Erik Bedard Rumors: Mariners, Reds, Indians
Erik Bedard staying put in Baltimore this winter? Maybe not. Ken Rosenthal and Jason Churchill both busted out brand new material this evening with the latest Bedard chatter. The upshot is that the Mariners seem to have a decent shot at him.
- Rosenthal says the Mariners will put Adam Jones, Jeff Clement, and Matt Tuiasosopo in the deal. He indicates that the Orioles could push to substitute and get one of Tony Butler, Chris Tillman, and Carlos Triunfel. Looks like Bill Bavasi is sticking to the idea of keeping Brandon Morrow. Rosenthal hedges his bets, but admits to "growing indications that the teams could be moving closer to a deal."
- Churchill says something similar: the Mariners and Orioles "may very well be making significant progress." Churchill sees a package of Jones, Triunfel, and George Sherrill as the likely scenario.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein recently listed his Top 11 Prospects for the Mariners. Clement was a five-star, Tillman and Triunfel four-stars, Butler a two-star, and Tuiasosopo an honorable mention. Jones would be first were he still considered a prospect.
- Both Ohio teams have interest in Bedard as well, but a trade to the Indians or Reds seems less likely. The Reds still won’t give up Jay Bruce.
Odds and Ends: Hillenbrand, Tsao, Uehara
Here are some random bits and pieces to hold us over until front offices re-open…
- Shea Hillenbrand has only received one inquiry this winter – from the Giants. He probably won’t be earning $6MM again. Hillenbrand posted a .599 OPS in 267 ABs for the Angels and Dodgers this year. I thought perhaps that was one of the worst performances of the decade for guys with 250+ ABs. However it’s only the 49th worst since 2000. Homer Bush’s 2000 takes the cake – a .524 OPS for the Blue Jays in 297 ABs.
- The Royals inked Chin-Hui Tsao to a minor-league deal. Tsao was once considered the Rockies’ best prospect, but he’s been decimated by injuries. Makes sense for the Royals to throw him a bone though.
- Koji Uehara re-signed with the Yomiuri Giants for 400 million yen – about $3.57MM. He’ll turn 33 in April. A hamstring injury knocked Uehara out of the ’07 season’s first month, denying him free agency this winter. Now he needs to be active for just eight days to be eligible after the season. The Giants used him in relief in ’07, perhaps to spite him. Read more about that and his repertoire in my Q&A with Mike Plugh on Uehara.
- John Fay runs down the Reds’ veteran free agent starter options.
- A-Rod still won’t return Scott Boras’ calls.
- Jason Churchill names some intriguing, possibly available young hurlers who may be on Seattle’s radar: Scott Olsen, Noah Lowry, Daniel Cabrera, Edwin Jackson, Chris Capuano, Ian Snell, and Anthony Reyes.
- Nothing is cooking with Brandon Inge, and the Tigers won’t be bringing Sean Casey back.
Orioles To Hold On To Bedard?
UPDATE, 12-22-07 at 4:52pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Orioles have backed off on their demand for Jay Bruce from the Reds in a Bedard deal. He says they still require three top prospects, who would probably be Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, and Joey Votto. That would wipe out the farm system, as that trio ranks #2-4 in the organization according to Baseball America. Would it be better to substitute Edwin Encarnacion for Cueto?
FROM 12-22-07 at 12:35pm:
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun recently snagged some quotes from Andy MacPhail, the Orioles’ president of baseball operations. MacPhail said there’s a "strong likelihood" that Erik Bedard is the Orioles’ Opening Day starter in 2008. He also said not to expect any Orioles deals before the new year.
MacPhail made the assertion because he hasn’t been impressed with any of the offers for Bedard. The Reds would have to crack and give up Jay Bruce. The Mariners would probably have to give up both Adam Jones and Brandon Morrow, and they seem unwilling to trade Morrow. The Dodgers seem out of the mix given the Hiroki Kuroda signing. It sounds like it would take a dark horse to sweep in and make a monstrous offer. The Indians could fit the bill, in my estimation.
White Sox Sign Alexei Ramirez
UPDATE, 12-22-07 at 6:00pm: Ramirez can earn another $3.25MM in incentives.
UPDATE, 12-21-07 at 10:57pm: Ramirez gets a mere $4.75MM over the four-year pact. That’s an excellent move right there, in my opinion. Dirt cheap – low risk, decent reward.
FROM 12-21-07 at 5:35pm:
The White Sox made an interesting move today, signing Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez to a four-year contract. The presence of Jose Contreras should be helpful for him. Ramirez probably profiles as Chicago’s center fielder, though he could also play second base. Here’s what Baseball America had to say about him a few months ago.
It’s tough to judge this signing until we hear the money involved. He was apparently highly sought after, as ESPN says he worked out for the Red Sox, Indians, Reds, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Twins, and A’s too. Ramirez is apparently 26 years old. I think he’s going to need some time in the minors, as Clay Davenport has equated Cuban baseball with our short season A ball.
As a means of comparison, Yuniesky Betancourt signed for four years and $2.826MM in January of 2005. Kendry Morales signed a four-year deal worth around $10MM in December of 2004.
Rangers Trade Volquez For Hamilton
Today we had another bold swap of young players. The Rangers sent young pitchers Edinson Volquez and Danny Ray Herrera to the Reds for outfielder Josh Hamilton.
