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Angels/Marlins Cabrera Negotiations Hit Snag

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Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has the latest on the Angels’ ongoing talks with the Marlins about superstar third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

The two teams have hit a snag about the combination of players, according to Giovanna.  It’s not that the Angels view any of Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Nick Adenhart, Reggie Willits, or Brandon Wood to be untouchable (previously it had been said that the inclusion of Adenhart was an issue).  It seems that the Angels will give up certain combinations of the above-named players (probably three of them) but the two teams can’t quite match up.

Heyman’s Latest: Piazza, Matthews, Milledge

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with a new Daily Scoop column full of rumors.

  • A lot of the standard trade talk we’ve seen regarding Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, Miguel Tejada, and Dan Haren.  All these guys require two good young players or more in a trade.
  • Mike Piazza is considering DHing in Japan if he doesn’t find anything he likes in the U.S. 
  • Heyman talked to an AL exec who speculated that the Angels may try to unload Gary Matthews Jr.  GMJ makes $9MM in ’08, $10MM in ’09, $11MM in ’10, and $12MM in ’11.  He currently has a full no-trade clause.
  • Juan Uribe and Vicente Padilla are two salary-dump types whose names have surfaced in recent trade talks (unrelated to each other).  Padilla is owed $24.75MM over the next two seasons.
  • Heyman believes the Mets are very willing to trade Lastings Milledge and have discussed him often.
  • We knew the Mets had discussed Ramon Hernandez and Gerald Laird.  Heyman adds the Nats’ Brian Schneider to the mix.  He makes $4.9MM in ’08 and another $4.9MM in ’09.

Odds and Ends: Santana, Hunter

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Let’s kick off the morning with some odds and ends, absent any earth-shattering rumors.  I’ll keep adding to this post.

  • Awesome inside look at the Torii Hunter deal via Bob Nightengale.  Hunter’s first choice outside of Minnesota was the Cardinals, but they weren’t interested.
  • Hunter – not overpaid?  So says J.C. Bradbury.
  • Still some confusion about Johan Santana’s no-trade clause.  Buster Olney says it’s full and doesn’t indicate that the rights change on any certain date.  Matthew Cerrone says it’s a full NTC only until Opening Day ’08, when it switches to 12 teams.  Those are not mutually exclusive comments, so I guess we’ll see.
  • Phil Rogers doesn’t think the Cubs will re-sign Kerry Wood.  He also sees the Giants in the lead for Miguel Cabrera now.
  • My coworker Jonathan makes a good point – thought the Sox wouldn’t give four-year deals to pitchers?  They made a huge fuss over Mark Buehrle.  Suddenly Scott Linebrink is worthy of breaking the rule again?  Some are skeptical.
  • Bobby Kielty typically smacks around left-handed pitching (Brian Fuentes for example).  He’ll hook on as some team’s fourth outfielder as a free agent.  He’d like to return to Boston, but that would require a Coco Crisp trade. Rob Bradford names the Twins, Braves, Rangers, and White Sox as possibilities otherwise. 

Odds And Ends: Cabrera, Bay, Liriano, Clement, Dotel

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Lots to go over this morning, so this might not be the last bullet point list you see.

  • The Angels and Marlins are progressing in talks for Miguel Cabrera. It’s believed that the Angels are willing to deal players like Reggie Willits, Howie Kendrick, and Jeff Mathis, but the sticking point here is the inclusion of Nick Adenhart. If the Angels want Cabrera, I would have to think Adenhart would be a part of any deal.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that he is not actively shopping any of his players. However, he acknowledges that if he hears an offer, he’ll have to consider it. Some of his team’s asking prices are "outrageous," he says. This includes players like Jason Bay and Jack Wilson. But the Pirates may choose in the end to dish Bay, since their strength, if any, is the outfield, and Bay is slated to make $13.25 million over the next two years. That might not seem like a lot, but it’s costly when you’re working with a paltry $50 million budget. Surely Huntington would love to deal Wilson, though he denies it. He might have trouble finding a partner on that one.
  • Though the Twins deny it, any Johan Santana deal might be dependent on the status of Francisco Liriano. The 24-year-old "hasn’t had a single setback" in his recovery from ligament replacement surgery last October. He’s completed his rehab program, and might pitch in the Dominican this winter. He’s expected to be ready in February fo Spring Training.
  • Add the Pirates to the list of teams interested in Matt Clement. It now spans the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Royals, Padres, and Blue Jays in addition to the Bucs. However, with their payroll cap, Clement might not be feasible.
  • The Tigers remain interested in closer Octavio Dotel. There is no word on whether the team has offered him a contract.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Hunter Signing Won’t Stop Rolling Angels

