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Hunter Interested In Nationals, Braves

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MLB.com’s Bill Ladson had an exclusive conversation with Torii Hunter tonight.  Nicely done Bill!

Ladson learned that Hunter is interested in playing for the Nationals or Braves because of the large African American populations in D.C. and Atlanta.  Hunter would like to be a leader in the community.  This is an interesting factor to consider when trying to guess Hunter’s next destination.  Detroit, Baltimore, St. Louis, and Cleveland have large African American populations as well.  However, the Tigers and Indians don’t need a center fielder.

Another reason Hunter likes the Nats is the presence of his buddy Dmitri Young.  Dmitri is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Also consider that Hunter said he’s thought about playing for his hometown Rangers "a lot a bit."  And the Twins might still make a reasonable four-year offer.  But remember that Hunter has expressed a "burning curiosity" to explore the open market.  He’s certainly keeping his options open – it’s definitely too early to call this one.  A wrinkle for the Braves besides the money would be losing the 18th overall pick next June to the Twins.

Carlos Silva: Type B Free Agent?

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The Twins will most certainly offer arbitration to pitcher Carlos Silva, and he will decline (since he can easily get a three or four-year deal on the open market).  This will entitle the Twins to receive a draft pick or two as compensation.

If Silva ranks in the upper 20% of starting pitchers, he’s a Type A free agent.  If he ranks in the upper 40% but not in the upper 20%, he’s a Type B.  Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says Silva will be classified as a Type B based on his work in the 2006-07 seasons (he had a 5.01 ERA and 24 wins over that time period).  That means the Twins will gain just a supplemental draft pick for him but the signing team will not lose any picks.

Walters also gives us this gem:

If the Twins can’t re-sign free agent Torii Hunter, plans are to trade, sign a free agent or go in-house to find his center field replacement.

As opposed to what?

Will D’Backs Add A Starter?

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There are two schools of thought regarding the young, successful Arizona club.  The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro seems to think Josh Byrnes will stay quiet this winter, re-signing Tony Clark and letting Randy Johnson replace Livan Hernandez.  The East Valley Tribune’s Scott Bordow would rather not rely on The Big Unit, instead trading a young position player for a young starter.

Specifically, Bordow notes that Carlos Quentin and Conor Jackson could be expendable.  However, injuries complicate possible trades of either player.  With Quentin it’s direct – he had surgery to repair the rotator cuff and labrum of his non-throwing shoulder in October.  It’s a six-month timeline for recovery, so he could be ready for Spring Training.  Jackson is fine and healthy, but trading him becomes easier if Chad Tracy can prove his health.  He had microfracture knee surgery and also expects to be ready in March.

Jackson seems to be the best trading chip – even if Tracy has complications, Clark wouldn’t be a terrible full-time stopgap.  Jackson, who turns 26 next May, has a respectable if not spectacular .280/.362/.441 line in 310 games.  He slugged .555 after the break this year.  Which team has an available young starter and badly needs position players?  The Giants, with Noah Lowry.  I’m not sure if Lowry would impress the D’Backs, though.  Plus, the teams are in the same division.  The Twins also make for an interesting match, as they might be able to use Jackson in left field.  The D’Backs could ask for Matt Garza or Kevin Slowey.  The White Sox could use an outfielder; would one year of Jon Garland be an even swap?

Hunter Would Take 5/75 From Twins

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Out on the open market, center fielder Torii Hunter might fish for more than a five-year, $75MM contract.  He could probably get six years, or $16-17MM annually.  However, 5/75 would be sufficient from the Twins, as Hunter hopes to remain in Minnesota.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Sid Hartman (linked above) says re-signing Hunter at that price and trading Johan Santana would probably leave the Twins with the payroll flexibility to acquire a third baseman and a DH.  Hunter’s departure could seemingly impact ticket sales in Minnesota more than Santana’s.

Santana is on the hook for $13.25MM in 2008.  Swapping him for two 0-3 players while backloading Hunter’s deal and letting Carlos Silva walk could free up $15MM net this winter.  That could mean Barry Bonds and Mike Lamb, Cliff Floyd and Mike Lowell, or a million other combinations.

Gammons: Yanks Inquired On Santana

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Peter Gammons reported back on Tuesday that the Yankees have already made a Johan Santana inquiry.  The tidbit mentioned a cellphone conversation where apparently a Yankee exec asked who the team would need to part with aside from Chien-Ming Wang to acquire the Twins’ ace.

Makes sense that the Yanks would place a call on this; Santana’s the best pitcher in baseball and they’re the Yankees.  And the general vibe seems to be that the Twins are at least listening on Santana.  Wang or Cano plus another premium prospect seems a reasonable bounty.  The acquiring team may require a negotiating window.  And technically, Santana could have the Yankees on his 12-team no trade list. 

Heyman’s Latest

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up, with some minor info.

