Odds and Ends: Inge, Salcedo, Corey, Nathan
I write this odds and ends post with two less wisdom teeth than I had yesterday. Looks like applesauce for dinner.
- Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Tigers haven’t talked lately, and doesn’t see L.A. taking on Brandon Inge‘s $19.1MM. Aside from the standard Giants suggestion, Heyman puts on his speculation cap and wonders whether Inge could catch for Houston. What is J.R. Towles, chopped liver?
- This is questionable, but hey, it’s a Friday. Hi5 is a popular social networking site in Central America. A reader sent me a link to this page, which may belong to future superstar kid shortstop/Boras client Edward Salcedo. The owner of the page slapped up a big ol’ Indians logo over a month ago with the caption "my team." I have to reiterate that I don’t know if this is really Salcedo’s page. The Tribe said on Tuesday that Salcedo remained unsigned.
- The Orioles are observing 34 year-old journeyman reliever Bryan Corey.
- Joe Nathan, still chatting contract with the Twins. Kelly Thesier noted that it was the Twins reaching out recently. Nathan’s agent will meet with them Tuesday.
- Jacob Jackson goes out on a limb and wonders if Justin Upton could be Oakland’s first $100MM player.
- The new Phils-ville blog is up.
Odds and Ends: Baldelli, Salcedo, Piazza, Rivera
Time for today’s linkage.
- RotoAuthority looks for some fantasy baseball sleepers at second base.
- Rocco Baldelli has a rare muscle condition that does not allow his body to recover after a short workout. He’ll hit the DL but won’t retire. The Rays will likely decline his option but maybe they’ll re-sign him at a lower price.
- The Indians are in the running for 16 year-old shortstop Edward Salcedo, but the Boras client remains unsigned.
- IGN has their own What Might’ve Been type series, and recently they took a look at the Mike Piazza trades of 1998. Haven’t heard much on Piazza these last few weeks.
- The Angels seem likely to keep Juan Rivera, as he could be their left fielder in ’09 and ’10.
- I’m been devouring The Worst Team Money Could Buy, a book by Bob Klapisch and John Harper chronicling the ’92 Mets. I am a bit too young to remember that team. It’s a hilarious look at that trainwreck, with all sorts of off-the-record quotes. You really get a feel for what it’s like following the Mets beat, too.
Ocker On Blake, Marte, Dellucci, Borowski And Lee
Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal does some speculating on the Indians’ third base, left field, and closer situations.
- Casey Blake’s contract expires at the end of the season, and at age 35, Ocker doesn’t believe that Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro will re-up for him. Ocker points to two reasons why Andy Marte probably won’t work out as the in-house solution to Blake’s potential absence: he could be lost on waivers if he doesn’t make the team as a utility man coming out of Spring Training, and he shows no sign of figuring things out and becoming an impact player. Check out his Dominican Winter League performance if you need further proof that the 24 year-old Marte is regressing: .198/.213/.260 with seven errors. Small sample size? Yes, but wowza!
- Who from the available 2009 free agent list could be had to man third base? Could Asdrubal Cabrera be shifted to shortstop, and Jhonny Peralta moved to third? If so, who could move in to play second in place of Cabrera?
- Ocker also speculates that Shapiro will allow Jason Michaels of the Michaels/David Dellucci platoon walk unless their productivity rises substantially. Michaels is slated to make $2.15MM this season, and the club has an option for $2.6MM in 2009. What about Ben Francisco? Could he be an option to take over for Michaels in the platoon?
- This could also be Joe Borowski’s last year as closer in Cleveland, Ocker says. Borowski will be 37 in 2009, and it has long been speculated that Borowski is on the cusp of losing his job. Ocker points out that it is always tough to find a closer on the free agent market, but remarks that it’s "questionable" that the role could be filled in-house. I still don’t understand the reluctance to place Rafael Betancourt in the role. Anyone?
