Odds and Ends: Holliday, Takahashi, Lincecum
Links for Wednesday…
- Richard Justice says the Astros should offer Andy Pettitte $7-8MM to come back.
- Joe Christensen doesn’t see Huston Street landing in Minnesota.
- Larry Beinfest dismissed a "cyberspace rumor" that the Marlins are planning a run at Manny Ramirez.
- Gordon Wittenmyer says the Cubs could fit both Jake Peavy and Ryan Dempster into the payroll, and that the Peavy situation will be resolved first.
- Today is the deadline for MLB.com’s Free Agent Frenzy. You have until 4pm CST to submit your picks for 15 free agents. Here are my predictions from November 3rd…I would change the Furcal and Sheets ones for starters.
- Who had the Matt Holliday scoop? SI.com’s Jon Heyman broke the story, while Yahoo’s Tim Brown was the first to name the players involved.
- Holliday figures to be a three to six month rental for the A’s. Over at FanGraphs, Dave Cameron takes a closer look at Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith. ESPN’s Keith Law says the Rockies received a "fair return" for Holliday.
- Athletics Nation suggests the A’s sign Derek Lowe.
- Ken Davidoff looks at the Yankees’ seesawing philosophy.
- Japanese southpaw Ken Takahashi intends to sign with an MLB club, and the Mets may be interested. Nikkan Sports says the Cubs, Padres, and Giants are also in on him.
- River Ave. Blues looks ahead to Derek Jeter‘s next contract.
- Andrew Baggarly reminds us that Tim Lincecum intends to go year to year.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney talked to one GM who expects "a whole lot of bargains" in late January, given the nation’s economy.
- Rany Jazayerli didn’t like the Royals’ acquisition of Mike Jacobs, but doesn’t think it’s the end of the world.
- Braves GM Frank Wren on Jeff Francoeur: "We haven’t talked about him at all. It’s not to say that we wouldn’t."
Where Will Ben Sheets Land?
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a fine article up today looking at free agent pitcher Ben Sheets. Sheets, 30, posted a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts this year before an elbow injury shut him down.
Sheets’ agent, Casey Close, says Sheets has no structural damage in the elbow and expects it to fully heal before spring training. Close labeled talks with the Brewers "productive," so they’re still in the mix. The Brewers will let Sheets reach the open market, though.
Crasnick believes the Rangers will consider Sheets, who lives in Dallas during the offseason. He also says the Astros are on Sheets’ wish list. Crasnick suggests the Cubs, Mets, Yankees, and Orioles as other possible suitors.
Some believe Sheets will have to settle for a two-year deal, though I can see him getting three once other big names are off the board.
Odds and Ends: Pettitte, Zaun, Blanco
Links for Tuesday…
- Scott Bordow feels the D’Backs and Randy Johnson should meet at $5MM, which still seems light.
- David Murphy explains why the Phillies make more sense than the Mariners for Jamie Moyer, geographically.
- David Ortiz would like the Red Sox to add a 30 home run bat.
- Richard Justice wants the Astros to sign both Randy Wolf and Andy Pettitte. He says the Cubs and Cardinals will be talking to Pettitte even though his heart is with the Yankees.
- El Lefty Malo recommends the Giants sign Derek Lowe. The Giants are at least considering the big-ticket free agents.
- Jeff Blair runs through a few options for the Blue Jays if A.J. Burnett leaves.
- Free agent catcher Gregg Zaun is not pleased with Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi.
- The D’Backs want Miguel Montero showcased as a catcher.
- Ken Davidoff has a list of nine intriguing (and older) free agents.
- Joel Sherman joins Buster Olney in saying Brian Giles vetoed a trade to the A’s in August, after the Red Sox won the claim and failed to make a deal. How is this possible?
- Geovany Soto expects Henry Blanco to re-sign with the Cubs.
- Tony Massarotti looks at possible trade partners for the Red Sox.
Odds and Ends: Burrell, Atkins, Ohmura
Links for Monday…
- Even after signing LaTroy Hawkins, the Astros would like to re-sign Doug Brocail. They already chose a $250K buyout over his $3.25MM option. Further complicating matters, Brocail is a Type A free agent.
- The Royals signed pitcher Brandon Duckworth and then outrighted him to Triple A.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan ranks all the free agents, from C.C. Sabathia at #1 to Vance Wilson at #183.
- The Giants seem likely to hit the free agent market for a reliever.
- Pat Burrell hasn’t heard from the Phillies yet.
- John Brattain battles Scott Boras on his Manny Ramirez claims.
- Aaron Gleeman suggests the Twins would be better off platooning Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris at third base than acquiring Garrett Atkins.
- Joe Posnanski continues to find the Royals’ Mike Jacobs acquisition baffling. Jacobs seems to be aiming for a .320 OBP.
