Rockies Sign Torrealba, Herges
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
Random pieces of rumorage…
- The Mets have expressed interest in Livan Hernandez, though he appears to be their Plan C or D.
- Jim Bowden and the Nats will be active in the trade market, perhaps finally pulling the trigger on deals for Chad Cordero and/or Jon Rauch.
- The Rays and Twins have had discussions about shortstop Jason Bartlett. Would a 1 for 1 trade for Rocco Baldelli make sense? Buster Olney believes the Rays should consider trading for the Nats’ Cristian Guzman.
- Update on the Rockies’ reliever situation. They’re probably going to pass on Ron Mahay and Jeremy Affeldt, while they should hear Matt Herges‘ decision today. Ron Villone is also in their sights.
- The D’Backs will no longer look at annual payroll. Instead, they have a three-year budget to spend. This may allow for a higher payroll in 2008 than 2009. Jack Magruder guesses the number is around $230-240MM for 2008-10.
- Speaking of Arizona, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic believes some kind of Carlos Gonzalez for Dontrelle Willis swap could make sense. Another D’Back note – they offered an extension to Brandon Webb for 2011-13, but he turned down their offer.
- The Scott Linebrink signing is done, and he gets some kind of no-trade protection.
Crisp Rather Than Rowand For White Sox?
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
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
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?
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
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.
Odds And Ends: Cordero, Torrealba, Koskie, Clement
Just browsing the web this morning:
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post speculates that the Mets deal with Yorvit Torrealba might have fallen apart because of the catcher’s shoulder issues. This is based on Torrealba having missed time in 2006 with two shoulder injuries. The deal fell apart when it was thought to be complete, with only the physical remaining.
- The Rockies have also inquired on Matt Clement. Renck mentions the Diamondbacks as also having interest in the 33-year-old righty, adding them to the aforementioned Padres and Royals. Clement has thrown just 65.1 innings in the past two years.
- The Yankees have identified Francisco Cordero as their Plan B closer, should talks with Mariano Rivera fall apart. It should be moot, though, as Rivera is expected to sign this week. Cordero has not made any significant strides in talks with the Brewers.
- The Twins, who could use an upgrade at third base, aren’t interested in Corey Koskie, who was drafted by the team in 1994 and played with them until he reached free agency after the 2004 season. Koskie missed 2006 with symptoms related to post-concussion syndrome.
- It is unclear whether the Marlins are still interested in Yorvit Torrealba, writes Joe Capozzi. The price tag could be prohibitive. If the Marlins gave Torrealba the same three-year, $14.4 million deal he was to get with the Mets, he would become their second highest paid player. A catcher was the Marlins highest paid player last year, but they look to be severing ties with Miguel Olivo. I’m not sure Torrealba is much of an upgrade, though. At least Olivo has some pop, having hit 16 homers in each of the last two years.
Remember, Torrealba hit just .212/.292/.326 away from Coors Field. Then again, Olivo had some pretty severe home/road splits: .247/.277/.493 at home, .228/.249/.325 on the road. You can decide for yourself what that could mean.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.
Brewers, Padres, Angels, Rockies, Astros After Iguchi
In some ways, Tadahito Iguchi might be a better buy at second base than Luis Castillo. He’s getting half the press, but that doesn’t mean he’s getting half the interest. Iguchi’s agent said today that the Astros, Brewers, Padres, Angels, and Rockies have expressed interest. Keep in mind that the Phillies asked Iguchi about playing third base several weeks ago and he said he’d rather sign elsewhere at a second baseman.
I wonder if Iguchi may have relaxed that stance. The Brewers and Angels have third base vacancies. They have Rickie Weeks and Howie Kendrick at second base, respectively. Weeks could be an interesting option in center, and Kendrick has been rumored as part of a Miguel Cabrera package. So Iguchi could theoretically still play second for either club.
The Padres and Rockies just have good old-fashioned vacancies at second base. Both clubs could still fill the spot internally – the Padres with Matt Antonelli and the Rockies with Ian Stewart.
As for the ‘Stros, well, Ed Wade has contacted half the free agent class.
Latest On Torrealba/Castro Situation
UPDATE, 11-16-07: As expected, Torrealba has inked a three-year deal with the Mets. Newsday reports the deal is worth $14.4MM. Since Torrealba was a Type B free agent, the Rockies will get a supplemental pick for their loss.
FROM 11-15-07:
One half of Omar Minaya’s desired catching tandem seems set: Ramon Castro has signed a two-year, $4MM contract. It’ll be announced after he has a physical. Honestly I thought Castro could’ve done better and marketing himself as a starter, but I guess he’s happy in New York.
The other part is waiting to see if Yorvit Torrealba will accept the Mets’ aggressive three-year, $15MM offer. Adam Rubin’s source speculates that the Mets could even make it four years with an option for 2012. How is Torrealba such a hot commodity? David Lennon and Ken Davidoff say Torrealba is now also mulling a three-year offer from the Rockies. We should know one way or another today.
Torrealba and Castro don’t make for an ideal platoon; the idea is more to keep each well-rested. Over the last three years Castro has significantly better numbers against both lefties and righties than Torrealba, but he’s the backup. It sounds like the Mets want Torrealba for less tangible reasons – his passion and his gamecalling.
The Rockies, by the way, may turn to Paul Lo Duca. They don’t expect to retain Torrealba.