Furcal To Hit The Open Market?
Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times have the scoop on free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal.
Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer met with Dodgers GM Ned Colletti recently, and they didn’t see eye to eye. Kinzer doesn’t want to compromise much on the term despite Furcal missing most of ’08 due to back surgery. Furcal wants to return to the Dodgers, but may be "forced" to hit the open market to find the four-year deal he craves. At least seven teams have expressed interest, the Cubs, Giants, and Blue Jays among them. The Royals, Orioles, Cardinals, Indians, Tigers, and Twins also make sense.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Tuesday
9:58pm: Peavy apparently rejected one trade, to an American League team with a small ballpark.
12:12pm: David O’Brien says Braves and Padres officials met Sunday and Monday to talk Peavy, discussing proposals not including Tommy Hanson. The Braves remain the favorite.
12:08pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin says he is not engaged in talks for Peavy.
10:32am: Joel Sherman says the Yankees have shown no early movement toward Peavy. Free agents just make more sense. Still, Jay Paris snagged some good quotes from Axelrod and Towers about the Yankees possibility.
8:52am: Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod, says they have not given approval for the Yankees or Angels. Axelrod reiterated that the Yankees would have to pay a premium (likely an extension). Towers said he doesn’t believe the Angels would have to pay the same premium.
8:35am: Towers also doubts Peavy would approve a trade to Milwaukee.
8:03am: Let’s kick off a fresh post for today’s Jake Peavy rumors. A reminder of the latest news: Peavy has preapproved the Yankees and Angels, bringing his total to seven teams. Padres GM Kevin Towers indicated that Peavy would not approve a trade to Boston.
Towers referenced the Dan Haren and Mark Teixeira deals while indicating he wants quality over quantity back. CBS’s Scott Miller has info on some players discussed. He says Felix Pie, Ronny Cedeno, and Rich Hill are available from the Cubs. With the Dodgers, Chad Billingsley and James McDonald have been discussed. We know Towers wants more from the Dodgers, but Billingsley seems unlikely.
Braves Rumors: Ludwick, Dempster, Francoeur
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been churning out rumors in the comments section of his blog.
- He believes the Braves are interested in Ryan Ludwick, but is not sure if they’d give up Kelly Johnson. O’Brien also suggests Rick Ankiel could be available, and that either player would interest Atlanta.
- O’Brien says the Cubs offered three years, $36MM to Ryan Dempster. Most folks think he’ll re-sign, but the Braves have spoken to Dempster’s agent.
- He adds that the Braves will make an offer to Mike Hampton, though Hampton will shop around and may prefer the West Coast. He’s looking for a one-year deal.
- The Royals still love Jeff Francoeur.
LaRue’s Latest: Manny, Ibanez, Putz
Larry LaRue of The News Tribune has several new rumors…
- Scott Boras has floated an asking price for Manny Ramirez that begins at $27MM per year. It seems that the Dodgers may be willing to offer that salary for two years, but Boras wants a significantly longer term.
- The Cubs and Mets expressed interest to Raul Ibanez‘s agent. Does this mean the Cubs are comfortable with the idea of Ibanez in right field?
- The Tigers crave a closer, and J.J. Putz may be a target. Putz will earn $5MM in ’09 with an $8.6MM option for ’10.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Fielder, Beimel, Eckstein
Ken Rosenthal is on the scene at the GM meetings, and as usual has all kinds of new info.
- The Brewers are unlikely to trade Prince Fielder, and reluctant to trade J.J. Hardy or Alcides Escobar. It’d be smart to retain those three players.
- Rosenthal still likes the Braves as the favorite for Jake Peavy, but wonders if the Cubs or another team could incorporate a third team to get it done.
- The Cubs will need to spend much of their available money on pitching, which may leave little payroll room for an outfielder like Bobby Abreu. They could backload contracts and move some of Jason Marquis‘ salary though.
- The Mets are interested in lefty reliever Joe Beimel, as well as usual suspects Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Kerry Wood. They also like Raul Ibanez.
- The Cardinals could move forward with a Ryan Ludwick/Colby Rasmus/Rick Ankiel outfield, or trade one of them. Ankiel, entering his contract year, seems most likely to go if Rasmus is ready.
- David Eckstein is marketing himself as a second baseman for 2009.
- Don’t look for the Phillies to move Shane Victorino in a Matt Holliday deal.
- The Cardinals and Nationals are not contenders for A.J. Burnett. Still no word on Burnett’s opt-out.
- The Marlins may wait until some of the top free agent starters sign before shopping Scott Olsen.
More Peavy: Yankees, Angels, Cubs
10:37pm: Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune comments on the Cubs’ interest in Peavy. There’s not much new here – if the Cubs can’t re-sign Ryan Dempster, they could take a crack at Peavy. Van Dyck has an unconfirmed rumor of a Cubs offer of Felix Pie, Ronny Cedeno, and others. The others would be pretty important in such a scenario.
