Erik Bedard Rumors
The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec has the latest regarding ace Erik Bedard. Some rank Bedard as the best available starter, all-in-all – he’s under team control for longer than Johan Santana, doesn’t have no-trade rights, and has better stuff than Dan Haren.
- The Orioles and Bedard’s agent never actually exchanged salary figures, and now contract extension talks have come to a stop. Andy MacPhail isn’t concerned but no one seems to expect the O’s to pony up the money needed to retain their ace beyond 2009. Johan Santana should set the bar; Bedard may become a $20MM pitcher.
- Zrebiec lists the Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Angels, and Dodgers as teams that have inquired on Bedard. It’s surprising to see the Red Sox omitted from that list.
- The Mets made an offer: Carlos Gomez, Aaron Heilman, and perhaps Phil Humber. That’s an OK starting point but the O’s could do better.
- The Dodgers have also had talks with the O’s, with Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, and Clayton Kershaw coming up. That’s certainly worth mulling over.
Stark’s Latest: Edmonds, Pierre, Guillen, Santana
ESPN’s Jayson Stark always cranks out a bunch of new rumors when he writes a column. This week is no exception.
- Jose Reyes: going nowhere.
- Probably since they hope to include him in a Johan Santana deal, the Red Sox won’t trade Coco Crisp until that situation is resolved. The Rangers liked Crisp, but are considering interesting alternatives: Rocco Baldelli, Jim Edmonds, and Juan Pierre. If only Ned Colletti could get someone to take his Pierre contract. Then he could sign another one almost equally as bad. Then he could trade Aaron Rowand a year from now and repeat the process.
- The Braves also liked Crisp, so they’ll move on for now. Stark speculates a stopgap like Dave Roberts could work.
- More speculation: Andruw Jones as a darkhorse signing for the Royals. I guess that would push David DeJesus out of center field.
- Is there an unmentioned Mystery Team in on Johan Santana? Stark’s sources suggest the Mariners, but those guys must not read Jon Heyman’s column. I’ll go with the Reds as my guess on the Mystery Team, if there is one.
- Speaking of guesses, Stark surmises that the Padres and Mets could be interested in Jose Guillen, aside from the Royals.
- More rumblings that Vicente Padilla could be traded this winter. Funny quote about how Padilla doesn’t have baggage – he has luggage. In fact his luggage cannot be carried, rather it requires a mid-sized cart.
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.
Rangers Rumors: Dunn, Hamilton, Kemp
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has some interesting hot stove banter surrounding the Rangers.
- A three-year deal for Kosuke Fukudome or a two-year pact for Mike Cameron might be the most sensible options to fill the Rangers’ center field void. Aaron Rowand is probably too expensive.
- While the Rangers have a touch of interest in Adam Dunn and Coco Crisp, they prefer the idea of acquiring a young bat. Names they like: Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez, and Matt Kemp. Sullivan notes that the Rangers have talked to the Reds about Josh Hamilton.
- If the Rangers sign starting pitching it’s likely to be of the injury comeback variety – Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Jason Jennings.
- Eric Gagne is still under consideration to be signed for their vacant closer role.
D’Backs, Dodgers, Royals After Kuroda
UPDATE, 11-27-07 at 10pm: The D’Backs’ offer is rumored to be for three years and $27MM. The Royals were connected to Kuroda today also, but that rumor surfaced on November 8th. It was also revealed tonight that the Dodgers sent three people to Tokyo last week to talk to Kuroda, including Takashi Saito.
FROM 11-27-07 at 9am:
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks made an offer to free agent Hiroki Kuroda ten days ago. Piecoro suggests Kuroda could receive $10MM annually for three or four years. A recent Japanese report indicated it might take four years, $45MM. The Phillies also have an offer out to Kuroda. Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit has some additional info on the Japanese starter.
The Mariners are in the lead for Kuroda; they sent a contingent to Japan to speak with him. Interest is huge – we’ve got the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Tigers, Royals, Mets in the mix as well. The Cubs might be out now that they’ve officially moved Ryan Dempster to the rotation. The Phillies are going hard after Randy Wolf, but that might not prevent them from pursuing Kuroda. The Dodgers could be right behind the Mariners, according to the L.A. Daily News. They’ve scouted him quite a bit.
