More Prior Details
Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune has more details on Mark Prior‘s contract and suitors.
Prior cited the Astros, Cardinals, Mets, and Rangers as the most aggressive; about half the teams in baseball contacted his agent.
Contract details: it has a $1MM base with another possible $3.5MM in incentives. However, much of the incentive money is tied to the number of starts he makes, so he’ll probably end up earning $3MM or less in 2008.
How bad was the shoulder injury? How far along is Prior in his rehab? I’ve talked to some people and read published reports and am unable to draw any consistent conclusion. Rick Wilton of Baseball Injury Report thinks the chance of a meaningful contribution from Prior in ’08 is close to zero. Others are a bit more optimistic, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
The Mark Prior Derby
Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day. Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon. Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.
- Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
- Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
- White Sox – Named only by Stark.
- Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
- Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
- Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
- Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
- Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
- Giants – Named only by Stark
- Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
- Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
- Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
- Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
- Indians – Named only by Crasnick
One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point. The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.
Stark’s Latest: Prior, Lofton, Otsuka
ESPN’s Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.
- Stark dug around to find all the Mark Prior suitors and came up with this list: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals (11 teams). Let’s compare notes. MLBTR readers have seen the Yankees, Mets, Cards, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Nats linked to Prior already. So Stark has added the Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, and Giants. The idea of the Mariners runs contrary to this MLB.com article. Stark did not name the Rangers, who are said to be aggressively pursuing Prior. Prior is dead set on a one-year deal and would take a big league mound in May in the best case.
- The Phils are focused on Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, offering two year deals to each. They might just take the first one to accept. Stark says Kenny Lofton could be an option if both decline. Lofton batted a career-best .335 for the Phils in ’05.
- Stark rattles off a laundry list of pitchers the Phillies are interested in: Akinori Otsuka, Byung-Hyun Kim, Roberto Hernandez, Kris Benson, John Parrish, Sidney Ponson, Chad Durbin, Kyle Lohse, and Jeremy Affeldt. Given Stark’s 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I imagine he has a connection or two. Most of those are new names besides Benson, Lohse, Ponson, and Affeldt.
- A source of Stark picks the Yankees as the favorite for Johan, but it should be noted that they’re having internal debates about pulling Phil Hughes off the table.
- For all the crazy Cubs fans we’ve got here: Stark says they’ve talked to the Orioles about both Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, but couldn’t pull off a deal for both. They favor Roberts even though they need Bedard much more.
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.
About Nine Teams Watch Benson
UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 11:07am: The Braves were in attendance, according to a source of mine.
UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 8:42am: The Giants were in attendance, so we know eight of the nine teams that watched Benson. Is it normal for each team to send three scouts, by the way? It’s been said that 25 of them watched.
UPDATE, 12-18-07 at 1:39pm: The Yankees, Mets, Astros, and Phillies definitely attended. I also received an email about a radio report indicating the Cards were there. That’s seven of the nine.
FROM 12-18-07 at 10:40am:
According to Todd Zolecki, about nine teams watched free agent Kris Benson throw 60 pitches yesterday. The Phillies and Nationals were definitely present.
Feel free to guess at the other seven teams. The Astros were probably there, and some of the Yankees, Cardinals, Royals, Marlins, Rockies, and Dodgers were probably on hand as well.
Benson had surgery in March to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. Before that he’d usually been good for 180 nearly league average innings.
Mark Prior Rumors: Astros, Cardinals
More info coming in on Mark Prior, who’s starting to seem like a hot commodity. I can see how teams find him tantalizing, though a decent half-season from him is probably the upside.
The Astros have an offer out to Prior; throwing out tons of early offers seems to be Ed Wade’s style this winter. Wade says the expectation is for Prior to be ready by late May; you can easily push that back a month if you want to be realistic. The ‘Stros will also watch Kris Benson throw. That means only two of the ten clubs interested in Benson remain unknown.
Another NL Central team may have an eye on Prior. MLB.com’s Matthew Leach says Prior is on the Cardinals’ radar. You might think the Cardinals already have enough injury risk in the rotation. But as Larry Borowsky notes, the Edmonds trade may have left the team with enough money for one innings eating starter and one wild card like Prior.
By the way, it doesn’t appear the Mariners are interested in Prior.
