O’Brien’s Latest: Vizcaino, Wang
Newsday’s Kat O’Brien checks in with a couple of new Yankees tidbits not related to Johan.
- O’Brien spoke to the man himself, Bean Stringfellow. Bean says Luis Vizcaino is looking for Linebrink money. So, the fact that he "likes New York" isn’t going to matter much. The Yanks may pass, but the Viz is talking to the Mets, White Sox, Royals, and Dodgers. If the Viz returned to the White Sox at 4/19…that would be just wrong.
- Chien-Ming Wang‘s agent, Alan Nero, wanted to talk to the Yankees about a long-term deal for him. The discussion ended when the Yankees requested that Nero make the first move.
- That reminds me of when Homer Simpson went to Mr. Burns’ mansion in possession of Burns’ childhood teddy bear, repeating to himself that he will reject Burns’ first offer no matter what. Burns: May I offer you a drink? Homer: Sorry Burns, no deal. [takes the bear and leaves].
Brewers Considering Crede, Blalock, Feliz, LaRoche, Tejada
What, you thought the Brewers were dead set on Scott Rolen? Not so, according to Tom Haudricourt. They’re considering the following options at third base, mostly because the left field options are worse.
- Joe Crede – I can see this one happening, Doug Melvin and Kenny Williams get along. And Kenny really has nowhere to play Crede.
- Hank Blalock – Trading Blalock now is generally seen as selling low, so this seems unlikely.
- Pedro Feliz – I’m going to disagree with Haudricourt that Feliz is intriguing.
- Andy LaRoche – Now this one is intriguing, hitting the Dodgers up for LaRoche. I imagine Colletti may want to include LaRoche in other, bigger deals though.
- Miguel Tejada – He’s been discussed, but all the well-known warts make this unlikely.
ESPN’s Latest: Lamb, Bedard, Tejada, Loretta
ESPN’s Amy Nelson and Buster Olney recently checked in with a few new rumors.
- The Red Sox checked in on Mike Lamb – they’re looking for a corner infield backup. Lamb had good numbers in ’07 so he may prefer to look for a starting job. Meanwhile, Evan Grant says the Rangers are in the lead for Lamb. They’d give him that starting gig.
- The Orioles apparently have four teams already offering impressive packages for Erik Bedard.
- The Dodgers and O’s talked Miguel Tejada last night but they couldn’t find a match.
- The Mariners like Mark Loretta as a backup and challenger to Jose Lopez; they may offer around $2MM.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Rolen, Blalock, Benson
Ken Rosenthal never sleeps, and he has a few new tidbits early Tuesday morning.
- The Cards are reluctant to trade Scott Rolen within the division to the Brewers. A lot of that going on lately – the Cubs like Josh Hamilton, the Jays like Erik Bedard.
- Hank Blalock is a popular name around the lobby. Despite the various squashed rumors Rosenthal says he would be a good fit for the Cardinals, Phillies, or Dodgers.
- The Phils plan on taking a look at Kris Benson when he throws for teams a couple of weeks from now.
Chronicle Rumors: Haren, Blanton, Lincecum
Susan Slusser and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle have an extensive collection of A’s and Giants rumors from Monday’s Winter Meetings mayhem.
- The asking price for Dan Haren is said to be massive, is in 3-4 blue chippers. The Tigers might even be willing to part with both Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin for him – wow. The D’Backs are a bit more gunshy about their top prospects, though most believe Carlos Gonzalez to be available. I imagine Justin Upton is off limits.
- The Dodgers are going the hardest after Joe Blanton, with the Mets trailing.
- Huston Street is likely to stay put and may even talk extension with the A’s.
- The authors don’t expect Brian Sabean to get the Tim Lincecum offer he needs to pull the trigger. But they suggest Sabean’s "interesting" offer could involve Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, or Alex Rios.
Dodgers Inquire On Sheets?
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:38pm: Baker corrects himself – the Mariners talked to the Brewers, but not about Sheets.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:34pm: Here’s the deal. Geoff Baker says the West Coast team inquiring on Sheets was the Mariners. Tom Haudricourt seems positive it was the Dodgers though. No offer was made; it was just an inquiry. The Dodgers seemingly don’t need more injury risk though.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 6:35pm: Tom Haudricourt spoke to Doug Melvin and learned that he has not spoken to any East Coast team about Sheets. However Haudricourt believes Melvin may have spoken to the Mariners about him.
