Uggla Trade Unlikely?
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Marlins ownership will allow the team to keep all of its many arbitration-eligible players, if that is the front office’s preference. The Marlins won’t be forced to make payroll-motivated deals; instead, they’ll just look for good baseball trades like any team. Greg Cote suggested the same a few weeks ago, noting that the Marlins will shift focus to pitching, speed, and defense but won’t cut payroll just for the sake of it.
Olney figures they’ll keep Dan Uggla:
It appears very unlikely they will deal Uggla and others, and they are poised to be the Rays of 2009.
Still, I wouldn’t rule it out. The Angels are already said to have Uggla on the radar if Mark Teixeira leaves. Uggla is also considered a good fit for the Giants. The Marlins lost leverage when it was thought they had to move Uggla and others for payroll reasons. It’s beneficial to get the word out that they can afford all of the arb-eligible players, even if it’s not true.
Angels Rumors: Teixeira, K-Rod, Uggla
The Angels were eliminated, so it’s time to look forward to the offseason. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has the latest.
- Mark Teixeira said the right things again, about how his time with the Angels gives him something to think about as a free agent. Joel Sherman believes Tex is a great fit for the Yankees, even if he is the "ultimate Boras client." Sherman figures the Yanks, Red Sox, Orioles, and Angels will compete for Teixeira.
- Francisco Rodriguez‘s first choice is the Angels. Sherman believes the Angels’ apparent willingness to let K-Rod go is a warning sign for other teams like the Mets.
- Garret Anderson will be bought out for $3MM, and didn’t want to discuss whether he’d return after that. Shaikin says Chone Figgins could move to left field if Anderson leaves.
- Shaikin says the Angels have considered acquiring Dan Uggla as a way to compensate if Teixeira leaves. Uggla would probably play third base.
- John Lackey answered in the affirmative when asked whether he’d wait to see the Angels’ offensive plans before considering an extension. Lackey’s $9MM option is an easy decision but he is a free agent after the ’09 season.
Offseason Outlook: Florida Marlins
The Marlins are next in our Offseason Outlook series. Here’s a look at the 2009 commitments. By the way, comments and additional information are always welcome; I usually tweak these posts.
C – John Baker – $400K
C – Matt Treanor – $705K+
1B – Mike Jacobs – $400K+
2B – Dan Uggla – $417K+
SS – Hanley Ramirez – $5.5MM
3B – Jorge Cantu – $500K+
IF – Wes Helms – $950K
IF – Robert Andino – $400K
LF – Josh Willingham – $405K+
CF – Cody Ross – $400K+
RF – Jeremy Hermida – $400K+
OF – Alfredo Amezaga – $945K+
OF – Brett Carroll – $400K
SP – Ricky Nolasco – $400K+
SP – Josh Johnson – $400K
SP – Scott Olsen – $405K+
SP – Chris Volstad – $400K
SP – Andrew Miller – $1.35MM
RP – Kevin Gregg – $2.5MM+
RP – Matt Lindstrom – $400K
RP – Joe Nelson – $400K+
RP – Renyel Pinto – $400K
RP – Doug Waechter – $410K+
RP – Logan Kensing – $400K+
RP – Eulogio de la Cruz – $400K+
This team has about $20MM committed, but that’s before more than half the roster heads to arbitration. Management won’t keep this team intact, though.
The Marlins are one of the intriguing storylines of the upcoming offseason. The general sense is that they’ll shop Jacobs, Uggla, Willingham, Hermida, Olsen, and Gregg. Those hitters accounted for more than a third of the team’s plate appearances this year. The Marlins want to rebuild the team based on pitching, speed, and defense for ’09.
Greg Cote’s article indicates the Marlins may look to bring in a corner outfielder with speed and strong defense, using internal options for the new-look infield. There’s been no indication he’s available, but could the Marlins inquire on Carl Crawford? A more reasonable target could be San Francisco’s Randy Winn (either one would become the team’s highest-paid player, however).
The Marlins also figure to be in the market for young, affordable starting pitching. I’m guessing they’ll target hard-throwing top prospects, perhaps with little or no MLB experience. The Rockies have several pitchers who fit the bill. You have to figure the Marlins call up the Giants as well. With so many trade candidates, the Marlins’ suite should be hopping at the Winter Meetings in Vegas this year.
Marlins Re-Sign Helms
5:16pm: Helms will receive $1.9MM over the two years.
3:54pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Marlins signed infielder Wes Helms to a two-year extension. Helms had a $3.75MM option for ’09 with a $750K buyout. Terms aren’t known yet, but the Fish probably didn’t give him that much for ’09.
Helms, 32, hit .243/.299/.347 in 278 plate appearances while playing the infield corners as needed.
Odds and Ends: Lowe, Redmond, Timlin
Linkage for Friday…
- River Ave. Blues discovered that Mike Mussina‘s wife may be a bigger factor than we thought in regard to his retirement decision.
- David O’Brien tosses out some names for the Braves to consider: Derek Lowe, Matt Cain, Roy Oswalt, and Josh Willingham. Everyone likes Lowe…Anthony McCarron says the Yankees and Mets should consider him. Those clubs could also enter a bidding war for C.C. Sabathia, says Bob Klapisch. Will C.C.’s postseason record diminish his contract? I don’t think so.
- Greg Couch doesn’t want Javier Vazquez pitching for the White Sox again. Maybe Ozzie is right, Vazquez is not a big-game pitcher. But why say that publicly?
- Joe Christensen seems certain the Twins will exercise Mike Redmond‘s $950K option.
- Chris Carpenter‘s shoulder injury is unprecedented among pitchers. Do the Cardinals need to add veteran rotation insurance? Speaking of unprecedented procedures…Takashi Saito had platelet-rich plasma injected into his elbow in July.