- Finally, Ocker wonders how Cliff Lee would handle losing the number five slot in the rotation to Aaron Laffey or Jeremy Sowers. Relying on Lee’s response to last year’s demotion — which was one of surprise at a player with a multi-year contract being sent to the minors ($3.75MM this year) — Ocker says that Lee has a sense of entitlement regarding the number five slot. Ocker says that is "fine as long as he holds up his end of the bargain."
Odds and Ends: Choo, Inge, Lohse, Francona
Let’s round up some rumors and links.
- Not only is Shin-Soo Choo out of options, but he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery and may have to join the South Korean military.
- Brandon Inge sat out a demanding drill on Friday, causing Tom Gage to wonder if trade talks are ongoing. Dave Dombrowski spoke on the topic recently, saying all the right things about Inge.
- Kyle Lohse is not interested in a minor league deal or playing in another country. He’s still waiting by the phone though.
- Funny anecdote involving J.P. Ricciardi’s son.
- Terry Francona was extended through 2011, with club options for ’12 and ’13.
- Kenny Williams and Billy Beane: opposites attract. Given their strong relationship, perhaps the Sox could look to acquire Mark Ellis during the season if the current options fall through.
- Wow – Scott Rolen would’ve accepted a trade to the Phillies. The Phils discussed him internally but decided not to pursue it.
- The Giants briefly considered Sean Casey, who is "really good at life" according to Aaron Boone.
Odds and Ends: Kelly Johnson, Nathan, Crede
Time for some early Monday odds and ends.
- Remember how White Sox GM Ron Schueler embarrassed Cubs GM Ed Lynch in 1998 by acquiring Jon Garland for Matt Karchner? Rany Jazayerli sees a parallel to that heist with the Royals’ acquisition of Daniel Cortes as part of the July ’06 Mike MacDougal trade.
- Mike Berardino’s blog continues to entertain; this time with a Dan Miceli story. Ah, knife fights with siblings. Who among us can say they haven’t had one or two?
- Buster Olney learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that Kelly Johnson has been the team’s most asked-for player in trade talks this winter.
- The look on Kyle Kendrick‘s face is priceless.
- Extension talks with the Twins and Joe Nathan have gone dormant. Nathan still thinks the gap can be bridged but wants it done before the season begins.
- Andy Marte and Shin-Soo Choo are both out of options; when Choo comes back from elbow surgery a month into the season one of them could be traded.
- Henry Schulman says the White Sox may accept prospects from the Giants for Joe Crede.
- Derek Lowe is entering his walk year, and he hasn’t had any extension talks with the Dodgers yet.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Johan Santana’s Contract
The biggest move of this year’s Hot Stove League was clearly the trade of Johan Santana. The subsequent contract given to Santana by the Mets set a new benchmark for pitchers and could have a lasting trickle-down effect on other pitchers in baseball. The players most likely to cash in on the Santana deal are other young lefties with strong track records. The first fallout appears to be in Cleveland, with the recent news that C.C. Sabathia has broken off contract talks. With pitchers and catchers conducting their first workouts in many camps today, let’s take a look at how Santana’s deal is affecting other pitchers in the blogosphere.
- Let’s Go Tribe feels that Sabathia could command $150MM on the open market and breaking off contract talks means Sabathia will not be a member of the Indians in 2009.
- Indians Confidential agrees that Sabathia is "as good as gone."
- Tribe Report does not think the Indians should give Sabathia a seven-year deal as it is a stretch to think he will be worth $20MM at age 35.
- MLB Fleece Factor calls it "The Santana Effect" and believes that Santana’s new deal means that A.J. Burnett will likely opt out of his contract in Toronto following the 2008 season. In addition, they believe that there is a possibility that the Jays will look to trade Roy Halladay prior to his 2010 free agency.
- Rays Index believes there is a good chance the Rays will look to trade Scott Kazmir following the 2008 season. They feel that Santana’s deal will make it nearly impossible for the Rays to sign Kazmir to an extension prior to his 2010 free agency. In addition, the recent bounty obtained by the Orioles for Erik Bedard and the pipeline of top pitching prospects in the Rays’ system, suggest that it is in the best interest of the franchise to move their young ace.