FROM 12-3-07 at 12:07am:
Interesting stuff from Sean McAdam of The Providence Journal. McAdam says the Red Sox are eyeing Dan Haren and Ben Sheets as alternatives to Johan Santana.
Haren, we knew about. Sheets is an intriguing idea though. Maybe the buzz on him will pick up this week. Sheets will earn $11MM in 2008, tops among Brewers (Jeff Suppan’s deal gets scary in ’09). Given Sheets’ injury history and expiring contract, the price for him might be fairly reasonable (say, A.J. Burnett territory). Sheets had a full no-trade clause for ’07 and may only be traded to eight selected clubs in ’08.
Dodgers Interested In Blalock
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:37pm: Tony Jackson doesn’t like this one either. He says the notion of the Dodgers and Rangers talking Blalock trade is false.
FROM 12-3-07 at 1:11pm:
Yahoo’s Steve Henson says the Rangers are quietly shopping third baseman Hank Blalock, and they’ve spoken with the Dodgers. The Dodgers don’t have faith in Nomar Garciaparra or Andy LaRoche as third base solutions.
Blalock, 27, earns $5.95MM in 2008 and has a $6.2MM club option for 2009. Blalock missed a lot of time in ’07 with shoulder surgery.
Heyman’s Latest: Santana, Bedard, Willis
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 5:48pm: Jayson Stark confirms the Reds’ interest in Willis. However he suggests that the Marlins would ask for Homer Bailey and then some in return.
FROM 12-3-07 at 11:41am:
SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with the latest hot stove banter he’s hearing. There’s some confusion here as Heyman has contrary info to other published sources.
- Heyman believes Johan Santana is "more likely than not" to get traded at the Meetings, and quite possibly today.
- Heyman says the Red Sox and Yankees are the two teams Santana would waive his veto power for, running contrary to LENIII’s recent note.
- Heyman reports that the Mets offered Gomez/Humber/Heilman for Erik Bedard, though as you may recall Roger Rubin said it was Lastings Milledge and not Gomez. Whatever it was, the Orioles weren’t impressed with the offer. Heyman says the Mets feel they still have a chance. The Dodgers, Mariners, and loser of Santana will be in on Bedard as well.
- Heyman seems to indicate the Marlins are still asking for Adenhart and Ervin Santana in a Miguel Cabrera deal, despite Peter Gammons’ comment this morning.
- The Reds may pursue Dontrelle Willis. I was thinking they might, the fit makes sense. A package with Josh Hamilton and one of the Reds’ stud pitchers might be required though. Also keep in mind that Joe Frisaro said the Marlins plan to keep Willis at least until July.
- Heyman suggests the Mets could re-acquire Xavier Nady to play right field for them.
Details On Angels’ Cabrera Offer
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 10am: Peter Gammons says the Marlins are no longer insisting on both Adenhart and Santana. He thinks the deal can work.
FROM 12-2-07 at 2pm:
Jon Heyman has the latest on the Miguel Cabrera situation. As you know, the Angels are frustrated but have left the door open for the Marlins to approach them regarding their offer.
We also knew that the offer had both Howie Kendrick and Jeff Mathis in it. The other players: one of Nick Adenhart or Ervin Santana, plus a "mid-level" pitching prospect. The Marlins wanted both Adenhart and Santana, prompting the Angels to throw up their hands. Marlins ownership (Loria and Samson) are the ones pushing for both pitchers.
The Angels’ original offer stands, and they’ll wait to see if the Marlins decide to take it. Heyman lists the Angels, Dodgers, Giants, and White Sox as those most serious in Cabrera, with the Rangers, Indians, and Mets also placing calls. The Mets, eh? That’s a new one.
Hiroki Kuroda Coming To MLB
Hiroki Kuroda has publicly made the decision to leave Japan to pursue a career in MLB. The L.A. Times reports the Mariners, D’Backs, Dodgers, and Royals as interested parties. The Mariners already have a four-year offer out to him.
The Phillies, Cubs, Rangers, and Mets might be considered on the fringes of this pursuit, as all have been linked to him in the past.