Derek Lowe Rumors: Wednesday
4:07pm: Jack Curry of the New York Times weighs in. He can see the Mets bumping their offer to $39MM for three years, but agrees that they won’t add a fourth year (despite four-year deals given to inferior pitchers in recent times).
8:43am: MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says a Derek Lowe signing is "feeling inevitable" for the New York National League club. They’ll have to up their three-year, $36MM offer; Cerrone sees the Mets as unlikely to guarantee a fourth year or reach $15MM per.
According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, Lowe told a friend that the Red Sox never showed serious interest. Harper thinks the Mets’ limit is three years and $40MM.
The Mets’ competition for Lowe is unclear. The Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox don’t seem interested. Still, if Lowe is coming at a discount you have to wonder if the Braves, Indians, Rangers, Brewers, and Cubs will get involved (entirely speculation).
Mets Make Offer To Lowe
TUESDAY, 7:03pm: It looks as though the first of the Mets’ offers has been issued.
According to Jack Curry of the New York Times, the Mets have offered Derek Lowe a three-year deal, worth a total of $36MM. I imagine half the teams in baseball would be willing to offer that amount to Lowe. The article maintains the current notion that Lowe is the Mets’ first choice to bolster their rotation. He had reportedly been seeking five years and $90MM.
MONDAY: MLB.com’s Marty Noble on the Mets:
They intend to make offers early this week to at least two and probably three free-agent pitchers — Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf — in hopes of signing one of them.
Noble says the Mets continue to rank the three in that order – Lowe, Perez, Wolf. The Mets haven’t shown any indication of wanting to sign more than one. Lowe and Perez should be ready to sign soon now that Scott Boras isn’t occupied with Mark Teixeira.
Noble adds that the Mets aren’t terribly concerned about having only one left-handed reliever on the roster (Pedro Feliciano). They’ll look for bargains rather than pursue a Joe Beimel type. Mets GM Omar Minaya does want to acquire a utility infielder, with Alex Cora atop the list.
No Andruw Jones Trade In The Works
TUESDAY, 9:02am: ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Dodgers and Mets "have kept the porch light on" in case some version of a Jones-Castillo swap can be made. He talked to a source who believes the Mets’ chances of trading Castillo before the season are 50-50.
MONDAY, 8:12pm: MLB.com’s Marty Noble heard from a person familiar with the discussions between the Mets and Dodgers that "nothing is ongoing and nothing is going to happen." The clubs had preliminary discussions about trading Jones for Castillo during the Winter Meetings, but nothing is in the works now.
3:50pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Dodgers and Mets have discussed an Andruw Jones trade. Jones is still owed $22.1MM, and the Dodgers are "highly motivated" to move him. Olney says it’s unlikely the Dodgers would have interest in Luis Castillo, however. If the Mets wouldn’t be sending a bad contract back, I’d imagine they’d want the Dodgers to pay approximately $20MM. Olney says the Mets would use Jones in right field – Ryan Church‘s position this year.
Manny Is Dodgers’ First Choice
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who said Manny Ramirez is the team’s first choice. Colletti hasn’t heard from Manny’s agent Scott Boras since Mark Teixeira signed a week ago. As reported yesterday, the Dodgers have interest in Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu as backup plans. Pat Burrell and Garret Anderson are not on the team’s radar.
Shaikin reiterates Marty Noble’s story from yesterday – talks to unload Andruw Jones on the Mets fizzled a while ago.
Rockies Rumors: Redding, Marquis, Fogg
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has the latest on the Rockies’ pursuit for back-end starting pitching.
The Rox "remain firmly in the mix" for free agent Tim Redding, who also has the Mets and Orioles in pursuit. Renck suggests the Orioles’ signing of Mark Hendrickson could cause them to back off, though Jeff Zrebiec wrote today that the Orioles want to add at least two starters.
Jason Marquis is also on Colorado’s radar, but they "can’t absorb hardly any" of his $9.875MM salary. The Cubs are seemingly looking to save at least $3-4MM here. Renck adds that Josh Fogg is another possibility for the Rockies, on a minor league deal.
