Odds & Ends: Indians, Maya, Sadowski
Saturday night linkage..
- In his latest mailbag, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is asked about the Tribe's inactivity this winter. Hoynes says that there are two reasons for this. First, the team is rebuilding. Secondly, ownership has little, if any, money to spend on free agents. Hoynes says to look for the Indians to do something in January and February after the first and second-tier free agents have signed.
- Cuban pitcher Yuniesky Maya put himself on display in the Dominican Republic last week. Jorge Arangure of ESPN spoke to a scout in attendance who said the 28-year-old threw in the range of 88-92 MPH while showcasing a fastball, two-seamer, slider, curveball, and changeup. According to a report from Globedia.com, passed along by Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog, the Mets and White Sox are the frontrunners to sign him. Arangure notes that Deinys Suarez, who was also on display, has not generated as much interest as Maya.
- Former Giants pitcher Ryan Sadowski has signed a deal to pitch for Korea's Lotte Giants in 2010, according to a report from The Korea Herald passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Sadowski signed with Houston earlier this offseason, so it appears that the Astros have let the 27-year-old out of his contract.
Olney on Bay, Beltre, Holliday
ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the Yankees and Red Sox when they say that they have budget lines that they are not currently willing to cross. When the trade deadline rolls around, however, it will likely be a different story. Olney brings us his take on the teams who are still willing to spend this winter…
- Since Jason Bay continues to sit on their offer, the Mets may soon give up on him and move on to less expensive free agents. Olney suggests that they ignore fans who are focused on big names and instead spend their money on players who can be had for short-term deals, such as Randy Winn and Orlando Hudson. The Mets "seem to have" something in the range of $15MM to $22MM in payroll flexibility.
- The Mets are shopping for a catcher, left fielder, and starting pitcher. Joel Pineiro tops their list of desired starters.
- Olney characterized the A's consideration of Adrian Beltre as "serious."
- As the Cardinals continue to wait on Matt Holliday's answer, Olney wonders out loud if the club might look into signing Bay as a backup plan.
- Rival executives sense that the M's have some money left to spend, but not a great deal. Seattle needs either a first baseman or second baseman plus help for the back end of their rotation.
- Because of the mass of arbitration-eligible players on their roster, the Angels have limited payroll flexibility. This means that they could pursue Pineiro if they chose to, but are unlikely to factor into the bidding for Bay or Holliday.
Discussion: Pat Burrell
Pat Burrell's move to the American League did not go as smoothly as he or the Rays hoped. Burrell left the World Series-winning Phillies to sign a two-year, $16MM free agent contract with Tampa Bay last January, and then suffered through a season's worth of injuries and inconsistency to finish with a career-worst .682 OPS (.221/.315/.367) in 476 plate appearances.
With $9MM due to Burrell in 2010, the Rays have been openly shopping the slugger this winter. Rumors of a deal of Burrell-for-Milton Bradley swirled for months before the Cubs dealt Bradley to Seattle last week. With seemingly their best trade option gone, it appears as if Tampa Bay will go into next season with Burrell back in the DH spot — which, if 2009 was just an aberration, might not be a bad option given Burrell's 251 homers and .852 OPS over his first nine years in Philadelphia.
If the Rays still want to move Burrell and save some cash, however, here are a few of the clubs that are in need of a DH/LF type and might have the payroll flexibility to absorb some or all of Burrell's contract.
- The Mets. Should they give up on signing Jason Bay (or lose him to the Red Sox), New York would still have a hole to fill in left field. The downside of Burrell going to a National League team, however, is his glove. He played just two games in the outfield last season, and according to Fangraphs, his defense ranged from mediocre to terrible (a -25.2 UZR/150 in 2007) over his last four years in Philadelphia.
- The Cardinals. Just as Burrell is a backup plan for the Mets if they don't sign Bay, he can also be a backup plan for St. Louis if they don't sign Matt Holliday.
