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Yankees Backup Plans

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Ken Davidoff of Newsday lays out the backup plans for the Yankees.

Mark Teixeira would come into play for Brian Cashman if C.C. Sabathia turns down the Yankees’ offer.  Davidoff adds that Sabathia would likely turn down the Yankees if Tex turns down the Angels first.  So we could have a scenario where Teixeira signs with the Yankees and Sabathia with the Angels, and neither team addresses its biggest need.  The Yankees could also get in on Manny Ramirez if they fail to sign Sabathia.

There’s some hand-wringing coming out of New York as Sabathia continues to sit on the Yankees’ huge offer.  I don’t think Sabathia’s silence sends a message, nor am I convinced he can’t get a larger contract.  It’s sensible for Sabathia to hear the Angels out, especially with the rumor that they are considering a Johan Santana-like offer.  If the Halos make that offer, the Yankees may have to come back with a seven-year contract worth more than $160MM.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dye, Burrell, Young

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Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

  • Rosenthal says the Braves are interested in A.J. Burnett, but you already knew that.
  • Rosenthal believes Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers "makes sense."
  • The Red Sox apparently have confidence they could trade Mike Lowell if need be, but rival execs believe he’d have to prove his health in spring first.  Lowell has two years and $24MM on his deal. 
  • The White Sox want a young starter and additional players for right fielder Jermaine Dye.  The Mets, Rays, and Phillies are "balking at such a price."  Rosenthal learned that most of the six teams on Dye’s no-trade list are in the northeast.  Interesting that the White Sox are still willing to trade Dye after moving Nick Swisher.
  • The Mets "aren’t enamored" with Javier Vazquez.
  • Rosenthal suggests the Rays will sit back and hope one of the free agent DH-types becomes a bargain for them.
  • SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote on Friday that the "Braves, Dodgers, and Mets are believed to be among teams that have inquired about Rangers starting pitchers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla."  However, Rosenthal says the Braves and Mets are not interested in either pitcher and the Rangers aren’t desperate to move them.
  • Rosenthal has Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Pat Burrell on the Angels’ radar if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, or Manny Ramirez.
  • A rival GM tells Rosenthal Twins outfielder Delmon Young is "very, very much out there."

Angels Begin Talks With Sabathia

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According to Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Angels have begun contract discussions with C.C. Sabathia.  The authors believe the Halos could make an offer in the range of Johan Santana’s six-year, $137.5MM deal.  If the Angels do make such an offer, you have to imagine the Yankees will respond by upping their bid significantly.

Despite the talks for Sabathia, Mark Teixeira remains the Angels’ top priority.  They haven’t made an offer yet, but Scott Boras seems to want ten years while the Angels are willing to do seven.  It makes sense to open serious dialogue with Sabathia to lessen the risk of missing out on both star free agents.

Odds and Ends: Halladay, Lopez, Glavine

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Links for Monday…

Other Suitors For Sabathia, Rodriguez, Fuentes

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post offers some potential spoilers for the Yankees and Mets in regards to C.C. Sabathia and closers Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes.

Sherman suggests that Sabathia could wind up in an Angels uniform if Mark Teixeira isn’t re-signed. Owner Arte Moreno won’t wait around for Scott Boras’s games, and has stated that he’ll make an offer with a time limit. If Teixeira can’t be had, the Angels will likely shift their focus to Sabathia.

Sherman likens this situation to that of the 2004 Astros, who waited until mid-January for Boras and Carlos Beltran to decide on the Mets. That loss crippled the Astros’ offseason, as their #2 and #3 targets had by that point been signed. Sherman feels Moreno won’t make that mistake. Sabathia has pointed out a strong desire to pitch in the National League and/or on the West Coast:

He has placed a value on either the NL and/or West Coast, and could take less to fill at least one of those desires. How? Remember that Johan Santana’s current pitching record deal of six years at $137.5 million is loaded with deferrals that make the real present-day annual average not $22.92 million, but $20.66 million. So maybe a West Coast team only has to beat that lower annual total.

Sherman also feels the Brewers could swoop in and snatch up a top-tier closer away from the Mets. The Brewers have shown a willingness to pay for this position (offering Francisco Cordero a four-year, $40MM contract, and then signing Eric Gagne to a one-year, $10MM deal when Cordero went to the Reds). Sherman offers a scenario where the Ben Sheets accepts the Brewers’ arbitration offer to re-build his reputation on a one-year, $15MM deal, which could alleviate the need for starting pitching and lead to the Brewers signing a top-tier closer.

With the Angels freeing up a lot of money, and Salomon Torres telling the Brewers he’s hanging it up, both of these situations seem plausible, particularly the Brewers scenario if you ask this guy. What does everyone else think? Can the Angels really land Sabathia?

Mark Teixeira Rumors: Sunday

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To recap: Teixeira told Erin Andrews on Thursday that he wants to have it finished before Christmas, according to Mike Scarr of mlb.com. It’s reasonable to anticipate the winter meetings, December 8-11, to be a suitable high profile venue  for Boras to break the news. The Angels are preparing an offer for Mark Teixeira, perhaps with a deadline. If he doesn’t accept it, they may make a move for Jake Peavy. The Yankees are "set to be aggressive" if they only land one of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, or Derek Lowe. The Red Sox are apparently "lusting" for him, but are otherwise hush-hush, a sign that they might offer Teixeira the biggest contract in club history, predicts Tony Masarotti of the Boston Herald.

