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Brewers, Padres, Angels, Rockies, Astros After Iguchi

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In some ways, Tadahito Iguchi might be a better buy at second base than Luis Castillo.  He’s getting half the press, but that doesn’t mean he’s getting half the interest.  Iguchi’s agent said today that the Astros, Brewers, Padres, Angels, and Rockies have expressed interest. Keep in mind that the Phillies asked Iguchi about playing third base several weeks ago and he said he’d rather sign elsewhere at a second baseman.

I wonder if Iguchi may have relaxed that stance.  The Brewers and Angels have third base vacancies.  They have Rickie Weeks and Howie Kendrick at second base, respectively.  Weeks could be an interesting option in center, and Kendrick has been rumored as part of a Miguel Cabrera package.  So Iguchi could theoretically still play second for either club.

The Padres and Rockies just have good old-fashioned vacancies at second base.  Both clubs could still fill the spot internally – the Padres with Matt Antonelli and the Rockies with Ian Stewart.

As for the ’Stros, well, Ed Wade has contacted half the free agent class.   

Did Mike Lowell Really Receive Four Offers?

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This has all been covered here on MLBTR, but I guess it’s gotten lost in the shuffle because I’m receiving tons of email about it.  Maybe I’ll try to build something into the site to better keep up with the big names besides just reading through everything.  In the meantime, you can always use the search bar on the sidebar.

Anyway, let’s talk about this Mike Lowell rumor from WHDH Channel 7 News out of Boston.  These guys are getting a ton of traffic to this rumor and I just gave them more.  Oh well.

The uncredited rumor says a source close to Lowell indicates that he’s received four-year offers in the $55-60MM range from the Braves, Angels, Cardinals, and Yankees.

GM Frank Wren debunked the Braves portion today.  Esteemed St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Bernie Miklasz killed the Cardinals portion last night.  The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford shot down the Angels rumor.

So we have an uncredited rumor that is currently 0 for 3. 

A different Boston TV station, WBZ, said today that the Yanks did make an offer in the $56-60MM range to Lowell today (courtesy of Dan Roche).  That could be accurate but I would like to see some of the regular Yankees beat writers pick it up also.

Orioles To Attempt To Extend Bedard

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It looks like Erik Bedard is Andy MacPhail’s top priority right now.  He’s already gauged the trade interest for his ace, and is now exploring the idea of a contract extension.

Jeff Zrebiec says the Mets, Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers expressed interest in the southpaw starter.  Interesting to see the Halos in the mix.  The Dodgers are pushing the hardest for him.  Two years of Bedard is expected to cost a team three MLB-ready players.  The names mentioned for the Dodgers are Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp, and Clayton Kershaw.  While Kershaw’s not MLB-ready, I doubt the Orioles would mind.  Zrebiec says the problem with the Dodgers is that Kemp and Kershaw would be part of a Miguel Cabrera package.

What would a contract extension cost?  I’m thinking it would require something like four years, $65MM to cover the two team-controlled years and two years of free agency.

Zrebiec also mentions that the Mets inquired on Ramon Hernandez, but found the price of a high-end prospect prohibitive.

Angels and Dodgers Battling For Miguel Cabrera

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UPDATE, 11-15-07:  MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Angels are in the lead now, and trade talk for Cabrera is picking up with A-Rod on the verge of signing.  Frisaro says a deal could be done by Thanksgiving, in contrast to Joe Capozzi’s suggestion that this would happen at the Winter Meetings.  The L.A. Times explained several Dodgers/Angels scenarios on Wednesday; that’s also worth a read.

FROM 11-13-07:

Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says the Dodgers and Angels are leading the pack in the Miguel Cabrera derby.  Four other clubs are said to be in the mix.  The Marlins will continue to field offers and hope to trade Cabrera at the Winter Meetings in a few weeks.

