Rosenthal On Andruw, Nady, Lyon, Madson
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- The Braves are pulling back for the moment in their search for an outfield bat. They’ll hope for a free agent bargain or the right trade. Rosenthal says they’re torn about Andruw Jones. The Braves seek a right-handed hitter but aren’t dead set on it. They were unwilling to meet the Yankees’ demands for Xavier Nady.
- Brandon Lyon‘s agent is telling teams he has a two-year, $9MM offer in hand (Kyle Farnsworth money). The Tigers or Twins are possibilities there, while the Cardinals may have offered one year. Jon Paul Morosi confirms Detroit’s interest, but says they’ve yet to make an offer. Morosi believes the Tigers have about $5MM left in their budget.
- Ryan Madson turned down a three-year, $12MM extension from the Phillies. The Scott Boras client is eligible for free agency after the season.
- Execs have all kinds of concerns with Oliver Perez: his flyball tendencies, frequent walks, and inability to reach 200 innings.
- The Yankees have little interest in Ben Sheets and Freddy Garcia. The Rangers, Mets, and White Sox remain in the mix for Garcia.
- The Brewers and other teams are in on Braden Looper, while the Orioles and Dodgers have backed off.
- Edgardo Alfonzo is playing well in the Venezuelan Winter League and could make a comeback.
Brewers No Longer Interested In Dunn
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy spoke to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who indicated the team is no longer interested in free agent slugger Adam Dunn. The possibility was considered when the Brewers were discussing a Mike Cameron trade with the Yankees (Corey Hart would’ve moved to center field). Cameron and Hart are staying put.
Another scenario, which Ken Rosenthal discussed a week ago, is trading Prince Fielder and replacing him with Dunn. McCalvy doesn’t dismiss the idea outright, but notes that the Crew would be treading water in terms of lefthanded bats.
Stark On The Arbitration Class
ESPN’s Jayson Stark says we’re headed for a historic arbitration class. Players file today, and the dollar submissions become known on Tuesday. If the sides can’t come to an agreement, they go to a hearing and an arbitrator chooses one of the two salary submissions. Be sure to read the article, but here are a few highlights.
- Ryan Howard‘s dad may be behind the player’s unprecedented salary expectations. Howard may ask for $15-17MM in his second arbitration year. He could be a trade candidate in the 2009-10 offseason.
- Prince Fielder‘s numbers and accolades don’t match up to Howard’s, so Scott Boras may have difficulty matching Howard’s first arb year record award of $10MM.
- Cole Hamels could ask for $5MM or more, but seems more amenable to a long-term deal than Howard. Will the Phillies offer him more than three years?
- Other interesting names: Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Felix Hernandez, Dan Uggla, Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, Russell Martin, B.J. Upton, Ryan Zimmerman, Jeff Francoeur, and Ervin Santana.
- Looking for a surprise summer trade candidate? Stark talked to one AL exec who wondered if Verlander could be made available if the Tigers are out of contention.
Brewers Avoid Arb With Dave Bush
According to Tom Haudricourt, the Brewers avoided arbitration with starter Dave Bush, signing him for 2009. Troy Renck says it’s for $4MM, with a clause that Bush’s contract will be guaranteed if any other Brewers’ arb-eligible player gets a guaranteed deal.
Hoffman Officially A Brewer
Lots of links going up lately about today’s announcement that the Brewers’ signing of Trevor Hoffman is now official.
The most interesting thing I’ve seen so far is this Tom Haudricourt blog post that gives readers an idea of what the Milwaukee bullpen might look like next year.
Thoughts?
Odds and Ends: Smoltz, Young, Cameron
Links for Tuesday…
- Lyle Spencer doesn’t think Michael Young and Jermaine Dye make sense for the Angels.
- Joel Sherman speculates on some possible matches Young trades.
- The Marlins’ recent minor league signings, including John Koronka and Jay Gibbons.
- The Red Sox officially announced the John Smoltz signing today. Here’s the transcript, and here are the contract terms.
- Buster Olney debunks the Mike Cameron for Nick Swisher rumor, saying the teams haven’t talked trade since the Winter Meetings.
- With the ninth pick in a fantasy draft, this is the team I’d put together.
Hardy, Brewers Avoid Arbitration
The Milwaukee Brewers and shortstop J.J. Hardy avoided arbitration by completing a $4.65MM, one-year deal, The Associated Press reports.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more on it here.
Hardy, 26, made $2.65MM in 2008. He batted .283 with 24 home runs and 74 RBI over 146 games.
Cafardo’s Latest: Manny, Dunn, Fielder
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has lots of rumors in his latest article:
- Apparently the Giants were willing to offer Manny Ramirez a four year deal in the form of a one year deal with three option years. No more details are known, except that the Giants remain interested in Manny.
- Brad Ausmus has had ongoing talks with the Padres and Dodgers, according to Cafardo’s sources. The Red Sox aren’t interested.
- The Angels, Giants and Mets are possible suitors for Xavier Nady.
- Cafardo’s heard other clubs talking about the Red Sox and Rockies restarting the Todd Helton for Mike Lowell trade talk, but hasn’t heard anything similar from the Red Sox.
- At least one of Cafardo’s sources thinks Prince Fielder would make a lot of sense in Boston. Clay Buchholz could be a starting point if these talks were to start.
- Ben Sheets is becoming a bargain, so the Braves or Rangers could jump in and sign him affordably.
- Cafardo calls Atlanta an "emerging" destination for Adam Dunn.
Brewers Rumors: Sheets, Cameron, Swisher
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the latest from Brewers GM Doug Melvin on the team’s plans:
- We already knew Melvin doesn’t anticipate signing a free agent starter.
- Derek Lowe isn’t an option for the Brewers, who haven’t even talked to Scott Boras.
- The Brewers will monitor the trade market and consider dealing for a starter.
- The team could make an exception for Ben Sheets. Melvin said he’d have to consider signing the pitcher if he wanted to return to Milwaukee.
- Before signing Trevor Hoffman, the Brewers were looking into Juan Cruz, a Type A free agent, but didn’t like the idea of giving up a first rounder, especially now that they’ll only get a second round pick for losing C.C. Sabathia.
- The Yankees still have interest in Mike Cameron and floated the idea of a Nick Swisher for Cameron swap.
- Melvin likes Cameron’s defense though, so he’s "not motivated to move him."
- After they’re done with their six arbitration cases, the Brewers payroll will approach $80MM.
Brewers Won’t Sign “Big-Bucks” Starter
In a preview of his Sunday column, Tom Haudricourt reports the Brewers aren’t likely to sign a big ticket free agent starting pitcher this offseason.
As an indication of just how unlikely that signing might be, Haudricourt has a quote from Doug Melvin; says the Brewers GM, "I haven’t even talked to Scott Boras."
At the very least, that quote would appear to explicitly eliminate Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez from the Brewers’ shopping list.