Rosenthal’s Latest: Prior, Bedard, Haren
The rumor mill is picking up today, thanks in no short part to Ken Rosenthal. Check out his latest column.
- Rosenthal believes the Padres are Mark Prior‘s first choice, but as usual they won’t pay as much as other teams. Both Texas clubs are in the lead for Prior currently. Rosenthal also names the Cards, Mets, and Yankees are suitors, as we knew. The Pirates, by the way, have not inquired.
- Talks for Erik Bedard have slowed down, because the Orioles aren’t impressed with the offers. The Mariners, Reds, and Mets are the top contenders. Rosenthal indicates that the Reds may be overvaluing Homer Bailey, compared to the perception of other clubs.
- Interesting late-game suitors for Dan Haren: the Rockies and Braves. You wonder, then, whether they’ll also inquire on Bedard.
- Rosenthal notes that the Chris Burke acquisition could be a sign that the D’Backs won’t re-sign Orlando Hudson. Burke will have to show something first though.
- The Orioles don’t seem likely to flip Luke Scott; they like his style. The guy could hit 30 bombs this year, in the opinion of Ron Shandler and Co.
- The Twins are up to 39 on their 40 man roster, so they’ll have to be creative to take back four players in a Johan Santana deal. It could mean including a player with Johan.
Braves Eyeing Brian Fuentes
According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves are interested in Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes. However, they don’t want to take on his entire salary.
Fuentes earned $3.5MM in 2007, and will get a raise in his last year before free agency. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him up around $5MM for 2008. That’s the price of a good setup man these days.
Mike Gonzalez was supposed to be the Braves’ late-inning southpaw reliever, but he’ll probably be out until June due to Tommy John surgery. It seems the Rockies’ asking price is steep for a year of Fuentes – they wanted Aaron Heilman and then some from the Mets, and Jed Lowrie from the Red Sox.
Luis Vizcaino Signs With Rockies
UPDATE, 12-14-07 at 10:16pm: Tracy Ringolsby reported (several hours ago actually) that the Rockies have an agreement with the Viz.
UPDATE, 12-14-07 at 9:41pm: Here we go…MLB.com’s Thomas Harding says Vizcaino is close with the Rox.
UPDATE, 12-14-07 at 3:21pm: Definitely not the Brewers, we know that much.
UPDATE, 12-14-07 at 2:30pm: Readers are emailing in that WFAN is reporting the Rockies signed Vizcaino.
FROM 12-14-07 at 2:11pm:
Per Peter Abraham, Luis Vizcaino signed somewhere in the NL. Brewers, Rockies? Not sure yet. The URL string, though, says Milwaukee. The deal was for two years and $7MM despite the talk about Vizcaino looking for Linebrink money.
Padres Rumors: Iguchi, Prior, Cameron
Padres rumor guru Tom Krasovic checks in with the latest.
- Why does Tadahito Iguchi love San Diego so much? He passed on far superior offers (and hitter’s parks) from the Rockies and Phillies. The Padres have definitely developed a competitive advantage over the years in that guys will make concessions to play there.
- Nine teams have expressed interest in Mark Prior, according to his agent. The Astros are confirmed. The Reds, Rangers, and Phillies are other possibilities. The Padres haven’t checked in yet but they are expected to.
- Talks are still ongoing between Mike Cameron and the Padres.
Rockies To Sign Luis Vizcaino?
Dejan Kovacevic says the Bucs fell "just short" of getting free agent reliever Luis Vizcaino. That may mean the Rockies, the other team pursuing him, reached an agreement. We’ll have to see if the Rockies beat writers check in soon. Vizcaino had been looking for a three or four-year deal.
Rockies Sign Kip Wells
According to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, the Rockies signed Kip Wells to a one-year deal worth around $3MM.
Wells could start or relieve for the Rox, depending on how Franklin Morales looks early on. I was talking to a friend from STATS, Inc. who saw a lot of parallels between the Kipper and Joel Pineiro a year ago.
Vizcaino Close With Bucs, Rox
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Luis Vizcaino is close to signing a multi-year deal with either the Pirates or the Rockies. The righty reliever rejected arbitration the Yankees offer of arbitration.
I’m not quite sure why the Pirates are looking to sign a middle reliever to a multi-year deal. He makes far more sense for the Rox, who figure to contend next year. They’re looking to replace LaTroy Hawkins, and could probably get similar production from The Viz.
After posting ERAs under 4.00 from 2004 through 2006, Vizcaino topped that threshold this year. While he was solid for three months of the season, he was absolutely atrocious for the other three.
–Joe
Rockies Close On Kip Wells, Pursuing Vizcaino
According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News, the Rockies are "working toward finalizing a deal" with Kip Wells. Ringolsby says Wells could give the Rockies flexibility, acting as the fifth starter or a reliever as needed. I imagine he’s looking for $3MM or so one a one-year deal.
Ringolsby adds that the Rockies are targeting Luis Vizcaino and seem willing to go to two years on him. Vizcaino’s agent, Bean Stringfellow, indicated recently that the Viz was looking for three or four.
Rockies, Cook Agree On Extension
The long-rumored three-year extension for Aaron Cook is now complete, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. The sinkerballer gets $30MM to cover the 2009-11 seasons. He’s also got a mutual option for 2012. Some of the money is a bonus going toward 2008, as Cook was set to earn only $4.5MM.
Cook turns 29 in February. He posted a 4.12 ERA in 25 starts in ’07, ranking fourth in the league with a 57.9% groundball rate. Cook and fellow rotation anchor Jeff Francis are both locked in through 2011 now. The Rockies are still trying to find someone to replace Josh Fogg, who is likely to land elsewhere this winter.
Padres Rumors: Iguchi, Eckstein, Barrett, Bonds
Aside from the aforementioned Fukudome stuff, Tom Krasovic has some trade rumors to discuss in today’s article.
- It seems the Padres and Rockies are the main competitors for Tadahito Iguchi. The Pads wouldn’t mind getting Matt Antonelli more seasoning at Triple A. Meanwhile the Rockies are offering Iguchi two years. The Padres also like the idea of getting David Eckstein on a one-year deal, not something he’s expecting to go for.
- The Pirates still like Michael Barrett, but expect him to require little in the way of players.
- While the Padres recently met with Barry Bonds‘ agent, Jeff Borris, the team’s CEO said point-blank that they have no interest in him. It might’ve been a less interesting Borris client such as Jeff Cirillo, Tony Graffanino, or Jay Witasick.
- The Padres haven’t been in touch with Aaron Rowand’s people. They seem in agreement on two years for Mike Cameron, but they disagree on the dollars.