Eckstein seeking Lugo-esque deal
If Julio Lugo was able to snag four years and $36 million last off-season, well, by golly, David Eckstein wants to do the same this year. You can make some arguments with the comparison — Lugo is a year younger, flashes a bit more power, and has been more consistent in his production (from year-to-year; we’re not counting his huge drop-off after being traded to the Dodgers last year). But it’s tough to argue with Eckstein for wanting to start talks at that level.
This may deter Eckstein’s perceived No. 1 suitor, the New York Mets, who are looking at him to fill their second base vacancy. One has to wonder, though, if the Mets wouldn’t just be better off with Luis Castillo, who performed averagely in his 199 at bats with the Mets last season (.296/.371/.372). On the whole, Castillo is far better Lugo comp than Eckstein; both Lugo and Castillo will be 32 next season, and have seen similar production over the years. The Astros are also reportedly interested in Castillo, though the same can be said for nearly every FA on the list.
The Mets are also looking at Orlando Hudson in possible trade scenarios to fill their second base vacancies. Speculation, though, is that the Mets would like to hold onto their movable prospects in order to acquire a front-line pitcher. Clearly, Johan Santana tops that list.
The Cardinals aren’t officially severing ties with Eckstein, but it appears unlikely that they will dole out a Lugo deal for him. New Cardinals GM John Mozeliak had this to say about the scrappy shortstop:
"We’re going into it looking for a shortstop, and given the fact that David is out there, obviously we have him in mind. One of the things we’re doing internally is trying to get a feel for the supply and the demand of shortstops in this market. David probably is doing the same, and right now there doesn’t appear to be a lot of teams looking for shortstops."
At first, I didn’t think too many teams needed shortstops, but after looking around it seems that there are plenty of teams that could at least use an upgrade at the position. Unfortunately, Eckstein doesn’t represent much of one.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.
Mets Deal With Torrealba Falls Apart
It seemed pretty official, but it appears that Yorvit Torrealba will not be behind the plate for the Mets next year. Sources started whispering this morning that the deal was falling apart, and the Mets brass confirmed it this afternoon.
"The Mets did not reach an agreement with Yorvit Torrealba," Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said, "and there are no current negotiations."
Torrealba’s agent, Melvin Roman, declined to comment on the situation. Looks like Omar might be getting on the phone with Paul LoDuca sometime soon. Yorvit was looking at a three-year, $14.4 million deal with the Mets.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.
Mets Rumors: Eckstein, Dotel
Let’s catch up with the Mets, who are moving on to other needs now that they’ve settled their catching situation.
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says the Mets have some interest in David Eckstein as a second base option, and may meet with him soon to wine and dine him. Eckstein might be the backup option to Luis Castillo. I’ve said all along, I don’t get why Eckstein would market himself as a second baseman. As a shortstop he stands to get $21MM over three years; as a second baseman he doesnt.
- Ben Shpigel of the New York Times adds that the Mets would love to trade for Orlando Hudson but might need to save their top prospects to trade for starting pitching. Shpigel says the Mets have inquired with Octavio Dotel‘s agent. Dotel came up as a starter with the Mets, debuting in 1999. He was dealt to the Astros soon after in a package for Derek Bell and Mike Hampton.
Latest On Torrealba/Castro Situation
UPDATE, 11-16-07: As expected, Torrealba has inked a three-year deal with the Mets. Newsday reports the deal is worth $14.4MM. Since Torrealba was a Type B free agent, the Rockies will get a supplemental pick for their loss.
FROM 11-15-07:
One half of Omar Minaya’s desired catching tandem seems set: Ramon Castro has signed a two-year, $4MM contract. It’ll be announced after he has a physical. Honestly I thought Castro could’ve done better and marketing himself as a starter, but I guess he’s happy in New York.
The other part is waiting to see if Yorvit Torrealba will accept the Mets’ aggressive three-year, $15MM offer. Adam Rubin’s source speculates that the Mets could even make it four years with an option for 2012. How is Torrealba such a hot commodity? David Lennon and Ken Davidoff say Torrealba is now also mulling a three-year offer from the Rockies. We should know one way or another today.
Torrealba and Castro don’t make for an ideal platoon; the idea is more to keep each well-rested. Over the last three years Castro has significantly better numbers against both lefties and righties than Torrealba, but he’s the backup. It sounds like the Mets want Torrealba for less tangible reasons – his passion and his gamecalling.
The Rockies, by the way, may turn to Paul Lo Duca. They don’t expect to retain Torrealba.
Orioles To Attempt To Extend Bedard
It looks like Erik Bedard is Andy MacPhail’s top priority right now. He’s already gauged the trade interest for his ace, and is now exploring the idea of a contract extension.
Jeff Zrebiec says the Mets, Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers expressed interest in the southpaw starter. Interesting to see the Halos in the mix. The Dodgers are pushing the hardest for him. Two years of Bedard is expected to cost a team three MLB-ready players. The names mentioned for the Dodgers are Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp, and Clayton Kershaw. While Kershaw’s not MLB-ready, I doubt the Orioles would mind. Zrebiec says the problem with the Dodgers is that Kemp and Kershaw would be part of a Miguel Cabrera package.
What would a contract extension cost? I’m thinking it would require something like four years, $65MM to cover the two team-controlled years and two years of free agency.
Zrebiec also mentions that the Mets inquired on Ramon Hernandez, but found the price of a high-end prospect prohibitive.
Odds and Ends: Kendrick, Uggla, Haren
Another random collection of rumorage…
- The Braves have "many millions more" to spend on players this winter. One emailer suggested that maybe the Braves will offer arbitration to Andruw Jones and he’ll accept.
- Corey Patterson and the Nationals have mutual interest. Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan considers him a possible bargain, noting that he is only 28.
