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Rangers Bid $30MM For Matsuzaka?

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Here we finally have a decent source giving us some Daisuke Matsuzaka info.  Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a baseball official indicating something close to a $30MM bid.  Of the course, the language in the article uses plenty of qualifiers like "may" and "have a chance."  Can’t blame ’em for hedging their bets a little.

We’ve also got a video in which Boston Globe sportswriter Jackie MacMullan says that Matsuzaka is "going to go out west to the Angels by all accounts."  Not to question her info, but in watching the video is appeared that she did not know Matsuzaka’s name.  I ran this one by my Angels source and even he could not confirm whether the Halos made a bid.  It was a stealth process.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a source putting two different teams over a $20MM bid.

Mike Plugh is all over the developing story at the Matsuzaka Watch.

Daisuke Matsuzaka To Be Posted By Seibu

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It’s official: the Seibu Lions will post ace starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.  That means a Major League team will bid on the exclusive rights to negotiate a contract with him. 

Matsuzaka figures to beat out even Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt as the best free agent pitcher available.  At least eight teams have already scouted him Matsuzaka.

Based on this report (scroll down), the Angels will also be players for Matsuzaka.

2007 Los Angeles Angels

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So Arte Moreno has guaranteed big changes in Los Angeles this winter.  Let’s explore his current obligations and needs.

C – Mike Napoli – $0.35MM
C – Jose Molina – $1.25MM
1B – 
2B – Howie Kendrick – $0.35MM
SS – Orlando Cabrera – $7.5MM
3B –
IF – Robb Quinlan – $0.365MM
IF – Maicer Izturis – $0.35MM
LF – Juan Rivera – $2.025MM
CF – Chone Figgins – $3.5MM
RF – Vladimir Guerrero – $13.5MM
DH – Garret Anderson – $11MM

SP – Bartolo Colon – $14MM
SP – Kelvim Escobar – $8.5MM
SP – John Lackey – $5.5MM
SP – Ervin Santana – $0.35MM
SP – Joe Saunders – $0.35MM
SP – Jered Weaver – $0.35MM

RP – Francisco Rodriguez – $3.775MM
RP – Hector Carrasco – $2.75MM
RP – Scot Shields – $2.1MM
RP – Brendan Donnelly – $0.95MM
RP – Kevin Gregg – $0.36MM
RP –
RP –

This club has about $80MM committed for ’07, and we can tack on another $5MM or so for raises.  But I haven’t seen any particular payroll limit mentioned, so they may be willing to take on another $40MM for next year.

The needs are fairly obvious: big bats at the corners.  I’m sure they’re praying Aramis Ramirez opts out of his contract, because then there’d be a bona fide slugger available for third base.  Assuming he doesn’t, there’s always the Miguel Tejada option.  The Angels are stacked with enough starting pitching and position prospect depth to get a deal done.  Even if the Orioles are difficult.

Another good option at third would be Joe Crede, should the White Sox make him available.  Guys like Hank Blalock and Adrian Beltre could be had, but no one knows if they’ll bounce back.  Morgan Ensberg is a name you don’t hear a lot in connection with the Angels, but he’d be a decent fit.

First base doesn’t offer many top tier choices, though Gary Sheffield would be interesting.  And really, who can’t play first base?  The Angels could make room for Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, Moises Alou, Barry Bonds, or even Jim Edmonds if they had to.  Also, given the fragility of Garret Anderson and Mike Napoli’s abysmal second half performance, signing Mike Piazza would be a smart move.

While most free agent signings mean overpaying, it may be a better option for L.A. than trading top-tier prospects like Nick Adenhart, Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, or Hank Conger.  The team is also stocked with lesser but still interesting talent like Kendry Morales, Reggie Willits, Jeff Mathis, Casey Kotchman, Dallas McPherson, Terry Evans, and Sean Rodriguez. 

One could practically assemble a team of "failed" Angels prospects.  I’m sure the club expected the corners to be a strength when McPherson and Kotchman were on the rise.  McPherson will be 27 next year and took a step backward at Triple A, so his star is dimming quickly.  Though Kotchman lost this season to mono, he’ll only be 24 next year and has quite a bit of promise.  And Mathis?  He had a 12 game trial before his demotion.  He’s only 23, and he posted a decent .763 OPS in Triple A this year.  Morales got less than 200 ABs to establish himself at age 23.

