Not Much Cooking With Johan
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 12:25pm: Check out LENIII’s latest. He believes the Red Sox were always serious about Santana. Neal suggests the Angels are a sleeper even though they’ve yet to discuss Johan with the Twins. Neal spoke to an agent who nominated the Mets as his sleeper. As for the Dodgers, Neal’s not sensing much interest.
FROM 12-6-07 at 10:13am:
Thus is the nature of the rumor mill – tons of words expended on possibilities, sometimes with little closure. The latest semi-news on Johan Santana:
- Newsday’s source says it would be "virtually impossible" for the Mets to acquire Santana without including Jose Reyes. And the Mets are staunchly against that.
- The Red Sox made a couple of proposals that fell short, but they’re satisfied that he’s not a Yankee. Theo Epstein has left the building, no Santana deal in place.
At this moment, nothing much appears to be simmering on the Santana hot stove.
Hiroki Kuroda Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 1:08am: Geoff Baker reads between the lines, and thinks the Mariners may have added that fourth year to their offer for Kuroda.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:59pm: Per Scott Lauber, the Phils are out on Kuroda.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:46am: Todd Zolecki says Kuroda will visit the D’Backs, Mariners, and Dodgers next week, so it’s fair to assume those are three of the four finalists.
FROM 12-5-07 at 9:41am:
Yesterday morning it was reported that the Mets had reached "Round 2" of the bidding for free agent Hiroki Kuroda. At that time 8-10 teams were in on him.
Now, the Kuroda derby is down to four finalists and the Mets aren’t one of them. David Lennon agrees, saying the Mets were "drifting to the back of the pack" for Kuroda.
My guess on the four finalists: Mariners, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Royals.
Odds and Ends: Guzman, Shelton, Garcia, Jones
Rounding up some smaller rumors…
- The Phillies talked to the Pirates today about Nate McLouth, Damaso Marte, and John Grabow. Grabow remains a possibility.
- There’s some ill will between the Marlins and Angels.
- Aaron Rowand, Andruw Jones, and Hiroki Kuroda are all asking for more years than GMs are willing to give.
- The Tigers picked up Freddy Guzman from the Rangers for first baseman Chris Shelton. Maybe Shelton can work his way into the team’s first base mix.
- Interesting note from MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan – the Rangers considered trying to acquire Adam Jones, but Bill Bavasi said, "You don’t want to see Jones kicking your tail for the next 10 years."
- The Mets and roughly five other teams looked at Freddy Garcia’s medical records, according to Joel Sherman. The Rangers are one other interested party.
Johan Santana Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 7:50pm: Tim Brown says the Red Sox had a moment of doubt, but they remain the frontrunner for Santana. The previously mentioned packages apply.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 6:21pm: LENIII checks in on the interest level of the six teams involved.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:05pm: Santana’s agent, Peter Greenberg, indicated that the Mets are in the running for Santana.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:48pm: BP’s John Perrotto talked to a Twins official, and it definitely looks like the Meetings will end without a Johan deal. Perrotto says he’s still likely to be dealt before Spring Training.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:18pm: Ken Rosenthal believes the door is open for more teams to jump in, especially the Mariners.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:43pm: Jon Heyman reports that the Mets are trying to work their way back into the mix. They’re still viewed as a longshot without Jose Reyes in the offer, but at least the Twins are listening.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:21pm: The Red Sox and Twins are still engaged in talks. The Sox are still considering the Yankees a factor. And no, Ellsbury signing on with Boras doesn’t change the Twins’ opinion of him.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:26am: Joel Sherman describes Boston’s two goals in the Santana Sweepstakes. He wonders whether the Sox and Twins could reach an accord on players and then the Red Sox wouldn’t be able to agree with Santana on an extension. Meanwhile Gammons himself reiterates that he senses the Twins will hold onto Santana.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:54am: Peter Gammons via Amy Nelson is saying Santana may not be traded.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:56am: According to Keith Law via MetsBlog, the Twins have reached out to the Mets, Dodgers, and Angels to revisit Santana talks.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:43am: Joel Sherman agrees with Bill Madden’s take below – part of the reason the Yankees pulled out is that even they have a payroll.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:30am: The Yankees could’ve had Santana for Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and Mitch Hilligoss. Brian Cashman, however, never wanted to sacrifice Hughes for Santana and convinced his bosses that the Yankees couldn’t afford him now that Andy Pettitte is in the fold. This near-trade won’t be forgotten by Yankees fans, unless Hughes takes off in ’08.
