Gammons Chat: Crisp, Santana, Ramirez
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
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.
Latest Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 1-2-08 at 10:45pm: Nothing new with Boston’s pursuit of Santana; Nick Cafardo says the Sox still have two different offers on the table for the Twins. Cafardo notes that Santana’s agent quoted the starting bid around seven years, $140MM – and the Red Sox are fine with that.
UPDATE, 1-2-08 at 4:19pm: LEN3 adds that the Mariners are not in the running for Johan. Coupled with the info below it seems to be between the Mets and Red Sox currently.
FROM 1-2-08 at 1:21pm:
Peter Abraham had a note this morning about Johan Santana. He says "there are no indications the Yankees will suddenly get back into the mix for Santana." Abraham notes that the main issue for the Yanks remains the massive extension they’d have to give Santana.
Back on December 28th Joel Sherman said the Yanks had "become more entrenched in their unwillingness to pay the price both in prospects and dollars." He noted that they were reluctant to hand over Phil Hughes or $130MM to Johan.
On the 27th, Jayson Stark said the Yankees last offer was Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and an undetermined fourth player, but the proposal was off the table. Stark believed that Hank Steinbrenner could still decide to re-engage the Santana talks though.
Mets Pitching Plans
Many readers have written me asking what the Mets are going to do to upgrade their starting rotation. Matthew Cerrone as a man in the know, and he’s written a summary over at MetsBlog.
- Cerrone senses nothing much cooking on the Johan Santana front, yet the Mets remain "oddly confident."
- Cerrone believes the Mets will probably sign one rehabber – Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon. He says reviews on Colon in the Dominican Winter League have been positive. Omar Minaya knows Colon well, having traded the farm for him as GM of the Expos. Garcia may be ready to pitch around June. Coming off a frayed rotator cuff and labrum he may not contribute much in 2008.
- Bullpen wise, Cerrone says Octavio Dotel is on the radar, especially if Aaron Heilman is traded.
- There’s a lack of buzz with the Mets for Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez, and Joe Blanton currently.
Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 10:59am: Jayson Stark’s sources speak of glacially moving Santana talks with the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Mariners that may drag out for several more weeks.
UPDATE, 12-28-07 at 11:00am: Joel Sherman’s sources name the Red Sox as the "strong favorite" to acquire Santana in the new year. He sees the Yankees backing down and the Mets as lagging behind for lack of MLB-ready young players in their offer. Also here’s a Jayson Stark Santana article I missed yesterday giving his take on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets.
UPDATE, 12-27-07 at 2:59pm: Charley Walters has some quotes from the Twins’ president. He gives the impression that the Twins’ priority is still to sign Santana to an extension, for what it’s worth. They’ll have to do better than four years and $80MM though.
FROM 12-26-07 at 10:50pm:
LEN3 checks in with the latest Johan Santana rumors this evening.
- The Mets appear to be a solid contender, even without offering up Jose Reyes. Neal ponders whether the Twins would prefer to send Santana to the NL so they can avoid him. Matthew Cerrone has been saying this for some time, adding that Santana would prefer to come to the NL as well.
- Interesting note – Neal says Kei Igawa‘s name has surfaced in regards to the Yankees talks. It wouldn’t materially change the deal though.
- Neal says talks with the Red Sox are currently dormant.
Twins Back Down On Santana Demand
Murray Chass reports this morning that the Twins have scaled back their demands for Johan Santana, at least with the Yankees. He says they are now willing to substitute Jeff Marquez for Ian Kennedy. So the Yankees would have to give up Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Marquez (and one more player, I’m guessing).
Marquez is a 23 year-old Double A righty who probably does not fall within the Yankees’ top ten prospects. He seems a more reasonable demand than Kennedy. About three weeks ago, Bill Madden said the Yanks could’ve acquired Santana for Hughes, Cabrera, Marquez, and Mitch Hilligoss but bailed out for financial reasons.
Anyway, Chass adds that the Yanks would be hit by luxury tax if they acquired and extended Santana. For example, a five-year, $100MM deal would result in a constant $7.5MM annually in luxury tax. This does not seem to bother the Yankees.
Nick Cafardo wrote a few days ago that the Red Sox are standing pat with an offer of Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, and Jed Lowrie for Santana. For what it’s worth, David Ortiz doesn’t think the Sox will get Johan.
Latest Johan Santana Rumors
The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo has the latest on the lingering Johan Santana saga.
- The Red Sox are standing pat with their offer of Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, and Jed Lowrie. I’ve said it before – I consider this an excellent offer, though I might try to find a permutation that involves Jacoby Ellsbury and another player rather than Crisp/Lester. The Twins seem to like this offer too; they just want to see if the Yankees crack and offer up Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and Phil Hughes.
- The Theo Epstein regime typically hasn’t been jazzed about contracts exceeding four years. However they will break that rule for a Santana extension and are prepared to go seven if they have to.
- Cafardo dismisses the idea that Josh Beckett would be upset by Santana earning twice his salary. Beckett will get his payday after the 2010 season, unless he flames out or the Red Sox extend him earlier.
- Random question: is there any chance the Red Sox exercise Manny Ramirez‘s $20MM option for 2009? Rob Bradford discussed this very topic over at the Boston Herald.
Topkin On The Delmon/Garza Trade
I recently named the St. Petersburg Times’ Marc Topkin as Rumor Royalty for the Rays. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the site.
MLBTR: In your opinion, which club got the better end of the Delmon for Garza swap?
Topkin: My immediate reaction is that the Twins did because Delmon established himself as a potential impact player for a long time, a guy who could be a ten-season All-Star and hit in the middle of a lineup for fifteen years, while Garza still has to make that leap and Bartlett has to become more than a "steady" shortstop.
Yankees Done With Santana?
Newsday’s Kat O’Brien recently spoke to a source with knowledge of the Yankees’ talks with the Twins for Johan Santana. According to the source:
"I don’t see it happening with us. We pulled out in Nashville, and we haven’t put an offer back on the table."
O’Brien always has Hank Steinbrenner’s ear, and Hank was noncommittal this time when asked about the Yanks’ chances. It sounds like the Yankees would need to crack and put Ian Kennedy into the deal, which just doesn’t seem wise. They’d be better off just calling off the whole thing, and it sounds like that’s the likely path.
White Sox Sign Alexei Ramirez
UPDATE, 12-22-07 at 6:00pm: Ramirez can earn another $3.25MM in incentives.
UPDATE, 12-21-07 at 10:57pm: Ramirez gets a mere $4.75MM over the four-year pact. That’s an excellent move right there, in my opinion. Dirt cheap – low risk, decent reward.
FROM 12-21-07 at 5:35pm:
The White Sox made an interesting move today, signing Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez to a four-year contract. The presence of Jose Contreras should be helpful for him. Ramirez probably profiles as Chicago’s center fielder, though he could also play second base. Here’s what Baseball America had to say about him a few months ago.
It’s tough to judge this signing until we hear the money involved. He was apparently highly sought after, as ESPN says he worked out for the Red Sox, Indians, Reds, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Twins, and A’s too. Ramirez is apparently 26 years old. I think he’s going to need some time in the minors, as Clay Davenport has equated Cuban baseball with our short season A ball.
As a means of comparison, Yuniesky Betancourt signed for four years and $2.826MM in January of 2005. Kendry Morales signed a four-year deal worth around $10MM in December of 2004.