Twins Lock Up Cuddyer, Morneau
UPDATE, 1-25-08 at 4:35pm: Cuddyer gets a $2.75MM signing bonus, $5MM in ’08, $6.75MM in ’09, and $8.5MM in ’10. The Twins have a $10.5MM option for ’11 with a $1MM buyout. As far as I can tell Cuddyer would’ve become a free agent after the ’09 season.
Morneau gets six years, $80MM, a Twins record both in years and dollars. I believe this buys out three years of free agency. This should generate some good PR and help brace the fans for the loss of Johan Santana. Plus, Bill Smith can say he made a solid offer to Santana.
UPDATE, 1-25-08 at 1:35pm: Charley Walters says Morneau will get six years and about $75MM while Cuddyer’s deal is for three years and about $23MM plus a club option for the fourth year.
FROM 1-25-08 at 12:10pm:
The Twins are planning a press conference to announce multiyear contracts for Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer; these deals were certainly reached quietly. According to KARE 11 TV’s Twins source, the players will be with the Twins "deep into the new stadium."
Morneau signed for ’08 at $7.4MM recently, while Cuddyer had yet to sign. LEN3 had reported about a week ago that the Twins would discuss multiyear deals with both, but not until after the Johan Santana situation was settled.
Church As Part Of A Santana Deal?
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has some info on a Johan Santana possibility, and it isn’t the usual rehashed stuff. He writes:
A package the Twins could receive will probably not include both of the Mets’ top outfield prospects, Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez. There are indications that Martinez would be in the deal, along with major league outfielder Ryan Church and at least two other prospects. Starter Mike Pelfrey could be part of the deal as well….
Would Martinez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey, and Church get it done? Maybe not a fan-pleaser but you’d have guys who can contribute now and others that can develop into superstars. Would Michael Cuddyer still be a center field candidate if the Twins acquire Church?
Johan Santana Rumors
SI.com’s Jon Heyman and the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s La Velle E. Neal III recently weighed in on the Johan Santana situation.
- Neal says the Mets, Red Sox, and Yankees have all had recent discussions with the Twins about Santana. He says the Twins have "stepped up their efforts" to make a deal before Spring Training.
- Heyman believes the Mets have taken the lead. He thinks it would take five or more prospects, and submission by the Red Sox and Yankees.
- Heyman says the Twins may prefer Carlos Gomez over Fernando Martinez. That would be good for the Mets, who do not want to part with Martinez.
Odds and Ends: Cano, Colon, Lowry
Here are some links I’ve rounded up this morning.
- In theory, Robinson Cano would be open to a long-term deal. River Ave. Blues recently took a look at how historically good Cano has been so far, and suggest the Yankees lowballed him with their arbitration submission.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Derek Jacques saw Bartolo Colon pitch in the Dominican League Finals, and lends his evaluation. Colon was not impressive, but not terrible. It doesn’t seem like he will get the two-year deal he wants.
- The Brewers will bring Abraham Nunez to camp. Versatile, but a drain on offense.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox aren’t done yet. The Joe Crede situation should linger into spring. Gonzales also mentions that the Giants are "listening to offers for Noah Lowry."
- A factual look at whether Omar Minaya really stockpiles Latin American players.
- The Astros can’t settle their gaps with Mark Loretta or Jose Valverde, and Ed Wade expects the team to go to its first arbitration hearings in over a decade. Wade has set a deadline of this afternoon and will go to hearings otherwise. Loretta asking for $4.9MM seems particularly off.
- Matthew Cerrone takes an educated guess on the current Johan Santana situation.
- Some interesting quotes from XM Radio from Michael Cuddyer and Scott Boras, separately.
Johan Santana Rumors
I know some of you crave daily Johan Santana updates…today we’ve got a blurb from Charley Walters:
The Twins say they’re not panicking while holding out for the best deal for Johan Santana. But word within baseball circles is that offers by the New York Yankees (no more Phil Hughes) and Boston Red Sox are diminishing by the week. Best bet now for a trade of the two-time Cy Young Award winner appears to be with the New York Mets in a deal that would not include fast-rising hitter Fernando Martinez.
Yikes – from those solid Yankee/Red Sox offers to a Martinez-less Mets package? If that happens then I would say Bill Smith overplayed his hand. Kat O’Brien recently talked to Smith, but wasn’t able to get much out of him. She believes the Yanks, Red Sox, and Mets "all retain some interest."