FROM 12-5-07 at 12:55am:
Time for a fresh Johan thread. Yesterday’s had 297 comments on it.
The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford says the Red Sox told Ryan Kalish‘s agent that his name has never come up in the Santana talks with Minnesota. Peter Gammons had said the 19 year-old outfielder was added to the deal to make it a 5-for-1 around 3pm yesterday.
Santana/Reyes/Haren Rumor Quashed
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:45pm: Billy Beane, who rarely comments on trade rumors, actually went out of his way to call mine below a "total fabrication." I guess I should be proud, right? I was the subject of an elaborate hoax/impersonated sportswriter (thanks, Fake John Delcos!). I apologize – not sure why someone would go to such lengths, but lesson learned.
FROM 12-5-07 at 3:36pm:
Just got an incredible rumor from a trusted New York sportswriter. Stay with me, because this one’s crazy. But rest assured that if the source wasn’t good, I wouldn’t post it.
Minnesota has initiated talks for a three-way blockbuster with the Twins and A’s. Here’s how it would go down:
Mets send Jose Reyes, Kevin Mulvey to A’s
Mets send Hector Pellot to Twins
A’s send Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson to Mets
A’s send Dan Haren to Twins
Twins send Johan Santana to Mets
Mets get Johan Santana, Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson
A’s get Jose Reyes and Kevin Mulvey
Twins get Dan Haren and Hector Pellot
The source says Haren is exactly the type of player the Twins want for Santana, a cheap frontline starter. It’s known the Mets would hate to deal Reyes but they would get some value beyond Santana. Billy Beane is happy because he gets Reyes for one more year than he had Haren plus longtime favorite Mulvey. And, he’s out of Crosby’s contract.
Thoughts?
Royals, Astros, and Reds Interested In Lieber
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, free agent hurler Jon Lieber is garnering interest from the Royals, Astros, Reds, Mets, and Rangers. Liebs is expected to be ready for Spring Training after a foot injury.
Stark had previously reported that the Astros were not interested.
Mets Inquire On Burnett
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 1:52pm: Stark says that though the Mets inquired, there’s little chance the Jays trade Burnett to them. They’re trying to collect power arms for 2008.
FROM 12-5-07 at 1:54am:
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Mets have inquired on Toronto’s A.J. Burnett. Burnett’s opt-out effectively puts him on a one-year deal, but worse.
Burnett is definitely the frontline type of guy the Mets have been looking for, despite the injury concerns. Those concerns plus the contract situation should definitely leave Burnett in the Mets’ price range.
Mets Meet With Livan’s Agent
Matthew Cerrone at MetsBlog sums up the Livan Hernandez situation. Omar Minaya met with Hernandez’s agent, and the Mets seem plenty interested. However, if Hernandez is the only starter the Mets come away with this winter, fans will be quite disappointed.
A few other clubs like the Nationals and Phillies have some interest in Hernandez.
Mariners, Reds, Like David Wells
A couple of clubs have their eye on 44 year-old southpaw David Wells: the Mariners and Reds. Hey, for a few million bucks why not.
The Ms would represent Boomer’s ninth organization. Signing him surely wouldn’t preclude them from acquiring another, more reliable starter.
He did have a brief stint with the Reds in 1995, making 11 starts for them before being sent to Detroit in a deadline deal. I read Wells’ book several years ago, but can’t remember exactly how his "tortured dealings" with Marge Schott played out.
Wells has interest in pitching for the Mets, but his agent hasn’t been able to get an audience with them yet.
Joe Blanton Rumors: Wednesday
As you know, Joe Blanton is considered the young hurler Billy Beane really wants to trade now. I saw him likened to Ted Lilly – a guy you trade because he’s getting more expensive but not better.
Susan Slusser says the Dodgers "have a strong interest in Blanton." This dates back to last summer. The Dodgers, of course, are also in the mix for Erik Bedard. Slusser also says the Mets are a possibility but lack the young talent the Dodgers have.
Wouldn’t be surprising to see the Phillies check in on Blanton; they did so in July.