- We figured the Padres and Matt Clement had mutual interest. Now it’s official. Clement wants a one-year deal with incentives.
- Tracy Ringolsby confirms that Yorvit Torrealba wants a three-year deal. He says the Rockies are at two years, $7MM, the Marlins are in the same range, and the Mets are at two years, $9MM. UPDATE: The Denver Post says Torrealba will have a decision Thursday.
- Interesting Miguel Cabrera stuff from the L.A. Times. Howie Kendrick is not considered untouchable, but the Marlins might have to include Dan Uggla. Basically if the Marlins are to get four players back, they’ll have to add Uggla or Dontrelle Willis to the deal.
- Our friends at Gotham Baseball say if the Mets were to acquire Dan Haren, the package would start with Billy Beane favorite John Maine. Mark Healey figures Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman would have to go also.
- Ken Rosenthal thinks a one-year, $8MM offer from Atlanta would be enough to secure Tom Glavine.
- The D’Backs’ main trading chip is outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. It appears that the team explored what they could get for Conor Jackson and decided to keep him.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Cordero, Livan, Jenkins
Somehow, I missed a Ken Rosenthal column. This thing is already 14 hours old. I’m slipping.
- A Mystery Team has already made a four-year offer to Francisco Cordero. We know the Brewers made an offer on Monday but Rosenthal may be referring to another club.
- Rosenthal suggests Scott Linebrink could be reunited with Bruce Bochy to become the Giants’ closer. It’s known that the Astros already have an offer out to Linebrink.
- Teams interested in Geoff Jenkins: the Cubs, Padres, Giants, Rangers, and Royals. Several of those are new to me.
- The Tigers’ payroll is expected to exceed $115MM. Time to head over to Cot’s and do some math. By my count the Tigers are around $105MM right now (includes some arbitration guesses). That leaves room for one starting pitcher signing, be it Kenny Rogers, Carlos Silva, or whoever.
- The Cardinals, Astros, and Mets have their eye on Livan Hernandez. Mets’ management is divided on signing him, since he’s a back-rotation guy.
- Rosenthal believes the Reds could shop Joey Votto or Josh Hamilton a year from now in hopes of acquiring starting pitching.
- Tony Clark is gaining in popularity as a cheap power source. He might be looking at two years, $4MM plus more playing time.
Mets Close To Deals With Torrealba, Castro
UPDATE, AFTERNOON OF 11-14-07: Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog suggests that the Mets are offering Torrealba a three-year, $15MM deal. Yikes. He’s barely more than a backup to me.
UPDATE, MORNING OF 11-14-07: Ken Rosenthal agrees, it looks like a Torrealba/Castro tandem for the Mets. Interestingly they’re expected to split playing time about evenly. Creative!
FROM 11-13-07:
The Associated Press is reporting that the Mets are close to re-signing catcher Ramon Castro. I’d figured Castro would ask for starter money, but maybe not.
The Mets also plan on making an offer to free agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba, according to ESPN Radio (hat tip to MetsBlog). Torrealba currently has a two-year, $6MM offer on the table from the Rockies. If he’s a man of his word, he’ll give the Rox a chance to match the Mets’ offer.
Torrealba and Castro could combine to really shut down the running game, though both had off years in that department in ’07. Torrealba’s problem can be attributed to a lingering strained shoulder. Castro’s, I have no idea.
Rangers Rumors: Rogers, Gagne, Hunter
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has some new info regarding the Rangers’ plans this offseason.
- Kenny Rogers has already had three separate stints with the Rangers, the last one ending with the cameraman incident. The Rangers would like to bring him back for a fourth tour, if the price is right. One emailer speculated that the team also wouldn’t mind an apology to management for the incident, also. Sullivan says the Mariners, Phillies, Dodgers, and Mets may also have Rogers on the radar. Seems like Ned Colletti is letting bygones be bygones with Scott Boras. UPDATE: Boras reiterated tonight that the Tigers are Rogers’ priority. He seemingly wants one year and $10MM.
- The Rangers have interest in another Boras client, Eric Gagne. I think I read this in ESPN Magazine recently – how about re-signing him and flipping him all over again at the ’08 deadline?
- Owner Tom Hicks and GM Jon Daniels had dinner with Torii Hunter tonight. I heard they had the roast beef. The Rangers will make an offer later this week, though they’ll have to top whatever the White Sox come up with.
- The Rangers also want to bring back Jamey Wright for the ‘pen.
Mets Targeting Livan Hernandez?
Ben Shpigel of the New York Times has some new Mets info for us today.
- Surprisingly, Shpigel believes the one free agent starter the Mets will seriously consider is Livan Hernandez. That is odd because I had read Livan wasn’t high on Omar Minaya’s list. We’ve seen the Mets connected to free agents Byung-Hyun Kim, Carlos Silva, Hiroki Kuroda, Kyle Lohse, and Jason Jennings so far this offseason.
- As far as some unsung trade opportunities, my Mets guy says Ervin Santana, Chris Capuano, Claudio Vargas, and Noah Lowry are being considered.
- According to Shpigel, the Mets hope to re-sign Ramon Castro as their backup catcher. I don’t see that happening, as he’ll probably be able to snag a starting job elsewhere. Options the Mets are considering to start at catcher include Yorvit Torrealba, Ramon Hernandez, Ronny Paulino, Gerald Laird, and Paul Lo Duca. A source tells me the D’Backs’ Miguel Montero may also be on the radar.
- Shpigel says Luis Castillo might command a four-year deal. Say what? The Mets may yet re-sign Castillo but want to see what the trade market offers first. Shpigel names Orlando Hudson, while I’ve also heard Alberto Callaspo.