Odds and Ends: Lohse, Reyes, Greinke, Howard
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan called the Winter Meetings "a big waste of money and time."
- Nationals GM Jim Bowden implied that a Tom Glavine signing is unlikely.
- Kyle Lohse feels the pain of all the unsigned free agents; he didn’t sign until March 14th last year. Lohse said he "put a lot of pressure on all parties" to get his four-year, $41MM extension done on September 29th. Given that it wasn’t on the open market, Scott Boras did well for Lohse.
- The Dodgers prefer Dennys Reyes over Luis Ayala, says Ken Gurnick.
- Joe Posnanski loves the Zack Greinke signing. Sam Mellinger says the Royals and fans are no longer allowed to complain about baseball’s financial structure.
- Maury Brown leans slightly toward Ryan Howard winning his arbitration case. I think the Phillies will prevail.
- Brandon Lyon turned down more lucrative offers for a chance to close in Detroit. ESPN’s Keith Law likes the Tigers’ signing, in part due to Jim Leyland’s track record with relievers.
- The Marlins seem to prefer the trade market, if they are to add a catcher.
- Joe Nathan knows his $47MM extension signed in March of ’08 is looking pretty good right now.
Rosenthal On Manny, Garcia, Greinke
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column…
- Rosenthal speculates that the Giants may not be the right fit for Manny Ramirez, given a challenging ballpark and questionable supporting cast of hitters. Rosenthal suggests a contract that might work for Manny and the Dodgers: two years with a third-year player option, with no-trade protection covering only the first two years.
- Many remaining free agents – Adam Dunn for example – may prefer a one-year deal because it will increase their options and allow them to re-enter the market after the season.
- The White Sox found the price for Freddy Garcia to be too high ($1.5MM plus $6.5MM in incentives). Rosenthal deems Oliver Perez a bad fit for the Sox in part because he’s a flyball pitcher. Also there’s the whole Scott Boras thing.
- Among the right-handed hitters the Phillies are mulling, Rosenthal feels that Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia make the most sense.
- The Angels may go to Spring Training with their current club.
- Zack Greinke received "very minor" no-trade protection in the first two years of his new deal, with seemingly no protection when his salary shoots up to $13.5MM in 2011.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
9:46pm: Chris Haft of MLB.com wonders if Manny Ramirez would be given as many opportunities to hit the ball if he signed with the Giants, similar to how Barry Bonds was intentionally walked so often.
4:30pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Manny still wants a four or five-year deal at about $25MM per. On rival exec believes the Dodgers and Manny are in the "fourth inning" of negotiations.
10:17am: The latest Manny Ramirez information came from Bill Shaikin on Saturday, and there’s not much to report. It seems that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti awaits a counteroffer from Scott Boras after their two-year, $45MM offer was made almost three months ago. Boras wants the Dodgers to up their bid:
"We have let the Dodgers know what Manny’s position is. They are fully aware of the terms he feels are fair."
Shaikin says the Dodgers "do not equate an asking price with a counteroffer." He adds, "The Dodgers do not believe the San Francisco Giants are serious about Ramirez. The Giants are happy to let the Dodgers think that way."
I have to side with Colletti on this one. His offer was initially laughed off, but now it looks quite fair. Manny doesn’t appear to have any other offers, and there are other quality free agent corner outfielders available who will likely play for one year and less than half the average annual salary.
Benson Works Out In Front Of Nine Teams
Free agent right-hander Kris Benson worked out Saturday for nine teams and demonstrated that he should be ready to compete for a job in Spring Training, MLB.com reports.
Agent Gregg Clifton said the throwing session “went well, and he showed teams that he’s ahead of schedule in getting ready for the ’09 season.”
The article only lists the Rockies as being there, though it does note that nine teams were in attendance. This post lists the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Indians and Cardinals as teams that planned to attend.
Benson, 34, missed the 2007 season because of surgery on his right shoulder. He spent last season in the minors with the Phillies. He is 68-73 with a 4.34 ERA in 195 career starts.
Ausmus, Dodgers Complete One-Year Deal
Veteran catcher Brad Ausmus and the Los Angeles Dodgers finalized a one-year, $1MM contract Monday, The Associated Press reports.
The parties agreed to terms last week, and the three-time Gold Glove winner needed to take a physical. He can earn an additional $350,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.
Ausmus, 40 in April, spent the past eight seasons with Houston, and he batted .218 with three home runs and 24 RBI in 81 games in 2008. He will back up catcher Russell Martin in Los Angeles.
Ausmus lives in Del Mar, about 100 miles south of Los Angeles.
Minor League Transactions
Always good to check out the recent minor league transactions over at Baseball America. A few notables: the Dodgers signed knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (with the Charlie Hough seal of approval three years ago), and the Nationals signed reliever Gary Glover. Another small move: the Pirates claimed pitcher Virgil Vasquez off waivers from the Padres.
Wolf Makes Sense For Dodgers
Yesterday, we did a write-up on a Gammons post that said Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Braden Looper were all receiving similar offers in the $5MM-a-year range. A report this evening conflicts with that notion.
Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says Garland does not fit the Dodgers’ budget, but Wolf does. In reference to Wolf, Jackson writes: "Sounds to me like this is the guy the Dodgers are going to end up with."
Astros Pulled Offer To Wolf
Many people have felt that Randy Wolf grossly misread the market this offseason, by rejecting a three-year, $28.5MM offer from the Astros early on. According to Ken Rosenthal, however, Wolf didn’t even have time to reject that offer before Houston pulled it off the table, citing the economy as a reason:
"Wolf told me Saturday night that he was close to re-signing with the Astros in late November when the team abruptly pulled its offer, citing a changing economic climate.
Astros general manager Ed Wade confirmed Wolf’s account, saying the team was ‘fully engaged in negotiations and had to stop. It had nothing to do with a lack of interest on our part or Randy’s part.’"
Rosenthal reiterates that the Dodgers are currently the leading suitor for Wolf’s services, but they’re still talking with Jon Garland and Braden Looper as well. The Mets could be another fit, but are focused on Oliver Perez.
Wolf may have to settle for a one-year deal, and if he does, it will almost certainly be at a lower rate than the $9.5MM the Astros initially offered. Rosenthal points out that would mean the downturn in the economy could cost Wolf upwards of $20MM. That could be ok for Wolf, though, who explicitly states that signing for him isn’t about who offers the most money – his goal is to pitch in October.
Odds And Ends: Rogers, Dodgers, Pettitte, Sheets
A few links for Saturday night…
- Kenny Rogers may be leaning toward retirement.
- Sarah D. Morris shares her thoughts on the Dodgers’ offseason thus far.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman comments on the Yankees’ interest in Andy Pettitte and Ben Sheets.
Gammons On Pitching: Wolf, Garland, Looper
In a blog post that leads off with a discussion of the effect of the WBC on pitching, Peter Gammons offers up a quick update on a few back-end starting pitchers.
According to Gammons, Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, and Braden Looper are all receiving similar offers at this point: roughly $5 million per year, plus options and incentives.
Gammons also mentions that Wolf in particular was not close to a deal with any particular team as of Friday, perhaps adding his two cents to the recently debunked rumor that the pitcher was close to signing with the Dodgers.