Van Dyck makes a good point in that the Cubs might have to dive into the pool of second tier free agent starters if they can’t get Dempster or Peavy.
8:42pm: Padres GM Kevin Towers recently spoke to the press, stating that Jake Peavy has approved two AL teams in addition to his known five NL clubs. The Yankees and Angels are now possibilities. If there were to be any acceptable AL teams, it figured to be these two based on earlier rumblings.
NPB Rumors: Tazawa, Iwase, Iguchi
Some Japanese baseball-related rumors, courtesy of Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker:
- Seven teams have surfaced in Japanese media reports as suitors for free agent amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa: the Red Sox, Braves, Mariners, Pirates, Tigers, Cubs, and Phillies. David O’Brien of the AJC says the Braves are "legit players" for Tazawa. The Red Sox are seen as the frontrunner, according to Paul Hoynes. Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald agrees that Boston is in the lead, and adds the Marlins to the mix.
- Reliever Hitoki Iwase will remain in Japan. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka is a free agent, but may not necessarily come to MLB.
- So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi may return to Japan for the ’09 season.
- Saburo Ohmura is a 32 centerfielder with an eye on MLB. Newman tells me he profiles as more of a fourth outfielder.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday
12:08pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Towers still considers the Braves the best match for a Peavy trade. Cafardo says the Braves appear willing to trade shortstop Yunel Escobar. He adds that the Red Sox haven’t been ruled out but they’re far down the list.
9:35am: Padres GM Kevin Towers arrived early at the GM meetings, with trading Jake Peavy high on his to-do list. The latest from Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune:
- Towers is "focused on three" teams. Krasovic believes these to be the Cubs, Dodgers, and Braves. He’s matched up with Jim Hendry and Ned Colletti before, and has known Frank Wren for many years. It is believed that Towers would charge the Dodgers a premium for being in their division. The Braves do not want to include top prospects such as Tommy Hanson and Jason Heyward.
- Towers isn’t opposed to a three-team deal, but he’s never done one. He’d prefer to make a normal direct trade.
- Towers wants quality over quantity, saying the right two or three players could get it done.
Odds and Ends: Pudge, Ohman, Manny
Rounding up linkage for Monday…
- The Jays claimed two players off waivers: shortstop Angel Sanchez and pitcher Kelvin Jimenez.
- The Cubs and Nationals swapped minor leaguers. The Cubs sent pitcher Matt Avery to the Nats for another pitcher named Ryan Buchter.
- Good stuff from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick – he surveyed 15 front-office people on the top stories of the offseason.
- One of a million conversations taking place at the GM meetings: Brian Cashman chatting with Walt Jocketty.
- Tony Massarotti’s top five lies told during free agency.
- Ken Davidoff names his top ten GMs.
- Joe Posnanski on the Mike Jacobs–Leo Nunez trade.
- River Ave. Blues explains why the Yankees should offer arbitration to Ivan Rodriguez.
- The official list of the 191 players eligible for free agency.
- The Braves hope to re-sign free agents Will Ohman, Greg Norton, and John Smoltz. The Smoltz situation may not be resolved until January.
- Tracy Ringolsby lists needs for every team.
- The Tigers signed an independent league lefty named Kris Regas to a minor league deal.
- John Shea says the Giants and A’s will consider the big-name free agent sluggers this winter.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers doesn’t see Manny Ramirez signing until Christmas time. He sees the New York and L.A. teams as suitors.
- Joe Sheehan proposes five radical offseason moves.
- The Cubs signed a couple of Korean players: catcher/outfielder Jae-hoon Ha and pitcher Soo-min Jung.
Dempster Will Test Open Market
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Ben Sheets, and Derek Lowe have some company at the top of the list of free agent starters this offseason. Ryan Dempster will not re-sign with the Cubs before hearing what other teams have to offer:
Dempster, 31, plans to test the open market, major-league sources say. He filed for free agency on Friday, and does not intend to sign with the Cubs before their exclusive negotiating period with him expires on Nov. 13.
After spending three years closing games for the Cubs, Dempster was tremendous in their rotation this year, posting a 17-6 record with a 2.96 ERA and 187 Ks to go along with just 76 walks through 206.2 IP.
The Cubs could certainly retain Dempster, but that task just became much more difficult, as many teams are looking to add starting pitching. Dempster could certainly fetch a very lucrative four-year deal on the open market, likely in excess of $60MM.
Rosenthal lists the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Angels as possible suitors. We also know that the Braves are looking to add at least two starters to their rotation this year.
Rosenthal also notes that if Dempster does sign elsewhere, it could increase the Cubs’ interest in San Diego ace Jake Peavy, though I still don’t feel like the Cubs have the pieces that the Padres are looking for in return for Peavy.