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Rosenthal On Mets, Cubs, Yankees, Hawkins

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders how Mets GM Omar Minaya and Cubs GM Jim Hendry will untangle themselves from their respective messes. Both execs have overpaid for players in the recent past, but both can point to recent successes. Here are the details:

  • The Mets are expected to lower their payroll from the $150MM range next season.
  • The Rockies obtained Carlos Gonzalez from the A's in last winter's Matt Holliday trade and, for all of Holliday's heroics in St. Louis, Gonzalez is out-slugging Holliday by 142 points since the A's flipped him to the Cards.
  • A Yankees official says it's "very likely" the team will bring Johnny Damon back after the season if he's willing to take a paycut.
  • Like their cross-town rivals, the Yanks are expected to be operating on a lower payroll next year.
  • The Yankees figure to be in the mix for Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or both.
  • Alex Gonzalez could have vetoed the trade that sent him to Boston.
  • The Astros placed LaTroy Hawkins on waivers and Rosenthal expects the Rockies, Cardinals and Dodgers to at least consider him.

Billy Wagner To Invoke No-Trade Clause

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10:49pm: Wagner will invoke his no-trade clause to stay with the Mets, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal says the Red Sox were willing to concede to Wagner's demand not to exercise his $8MM 2010 option, but wouldn't agree not to offer him arbitration.  As Rosenthal says, Wagner could be stuck with an arb offer from the Mets anyway.

Our latest Elias rankings projection has Wagner as a Type A among NL relievers with 78.8 points.  Therefore, if Wagner's club is willing to risk him agreeing to a one-year deal for 2010, they'd have a shot at two draft picks by offering arbitration.  (If you need a refresher on free agent compensation, click here).  Wagner tossed a scoreless inning against the Phillies tonight, by the way.

9:24pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets the following: "The general belief is, Mets and Red Sox both want to do a deal. Thus, a possible Wagner trade will be up to, yes, Wagner." 

5:54pm: In a piece on ESPN.com this evening, Wagner would not commit to pitching after next season, saying "it's not going to be much longer," though no specific plans have been made.

Wagner cited concerns about how his career has affected his family, saying, "they've sacrificed enough." 

According to ESPN, Wagner says he would like to reach 400 career saves and then pass John Franco, who holds the record for lefty closers with 424. Wagner currently has 385 career saves, which puts him sixth on the all-time list.

5:25pm: Ian M. Browne of MLB.com has some quotes from Wagner, who told the media, "My gut tells me I'm going to Florida [for the Mets-Marlins series] now. Unless something changes, I'll probably be a Met tomorrow."

In regard to his role in the bullpen should he land with the Red Sox, Wagner said, "I'm too old to set up. I don't want to go there and feel like I need to impress someone. That may not be good for them or for me."

1:07pm: The Red Sox have to guarantee they'll turn down Wagner's 2010 option for him to accept a trade to Boston, according to Mike Fitzpatrick of the AP (via the Miami Herald). Wagner wants to close next year and Jonathan Papelbon has a secure grasp of Boston's closing job.

1:02pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox can't ask for a physical on Wagner. By placing him on waivers, the Mets are effectively guaranteeing Wagner's health. If it turns out that a player isn't healthy after he's moved, MLB can reassign him to his original team.

11:12am: This afternoon's Mets-Phillies game could determine whether the Red Sox acquire Billy Wagner. The Red Sox, who have until tomorrow to acquire the veteran lefty, seek clarification of Wagner's physical status, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Sources tell Olney that they're unsure Wagner is completely healthy.

If he has lingering health issues, the Mets will have to withdraw Wagner from waivers, which would prevent a move to Boston. Olney and Jon Heyman of SI.com both hear that Wagner's healthy, but a strong outing today could prove it. If he is healthy, the Mets could trade Wagner to the Red Sox (as long as he OKs the deal) or just hand the pitcher and his contract over.

