Odds and Ends: Hinske, Doumit, Colon, Greene
It’s up to an impressive 5.7 degrees where I am, but I still don’t think I’ll be going outside much today. Hence, some odds and ends.
- Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald believes Eric Hinske might sign with the Diamondbacks this week. The 30 year-old former ROY has a career line of .255/.336/.434, with much better work against righties.
- John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Red Sox are interested in the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit. However Perrotto says the Bucs are reluctant to trade the versatile Doumit, who turns 27 in April. Only past Doumit rumor I can find was from Will Carroll in May of ’06, saying he and Oliver Perez were being dangled to the Phillies.
- Perrotto believes the Royals could sign Bartolo Colon if he’ll take a one-year deal; that may be true for several clubs. Paul Hoynes reports that the Indians watched Colon pitch, but weren’t impressed with his sub-90 velocity. Hoynes says Kris Benson will have another throwing session and the Tribe will be in attendance.
- According to Marc Topkin, the Rays are talking with lefty reliever Trever Miller. The two sides haven’t agreed on the term yet.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers commented about the team’s rejected long-term overtures toward shortstop Khalil Greene. Towers brought a three or four year proposal to Greene but does not expect anything to get done. He stated Greene’s possible desire to be on the East Coast as a factor.
- Vince Gennaro does an economic analysis of the Johan Santana rumors, indicating that the acquisition makes the most sense for the Mets.
Rays Dealings: Pena, Kazmir, Shields
We discussed the Carlos Pena deal here, but now we have the breakdown via Marc Topkin. He’ll get $6MM in ’08, $8MM in ’09, and $10.125MM in ’10. Meanwhile fellow Boras client Matt Holliday will get $9.5MM in ’08 and $13.5MM in ’09. Holliday may be the superior player, but is he 60% better? Seems Pena just wanted the security and likes Tampa Bay.
Topkin wrote earlier today that Scott Kazmir expected to have an arbitration hearing with the Rays. However, Kazmir and the Rays were able to agree on a $3.785MM salary for ’08. Avoiding a hearing might help a bit if the Rays attempt to sign Kazmir long-term in the future.
Topkin adds that the Rays are trying to sign Jamie Shields to a six or even seven-year deal (and he’s not even arbitration-eligible yet). I believe he’s not due for free agency until after the 2011 season. Marc Lancaster says it could be a five or six year deal with Shields and "it may be wrapped up within the next week."
Carlos Pena Signs Three-Year Deal
According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Carlos Pena has signed a three year deal worth about $24MM. The deal buys out one year of free agency.
If the amount is accurate, the Rays have a serious bargain on their hands. I was guessing this would cost $36MM. Despite all the concerns about Pena’s Boras representation, he’s staying in Tampa Bay through 2010.
Signings Galore
Tons of one-year agreements were reached recently, which was to be expected. These are all players under team control rather than free agents, so we knew they weren’t signing elsewhere. The options are to sign a one-year deal, sign a multiyear deal, or go to a hearing if no agreement can be reached.
- Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, Brad Lidge, Mark Teixeira, Joe Crede, Juan Rivera, Huston Street, and others reached agreements recently.
- The Jays gave Scott Downs a three-year, $10MM deal. The deal buys out two years of free agency, which makes it a little more palatable than when I thought it was buying out one.
- Scott Kazmir may have to throw down with the Rays.
Rays Acquire Aybar, Fontaine For Ridgway
The St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays acquired infielder Willy Aybar today along with Chase Fontaine for Jeff Ridgway. DRays Bay caught wind of this one several days ago.
Aybar is out of options, so he’ll stick with the big club as a super-utility guy. He can bridge the gap at third base if Evan Longoria needs a little time. Aybar would be most interesting at second; he’ll be 25 and sports a career OPS over .800. However a few years ago Baseball America questioned whether he could handle second base defensively long-term. Regardless, if Aybar can get past the substance abuse problems this could be a steal.
