Odds & Ends: Butler, Holliday, Counsell
A batch of links to kick off the work week…
- Newly minted Royals Player of the Year Billy Butler has not held long-term extension talks with the team, MLBTR learned on a conference call today. Butler will not be arbitration-eligible until after the 2010 season.
- Desipio on the Cubs-Curtis Granderson idea: "In the end, this smells like a winter of Brian Roberts and Jake Peavy trade rumors. One that ends with us talking ourselves into how Marlon Byrd isn’t so bad after all."
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes it's a three-horse race for Matt Holliday: the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick writes about Jed Hoyer and the Adrian Gonzalez situation.
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that a dozen teams have expressed interest in free agent infielder Craig Counsell. He'd like a multiyear deal.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan sums up the Rangers' hot stove storylines.
- Evan Grant wonders what it would take for the Rangers to acquire Edwin Jackson.
- ESPN's Keith Law believes it'd be unwise for a team to acquire Dan Uggla and move him off second base.
- Sean Smith's 2010 CHONE projections for hitters are now available, so take a peek into his crystal ball.
- Jeremy Greenhouse of The Hardball Times cautions against misuses of the WAR statistic.
- Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail thinks the Blue Jays "will be all over" Brandon Phillips to play third base if the Reds make him available.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post suggests Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd will hold Type A free agent reliever Rafael Betancourt hostage with an arbitration offer. In my opinion, Betancourt has a decent chance of accepting.
- Tommy Rancel of DRays Bay talked to Rays VP of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman.
Curtis Granderson Rumors: Saturday
Cubs' GM Jim Hendry "absolutely" is interested in offering a prospect-heavy package to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson according to a source close to the team, says Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune. Yesterday we heard that the two sides were not yet in trade talks, but Rogers' source says that Hendry and Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski "spoke about Granderson and other Tigers players during the GM meetings earlier in the week at the O'Hare Hilton."
So far we've heard that the Cubs, Angels, and Yankees have interest in the 28-year-old outfielder. Granderson hit .249/.327/.453 in 710 plate appearances this year, though ESPN's Keith Law says he's become just a platoon player because of his struggles against southpaws.
Curtis Granderson Rumors: Friday
3:55pm: The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers tweets that the Cubs are not yet involved in trade talks for Granderson, "but will become aggressive when the Tigers are ready for offers."
9:38am: The Angels and Tigers have discussed a trade for center fielder Curtis Granderson, according to Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Davidoff says the Halos would use Granderson in left field and either shift Juan Rivera to DH or trade him. In my opinion, the Angels could fill several needs cheaply for the Tigers with players such as Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood. Davidoff adds that the Yankees "think very highly" of Granderson and the Cubs are "expected to inquire." Talking to the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers, Baseball America's Jim Callis suggested the Cubs are in the best position of these three suitors to acquire Granderson.
Granderson, 29 in March, hit .249/.327/.453 in 710 plate appearances this year. His defense is at least respectable. His contract is reasonable - $25.75MM guaranteed over the next three years. ESPN's Keith Law, however, considers Granderson a platoon player given his inability to hit lefties.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Figgins, Halladay, Uggla
On this date 31 years ago, Red Sox free agent pitcher Luis Tiant signed a two-year, $875K contract with the Yankees. After eight seasons and 122 wins with Boston, Tiant would go 21-17 with the Yankees before finishing his career with the Pirates and Angels. With this year's free agents looking for new homes, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- UmpBump attempts to determine how much Chone Figgins is worth.
- The Phrontiersman warns that giving up Cole Hamels is too much for Roy Halladay.
- We Should Be GMs analyzes the Phillies roster and suggests some names to fill the holes.
- Camden Crazies looks at what Dan Uggla would mean for the O's and what he might cost.
- Twins Overlook looks back at the Johan Santana trade and compares the pieces that are left and what the Twins could have gotten from the Red Sox or Yankees.
- Nick's Twins Blog thinks Adrian Beltre is the missing piece to the Twins infield.
- Dock of the Rays likes the idea of swapping Pat Burrell for Milton Bradley and wonders if throwing in Andy Sonnanstine can entice the Cubs to add more money.
- Feeling Dodgers Blue says L.A. needs two pitchers and breaks down the pros and cons of the available talent.
- Dodgers Rumors feels Brandon Phillips would fit nicely at second base for the Dodgers.
- Blogging Mets breaks down the Mets' needs and is not very optimistic.
- The Pinstriper projects the Yankees 25-man roster for next season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Uggla, Granderson, Lackey
Links for Thursday…
- MLBTR will be mentioned on ESPN2's SportsNation program today at 3pm CST, check it out!
- FanGraphs' Dave Cameron thinks the Marlins are shopping Dan Uggla a year late, and believes he'd be expensive enough in 2011 that the Marlins "are really only selling one year of value."
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says not to dismiss the Uggla-to-left field rumor, in relation to the Braves.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald at the GM Meetings that "one club, I think, changed course a little bit, with more players being available." Silverman figures Epstein was referring to the Reds or Tigers.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post plays around with various Curtis Granderson-Yankees scenarios and effects. Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune says the Cubs must pursue Granderson. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs have yet to pursue him, but "conversations appear inevitable."
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin had a sit-down with John Lackey's agent Steve Hilliard this week, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan sees a three-year deal worth $18-24MM for Marlon Byrd, though he notes the limited demand for center fielders.
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman looks at American players who could wind up or remain in Japan in 2010.