Moreno has pledged to shake things up, so we are going to see trades, signings, and veteran acquisitions.  Personally, I’d rather see the team try Wood at third, Kotchman/Morales at first, and Mathis behind the plate.  I’d sign Piazza in case Kotchman/Morales/Mathis doesn’t work out, and acquire a third baseman midseason if Wood proves he’s not ready.  Given the rotation depth and young talent, I don’t see the need for a huge expenditure.

If I had to spend money, I’d give Sheffield a two-year deal to play first and let Kotchman re-establish himself in Triple A.  Then I’d use him as primary trade bait to fill any midseason needs.  Trading a starter like Saunders or Santana could prove shortsighted, as Colon and Escobar are not entirely reliable.  Colon, for one, is recovering from a torn rotator cuff.  Ask Mark Prior how that worked out.  Flashback to February: "My shoulder is perfectly healthy."

 

Angels Look To Lock Up K-Rod

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According to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, one of the biggest priorities for the Angels this offseason will be locking up closer Francisco Rodriguez to a long-term deal.  K-Rod is due for free agency after the ’08 season, and the Yankees are already said to be eyeing him up as the heir to Mariano Rivera.

This year is Rodriguez’s age 24 season, and he’s already accumulated 100 saves.  He’s showing the best command of his career, though the side effect is that he’s got the worst hit rate of his career.  Still, 6.5 hits per nine is pretty damn good.  It’s also apparent that Rodriguez is allowing more flyballs than ever.  Probably not a big deal, as his home run rate remains solid.

The elephant in the room, at least in my mind, is Rodriguez’s delivery.  Said Will Carroll in February:

"It’s incredibly hard to predict player injuries, though if you were going to put money on anyone’s elbow blowing up, the safe bet would be on K-Rod. There’s almost nothing mechanically right with his delivery and he showed all sorts of indicators last year with a tender elbow, a forearm strain, and an obvious difficulty throwing his fastball."

This season, Rodriguez has experienced nothing worse than a hamstring cramp.  I asked Will today: will K-Rod’s contract extension bomb?  Do the red flags he mentioned in the preseason still portend elbow surgery?  Will likened Rodriguez to a lit firecracker that doesn’t go off: "You’d sit and wait, wondering if it was a dud or a long fuse. You’d go up to it slowly, ready to dive away if it went off." 

Will did point out that Baseball Prospectus’s PECOTA system likes him – it suggests K-Rod will be worth anywhere from $10-15MM annually through 2010.  Obviously, only time will tell. 

Chone Figgins On The Block?

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Ah, finally a legitimate trade rumor.  The well had been running dry for a while.  Doug Padilla of the L.A. Daily News tells us that center fielder/utility man Chone Figgins could be traded this offseason, possibly to the White Sox for Joe Crede.

Crede, who is represented by Scott Boras, has continually inked one-year deals with the Sox.  This is his fourth full season, and he’s making a little less than $3MM.  Crede’s breakout .298/.331/.535 campaign should bring another hefty raise.  Crede should cross or near the 30 HR, 100 RBI plateaus for the first time in his career.  He’ll be a very valuable trade commodity if the Sox wish to turn third base over to Josh Fields eventually.  This is Crede’s age 28 season.  The market for free agent third basemen is bleak unless Aramis Ramirez opts out of his contract.

Figgins, on the other hand, has taken a step backward in his age 28 season.  He’s earning $2.25MM in ’06, $3.5MM in ’07, and $4.75MM in ’08.  Figgins has been reliant upon a .295 batting average to keep his OBP in an acceptable range, and this year his average dropped to .254.  His contact rate is the lowest of his career, though his walk rate is the highest it’s been.  96% of Figgins’s ABs have come from the leadoff spot, which isn’t a great idea when you’re below average at getting on base.

Figgins is very similar to Scott Podsednik, only more versatile.  They have almost identical numbers this year.  It would be peculiar for the Sox to cut Pods and then trade their star third baseman for Figgins.  I really can’t see Kenny Williams doing this, though he did reportedly express interest in late June.

Soriano Suitors Down To Two

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Word from a source is that the teams still standing in the Alfonso Soriano sweepstakes are only the Astros and Angels.