You all know the story with Hamilton. Former first overall pick by the Rays in ’99, immensely talented. Derailed by drug problems for many years, then posted an incredible half season in the Majors for the Reds despite little experience above A ball. He put up a .922 OPS for the Reds, and seems like a great gamble by Jon Daniels despite health concerns. He’ll turn 27 in May; hopefully the Rangers let him stay in center. Hamilton leaves a park that inflates left-handed home runs by about 28% to a park that inflates them by 24%. His departure clears a path for top prospect Jay Bruce.
Volquez, 24, is also immensely talented. He kept stalling at the big league level but finally seemed to figure it out in September. Baseball America calls his stuff "electric," describing a mid-90s heater paired with a mid-70s change-up. One concern here is that Volquez is a flyball pitcher. Wayne Krivsky took an interesting route to add an intriguing starter; I wonder if the move takes them out of the Erik Bedard sweepstakes. It’s been speculated that the Reds could go after Mike Cameron to fill their new center field void.
Herrera, 23, is a southpaw relief prospect. Check out this info from Baseball America. He barely registers 5-foot-7, 145 pounds. He tops out at 84mph but throws some kind of screwball to offset the weak heat. This trick helped him post an 11.0 K/9 in Double A this year.
Baseball America rocks, check them out by the way. They’ve already got analysis of this deal up here.
Rangers Rumors: Guardado, Cameron, Hamilton
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has all the latest hot stove buzz around the Rangers.
- The Rangers are nearing a deal with Eddie Guardado. Everyday Eddie might be a dark horse to close, if he can flash his late season form again. The Reds decided in October that he was not worth $3.5MM, and declined his option. Guardado is 37.
- The Rangers hope to add some kind of veteran starter. Bartolo Colon and Jason Jennings are still options, but Mark Prior and Freddy Garcia pretty much are not. Sullivan names Mike Maroth, Mark Hendrickson, and Josh Towers as pitchers of interest.
- Mike Cameron could be an option for center field if he’ll take a one-year deal. A multiyear demand would also take the Rangers out of the running for Corey Patterson.
- Sullivan notes that the Reds want Edinson Volzquez for Josh Hamilton, a possibility he first mentioned three weeks ago. Jamey Newberg doesn’t think Volquez would cut it. Other trade options could include Andre Ethier, Coco Crisp, and Juan Pierre.
- The Rangers will pass on a Kevin Mench reunion.
The Mark Prior Derby
Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day. Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon. Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.
- Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
- Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
- White Sox – Named only by Stark.
- Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
- Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
- Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
- Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
- Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
- Giants – Named only by Stark
- Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
- Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
- Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
- Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
- Indians – Named only by Crasnick
One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point. The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.
Nothing Imminent With Orioles
Sean Welsh of the Baltimore Examiner spoke to Orioles’ president Andy MacPhail, clearing up some rumors that had been buzzing around. MacPhail would be "very surprised" if the Orioles strike deals for Erik Bedard or Brian Roberts before year’s end.
Welsh says the Cubs are focused on Roberts, while the Reds are still on Bedard’s trail.
Stark’s Latest: Prior, Lofton, Otsuka
ESPN’s Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.
- Stark dug around to find all the Mark Prior suitors and came up with this list: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals (11 teams). Let’s compare notes. MLBTR readers have seen the Yankees, Mets, Cards, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Nats linked to Prior already. So Stark has added the Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, and Giants. The idea of the Mariners runs contrary to this MLB.com article. Stark did not name the Rangers, who are said to be aggressively pursuing Prior. Prior is dead set on a one-year deal and would take a big league mound in May in the best case.
- The Phils are focused on Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, offering two year deals to each. They might just take the first one to accept. Stark says Kenny Lofton could be an option if both decline. Lofton batted a career-best .335 for the Phils in ’05.
- Stark rattles off a laundry list of pitchers the Phillies are interested in: Akinori Otsuka, Byung-Hyun Kim, Roberto Hernandez, Kris Benson, John Parrish, Sidney Ponson, Chad Durbin, Kyle Lohse, and Jeremy Affeldt. Given Stark’s 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I imagine he has a connection or two. Most of those are new names besides Benson, Lohse, Ponson, and Affeldt.
- A source of Stark picks the Yankees as the favorite for Johan, but it should be noted that they’re having internal debates about pulling Phil Hughes off the table.
- For all the crazy Cubs fans we’ve got here: Stark says they’ve talked to the Orioles about both Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, but couldn’t pull off a deal for both. They favor Roberts even though they need Bedard much more.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Prior, Bedard, Haren
The rumor mill is picking up today, thanks in no short part to Ken Rosenthal. Check out his latest column.
- Rosenthal believes the Padres are Mark Prior‘s first choice, but as usual they won’t pay as much as other teams. Both Texas clubs are in the lead for Prior currently. Rosenthal also names the Cards, Mets, and Yankees are suitors, as we knew. The Pirates, by the way, have not inquired.
- Talks for Erik Bedard have slowed down, because the Orioles aren’t impressed with the offers. The Mariners, Reds, and Mets are the top contenders. Rosenthal indicates that the Reds may be overvaluing Homer Bailey, compared to the perception of other clubs.
- Interesting late-game suitors for Dan Haren: the Rockies and Braves. You wonder, then, whether they’ll also inquire on Bedard.
- Rosenthal notes that the Chris Burke acquisition could be a sign that the D’Backs won’t re-sign Orlando Hudson. Burke will have to show something first though.
- The Orioles don’t seem likely to flip Luke Scott; they like his style. The guy could hit 30 bombs this year, in the opinion of Ron Shandler and Co.
- The Twins are up to 39 on their 40 man roster, so they’ll have to be creative to take back four players in a Johan Santana deal. It could mean including a player with Johan.