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Marlins Plan To Keep Willis

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According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, the Marlins expect to keep Dontrelle Willis at least until the July trading deadline.  That said, the Fish have had preliminary talks with the Tigers and Astros during the past few weeks.  Those clubs deemed the asking price too high.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark commented on the Willis situation in late November, noting that the price is two young players.  Stark said the Marlins would have to be "blown away" by these two players, so don’t think you’re going to steal him away.  He named the Mets, Mariners, and Diamondbacks as the suitors. 

Odds and Ends: Colon, Clark, Gagne

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Random rumors, let’s round ’em up.

Tigers Sign Kenny Rogers

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UPDATE, 11-30-07 at 10pm:  The deal is believed to be for $8MM, which seems a fair price.

FROM 11-30-07 at 11am:

The Tigers put out a press release this morning; they’ve reached an agreement with Kenny Rogers on a one-year deal.  I imagine it’s around $9-10MM.  Rogers amicably parted with Scott Boras prior to negotiating the deal himself.

This takes the Tigers out of the running for various available starters such as Carlos Silva and Hiroki Kuroda.

Red Sox Leading For Santana?

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UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 10:30pm: The Yankees’ offer stands at Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and maybe Jose Tabata.  Phil Hughes is a big upgrade over Kennedy, and the Twins are insisting on him.  Meanwhile the Red Sox are still pushing Coco Crisp while the Twins are holding out for Jacoby Ellsbury.  If one of the teams cracks on Hughes or Ellsbury this thing might get done.

UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 8pm: Despite what Jon Heyman said, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo seems to think the Red Sox are still in the lead for Santana.  It would be the package named below by Olney.  Nothing is done yet, as Santana’s agent hasn’t been approached about an extension.  Meanwhile Cafardo indicates that the Yankees may part with Robinson Cano after all.  One other note: Peter Gammons suggests that the Sox would have to redo Josh Beckett’s reasonable deal if they acquire Santana and give him $20MM+.

UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 2:50pm: Buster Olney suggests the same package as Walters from the Red Sox, except with Michael Bowden rather than Masterson.  However the fourth player is still undetermined.  He also notes that the Yankees are simultaneously talking to the Twins.

UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 1pm: The Boston Herald has a bit more.  Basically the Red Sox are only willing to include one of Ellsbury/Buchholz/Lester, while the Twins want two from that group. 

FROM 11-29-07 at 8:30am:

Shooter Charley Walters is back with a new column of rumors and whatnot.  Remember, Walters was the one saying the Garza for Delmon rumor wouldn’t die.

  • Despite the exclusion of Jacoby Ellsbury, Walters says the Red Sox have the lead in the Johan Santana sweepstakes.  The package would be Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, Jon Lester, and Justin Masterson.  Not a bad haul.  I was thinking Lowrie might become a target of the Twins.
  • The following clubs are interested in Carlos Silva: Tigers, Mets, Phillies, and Royals.  None of those teams are new.
  • The amount of cash each club is getting this year for online media properties like MLB.com sites:  $25MM.  And don’t forget the Twins get about $20MM in revenue sharing.  Maybe that’s why they have interest in Aaron Rowand.

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.

Odds And Ends: Cabrera, Bay, Liriano, Clement, Dotel

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Lots to go over this morning, so this might not be the last bullet point list you see.

  • The Angels and Marlins are progressing in talks for Miguel Cabrera. It’s believed that the Angels are willing to deal players like Reggie Willits, Howie Kendrick, and Jeff Mathis, but the sticking point here is the inclusion of Nick Adenhart. If the Angels want Cabrera, I would have to think Adenhart would be a part of any deal.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that he is not actively shopping any of his players. However, he acknowledges that if he hears an offer, he’ll have to consider it. Some of his team’s asking prices are "outrageous," he says. This includes players like Jason Bay and Jack Wilson. But the Pirates may choose in the end to dish Bay, since their strength, if any, is the outfield, and Bay is slated to make $13.25 million over the next two years. That might not seem like a lot, but it’s costly when you’re working with a paltry $50 million budget. Surely Huntington would love to deal Wilson, though he denies it. He might have trouble finding a partner on that one.
  • Though the Twins deny it, any Johan Santana deal might be dependent on the status of Francisco Liriano. The 24-year-old "hasn’t had a single setback" in his recovery from ligament replacement surgery last October. He’s completed his rehab program, and might pitch in the Dominican this winter. He’s expected to be ready in February fo Spring Training.
  • Add the Pirates to the list of teams interested in Matt Clement. It now spans the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Royals, Padres, and Blue Jays in addition to the Bucs. However, with their payroll cap, Clement might not be feasible.
  • The Tigers remain interested in closer Octavio Dotel. There is no word on whether the team has offered him a contract.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Odds and Ends: LaRue, Rogers, Hunter

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Some random rumorage before I shut it down for the evening…

Wood On BoSox Radar

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In Nick Cafardo’s column in the Boston Globe today, he mentions that Kerry Wood is on Sox’s radar. He says they envision him as the guy they were looking for when they traded for Eric Gagne on July 31. Unfortunately, this may not jibe with Wood’s intentions. As Tim has discussed here, he might be looking to remain as a starter, though that would limit the teams that are interested in him. Presumably, given his injury history and temporary success as a reliever in ’07, more teams would line up to have Wood in their bullpens.

The Cubs, who could use Wood either as a starter or a reliever — even a closer — remain the front runners. Other teams with a noted interest include the Reds, the Rangers, and the Yankees.

Cafardo also offers up the standard-issue rumors regarding Matt Clement (Padres or Royals), Bartolo Colon (Giants, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies), and Kris Benson ("drawing a lot of interest"). He also mentions the Tigers in connection with Livan Hernandez, Carlos Silva, and obviously Kenny Rogers. He also notes that without Joel Zumaya, the team might be looking at Eric Gagne.

And then there’s the recycled Miguel Cabrera talks. Cafardo describes the situation as we’ve all known it for some time now (guess what…Angels and Dodgers!).

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Odds and Ends: Kuroda, Hunter, Crede

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What’d I miss recently?  Here are some odds and ends.

  • The Tigers have expressed interest in Hiroki Kuroda.  They join the Phillies, Mariners, Dodgers, Royals, Rangers, Cubs, and Mets in that pursuit.
  • 10 teams are interested in Aaron Rowand!  That’s almost 1/3 of all baseball teams!
  • Torii Hunter is after a seven-year deal.  Most feel he’s saying that because he wants six.  Clever!
  • The Twins are taking a look at Tony Clark as a cheap DH option.  He’s supposedly looking for something like two years, $4MM and more playing time.  This would be a very Twins-like signing. 
  • T.R. Sullivan has a Rangers update.  Apparently Jon Daniels is checking in on big names like Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, and Miguel Cabrera.  More realistically Daniels may go out to Japan for players such as Kosuke Fukudome and Hiroki Kuroda (we knew that already).  We also knew the Rangers had Kerry Wood and Eric Gagne on their radar.  Sullivan speculates that Scott Linebrink and LaTroy Hawkins could also be in the mix.
  • Barry Rozner expects Joe Crede to be traded. It seems like Crede is a Plan B or C for a lot of teams and Kenny Williams may have to wait til a few dominoes fall first. 

Kenny Rogers Fires Scott Boras

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Quick note from Danny Knobler: free agent starter Kenny Rogers has fired Scott Boras, and reiterated that the Tigers are his first priority.  Not a good offseason so far for Boras.

Rogers will represent himself.  Jason Beck says Rogers received two contract offers through Boras from the Tigers and they were declined.  I imagine now they’ll get something done soon.   

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