Padres Rumors: Cameron, Jenkins, Colon
UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 10pm: Krasovic has an update on the Union-Tribune’s sports blog. Cameron’s agent said tonight that he would decline the Padres’ offer of arbitration. That doesn’t mean the Padres still can’t sign him, but it seems unlikely. Krasovic also notes that the Friars are pursuing Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. As you know, they brought him in for a workout previously. The Rockies and Red Sox have been linked to him in the past.
FROM 11-28-07 at 10:40am:
Tim Sullivan and Tom Krasovic make are a productive tandem for Padres rumors. Sullivan and Krasovic both posted new articles today.
- Sullivan says the Padres will probably offer arbitration to Mike Cameron. Cameron will then decide whether to accept by December 7th. It wouldn’t make sense for the Padres to move on a center fielder until that is resolved. It’s also possible that the Padres just sign Cameron to a two-year deal – they’re sitting on a counteroffer from Cameron’s camp.
- The Padres admit to interest in Andruw Jones, but it seems like a longshot. They probably won’t go past one year, and even if Jones accepts that it’s not a good ballpark to rebuild value.
- Sullivan names other center field possibilities: Aaron Rowand, Gary Matthews Jr., Reggie Willits, and Coco Crisp.
- As for left field, Krasovic notes that the Padres met with Geoff Jenkins yesterday. That might allow Scott Hairston to move to center if all of the above options fail.
- On the pitchiing front, Buster Olney notes that the Padres have expressed interest in Randy Wolf, Bartolo Colon, and Mark Prior.
Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 7:30pm: Jon Heyman chimes in on the Santana talks. If the Red Sox continue to keep Ellsbury out of the deal, the Yankees may have the best offer with Hughes, Cabrera, and another pitcher. The inclusion of Ellsbury would swing it toward the Sox. It appears the two rivals are battling going head to head on this one.
FROM 11-28-07 at 11:15am:
Let’s review the Johan Santana situation, because there’s been plenty flying around the last couple of days.
- Yankees: Jon Heyman said yesterday the Twins would want Melky Cabrera plus one of Hughes/Chamberlain/Kennedy. LaVelle E. Neal III confirmed the Yankees as one of three teams that have actually had trade talks with the Twins about Santana. It’s been suggested that Santana would be open to signing a long-term deal in New York. Aaron Gleeman analyzes Yankees/Santana scenarios here. Also, Lisa Kennelly and Ed Price are saying Chamberlain and Robinson Cano are untouchable in these talks. So think Melky and Hughes. By the way, the Yankees let Aaron Rowand‘s agent know that they’ll be interested if they trade the Melkman.
- Red Sox: The Sox are another of those teams confirmed to have had trade talks about Santana with the Twins. Heyman said it would take Buchholz or Lester plus Ellsbury. The Sox want to substitiute Crisp for Ellsbury. UPDATE: Neal says Jed Lowrie, Brandon Moss, and perhaps Kevin Youkilis have been discussed as well.
- Angels: The third team confirmed to have had trade talks for Santana. He’s not atop the Halos’ list though. I suggested earlier that a package of Brandon Wood, Reggie Willits, and Nick Adenhart would work for the Twins, but seems too steep for one year of Santana.
- Mets: The Mets have had talks with the Twins as well, according to Buster Olney. It’s known that the Mets don’t want to include Jose Reyes or David Wright in a deal. Makes sense. Carlos Gomez, Fernando Martinez, Lastings Milledge, Mike Pelfrey, and Kevin Mulvey are the other names being tossed around. But John Harper’s source isn’t so sure Reyes it out of the question, as that might be the only way the Mets can get Santana.
- Mariners: Larry LaRue says the Twins would want Adam Jones, Brandon Morrow, and Jeff Clement.
- Dodgers: Though they’ve been linked to Santana, he doesn’t seem to be on the frontburner.
- Cubs: Long shot and first I’ve heard of it, but George King and Joel Sherman suggest the possibility. Felix Pie would have to be involved. Hard to see the Cubs signing Santana to a record-setting extension given their ownership situation.
Marlins Toy With Angels, Dodgers
Angels owner Arte Moreno isn’t happy with the way the Marlins dealt with his club on the Miguel Cabrera negotiations. Twice already the Angels thought they had deals only to have the Marlins come back at the last minute asking for more. Moreno also believed this happened to the Dodgers and the Fish are playing the two teams off each other.
None of this seems outside the realm of negotiation; it’s just curious that Moreno went public with it. Perhaps that’s strategy, his way of telling the Marlins he won’t take any more BS.
