Johan Santana Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 7:50pm: Tim Brown says the Red Sox had a moment of doubt, but they remain the frontrunner for Santana. The previously mentioned packages apply.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 6:21pm: LENIII checks in on the interest level of the six teams involved.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:05pm: Santana’s agent, Peter Greenberg, indicated that the Mets are in the running for Santana.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:48pm: BP’s John Perrotto talked to a Twins official, and it definitely looks like the Meetings will end without a Johan deal. Perrotto says he’s still likely to be dealt before Spring Training.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:18pm: Ken Rosenthal believes the door is open for more teams to jump in, especially the Mariners.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:43pm: Jon Heyman reports that the Mets are trying to work their way back into the mix. They’re still viewed as a longshot without Jose Reyes in the offer, but at least the Twins are listening.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:21pm: The Red Sox and Twins are still engaged in talks. The Sox are still considering the Yankees a factor. And no, Ellsbury signing on with Boras doesn’t change the Twins’ opinion of him.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:26am: Joel Sherman describes Boston’s two goals in the Santana Sweepstakes. He wonders whether the Sox and Twins could reach an accord on players and then the Red Sox wouldn’t be able to agree with Santana on an extension. Meanwhile Gammons himself reiterates that he senses the Twins will hold onto Santana.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:54am: Peter Gammons via Amy Nelson is saying Santana may not be traded.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:56am: According to Keith Law via MetsBlog, the Twins have reached out to the Mets, Dodgers, and Angels to revisit Santana talks.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:43am: Joel Sherman agrees with Bill Madden’s take below – part of the reason the Yankees pulled out is that even they have a payroll.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:30am: The Yankees could’ve had Santana for Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and Mitch Hilligoss. Brian Cashman, however, never wanted to sacrifice Hughes for Santana and convinced his bosses that the Yankees couldn’t afford him now that Andy Pettitte is in the fold. This near-trade won’t be forgotten by Yankees fans, unless Hughes takes off in ’08.
FROM 12-5-07 at 12:55am:
Time for a fresh Johan thread. Yesterday’s had 297 comments on it.
The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford says the Red Sox told Ryan Kalish‘s agent that his name has never come up in the Santana talks with Minnesota. Peter Gammons had said the 19 year-old outfielder was added to the deal to make it a 5-for-1 around 3pm yesterday.
Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Fogg, Lee, Millwood
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 1:55pm: Heyman says the impasse between the Cards and Brewers in the Rolen talks was the second player coming over with Chris Capuano. He thinks the two teams will revisit these discussions in the future.
FROM 12-5-07 at 7:29am:
As usual, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has all the insight into the Cardinals’ situation.
- It doesn’t look like Scott Rolen is going anywhere before the Meetings end, and GM John Mozeliak may have to start the season with him. The talks with the Brewers were disheartening, apparently. The Cards don’t think there should be a discount. There is a glimmer of hope in that Mozeliak may talk again with the Dodgers about Rolen today.
- On the starting pitching front, the Cardinals are being realistic. That means they’re looking into signing Josh Fogg. Fogg will probably get a three-year, $21MM deal or so. Other starters on the radar include Cliff Lee and a new name, Kevin Millwood. Millwood will earn $8.5MM in ’08, $11MM in ’09, and $12MM in ’10. He has a limited no-trade clause, and the club may be able to void the deal after ’09 if he misses certain innings targets.
- Seems odd that the Cards are pursuing guys like the above but are willing to deal Anthony Reyes. As we learned yesterday, the Indians and Padres like the young hurler. The Phillies have coveted him for a while as well.
Dodgers Inquire On Bill Hall
According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers asked the Brewers about Bill Hall. Hall, who turns 28 soon, is owed $4.8MM in ’08, $6.8MM in ’09, and $8.4MM in ’10. He could play third base for the Dodgers.
You may also recall that the Dodgers called the Brewers about Ben Sheets recently. We also know that the Brewers have discussed trading for Andy LaRoche. Can Ned Colletti and Doug Melvin find a match?
Hernandez’s article also mentions that Troy Glaus could be an option for the Dodgers, but that may just be speculation.
Rangers Rumors: Blalock, Lamb, Padilla
Evan Grant has the latest Rangers hot stove buzz.
