Milton Bradley Suitors
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune takes a look at the Milton Bradley situation in an article this morning.
Sullivan, like many, sees the Rangers as the favorite. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News looks at all the factors there.
Giants GM Brian Sabean was quizzed about a possible bad contract swap for Bradley, and shot down the idea. The Mets and Rays appear in the mix to a certain extent, with Omar Minaya even admitting he'll talk to Jim Hendry about it. Luis Castillo figures to be in that discussion, but Sullivan says reports suggest Mets ownership may be anti-Bradley.
ESPN's Bruce Levine adds more detail. He says Hendry spent over an hour Monday with the Rays discussing a Bradley-Pat Burrell swap, with the $12MM salary difference a key. A similar gap exists with Kevin Millwood, who Levine believes the Rangers would "gladly" swap for Bradley. However, Levine says the Rangers will only take about $4MM of Bradley's contract at this point.
A few other notes from Sullivan: the Cubs remain fans of Marlon Byrd, who is now a free agent. That interest suggests that the Cubs' "left-handed bat" obsession from a year ago has gone by the boards. Sullivan also mentions that the Cubs "are in no hurry to open up talks with Derrek Lee on a contract extension." Lee will earn $13MM in 2010 in the last year of his contract.
Tellem Discusses Rich Harden
Rich Harden's agent Arn Tellem weighed in on his client at the GM Meetings today, with the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan among those in attendance. Tellem says Harden has "no health issues at all" despite being shut down by the Cubs with a few weeks left in the season.
Tellem didn't run into Cubs GM Jim Hendry during the Meetings, though both spent ample time in the hotel lobby. Tellem says Harden "very much likes Chicago," and expects he'll "continue to talk" to the Cubs about a possible return. Most writers expect the Cubs to move on, though. Harden is a Type B free agent; an arbitration offer seems unlikely.
Harden, 28 later this month, pitched 152.3 innings in 2008 and 141 this year, with a huge strikeout rate but a healthy dose of walks. This year, home runs and hits were up for the changeup artist.
Heyman On Bradley, Gonzalez, Halladay
Jon Heyman has the latest on Milton Bradley, Roy Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, and plenty of other big names in his new column. Let's check out some of the highlights….
- Although Texas and Tampa Bay seem like the most likely destinations for Bradley, one GM says the outfielder needs to play in a small market like Kansas City or San Diego.
- If the Rangers were to acquire Bradley, they would probably want the Cubs to pick up about $16MM of the remaining $21MM on his contract.
- People around baseball figure that Halladay is more likely than Gonzalez to be traded this winter. But a rival GM wouldn't be surprised to see both players get traded, since "sometimes new GMs like to put their stamp on a team."
- If the Boston Red Sox are in the Halladay hunt again, don't expect them to give up as much as they would have this summer. One executive believes they offered too much.
- Should the New York Yankees offer John Lackey a deal similar to the one they gave A.J. Burnett last winter, a competing GM thinks it would be enough to land Lackey, given teams' increasing reluctance to hand out long-term contracts.
- The New York Mets are a little wary of Lackey's "alleged arm issues" but could be interested in second-tier free agent starters like Joel Pineiro and Randy Wolf.
- Chone Figgins is a top priority for the Angels early in the offseason. They could attempt to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero later in the winter, but he's not a priority for now.
- The Philadelphia Phillies would like to lock up Cliff Lee to a long-term extension that costs them less than $100MM.
Cubs Rumors: Marmol, Payroll, Theriot
Bruce Miles of The Daily Herald has a few tidbits of information about the Chicago Cubs in his latest blog post.
Miles notes that the Cubs have an unusually high number of arbitration-eligible players this offseason, and singles out Carlos Marmol as an important case. Miles figures that the Cubs and Marmol's agent Barry Praver could disagree about the reliever's value, since his holds total and opponents' average are so strong, while his control is so unpredictable. The Cubs haven't had an arbitration case go to a hearing since early in the 1990s, but this one is a candidate for it.
Miles also writes that the number of raises through arbitration could affect the Cubs' payroll flexibility. GM Jim Hendry points out that since most of the players are in the first year of arbitration eligibility, there shouldn't be many massive raises, but says, "You do have guys that certainly are going to command an increase in salary, and yeah, you have to factor that all in with your total payroll. We'll see what the numbers look like."
Hendry was also asked whether middle infield was a priority this winter, and replies: "Not necessarily. I'm very happy with Ryan [Theriot]." He adds that Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles had disappointing 2009 seasons, but that he expects them to bounce back next year.
Cubs Rumors: Harden, Grabow, Zambrano
It's not all about Milton Bradley. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has some more Cubs rumors as the GM Meetings continue…
- Free agent Rich Harden wants to return to the Cubs. His agent is likely to meet with Cubs GM Jim Hendry soon.
- The Cubs are expected to sign lefty reliever John Grabow to a two-year deal with an option for 2012.
- Agent Barry Praver says there's been no talk of waiving Carlos Zambrano's no-trade clause.
- The Cubs are likely to move Kosuke Fukudome to right, so they will be looking for a center fielder.
Rangers Would Consider Dealing For Bradley
More teams are calling the Cubs about Milton Bradley and, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Rangers might be one of them. Team officials told Sherman they would consider bringing Bradley back if the Cubs were willing to take on a considerable chunk of the $21MM he'll make over the course of the next two seasons. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says that's unlikely.
