According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies avoided arbitration with pitcher Jorge De La Rosa by signing him for $2MM for ’09. He can make another $100K based on innings pitched. This is De La Rosa’s second arb year.
Rockies Rumors
Rockies Avoid Arb With Huston Street
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Rockies avoided arbitration with reliever Huston Street by signing him for $4.5MM for ’09. This is Street’s second arb year, so he’ll be a free agent after the 2010 season. His future contracts will be greatly affected by whether he can re-establish himself as a closer.
Cardinals Outfielders Speak
A few Cardinals notes this evening coming out of the team’s Winter Warmup.
- Before Matt Holliday was traded to the A’s, Cards outfielder Skip Schumaker thought he’d wind up in Colorado as part of the rumored Holliday-Ryan Ludwick deal. Schumaker said, "I thought that was a done deal, and from everything I heard and from pretty good sources I thought I was definitely out of here."
- Ludwick and Rick Ankiel are two of the team’s prominent arbitration cases. Ludwick said the Cards have not opened up extension talks. Ankiel, a Scott Boras client, is eligible for free agency after the season. Ankiel’s quote about the future: "Absolutely, I’ve told [Boras] I want to work in St. Louis. But for me, it’s just focusing on having a healthy year. If you don’t play, nobody’s going to want you."
- The cheapest autograph at the Warmup: $5 for Adam Kennedy. Kennedy drew Tony La Russa’s ire for not attending last year.
Rockies Sign Scott Podsednik, Matt Belisle
THURSDAY, 6:05pm: MLB.com’s Thomas Harding adds a couple names to Renck’s list. Second baseman Luis A. Gonzalez is a non-roster invitee and Josh Fogg "could return to the Rockies."
WEDNESDAY, 3:36pm: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies re-signed outfielder Scott Podsednik to a minor league deal. Renck says the Rox also added Matt Belisle, Dan Ortmeier, Edwin Bellorin, and Cedrick Bowers on minor league deals. If he’s useful, the Rockies can retain Belisle in future seasons as an arbitration-eligible player.
Cafardo’s Latest: Manny, Dunn, Fielder
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has lots of rumors in his latest article:
- Apparently the Giants were willing to offer Manny Ramirez a four year deal in the form of a one year deal with three option years. No more details are known, except that the Giants remain interested in Manny.
- Brad Ausmus has had ongoing talks with the Padres and Dodgers, according to Cafardo’s sources. The Red Sox aren’t interested.
- The Angels, Giants and Mets are possible suitors for Xavier Nady.
- Cafardo’s heard other clubs talking about the Red Sox and Rockies restarting the Todd Helton for Mike Lowell trade talk, but hasn’t heard anything similar from the Red Sox.
- At least one of Cafardo’s sources thinks Prince Fielder would make a lot of sense in Boston. Clay Buchholz could be a starting point if these talks were to start.
- Ben Sheets is becoming a bargain, so the Braves or Rangers could jump in and sign him affordably.
- Cafardo calls Atlanta an "emerging" destination for Adam Dunn.
Heyman On Manny, Lowe, Crede, Redding, Hinske
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…
- The Giants "look like a major threat" to the Dodgers for Manny Ramirez and are "making a serious run at him." Former teammate J.T. Snow apparently raved about him. Nonetheless Heyman says the Dodgers are "probably still considered the favorite." Heyman lists the Rangers as "intrigued." He believes Ramirez will get three guaranteed years somewhere.
- Heyman says Derek Lowe is "quite possibly" in play for the Phillies, though we heard from Ken Rosenthal today that the team denied interest. Heyman also sticks with the Brewers and Angels as outside possibilities despite reports to the contrary. He believes Mets GM Omar Minaya prefers Oliver Perez to Lowe.
- The Giants, Twins, and Rangers are in on Joe Crede.
- Players said to be in on Freddy Garcia: the Mets, White Sox, and Rangers. We can probably cross off the Mets with their Tim Redding signing.
- Heyman believes the Dodgers want to replace Brad Penny with Randy Wolf.
- Heyman says the Pirates offered more guaranteed money than the Red Sox to Rocco Baldelli. Dejan Kovacevic had this first in an article published early this morning.
- The Red Sox were looking at Eric Hinske but with Baldelli and Mark Kotsay in tow it’s unlikely. A Japanese team has "allegedly shown interest" in Hinske.
- Before signing with the Rays for two years and $16MM, Pat Burrell was getting offers in the one-year, $5MM range.
Renck On Redding, Fogg, Jennings
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post weighs in on various free agent pitchers.
- The Rockies are a long shot for Tim Redding following their Jason Marquis acquisition. The Mets and Orioles still like him; he may command $2.5-3MM.
- Josh Fogg would like to return to Colorado, but has drawn interest from other teams as well.
- The Rangers and D’Backs are interested in Jason Jennings. Jennings missed most of the season after signing with Texas for $4MM. He had surgery in May to repair a torn flexor tendon in his forearm.
- The Mets are one team with an eye on outfielder Cory Sullivan.
Marquis To Rockies Deal Finalized
TUESDAY, 3:21pm: The Marquis for Vizcaino swap has been finalized. Gordon Wittenmyer says the Cubs are sending $875K to the Rockies. Jim Hendry said today he hopes to add another pitcher before Opening Day.
MONDAY, 9:55pm: The Chicago Tribune’s Dave van Dyck says the Cubs are "actively seeking more live arms, whether it be Jake Peavy or another starter to replace the innings of Marquis."
5:05pm: Chicago Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis is close to becoming a Colorado Rockies starter, according to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat.
Muskat believes the deal, which will ship Rockies reliever Luis Vizcaino to the Cubs, will be finalized Tuesday. The move will free up Cubs money for the newly-acquired Milton Bradley.
Marquis (11-9, 4.53 ERA) is scheduled to make $9.875MM in 2009, the final year of the three-year contract he signed with the Cubs in December 2006. The Cubs are expected to pay $1MM of Marquis’ ’09 salary; Vizcaino will make $4MM this year, Muskat continued.
Muskat also notes that moving Marquis does not mean the Cubs will resume talks with the Padres regarding Jake Peavy, but more likely, Sean Marshall will fill the fifth spot in the Cubs’ rotation.
Redding Remains On Rockies’ Radar
Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that despite the pending acquisition of Cubs starter Jason Marquis, the Colorado Rockies are still in the hunt for right-hander Tim Redding’s services.
Harding notes that the Rockies tried to trade for Redding with the Washington Nationals during the Winter Meetings.
Odds & Ends: Rockies, Iguchi, Indians
Some odds and ends for a quiet Sunday morning:
- Troy E. Renck notes that after acquiring Jason Marquis, arbitration is going to result in a slight payroll increase of $5MM for the Rockies.
- From Kyodo News: The Lotte Marines will begin talks with Tadahito Iguchi on Wednesday in Okinawa.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe points out that the Red Sox prefer short, low cost, low risk contracts for established talent (i.e. Wade Miller, Bartolo Colon, and now Brad Penny) rather than large free agent contracts for pitchers.
- Keith Law says the Indians got Mark DeRosa for cheap, adding that a ".285/.365/.440 line is well within reason."
