Rockies Not Making Progress With Holliday
Rockies star left fielder and Scott Boras client Matt Holliday is set to reach free agency after the 2009 season. Team owner Dick Monfort weighed in on the situation:
I don’t know if we will be able to sign him. It could always happen during the year, I guess, but that’s a distraction and we can’t have that. The chance of him becoming a free agent increases with each year that passes.
Boras’ thoughts on the topic:
Matt is happy in Colorado. If they want to offer a one-year contract, that’s fine. If they want to offer him a franchise contract, like they have done in the past, we would review it at that time.
My guess is that the four-year, $60MM proposal the Rockies considered wouldn’t be seen as a "franchise offer" by Boras. With the info we have now it looks like Holliday will get a free agent deal exceeding $100MM following the ’09 season.
One other Rockies note from Renck’s column – it sounds like the Rox might wait another year before seriously thinking about a long-term deal for Troy Tulowitzki.
Rockies Inquired On Santana
Courtesy of Ken Rosenthal, we knew on December 19th that the Rockies had inquired on Dan Haren. On Monday Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News also quoted Rockies’ GM Dan O’Dowd as saying "We stuck our nose in on the Santana thing." (Hat tip to Aaron Gleeman for the link).
O’Dowd didn’t get far trying to acquire Johan Santana, because he prefers to play on the East Coast. Perhaps a deal involving some combination of Franklin Morales, Ubaldo Jimenez, Ian Stewart, and Dexter Fowler would’ve intrigued the Twins otherwise? Here’s a look at an MLB.com Top 50 Prospects list compiled with votes from 20 members of the scouting community. Morales ranks just a few spots below Jacoby Ellsbury.
Rockies May Head To Arbitration Hearings
According to Troy E. Renck, the Rockies have only had two arbitration hearings in franchise history. I dug around and found that they beat Sun-Woo Kim over a $200K difference in ’06 and lost to Dennys Reyes over a $200K difference in 2002.
This year, the Rockies will be prepared for the possibility of multiple hearings. They’ve got to deal with Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, and Willy Taveras. Renck notes that "significant gaps exist with Atkins and Fuentes." Since we saw the Rox go to their only two hearings over $200K, we know it doesn’t take much of a disagreement sometimes. If no contracts are reached by Friday each side must submit a salary for ’08 and an arbitrator will pick one later. Teams typically like to avoid hearings partially because they can create some hard feelings.
The Rockies’ 2008 payroll should rise more than $10MM just to accomodate the five mentioned above.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Feliz, Ellis, Lohse
Ken Rosenthal checks in with a new column of hot stove material.
- Rosenthal says some suitors are popping up for third baseman Pedro Feliz: the Dodgers, Brewers, Phillies, and Giants. Phillies Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed interest today in an MLB.com chat. Rosenthal admits that the Dodgers don’t seem like a great fit. He says Bill Hall would have to be traded to make room for Feliz, though Tom Haudricourt implied today that Hall would stay put. It was said Wednesday that the Giants’ talks with Feliz were stalling over his three-year demand.
- Rosenthal suggests Mark Ellis would be a nice fit for Colorado, though keep in mind that the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser told us that he was the best bet among veterans to remain with Oakland for 2008. The Rockies’ current plan is to go with Jayson Nix and keep Marcus Giles around as another option. I’d be surprised if either pans out.
- Instead of the four or even five-year demands we were hearing about for Kyle Lohse, Rosenthal says three years with a vesting option for the fourth would now be acceptable. He believes Lohse’s salary could near $12MM. Lohse recently said he’s down to about three suitors.
- Rosenthal still expects the A’s to sign a free agent outfielder, with possible target Mike Cameron headed to Milwaukee. Take a look at our newly updated free agent list to see who’s out there.
Rockies Rumors: Atkins, Holliday, Giles
Let’s see what’s going on with the Rockies this morning.
The Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck writes about the Rockies’ rising payroll. They’re going to have to cough up over $10MM extra in 2008 just to retain current arbitration-eligible players like Garrett Atkins, Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, and Brad Hawpe. Holliday might get the biggest bump, around a $5MM increase. As far as team control, the Rox have Atkins through 2010, Holliday through 2009, Fuentes through 2008, and Hawpe through 2010. There’s no rush but many of these guys might be trade considerations down the road.
Also, Tracy Ringolsby reports that the Rockies have agreed to a nonguaranteed deal with Marcus Giles. He’s just insurance though – Jayson Nix is the favorite to play second base. Nix’s Triple A performance in ’07 was equivalent to a .252/.290/.387 line in the bigs.
Rockies Sign Josh Towers
UPDATE, 1-4-08 at 2:48pm: Towers has been signed; Troy Renck has the contract details. There’s a mutual option for ’09 for $3MM.
