Rockies Could Pursue Marquis
Instead of "getting caught up in a bidding war" for Tim Redding with a few other teams, the Rockies could turn their focus to Jason Marquis of the Cubs according to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News (via Bleed Cubbie Blue).
Ringolsby points to the durability that Marquis has shown and his ERA of 2.51 in five career Coors Field appearances to explain the Rockies’ interest. It’d also be fun to see Marquis at the plate in Denver, where he’s posted a .704 OPS in 29 PA’s as a hitter.
Marquis would likely be affordable for Colorado, since the Cubs "seem likely to eat roughly half" of the $9.9MM guaranteed to the righty in 2009.
The Mets have a similar strategy and would pursue Marquis if they can’t sign Redding.
How Will The Angels Spend Their Money?
12:02pm: Boras gave a prepared statement regarding the Angels and Tex, saying that the player’s interest has been sincere. Boras left the door open for the Angels, but why wouldn’t he?
11:28am: So the Angels are out of the running for Mark Teixeira. Now what? They’ve re-signed Juan Rivera, making Manny Ramirez a "reach" according to Jerry Crasnick’s source. Mike DiGiovanna has suggestions:
The Angels…could also look to bolster their offense by pursuing a free-agent outfielder such as Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn, or, possibly, Manny. Or, they could look to trade for a hitter such as Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, Garrett Atkins or Joey Votto. They will probably use some of the money budgeted for Teixeira to sign closer Brian Fuentes, who is seeking a three-year, $30-million deal and has said that the Angels are his first choice.
Votto seems a long shot to be traded. Acquiring Dye or Atkins would require young pitching the Halos may not be able to spare. Adding another outfielder would not be ideal, with Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Rivera, and Gary Matthews Jr. in the mix for those three spots and the DH spot. Still, it could be done. Burrell or Dunn can at least play some first base. The Konerko idea seems reasonable, if he’d approve the trade.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Looper, Redding
In detailing their offseason plan to address the rotation, Ken Rosenthal adds the Baltimore Orioles to the short list of teams interested in acquiring Tim Redding. The Orioles are also interested in Braden Looper, says the article.
In addition to the Orioles, Redding is being sought after by the New York Mets and Colorado Rockies. The Rockies have also been mentioned in rumors regarding a potential pursuit of Looper.
It may take a two-year deal to land Redding, and recent rumors have made it appear as though only the Mets are willing to go that far.
Based on the rumors we’ve been seeing lately, it may come down to dividing three back-end starting pitchers among three teams in need of rotation help: one each of Redding, Looper and Jason Marquis, for the Orioles, Rockies, and Mets.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Odds and Ends: Redding, Turnbow, Looper
Links for Saturday…
- RotoAuthority looks at projections for Chris Davis. 35 home runs next year?
- Bill Madden suggests Paul Kinzer screwed up in both the Rafael Furcal and Francisco Rodriguez negotiations.
- More details on Dan Johnson – the Rays are selling him to a Japanese team for $100,000-500,000.
- Tim Redding‘s agent says "the Mets are very much in the mix" for the righty.
- Juan C. Rodriguez confirms the Marlins’ interest in Derrick Turnbow, but says they aren’t going after Ray King.
- The Rockies could pursue Braden Looper.
- The Orioles have expressed interest in Phillies catcher Chris Coste.
- New National Josh Willingham likes the Marlins’ young talent.
- New Phillie Raul Ibanez likes the chances that the Mariners will have a better offense in 2009.
- The AP has details on the perks in the C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett deals.
- Ken Davidoff looks at the impact Mark Teixeira‘s decision will have on six teams. Amazing how one deal will shape so many teams’ plans.
- Buster Olney writes that many players are going to make much less than expected in 2009, including Manny Ramirez. In that same blog post, Olney notes that his colleague Jerry Crasnick says the Angels’ signing of Juan Rivera takes them out of the market for Manny.
- The D’Backs’ discussions for Tony Clark are progressing.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Crosby, Kawakami, Wolf
3:44pm: MLB.com’s Jim Street says Crosby cleared waivers.
9:00am: The word from Ken Rosenthal…
- The A’s placed shortstop Bobby Crosby on outright waivers in the hope that some team will assume his $5.75MM salary for ’09. After his lousy ’08, he may go unclaimed.
- The Braves were focused on Rafael Furcal; they’re not looking to add a different infielder as a backup plan. They still want another starting pitcher. Dave O’Brien names some possible targets.