Olney’s Latest: Lowe, Castillo, Hudson
Buster Olney focuses his new column on reluctant-to-spend teams and how they’ve changed the market. He turns up some interesting rumors…
- The Rays and A’s are in a "bidding war" of sorts over the likes of Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu. Both teams are willing to spend, but neither wants to go first since prices are higher now with both teams interested than they will be once the first team signs a player.
- The Mets are in a great position since the Cards and Brewers aren’t likely to compete for Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf. This means they can wait, knowing that bargains will likely surface.
- The Mets have "quietly continued to gauge" the Luis Castillo market and are interested in moving him and some of his salary.
- If they find a taker, they could pursue Orlando Hudson.
- As Joel Sherman predicted, the Nationals are now courting O-Dog.
- Olney asks whether aging stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Pedro Martinez will choose to play for the offers they’re likely to get.
- Brad Penny may soon decide where he wants to pitch next year. He’s weighing "an overture from the Cardinals" against other options.
Mets Target Lowe, Perez
Now that Mark Teixeira has found a home in New York, the Mets would like to talk with two other Scott Boras clients about following suit, Ben Shpigel of the New York Times reports. The Mets are interested in Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez, in that order, and believe that the market may be shaping up to allow them to obtain their first choice. Nothing is imminent for the Mets at this time.
With the Yankees (almost) definitely out of the picture, and the Red Sox seemingly focused more on hitting, the Mets are optimistic that they can get Lowe for considerably less than the five-year $90MM deal he was rumored to be looking for initially. If for some reason this doesn’t work out, the enigmatic Perez would be their next choice, Shpigel says.
Lowe, 35, had a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings for the Dodgers in 2008. Perez, 27, had a 4.22 ERA in 194 innings for the Mets.
Mets’ Minaya: Nothing Imminent
1:38pm: The New York Daily News has, essentially, the same report. Roger Rubin writes that Derek Lowe is a top priority for the New York Mets, but nothing’s imminent. Something could happen during the next week, though.
Rubin sees the Boston Red Sox as being competition for Lowe’s services.
9:48am: Mets general manager Omar Minaya told Kat O’Brien of Newsday to “Go enjoy the holiday” and that nothing was happening on the New York Mets’ front today.
Minaya did say the team has been talking to free-agent starting pitchers, including Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf.
As far as outfielder Manny Ramirez, “a Mets source” told O’Brien in the same article that the Mets will not sign him.
Odds & Ends: Lowe, Penny, Padres, Red Sox
A couple of links from around the baseball world on a slow Christmas Eve…
- Ben Shpigel of the New York Times believes Derek Lowe will settle for a three-year deal with a vesting option. The Mets might be willing to make that offer.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune presents seven candidates for the Padres’ 2009 starting rotation.
- The New York Times jokes that Brad Penny "may be too cheap for the Yankees’ taste."
- According to the Providence Journal, the Red Sox could see a payroll drop of nearly $20MM if they make no further moves this offseason.
- New York Yankees’ president Randy Levine backs up the club’s wild spending this offseason. Levine claims that the dollars spent "are essential to the revenues generated by Major League Baseball and its networks and other entities.”
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Wednesday
4:31pm: Rob Neyer’s latest post on ESPN.com discusses what Ramirez’ chances are to claim himself a big contract. Neyer doesn’t like the odds. His guess is two years for $45MM. He lists the Dodgers as the likely match.
8:55am: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger tells us to take the New York Mets off the Manny List. Graziano writes that GM Omar Minaya is having trouble selling Ramirez to ownership, despite how well he would fit in with the team. He adds that despite the Red Sox missing out on Mark Teixeira to the Yankees on Tuesday, Ramirez had a worse day. As Graziano puts it, “Because, honestly, where is he going to go now?”
8:01am: Common sense tells T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times that Manny’s best — and possibly only — option is a contract with the Dodgers. He wonders if the Dodgers and owner Frank McCourt really even want Ramirez to return. Regardless, Simers doesn’t see the slugger ending up with a small- or mid-market franchise.
Jesse Spector of the N.Y. Daily News writes the New York Yankees could still sign Manny, even after taking on more than $400MM in payroll in the past week, and have a 2009 payroll less than the 2008 version. His hypothesis hinges on not bringing back left-hander Andy Pettitte and trading Hideki Matsui in particular.