Pettitte Looking For Two Years?
8:33pm: Yankees GM Brian Cashman says there’s mutual interest with Pettitte.
4:44pm: We know Andy Pettitte wants to pitch in 2009, and he prefers the Yankees. However, the Yanks want to hear from Mike Mussina before they talk to Pettitte. Further complicating matters, Ken Davidoff says Pettitte may desire a two-year deal.
Davidoff figures the Astros will try to jump in and sign Pettitte. The Astros seem to have room in the budget for one free agent starter.
Astros Rumors: Wolf, Hawkins, Hampton
MLB.com’s Alyson Footer has the latest Astros buzz.
- Astros GM Ed Wade will meet with Randy Wolf‘s agents tomorrow, but doesn’t expect an agreement to be reached before the exclusive negotiating period ends. Wolf will test the open market, and the Mets are already known to be interested.
- Talks are ongoing with the agents for Doug Brocail and LaTroy Hawkins. Brocail is a Type A free agent, and the Astros already declined a $3.25MM option on him.
- Wade met with Mike Hampton‘s agent recently. Hampton could return to Houston on an incentive-laden contract.
- Wade is on the lookout for a second-tier catcher to complement Humberto Quintero.
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony wonders if the Astros will try to bring lefty Trever Miller back.
Cafardo Rumors: Wigginton, Ibanez, Rodney
A few rumors we missed from Nick Cafardo’s Sunday column…
- The Indians would want a young closer type in return for catcher Kelly Shoppach.
- The Tribe has Houston’s Ty Wigginton on the radar as a third base possibility. But then who would play third for the Astros?
- The Yankees have been calling around aggressively, even inquiring on Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. They’re not available.
- The Mets are said to be eyeing Raul Ibanez for left field.
- The Tigers are dangling setup man Fernando Rodney, hoping to acquire a better closer. Jon Paul Morosi believes the Tigers might aim for a reliever they control for a year or two, as their in-house options should be ready by 2010.
- A conflict might arise with the Angels hoping to sign Mark Teixeira quickly while Scott Boras plans to let the market develop.
Odds and Ends: Rivera, Floyd, Peavy
Links for Tuesday…
- The Red Sox added pitcher Virgil Vasquez while losing infielder Gil Velazquez.
- Dave Cameron has another free agent bargain: Juan Rivera.
- The Astros made their first Taiwanese signing: 22 year-old righty reliever Chia-Jen Lo.
- Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi hopes to try MLB eventually (but not in 2009).
- Viva El Birdos figures the Cardinals will check in on Kenshin Kawakami.
- Bud Selig has praise for Padres owner John Moores.
- Rays Index passes along a report that Cliff Floyd‘s injury could end his career. This could open up some free agent possibilities.
- River Ave. Blues says the latest Jake Peavy news is the nail in the coffin for the Yankees.
- MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince is not a big fan of the rumors.
Odds and Ends: Building A Bullpen, GM Gossip
It’s a bit of a slow day for rumors, what with Game 3 of the World Series and all. Nonetheless, here are a few tangential tidbits for the afternoon:
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald notes that the Tampa Bay Rays don’t save their best relievers for the 9th inning; Dave Pinto says it’s "a feather in his cap" that manager Joe Maddon can get his pitchers to excel in such undefined roles. If you can get players to buy into it, it’s a cheap and effective way to build a bullpen — witness the 2007 Indians. If not, it’s a wreck — witness the 2003 Red Sox.
- John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times asks: does former GM Chuck LaMar or current GM Andrew Friedman deserve the credit for Tampa Bay’s success this year?
- Canadian teams are feeling the pinch as the Loonie falls in value, writes Don McGowan. As if the Blue Jays didn’t have enough to worry about!
Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and UmpBump.com.
Odds and Ends: Iwase, Martin, Manny
Links for Saturday…
- Japanese reliever Hitoki Iwase will receive a multiyear offer from the Chunichi Dragons. If he turns it down, he’ll attract interest from MLB teams.
- Richard Justice describes the bad blood between former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker and owner Drayton McLane.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to a "Dodgers-connected person" who believes Russell Martin was "just another catcher" this year. Mitchel Lichtman does not agree.
- Heyman named the Orioles as a potential Manny Ramirez suitor, but Roch Kubatko finds a signing highly unlikely.
