Heyman’s Latest: Sabathia, Holliday, Griffey
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a look.
- "The prevailing opinion around baseball" is that C.C. Sabathia will sign with the Yankees, and C.C.’s friend Jimmy Rollins agrees.
- Matt Holliday "definitely intrigues" the Yankees. But they’d have to give up a lot to get him for one year, and they seem full at the outfield corners.
- Heyman, perhaps sensing a divide that does not exist, says Pat Gillick has relied on scouts rather than stats to make his decisions. Heyman also speaks of "a new hesitancy on the part of some to go for another young Ivy League stat man" at the general manager position.
- Heyman echoes the commonly held sentiment that the White Sox will not re-sign Ken Griffey Jr.
- The Mets are prioritizing catcher, bullpen, rotation, and outfield over second base. They’ve talked about Giants backstop Bengie Molina, owed $6MM in the last year of his deal.
- Heyman believes Boston’s chances of trading Mike Lowell are "practically nil" due to his hip surgery. His sources won’t rule out a run at Mark Teixeira though. In other Boston buzz, Heyman sees Coco Crisp on the trading block and a two-year offer for Jason Varitek.
White Sox Offseason Possibilities
I did a White Sox Offseason Outlook earlier this month, rattling off available speedy players and also suggesting a Bobby Jenks trade be explored. Today, Chicago Tribune beat writer Mark Gonzales offers his take on the Sox.
Gonzales sees Juan Uribe and Toby Hall as two players the White Sox hope to re-sign, with Hall at a lower salary than his $2.25MM option. Orlando Cabrera, Ken Griffey Jr., and Joe Crede will be gone. Cabrera is good for two draft picks if the Sox offer arbitration and he signs elsewhere.
Gonzales wonders if a Paul Konerko for Chone Figgins trade could take shape, but only if the White Sox add players. Konerko is owed $24MM for 2009-10, with full no-trade rights. Figgins should earn $5MM+ in ’09 before he hits free agency for the first time. It may be hard to get the Angels interested – Figgins fits their club, and they’ll try to re-sign Mark Teixeira. Kendry Morales may be the backup plan at first.
Gonzales sees the Rockies as another potential trade partner for Sox GM Ken Williams, naming Garrett Atkins and Willy Taveras as potential matches. Taveras may be had for a song, but Atkins should require young pitching.
A few free agents to consider: Orlando Hudson, Dennys Reyes, and Alex Cora.
Holliday Derby Begins
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have made it known to rival executives that left fielder Matt Holliday is available. Renck names the Red Sox, Phillies, Angels, Mets, Royals, and Nationals as potential suitors. I still find the oft-mentioned Red Sox idea to be far-fetched.
The Rockies would prefer to move corner infielder Garrett Atkins, however. The Angels, Twins, and Red Sox are cited as potential fits. However, other teams are surely aware of Atkins’ defensive struggles at third base and questionable hitting away from Coors Field. Renck says the Angels’ interest will depend on their ability to re-sign Mark Teixeira.
Starting pitching seems to be the Rockies’ target return for either player. They’d be giving up one year of Holliday and two of Atkins, plus the likely draft pick compensation.
Heyman’s Latest: Manny, Holliday, Peavy
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new rumor-packed article up.
- Heyman suggests the battle for the three elite free agents – Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and C.C. Sabathia – will mostly be fought by the New York and Los Angeles clubs. Heyman talked to one GM who believes the country’s economic situation will not affect the big names but could be bad for the lower-tier guys.
- Heyman’s potential Manny suitors: the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Phillies. The Phillies’ interest will depend on whether Pat Burrell stays. I’m not sure why the Orioles would be in the mix.
- The Rockies are "very likely" to trade Matt Holliday. The Rox would be willing to sign Holliday for five years and $100MM, but that won’t cut it. The team’s focus in a trade will be a young starter. Heyman echoes a Ken Rosenthal thought from a few months ago: surprising small-market teams may enter the Holliday bidding.
- Heyman has the Mets, Rangers, and Indians as teams looking at Brian Fuentes. The Mets are the favorite to sign him in the three-year, $36MM range.
- Jake Peavy has already turned down one American League team. Heyman believes hes particularly opposed to the Rangers and has mixed feelings about the Yankees. Peavy is reeling from the Padres’ decision to shop him.
- Heyman has unkind words for Luis Gonzalez, who may not be welcomed back to the D’Backs based on his "uneasy relationship" with Stephen Drew and Chris Young.
- Heyman does not think MLB has any evidence against Nationals GM Jim Bowden in the scout skimming scandal.
- Heyman gives Ruben Amaro a slight edge over Mike Arbuckle to replace Pat Gillick as Phillies GM.
- George W. Bush as baseball’s next commissioner? "Many have long believed" that Bush would like to be Bud Selig’s successor.
Ringolsby’s Latest: Fuentes, Atkins, Holliday
Let’s take a look at the latest column from Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News.
- Rockies "closer of the future" Casey Weathers will miss the ’09 season due to elbow surgery. However, the Rox are still not likely to re-sign Brian Fuentes. Joel Sherman expects Fuentes to sign for three years, $36-39MM. Brad Lidge signed for three years, $37.5MM in July, but that was not on the open market. The Mets will be in on Fuentes.