C.C. Sabathia Extension Rumors
When we last checked in on the C.C. Sabathia situation, Paul Hoynes spoke of a December offer for $68-72MM covering the 2009-12 seasons, plus a bonus added for ’08.
Hoynes writes about the topic again today and has slightly different information. Now he says the four-year extension offer includes the 2008 season, so it would run through 2011. Sabathia is set to earn $11.25MM in ’08.
That’s really a three-year extension. Johan Santana received extra money for ’08, a five-year extension, and a valuable 2014 option with a solid buyout. Here’s what I think the Indians would need to do to sign Sabathia, at the minimum:
- Give him a $6MM bonus to put toward ’08
- Offer another four years (2009-12) at $75MM, an average annual value of $18.75MM
- If the Tribe offered that and Sabathia passed, they could at least say they made a competitive offer.
Blanton May Be Traded
9:14pm: Fay suggests the A’s would want Homer Bailey or Johnny Cueto, Joey Votto, and a third player for Blanton.
1:32pm: Paul Daugherty and John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer report that the Reds and Dodgers are talking to the A’s about Blanton. Seems to be a disagreement about whether the Dodgers are in on this.
10:31am: Check out this new Ken Rosenthal video (hat tip to MetsBlog). The video is all about Joe Blanton.
- One Rosenthal source suggests a 50/50 chance Blanton is traded (presumably before the season starts).
- Two teams are showing significant interest. Rosenthal believes the Reds are one, and the Twins or Rays could be another. He rules out the Dodgers, Yankees, Rockies, and Indians. The Reds have had preliminary discussions for Blanton already. How about the Phillies? They came calling in July.
- Rosenthal notes that the bounty for Blanton will be less than that of Dan Haren, because Blanton is slightly more expensive and an inferior pitcher.
- On January 14th, an A’s source suggested to MLB.com’s Jim Molony who expected Blanton to be the A’s Opening Day starter.
C.C. Sabathia Extension Rumors
2-5-08 at 9:50am: Indians GM Mark Shapiro has no plans to trade Sabathia. Not a big surprise, since they’re a contending team.
2-4-08: Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has some details about the Indians’ December contract extension offer to ace C.C. Sabathia. The four-year extension would run from 2009 through 2012 and is believed to be between $68-72MM. There would also probably be some kind of bonus added to Sabathia’s $11.25MM ’08 salary to bring him more in line with his peers.
If Sabathia compares himself to Jake Peavy and Carlos Zambrano, then the Indians’ offer has a chance. But the new Johan bar is set at about $23MM per year. Hoynes says the Tribe is probably going to have to revise its offer because of the Mets’ new ace. Peter Gammons says Santana is "the reason the Indians have no chance of re-signing Sabathia unless someone finds oil in Lake Erie."
You can bet Sabathia and his free agent adventure will receive a ton of coverage from this site come December.
Erik Bedard Rumors
UPDATES, 1-31-08 at 2:13pm: Interesting note from SI.com’s Jon Heyman – the Indians made a late bid for Bedard.
UPDATE, 1-31-08 at 11:36am: Bedard’s agent takes a swing at MLB.com for suggesting that the deal was held up because of extension talks with the Orioles. Not true.
UPDATE, 1-31-08 at 11:24am: Buster Olney checks in with some new info. He explains a tricky situation regarding the rules of making trades and passing physicals. Olney says the Orioles have asked the Mariners for an agreement where they would have have to make the trade if Adam Jones and George Sherrill passed their physicals. This written agreement could move things along.
FROM 1-31-08 at 9:12am:
Erik Bedard rumors/drama – here’s the latest.
- Andy MacPhail says Peter Angelos did not nix any deal. McPhail says trade talks are ongoing and no deals are expected today.
- Yesterday it was reported by MLB.com’s Jim Street that the Orioles were making a last-ditch effort to sign Bedard to an extension, perhaps as long as five years.