Moreno said the Marlins’ demand is four players. Three of them must be Major Leaguers and two pitchers. If the Angels are to give up two good young pitchers, they won’t also include both Howie Kendrick and Jeff Mathis.
It hasn’t really been said but it seems like the Cabrera negotiations may stall now unless the Marlins come down a bit. Or maybe some other dominoes will fall at the Winter Meetings and a team will get desperate.
Unfounded Rumors: Bonser, Morneau
UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 10:50am: LaVelle E. Neal III and Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune looked into both of these rumors, and found nothing.
FROM 11-27-07 at 10:25pm:
We have seen some Unfounded Rumors come to fruition in the past; you never know. No insult is intended towards the originators of these, but they are reports I have not been able to verify. I know most of you just want rumors any way you can get them.
- DRays Bay has some chatter about a possible Boof Bonser to Tampa Bay deal. Apparently quotes from Bonser himself played a part in this one, though Marc Topkin isn’t buying it.
- Over at Minor League Ball, a person posted about a rumor heard on a California radio station: Justin Morneau to the Angels for Ervin Santana and Casey Kotchman. This one has zero verification but it’s rapidly making its way around the Internet today.
So there you go, a couple of Unfounded Rumors to mull over this evening.
Angels Interested In Johan Santana
Hey, you can never have too much pitching right? Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports that Johan Santana is on the Angels’ list. They’re still all about Miguel Cabrera as Plan A and Miguel Tejada as Plan B, but they’ve inquired on Santana as well. Jon Heyman actually mentioned the Halos as a Santana suitor yesterday afternoon, but it didn’t register with me.
DiGiovanna says the Twins would ask for a third baseman, center fielder, and pitcher for Santana. Brandon Wood, Reggie Willits, and Nick Adenhart – is that too much? Another hurdle might be getting Santana to approve a trade to the West Coast.
DiGiovanna adds that the Twins have interest in Gary Matthews Jr. Could this be the mystery CF the Twins are close to acquiring? Maybe not, since Matthews is expensive, old, and mediocre.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nathan, Garza, Bedard
Ken Rosenthal recently dished out a slew of fresh rumors for us to devour.
- Rosenthal still believes that if the Twins trade Johan Santana, they will also trade Joe Nathan in a separate deal. Back on November 11th, Rosenthal first suggested this might happen. About a week ago, Joe Christensen reported that the Twins exchanged contract proposals with Nathan. Nathan is in line to earn at least $15MM per season, if he wants full market value. Rosenthal suggests the Brewers, Indians, Tigers, Cubs, and Red Sox as possible fits for Nathan.
- The Angels may want to keep Gary Matthews Jr., given Vladimir Guerrero‘s declining defensive abilities. Also, Guerrero may soon get a contract extension in the $18MM per season range to put him in line with Torii Hunter. His contract runs through 2009.
- The Twins may be close to getting a center fielder, but it may not be Coco Crisp. Another team is chasing Crisp – perhaps the White Sox?
- Melky Cabrera could be dealt independent and regardless of a Johan Santana deal. The Braves may be interested; the Yanks would then move Johnny Damon back to center.
- Matt Garza or Boof Bonser may be moved for a bat. Probably not Delmon Young, but some young slugger. The Rays also want to find a young shortstop to compete with Reid Brignac.
- The Yanks don’t want to overpay for a free agent reliever – 3/12 seems their limit on the Riskes and Mahays of the world.
- Back at the GM meetings, the Mets inquired on Erik Bedard. The O’s are waiting to see what happens with Miguel Cabrera since they covet many of the prospects being discussed there.
Heyman On Santana
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has the latest on the Johan Santana trade talks.
- The Twins want Melky Cabrera plus one of Chamberlain/Hughes/Kennedy from the Yankees. If the Yanks can surrender Kennedy rather than Hughes or Joba, they’ve done a nice job. Sounds like they would consider giving up Hughes though.
- The Twins want one of Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester plus Jacoby Ellsbury. Lester seems to be the only one of the three the Red Sox would part with, while they’d also be fine with sending Coco Crisp over.
- Heyman names the Mets, Dodgers, Angels, and Mariners as interested parties. First I’ve heard of the Ms or Halos being in the mix. Regarding the Dodgers, check out an interview with Ned Colletti. For what it’s worth, he doesn’t seem anxious to deal 3-5 kids for a guy like Santana or Miguel Cabrera.
Angels/Marlins Cabrera Negotiations Hit Snag
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
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
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.