Johan Santana Rumors: Saturday
Burned out on vague Johan Santana non-rumors yet? Me neither! Here we go…
- Hank: "leaning towards doing it." Hmmm, that makes it seem like the Twins aren’t part of this decision. Hank notes that he has final say over Brian Cashman, in case you were wondering.
- Pete Caldera says the Yankees do not have a standing offer. This seems more a technicality than anything, because I imagine the offer is still good.
- LEN3 says the Twins are backing off a bit on their demands – they realize they won’t get both Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Instead, Jeff Marquez, Kei Igawa, and maybe others could be substituted for Kennedy.
- LEN3 adds that the Twins have accepted that the Mets won’t part with Jose Reyes, and will still talk.
- Meanwhile the Red Sox and Twins haven’t spoken much lately but Boston is still offering two different packages (one centered around Jacoby Ellsbury, the other around Jon Lester).
Latest Santana Buzz From MetsBlog
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone has a couple of recent radio reports referencing the team’s talks for Johan Santana. One involves Mike Francesa, the other Jon Heyman.
- Francesa says the Twins are still demanding Jose Reyes, and the Mets will never do that.
- According to Heyman, the Mets might be willing to give up any four of their prospects. As in Fernando Martinez, Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, and Kevin Mulvey? That would seemingly be impossible for the Twins to turn down. ESPN’s Keith Law went as far to say today that he "wouldn’t deal Martinez for one year of Santana under any circumstances."
Gammons Chat: Crisp, Santana, Ramirez
The Boston Globe ran a chat with Peter Gammons today, and some good hot stove material came about.
- Gammons believes the Rangers or A’s could go after Coco Crisp if he’s not dealt to the Twins. He notes that "the A’s think he’s the best CF in the game right now," and that Billy Beane could acquire him to flip him.
- He says the Mets are currently trying to build up inventory to trade for Johan Santana, and that might be why Bill Smith hasn’t pulled the trigger on anything yet.
- Gammons believes the Red Sox will exercise Manny Ramirez‘s $20MM options for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He notes that Manny is getting himself into phenomenal shape this winter.
Hank Speaks About Johan
Yesterday it seemed that the Yankees’ talks for Johan Santana were pretty much dead, with his contract extension presenting an issue. But Hank Steinbrenner weighed in with Anthony McCarron, and the Yankees seem squarely in the mix. Key points of the article:
- The implication is that the Yankees’ best offer – Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and a fourth player – is still on the table.
- Hank says point blank the Yankees are best-equipped to handle Santana’s contract demands. Yesterday Gordon Edes said Santana’s agent implied a seven-year, $140MM deal would be necessary and the Red Sox were willing to pay it.
- Despite just "minor dialogue" between the Yanks and Twins lately, Steinbrenner seems unwilling to let the situation linger more than another two weeks.
- McCarron says the Mets remain in the mix as well. Matthew Cerrone believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox "have essentially made their final offers."
- The Sports Hernia weighs in on Hank’s comments.
Mets Pitching Plans
Many readers have written me asking what the Mets are going to do to upgrade their starting rotation. Matthew Cerrone as a man in the know, and he’s written a summary over at MetsBlog.
- Cerrone senses nothing much cooking on the Johan Santana front, yet the Mets remain "oddly confident."
- Cerrone believes the Mets will probably sign one rehabber – Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon. He says reviews on Colon in the Dominican Winter League have been positive. Omar Minaya knows Colon well, having traded the farm for him as GM of the Expos. Garcia may be ready to pitch around June. Coming off a frayed rotator cuff and labrum he may not contribute much in 2008.
- Bullpen wise, Cerrone says Octavio Dotel is on the radar, especially if Aaron Heilman is traded.
- There’s a lack of buzz with the Mets for Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez, and Joe Blanton currently.
Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 10:59am: Jayson Stark’s sources speak of glacially moving Santana talks with the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Mariners that may drag out for several more weeks.