Back to the D’Backs – they’re considering a couple different routes to add a starter. They’d be in the mix for Joe Blanton, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana or Jeremy Bonderman if those young hurlers were made available. Carlos Gonzalez is said to be the main trade chip. They also might opt to offer incentive-free deals to injury risks like Matt Clement or Bartolo Colon.
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.
Odds and Ends: Riske, Bedard, Wolf
And now for your daily jumble o’ rumors. More to come.
- The Twins cleared several spots on their 40-man roster…will they be active next week?
- The Yankees have "reached out" to free agent reliever David Riske. Troy Percival and Ron Mahay have also been linked to the Yanks this offseason.
- The Dodgers have an interest in Tony Clark, which has to bum out James Loney. Dylan Hernandez also notes that the Dodgers’ talks for Erik Bedard have stalled because the Orioles want to see what happens with Miguel Cabrera first. Ned Colletti expects Jeff Kent back, by the way.
- The Cards won’t be afraid to trade their young pitching (Anthony Reyes, Tyler Johnson, and Brad Thompson) for veteran pitching. They also still like Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse, if the price is right.
- Bob Dutton reports that the Royals’ Yasuhiko Yabuta signing will be finalized at week’s end. Meanwhile nothing is imminent with Jose Guillen.
- Linked to this earlier in a D’Backs post…the Phils are in "serious talks" with Randy Wolf. As I said there, that shouldn’t stop them from going after a more reliable starter.
- Things are heating up between the Twins and Red Sox for Coco Crisp, but that’s all Gordon Edes has for us on the topic.
- As expected, the market for Mike Cameron has picked up now that Torii Hunter signed.
Odds and Ends: Fukudome, Eckstein, Lowell
Ah yes, the odds and ends post, where I cobble together the day’s random links.
- The Rangers have mild interest Scott Podsednik. Pods had two separate stints in the Rangers organization but never reached the bigs with them.
- The Big Lead has an interesting interview with Yahoo baseball guy Jeff Passan, wherein a run-in with Jose Lima is recounted. Passan also takes on Fire Joe Morgan a bit.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog is hearing that Kosuke Fukudome is looking for three years and $30MM. Sounds fair.
- The Angels are considering signing David Eckstein and/or Darin Erstad, for some reason.
- Bob Dutton reports that the Royals can be patient with their offer to Torii Hunter, while the White Sox want a quick resolution. Bonus: a rather large, but not too pixellated picture of Hunter at the Dutton link. Hunter, by the way, could save $750K per year if he signs with the Rangers because Texas has no state income tax. Hunter is also considering the Las Vegas 51s for that same reason, I heard.
- Per Buster Olney, the Dodgers put in a three-year offer to Mike Lowell. He takes this as a sign they weren’t serious, but Ned Colletti has shown a tendency to offer fewer years and more per year. He did this with Rafael Furcal and Jason Schmidt. So maybe the Dodgers put out a 3/45 offer or something.
- The Phils picked up oft-injured outfielder Chris Snelling from the Rays for cash. He’s yet to accumulate 100 big league at-bats in a season, but maybe that’ll change in 2008.
- Ed Wade + relievers = trouble. Doug Brocail is on the radar.
- McCovey Chronicles lists some realistic position player targets for the Giants, including Jeff Clement, Andy Marte, and Adam Lind.
Hunter Receives Five Offers
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, normally their Cubs guy, has the scoop on the Torii Hunter situation.
Wittenmyer says Hunter has at least five offers in hand. Four of them are for five years, while the Rangers have offered six. This doesn’t count the Twins’ lowball 3/45 offer.
So which five clubs have made proposals to Hunter? The Rangers, White Sox, Dodgers, Royals, and Nationals comprise the list. Wittenmyer notes that the Dodgers could get aggressive on Hunter if they miss out on Miguel Cabrera. Also, the Yankees could trade Melky Cabrera and jump in. The amounts offered aren’t well known, but Wittenmyer says the Rangers are just under $15MM per year.
Hunter hopes to decide next week so he doesn’t have to attend the Winter Meetings the week after that. Don’t underestimate the Royals, who blew everyone away last year by winning the bidding for Gil Meche. Still, the White Sox and Rangers are the clear frontrunners.