Rosenthal’s Latest: Dye, Burrell, Young
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Rosenthal says the Braves are interested in A.J. Burnett, but you already knew that.
- Rosenthal believes Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers "makes sense."
- The Red Sox apparently have confidence they could trade Mike Lowell if need be, but rival execs believe he’d have to prove his health in spring first. Lowell has two years and $24MM on his deal.
- The White Sox want a young starter and additional players for right fielder Jermaine Dye. The Mets, Rays, and Phillies are "balking at such a price." Rosenthal learned that most of the six teams on Dye’s no-trade list are in the northeast. Interesting that the White Sox are still willing to trade Dye after moving Nick Swisher.
- The Mets "aren’t enamored" with Javier Vazquez.
- Rosenthal suggests the Rays will sit back and hope one of the free agent DH-types becomes a bargain for them.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote on Friday that the "Braves, Dodgers, and Mets are believed to be among teams that have inquired about Rangers starting pitchers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla." However, Rosenthal says the Braves and Mets are not interested in either pitcher and the Rangers aren’t desperate to move them.
- Rosenthal has Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Pat Burrell on the Angels’ radar if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, or Manny Ramirez.
- A rival GM tells Rosenthal Twins outfielder Delmon Young is "very, very much out there."
Rogers’ Latest: Royals/Cubs, Peavy, Phillies
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has an interesting piece covering many topics throughout MLB:
- The Royals are specifically eyeing Sean Marshall and Mike Fontenot as targets while discussing a trade for Mark Teahen with the Chicago Cubs. We’ve heard some conflicting reports recently about whether or not this trade was actually being talked about. Teahen could fill the Cubs’ right field vacancy, but his offensive struggles since moving to the outfield have been well-documented.
- Houston could still be a dark-horse candidate for Jake Peavy. Roy Oswalt has been telling Peavy the two of them could make Houston contenders together. I can’t see a sensible package coming from Houston without opening new holes, however.
- The Phillies don’t plan on making any drastic moves, despite Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz undergoing surgery.
- The Dodgers and Tigers are both interested in Orlando Cabrera.
With Billingsley Hurt, Dodgers Eyeing Peavy?
Chad Billingsley slipped on ice, fell, and broke his leg according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, spreading the Dodgers rotation thin as it stands.
"How this will affect the Dodgers’ maneuverings in the free-agent and trade markets, if at all, is… uncertain. General Manager Ned Colletti was unavailable for comment Saturday night. With [Derek] Lowe and [Brad] Penny expected to sign elsewhere and Greg Maddux likely to retire, the Dodgers’ rotation at this point consists of only Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw."
Hernandez reports the Dodgers are saying he’ll be ready for spring training. Buster Olney thinks that’s what you say when you might suddenly be re-interested in front-end rotation depth, namely Jake Peavy.
The Dodgers had previously lost interest when Kevin Towers asked for a package including Billingsley.
Odds And Ends: Lowell, Vazquez, Tazawa
Links for Saturday…
- Ken Rosenthal comes up with a few possible suitors for Mike Lowell if the Red Sox sign Mark Teixeira. He lists the Dodgers, White Sox, Tigers and Brewers as possible fits.
- Nick Piecoro likes Ramon Vazquez as a fit for the D-Backs.
- Highly coveted Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa pitched a complete game shutout in Osaka, walking no one and striking out 10.
- John Van Benschoten will move on from the Pirates and try to sign with another team.
- Luke Hudson will also leave his old club, moving on from the Royals instead of accepting an assignment to AAA.
- Bobby Crosby is out of the loop amid the rumors swirling about Rafael Furcal.
- Mike Scarr takes a look at the market for middle infielders.
Dodgers Will Let Beimel Leave
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times talked to Joe Beimel‘s agent Joe Sroba, who said he hasn’t been contacted by the Dodgers. Sroba and Ned Colletti agree – the Dodgers are going in a different direction.
Beimel has drawn interest from the Mets, Reds, Tigers, Cardinals, and Rockies. He’s probably fishing around for a three-year deal at this point.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Furcal, Burnett, Halladay
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up this evening.
- The A’s and Giants remain the top suitors for Rafael Furcal, and the team that’s willing to give him four guaranteed years may win the bidding. The Dodgers, Braves, and Cubs are also in the mix.