- Carl Pavano's agent Tom O'Connell had an excellent first meeting with the Twins Wednesday night, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. In another article, Christensen notes that Glen Perkins settled his service time grievance with the Twins.
Mike Fontenot Gets Super Two Status
Three players – Mike Fontenot, Adam Jones, and Micah Owings – have exactly two years and 139 days of service time. According to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger, only one could be designated a Super Two player, and it will be Fontenot. It might seem pretty minor, but once you refresh yourself on what Super Two means, check out these ripple effects from the tiebreaker decision…
- Fontenot is arbitration-eligible now, so the Cubs can't just renew him for $430K. He's coming off a poor season, but he'll still be more expensive in 2010. The Cubs are tight on payroll, so you have to wonder if they'll now trade or non-tender Fontenot. However, Jim Hendry's comments to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune imply the Cubs will retain Fontenot for 2010.
- The Orioles save significant money on Jones, who might've made more than $5MM in 2010 but can now be renewed at less than a tenth of that.
- Owings escapes a possible non-tender situation with the Reds.
- The article names a slew of other Super Twos: Tim Lincecum, Matt Garza, Tom Gorzelanny, Alex Gordon, Matt Albers, Jeff Karstens, Hunter Pence, Dustin Nippert, and Carlos Gomez.
Odds & Ends: Griffey, Tigers, Torrealba
Let's have a look at another handful of evening links….
- MLB.com's Corey Brock reports that new Padres GM Jed Hoyer will sit down with Adrian Gonzalez next week to discuss the first baseman's future.
- Keith Law of ESPN.com shares his thoughts on the trades that have transpired so far during the hot stove season.
- Scott Miller of CBS Sports wraps up his observations from the GM meetings, and includes a quote from Angels GM Tony Reagins, saying the team will try their best to retain both John Lackey and Chone Figgins. I think they'd be doing very well if they were able to bring back even one of the two.
- What do the Cleveland Indians need to do to improve in 2010? The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes suggests that, considering the team's lack of payroll flexibility, the Indians just have to hope for better performances from many of their players.
- In comments relayed by Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik was vague when asked about Ken Griffey Jr.'s playing time in 2010. Griffey and the Mariners reached an agreement earlier today, but it sounds like Junior could have a lesser role next season — particularly if the team is able to retain Russell Branyan and add another bat or two.
- Despite recent rumors about the availability of Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson, the Detroit Tigers don't intend to have a fire sale, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter).
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune says that if Granderson is available, the Cubs need to pursue him.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post has additional details on Yorvit Torrealba's possible future with the Colorado Rockies.
- After hearing Scott Boras compare Matt Holliday to last winter's big free agent prize, Mark Teixeira, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs takes a detailed look at how the two players' values compare.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that a few GMs came away from this week's meetings thinking that the market for the elite free agents this year will be "very, very limited."
- Ever the optimist, Scott Boras disagrees with this assessment of the market, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Boras argues that "we hear this every year" and predicts that the top free agents will still receive "mega-contracts."
Nightengale On Holliday, Sheets, Yankees
USA's Today's Bob Nightengale is cranking out the tweets…put this stuff in a column, Bob!
- He says the Red Sox met with Scott Boras about Matt Holliday, as a Jason Bay contingency.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Nightengale no one has heard from Ben Sheets or his agent. Back in October, assistant GM Gord Ash told the AP, "There's been once and a while conversations with his agent to remind that we still have that ongoing interest."
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Nightengale he didn't sit down with a single agent. Seems kind of weird.
- Talking to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, Nightengale learned that the team is still open to acquiring a DH despite re-signing Ken Griffey Jr.
- D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes told Nightengale the Super Two cutoff is two years, 139 days, leaving Mark Reynolds one day shy. That saves the team some bucks. But it looks as though Adam Jones, Mike Fontenot, and Micah Owings will be arbitration-eligible. Are Fontenot and Owings non-tender candidates?
Heyman On Figgins, Pineiro, Braves
SI's Jon Heyman reports from Chicago, where the GM Meetings are wrapping up…
- The Phillies are "intent on pursuing Chone Figgins hard," while the Mets are also fans of the Seth Levinson client. The Angels still hope to re-sign Figgins. Joel Sherman of the New York Post has more on the Mets' interest, explaining that moving Luis Castillo would make signing Figgins easier. Sherman thought another reasonable addition for the Mets might be Carlos Lee, but his idea was shot down by Ed Wade and a Mets official.
- Heyman senses mixed signals with the Mets and Matt Holliday – Omar Minaya loves the player, but the money required will be huge and the Mets might be better-served spreading it around.
- The Mets are interested in Joel Pineiro, and Minaya met with his agent Arn Tellem.
- On Page 2 of the article, Heyman quotes a couple new Scott Boras gems.
- Braves GM Frank Wren admitted he'll field offers on his starting pitching excess. It appears inevitable that the Braves will trade one starter, Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
- My Billy Wagner-Cubs idea should probably be put to bed, as Jim Hendry said he wouldn't spend a lot of money on a closer given Carlos Marmol's talent. Marmol himself is due a large arbitration raise.
Cubs Likely To Sign John Grabow
1:47pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune believes a Grabow deal may be finalized "in the next week or so."
9:12am: The Cubs are nearing a deal with lefty reliever John Grabow, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The writers say the Cubs are "making progress" on a possible two-year deal. Of course, we've read these rumors for a few weeks now.