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Rockies Talking To Redman, Trachsel

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UPDATE, 11-30-07 at 11am:  Troy E. Renck spoke to Dan O’Dowd, who indicates the Rox are not close on Redman or Trachsel.  They like that pair, but Brett Tomko and Jason Jennings continue to catch O’Dowd’s eye.

FROM 11-29-07 at 2pm:

According to Tracy Ringolsby, the Rockies already have their 2008 rotation picked out: Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, and Jason Hirsh.  Of course, counting on each to make 30 starts would be folly.  With that in mind, Dan O’Dowd is looking for some veteran filler.  Specifically, he’s trying to sign Mark Redman and Steve Trachsel.  Trachsel in particular would like to become a Rockie.

Trax is 37; he pitched 159 innings over 29 starts in 2007.  He’s always working out of a jam, given the amount of baserunners he puts on.  And he definitely pitches to contact.  Whenever a pitcher walks more than he whiffs, that’s not good.  The Cubs deemed him to be worth less than $4.75MM, declining his ’08 option for that amount.  I’m thinking one year, $3MM.

Redman will be 34 in January.  At one point he could almost be called an innings-eater, but the lefty doesn’t appear to have much left in the tank.

The Rockies have also been linked to Matt Clement, Cliff Lee, Brett Tomko, Jason Jennings, and Ian Snell this winter.

Odds and Ends: Jenkins, Piazza, Kuroda

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Random rumors for this evening…

  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Rays have contacted Geoff Jenkins’ agent.  They’re eyeing him to replace Delmon Young in right field.
  • Cubs lefty Scott Eyre exercised his $3.8MM player option for 2008.
  • Terrmel Sledge never quite caught on in the U.S., so he’s headed to Japan.  I thought he was a sleeper entering 2007 as he’d posted a .985 OPS in Triple A in ’06.
  • The Yorvit Torrealba deal is official at two years and $7.25MM with a $4MM mutual option for 2010.  Mutual options never get exercised by both sides so that doesn’t mean much.  Michael Barrett and Paul Lo Duca are the two remaining free agent starting catchers.
  • It’s true, Mike Piazza does have some interest from a Japanese team.  But he also has three MLB teams interested, and he’s much more likely to stay in the U.S.
  • Could Yasuhiko Yabuta lead the Royals to sign Hiroki Kuroda?  It’s a possibility.  The D’Backs are after him as well; Nick Piecoro has some in-depth info about Kuroda.

Tigers Offer Contract To Hawkins?

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Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers have interest in free agent reliever LaTroy Hawkins and may have even offered him a multiyear contract.  Among free agent relievers the Tigers have previously expressed interest in Octavio Dotel.

Dotel is 32 and a health risk, but he still has that huge strikeout rate.  I’m guessing he wants at least two years, $12MM.

Hawkins is 35 and healthy; he did somehow manage to post a 3.42 ERA in 55 innings with the Rockies.  That’s not easy to do.  But his 1.8 K/BB and 4.7 K/9 rates were not impressive.  He might be after a two-year, $8MM deal.

Rockies Sign Torrealba, Herges

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The Denver Post is reporting that the Rockies have re-signed catcher Yorvit Torrealba and middle reliever Matt Herges.  They’re currently in town for physicals.

It’s believed that Torrealba will sign for a reasonable $7MM over two years with an option for 2010.  Contrary to previous reports, he did not fail a physical with the Mets earlier this month.  Wonder why they pulled out of that one.

It sounds like the Rox got Herges on a one-year deal, maybe for slightly more than the original $2MM they offered.

These signings aren’t spectacular.  They’re both low-risk, low-upside deals.  If Torrealba is only making $3.5MM a year it will be OK to allow Chris Iannetta to work his way into the starting role.

Odds and Ends: Livan, Bartlett, Willis, Webb

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Random pieces of rumorage…

Crisp Rather Than Rowand For White Sox?

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Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Aaron Rowand has already priced himself out of the White Sox’s range.  Apparently the Sox talked to Rowand before they made an offer to Torii Hunter, and found the number of years Rowand requested to be out of the question.  Randy Miller said back in mid-October that Rowand was looking for a six-year, $84MM deal.  Cowley sees the Rangers and Dodgers as the main suitors for Rowand.

Cowley believes the White Sox, meanwhile, will move on to Coco Crisp.  They’ve long had interest in him.  I’m not sure how the White Sox and Red Sox would match up though.  The Red Sox are asking for quite a bit for Crisp – three prospects.  The Rangers balked upon hearing this.

Cowley also suggests that Kenny Williams could attempt to acquire Willy Taveras.  This seems more speculation than anything, based on Williams’ pursuit of him a year ago.  Trading him would seem to create a hole for the Rockies, and they have no need for Joe Crede.

Rockies Rumors: Torrealba, Herges, Chacon

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Time for a Rockies update, courtesy of the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders.

  • The Rox appear to be making progress with Yorvit Torrealba, though they’re leaving the door open for Michael Barrett or Paul Lo Duca.  So things are creeping along there.
  • Matt Herges will decide where to pitch within a day or two.  It’s down to two teams – the Rockies and perhaps the Brewers.  He’d like to stay with Colorado but would prefer a two-year deal.
  • Shawn Chacon continues to surface on GM Dan O’Dowd’s radar.  O’Dowd will only consider Chacon in a relief role, though Chacon’s agent seems to indicate other teams may toss some starts his way.

Rockies Rumors: Herges, Torrealba

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Troy E. Renck has the Rockies hot stove buzz, as usual.

  • The Rockies are close with reliever Matt Herges, but other teams remain in the mix.  It’s known that Herges wants a two-year deal and the Brewers are interested.
  • The Rockies are also making progress on a deal with catcher Yorvit Torrealba.  The Mets saw something they didn’t like in Torrealba, so he’s come back to the Rockies to talk.  Renck says the Rockies had previously offered two years and $7MM with a vesting option for 2010 (seems reasonable).  Now they might be able to get him without guaranteeing that third year.
  • Renck says Kaz Matsui may sign with the Cubs or Astros next week.  Matsui has priced himself out of the Rockies’ range.

Astros Close To Kaz Matsui Deal?

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UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal notes that the Astros are close to a deal with Geoff Blum, and believes the Astros are behind both the Rockies and Cubs for Matsui.

Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News is reporting that Kaz Matsui "appears headed to the Astros."  Maybe Ed Wade will save the Cubs from themselves.  The Cubs were reportedly going to offer Matsui a three-year pact.

Ringolsby adds an interesting twist: the Astros and Rockies could swap second basemen.  The Rockies like Chris Burke, and he will probably be deemed expendable if Matsui is signed.  Seems to me there’s a decent chance Burke matches Matsui in production next year at a much cheaper price.

Ringoslby also notes that Jason Kendall is "finalizing a deal with Milwaukee."  Tom Haudricourt confirms the deep stages of the talks.  To me this seems to be another case of change for the sake of change.  Maybe the Brewers weren’t pleased with Johnny Estrada, but Kendall has his own glaring deficiences as a starter.

Holliday Wants More Than Four Years

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The Denver Post’s Troy Renck noted two weeks ago that the Rockies planned to offer a four-year, $60MM extension to MVP candidate Matt Holliday.  Holliday is on vacation in Hawaii and hadn’t heard those whispers.  When informed, he said he was honored but that four years wouldn’t be enough.

The tough thing for the Rockies is that Coors Field inflates stats but doesn’t necessarily translate to a salary discount.  Holliday should probably be a $13-14MM per year player, but don’t go telling that to Scott Boras.  He’s going to be asking for at least $18-20MM to buy out additional years of free agency.

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