FROM 1-3-08 at 10:07pm:
According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, the Rockies are close to a deal with pitcher Josh Towers, who turns 31 in February. It would be a one-year deal for $1.8MM plus incentives. Those incentives would start at 35 games pitched, so basically he won’t earn them if he’s exclusively a starter.
Harding adds that Towers would get $400K for earning a 40-man roster spot or the $1.8MM for getting on the 25-man. He’d take on a swingman role (which is odd, because Kip Wells seems to have been signed for that purpose).
I like Towers’ chances to be worth a hell of a lot more than $1.8MM as a National League starter, but not so much in Coors Field. Drunk Jays Fans recently weighed in on Towers’ tenure with Toronto, with their usual dose of cursing and hilarity.
Odds and Ends: Estrada, Payton, Kielty
Random rumors from the day…
- The Bucs are set with their starting five, unless they can trade Matt Morris. Dejan Kovacevic adds that the Pirates and Johnny Estrada have mutual interest but haven’t spoken in a while.
- Roch Kubatko expects the Orioles to shop Jay Payton now that they’ve acquired Chris Roberson. Really, all of their vets should be fully available.
- Bobby Kielty has interest from three or four teams, but his first choice is Boston. The likelihood of that increases if Coco Crisp is sent elsewhere. Kielty is willing to give up switch-hitting if his new team so desires.
- Troy E. Renck has salary details on Mark Redman and Kip Wells. Redman gets $1MM, with another possible $500K in incentives. Wells gets a $3.1MM base with another possible $1.5MM in incentives.
Rockies May Sign Giles, Towers
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have several bargain-priced free agents on their radar.
GM Dan O’Dowd has ongoing talks with second baseman Marcus Giles, who prefers Colorado. Seems like the best place to rebuild value for Giles, who will turn 30 in May. Coors Field inflates right-handed batting average by 17% and right-handed home runs bt 23%, according to the Bill James Handbook. Giles made $3.25MM in 2007 but hit just .229/.304/.317.
Giles’ agent says a few other teams are involved on him, and Renck adds that Todd Walker remains an option.
Pitching-wise, the Rockies are targeting Josh Towers, who turns 30 in February. Victor Zambrano is still a secondary option. Towers seems a decent bargain, but his home run issues won’t play well in Coors (obviously). Chad Durbin only required $900K, so maybe Towers will be in that range. I don’t think Rodrigo Lopez is in play; I’m told he may not be ready until the All-Star break at the earliest.
Odds and Ends: Roberts, Otsuka, Walker, DaVanon
A few minor moves to speak of…
- The Cubs don’t appear to be concerned about Brian Roberts‘ steroid admission.
- The Padres’ talks for Xavier Nady are "on hold," according to Bill Center. Also, the Friars continue to eye Akinori Otsuka.
- Aside from the aforementioned Michael Barrett, the Padres signed Robert Fick and Jeff DaVanon. DaVanon, a switch-hitter, has had some decent years against righties. Ken Rosenthal believes the Padres may consider their outfield situation settled now after missing out on Geoff Jenkins and signing DaVanon.
- Todd Walker, remember him? He was released by the Padres this year in Spring Training and hooked on with Oakland. After a month and a half there, they designated him for assignment. He wasn’t picked up, and enjoyed spending the time with his family. Now, however, the Rockies have had preliminary conversations with him according to Tracy Ringolsby. Walker played for the Rox in 2000, posting a .929 OPS in limited duty. He had another half season in Colorado in ’01 before being traded to the Reds for Alex Ochoa.
- Excellent team blogs are going corporate – Bucco Blog was purchased by Baseball Interactive Media, and MetsBlog partnered with SNY. Both seem like positive developments for readers – Jake and Matthew maintain editorial control, but perhaps gain additional access and technology.
Odds and Ends: Giles, Chacon, Durbin
Here are today’s random rumor tidbits.
- The Rox are interested in Marcus Giles for their second base opening. Giles was awful last year, they should just try something internal. Other Rockies notes: contracts with Kip Wells and Luis Vizcaino aren’t quite finalized, and they may ink Victor Zambrano to a minor league deal. UPDATE: Wells, plus Mark Redman, are done deals.
- The Pirates still have their eye on Shawn Chacon and Chad Durbin. That”ll put butts in the seats. Also, Jake of Bucco Blog weighs in on a new Pirates hire.
- Speaking of Durbin, did he comment on this blog and suggest he’s headed to the NL? I’m not sure.
- Drays Bay talked to Gerry Hunsicker. Seth Speaks talked to Pat Neshek.
- New prize added to our Hot Stove Hysteria contest – three months free of Scout.com access.
- Things are mostly quiet with the Brewers, but this Tom Haudricourt blog post notes tepid discussions for Scott Rolen, Hank Blalock, and Andre Ethier.