  • Heyman’s sources describe a Jose Reyes for Johan Santana rumor as "pure fantasy."  Well…who said it was ever anything more?  Buster Olney was clearly just playing Let’s Make A Deal when he devised it.  Things get twisted around easily.
  • Most of us already figured this, but Heyman says the White Sox will go after either Aaron Rowand or Torii Hunter this winter. 
  • Heyman puts the Angels, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Cubs, Mets, and Phillies into the A-Rod derby if the Yanks don’t keep him.
  • No offense to Jon but this column really lacked any kind of new info.

Torre’s Status Will Influence Rivera

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Mariano Rivera isn’t a sure thing to return to the Yankees in 2008.  He’s not happy about Joe Torre’s unknown status, and he doesn’t seem thrilled that the Yanks passed on their opportunity to re-sign him earlier this year.

Jon Heyman’s best guess yesterday: the Yanks re-sign Rivera for two years and $26MM, plus an option year for 2010.  That seems fairly reasonable to me; it’s still hard to picture a closer earning more than $13MM.  But Rivera may listen to offers, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see a team offer him three years guaranteed.

One stopper who could average such a salary in his next deal is Joe Nathan.  Nathan will be well underpaid at $6MM next year; he’s arguably the game’s best closer.  From 2004-07, Nathan has a 1.94 ERA and 11.3 K/9 in 282.3 innings.  He’s also got 160 saves over that four-year span.  If given an extension window, would the Yankees part with a Robinson Cano this winter to get Nathan?

Rosenthal’s Latest: Bonds, Nathan, Barrett

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Ken Rosenthal has a new rumor column up.  Feels like it’s been a while.

  • Rosenthal thinks it’s a sign of desperation that the Angels would entertain signing Barry Bonds, who doesn’t fit in with their club.  His OBP would fit in anywhere, but he would tie up the DH spot at the expense of Juan Rivera and Vladimir Guerrero.
  • The Cubs are expected to bring Daryle Ward back at $1.2MM (makes sense) and Steve Trachsel at $4.75MM (questionable).  Cubs fans can only hope Trachsel would be considered a tradeable asset, as Rosenthal opines.  Rosenthal also quashes the idea of trading Aramis Ramirez, both because of his full no-trade clause and the team’s impending sale. 
  • David Eckstein is expected to leave the Cardinals, no big surprise.  Rosenthal reiterates recent rumors connecting him to the White Sox, Tigers, and Mets.
  • Rosenthal’s idea for Bill Smith and the Twins: keep Johan Santana this winter, and instead trade the $6MM super-closer Joe Nathan.  Teams would line up for him, and Pat Neshek wouldn’t be a bad replacement.
  • Do you think Michael Barrett could be a free agent bargain?  Rosenthal talked to one exec who feels this way, and it is a good point if he can bounce back to .280/.350/.480 for five million bucks.

Twins Interested In Jason Bay?

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Bucco Blog reports that the Twins may have some interest in Pirates outfielder Jason Bay.  It’s possible the Bucs would want Matt Garza in return.  It would be a blockbuster introduction for Neal Huntington and Bill Smith.

It’s always hard to part with young pitching (especially with the likely departure of Johan Santana), but the Twins have needed an offensive boost for a while now.  Bay is signed for 2008-09 at just $13.25MM, so the Twins can definitely squeeze him into the budget.  Garza looks like at least a #3, especially in the NL Central.  This seems like a trade that could benefit both teams.    Thoughts? 

Santana Would Consider Waiving No-Trade Rights

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Johan Santana gets a full no-trade clause for 2008 if he finishes top three in the Cy Young voting this year.  In 2007 Santana was fifth in VORP and doesn’t even crack the top ten in ESPN’s Cy Predictor.  Though I have to question the validity of any tool that puts Joe Borowski ninth.

Anyway, mostly because of the Twins missing the playoffs, it’s safe to say that Santana will not finish in the top three.  Instead, he gets to choose 12 teams he cannot be traded to.  As Nat Boyle recently noted, Santana could theoretically strategically select the 12 teams most likely to trade for him if he really wanted to stay in Minnesota for one more season.

That doesn’t seem likely, however.  Based on this article from La Velle E. Neal III, Santana would likely give up his no-trade protection if A) the acquiring team was a contender and B) he was compensated $1-2MM to give up his rights.

All we’ve really seen so far is a questionable Matt Kemp/Clayton Kershaw rumor that doesn’t make it past my reality checker.  We’ve also got Charley Walters saying there’s "little doubt" the Mets will pursue Santana, for what that’s worth.  Buster Olney tosses out a Jose Reyes/Carlos Gomez/Mike Pelfrey for Santana and Jason Bartlett proposal.  It doesn’t sound like any true trade discussions have leaked to the press yet.  I wouldn’t expect things to get going until the Winter Meetings December 3-6 in Nashville. 

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