- The Braves. Atlanta's biggest offseason need was a right-handed power hitter. While they are close to a deal with Troy Glaus, Glaus made just 32 plate appearances in 2009 after undergoing shoulder surgery last January. Burrell is perhaps a more reliable option, and may regain his batting stroke back in the NL East.
- The White Sox. Ozzie Guillen likes the idea of a rotating designated hitter, but GM Kenny Williams didn't close the door on the possibility of picking up an everyday DH if the right opportunity presented itself.
- The Giants. Mark DeRosa may be coming in as San Francisco's new left fielder, but Burrell could be an interesting alternative should DeRosa not accept the Giants' offer. Or, the power-starved Giants could acquire Burrell to play in left, and then sign DeRosa to play third base, thus moving Pablo Sandoval over to first. (Or, Sandoval plays 1B, DeRosa plays 2B and Freddy Sanchez moves over to 3B.) If the Rays pay some of Burrell's contract, then he is a much cheaper option for San Francisco than Johnny Damon.
Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday
6:32pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post is critical of how the Mets have handled negotiations with Bay. He said "the Mets are losing their dignity" by spending so much of their offseason time and energy in pursuit of a player "who clearly has major concerns" about coming to New York. Sherman suggests that the Mets should set a 24-hour deadline for Bay to accept their contract offer, and if he doesn't, the club should look at other left field options. Sherman thinks that a player like Jack Cust would be a wiser, lower-cost signing who could provide similar power numbers.
12:00pm: The Jason Bay to Boston rumors aren't exactly gaining momentum. An ESPNBoston.com article classifies the chances of a Bay return as a "long shot," while SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Red Sox would probably only consider Bay for less ("maybe much less") than the Mets' best offer. Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston adds (via Twitter) that Mike Cameron's agent hasn't heard anything about the Sox pursuing another left fielder.
8:36am: In yesterday's round of Jason Bay rumblings, we heard that there could potentially be a renewed mutual interest between Bay and the Boston Red Sox. Today, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe hears that the pairing would not be inconceivable, but that there are a couple of roadblocks: The Red Sox would have to extend their budget, after committing $15.5MM to Mike Cameron, and a potential contract would probably need to be heavily backloaded.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney agrees with that assessment, since a source tells him that the Red Sox have less than $5MM left in spending money. He writes that signing Bay would mean the Sox either blowing up their budget or having to move a contract or two.
As for the Mets' four-year offer that's still on the table, Olney says that the Mets are feeling more and more like Bay doesn't want to play for them, and are making alternative plans. Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks it wouldn't be the end of the world if the Mets refused to increase their offer to Bay and he ended up elsewhere.
Mark DeRosa Leaning Toward Giants
THURSDAY, 12:17pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that DeRosa seems to be leaning toward accepting the Giants' offer, though no deal is in place yet.
WEDNESDAY, 1:30pm: The San Francisco Giants have offered Mark DeRosa a two-year deal worth $12MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).
Heyman wonders if DeRosa, a New Jersey product who has previously played in Atlanta, is hoping for the Yankees, Mets, and Braves to enter the mix more aggressively. We heard earlier this week that the Braves and Yankees are both interested in DeRosa, though Atlanta's agreement with Troy Glaus would create one less opening in their lineup for DeRosa.
As for the Yankees, there has been some speculation that they only have about $4MM to spend on a left fielder. Given the Giants' offer of $6MM per season, DeRosa may be a little out of the Yanks' price range, but certainly the club has a history of working around apparent payroll restrictions.
Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday
10:48pm: The Red Sox might also be looking into extending an offer to free agent Matt Holliday, reports Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald. However, Silverman notes that signing Bay, let alone the more expensive Holliday, would be difficult.
7:31pm: The Mets have not heard from Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, in the last couple of days, a team official tells Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. The same official says not to expect the club to ink Bay or Bengie Molina before Christmas.
