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Odds and Ends: Morneau, Jocketty, Santana

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Your usual dose of random rumors and links…

Brewers, Yankees Interested In Mike Cameron

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UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 11:58pm: Ken Rosenthal checks in, adding that the Cubs and Twins are on the fringes for Cameron.  However he expects Cameron to end up with the Yankees or Brewers, before anything is determined with Johan Santana.  The Yanks could always just keep Melky Cabrera or spin him off for prospects.  The Braves and Pirates have expressed interest in him in the past.

UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 9:04pm: Haudricourt says the Yankees’ are the Brewers’ main competition for Cameron, in the event they trade Melky Cabrera.  It’s known that A-Rod has been "privately endorsing" him. 

UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 10:23am: Haudricourt adds that the Brewers could be considering trading Hall, rather than changing his position again.  He says the fact that Doug Melvin didn’t return his calls may indicate something is going on.

FROM 1-09-08 at 9:20pm:

Both Ken Rosenthal and Tom Haudricourt are saying this evening that the Brewers are interested in free agent center fielder Mike Cameron.

Haudricourt is surprised, since the Brewers were supposedly targeting a left-handed hitting left fielder like Kenny Lofton or Luis Gonzalez.  Instead, they could shift Bill Hall to third base and Ryan Braun to left to make room for Cameron.

Rosenthal calls it "serious interest," but notes that moving Hall again might be a "delicate situation."  I’m sure Hall would understand if the signing made the team better.  Rosenthal says Cameron is drawing interest from at least two other clubs, which could include the Reds.

Mets May Have Top Santana Offer; Yanks Backing Off?

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UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 11:29am: Christensen says Mets owner Fred Wilpon gave Omar Minaya the green light to try to acquire Santana, meaning he’s amenable to a contract extension exceeding $100MM.

UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 9:38am: Peter Botte of the New York Daily News has a new quote from Hank: he’s "leaning away from" from the Yankees doing a Santana deal.

FROM 1-09-08 at 10:54pm:

Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests the Mets might be the best fit for Johan Santana.  He says they’re offering four players, three of them pitchers: Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey, and Phil Humber.  It’s a strong package. 

Christensen says the Twins would accept if the Mets added Fernando Martinez to the package (not sure if Martinez would replace Gomez, or it would just be five players instead of four).

Something’s got to give here in the next few weeks – how long can the Santana saga hold up the free agent pitching market?

Notes From Hot Stove, Cool Music: Cashman, Santana, Varitek

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A few interesting tidbits came about via the Hot Stove, Cool Music charitable event on Saturday.  The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford has the details.

  • Brian Cashman admitted that he lost some power when the Hank and Hal regime took over.  He no longer has full authority to run everything, a sticking point when he signed on several years ago.  It would not be shocking to see Cashman move on when his term ends after the 2008 season.  He’s finishing up a three-year, $5.4MM deal.
  • For what it’s worth, Theo Epstein seemed to indicate that the dragging Johan Santana talks are not holding up other moves for the Red Sox.  But really it’s hard to believe that Coco Crisp’s situation hasn’t been delayed.  Boston already lost the White Sox as a suitor, most likely.
  • During Spring Training, Scott Boras plans to begin contract extension talks with the Red Sox for Jason Varitek.  Here’s a look at other free agent backstops the Sox could consider after the ’08 season.  Kenji Johjima could be an interesting signing.

Mets Still Like Joe Blanton

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Peter Botte of the New York Daily News says the Mets have asked Billy Beane to "keep them in mind" as he’s shopping Joe Blanton.  Blanton could be their fallback plan for Johan Santana.  Botte says the Twinsa are still hung up on Jose Reyes, though La Velle E. Neal III heard otherwise.

On December 20th, Buster Olney said a package of Carlos Gomez, Aaron Heilman, and Kevin Mulvey would probably net Blanton for the Mets.

If the Mets can’t get Santana or Blanton, they may move on to free agent targets such as Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez, Jon Lieber, Freddy Garcia, or Matt Morris.  Botte does not mention Bartolo Colon as a free agent on the Mets’ radar.

