Crasnick On Abreu, Eckstein, Bloomquist, Lowry
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a bunch of new info.
- The Braves’ interest in Bobby Abreu is described as "lukewarm at best." And he’d have to be a huge bargain for the Mets to get involved. Abreu’s agent has his work cut out for him.
- Two middle infield possibilities for the Royals: David Eckstein and Willie Bloomquist. The Royals also considered Jerry Hairston Jr., but are concerned with his health record. Also, Dayton Moore continues to deal with payroll limitations.
- The Rangers are "keeping an eye on" Giants starters Noah Lowry and Jonathan Sanchez. Lowry had arthroscopic elbow surgery in September.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Swisher, Nady, Kapler, Zaun
The latest from Ken Rosenthal.
- A recent Ned Colletti-Scott Boras conversation about Manny Ramirez didn’t result in progress. Boras still has his sights on at least $100MM over four years. Rosenthal adds that Manny is "cool to the idea of playing in San Francisco."
- Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady are drawing "significant interest." Rosenthal speculates that the Giants, Braves, or Pirates would make sense.
- The door is not closed with the Yankees and Andy Pettitte. Pettitte recently rejected the Yanks’ one-year, $10MM offer.
- Some Mets people prefer Oliver Perez to Derek Lowe. The Braves have yet to speak to Boras about Lowe, while the Brewers and Phillies have financial concerns about fitting him in.
- Trevor Hoffman has a West Coast preference (the Dodgers or maybe a Padres reconciliation) but interest with the Brewers is mutual. Other relievers on the Dodgers’ radar: Juan Cruz, Guillermo Mota, and Dennys Reyes.
- Brian Fuentes‘ agent had serious talks with the Yankees, but no offer was made. Fuentes would’ve been Mariano Rivera‘s set-up man and perhaps taken over upon his retirement.
- Rosenthal notes that MLB kicked in a small part of the $10MM owed to Sidney Ponson from their luxury tax pool, which is not uncommon.
- If they can afford it, the Rays would like to sign Gabe Kapler.
- The Orioles, Red Sox, and A’s are interested in Gregg Zaun.
- Perhaps because of the cool market for his services, Orlando Cabrera is willing to play second base. The Yankees did not have interest.
- That Gavin Floyd for Brian Roberts rumor "seemingly arose from internal discussions among Orioles officials."
Derek Lowe Rumors: Monday
10:20pm: Newsday’s Ken Davidoff learned tonight that the Mets "do not intend to raise their three-year, $36MM offer to [Lowe] at this time." The Mets don’t feel that they have serious competition for Lowe, for some reason. Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf remain the alternatives.
8:28am: According to Kat O’Brien of Newsday, "negotiations are expected to heat up for righthander Derek Lowe" this week for the Mets, who reportedly offered three years and $36MM (though Scott Boras indicated yesterday the proposal was never made). Jon Heyman said recently that Lowe didn’t take this offer seriously; he’s aiming for a $16MM salary. Heyman named the Phillies, Braves, Red Sox, Brewers, and Angels as possible suitors, with the last three more on the speculative side.
Mark Bowman doesn’t believe the Braves are willing to top the Mets’ reported offer, though. In another article, Bowman suggested Jon Garland and Andy Pettitte are more likely options.
Mets Backup Plans for Lowe
Regis Courtemanche of Metsblog.com has a guest blog up at Newsday, discussing the Mets’ backup plans should they fail to sign Derek Lowe.
The Mets have expressed interest in Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland. Courtemanche’s first choice is Wolf.
Wolf posted similar numbers to Perez last year, and Perez is represented by Scott Boras, and will be asking for more years and money than Wolf. Additionally, Wolf is represented by the same agent – Arn Tellem – as Francisco Rodriguez, and is already on good terms with Omar Minaya.
Is not giving Lowe the money he wants really worth the drop-off in quality you might get with any of the backup plans though? Courtemanche doesn’t think so, especially because not going after Lowe leads to the possibility of him landing with the Braves or Phillies, which would harm the Mets even further.