Both the Dodgers and Angels are also in the mix for Alex Rodriguez.  Scott Boras must love Cabrera messing up his market.  A friend of Tommy Lasorda’s told me today that Lasorda puts the Dodgers’ chances of signing A-Rod around 25%.

From the Angels, the Marlins want Howie Kendrick, Nick Adenhart, another pitcher, and an outfielder.  Now that’s a tall order! Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders could be in the mix.  Maybe the Marlins like Terry Evans, Nathan Haynes, or Reggie Willits as well.

The Dodgers are being asked to pony up four of Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Andy LaRoche, James Loney, and Matt Kemp.  Capozzi suggests the Dodgers would probably only include one of the pitchers.  Even so, a Kershaw/LaRoche/Loney/Kemp package is insane for one player.  That has to be well over $100MM of value – a bit less than 20 team-controlled seasons.  Three of the five would still make for a sweet bounty.  The team acquiring Cabrera would probably be compelled to lock him in past 2009.   

An educated guess at the other four teams in the mix for Cabrera: White Sox, Red Sox, Yankees, and Giants.  I’ll guess that the Indians have bowed out. 

Odds and Ends: Kendrick, Uggla, Haren

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Another random collection of rumorage…

  • The Braves have "many millions more" to spend on players this winter.  One emailer suggested that maybe the Braves will offer arbitration to Andruw Jones and he’ll accept. 
  • Corey Patterson and the Nationals have mutual interest.  Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan considers him a possible bargain, noting that he is only 28.
  • We figured the Padres and Matt Clement had mutual interest.  Now it’s official.  Clement wants a one-year deal with incentives.
  • Tracy Ringolsby confirms that Yorvit Torrealba wants a three-year deal.  He says the Rockies are at two years, $7MM, the Marlins are in the same range, and the Mets are at two years, $9MM.  UPDATE: The Denver Post says Torrealba will have a decision Thursday.
  • Interesting Miguel Cabrera stuff from the L.A. Times.  Howie Kendrick is not considered untouchable, but the Marlins might have to include Dan Uggla.  Basically if the Marlins are to get four players back, they’ll have to add Uggla or Dontrelle Willis to the deal.   
  • Our friends at Gotham Baseball say if the Mets were to acquire Dan Haren, the package would start with Billy Beane favorite John Maine.  Mark Healey figures Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman would have to go also.
  • Ken Rosenthal thinks a one-year, $8MM offer from Atlanta would be enough to secure Tom Glavine.
  • The D’Backs’ main trading chip is outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.  It appears that the team explored what they could get for Conor Jackson and decided to keep him.

Mets Targeting Livan Hernandez?

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Ben Shpigel of the New York Times has some new Mets info for us today.

  • Surprisingly, Shpigel believes the one free agent starter the Mets will seriously consider is Livan Hernandez.  That is odd because I had read Livan wasn’t high on Omar Minaya’s list.  We’ve seen the Mets connected to free agents Byung-Hyun Kim, Carlos Silva, Hiroki Kuroda, Kyle Lohse, and Jason Jennings so far this offseason.
  • As far as some unsung trade opportunities, my Mets guy says Ervin Santana, Chris Capuano, Claudio Vargas, and Noah Lowry are being considered.
  • According to Shpigel, the Mets hope to re-sign Ramon Castro as their backup catcher.  I don’t see that happening, as he’ll probably be able to snag a starting job elsewhere.  Options the Mets are considering to start at catcher include Yorvit Torrealba, Ramon Hernandez, Ronny Paulino, Gerald Laird, and Paul Lo Duca.  A source tells me the D’Backs’ Miguel Montero may also be on the radar.
  • Shpigel says Luis Castillo might command a four-year deal.  Say what?  The Mets may yet re-sign Castillo but want to see what the trade market offers first.  Shpigel names Orlando Hudson, while I’ve also heard Alberto Callaspo.

Odds and Ends: Rolen, Silva, Capps

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Here are some hot stove links to digest this evening.

Contract Window For Miguel Cabrera?

