Angels Offer Arb To Tex, K-Rod, Garland, Oliver
11:50pm: Mike DiGiovanna and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times believe Garland and Oliver will accept their offers and work out one-year deals with the Angels.
7:31pm: According to the AP, the Angels offered arbitration to Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Jon Garland, and Darren Oliver today. The last two were uncertain, but the decisions make sense. Oliver now seems less likely to sign elsewhere, as a new team would have to pay the draft pick tax. Garret Anderson (Type B) did not receive an offer.
Perrotto’s Latest: Teixeira, Burnett, Wilson
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus has his Sunday article up. Let’s go through it:
- The Angels may be willing to match the Yankees $140MM offer to CC Sabathia. They won’t offer 10 years to Mark Teixeira. If they can’t land Teixeira, they will consider Pat Burrell for first base.
- A.J. Burnett is looking at the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Orioles, and Phillies.
- The Twins want a left-side infielder for Delmon Young, so they can open a spot for Denard Span in the starting lineup.
- The Tigers are pursuing Jack Wilson from the Pirates and Matt Treanor from the Marlins. They are also putting high priority on signing Joe Beimel who’s getting interest from a number of teams.
- The Dodgers will not re-sign Rafael Furcal for health reasons so the Giants, Athletics, and Reds are his most likely destinations.
- The Cubs will need to offer more than Jason Marquis to the Royals for David DeJesus. If they can’t get it done, they’d sign Raul Ibanez over Bobby Abreu.
- The Braves are interested in Javier Vazquez and Jermaine Dye…
- The Reds need to offer more than Homer Bailey to get Dye.
- The Mets are considering Jon Garland, Vazquez, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays want more than Aaron Heilman for either of their starters.
- The Mets could soon become suitors for Manny Ramirez.
- The Brewers could soon become suitors for Francisco Rodriguez.
- The Astros are targeting Paul Bako and David Ross as backup catchers.
- The Rockies are trying to find lefthanders, eyeing Alan Embree, Will Ohman, Brian Shouse, and Glendon Rusch.
C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Thursday
Ken Davidoff wrote yesterday:
According to a person in the Yankees’ loop, the team is reluctant to raise its offer to C.C. Sabathia, even if such hesitancy causes him to sign with the Angels.
Something has changed in the last 24 hours, because Davidoff now writes:
The majority of their decision-makers support the idea of going higher for the coveted lefthander, a person familiar with the situation said yesterday.
Davidoff wonders if the Yankees might go to $150MM over six years if the Angels offer $130MM over six. It doesn’t appear that the Angels have made an offer yet. Sabathia’s agent Greg Genske is apparently shutting things down for the weekend.
Brown’s Latest: Fuentes, Hoffman, Wilson, Aurilia
Here’s a look at the latest from Yahoo’s Tim Brown.
- The Mets kicked around the idea internally of signing both Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman. The eighth inning would be a tough sell for either pitcher though.
- Brown says that if the Angels fail to sign Mark Teixeira they will try to sign C.C. Sabathia as well as a closer like Fuentes.
- The Dodgers want the Pirates to eat "a huge chunk" of the $7.85MM Jack Wilson has coming.
- The Giants and Dodgers have shown interest in Rich Aurilia.
C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Wednesday
6:19pm: It sounds like Sabathia’s agent Greg Genske is shutting things down for the weekend. He didn’t reveal anything new to Brewers GM Doug Melvin. Adam McCalvy also notes that the Brewers will offer Sabathia arbitration, a procedural move.
12:49pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Yankees people who believe the Angels leaked interest in Sabathia to reduce Tex’s demands. Those people also believe the Halos will limit their offer to the $100-120MM range. Other factors: Tex makes more sense for the Angels, Arte Moreno loves him, and signing Sabathia could reduce the chances of extending John Lackey.
Nonetheless, Heyman agrees with a rival executive that the Angels are quite serious about Sabathia.
8:51am: The big news yesterday was the L.A. Times report stating that the Angels "are in discussions with C.C. Sabathia and could offer him a contract that approaches the $140 million bid extended to him by the Yankees."
Ken Davidoff wrote this morning that the Yankees are reluctant to raise their offer to Sabathia, even if it means he signs with the Halos. Davidoff says the Yanks would step up their efforts for A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe if they lose Sabathia.
Meanwhile Dan Graziano says Yankees officials scoffed at the idea of the Angels turning their attention to Sabathia. Those officials believe it’s a ploy to get Mark Teixeira to drop his demands. Danny Knobler, however, believes the Angels have already moved on from Teixeira. He says the Angels have long-term concerns about Tex’s knee.
Rosenthal On Boras’ Scheme
Ken Rosenthal has a theory on Scott Boras’ goals in the free agent game:
- Mark Teixeira and Jason Varitek to the Red Sox
- C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez to the Angels
- Derek Lowe to the Yankees
The crux of the theory seems to be that Boras would want Manny near his Newport Beach headquarters to better babysit him. Personally I have a hard time seeing any team sign two of the big three free agents, and it’s difficult to picture Manny as an Angel.
Rosenthal doesn’t see the Dodgers as major players, partially based on recent comments made by the McCourts.
Boras Comments On Garret Anderson
Agent Scott Boras spoke about his new client Garret Anderson recently to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Boras says Anderson wants to play every day, and could handle the outfield regularly for an NL club. He also said Anderson is four years away from 3,000 hits, a reasonable suggestion assuming he’s healthy and effective through his age 37-40 seasons. Rob Neyer says is this is highly unlikely. Jerry Crasnick spoke to an NL exec who believes Anderson has two or three years left.
Anderson was "a little surprised and disappointed" the Angels didn’t pick up his $11MM option, but he’s leaving the door open.
Looking Beyond Varitek
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.
On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox. He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving. Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.
Boras Has Offers For Teixeira
According to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, Scott Boras has received "a number of offers" for Mark Teixeira. These are formal offers that Tex has the right to accept. The Angels haven’t made an offer; we can only speculate on which clubs did submit early bids.
Yankees Backup Plans
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.