- Joe Starkey thinks the Pirates should…non-tender Adam LaRoche?
- Mike Timlin could retire.
- Huge E-Ticket Manny Ramirez feature from Bill Simmons, wherein Scott Boras is blamed for his Boston exit. Good read.
Odds and Ends: LaCava, Colletti, Andruw
Links for Wednesday…
- I did a Q&A with the Roselle Press. The article includes a sweet picture of me hacking the Internet.
- Greg Cote of the Miami Herald speculates on the new-look 2009 Marlins. If defense is a goal, they could look to acquire Adrian Beltre and try Jorge Cantu at first base. Randy Winn could improve the defense in right.
- John Fay runs through the Reds’ nine free agents. He believes Jerry Hairston Jr. wants to return.
- Brian Cashman wants to acquire a real first baseman, rather than have Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui spend time there.
- The Mariners received permission to interview Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, according to Geoff Baker.
- It’s still not known whether the Dodgers will bring GM Ned Colletti back for the final year of his contract. Interesting note from ESPN’s Buster Olney – the Andruw Jones signing was engineered by owner Frank McCourt rather than Colletti.
- Olney feels Brian Cashman is more likely to pursue Derek Lowe than Mark Teixeira.
- Will Joe Girardi’s presence discourage free agents from signing with the Yankees?
- McCovey Chronicles sees the Giants trading for a second or third baseman this winter. I tossed out a bunch of names in my Offseason Outlook.
- Pedro Alvarez clammed up when asked precisely what time he accepted the original deal from the Pirates.
- MetsBlog tries to figure out whether Ryan Church loves or hates New York.
- Oliver Perez predicts a tough offseason following the Mets’ final-day elimination. On the bright side, he stands to earn a ridiculous amount of money as a free agent.
Marlins Release Sergio Mitre
According to the AP, the Marlins released righty Sergio Mitre today. He would’ve been a non-tender candidate later in the year anyway. Mitre had Tommy John surgery in July, so he’ll miss at least half of the ’09 season. Mitre, 27, can be a decent back-rotation starter when healthy given his strong groundball rate.
Odds and Ends: Patterson, Lowry, Alvarez
Today’s linkage…
- Brewers fans, act quickly to snag free tickets to tonight’s game courtesy of Eric Gagne. Nice gesture.
- Of course Ned Colletti wants to re-sign Manny Ramirez. It’s just a question of dollars and years. Does Manny get the rumored 4/100 he might desire?
- The Jays locked manager Cito Gaston up through 2010.
- Richard Griffin says the Blue Jays will be better for it if they lose A.J. Burnett. Meanwhile, River Ave. Blues is open to the idea of the Yankees signing him.
- No, Corey Patterson is not dating Dusty Baker’s daughter. And Baker says he wasn’t behind the signing, either.
- The Reds might not be in the market for a catcher this winter, if they go with Ryan Hanigan as the starter in ’09.
- The Mariners officially founded the 100/100 club.
- Peter Abraham sees the Yankees going with Brett Gardner as the center fielder in 2009. Peter Gammons is "convinced he is going to be an everyday center fielder."
- Sam Mellinger discusses a way to drastically shake up the Royals: trade both Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria for loads of young, cheap players. As he notes, the strategy could work out but might cause a fan revolt.
- Andrew Baggarly wonders if Noah Lowry‘s injury problems could prevent a Matt Cain trade. Also, Baggarly sees a non-tender in Kevin Correia‘s future.
- Frank Coonelly suggested Pedro Alvarez‘s new deal is comparable in value to the original. Scott Boras then jumped on the conference call to say it was a favorable change, and much different from the original. Additionally, Coonelly contacted Baseball America’s Jim Callis to dispute the idea of a premeditated plan to negotiate with Alvarez after the deadline.
- The Marlins will focus on improving their defense this winter.
Will Marlins Trade Hermida?
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post spoke to Marlins right fielder Jeremy Hermida yesterday. Hermida knows the Marlins will be active this winter, and he could be on the trading block again.
Hermida will turn 25 in January. With three-plus years of service time under his belt, he’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time. Instead of $400K, Hermida will earn perhaps $2-4MM in 2009. Trade rumors first surfaced this summer, when Hermida nearly became a Pirate in a three-team Manny Ramirez/Jason Bay deal.
2007 was a very promising year for Hermida – he hit .338/.403/.559 over the season’s final three months. An MVP-caliber 2008 seemed possible. Instead, Hermida struggled to a .245/.319/.405 line in a career-high 550 plate appearances. He’s been particularly bad since August. Defensively, he’s been slightly above average.
Trading Hermida now will be selling low, but the Marlins could save a few million. Still, three years of Hermida won’t come cheap. Tossing out a few possible suitors: the Mariners, Nationals, Mets, and Braves.
Gregg Expects A Trade
Marlins reliever Kevin Gregg has recovered from knee tendinitis, but he’s still not getting his closer job back from Matt Lindstrom as promised. Gregg sees this as a sign he’ll be traded this winter, and many writers have speculated the same.
Gregg, 30, has a 3.66 ERA in 64 innings this year. He saved 61 games for the Marlins over the past two seasons despite shaky control (4.56 walks per nine innings). He’s throwing harder than ever this year (93.2 mph on average). Gregg will receive a raise upon his $2.5MM salary via arbitration this winter. After ’09 he’ll be a free agent.
Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes are the top free agents with a closer pedigree. Brandon Lyon and Eddie Guardado are other possibilities. Gregg may join Huston Street on the trade market. The Indians intend to add a closer, while the Tigers, Mets, and Cardinals could also be in the market.