The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins appear to be out of the game, decreasing Jim Bowden’s leverage.  Would’ve been nice to play off the AL Central rivals against one another. 

Plenty of trade candidates have been connected to the Astros in recent days, including Roy Oswalt, Morgan Ensberg, Willy Taveras, Brad Lidge, and Adam Everett at the Major League level.  L.A. seems to be dealing more in prospects, with Erick Aybar likely on the way out.

Miguel Tejada Trade Update

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Next up, Miggy.  Tejada got cold feet yesterday, saying that he wanted to stay in Baltimore and didn’t want to move to third base.

Also, the Orioles have rejected the offer of Ervin Santana and Erick Aybar. Seems foolish.  According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun:

"If the Angels added another prospect to their package of Santana and Aybar, like possibly first base prospect Casey Kotchman, the trade could be completed. It is believed that the Angels’ top two offensive prospects – Double-A shortstop Brandon Wood and second baseman Howie Kendrick – are not available."

Angelos!  We are talking about a young, established, effective starter in Santana.  Don’t let this one slip away.  Jorge Arangure Jr. of the Washington Post adds Nick Adenhart’s name to the mix as the possible third player coming from L.A.  My Angels source had named Adenhart as an untouchable player back on July 13th.

The Astros came in with a fairly weak offer of Morgan Ensberg, Adam Everett, and Fernando Nieve, as Will Carroll mentioned yesterday.  Zrebiec tells us that Baltimore turned this one down but is still talking with Tim Purpura.  Zrebiec calls Houston one of the favorites at this point.

The Rangers are in the game with Hank Blalock and prospects available, which would create a logjam at third for the Orioles.  The Dodgers are offering Cesar Izturis and prospects, and Rafael Furcal’s name has come up as well.

Carroll: Final Offers Made On Tejada

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In his the latest Will’s Mill, Will Carroll indicates that the Astros and Angels have put in their final bids for Miguel Tejada.  He also mentions that the Astros may turn to Julio Lugo if they can’t get Tejada.  In that case they’d have to compete with the Blue Jays.  Lugo was released by the Astros in 2003 by Gerry Hunsicker.  Chuck LaMar was a bad GM, but you have to give him credit for the Lugo signing and the Kazmir deal.  Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while, right?

Carroll also tells us that not much is leaking out of Boston’s front office, so reporters are left to connect the dots with info from other teams.  He leaves us with hope for some action soon enough:

"One of my best sources says the first of the Red Sox deals will happen this afternoon."

Rosenthal: Angels, Astros Make Tejada Offers

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Ken Rosenthal’s got the scoop on a sweet offer made to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada: starter Ervin Santana and shortstop Erick Aybar.

The Orioles, characteristically an indecisive team, need to pounce on this offer.  Baltimore will not be ready to compete in the AL East for several years, and prime young pitching isn’t offered up every day.  Put Santana under Leo Mazzone’s tutelage and he could blossom into a true ace.  And Aybar, while overshadowed by the Halos’ other infield prospects, looks to be an above average regular for many years.  Not surprising to see Aybar used as a trading chip, but I didn’t expect the Angels to offer up Santana.

As far as the Astros, Rosenthal just states that "prime Major League pieces" were offered.  He also mentions the Tigers and Dodgers as players.

Source: Cubs Turned Down Kendry Morales For Aramis Ramirez

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A trusted Angels source gave me the scoop on the team’s inquiries concerning third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

Word is that Los Angeles offered first baseman Kendry Morales straight up for Ramirez and the Cubs turned it down.  Morales, a 23 year-old Cuban defector, was called up to start for the Angels after hitting .311/.352/.463 in 42 Triple A games.  He responded by hitting just .240/.302/.388 in 183 ABs between the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th spots in the batting order. 

According to Baseball America, Morales’s defensive deficiencies limit him to first base or DH.  Still, a team could probably get away with sliding him down one more notch on the defensive spectrum to left field.  If the Cubs decide to retain the hot-hitting Ramirez this month, they’d better be sure he’s not planning on exercising his out-clause and testing the free agent market.

My source also indicates that Morgan Ensberg is unlikely to be traded given his shoulder condition. 

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