Odds And Ends: Johan, Ozzie, Orioles

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Updates on the latest Met to go down and more…

  • You thought it couldn't get worse for the Mets? Johan Santana will miss his next start with elbow trouble, according to ESPN.com. As one Mets person said to Jon Heyman of SI.com, it's "not a good day" for the club.
  • Manager Ozzie Guillen believes his White Sox are "good enough to win the World Series," according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • The Orioles signed Freddy Guzman to a minor league deal, according to this Roch Kubatko Baseball America article. Guzman played 20 games with the Padres five years ago and last appeared in the majors in 2007 with Texas.

Odds And Ends: Giambi, Wagner, Oswalt, Snyder

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Another round of links…

  • Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports that the Rockies officially announced the signing of Jason Giambi to a minor league deal.
  • Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says some clubs watch Latin American teams in the Little League World Series to establish preliminary lists of interesting players.
  • Billy Wagner pitched an inning for the Mets today and Gameday says he hit 95 mph. He threw nine of his 19 pitches for strikes and picked up two strikeouts, walking one without allowing a hit. The Red Sox were surely watching the outing since they have another day to work out a deal with the Mets for Wagner.
  • Roy Oswalt tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that time is running out and he wants the Astros to win soon, while he's around with Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman and possibly Miguel Tejada. 
  • As MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports, Chris Snyder is glad to have signed an extension when he did.

Gary Sheffield’s Future

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Gary Sheffield is just 313 hits away from becoming the fifth man in baseball history to have 3000 hits and 500 homers. He turns 41 this offseason, but he tells Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that he can still play every day. He wants as much playing time as possible and told Knobler that it will factor in when he's deciding where to sign as a free agent.

Sheffield has made close to $10MM every season since 1998, so an executive who knows him wonders if he'd be open to taking an eight-figure paycut. Sheffield makes $14MM this year, but no team figures to offer him that much. Sheffield has played in the field for the Mets, but teams may prefer him as a DH, which could leave him in competition with Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Hideki Matsui, all of whom are free agents after the year.

Heyman On Damon, Minaya, Wagner

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Jon Heyman of SI.com would like to see an Angels-Dodgers World Series. He breaks down lots of great possible matchups and, as always, provides some rumors:

  • The Yankees plan on bringing back Johnny Damon and they figure to make him an opening offer worth $6-8MM. It would be a big paycut from the $13MM he's currently making, but Damon seems to want to return to the Yanks.
  • As much as the Yankees like Hideki Matsui, they probably need the DH spot for players like Damon and Jorge Posada. Check out some possible destinations for Matsui right here.
  • It looks and sounds as though the Mets plan on keeping Omar Minaya around as GM, and the $3.5MM remaining on his contract definitely has something to do with their stance. As Heyman says, one of the best deals Minaya made was his own.
  • One GM believes Billy Wagner's a "difference maker" and suggested the Mets should seek a decent prospect in return for him.
  • The Cubs don't appear likely to fire Lou Piniella, Heyman hears.
  • Heyman guesses Tony La Russa will return when his contract with the Cardinals is up after the season.

Odds And Ends: Manny, Marlins, Wagner

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Some links to start the week off…

  • Manny Ramirez, who has a $20MM player option for next year, shouted "I'm going to be here next year" to his Dodgers teammates, according to T.J. Simers of the LA Times. You never know with Manny, but it's hard to imagine someone offering him a better deal.
  • If you've ever wondered about some of the more lucrative performance incentives around baseball, check out Jorge Says No!.
  • The Marlins have a tiny payroll, but call them a surprise and Larry Beinfest starts to bristle, says Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says the feeling is the Red Sox will send a marginal player to the Mets for Billy Wagner if they can work out a deal with the former closer and his agent.

Drama Brewing Over Wagner Claim

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9:15pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, "the Red Sox's chances of landing Mets reliever Billy Wagner are in serious jeopardy." 