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UPDATE: Some added info from yesterday’s Miami Herald.  It sounds like the Angels are willing to part with Reggie Willits, Howie Kendrick, and a catcher.  Not a bad haul.  However the Marlins are apparently insisting on the inclusion of top pitching prospect Nick Adenhart as well.

Just because the Angels dropped $90 million on Torii Hunter doesn’t mean they won’t continue to make deals this off-season. Specifically, the two players most linked to them — Miguel Cabrera and Miguel Tejada — are still hot on the radar, according to GM Tony Reagins.

"All I can say is I’m going to be looking at some other things to make us better," Reagins said. "The winter meetings are coming up, and I’m sure we’ll have more discussions. I’m going to be open-minded."

Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times opines that the acquisition of Hunter could make it easier to incur the loss of Howie Kendrick, a potential major chip in a Cabrera trade. Other players sought by the Marlins are catcher Jeff Mathis, pitcher Nick Adenhart, and one of Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, or Ervin Santana. That’s quite steep asking price, but in line with the Marlins demands from the Dodgers of Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Andy LaRoche, and one more prospect.

The deal for Tejada would be less costly, but could cost the Angels SS Erick Aybar. Since the Halos want to move Tejada to third, that could mean starting Chone Figgins at short, or, as Tim mentioned the other day, bringing back David Eckstein.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Torii Hunter – Additional Thoughts

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Random thoughts in the aftermath of the Torii Hunter shocker…

  • We can’t really say whether the Hunter signing was about money or winning, because a winning team made an offer far beyond any other club.  It is inconclusive.
  • U.S.S. Mariner notes that Hunter received the same contract Ichiro did, but he’s not the same caliber of player.
  • David Pinto sees a very old Angels outfield in the future.
  • The Rangers were at five years, $75MM with a club option for 2013.  Both Texas and the White Sox may now turn their attention to Aaron Rowand.  Suddenly his perception that he’s a $14MM player seems more realistic.
  • The Twins must be pleasantly surprised – they get the Angels’ 27th overall pick next June.  All the other teams thought to be in the mix for Hunter had their first round picks protected.  The loss of the pick just accentuates how much the Halos overpaid here.

Torii Hunter Signs With Angels

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Who saw this one coming?  Now only did he sign on Thanksgiving Day, but Torii Hunter signed with the Angels.  The news broke a little after midnight.  It’s a five-year contract for $90MM.  That’s a surprising $18MM annually for those poor in math.  No one even knew the two sides were talking!  Hunter just isn’t an $18MM player to me.  I can see why he jumped on this.

The Halos now have six players for three outfield spots and one DH spot.  Hunter will always be in center, and Vlad will always be at DH or in right.  So then only two of Garret Anderson, Juan Rivera, Reggie Willits, and Gary Matthews Jr. will be in the lineup (unless someone goes to first base and knocks Casey Kotchman to the bench).

GM Tony Reagins says this doesn’t affect his other dealings, so perhaps he’s created these outfield and pitching surpluses to acquire Miguel Cabrera or Miguel Tejada.  Willits would be appealing to the Marlins, I imagine.

Odds and Ends: Fukudome, Eckstein, Lowell

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Ah yes, the odds and ends post, where I cobble together the day’s random links.