- The Rockies are expected to trade one of Garrett Atkins or Matt Holliday this winter. The Phillies will inquire on both (they tried to acquire Holliday this summer). Ringolsby says the Red Sox have discussed Holliday internally and considers the Angels a match for Atkins. The Red Sox, however, are set at the corners with Jason Bay and J.D. Drew.
- Brothers Jayson and Laynce Nix are both free agents. Jayson, 26, hit .303/.373/.591 in Triple A. Laynce, 28, hit .284/.348/.539. Jayson plays second base, Laynce plays outfield.
Rockies Talking With Glendon Rusch
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have begun preliminary discussions with free agent-eligible pitcher Glendon Rusch.
Rusch, 34 in November, posted a 5.16 ERA in 83.2 innings with the Padres and Rockies this year. His peripheral numbers were respectable, and he held lefties to a .257/.261/.376 line. Rusch missed all of the ’07 season due to a blood clot in his lung.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy Suitors, Lowe, Cardinals, Marlins
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, focusing largely on suitors for Jake Peavy, but also touching on some other news at the end… so let’s take a look!
- Rosenthal states that the following teams have been speculated to be suitors for the Padres’ ace: Braves, Angels, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, Cardinals, Brewers, Rays, Rangers. While all of these are not serious possibilities, he elaborates on each team. He mentions Yunel Escobar as a likely centerpiece from Atlanta, and states that the Angels would love to acquire a frontline starter to allow them to send Ervin Santana and/or Joe Saunders to Colorado in a deal for Matt Holliday and/or Garrett Atkins. Rosenthal states that Howie Kendrick could be a big part of any trade, but his health seems like too serious of a concern to me. Rosenthal speculates on the possibility of a dominant rotation for the Yankees if they traded for Peavy and signed C.C. Sabathia. One rival executive’s speculative package for Boston included Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson. The Padres will likely charge the Dodgers considerably more for Peavy’s service, as they are division rivals. He lists Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy as a possible centerpiece for a Milwaukee blockbuster, but also points out that Ben Sheets has made the Brewers wary of injury concerns. The other teams don’t seem to match up well, in Rosenthal’s opinion.
- Rosenthal says that he was wrong in stating that Derek Lowe would prefer to remain on the West Coast. Lowe has now told him that he’d prefer to go East, with Boston being his top choice. He reiterated this desire to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
- The Cardinals prefer a short-term solution for their closer situation, and will likely give Chris Perez the ninth inning job, or seek a lower-budget option through the trade market. They may also trade a young outfielder for an established bat at a corner OF position.
- Kevin Gregg is still likely to be traded (perhaps an option for St. Louis), and four teams have asked Florida about Jeremy Hermida. Rosenthal speculates that the Marlins will begin 2009 with Cameron Maybin in center field and Cody Ross in right.
Odds and Ends: Iguchi, Varitek, Bonds
Linkage for Thursday…
- Tadahito Iguchi will consider playing in the U.S. or Japan, but he wants a starting job. He hit just .232/.292/.306 in 337 plate appearances, hobbled by a shoulder injury.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he does not have any side agreements with any of their free agents to decline arbitration if offered. That would’ve been nice for Ivan Rodriguez. River Ave. Blues thinks the Yanks should offer arb to Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, and Damaso Marte.
- Sox Machine would like to see the White Sox add a defensive player like Mark Ellis.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if Larry Bowa would campaign for the Yankees to sign Manny Ramirez, if Bowa joins the Yankees first.
- Tonight could be Jason Varitek‘s last game as a member of the Red Sox.
- What might’ve been: the Rockies seriously considered drafting Evan Longoria.
- Murray Chass talked to Barry Bonds‘ agent, Jeff Borris.
Rockies Decline Option On Herges
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies declined their $2.5MM option on reliever Matt Herges. The buyout was $250K. Add a few more bucks to the Rockies’ budget. They still have roughly $70MM likely to be committed to current players though.
Herges’ ERA went up significantly this year, but his component skills didn’t change much. His strikeouts and walks are both up a touch, but the big difference was the rate at which batted balls fell for hits.
Rockies Rumors: Atkins, Holliday, Barmes
Let’s see what we can find in three new columns from Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post today.
- I wrote last week that the Rockies would come in a bit under $80MM after arbitration raises. Renck pegs it around $75MM.
- The team’s plan is to shop Garrett Atkins for a frontline starter. If the interest is not there (why would it be?), they could switch to Matt Holliday. Renck ponders Matt Cain and a prospect to Colorado, but that is a lot to give up for one year of Holliday. Plus the Giants are not looking to add an outfielder.
- Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News analyzes whether the Rockies could afford to re-sign Holliday. He believes they could, but doesn’t expect them to go past five years.
- Renck sees Clint Barmes as the starting second baseman heading into ’09. Barmes could earn around $1.7MM as a first-time arbitration player.
- Manager Clint Hurdle admitted his starters are more like #2-5s, so it’d be perfect to add a #1 and push them all back. #1 starters are hard to come by, of course.
- Yorvit Torrealba isn’t happy as a backup but the Rockies aren’t looking to trade him. Meanwhile Willy Taveras is a non-tender candidate.
- The Rockies hope to re-sign free agent Glendon Rusch.