Heyman’s Latest: Burnett, Lowe, Hudson, Tex
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has several new blog posts up. Let’s take a look.
- The Yankees planned offers in the four-year, $60MM range for A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, but that’s not sufficient for either pitcher. Burnett wants five years, and Lowe presumably at least $16MM per year and perhaps five as well.
- The Indians, Mets, and Yankees are in on Orlando Hudson, who wants a five-year, $50MM deal. The Dodgers are another possibility. The New York teams would have to do some shuffling to make room for Hudson. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported the Indians’ interest yesterday evening. The Tribe is also in on Orlando Cabrera, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown.
- Heyman says the Angels will make a "fair proposal with a deadline" for Mark Teixeira, with Miguel Cabera‘s eight-year, $153MM deal as a baseline. This echoes recent columns from Ken Rosenthal and Bill Ladson.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Giles, Beimel
Links for Wednesday…
- You can hear me on Lenny Melnick’s radio show at about 7:15pm CST.
- The Marlins could be an interesting long shot for Raul Ibanez, but he’d have to leave significant money on the table.
- Indians manager Eric Wedge really wants the team to bring in a closer.
- George King likes Jason Giambi for the Rays; Cork Gaines imagines the negotiations.
- Jesse Spector talking to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who wasn’t in a revealing mood.
- Tony Massarotti expects the Red Sox to make a huge offer to Mark Teixeira.
- Padres outfielder Brian Giles doesn’t expect to be traded this winter. If the team is in the tank next summer he might approve a deal, perhaps contingent on a contract extension.
- Jacob Jackson says Kevin Towers has handled the Jake Peavy negotiations poorly so far.
- Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky could end up in Baltimore’s front office.
- Bernie Williams is still not ready to retire.
- Derrick Goold believes the Cardinals have $17-21MM to spend.
- At least six clubs are in on Joe Beimel. The Tigers are one, while the Cardinals, Rockies, and Mets may be others.
Odds and Ends: Tazawa, Boras, Cuban
Links for Tuesday…
- Scouts from the Tigers and Indians visited Junichi Tazawa yesterday.
- This week’s chat has been pushed to Wednesday at 2pm CST.
- I chatted with The Baseball Opinion on November 10th.
- Patrick Newman compares Kenshin Kawakami and Hiroki Kuroda.
- Jesse Spector talks to D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes.
- Ken Davidoff explains the semantics games often played by agents, GMs, and journalists.
- Peter Abraham makes free agent predictions.
- Chat with Scott Boras at USA Today on Wednesday at 10am CST. You can submit questions in advance.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Mark Cuban’s bid for the Cubs wasn’t high enough, anyway.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy, Teixeira, Burnett
Ken Rosenthal’s got an interesting new column up.
- Now that talks with the Braves have ended for the time being, Padres GM Kevin Towers is talking with the Yankees about Jake Peavy. The Yankees have had “numerous discussions” with the Padres, even though they just offered C.C. Sabathia a contract and are still considering A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.
- Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said that “the Angels probably would be more appealing” geographically, but “from other perspectives, they might be less appealing” than other teams
- Rosenthal talked with an agent who said that the Angels could wait a week or 10 days before making Mark Teixeira a “knockout offer” with a deadline.
- Even though the Yankees traded for Nick Swisher, they could still have interest in Teixeira if he’s willing to consider a shorter contract of four or five years for top dollar.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi knows that Toronto “won’t be the highest bidder” for A.J. Burnett. Ricciardi hopes that Burnett likes Toronto enough to re-sign.
- The Indians are considering going after both Juan Cruz and Jeremy Affeldt instead of an experienced closer.
- The Phillies and Giants could also bid on Cruz.
- The Cardinals will have interest in Affeldt and Joe Beimel as they try to strengthen their bullpen.
The Trevor Hoffman Situation
In a post on his blog, Padres exec Paul DePodesta outlines the progression of the Trevor Hoffman negotiations (and also explains why exercising Brian Giles‘ option was an easy call). Tom Krasovic also provides details, including quotes from Hoffman’s agent Rick Thurman.
- Thurman believes the $4MM offer for ’09 (with a club option at the same salary for ’10) was insincere. He feels the Padres never intended to sign Hoffman and calls the chances of a deal "miniscule." Hoffman is also upset that owner John Moores did not want to meet with him. Plus, Thurman seems annoyed that Towers contacted Hoffman directly regarding the Moores meeting.
- On the Padres’ side, CEO Sandy Alderson notes that the offer was not of the "take it or leave it" variety and it is not common let an offer sit for a prolonged period of time. Thurman did not a make a counteroffer, and the Padres never wanted these negotiations to be public.
- This is not a black and white situation. While the Padres’ initial offer was low, the two sides could’ve kept things private and met in the middle in the $5.75MM range. I also think Moores should’ve been willing to meet with Hoffman, as this is not a normal player negotiation.
- If Hoffman does leave, Thurman considers the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Mets, Indians, Angels, and Rangers potential suitors. Why no mention of the Tigers? Jim Baumbach likes Hoffman for the Mets.
Mark Shapiro – GM Trade History
MLBTR contributor Brendan Bianowicz is back with another GM Trade History. This time he chronicles the work of Indians GM Mark Shapiro. You can download the Excel spreadsheet here.