Courtemanche also wonders why there has been no interest shown in Ben Sheets:
His susceptibility to injury is probably why, most notably the shoulder problems he incurred in 2006. Nevertheless, Sheets is much better than any of the above mentioned alternatives since he allows fewer homers, earned runs, and walks. Plus, his five complete games were third in the majors behind Roy Halladay, and his former teammate, C.C. Sabathia. Worth a second look if you ask me.
Olney’s Latest: Peavy, Braves, Lowe, Sheets
More from Buster Olney’s notes from around the majors:
- The Braves were so close to completing a trade a for Jake Peavy in November that they may want to revisit talks. Says Olney, "What they could do, if they are intent on contending in 2009, would be to sign Orlando Cabrera as a stop-gap at shortstop for 2009, and then deal [Yunel] Escobar in the package for Peavy." He also suggests the Braves give up on their refusal to give Peavy a no-trade provision for the entire length of his contract as that’s been a sticking point. Landing Peavy under any circumstances is a move their own players would support, even if he was given special treatment.
- Derek Lowe may have missed out on the big money when the Yankees signed A.J. Burnett for 5 years, $82.5MM over him. Lowe’s highest offer is $36MM.
- Olney says "there are more starting pitchers available than there are big-money offers available, so the Mets are bound to wind up with a good free agent pitcher."
- Olney reports several teams are concerned about Ben Sheets‘ medical reports; however, it’s his shoulder, not his elbow, that’s worrisome.
- Pure speculation: "Jason Giambi will sign with Oakland, Pat Burrell will land with Tampa Bay."
Lowe Rejected Offer, Wants $16MM Per Year
Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog passes on some comments made tonight by Jon Heyman on the MLB Network’s Hot Stove Live.
- According to Heyman, Derek Lowe rejected the Mets’ three year $36MM offer because he hopes to sign a deal worth $16MM per season.
- The Phillies and Braves are the Mets’ biggest competitors for Lowe.
- The Red Sox and a mystery team are also involved.
Later on in the show, Mets GM Omar Minaya confirmed interest in Lowe, Randy Wolf and others. Cerrone notes that Minaya did not mention Oliver Perez.
Dodgers Rework Andruw Jones Deal
SATURDAY, 11:23am: Buster Olney’s sources tell him that Jones will receive the $15MM he’s owed in 2009 over the next six seasons, without interest. Apparently the Dodgers are likely to call the Braves, Reds and Mets about potential trades. One source familiar with the discussions said it’s virtually certain that the Mets won’t be interested.
11:55pm: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the deal cuts Jones’ 2009 salary to about $5MM. The Dodgers agreed to trade or release him; interested teams may prefer to wait for the latter. Shaikin says the Jones restructuring is independent of the Manny Ramirez situation.
7:51pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that the Major League Players Association has approved the contract agreement, which will defer Jones’ remaining salary. According to an industry source, Jones will either be traded or released before the start of spring training and perhaps sometime this month.
FRIDAY, 2:38pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Jones have agreed to rework his contract to save the team $12MM in ’09. Jones is likely to play for another team in the coming season.
THURSDAY, 9:55pm: As pointed out in the comments section below, Andruw’s ’09 salary could be deferred across several years and would thus gain interest, resulting in a higher total payout. That could work for both sides. A blog called Fantasy Sports Experience recalls a similar situation with the Mets and Bobby Bonilla in 2000.
9:40pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has confirmed that Jones’ contract is being reworked. It could be an extension or a deferred buyout.
9:00pm: I just spoke with Simers, who tells me that the Dodgers "would do the deal with Scott Boras." Jones’ 2009 salary "would be reduced to make him attractive" to possible suitors in a trade. And the agreement would essentially free up money on the Dodgers’ side that would head directly towards Ramirez, another Boras client. But it’s still unclear why Jones would want to take the paycut. Is Boras going to pay the man out of his own pocket? This kind of dealing is unheard of in the sports world, but you can never doubt the almighty Scott Boras.