- Free agent pitcher Kenshin Kawakami still hasn’t decided whether to jump over to MLB.
- Outfielder Saburo Ohmura seems to have changed his mind – he’s likely to remain in Japan.
D’Backs Interested In Loretta
According to Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune on Friday, the D’Backs have second baseman Mark Loretta on the radar and have spoken to his agent. Loretta has his eye on a full-time job. Loretta accepted the Astros’ offer of arbitration last year when he couldn’t find a starting gig. Loretta is again a Type B free agent; will the Astros offer arbitration this time?
Loretta, 37, hit .280/.350/.383 in 297 plate appearances while playing below average defense. He earned $2.75MM, the result of a lost arbitration case.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday
Summing up this weekend’s Jake Peavy information…
- David O’Brien noted that the friendship between Padres GM Kevin Towers and Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod has raised some eyebrows. O’Brien also learned that Peavy’s concern over Yunel Escobar being in the deal was overblown – it’s more a general concern that the pitcher joins a strong team.
- On Saturday, Ken Rosenthal had the Braves and Cubs as frontrunners with the Yankees and Dodgers on the backburner. He said the Padres discussed keeping Peavy if offers do not suffice. The Braves were said to be growing impatient.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane indicated the Padres’ demands for Peavy were too high for his club – "multiple players and some of our best players."
- Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times had it as a race between the Cubs and Braves, with the Dodgers a long shot. De Luca said no other teams will be considered at this point. A Cubs deal would apparently include Sean Marshall, and possibly Kevin Hart and Mike Fontenot. Jeff Samardzija is not in the mix.
- Dave O’Brien says the Braves’ offer looks something like this: Escobar, Gorkys Hernandez or Jordan Schafer, and one or two pitching prospects (possibly Charlie Morton or Jo-Jo Reyes among them). Tommy Hanson is not in the mix. O’Brien agrees that it’s between the Braves and Cubs, and likes the Braves’ package more. O’Brien expects a deal before Thanksgiving, which is November 27th.
Peavy Rumors: Saturday
I’m giving up and setting up a post to house Jake Peavy rumors, because I keep coming across different variations. I’ll update the post if I come across more as the afternoon goes on. To recap:
- Buster Olney expects a deal before Thanksgiving.
- Ken Rosenthal has heard that the Braves are getting tired of waiting, at that yesterday, the Padres discussed just keeping Peavy for themselves. He mentioned the Braves, Cubs, Dodgers and Yankees as still in the running.
- Brian McTaggart at the Houston Chronicle has reported that the Astros see themselves as out of the running, because the Padres’ price was so high.
Now for the new stuff:
- Chris de Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times expects a Peavy deal "within the next week" with the pitcher being sent to the Braves, Cubs, or Dodgers: "Those teams are the finalists and, sources say, no other teams will be considered at this point." Not very surprisingly, the three remaining teams are all in the National League.
- David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a long, detailed post on the prospect package the Braves are putting together to try and acquire Peavy. In the long, detailed post he also quotes verbatim a long, detailed email from Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod, clarifying his comments about Yunel Escobar.
There will be more to come, no doubt.
McLane: Astros Unlikely To Acquire Peavy
According to Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle, Astros owner Drayton McLane doesn’t expect his team to trade for Jake Peavy. Not surprisingly, the Padres asked for “three or four” of Houston’s best prospects in return for the ace pitcher.
McLane didn’t reveal which players the Padres were interested in, but said that their asking price was ultimately a “stumbling block.”
The Cubs and Braves are still front-runners in the Peavy sweepstakes.
Odds And Ends: Guerrero, Blue Jays, Reds
Links for Saturday…
- J.P. Ricciardi has begun "exploring other things" in case the Jays can’t bring back A.J. Burnett.
- The Angels aren’t discussing a contract extension with Vladimir Guerrero yet.
- Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are off-limits according to Walk Jocketty.
- The White Sox are interested in a 19-year-old Cuban third base prospect, Dayan Viciedo. Ken Williams, who has a history of acquiring Cuban players, may have the inside track on signing Viciedo.
- The Astros signed a young international player of their own, Chia-Jen Lo. They announced Friday that they signed the 22-year-old Taiwanese righty to a minor league contract.
- The Rockies added a 16-year-old Venezuelan pitcher, Alving Mejias.
Astros Sign Hawkins
2:12pm: The deal is official; Hawkins signed for $3.5MM plus incentives.
10:22am: According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz, the Astros will complete and announce the signing of LaTroy Hawkins today. It’ll be a one-year deal worth around $3.75MM.
Hawkins, 36 in December, posted a 3.92 ERA in 62 innings with the Yankees and Astros this year. However, he was lights out after joining the Astros on July 30th – he allowed just one earned run in 21 innings.