Odds and Ends: Schilling, Manny, Mateo
Links for Thursday…
- If Curt Schilling does a half-season next year, he apparently will not model it after Roger Clemens‘ approach.
- Drunk Jays Fans discusses Ken Rosenthal’s recent chat with J.P. Ricciardi.
- Richard Justice says some GMs complained privately that Ed Wade didn’t do a good job letting teams know Brad Lidge was available last year.
- The Adam Dunn trade pushed the D’Backs a little over budget. They don’t have much to spend this winter. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic elaborates on the topic.
- Dave Cameron looks at some free agent landmines, led by Manny Ramirez.
- The Giants voided their $625K contract with Dominican righty Luis Mateo after finding bone chips in his elbow.
Peavy Rumors: Wednesday
Another day, another batch of Jake Peavy links.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to several executives. They expect Peavy will be traded to the Braves for Tommy Hanson, Jordan Schafer, and one of Kelly Johnson/Yunel Escobar. This scenario becomes more plausible to me if Johnson/Escobar is replaced with a lesser player. But, maybe I am misguided. Buster Olney also talked to execs who envision a Hanson/Schafer/Johnson package.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune checked with Towers and Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod, and learned that Peavy has a clean bill of health. Krasovic also discusses Peavy’s violent delivery and minimal usage of his changeup.
- Chipper Jones likes the idea of the Braves acquiring Peavy, and also would welcome A.J. Burnett as a teammate.
- Axelrod agrees that the Braves are the frontrunner and the Astros may not have the goods for Peavy. He downplayed Peavy’s friendship with Roy Oswalt as a factor in his decision.
Cafardo’s Latest: Lowe, Maddux, Peavy
Here’s a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- Interestingly, the Red Sox are reportedly Derek Lowe‘s preferred destination. It’s unknown whether the Sox intend to add a starter this winter, but they may lose free agent Paul Byrd (and will have to decide on Tim Wakefield‘s $4MM option). Cafardo names a dozen other clubs interested in Lowe: the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Cubs, Angels, Braves, Phillies, Rangers, Astros, and Blue Jays.
- Bill Mueller, 38 in March, admits he’d like to play again. Medically, it’s a long shot because he’d need to regrow cartilage in his knees.
- One of Greg Maddux‘s teammates feels he’ll retire. Maddux could return to the Padres as a player/coach (specifically, he’d prefer a bench coach gig).
- The Brewers as a sleeper for Jake Peavy? They’re not on his list, but he’s named other midwest clubs.
- Cafardo believes catchers Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez will be available this winter. Makes sense, given the weak free agent market at the position.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy Suitors, Lowe, Cardinals, Marlins
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, focusing largely on suitors for Jake Peavy, but also touching on some other news at the end… so let’s take a look!
- Rosenthal states that the following teams have been speculated to be suitors for the Padres’ ace: Braves, Angels, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, Cardinals, Brewers, Rays, Rangers. While all of these are not serious possibilities, he elaborates on each team. He mentions Yunel Escobar as a likely centerpiece from Atlanta, and states that the Angels would love to acquire a frontline starter to allow them to send Ervin Santana and/or Joe Saunders to Colorado in a deal for Matt Holliday and/or Garrett Atkins. Rosenthal states that Howie Kendrick could be a big part of any trade, but his health seems like too serious of a concern to me. Rosenthal speculates on the possibility of a dominant rotation for the Yankees if they traded for Peavy and signed C.C. Sabathia. One rival executive’s speculative package for Boston included Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson. The Padres will likely charge the Dodgers considerably more for Peavy’s service, as they are division rivals. He lists Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy as a possible centerpiece for a Milwaukee blockbuster, but also points out that Ben Sheets has made the Brewers wary of injury concerns. The other teams don’t seem to match up well, in Rosenthal’s opinion.
- Rosenthal says that he was wrong in stating that Derek Lowe would prefer to remain on the West Coast. Lowe has now told him that he’d prefer to go East, with Boston being his top choice. He reiterated this desire to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
- The Cardinals prefer a short-term solution for their closer situation, and will likely give Chris Perez the ninth inning job, or seek a lower-budget option through the trade market. They may also trade a young outfielder for an established bat at a corner OF position.
- Kevin Gregg is still likely to be traded (perhaps an option for St. Louis), and four teams have asked Florida about Jeremy Hermida. Rosenthal speculates that the Marlins will begin 2009 with Cameron Maybin in center field and Cody Ross in right.