Astros Looking At Rusch, Jennings
UPDATE, 12-17-07 at 7:50pm: Rusch’s agency verified to my via email that he became a Padre as of Friday.
FROM 12-17-07 at 3:39pm:
The Houston Chronicle’s Brian McTaggart notes the Astros’ interest in starters Glendon Rusch and Jason Jennings.
- Wait a minute, you’re saying, didn’t Tim Brown report on Friday that Rusch signed a minor-league deal with San Diego? Indeed he did. However, Tag says he hasn’t signed yet and Houston still has an offer on the table.
- The Astros would like to get Jennings back on a one-year, incentivized deal. Jennings wants two years, despite his lost ’07. Not sure if anyone will be open to that. Maybe one year with a club option.
- It’s been reported previously that the Astros were one of the teams contacting free agent Mark Prior.
Padres Rumors: Nady, Barrett, Jenkins, Prior
Padres rumor guru Tom Krasovic has a new article up at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- The Padres are open to trading 24 year-old catcher Nick Hundley. Hundley did not crack Baseball America’s Padres top ten prospects for ’08 after hitting .247/.324/.475 at Double A. Kevin Towers would’ve sent him to the Astros for Luke Scott, and still could send him to Pittsburgh for Xavier Nady.
- Krasovic says that if the Padres are to deal Michael Barrett for a few prospects, it’s likely to happen soon. The Pirates are said to be interested so maybe a deal involving Nady and some prospects could go down.
- The Padres’ offer to Geoff Jenkins will likely to be inferior to that of the Phillies. So Jenkins would have to be sold on the city. He’s from California and went to USC, notes MLBTR reader Nathaniel S.
- The Friars expressed interest in another USC alum, Mark Prior (as have 11 other teams). The New York Daily News reiterated the Mets’ and Yankees’ interest in him this morning.
Clemens May Not Be Done
The general assumption when Roger Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report was that he would quietly retreat from the public eye. That might not be so, according to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff.
Davidoff talked to a couple of people "familiar with Clemens’ thinking." These sources below The Rocket wouldn’t go out on such a low note – the steroid accusation plus the aborted Division Series start. Clemens has already denied the allegations in a public statement, and a 2008 return could be an act of defiance. He’s not likely to be suspended, anyway.
Davidoff believes the Astros and Red Sox are the two possibilities. The ‘Stros have a desperate need for rotation help. Or, Clemens might be angling to finish his career in Boston. That opportunity might grow a little larger if the Sox miss out on Johan Santana. My guess is that Clemens might have to scale back his demands to the $12MM range.
Dissecting The Jose Valverde Trade
Regular MLBTR readers know I have mostly been a harsh critic of Ed Wade’s short tenure as the Astros’ GM. Well, not this time. He made an excellent deal in acquiring Jose Valverde for Chris Burke, Chad Qualls, and Juan Gutierrez.
Valverde, 27, is a nasty shut-down closer with two seasons before free agency. He gets strikeouts by the bushel and can handle the ninth in a tough hitter’s ballpark.
Burke was once the 10th overall pick in the 2001 draft, but he turns 27 in March. His best year was a .765 OPS in 2006. The D’Backs hope he can match that and take over for Orlando Hudson after the 2007 season. I have to think his trade value was minimal.
Qualls, 29, has three seasons before free agency. He’s quietly compiled a 3.39 ERA in 284 career innings. He had a solid strikeout rate last year and also posted a strong groundball rate near 60%. Josh Byrnes is gambling that Qualls is nearly Valverde’s equal, just without the fancy 40-save season.
Gutierrez, 24, didn’t impress as a starter in Triple A or the bigs this year. Baseball America recently ranked him as the Astros’ fourth best prospect, with an excellent heater and sometimes plus changeup. He may end up in relief, but is an intriguing arm.
This trade could definitely work out for Byrnes and Co. – they gave up two years of Valverde for 12 years of Burke, Qualls, and Gutierrez. If Qualls can be 80% as good as Valverde, the D’Backs win the deal on service time alone.
I just question whether Byrnes got the best possible package for Valverde. The Astros, meanwhile, did a nice job getting a possibly elite closer for a reasonable package.