Rockies Talking Trade With Reds
8:50pm: Reds GM Walt Jocketty says nothing is close with the Rockies; he’s talked to a lot of clubs. His snide remark: "They all didn’t allow it to get out."
Jocketty talked to the Rockies about Matt Holliday, but it was a short discussion.
7:37pm: Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News says the Reds have definite interest in Atkins, but not Torrealba or Taveras. The Reds like the idea of adding Atkins’ righthanded bat. They don’t like Torrealba’s price and Taveras’ inability to get on base. Ringolsby says the Phillies, Angels, and Twins are also after Atkins.
3:28pm: Troy Renck confirms Rosenthal’s report, and also speaks of speculation that the Red Sox will make a run at Chris Iannetta. A long shot to be sure.
Other Rockies notes: Renck says the Rox told people close to Manny Corpas that he’s still the closer, meaning Street might be on the outs. Additionally, the Rockies have expressed interest in Carl Pavano.
1:17pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Rockies aren’t done dealing – they’re talking trade with the Reds and other clubs. The Reds like Willy Taveras, Yorvit Torrealba, and Garrett Atkins, with a "definite interest" in Taveras.
Meanwhile the Indians like newly acquired Huston Street and the Nationals are one club eyeing Carlos Gonzalez. Rosenthal says the Rockies figure to hang on to Greg Smith.
It seems we can’t yet judge the Holliday trade for the Rockies. It did seem odd that they would acquire a closer and a young center fielder, two positions at which they already had solid options.
Hoffman, Padres Reach Impasse
5:02pm: Padres exec Sandy Alderson told MLB.com’s Corey Brock he’s perfectly willing to talk to Hoffman.
10:53am: The door is closed on both sides, according to Olney. Hoffman is upset with the Padres’ handling of the situation.
TUESDAY, 8:00am: Hoffman’s agent considers his client "the cream of the closers." The Indians are expected to be one interested party, according to Barry Bloom and Corey Brock of MLB.com. The Tigers at least inquired about some unknown players represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council, possibly Hoffman. Jon Paul Morosi says he fits their profile.
MONDAY, 10:34pm: Olney is now more emphatic in saying Hoffman "will not return to the Padres for 2009."
10:01pm: Tom Krasovic says the Padres withdrew their $4MM offer.
9:32pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Padres and legendary closer Trevor Hoffman have reached an impasse in contract negotiations. The team offered Hoffman $4MM plus incentives (perhaps with a club option for ’10). Olney believes Hoffman’s Padres career is over, "barring a dramatic turn in negotiations."
The Cardinals don’t have Hoffman on the radar, but the Indians will give him a look.
Indians Rumors: Shoppach, Roberts, Street
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer discusses the Indians’ offseason needs.
- With Victor Martinez, Kelly Shoppach, Carlos Santana, and others, the Indians have a surplus of catching (and mad guitar skills). The Red Sox, Marlins, Reds, and Tigers are known to be in the market, so maybe the Indians can deal a catcher to fill another need. Those other needs: an infielder, a late inning reliever, and a starter.
- Hoynes believes the Indians will fall short of meeting the demands of free agents Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Rafael Furcal.
- Hoynes implies the asking price for one year of Brian Roberts is Fausto Carmona and Asdrubal Cabrera. That won’t work for the Tribe; they are looking to add a starter. They might have the same problem if they try to acquire Garrett Atkins.
- As we’ve heard, the Indians are in on Huston Street.
- Hoynes tosses out a couple of possible free agent bargains that may come with the necessary price break: Joe Crede and Jason Isringhausen.
Odds and Ends: Tazawa, Young, Kouzmanoff
Links for Friday. As always, I’ll update this post with more stuff so refresh later if you’re interested.
- Nick Piecoro suggests catcher Miguel Montero could be the D’Backs’ best trade chip. Their needs will be second base and perhaps starting pitching.
- The Marlins’ top priority is improving their defense.
- Dave Cameron takes apart Scott Boras’ claim about Oliver Perez. If more of these client books leak out, Boras is going to have to hire Cameron to keep him quiet.
- White Sox GM Ken Williams talked about adding speed from within, though Williams is notoriously unpredictable.
- Two 19 year-old Indian men named Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel will try out in front of Major League scouts today after winning the Million Dollar Arm contest. The idea of the contest was to find raw talent among India’s huge population, kids who could hit 85mph consistently. The Red Sox and Indians are among the clubs in attendance.
- The Phillies may be interested in Junichi Tazawa, though Ruben Amaro’s "We know of him" comment isn’t exactly an endorsement. The Indians, Yankees, and D’Backs will pass on Tazawa, who could command $7MM.
- Also at NPB Tracker, a second Japanese club hopes to convince the Rangers to trade Nelson Cruz. Doesn’t make much sense for Texas.
- Amaro is figuring out his front office; Chuck LaMar has been promoted to assistant GM.
- Chris De Luca’s sources close to Bud Selig say there’s "zero chance" Bud and the owners let Mark Cuban buy the Cubs.
- Baseball America has the full list of 561 minor league free agents. See anyone you like?
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire looks at the notable waiver claims of the past few years.
- Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto says the Twins are reportedly willing to trade Delmon Young to the Padres for Kevin Kouzmanoff.