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Cubs have to deal the outfielder – some of Bradley's teammates won't even speak with him. We heard about a potential three-way deal yesterday, but Toronto does not appear to have interest in Bradley. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that the Jays have serious doubts about adding Bradley to their clubhouse.
The Rangers, who are considering moving Josh Hamilton to a corner outfield spot, may lose Marlon Byrd to free agency this offseason.
Bradley Being Discussed In Three-Way Deal
9:01pm: The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan is reporting that Toronto "wants no part of Milton Bradley." Meanwhile, Cubs GM Jim Hendry said that Chicago hasn't given up on Bradley, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Of course, Hendry has to say that until the moment Bradley is traded.
5:55pm: A very interesting idea is being reported by Ken Rosenthal: a three-way deal, with Milton Bradley going to the Blue Jays, Luis Castillo to the Cubs, and Lyle Overbay to the Mets. Rosenthal said "The teams indeed have discussed the framework of such a deal, though not in direct fashion, according to major-league sources."
Breaking it down, the trade makes the most sense for the Mets, who would clear second base for long-coveted Orlando Hudson, a free agent. Overbay has also mashed righties for his entire career – .847 OPS career, .905 in 2009 – and could be paired with Daniel Murphy or Nick Evans for a high-reward platoon.
Castillo does block the movement of Ryan Theriot to second base when Starlin Castro arrives, but adding Castillo's on-base percentage would be a boon to the top of Chicago's lineup.
As for the Blue Jays, the deal would open up first base for Adam Lind, with Bradley slotting in as designated hitter. The question is: Overbay slugged .466 in 2009, while Bradley slugged just .397 – so is this an upgrade?
Heyman’s Latest: Holliday, Lackey, Bay, Trades
Jon Heyman has a new column up at SI.com, so let's dive on in…
- Scott Boras said on Sunday that the Cardinals have not made any proposals in an effort to retain Matt Holliday, and Heyman says "the chances for Holliday to remain a Cardinal look slim at this point."
- A source familiar with the situation said the Angels offered John Lackey an extension earlier this year worth less than $40MM over three years on top of 2009's $10MM salary, so if they wish to re-sign him now, they'll have to completely rethink their original stance.
- The Red Sox are trying to bring Jason Bay back on a four year, $60MM deal, though his agent maintains that Bay is the "most complete player on the market."
- The Mets, Giants, Braves, Cubs, Mariners, and Yankees could also be interested in Holliday and/or Bay.
- The Mets are believed to have Holliday higher on their wish list than Bay, and are also expected to pursue Randy Wolf.
- There is speculation that Lackey would like to pitch at home in Texas, but the Rangers' interest might depend on how quickly their sale is resolved.
- Heyman says that "MLB has set a tentative Thanksgiving deadline for the sale of the Rangers, but the price tag is expected to be in the $500 million range, and in cases of such big money there are no guarantees that things will go quickly."
- Roy Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Bobby Jenks, Dan Uggla, and Milton Bradley should highlight a star studded trade market.
- Halladay seems like a good bet to be moved, while the Red Sox and Dodgers represent possible suitors for Gonzalez.
- Tampa has a replacement for Crawford in top prospect Desmond Jennings, while Jenks and Uggla would be moved in cost cutting deals.
- Teams will certainly inquire on the availability of Felix Hernandez, but Heyman says the team plans to spend the winter trying to lock him up long-term. At the GM Meetings today, GM Jack Zduriencik said "Felix is our property. We're going to have him the next two years."
- The Yankees have started to think about re-signing both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
- Both the Brewers and Mariners are expected to have interest in Jarrod Washburn.
- If the Angels don't re-sign Chone Figgins, they are expected to pursue Adrian Beltre to fill their third base hole.
- The Rangers will let Hank Blalock walk as a free agent, and are expected to promote top prospect Justin Smoak next year.
- Orlando Hudson is expected to leave the Dodgers as a free agent, though Heyman says they could re-sign Ronnie Belliard to compete with Blake DeWitt at second base.
- Team officials would not be shocked if the Red Sox tried to move David Ortiz and/or Mike Lowell, though it's going to be tough to move them with all the DH-types available on the free agent market.
Cubs Talk: Bradley, Trades vs. Free Agency
The GM meetings kick off today in Chicago, though free agents are stuck talking only to their current team until November 20th. As a result, the days ahead figure to be filled with plenty of trade talk, and Milton Bradley is certainly one of the higher profile players on the block. It's only natural that his name popped up this morning.
We heard back in October that "multiple teams are in contact with the Cubs" about Bradley, and now a source tells Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times that "at least three more interested parties contacted the Cubs in the last week or so." Wittenmyer also mentions the Cubbies figure to be more involved in trades than free agency this winter.
''I think you'll see a lot of that,'' Hendry said. ''At the same time, I think the free-agent world will be a patient market like it ended up being last year, and some good players will probably be available as the winter progresses. We'll be looking to trade some pieces to get some pieces.''
We've already seen some speculation that the Cubs could bolster their bullpen through trades.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Podsednik, Giants
Let's close out this Sunday evening with a few links…
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune runs down the Cubs' offseason wish list. Unsurprisingly, getting rid of Milton Bradley is the top priority.
- The agent for Scott Podsednik claims that the lines of communication with the White Sox are still open, despite GM Ken Williams' reluctance to re-sign the 33-year-old, writes the Tribune's Mark Gonzales. Scotty Pods' chances of returning decreased after the club took on salary in the trade for Mark Teahen.
- Giants prospect Angel Villalona is out on bail, says ESPN's Enrique Rojas (via Twitter). Villalona was charged with murder back in September.