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Giants Sign Renteria?

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11:24pm: Henry Schulman says Renteria took a physical for the Giants today and "a deal appears to be done."

9:26pm: Renteria’s (other?) agent Jeff Lane told MLB.com’s Chris Haft, "We’re very close to a deal."

7:51pm: Jon Paul Morosi also talked to Meister, who said the Giants are making "substantial progress" toward signing Renteria.  Henry Schulman gets the vibe the Giants might announce a deal with him tomorrow.

4:49pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Giants asked the Brewers about J.J. Hardy, but Milwaukee doesn’t want to move him. So Brian Sabean moved on to Cantu.

4:12pm: Brian Sabean told reporters he hopes to sign a free agent infielder later this week.

3:42pm: Jon Heyman chimes in; he also thinks a two-year deal could be completed soon.  Heyman says the Giants have yet to decide whether to target C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, or Manny Ramirez.  Are we seeing a shift back to the win-now plan in San Francisco?

1:53pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talked to Renteria’s agent Barry Meister, who said they’re "much, much closer" to a deal with the Giants but "nothing is done."  Crasnick’s source says it could be in the two-year, $18MM range.

12:58pm: According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, the Giants "believe they are closing in on signing shortstop Edgar Renteria."  Brown also says the Giants have discussed trading Jonathan Sanchez to the Marlins for Jorge Cantu.  That’d be a steal for the Marlins, who plucked Cantu off the scrap heap in January for a half-million bucks.

Brown adds that the Cubs remain in the mix for Jake Peavy, and they have two possible matches for a third team in the deal (the Orioles being one).

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Burrell, Manny

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6:16pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves are not interested in Dunn because they seek a right-handed bat.  Does that rule out Raul Ibanez as well?

1:51pm: The latest from Ken Rosenthal:

  • The Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Phillies are pursuing free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.
  • Now that Adam Dunn wasn’t offered arbitration, the market is starting to take shape.  The Braves, Mariners, and Nationals are interested, and the Dodgers and Angels consider him a fallback option.  How about Dunn and Russell Branyan in the same lineup?  Rosenthal considers the Yankees another possibility.
  • Teams considering Pat Burrell, who was also not offered arb: the Mariners, Angels, and Giants.
  • Rosenthal considers the Giants a darkhorse for C.C. Sabathia.  Tim Brown says the Giants may be closing in on Edgar Renteria; Rosenthal has the Dodgers and Cardinals as other suitors.
  • The Brewers will need to increase their offer to Sabathia to six years to have a shot. 
  • Rosenthal believes Jason Varitek will accept his offer of arbitration.  He also wonders if Orlando Cabrera could accept.  He expects Ben Sheets to decline (I made an error on this eariler).
  • Rosenthal ponders the chances of Manny Ramirez accepting the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration.  Buster Olney says three GMs wondered the same.  I was under the impression Manny declining arbitration was a condition of his trade.
  • The Cardinals want to add a young starter with upside.  They also may go after a closer like Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood if prices drop.
  • Rosenthal believes the Reds could discuss a two-year deal with David Weathers.

Sheets Likely To Decline Arbitration

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According to Ken Rosenthal, Type A free agent starter Ben Sheets is likely to decline the Brewers’ offer of arbitration.  He and C.C. Sabathia could leave the Brewers with four draft picks but two holes at the front of the rotation.

Sheets would’ve had a one-year deal at more than $11MM if he accepted, but his agent apparently expects better on the open market (even though his new team would have to surrender a draft pick).

Nationals Rumors: Dunn, Votto, Greinke

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ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talks about the Nationals in today’s column.  A few hot stove nuggets:

  • Crasnick talked to several agents and execs who just can’t see the Nationals ponying up $20MM+ per year for Mark Teixeira.
  • The Nats crave a lefthanded slugging first baseman, so Adam Dunn could fit the bill.  Crasnick talked to a couple of officials who suggested Dunn might have to settle in the three-year, $36MM range.  However, the Nationals may have to pay a premium to convince any prominent free agent to sign.
  • Crasnick says the Nationals have explored many interesting names: Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, James Loney, Joey Votto, and Zack Greinke.  They may not have the young talent to pull off that kind of deal though.
  • The Nats are "looking forward to the opportunity" to select Scott Boras client Stephen Strasburg in next June’s draft.

Odds and Ends: Thorman, Sabathia, Pettitte

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Links for Tuesday…

Japanese Links: Kawakami, Tazawa

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A few links today involving Japanese players…

  • Michael Silverman and Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald wrote yesterday that the Red Sox have scouted Kenshin Kawakami multiple times and he has interest in pitching for them.  Kawakami figures to receive multiple bids, assuming he commits to MLB first.
  • ESPN’s Keith Law says signing Junichi Tazawa was a "no-brainer" for the Red Sox.  Law figures Tazawa will start in Double A and could reach the Majors in ’09.
  • Aaron Shinsano of East Windup Chronicle respectfully disagrees; he doesn’t believe Tazawa is ready for Double A.  Shinsano suggests marketing played a part in the signing, as Tazawa is not a first-round talent.
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says Tazawa’s contract "does not seem right" and the Blue Jays are wise to stay out of the Japanese market.
  • Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker translates a Yahoo Japan article that indicates the Padres, White Sox, Indians, and Brewers will stay out of the Japanese free agent market.