In other Mets news, Carlos Delgado's delay in returning to baseball via the Puerto Rican winter league is apparently a result of issues related to the hip surgery he had last summer.
6:48pm: Boston has had internal discussions about extending their organizational budget to potentially allow for another offer to be made to Jason Bay, a team source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI. The discussed proposal would be in the vicinity of the four-year, $60MM deal originally pitched to the slugger.
It was widely thought that the signings of John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron spelled the end of Bay's tenure with the Red Sox as the club is now teetering on the edge of the $170MM luxury tax threshold.
Mets Reach Agreement With R.A. Dickey
WEDNESDAY, 7:41pm: The two sides have reached an agreement on a minor league deal, a source familiar with the negotiations tells the Associated Press.
If added to the major league roster, Dickey would get a one-year contract worth $600K and have the chance to earn $150K more in performance bonuses.
TUESDAY, 2:12pm: The Mets are nearing a minor league agreement with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. Dickey, 35, posted a 4.62 ERA, 5.9 K/9, and 4.2 BB/9 in 64.3 innings for the Twins this year. He tossed another 33.3 mediocre innings at Triple A.
Odds & Ends: Delgado, Johnson, Igawa
Some links as Hanley Ramirez celebrates his 26th birthday…
- The Mets may have reduced interest in Carlos Delgado, according to Marty Noble of MLB.com. The slugger won't start playing baseball in Puerto Rico until mid-January; no reason was given for the delay.
- The Yankees have about $4MM to spend on a left fielder, according to the New York Daily News.
- Nick Johnson's deal with the Yankees is official, according to MLB.com's Brian Hoch.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out (via Twitter) that Troy Glaus will be the Braves' 11th opening day first baseman in 12 seasons if he signs in Atlanta, as expected.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says (via Twitter) that the Cubs were willing to take on Kei Igawa's salary (two years, $8MM) before the Yanks acquired Javier Vazquez.
- Brandon Morrow tells Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he hopes to start in Toronto.
- Dustin Parkes of Drunk Jays Fans says there's no point thinking of Roy Hallladay as a saint, even if he did buy ad space in the Toronto Sun.
- An unnamed source tells Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that the Dodgers broke even last year. Check out Shaikin's interview with team president Dennis Mannion.
- The Phillies have been in touch with former Nats reliever Mike MacDougal, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. MacDougal's agent says "a good number" of teams are interested, which is what we heard earlier in the week.
Olney On Mets, Chapman, Duchscherer
ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Mets would still like to sign Jason Bay, but are considering alternatives in case the left fielder's demands don't match their budget. Instead of signing Bay, the Mets could spread their resources and sign a number of the many available free agents. The Mets could obtain lots with the $15-22MM they have available, so Olney envisions some possible solutions. Here are a couple more hot stove notes:
- Aroldis Chapman should sign for more than the $15.67MM that Stephen Strasburg obtained, even though scouts aren't uniformly impressed with the Cuban lefty and wonder if he might end up as a reliever. Chapman is on the open market, while Strasburg could only negotiate with one team. Other clubs tell Olney that the Yankees didn't have much of a presence at Chapman's workout last week.
- Olney hears that the A's could bring Justin Duchscherer back. The right-hander may sign soon.
Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday
9:45am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says (via Twitter) that Bay, Johnny Damon and Matt Holliday remain too expensive for the Yankees.
8:49am: There were indications that Jason Bay and his representatives were active yesterday, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Mets, who are bidding against themselves at the moment, are hesitant to expand their four year offer unless they know which other teams are interested.
The Red Sox never budged from a four-year offer because of concerns about Bay's shoulder and knee, Silverman says. They're not frontrunners to re-sign the left fielder now, but it's too early to rule the Red Sox and Yankees out completely.
Yesterday, we heard that the Mets' offer to Bengie Molina may hinge on their negotiations with Bay, so Bay's decision will influence more than just the outfield market.