- 27 year-old third baseman Hank Blalock is getting a lot of play. Grant names the Cardinals, Phillies, Twins, and Dodgers as teams that have inquired. Jon Daniels says no team has made an impressive offer and he’s not inclined to trade Blalock. It would be a bit of a sell-low move.
- The Rangers met with Mike Lamb‘s agent yesterday afternoon; they’re the frontrunners for him. They have a full-time first base job for Lamb, who came up in the organization.
- Teams are interested in Vicente Padilla, but everyone wants the Johan thing to be finished before moving on pitching.
Rockies Interested In Iguchi
According to Troy Renck and Patrick Saunders, the Rockies met with Tadahito Iguchi‘s agent yesterday to discuss their second base opening. Iguchi prefers the idea of second base, and is looking for a two-year deal. Other teams interested in Iguchi are the Dodgers, Giants, Phillies, and Brewers.
Other second basemen on Colorado’s radar include Chris Burke and Mark Loretta.
Joe Blanton Rumors: Wednesday
As you know, Joe Blanton is considered the young hurler Billy Beane really wants to trade now. I saw him likened to Ted Lilly – a guy you trade because he’s getting more expensive but not better.
Susan Slusser says the Dodgers "have a strong interest in Blanton." This dates back to last summer. The Dodgers, of course, are also in the mix for Erik Bedard. Slusser also says the Mets are a possibility but lack the young talent the Dodgers have.
Wouldn’t be surprising to see the Phillies check in on Blanton; they did so in July.
Latest Erik Bedard Rumors: Tuesday
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:36pm: Geoff Baker says that a Bedard trade with the Mariners would likely involve Wladimir Balentien, Adam Jones, and Brandon Morrow.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:06pm: The Dodgers met with the Orioles to talk Bedard today. Ned Colletti has pretty much deemed Broxton untouchable, and no deal is close.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:19pm: John Fay says the Reds are seriously pursuing Bedard. Wayne Krivsky won’t reveal much, but Fay thinks Bailey, Votto, and another prospect might interest the Orioles.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:16pm: The Mets again offered Heilman, Gomez, and Humber for Bedard, perhaps thinking that offering it twice would be helpful. MLB.com’s Marty Noble says the Mets may reconfigure their offer, replacing Humber with Pelfrey or Mulvey.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 4:10pm: Joel Sherman confirms the Cubs’ interest, so that’s officially 11 teams in on Bedard. Sherman says the Yankees and Mets are unlikely to snag the southpaw ace, and names the Dodgers as the frontrunner. Peter Angelos is letting Andy MacPhail run the show but doesn’t want Bedard traded within the division. Sorry Yankees and Blue Jays.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:10pm: Nick Cafardo notes that Cubs GM Jim Hendry and Andy MacPhail had lunch today, which leads him to believe they may have discussed Bedard. A bit of a stretch since Hendry and MacPhail used to work together. Then again the Cubs did pursue in a Mark Prior/Miguel Tejada deal a few years back. The Cubs would represent the 11th team in on Bedard.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:01pm: Buster Olney says the Jays continue to talk with the Orioles about Bedard, noting that the Jays have the young pitching. Bedard would certainly represent the Canadian draw they’ve been looking for.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:16pm: There is growing buzz that the Dodgers may get Bedard. ESPN’s Amy Nelson has a source saying a deal may be close. Matt Kemp and Jonathan Broxton would be the main pieces of a trade. Readers are reporting in that WFAN is saying the same.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:32am: The Mets are still hawking Gomez, trying to get Bedard. Joel Sherman adds the Tigers to the list of teams after Bedard, bringing the total to ten. He says the Tigers and Phils are getting creative trying to get Bedard. The Tigers don’t need to get that creative – they can offer Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.
FROM 12-4-07 at 8:45am:
How many teams are after Erik Bedard? The tally yesterday included the Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, and D’Backs – that’s eight. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly check in with the latest on the Orioles’ ace.
- There’s been a ton of trade interest in Bedard (as you might expect). Andy MacPhail is still talking about signing him to an extension, but no one really buys it. The package he’ll get in trade should rival what the Twins get for Johan.
- The Dodgers, Mariners, and Mets have been pursuing Bedard the most aggressively. More meetings with the Mets should occur today. The Mariners could make an intriguing offer built around Adam Jones and Brandon Morrow.