Odds and Ends: Hinske, Doumit, Colon, Greene
It’s up to an impressive 5.7 degrees where I am, but I still don’t think I’ll be going outside much today. Hence, some odds and ends.
- Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald believes Eric Hinske might sign with the Diamondbacks this week. The 30 year-old former ROY has a career line of .255/.336/.434, with much better work against righties.
- John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Red Sox are interested in the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit. However Perrotto says the Bucs are reluctant to trade the versatile Doumit, who turns 27 in April. Only past Doumit rumor I can find was from Will Carroll in May of ’06, saying he and Oliver Perez were being dangled to the Phillies.
- Perrotto believes the Royals could sign Bartolo Colon if he’ll take a one-year deal; that may be true for several clubs. Paul Hoynes reports that the Indians watched Colon pitch, but weren’t impressed with his sub-90 velocity. Hoynes says Kris Benson will have another throwing session and the Tribe will be in attendance.
- According to Marc Topkin, the Rays are talking with lefty reliever Trever Miller. The two sides haven’t agreed on the term yet.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers commented about the team’s rejected long-term overtures toward shortstop Khalil Greene. Towers brought a three or four year proposal to Greene but does not expect anything to get done. He stated Greene’s possible desire to be on the East Coast as a factor.
- Vince Gennaro does an economic analysis of the Johan Santana rumors, indicating that the acquisition makes the most sense for the Mets.
Multiyear Contract Discussions: Teixeira, Tulowitzki, Morneau
With today’s deadline for arbitration-eligible players, it only makes sense that all sorts of long-term contract discussions are going on. Even players and teams who do agree to one-year deals for ’08 may find themselves with groundwork laid for bigger deals.
- That could be the case with Mark Teixeira. His agent, Scott Boras, had "quite a bit of dialogue" with Frank Wren about an extension prior to Tex signing for one year and $12.5MM. I recently guessed the Braves have a 10% chance of getting this done.
- The Rockies have had "intense, serious dialogue" with Troy Tulowitzki‘s agent about a long-term deal. Tulo isn’t arbitration-eligible yet though, so Dan O’Dowd may choose to resolve his arb cases and get back to his shortstop afterwards. Tulowitski could sign a six-year, $30MM deal, a record for a player with his service time.
- Justin Morneau signed for one year and $7.4MM. LEN3 says the Twins may contact his agent about a multiyear deal but haven’t yet.
Fernando Martinez May Be Key To Santana Deal
Nothing groundbreaking here, but Ken Davidoff spoke to "an industry offical familiar with Minnesota’s trade discussions," who believes the inclusion of young outfielder Fernando Martinez could close the Johan Santana deal for the Mets. Davidoff notes that some combination of Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey would have to be in there too. Perhaps the sides will ultimately agree on Martinez and all the rest except for Gomez.
The Yankees and Red Sox remain in the mix, though the Yanks seem ready to move on.
Olney’s Latest: Barrett, Cameron, Santana
Let’s take a run through Buster Olney’s blog today.
- Olney chatted with Kevin Towers recently. One learning: the Padres plan on keeping Michael Barrett. Never hurts to have a little catching depth.
- The Padres might’ve given Mike Cameron a two-year deal worth at least $17MM, more than he received from the Brewers. Did Cameron want out of San Diego, or did his agent make a miscalculation of the market?
- Olney talked to a talent evaluator who wondered whether the Twins might be concerned about Johan Santana‘s health. Reduced late-season velocity and less use of his slider could be signs.
Twins Intrigued With Mets’ Johan Offer?
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a new article up focused on how the ultimate package for Johan Santana may not be fan-pleasing. That’s because the Twins "seem most intrigued" with the Mets’ offer, which doesn’t include household names. They’re proposing some combination of Carlos Gomez, Fernando Martinez, Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey. Seems it would be one of the outfielders plus the three pitchers.
Christensen notes the Chuck Knoblauch and A.J. Pierzynski trades as examples of deals that were derided in Minnesota at the time but ended up favoring the Twins. However I do believe fans are better equipped to evaluate trades these days, the way prospects are followed. (An aside – I still think we all would’ve praised Brian Sabean at the time of the Pierzynski/Liriano/Bonser/Nathan deal.)
In other Johan news, Sid Hartman has some fresh Hank quotes if you’re interested.