BA doesn’t expect the 22 year-old Fontaine to stick at shortstop; he might have to move to second eventually. He’s considered a line-drive hitter.
Ridgway is a 27 year-old southpaw reliever; Frank Wren sold low on Aybar if this is all he could get.
Odds and Ends: Aybar, Wang, Selig
How about some late morning odds and ends? You don’t really have a choice, do you.
- The Rays have talked to the Braves about acquiring Willy Aybar, according to Marc Lancaster. Aybar has had some off the field problems. But he turns 25 in March and could still be a useful player.
- Reader Yu Hsing Chen checks in from Taiwan with news that Chien-Ming Wang might be heading to an arbitration hearing with the Yankees. MLBTR had 228 visits from Taiwan yesterday – welcome! Taiwan is our fifth biggest traffic source, behind the U.S., Canada, UK, and Japan.
- According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers have spoken to free agents Mark Sweeney and Rudy Seanez about bringing them back, but the discussions have stalled.
- Bud Selig’s contract extended through 2012. Thoughts?
Carlos Pena Could Sign Long-Term
The St. Petersburg Times’ Rays blog has a note up about first baseman Carlos Pena. (Hat tip DRays Bay.) Pena is under team control through the 2009 season, but a multiyear extension is a possibility. The post says Pena will probably earn in the $4.5-7.5MM range in ’08. In ’09 he’d probably get up to the $12MM+ range.
Maybe the Rays could work out a three-year, $36MM extension to buy out one year of free agency? There was an erroneous report in late November that Pena had rejected a three-year, $30MM extension. Pena is represented by Scott Boras, who didn’t seem optimistic about a multiyear deal in early December. Boras had all kinds of debatable quotes about Pena in September.
Neal On Garza Trade
I recently named La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune as Rumor Royalty for the Twins. He answered a few questions for MLBTR.
MLBTR: Given the loss of Carlos Silva and probable trade of Santana, was it wise for the Twins to send Matt Garza to the Rays?
Neal: The Twins needed to address their offense. They were deficient last season at third base, left field and, on the days Joe Mauer wasn’t available, designated hitter. Scouts from other organizations keep talking about Delmon Young‘s 40-homer potential, and it was nice to hear Brendan Harris say, "everyone has to pull their weight at the dish," on the day of the trade. I’ve covered this team for 10 years and have seen a lot of bad offense.
You can’t blame the Twins for not re-signing Silva, but you wonder why they didn’t trade him during the season when the Phillies and other teams were interested.
Odds and Ends: Inge, Snell, Jones
Some early Monday odds and ends to get things rolling…
- D-Town Baseball takes a closer look at the idea of Brandon Inge catching this year, something Dave Dombrowski would recommend to him.
- According to Marc Topkin, the Rays have increased payroll more than they promised (from $24MM in ’07 past $40MM this year.)
- Speaking of ’08 payrolls, the Detroit Free Press projects the Tigers at nearly $134MM.
- We’ve got a good discussion at RotoAuthority going regarding my Top 76 Fantasy Baseball Outfielders.
- The Pirates rejected Ian Snell‘s idea of a contract extension. He’s under team control for four more seasons, so they’re in no hurry.
- Some quotes from Adam Jones regarding being pulled from winter league ball.
Odds and Ends: Reitsma, Affeldt
Some late night odds and ends to digest…
- The Mariners re-signed Chris Reitsma; he hopes to be ready for Spring Training following August elbow surgery (not Tommy John, of course). Reitsma hopes to return to his groundballing, healthy form of 2005. On a related note, Bleeding Blue and Teal speculates that the Mariners could target Jeremy Affeldt if they trade George Sherrill. At one point Affeldt was said to be seeking five years. His agent has already pitched him to the Mariners as a possible starter.
- Eduardo Encina reports that the Rays seek a superutility player and lefty reliever, and would prefer to get both via trade. Affeldt could be a possibility here as well.
- East Windup Chronicle analyzes Japanese stadiums.