- A new team is added to bring the tally to nine: the Reds are interested. However, Jay Bruce is off the table.
Dan Haren Will Be Pricey
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:09pm: Hank Steinbrenner weighed in on the Haren-Yankees talks, calling Billy Beane’s request "ridiculous." The Yankees are out on Haren.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:00pm: Nick Piecoro’s source says Conor Jackson is not a part of the Haren talks, actually.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:13pm: The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford says the A’s and D’Backs have had "constructive talks" about Haren for Carlos Gonzalez, Conor Jackson, and two others.
FROM 12-4-07 at 10:58am:
OK, you already knew that. But Joel Sherman has details.
- Billy Beane sees Dan Haren as equal in value to Johan Santana, all things considered. Over the next three years, that could be true – plus Haren is much more reasonable in terms of salary.
- Beane’s focus is young pitching.
- Beane doesn’t want Melky Cabrera from the Yankees. He wants a package starting with Phil Hughes and one of Ian Kennedy or Alan Horne.
- Sherman says the Mets don’t have the blue-chippers in Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber, and Kevin Mulvey.
- The Dodgers and D’Backs match up better for Haren than the Yankees and Mets, though Arizona doesn’t really have the young pitching.
- Joe Blanton won’t be cheap either; Beane equates him with Brad Penny.
- Athletics Nation believes Blanton is much more likely to be traded than Haren this winter.
Dodgers Still In On Andruw, Rowand?
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:03pm: Talks between the Dodgers and Andruw revived today, according to Ken Gurnick. Gurnick thinks Scott Boras is looking for something similar to J.D. Drew‘s Dodgers deal, a long-term one with an opt out in the middle. Boras told Jerry Crasnick today that he does not have a one or two-year deal in mind for Andruw.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:00am: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick is with Tony Jackson on this one…Colletti hasn’t made any offers and will move on to other priorities unless Jones and Rowand reduce their demands. Gurnick notes that the Dodgers are still in hard on Hiroki Kuroda but don’t seem terribly interested in David Wells.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:44am: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times does not agree with Jackson exactly…he says the Dodgers still want to sign Jones or Rowand.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 11:49pm: Jackson now has some quotes from Ned Colletti…Colletti wasn’t able to get to the point of making an offer to Andruw. Apparently Boras wants far more than the Dodgers think Jones is worth. Also, Aaron Rowand wants 5/70 and the Dodgers ain’t havin’ that.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:31pm: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News counters Crasnick’s report, saying the Dodgers did not offer 2/32 to Andruw. As far as Jackson can tell, no offer at all was made to Jones today.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 1:04pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says the Dodgers have a two-year, $32MM offer on the table. That seems a little light; I suggested $38MM earlier.
FROM 12-3-07 at 1:24am:
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Dodgers have stepped up their talks with free agent Andruw Jones. As we suggested before, it seems Ned Colletti’s rift with Scott Boras was overblown.
Andruw is asking for something bigger than Torii Hunter‘s five-year, $90MM pact. However, Jones had a terrible 2007 and the Dodgers only want to give him two guaranteed years. This is one of Ned Colletti’s methods that I actually like, the paying more to decrease the term (see Rafael Furcal and Jason Schmidt).
So if Torii makes $18MM annually, maybe the Dodgers will offer Andruw two years, $38MM? That would keep their risk low while giving Jones a chance to become a free agent as he enters his age 33 season. If no agreement can be reached, it sounds like the Dodgers could make a similar high-dollar short-term offer to Aaron Rowand. Failing that, they’d turn to Mike Cameron.
Gurnick adds that the Dodgers are aggressively pursuing Hiroki Kuroda for rotation depth.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Rolen, Haren, Prior, Hawkins
Ken Rosenthal has some new rumors for us.
- The Dodgers lead the chase for Scott Rolen, with the Angels also in the mix. The Giants’ Brian Sabean denied interest.
- The D’Backs view the Athletics’ requests for Dan Haren to be quite excessive.
- Talks between the Padres and Cubs for Mark Prior have cooled.
- The Rangers offered LaTroy Hawkins a one-year deal with a club option. As you know, he wants two years.