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MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Miguel Cabrera trade talks are heating up.  As you know, Cabrera is under team control for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.  He might become more enticing if the acquiring team can talk to his agent prior to completion of a trade, with a long-term contract in mind.  As far as I can tell Cabrera is represented by Arn Tellem and Fernando Cuza currently.

Frisaro says the Angels and Dodgers are in the lead for Cabrera.  The Yankees, White Sox, Indians, and Tigers are also in the mix.  However this Paul Hoynes article seems to indicate the Indians are fading on Cabrera.  And I think it’s questionable whether the White Sox have the goods.  Frisaro doesn’t include the Red Sox, which jives with Michael Silverman’s info today.  Peter Gammons says the Red Sox could get Hank Blalock in a Coco Crisp deal but aren’t ready to do that right now.

It’s known that the Marlins want Howie Kendrick from the Angels; Ken Rosenthal first reported that yesterday.  Maicer Izturis would also be thrown in there, but I imagine Nick Adenhart would be required as well.  If such a deal were reached, Dan Uggla would move to third base to accomodate Kendrick.  There’s also speculation that the Marlins could trade Uggla if they get Kendrick.

Frisaro expects Dontrelle Willis to stay put this winter.

More On Mike Lowell

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Michael Silverman has a little detail on Boston’s three-year offer to Mike Lowell: it’s between $12-15MM per season.  It’s all guaranteed, and it doesn’t seem to be a "take it or leave it" offer, but they won’t add a fourth year.  So it’s for $45MM on the high end.  If you agree with Jon Heyman’s 4/52 prediction, Lowell would be leaving a minimum of $7MM on the table.

Silverman adds that the Red Sox won’t go nuts trying to replace Lowell with a big name if things don’t work out.  They figure that if Kevin Youkilis can win a Gold Glove at first, he might be adequate at third base.  They peeked their head in on Miguel Cabrera and balked at the price of Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz.  Joe Crede might be someone for the Sox to consider. 

The Yankees, Angels, and Phillies will be in on Lowell if he can’t come to an agreement with Boston.  However, Phils GM Pat Gillick has stated his focus is pitching rather than third base.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Andruw, Rowand, Castillo

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Ken Rosenthal has cranked out another rumor-filled column.  A summary is below.

  • The Marlins are insisting on Howie Kendrick in a Miguel Cabrera deal.  The Angels are understandably reluctant.
  • The Nationals could sign Andruw Jones long-term if they felt it was a bargain – say, $13MM a year.  The Giants, White Sox, and Padres may be in the mix as well.  Hmmm, White Sox and Boras?  And if Scott Boras changes his tune and hunts for a one-year "rebuild value" contract for Jones, the Red Sox could get involved. 
  • The Phillies think Aaron Rowand will end up getting a 4/52 contract, though Rosenthal expects him to get the fifth guaranteed year.  It’s previously been reported that Rowand is looking for a six-year, $84MM deal. Yikes.
  • Aside from the Astros and Mets, the Indians, Padres, and Dodgers could get in on Luis Castillo.  In the Tribe’s case, it would involve a scenario where Jhonny Peralta was dealt.
  • Interesting note on Curt Schilling’s $2MM in weight incentives – the target weights are aggressively low, and the weigh-ins will be done randomly.  So, no cheating the system.  By the way, isn’t it ridiculous that one Cy vote gets him $1MM?  Sportswriters have given out single votes on a whim for much dumber reasons.
  • The Red Sox are apparently asking a lot for Coco Crisp, more than the Twins are ready to give up.
  • The Indians and Brewers have an excess of starters.  Names that could hit the market include Cliff Lee, Dave Bush, and Chris Capuano.  The Nationals have their eye on Lee.  He came up as an Expo through Double A.
  • The Nationals might be able to get something good for outfielder Ryan Church.  In general, Jim Bowden desires a young MLB-ready starter like Kevin Mulvey or Kevin Slowey.

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