8:38pm: T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times has heard that the Dodgers are working on a deal to unload outfielder Andruw Jones.
Simers claims that the deal would save the team $12MM and "send the guy, who couldn’t hit a thing, seeking employment elsewhere." Jones is in the final year of a two-year contract and is set to make around $15MM in ’09. He’s not just going to forfeit that money, so it’s not exactly clear what kind of a "deal" the article is speaking of. A trade? Buyouts don’t typically happen in baseball. Nonetheless, Simers is onto something and it appears the Dodgers are readying the cash to make an offer to Manny Ramirez.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Jays, Mets, Red Sox, Nats, Yankees
On this date 32 years ago, commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended Braves owner Ted Turner for one year for tampering. Turner had announced publicly that the Braves would sign free agent-to-be Gary Matthews. Unfortunately, 30 years later, nobody was disciplined when the Angels signed free agent Gary Matthews Jr. to a $50MM contract. In the first two years of the deal, Matthews has been paid $15MM and his play has been worth -$600K (yes, that is negative) according to Fangraphs. With several big free agents still looking for new teams, will any of them be the next Matthews Jr? Only time will tell. In the meantime, let’s see what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Eddie Kranepool Society is not worried about Derek Lowe, feeling the deal will get done once the Mets add a fourth option year and sweeten the pot just a tad. They are also putting the Mets front office on notice about the possibility of letting Manny Ramirez slip through their fingers.
- Mets Geek feels the Mets still need to add one more piece to their revamped bullpen and suggest Wil Ohman or Joe Beimel are better options as a lefty specialist than what is already in-house.
- The Southpaw takes a look at some young players the Jays should try to target in the trade market, with Chin-Lung Hu at the top of the list.
- My Baseball Bias is not satisfied with just Mark Teixeira and wants to see the Yankees sign Manny Ramirez.
- Fire Brand of the American League makes a case for three players to be the Red Sox fourth outfielder, including Rocco Baldelli, Brad Wilkerson and Eric Byrnes.
- MLB Notebook takes a look at how the Nationals could spend the $20MM that would have gone to Mark Teixeira.
- River Ave. Blues says this offseason is proving to be a test of just how good Scott Boras can be.
- Sully Baseball is running a series of posts breaking down each team’s all-time home grown versus all-time acquired teams. Here he looks at the Astros.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Sherman’s Latest: Red Sox, Lowe, Manny
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a new blog post up.
- The Red Sox would like to trade for a young star player; they’ve already attempted to acquire Mark Teixeira and Hanley Ramirez this offseason. The Sox seem willing to discuss some very talented young players of their own (Clay Buchholz seems a bit more available). Sherman speculates on all kinds of names that could make sense for Boston.
- Derek Lowe is not keen on taking less money and the same salary as Carlos Silva. He and Scott Boras will take some time to see if someone can beat the Mets’ three-year, $36MM offer. Ken Rosenthal wrote in November that most executives consider the Silva contract an aberration.
- Sherman finds many reasons Manny Ramirez could make sense for the Giants. He notes that Giants special assistant J.T. Snow can give the team the inside scoop on what it was like to be teammates with Manny.
- The Cubs would’ve liked to send Jason Marquis home to New York (the Mets), but the Mets are addressing their needs one at a time and aren’t looking at the fifth starter role yet. Sherman says the Rockies have long been fans of Marquis and like his bat. He could accumulate 80 plate appearances, I suppose.
Lowe Unimpressed By Mets’ Offer
Derek Lowe was "hardly overwhelmed" by the Mets’ three year $36MM offer, Mike Puma of the New York Post heard from a baseball source. Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe heard from a source of his own that Lowe’s "likely to continue shopping for a more desirable offer."
It’s uncertain who would make such an offer, since Massarotti writes that the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies are not currently interested in Lowe.
As a result, the Mets could end up in what Puma calls a "protracted stare down" with Scott Boras and his client.