- Rosenthal talked to a source with knowledge of the Blue Jays’ thinking, and that person can’t imagine them giving A.J. Burnett five years. Rosenthal says to forget the idea of a Roy Halladay trade, unless they attempt and fail to sign him to an extension. And if Burnett is signed, a Halladay extension would be next on the docket.
- Luis Gonzalez wants to play next year.
Heyman’s Latest: Lowe, Teixeira, Guillen
SI.com’s Jon Heyman recently published several new blog posts.
- Free agent outfielder Garret Anderson has a new agent: Scott Boras. Click here for our full list of Boras clients.
- Rangers starters Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood are drawing interest from the Braves, Dodgers, and Mets. Padilla is owed $12MM in 2009 with a 2010 option for the same ($1.75MM buyout). Millwood gets $23MM over the next two seasons and has a limited no-trade clause.
- Heyman says rather than battle for A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox and Yankees may duke it out for Derek Lowe. Other suitors for Lowe: the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Mariners and Dodgers. There he goes naming the Mariners again as a player for a major free agent…interesting. The Giants are a new one as well, though Heyman says Lowe may prefer to head back east.
- Heyman agrees with info from Nick Cafardo, that the Red Sox and Tigers have discussed swapping Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admitted to interest in C.C. Sabathia. Colletti said he’s waiting to hear from Scott Boras regarding Manny Ramirez, even though the Dodgers pulled their two-year, $45MM offer.
- It hasn’t happened yet, but the Angels plan to make a "very serious" offer to Mark Teixeira. A competing exec guessed eight years, $160MM. Remember, that’s a non-Angels exec making a guess. Heyman tosses a new team into the mix for Tex: the Mariners.
- The Royals are "quietly shopping" Jose Guillen. Guillen, 33 in May, hit .264/.300/.438 in 633 plate appearances this year while playing below-average defense. He’s owed $24MM for the 2009-10 seasons.
- Competing execs tell Heyman the Mets appear open to trading Ramon Castro or Brian Schneider. The Mets would then presumably sign a free agent catcher.
Twins Making Progress With Blake
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins have yet to make a formal offer to Casey Blake, but they’re making progress in discussions of the term and salary range. Blake’s agent says eight clubs are interested but only four have discussed a contract.
Blake is looking for a three-year deal, and doesn’t have any geographic leanings. The Indians, Dodgers, and Rangers are known to be in the mix. T.R. Sullivan believes Blake and Joe Crede are out of the Rangers’ price range, however.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Thursday
8:35pm: According to Jeff Passan, Furcal has been offered many three-year deals, but he wants a four-year contract. Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer confirmed that the Orioles, Braves, Giants, Cubs, Dodgers and A’s are interested, along with one unnamed "mystery" team.
1:30pm: MLB.com’s Mychael Urban talked to Kinzer, who said the A’s have examined Furcal’s medical records. Urban also says the A’s expressed interest in Jason Giambi.
9:40am: Rounding up the recent Rafael Furcal links…
- According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s are still pursuing free agent shortstop Furcal. They like that he’s not a Type A free agent and won’t cost them a draft pick.
- Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times wrote on Friday that the Dodgers "would like to bring back Furcal, although they appear more likely to sign Orlando Cabrera to a short-term deal." MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick said Furcal is the "lynchpin of the club’s infield plans" after talking to Joe Torre.
- Henry Schulman talked to Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer yesterday, who said his client will not accept an incentive-based deal.
- The Cubs have talked to Kinzer about Furcal, but it’s "nothing serious" at this point.
- J.P. Ricciardi told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian he’s not interested in Furcal.
C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Thursday
8:15pm: According to ESPN.com, Hal Steinbrenner said Sabathia will have a deadline to accept his current offer. The Yankees made Sabathia a record-setting offer for a pitcher, but Steinbrenner said "it’s not going to be there forever."
2:22pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, and Angels have checked in on Sabathia since the Yankees made their bid. All four clubs face various obstacles.
9:26am: The latest on C.C. Sabathia…
- Ken Davidoff and Anthony Rieber pass along a Peter Gammons report saying Sabathia will not sign until after Thanksgiving. Perfectly logical, though I cannot find where Gammons wrote this. (I see he wrote that it will "take a while.") Send me the link (ESPN.com, not Newsday) if you can help out.
- Andrew Baggarly’s source says the Giants are "not in offer mode" with Sabathia. He does believe they will take a shot.