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Curtis Granderson Becomes Available

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The Tigers are letting teams know center fielder Curtis Granderson is available, according to an NL executive who talked to the New York Post's Joel Sherman.  Sherman believes the Yankees would have interest.

Sherman qualifies the rumor, saying Granderson nor Edwin Jackson are players the Tigers truly want to trade.  Sherman notes that Jackson appeals to both New York teams.    

While we named Granderson in our center fielder trade market post, we didn't think he was really available. One thing I learned writing that post is that Granderson's 2009 batting line was misleading, and he's well worth the $25.75MM owed to him over the next three seasons. The Tigers could restock the cupboards with a Granderson trade.  Pure speculation, but might the Cubs be interested in the Illinois native?  Way back in March of '07, Granderson talked to us about the possibility of playing in Chicago.

Milton Bradley Suitors

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune takes a look at the Milton Bradley situation in an article this morning.

Sullivan, like many, sees the Rangers as the favorite.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News looks at all the factors there.

Giants GM Brian Sabean was quizzed about a possible bad contract swap for Bradley, and shot down the idea.  The Mets and Rays appear in the mix to a certain extent, with Omar Minaya even admitting he'll talk to Jim Hendry about it.  Luis Castillo figures to be in that discussion, but Sullivan says reports suggest Mets ownership may be anti-Bradley.

ESPN's Bruce Levine adds more detail.  He says Hendry spent over an hour Monday with the Rays discussing a Bradley-Pat Burrell swap, with the $12MM salary difference a key.  A similar gap exists with Kevin Millwood, who Levine believes the Rangers would "gladly" swap for Bradley.  However, Levine says the Rangers will only take about $4MM of Bradley's contract at this point.

A few other notes from Sullivan: the Cubs remain fans of Marlon Byrd, who is now a free agent.  That interest suggests that the Cubs' "left-handed bat" obsession from a year ago has gone by the boards.  Sullivan also mentions that the Cubs "are in no hurry to open up talks with Derrek Lee on a contract extension."  Lee will earn $13MM in 2010 in the last year of his contract.

Mets Meet With Boras

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Mets GM Omar Minaya met with agent Scott Boras last night at the GM Meetings for 45 minutes, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman says Matt Holliday, Alex Cora, Jarrod Washburn, and Rick Ankiel were discussed.

Of course, the Mets' plans extend beyond Boras clients, and Sherman says Bengie Molina sits atop their list of catching targets.  The Mets made a play for Molina four years ago.  Another target might be Chone Figgins, as suggested by SI's Jon Heyman.

Sherman sums up the Mets' offseason situation:

The Mets' priority list in order is a slugging left fielder, a high-end starting pitcher and a regular catcher. But a Mets executive said that if the club cannot land a significant left fielder they could spend more on a starter such as free agent John Lackey. For now, the Mets more are contemplating a mid-rotation type starter such as Randy Wolf, Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis and Washburn.

In our recent Top 50 Free Agents list, we predicted the Mets will sign Holliday, Wolf, and Brad Penny.  All speculation at the time, and there hasn't been any actual connection to Penny so far.

Mets Notes: Holliday, Barajas, Pineiro

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Lots of newsbits swirling about the Big Apple's non-World Series winners…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Mets will meet with Scott Boras tonight to at least get an idea of what it will take to sign Matt Holliday.
  • As reported earlier today, the Mets weren't interested in Jason Varitek but were considering Bengie Molina at catcher.  Sherman (also via Twitter) added Rod Barajas and Chris Snyder to the New York catching "wish list."
  • SI's Jon Heyman (via Twitter) reports the Mets are interested in Joel Pineiro, but not at his reported demand of a three-year/$30MM contract.
  • MLB.com's Barry Bloom figures that Gary Sheffield and Carlos Delgado are both done in New York after Mets GM Omar Minaya was very non-committal about the possibility of re-signing either of the two veteran sluggers.
  • The Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott, however, thinks the Mets will at least "keep an eye" on Delgado's progress in winter ball (via Twitter).

Diamondbacks Considering Hernandez

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Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic hears that the Diamondbacks are considering free agent right-hander Livan Hernandez.  The 35-year-old posted a 5.44 ERA in 31 starts with the Mets and Nationals last season, but as Piecoro notes, Hernandez's primary role in Arizona would be to serve as both a positive clubhouse influence and to eat some innings at the back of the rotation.

If Hernandez did sign, he would be joining his fifth different team in three years.  It would also be his second stint in the desert — Hernandez made 43 starts for Arizona over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, delivering a 4.64 ERA overall and throwing the second-highest number of innings (204.1) of any D-Backs pitcher on the 2007 club. 