- Rosenthal says some teams fear Kenshin Kawakami might want to match Hiroki Kuroda‘s three-year, $35.3MM deal.
- The Mariners would like to add a left-handed hitter with power; they’re waiting for a bargain.
- The Rockies are apparently debating whether to sign Tim Redding or trade for Jason Marquis. Reports in the Denver Post suggest Redding is the top target.
- Randy Wolf is looking for $30MM over three years. The Astros were in the $22-24MM range before pulling back.
Rockies Sign Glendon Rusch
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies signed lefty reliever Glendon Rusch to a one-year minor league deal worth $750K. He’ll be the swingman and second lefty in the pen.
Four Teams Pursuing Redding
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies, Rangers, Mets, and Orioles have been the most aggressive suitors for free agent starter Tim Redding. Redding, 31 in February, posted a 4.95 ERA in 33 starts for the Nationals this year while earning $1MM. They decided to non-tender him.
Other notes from Renck…the Rox have had productive talks with Glendon Rusch, and Ray King has drawn interest from the Phillies, Marlins, and Pirates.
Wigginton Too Pricey For Twins?
According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
The Twins like Ty Wigginton but believe he’s looking for a bigger contract than the three-year, $17.5 million deal the Los Angeles Dodgers gave Casey Blake. So the Twins have had little to no dialogue with Wigginton’s agent, Dan Lozano.
I had Wigginton pegged for two years and $12MM or so, but he is four years younger than Blake and outhit him in 2008 (though he had 172 fewer plate appearances and was largely aided by Minute Maid Park). If Wiggy can really get a better contract than Blake, it would’ve made sense for the Astros to tender him a contract and then trade him.
Christensen adds that the Twins still have hope for acquiring Mark DeRosa, but talks for Garrett Atkins and Adrian Beltre hit dead ends. Also, Jon Heyman tosses the Twins into the mix for Michael Young. We’d previously heard about the Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals discussing him. Heyman did not find evidence talks for Young got serious with any team, though, and he wonders if Young would approve a trade to Minnesota.
In other Twins news, Christensen notes that the Twins expressed interest in free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, who seems to be waiting until Brian Fuentes signs.
Odds and Ends: Nelson, Atkins, Taveras
After a hectic Winter Meetings, it’s been a slow weekend. Today’s links…
- A 3.35 ERA for Phil Hughes next year? Bill James and Co. think so.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe talked to Mark Mulder‘s agent, Gregg Clifton. Clifton said, "He’s ready to go for any team right out of the chute." Clifton shot down talk that Mulder would not be ready in April.
- The Rays have contacted the agents for Joe Nelson and Scott Proctor.
- Keith Law likes A.J. Burnett‘s upside, but notes the risks. Peter Abraham compares the Burnett and Johan Santana deals.
- Law is in favor of the Indians’ Kerry Wood signing.
- Scott Ostler’s baseball source says people are scratching their heads about the Giants’ Edgar Renteria contract.
- Bruce Jenkins says the Rockies would trade Garrett Atkins for Jonathan Sanchez.
- Troy Renck says Willy Taveras has received interest from the Reds, Nationals, and White Sox.
- Drayton McLane says there are a lot of reasons for Astros fans to be optimistic.
- The Yankees like Andy Pettitte over Ben Sheets.
Odds and Ends: Burrell, Braves, Red Sox
Links for Friday night…
- The Reds are going to call Pat Burrell‘s agent.
- Ken Rosenthal breaks down the Braves’ options now that they’ve lost out on A.J. Burnett. Could they sign Rafael Furcal as a second baseman and move Kelly Johnson to left field?
- The Red Sox signed five players to minor league deals, including Paul McAnulty and Billy Traber.
- T.R. Sullivan takes a look at the market for Ben Sheets from the Rangers’ perspective.
- Keith Law calls the Raul Ibanez signing ‘absurd’ for the Phillies.
- Orioles manager Dave Trembley thinks his team is still in the running for Mark Teixeira.
- Dean Jones Jr. breaks down the Orioles’ Rule 5 draft selections.
- Dave Dombrowski isn’t the only one who’d like to bring John Smoltz to Detroit. Even college basketball coach Tom Izzo likes the fit.
- Jay Bruce also plays GM; he wants the Reds to keep their young pitching. Bruce also revealed that Jerry Hairston Jr. is considering the Phillies and Mariners in addition to the Reds.