There are two main problems: Wagner wants to have the option of leaving after the 2009 season, and the Sox are not willing to guarantee that his 2010 club option will go unexercised.  Boston management also wants to have the choice of offering the veteran salary arbitration, an idea to which Wagner's agent is adamantly opposed.  The two sides have about 40 hours to come to an agreement.

6:14pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman is keeping tabs, via Twitter, on a war of words that has sprung up between Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and recently-claimed reliever Billy Wagner.  As Heyman "tweeted" a few hours ago, "wagner said he 'loves boston.' also said he doesn't expect to go. why? "inside intuition.''

Papelbon seemed to take exception to the comments and said Sunday afternoon that he doesn't feel the Red Sox necessarily need to add the 38-year-old veteran.  Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal passes along the quote:  "We have a good dynamic down there in the bullpen and guys who work well together," Papelbon said. "Is Billy Wagner a good pitcher? Will he bring more depth to our bullpen and make our bullpen better? There's no question about it. But you still have to think about what we have now and what we've been able to accomplish to this point in the season."

And here's Heyman, back on Twitter, with Wagner's response: "i dont have anything to say about somebody like that … when he walks in my shoes then i'll say something. let him be 38 and have tommy john surgery."

We'll keep you updated as the situation progresses.  Keep in mind that the Red Sox and Mets have until 1 p.m. EST Tuesday to work out a deal.

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Perez, Pedro

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A few items to peruse as the Red Sox and Yankees grind it out on Sunday Night Baseball…

  • Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Cardinals. "Producing the game's best player and one of the top five pitchers only goes so far," writes Pouliot. "The Cardinals' lack of pitching depth leaves them right in the middle of these rankings."
  • As Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, reliever Chris Perez has now thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings out of the Tribe's bullpen.  He was acquired from the Cardinals in early July (along with Jess Todd) for third baseman Mark DeRosa, who is batting .234/.303/.445 with eight home runs and 15 RBI in 128 at-bats for St. Louis.
  • Pedro Martinez allowed four earned runs over six innings Sunday in his return to Flushing, New York, but escaped with his second victory in three starts with the Phillies.  Interestingly, he was given a standing ovation when he first took the mound.  “The ovation, that’s exactly the response I expected because of the mutual bond I have here,” Martinez said. “I respect them and I love them."  (Quote courtesy of the Associated Press).

Odds & Ends: Wagner, Yankees, Pirates, Astros

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A few links on a slow Sunday afternoon:

  • Buster Olney says (Insider required) that the Red Sox made a "worthwhile gamble" placing a claim on Billy Wagner. Olney feels that with no obvious fixes to their starting rotation, trying to make their bullpen overpowering is a good strategy. As we learned last night, Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen don't necessarily agree. Olney says the Mets "are crazy" if they pass the opportunity to move Wagner's salary.
  • Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger says that the Yankees need to address the communication problems between A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada. Both players have said they "couldn't get on the same page" during the recent blowout the Yankees suffered at the hands of the Red Sox.
  • Dejan Kovacevic has a letter from Jack Wilson to the fans of Pittsburgh, thanking them for their support during his time as a Pirate. It's a good read; Wilson's a class act. Kovacevic's article also has Neal Huntington's thoughts on the extensions offered to Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, as well as a report on the Pirates' draft spending.
  • MLB.com's Jen Langosch has Huntington's thoughts on September call-ups for the Pirates this season.
  • Meanwhile, MLB.com's Alyson Footer tells fans what she would like to see the Astros do with the little money they have to spend this offseason. Her suggestions begin with picking up Brian Moehler's option and signing Randy Wolf. Moehler's option will be worth either $2.3MM or $3MM, depending on whether or not he exceeds 150 innings this season. Footer's rotation would consist of Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Wolf, Bud Norris, and Moehler. Is Moehler worth that money, or should the Astros pursue a cheaper free agent option?
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