  • The Rangers have mild interest Scott Podsednik.  Pods had two separate stints in the Rangers organization but never reached the bigs with them.
  • The Big Lead has an interesting interview with Yahoo baseball guy Jeff Passan, wherein a run-in with Jose Lima is recounted.  Passan also takes on Fire Joe Morgan a bit.
  • Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog is hearing that Kosuke Fukudome is looking for three years and $30MM.  Sounds fair.
  • The Angels are considering signing David Eckstein and/or Darin Erstad, for some reason.
  • Bob Dutton reports that the Royals can be patient with their offer to Torii Hunter, while the White Sox want a quick resolution.  Bonus: a rather large, but not too pixellated picture of Hunter at the Dutton link.  Hunter, by the way, could save $750K per year if he signs with the Rangers because Texas has no state income tax.  Hunter is also considering the Las Vegas 51s for that same reason, I heard. 
  • Per Buster Olney, the Dodgers put in a three-year offer to Mike Lowell.  He takes this as a sign they weren’t serious, but Ned Colletti has shown a tendency to offer fewer years and more per year.  He did this with Rafael Furcal and Jason Schmidt.  So maybe the Dodgers put out a 3/45 offer or something.
  • The Phils picked up oft-injured outfielder Chris Snelling from the Rays for cash.  He’s yet to accumulate 100 big league at-bats in a season, but maybe that’ll change in 2008.
  • Ed Wade + relievers = trouble.  Doug Brocail is on the radar.
  • McCovey Chronicles lists some realistic position player targets for the Giants, including Jeff Clement, Andy Marte, and Adam Lind.

Miguel Cabrera Rumors

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I think it’s about time to dissect the Miguel Cabrera situation, don’t you?  The Angels, Dodgers, Giants, White Sox, and maybe the Rangers are battling to acquire him.

Five days ago, the Angels were the frontrunners.  It was even suggested a trade could be completed by Thanksgiving.  But according to Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers now have the lead.  It may require Matt Kemp, Andy LaRoche, and Clayton Kershaw.  Now that’s quality. 

Rosenthal has a source saying the Halos may counter with Ervin Santana, Howie Kendrick, Chris Bootcheck, and Nick Adenhart.  It’s thought that the Angels’ acquisition of Jon Garland frees them up to trade a starter or two.  Many other Angels interest the Marlins – Joe Saunders, Brandon Wood, Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis, or Reggie Willits could enter the picture.  Miguel Tejada is said to be the Angels’ fallback option. 

The proposed White Sox package of Josh Fields, Ryan Sweeney, and Gio Gonzalez just doesn’t seem comparable to the above.

Should the Dodgers give up Kemp to snag Cabrera, they’ll then sign a free agent center fielder.  Aaron Rowand is the flavor of the week.      

White Sox Trade Jon Garland For Orlando Cabrera

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UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal reports that the White Sox received $1.5MM in the deal.  It certainly seems that the Sox are clearing payroll for Torii Hunter.  Mark Gonzales notes that while the Sox hope to sign Cabrera long-term, they’ll still benefit from this trade if they don’t.  Cabrera is likely to be a Type A a year from now while Garland will probably be a B.

According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the White Sox acquired shortstop Orlando Cabrera for starter Jon Garland today.

In a vacuum, this seems like a pretty even swap to me.  Just comparing the two players involved, it’s fair.  Garland is a solid if not spectacular starter, and Cabrera is the same at shortstop.  Both players’ contracts run through 2008.  Garland is at $12MM and Cabrera $9MM, so the Sox save a few bucks here.  Plus, they will get some cash from the Angels.

But trades aren’t made in a vacuum; you have to look at their effects on the teams involved.

The White Sox will seemingly put Juan Uribe at second base, if they don’t trade him.  They could potentially have one of the game’s finest defensive double play combinations.  And Cabrera’s .345 OBP last year, while nothing amazing, is good for a shortstop and looks great for an OBP-starved team like the Sox.  The question is whether the Sox can sustain the loss of Garland in the rotation.  They’ll now go with Buehrle, Vazquez, Contreras, Danks, and maybe Gavin Floyd or Gio Gonzalez.  That group could work but you could see Contreras and the kids flopping and Buehrle coming back down to Earth.

Kenny Williams has shown some ability to dig up starting pitching, so maybe he’s playing to his strength.  How about the return of Bartolo Colon?

The Angels now have an embarrassment of starting pitching.  They’ve got Lackey, Escobar, Weaver, Garland, Saunders, and Ervin Santana.  Nick Adenhart should be around soon also.  The Angels may now be compelled to flip Santana for a bat.  Meanwhile they have plenty of solid options at shortstop with Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, Chone Figgins, and Maicer Izturis.

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