Piecoro said that the team was impressed by Hernandez's work with Miguel Montero, and bringing back Montero's old mentor could have a positive effect on the young catcher as he goes into 2010 as the incumbent starter behind the plate.

Mets Won’t Pursue Varitek

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The Mets won't pursue Jason Varitek if he turns down his player option and becomes a free agent, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Two Mets officials tell Sherman that the club wants a catcher who can catch more than 100 games.

They had interest in the veteran catcher last offseason, but now the Mets covet more durable catchers -  Bengie Molina may be a consideration. Molina has caught more games than Varitek over the course of the last three seasons, but Varitek hasn't caught fewer than 100 games since 2001, so it's surprising to see a club question his durability.

As Sherman points out, the Mariners and Nationals could have interest in Varitek if he opts to explore free agency.

Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Holliday, Varitek, Tejada

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Let's round up a few more links in a busy day of rumors….

Heyman On Bradley, Gonzalez, Halladay

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Jon Heyman has the latest on Milton Bradley, Roy Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, and plenty of other big names in his new column. Let's check out some of the highlights….

  • Although Texas and Tampa Bay seem like the most likely destinations for Bradley, one GM says the outfielder needs to play in a small market like Kansas City or San Diego.
  • If the Rangers were to acquire Bradley, they would probably want the Cubs to pick up about $16MM of the remaining $21MM on his contract.
  • People around baseball figure that Halladay is more likely than Gonzalez to be traded this winter. But a rival GM wouldn't be surprised to see both players get traded, since "sometimes new GMs like to put their stamp on a team."
  • If the Boston Red Sox are in the Halladay hunt again, don't expect them to give up as much as they would have this summer. One executive believes they offered too much.
  • Should the New York Yankees offer John Lackey a deal similar to the one they gave A.J. Burnett last winter, a competing GM thinks it would be enough to land Lackey, given teams' increasing reluctance to hand out long-term contracts.
  • The New York Mets are a little wary of Lackey's "alleged arm issues" but could be interested in second-tier free agent starters like Joel Pineiro and Randy Wolf.
  • Chone Figgins is a top priority for the Angels early in the offseason. They could attempt to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero later in the winter, but he's not a priority for now.
  • The Philadelphia Phillies would like to lock up Cliff Lee to a long-term extension that costs them less than $100MM.

Sherman On Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests, as Adam Rubin did earlier today, that the New York Mets may not be able to sign Matt Holliday or Jason Bay because of payroll restrictions. A Mets official tells Sherman that, if that is the case, the team's Plan B involves trying to "sprinkle power at a variety of positions" rather than adding one elite hitter.

One scenario Sherman outlines for the Mets is adding a catcher like Bengie Molina, an outfielder such as Jermaine Dye or Mark DeRosa, and then moving Luis Castillo to clear second base for someone with more power.

It sounds like the Giants and Mets will be the main competitors for Molina's services. The Giants would like to bring him back, and will look to spend more on their offense this winter, though a "team insider" says that Bay's and Holliday's price tags might be out of San Francisco's range as well.

In another article, Sherman writes that the St. Louis Cardinals don't anticipate Holliday signing anywhere until after Christmas. The team also fears that the New York Yankees could get involved in the bidding. If the Yankees were to retain Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, as has been rumored, you'd have to think the Cardinals would like their chances of bringing back Holliday a lot more.

However, Damon apparently won't do the Yankees any favors by giving them a hometown discount. In one last article, Sherman outlines Scott Boras's case for Damon earning a long-term deal and big money.

Bradley Being Discussed In Three-Way Deal

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9:01pm: The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan is reporting that Toronto "wants no part of Milton Bradley." Meanwhile, Cubs GM Jim Hendry said that Chicago hasn't given up on Bradley, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Of course, Hendry has to say that until the moment Bradley is traded.

5:55pm: A very interesting idea is being reported by Ken Rosenthal: a three-way deal, with Milton Bradley going to the Blue Jays, Luis Castillo to the Cubs, and Lyle Overbay to the Mets. Rosenthal said "The teams indeed have discussed the framework of such a deal, though not in direct fashion, according to major-league sources."

Breaking it down, the trade makes the most sense for the Mets, who would clear second base for long-coveted Orlando Hudson, a free agent. Overbay has also mashed righties for his entire career – .847 OPS career, .905 in 2009 – and could be paired with Daniel Murphy or Nick Evans for a high-reward platoon.

Castillo does block the movement of Ryan Theriot to second base when Starlin Castro arrives, but adding Castillo's on-base percentage would be a boon to the top of Chicago's lineup.

As for the Blue Jays, the deal would open up first base for Adam Lind, with Bradley slotting in as designated hitter. The question is: Overbay slugged .466 in 2009, while Bradley slugged just .397 – so is this an upgrade?

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