs believe he’d have to prove his health in spring first. Lowell has two years and $24MM on his deal.
- The White Sox want a young starter and additional players for right fielder Jermaine Dye. The Mets, Rays, and Phillies are "balking at such a price." Rosenthal learned that most of the six teams on Dye’s no-trade list are in the northeast. Interesting that the White Sox are still willing to trade Dye after moving Nick Swisher.
- The Mets "aren’t enamored" with Javier Vazquez.
- Rosenthal suggests the Rays will sit back and hope one of the free agent DH-types becomes a bargain for them.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote on Friday that the "Braves, Dodgers, and Mets are believed to be among teams that have inquired about Rangers starting pitchers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla." However, Rosenthal says the Braves and Mets are not interested in either pitcher and the Rangers aren’t desperate to move them.
- Rosenthal has Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Pat Burrell on the Angels’ radar if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, or Manny Ramirez.
- A rival GM tells Rosenthal Twins outfielder Delmon Young is "very, very much out there."
Mets Rumors: K-Rod, Fuentes, Vazquez, Garland
The latest on the Mets.
- Joel Sherman believes the Brewers could interfere with the Mets’ attempts to sign Brian Fuentes or Francisco Rodriguez.
- Ben Shpigel of the New York Times wrote this weekend that the Mets don’t appear likely to dabble in the second-tier relief market for pitchers like Juan Cruz or Joe Beimel.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog passes along a John Harper article from the New York Daily News, adding his own commentary.
- Harper believes the Mets may have to move on to Javier Vazquez, Jon Garland, and Edwin Jackson due to the high price tags on Boras clients Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe.
Stark’s Latest: Putz, Manny, Lackey, Ibanez
Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
- Stark does the math and finds 15 potentially available closers versus six clubs in the market for one. Should result in a few bargains or teams holding on to their surpluses.
- The Mets don’t seem willing to extend to four years for Francisco Rodriguez. Stark says J.J. Putz would become the Mets’ top closer target if he’s made available. MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone wrote a few days ago that the Mets are likely to trade for a reliever with closing experience before attempting to sign one.
- J.P. Ricciardi quote: "We won’t be involved with Manny." Ricciardi last month: "He’s on our radar, but maybe not on our radar like some people will report."
- Despite reports to the contrary, Stark talked to a rival executive who says Jake Peavy made it "onto [the Angels’] radar pretty hard." Stark speculates that Peavy could fit if the Halos sign Mark Teixeira.
- It seems likely that the Angels will put out an offer to Teixeira with a deadline, and then either sign him or move on.
- John Lackey‘s been telling friends he expects to have an extension with the Angels by Opening Day. Lackey indicated last month he’d wait to see the Halos’ offensive plans before re-signing.
- Stark suspects the Players Union might be OK with C.C. Sabathia turning down a larger offer from the Yankees if he still signed for more than Johan Santana‘s $23MM per year. I don’t really see why Sabathia would worry about the union in any regard.
- The Dodgers inquired on the asking price of Jason Varitek, with the idea of moving Russell Martin to third base in mind. They balked at Scott Boras’ demand for Tek, however.
- Curt Schilling is "more likely than ever" to attempt a late June or early July comeback.
- Tons of teams have expressed some degree of interest in Raul Ibanez: the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels, and Mariners. Some interesting new ones in there.
- The Phillies never made a two-year, $21MM offer to Pat Burrell. Will the Phils at least offer him arbitration? The rumored offer was questionable from Day 1, as Paul Hagen said Burrell "reportedly turned down a two-year, $22MM offer" but didn’t reference a specific report.
- Stark believes that the Brewers were not thrilled with the Yankees’ "overbid" for C.C. Sabathia, and therefore would prefer not to trade Mike Cameron to them. Dan Graziano wrote yesterday about the Yanks’ conversations for Cameron.
- Roy Oswalt wants the Astros to sign Ben Sheets, but the price tag may be too high. Stark has the following names on their radar: Randy Wolf, Mike Hampton, Freddy Garcia, Paul Byrd, and maybe Pedro Martinez. Is Drayton McLane willing to bring Andy Pettitte back? GM Ed Wade seemed interested in his chat yesterday, saying, "We’ll have to see what develops down the road."
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Giles, Beimel
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.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Sabathia, Yankees, Pirates, Rays
Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- MetsBlog feels the reported interest in C.C. Sabathia is overblown. Rather, they see the Mets waiting for Sabathia to sign before making a move of their own for starting pitching.
- River Ave. Blues still sees the Yankees pursuing Mark Teixeira or Adam Dunn, even with the acquisition of Nick Swisher.
- Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke speculates on what the Pirates will do this winter while finding humor in this recent quote from the Buccos’ GM: "we’d love to upgrade the offense, upgrade our pitching, and rebuild the bench."
- MVN Outsider takes the role of Andrew Friedman in their "Being the GM" series and proposes three moves for the Rays including trading Andy Sonnanstine and Chad Bradford for Andre Ethier.
- With the Rays likely to trade pitching this winter, Rays Prospects takes a closer look at how the starting pitchers throughout the organization performed in 2008. Sonnanstine was clearly a better pitcher than Edwin Jackson.
- Pinstripes Published has started a series looking at some of the cheaper alternatives that can be found in the free agent market. First up, starting pitchers.
- Ump Bump is taking a look at what each team needs this offseason. They have already gone through eight teams including the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Swisher, Wood, Hermida
A look at the newest column from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Rosenthal believes the Nick Swisher trade is a prelude to other moves for the White Sox, and shouldn’t be judged in isolation.
- Darren Oliver could follow Damaso Marte and re-sign quickly, as his market value is also diminished by his Type A status.
- Texas native Kerry Wood is a good match for the Rangers, though they’re not going to want to do three years at $10MM per (I think). Jim Hendry says Wood will always be welcome to come back to Chicago. Rosenthal says the Rangers also have interest in Colorado’s Huston Street.
- The Cubs and the Rays are two suitors for Florida’s Jeremy Hermida, though they’ve cleared enough payroll already to be deliberate with this one.
Holliday To Cards Dead
MONDAY: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also checked in with Mozeliak, who said, "That one’s not happening – at all" in reference to a Cards-Holliday trade. The Cardinals balked at the required player package. Mozeliak was irritated that (inaccurate) details of the talks leaked to the press. The Cards are looking at other things now, though Strauss’s source believes Holliday talks could be resurrected.
SUNDAY: Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News talked to Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, who admitted the idea of a Matt Holliday trade is dead. The Rockies sought Ryan Ludwick, Skip Schumaker, and Mitchell Boggs from the Cards, and talks hit a wall.
The A’s may still be in play, while Ringolsby says the Phillies did not discuss Holliday with the Rox during the GM meetings. The Phils are unwilling to part with Shane Victorino. Ringolsby adds that the Red Sox, Rays, and Yankees have expressed interest in Holliday. Joe Strauss recently said the Mets are in pursuit, and Bill Ladson had him as a Nationals target.