Perrotto’s Latest: Teixeira, Burnett, Wilson

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John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus has his Sunday article up. Let’s go through it:

  • The Angels may be willing to match the Yankees $140MM offer to CC Sabathia. They won’t offer 10 years to Mark Teixeira. If they can’t land Teixeira, they will consider Pat Burrell for first base.
  • A.J. Burnett is looking at the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Orioles, and Phillies.
  • The Twins want a left-side infielder for Delmon Young, so they can open a spot for Denard Span in the starting lineup.
  • The Tigers are pursuing Jack Wilson from the Pirates and Matt Treanor from the Marlins. They are also putting high priority on signing Joe Beimel who’s getting interest from a number of teams.
  • The Dodgers will not re-sign Rafael Furcal for health reasons so the Giants, Athletics, and Reds are his most likely destinations.
  • The Cubs will need to offer more than Jason Marquis to the Royals for David DeJesus. If they can’t get it done, they’d sign Raul Ibanez over Bobby Abreu.
  • The Braves are interested in Javier Vazquez and Jermaine Dye…
  • The Reds need to offer more than Homer Bailey to get Dye.
  • The Mets are considering Jon Garland, Vazquez, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays want more than Aaron Heilman for either of their starters.
  • The Mets could soon become suitors for Manny Ramirez.
  • The Brewers could soon become suitors for Francisco Rodriguez.
  • The Astros are targeting Paul Bako and David Ross as backup catchers.
  • The Rockies are trying to find lefthanders, eyeing Alan Embree, Will Ohman, Brian Shouse, and Glendon Rusch.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Wood, Sheets

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Ken Rosenthal suggests that in this economy some teams may not offer arbitration to Type A free agents to avoid risking a payroll hit. Further, some players may opt to accept the certainty of arbitration over "a volatile free agent period."

The Dbacks were always expected to offer arbitration to Adam Dunn and he was expected to decline thus netting Arizona two draft picks to compensate for the three players they dealt in August. In arbitration, Dunn would command $15-16MM. Says Rosenthal,

"…if the D-backs made the offer, it’s doubtful that Dunn and his agents would determine by midnight Saturday that a multiyear contract was beyond their reach. What’s more, the D-backs always could trade Dunn if he accepted their offer. In that sense, he would be an asset on a one-year deal; the Nationals, among other teams, would jump."

In arbitration, Kerry Wood would get around $9-10MM per year but it’s obvious the Cubs are not interested in even one year at that price – that money is better spent improving the rotation. The Cubs see Carlos Marmol, not Wood, as their closer and have opted to replace their setup man by trading for Kevin Gregg rather than paying Wood to slot into the role. Rosenthal notes Wood said he would have returned on a one year deal, and if he were to accept arbitration then the Cubs would most likely look to deal him – perhaps to the Rangers?

Rosenthal also points out that arbitration contracts are not guaranteed, but releasing Wood in Spring Training would result in a grievance by the players union. It would be hard to justify releasing a player of Wood’s caliber.

Ben Sheets could command $13-14MM in arbitration and for an ace-quality pitcher that’s reasonable. Rosenthal makes this easy:

"If the Brewers fail to offer Sheets arbitration, it will be a clear indication that club officials are concerned about his ability to stay healthy in 2009. And remember, the Brewers know Sheets better than any other team."

C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Wednesday

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6:19pm: It sounds like Sabathia’s agent Greg Genske is shutting things down for the weekend.  He didn’t reveal anything new to Brewers GM Doug Melvin.  Adam McCalvy also notes that the Brewers will offer Sabathia arbitration, a procedural move.

12:49pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Yankees people who believe the Angels leaked interest in Sabathia to reduce Tex’s demands.  Those people also believe the Halos will limit their offer to the $100-120MM range.  Other factors: Tex makes more sense for the Angels, Arte Moreno loves him, and signing Sabathia could reduce the chances of extending John Lackey.

Nonetheless, Heyman agrees with a rival executive that the Angels are quite serious about Sabathia.

8:51am: The big news yesterday was the L.A. Times report stating that the Angels "are in discussions with C.C. Sabathia and could offer him a contract that approaches the $140 million bid extended to him by the Yankees." 

Ken Davidoff wrote this morning that the Yankees are reluctant to raise their offer to Sabathia, even if it means he signs with the Halos.  Davidoff says the Yanks would step up their efforts for A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe if they lose Sabathia.

Meanwhile Dan Graziano says Yankees officials scoffed at the idea of the Angels turning their attention to Sabathia.  Those officials believe it’s a ploy to get Mark Teixeira to drop his demands.  Danny Knobler, however, believes the Angels have already moved on from Teixeira.  He says the Angels have long-term concerns about Tex’s knee.

Shouse Seeks Two Years

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According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, free agent reliever Brian Shouse is looking for a two-year deal.  MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy first reported this on October 30th.  The Brewers want to do one year, and their recent signing of lefty R.J. Swindle may mean Shouse is less likely to re-sign.  The Rockies have discussed Shouse internally, according to Troy Renck.  The Tigers are another possibility.

Haudricourt also notes that Doug Melvin talked to Gabe Kapler but did not make an offer. Melvin may be more focused on lefthanded hitters.  It’s been suggested that the Red Sox could bring Kapler back.

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