Teixeira seems to be leaning towards East Coast teams, says Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register. Says Youngman,

"I don’t think it will be with the Angels. If he were going to re-sign in Anaheim, I think it already would have happened. Just a gut feeling. Even the people I talk to in the organization don’t seem optimistic. Teixeira would be ridiculed if he signed with perpetual losers such as the Baltimore Orioles or Washington Nationals, so my guess is he’ll sign with the Boston Red Sox."

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo thinks Teixeira will wind up with the Angels because, while the Angels might struggle to afford him, they simply can’t afford to lose him.

Heyman’s Latest: Lowe, Teixeira, Guillen

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman recently published several new blog posts.

  • Free agent outfielder Garret Anderson has a new agent: Scott Boras.  Click here for our full list of Boras clients.
  • Rangers starters Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood are drawing interest from the Braves, Dodgers, and Mets.  Padilla is owed $12MM in 2009 with a 2010 option for the same ($1.75MM buyout).  Millwood gets $23MM over the next two seasons and has a limited no-trade clause.
  • Heyman says rather than battle for A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox and Yankees may duke it out for Derek Lowe.  Other suitors for Lowe: the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Mariners and Dodgers.  There he goes naming the Mariners again as a player for a major free agent…interesting.  The Giants are a new one as well, though Heyman says Lowe may prefer to head back east.
  • Heyman agrees with info from Nick Cafardo, that the Red Sox and Tigers have discussed swapping Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis.
  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admitted to interest in C.C. Sabathia.  Colletti said he’s waiting to hear from Scott Boras regarding Manny Ramirez, even though the Dodgers pulled their two-year, $45MM offer.
  • It hasn’t happened yet, but the Angels plan to make a "very serious" offer to Mark Teixeira.  A competing exec guessed eight years, $160MM.  Remember, that’s a non-Angels exec making a guess.  Heyman tosses a new team into the mix for Tex: the Mariners.
  • The Royals are "quietly shopping" Jose Guillen.  Guillen, 33 in May, hit .264/.300/.438 in 633 plate appearances this year while playing below-average defense.  He’s owed $24MM for the 2009-10 seasons.
  • Competing execs tell Heyman the Mets appear open to trading Ramon Castro or Brian Schneider.  The Mets would then presumably sign a free agent catcher.

C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Thursday

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8:15pm: According to ESPN.com, Hal Steinbrenner said Sabathia will have a deadline to accept his current offer. The Yankees made Sabathia a record-setting offer for a pitcher, but Steinbrenner said "it’s not going to be there forever."

2:22pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, and Angels have checked in on Sabathia since the Yankees made their bid.  All four clubs face various obstacles.

9:26am: The latest on C.C. Sabathia…

  • Ken Davidoff and Anthony Rieber pass along a Peter Gammons report saying Sabathia will not sign until after Thanksgiving.  Perfectly logical, though I cannot find where Gammons wrote this.  (I see he wrote that it will "take a while.")   Send me the link (ESPN.com, not Newsday) if you can help out.
  • Andrew Baggarly’s source says the Giants are "not in offer mode" with Sabathia. He does believe they will take a shot.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday

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2:00pm: David O’Brien says the Padres and Braves need each other and still believes Peavy winds up in Atlanta.  I agree.  O’Brien also says the Braves’ talks for Ryan Ludwick aren’t dead.

10:29am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod.  Peavy hasn’t revised his original list of five teams, but Axelrod says the NL West would interest Peavy (aside from the Rockies).  So, maybe Giants fans have something new to speculate about.  Axelrod says the list was only guidance for Towers.

8:52am: Let’s round up today’s Jake Peavy linkage.

  • MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat said yesterday the Cubs’ talks for Peavy had ended due to budget restraints. Those limitations still exist, so the Cubs would have to get creative.
  • Padres GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com’s Corey Brock Wednesday night that he talked to Jim Hendry and the Cubs are still interested in Peavy.  Yahoo’s Tim Brown heard the same from a source.  It’d require a third or fourth team and the aforementioned financial creativity.
  • Towers told Tom Krasovic that talks with the Braves have not resumed and he hasn’t heard from the Angels.  Krasovic also said, "Among some of his ballplayer friends, Peavy has created the impression that if he is traded, he would like to pitch for the Cubs."

Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Lowe, Everett

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Time to discuss Ken Rosenthal’s latest…

  • Mark Teixeira is likely to sign before Manny Ramirez.  The Nationals and Orioles are in the mix, but the Angels and Red Sox are more likely destinations.
  • One GM predicted Raul Ibanez will receive a three-year deal worth $8-12MM per year.  Not exactly going out on a limb there.  ESPN’s Jayson Stark named a dozen teams that have expressed interest.
  • Rosenthal says the Mets are more likely to sign Brian Fuentes or Francisco Rodriguez than to acquire a closer via trade.  Doesn’t exactly fit with Stark’s statement that J.J. Putz would go to the top of the Mets’ list if available.
  • Scott Boras emphatically disputed the notion that he wants a Barry Zito-like contract for Derek Lowe.
  • Rosenthal wonders if Adam Everett would make sense for the Tigers.
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