UPDATE, 12-28-07 at 11:00am: Joel Sherman’s sources name the Red Sox as the "strong favorite" to acquire Santana in the new year. He sees the Yankees backing down and the Mets as lagging behind for lack of MLB-ready young players in their offer. Also here’s a Jayson Stark Santana article I missed yesterday giving his take on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets.
UPDATE, 12-27-07 at 2:59pm: Charley Walters has some quotes from the Twins’ president. He gives the impression that the Twins’ priority is still to sign Santana to an extension, for what it’s worth. They’ll have to do better than four years and $80MM though.
FROM 12-26-07 at 10:50pm:
LEN3 checks in with the latest Johan Santana rumors this evening.
- The Mets appear to be a solid contender, even without offering up Jose Reyes. Neal ponders whether the Twins would prefer to send Santana to the NL so they can avoid him. Matthew Cerrone has been saying this for some time, adding that Santana would prefer to come to the NL as well.
- Interesting note – Neal says Kei Igawa‘s name has surfaced in regards to the Yankees talks. It wouldn’t materially change the deal though.
- Neal says talks with the Red Sox are currently dormant.
Mets Still Like Jon Lieber
The New York Daily News reiterated the Mets’ interest in free agent starter Jon Lieber this morning. Liebs turns 38 in April. He’s probably just as good as Livan Hernandez, but less durable. The Mets’ interest in Lieber was previously reported by Jayson Stark on December 5th.
Other teams connected to Lieber – the Reds, Royals, Astros, and Rangers.
Peter Botte and Roger Rubin name Lieber as one of many free agent options for the Mets if they fail to trade for a frontline guy. Kyle Lohse, Freddy Garcia, and Bartolo Colon are candidates. Matthew Cerrone says the Mets have been watching Colon "quite closely as he pitches in the Dominican Winter League."
More Prior Details
Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune has more details on Mark Prior‘s contract and suitors.
Prior cited the Astros, Cardinals, Mets, and Rangers as the most aggressive; about half the teams in baseball contacted his agent.
Contract details: it has a $1MM base with another possible $3.5MM in incentives. However, much of the incentive money is tied to the number of starts he makes, so he’ll probably end up earning $3MM or less in 2008.
How bad was the shoulder injury? How far along is Prior in his rehab? I’ve talked to some people and read published reports and am unable to draw any consistent conclusion. Rick Wilton of Baseball Injury Report thinks the chance of a meaningful contribution from Prior in ’08 is close to zero. Others are a bit more optimistic, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
White Sox Sign Alexei Ramirez
UPDATE, 12-22-07 at 6:00pm: Ramirez can earn another $3.25MM in incentives.
UPDATE, 12-21-07 at 10:57pm: Ramirez gets a mere $4.75MM over the four-year pact. That’s an excellent move right there, in my opinion. Dirt cheap – low risk, decent reward.
FROM 12-21-07 at 5:35pm:
The White Sox made an interesting move today, signing Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez to a four-year contract. The presence of Jose Contreras should be helpful for him. Ramirez probably profiles as Chicago’s center fielder, though he could also play second base. Here’s what Baseball America had to say about him a few months ago.
It’s tough to judge this signing until we hear the money involved. He was apparently highly sought after, as ESPN says he worked out for the Red Sox, Indians, Reds, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Twins, and A’s too. Ramirez is apparently 26 years old. I think he’s going to need some time in the minors, as Clay Davenport has equated Cuban baseball with our short season A ball.
As a means of comparison, Yuniesky Betancourt signed for four years and $2.826MM in January of 2005. Kendry Morales signed a four-year deal worth around $10MM in December of 2004.
The Mark Prior Derby
Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day. Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon. Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.
- Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
- Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
- White Sox – Named only by Stark.
- Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
- Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
- Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
- Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
- Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
- Giants – Named only by Stark
- Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
- Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
- Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
- Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
- Indians – Named only by Crasnick
One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point. The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.