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Rosenthal On Perez, Manny, Pirates

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Another new column from the hard-working Ken Rosenthal.

  • Rosenthal doesn’t believe that the market for Oliver Perez is limited to the Mets; it’s more that they’re the only interested team we know about.  Two teams we can cross off are the Rangers and Cubs.  The Mets want to do three years for Perez while Scott Boras wants five.  The Mets’ plan is to sign one of Perez, Randy Wolf, or Ben Sheets and then add a cheaper arm like Freddy Garcia.
  • Rosenthal believes the Giants could justify signing Manny Ramirez as an attempt to "max out" while they still have Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum (they have Cain through 2011, Lincecum through 2013).
  • Rosenthal notes that free agents who accept offers of arbitration do not have guaranteed contracts.  However, players such as Orlando Cabrera and Jason Varitek would’ve had to be released for clear baseball reasons, not to save money.  Otherwise the teams would be in hot water with the Players Association.
  • Rosenthal notes that Scott Boras has worked out two-year deals covering arbitration years for past clients such as Matt Holliday and Mark Teixeira, so the current Prince Fielder talks don’t signify a change.
  • The Pirates have no need to shed payroll.

Yanks, Mets Vying For Freddy Garcia

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FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal was told by a major league source that the Mets and Yankees are the leading contenders for free agent right-hander Freddy Garcia.

Garcia has, according to the source, "pretty much narrowed it down" to the New York teams.  The 33-year-old is 118-77 lifetime with a 4.07 ERA, but has pitched just 73 innings over the past two seasons.  He is thought to be looking for a major league contract.

Rosenthal On Sheets, Cruz, Cabrera, Reyes

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal…

  • Rosenthal recommends the Yankees sign Ben Sheets and Juan Cruz, partially because they’d pay less of a cost in draft picks than any other team.  One exec predicted Sheets would require a $6-8MM base with the potential to earn at least $14MM, and possibly a "lucrative club option."  Despite Rosenthal’s recommendation, the Yanks remain focused on Andy Pettitte (who is not weighing an offer from the Astros).
  • Industry sources tell Rosenthal that the Red Sox have kept their payroll flexible in case mid and low-revenue teams need to dump contracts.
  • The A’s probably cannot afford both Nick Johnson and Orlando Cabrera, so they’ll wait to see what happens with Cabrera before pursuing the trade with Washington.
  • Prince Fielder filed for $8MM against the Brewers’ $6MM; Rosenthal indicates the team feared he’d file higher.
  • One chatter mentioned yesterday that Cory Sullivan and Jeremy Reed are the exact same player; one GM said the same to Rosenthal.
  • Dennys Reyes has backed off his demand for Jeremy Affeldt money (two years, $8MM).  Affeldt seemed like a bargain at the time.
  • Expected to be in attendance at Kris Benson’s upcoming throwing session: the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Rockies, and D’Backs.  Looks like an NL West affair.

Mets, Oliver Perez Not Close To Deal

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According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Mets realize now they won’t be locking up Oliver Perez quickly.  Their reported three-year, $30MM offer is not on the table and Perez is still seeking about $60MM over five years.  It’s the same old story regarding their backup plans: Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland.

Eight More Avoid Arbitration

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman has seven more players who avoided arbitration today: Jeremy Accardo ($900K), Heath Bell ($1.225MM), Ryan Church ($2.8MM), Gerald Laird ($2.8MM), Javier Lopez ($1.35MM), Bobby Seay ($1.3MM), and Joel Zumaya ($735K).  I think next year we’ll put all of these in one constantly-updated post.

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says Angel Pagan signed for $575K.

Odds and Ends: Arb, Royals, Compensation

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Links for Tuesday…

Verducci On Hamels, Shields, Lowe, Manny

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Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Tom Verducci.

  • Interesting line: "One journeyman reliever, for instance, turned down a $2 million offer, saying he would retire before taking that kind of money."  Many veterans will choose between swallowing their pride and retiring this spring.
  • Verducci makes a comparison between Cole Hamels and James Shields, who were called up 19 days apart.  The extra service time for Hamels gave him Super Two status, meaning he became arbitration-eligible four times instead of three.  That decision probably cost the Phillies more than $10MM.
  • The Mets were willing to give Derek Lowe $14MM per year.
  • The Giants don’t believe Manny Ramirez is anywhere near a decision right now.  He’s a special case for them (they’re not in the market for an outfielder) but they won’t enter a bidding war.
  • The Blue Jays aren’t interested in Orlando Cabrera; they’re content with Marco Scutaro.

Mets-Sheets Chatter

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MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone transcribes some comments from SI.com’s Tom Verducci, and also provides his own insight into Ben Sheets’ possible demands.  The Mets like him, but they want to do a heavily incentive-based deal similar to Brad Penny’s.  Sheets, having had a much better season than Penny, is apparently seeking two years and $18MM or so with a third-year option.

I’m surprised Sheets would want to lock himself in for multiple years given the down market.  If he’s confident in his health, a straight one-year deal could be best.  Sheets did already turn down such an offer from the Brewers (their offer of arbitration), but that was back on December 7th.

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