Johan Santana Rumors: Saturday

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Burned out on vague Johan Santana non-rumors yet?  Me neither!  Here we go…

  • Hank: "leaning towards doing it."  Hmmm, that makes it seem like the Twins aren’t part of this decision.  Hank notes that he has final say over Brian Cashman, in case you were wondering.
  • Pete Caldera says the Yankees do not have a standing offer.  This seems more a technicality than anything, because I imagine the offer is still good.
  • LEN3 says the Twins are backing off a bit on their demands – they realize they won’t get both Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.  Instead, Jeff Marquez, Kei Igawa, and maybe others could be substituted for Kennedy.
  • LEN3 adds that the Twins have accepted that the Mets won’t part with Jose Reyes, and will still talk.
  • Meanwhile the Red Sox and Twins haven’t spoken much lately but Boston is still offering two different packages (one centered around Jacoby Ellsbury, the other around Jon Lester).

Odds and Ends: Cameron, Inge, Bay

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Here are some random rumors and links I’ve cobbled together today.

  • The Fish officially signed Jorge Cantu to a minor-league deal worth $500K with $100K in incentives.
  • The Cardinals re-upped Aaron Miles for $1.4 mil.  This team needs some good middle infielders.
  • According to Tyler Kepner, Alex Rodriguez has been "privately endorsing" Mike Cameron.  Well, it’s not private anymore!  The Yankees could entertain such a signing if they trade Melky Cabrera but don’t want to move Johnny Damon back to center.  Kepner’s article also discusses the internal struggle between Hank and Hal Steinbrenner.  Hank wants Johan Santana, Hal wants to show a little financial restraint.

  • Lynn Henning digs into the Brandon Inge situation, with help from the always-insightful Keith Law.  Henning believes Inge would view a shift back to catcher "with contempt."
  • Scott Wuerz runs through various possible Cardinals targets.  He notes that the Pirates had considered the White Sox their best possible trade partner for Jason Bay, and are disappointed by Chicago’s Nick Swisher acquisition.
  • Seems that Bartolo Colon has yet to crack 90 mph in the Dominican Winter League.
  • There are rumblings that the Astros are considering bringing Freddy Garcia back.
  • R.J. Anderson snagged an interesting interview with Paul DePodesta.
  • Minor League guru and MLB.com senior writer Jonathan Mayo has a new book coming out about what it’s like to face Roger Clemens.  I’m going to do a Q&A with Jonathan next week; if you have any good question ideas leave ’em in the comments.  By the way, Mayo finished his book before the Mitchell Report came out.
  • Yankees fans – Ray Istorico has an illustrated history of the early Yankees coming out in a few months.
  • I will be appearing on XM Radio’s MLB Home Plate show on Sunday around 2:25 CST.

Latest Santana Buzz From MetsBlog

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MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone has a couple of recent radio reports referencing the team’s talks for Johan Santana.  One involves Mike Francesa, the other Jon Heyman.

  • Francesa says the Twins are still demanding Jose Reyes, and the Mets will never do that.
  • According to Heyman, the Mets might be willing to give up any four of their prospects.  As in Fernando Martinez, Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, and Kevin Mulvey?  That would seemingly be impossible for the Twins to turn down.  ESPN’s Keith Law went as far to say today that he "wouldn’t deal Martinez for one year of Santana under any circumstances."

Gammons Chat: Crisp, Santana, Ramirez

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The Boston Globe ran a chat with Peter Gammons today, and some good hot stove material came about.

  • Gammons believes the Rangers or A’s could go after Coco Crisp if he’s not dealt to the Twins.  He notes that "the A’s think he’s the best CF in the game right now," and that Billy Beane could acquire him to flip him.
  • He says the Mets are currently trying to build up inventory to trade for Johan Santana, and that might be why Bill Smith hasn’t pulled the trigger on anything yet.
  • Gammons believes the Red Sox will exercise Manny Ramirez’s $20MM options for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.  He notes that Manny is getting himself into phenomenal shape this winter.

Hank Speaks About Johan

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Yesterday it seemed that the Yankees’ talks for Johan Santana were pretty much dead, with his contract extension presenting an issue.  But Hank Steinbrenner weighed in with Anthony McCarron, and the Yankees seem squarely in the mix.  Key points of the article:

  • The implication is that the Yankees’ best offer – Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and a fourth player – is still on the table.
  • Hank says point blank the Yankees are best-equipped to handle Santana’s contract demands.  Yesterday Gordon Edes said Santana’s agent implied a seven-year, $140MM deal would be necessary and the Red Sox were willing to pay it.
  • Despite just "minor dialogue" between the Yanks and Twins lately, Steinbrenner seems unwilling to let the situation linger more than another two weeks.
  • McCarron says the Mets remain in the mix as well.  Matthew Cerrone believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox "have essentially made their final offers."
  • The Sports Hernia weighs in on Hank’s comments.

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