Olney: Mets Asked About Jason Jennings
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Mets asked about Jason Jennings. The Mets were known to have tried to trade for Jennings last winter. Now they can get him at a reasonable price without surrendering players.
So far in the young offseason, we’ve only seen the Rockies linked to Jennings. If he can prove he’s healthy after having a torn flexor tendon repaired, many teams are going to view him as a potential bargain. You have to respect the fact that Jennings battled tendon soreness and inflammation since the middle of the 2006 season before succumbing to surgery (per Baseball Injury Report).
Yanks Dragging Feet With Posada, Discussing Crede
Mark Feinsand has really been on top of the Yankee rumors in this young offseason. Bill Madden helps him on this one. The Yankees still haven’t made an offer to Jorge Posada, and baseball insiders can’t figure out why. The Yanks are said to be prepared to offer 3/40, which most perceive as only a starting point in the negotiations.
The Mets hope to lure Posada away, but it could take four or even a ridiculous five years. Like I’ve said…4/56. The Yankees will pay up. But if the Mets do get the Posada prize, the Yankees at least get the Mets’ #22 overall pick in ’08 as consolation. In past years that could’ve represented Joba Chamberlain, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza, Colby Rasmus, Travis Buck, Clay Buchholz, Phil Hughes, or Huston Street.
Regarding their third base vacancy, the Yanks have already touched base with Kenny Williams about Joe Crede. Given the uncertainty, Crede’s pending free agency after ’08, and his Boras association, his trade value can’t be very high right now. My best guess remains some kind of Johnny Damon swap where the Yanks eat money. A year of Crede doesn’t seem worth four or five of any decent youngster.
Also, the deadline on Bobby Abreu‘s $16MM option is tomorrow. The Yanks will probably exercise it.
Latest Alex Rodriguez Rumors
Ah, your daily dose of Alex Rodriguez rumors. What would you do without it?
- Rob Bradford asked Red Sox captain Jason Varitek whether Alex Rodriguez would fit in with the Red Sox clubhouse. Varitek, you may recall, had a little face-shoving scuffle with A-Rod back in 2004. Varitek said he had no idea whether Rodriguez would fit in with the current team, but that he knows Mike Lowell does. It’s pretty obvious where Varitek’s allegiance lies given the "Re-sign Lowell" sign and all.
- Gwen Knapp doesn’t see the Dodgers getting A-Rod for a couple of reasons. First, of course, there’s the price. Second, there’s a possibly shaky relationship with Scott Boras given last year’s unexpected opt-out by J.D. Drew.
- Mark Feinsand disagrees – his L.A. source says the Dodgers will make a push for him. The expected hiring of Joe Torre will basically be a non-factor in Rodriguez’s decision. Plan B for the Dodgers might be to sign Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones. That leaves Juan Pierre in left field or traded. Hey, it was a dumb signing at the time.
- Feinsand also has a source indicating that Rodriguez is hoping the Yankees will entertain the possibility of bringing him back. The Yankees, of course, are scarred by the Texas money lost and have pledged repeatedly that they will not be involved. We’ve seen this a million times – teams love fresh faces. Say A-Rod had played out his Texas contract to this point – do you think the Yankees would be in the mix for him then? If the Yankees don’t want A-Rod because he’s simply too expensive, that’s reasonable. But if they simply feel scorned by the opt-out, that’s emotion.
- Omar Minaya said on a conference call yesterday that he planned on discussing the team’s interest in A-Rod with David Wright, since Wright would have to move to second base to accomodate him.
- A new team is going after A-Rod aggressively.
Mets Exercise Alou’s Option, Re-sign Easley
According to RotoWorld, the Mets have exercised Moises Alou‘s $7.5MM option for 2008. With a $1MM buyout, this was effectively a $6.5MM decision. Even with time lost to injury Alou should be worth 3-4 wins, so the price is right.
They also re-upped Damion Easley, not sure the amount quite yet. Maybe $1.5MM or so. He had a nice 76 games this year and it wouldn’t be the end of the world to give him the regular 2B job.
Now the Mets can move onto more important issues, like filling second base and catcher and driving up the price for A-Rod.
Rosenthal’s Latest: A-Rod, Glaus, Cordero
Ken Rosenthal’s work is a must for any rumor junkie. Here are some highlights from his latest column.
- Rosenthal gives his take on possible A-Rod destinations, discussing the Mets, Tigers, and Dodgers in depth. He tosses out an idea I hadn’t seen before – moving David Wright to left field and declining Moises Alou‘s option. MetsBlog discusses Scott Boras’ sales pitch to the Mets.
- The Cards want to hire Chris Antonetti, but the Indians don’t want to let him go. Rosenthal says they may have to pay him GM money and/or promise him the post in the future.
- Rosenthal has a new I hadn’t mentioned for the Yankees’ third base vacancy, though I believe several commenters did. That name is Troy Glaus, about whom the Yanks inquired last summer. There are complications aplenty with Glaus: foot problems, $12.75MM owed to him in ’08 and an $11.25MM player option for ’09, a full no-trade clause, and a steroid connection. Sounds like Jason Giambi Part II.
- Francisco Cordero would be priced out of the Brewers’ range if he demands a four or five year deal worth $9-11MM annually. I assume he will, though the Brewers could afford it.
Mets Targeting Jorge Posada
We’ve seen the connection made many times already, but now consider the interest official. The Mets are targeting Jorge Posada. The Yankees are expected to offer a three-year, $40MM type deal to him soon. That’s all well and good but I can see him getting four years and $56MM given the season he had. Perhaps the Yanks will extend themselves to that range though.
The Mets are playing the field, as they’ve given Paul Lo Duca‘s agent an impression that they’ll be making an offer. I like the idea of the Mets overpaying for Posada, as catcher is a clear position they can upgrade via free agency.
Schilling Names Targets
UPDATE, 10-31-07: Gordon Edes and Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe spoke to a Red Sox source who does not expect Schilling to return to the team. The Red Sox will offer an incentive-based contract. The source added that Tim Wakefield‘s option is likely to be exercised.
FROM 10/30/07:
Interesting. After Boston, Curt Schilling has 12 teams he’d consider pitching for in 2008. Here they are:
Indians
Tigers
Angels
Mets
Phillies
Braves
Dodgers
Padres
Diamondbacks
Cubs
Cardinals
Brewers
Schilling had talked about the idea of going somewhere he could tutor young pitchers, like Tampa Bay. But it sounds like that idea is out and he wants to play for a contender. Not that the Rays can’t contend in ’08. I’m curious as to why the White Sox and Rockies were excluded, but who knows.
That’s a nice extensive list, so it should be fun if Boston passes. At a reasonable one-year commitment, any of the dozen should have interest no matter what their rotation looks like.
Dunn, Hatteberg Option Decisions Due Sunday
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds have to make decisions on the options for Adam Dunn, Scott Hatteberg, Eddie Guardado, and Javier Valentin by November 4th.
- Dunn is the big one; his is for $13MM with a $0.5MM buyout. This is an easy decision to exercise, though it will cause full no-trade protection to kick in until June 15th. After that he gets to choose 10 clubs to which he would accept a trade. But I think that if the Reds want him out of town the two parties will find a way to make it work (ie, they’ll give him a million or two extra).
- Hatteberg’s option is for $1.85MM with a $0.15MM buyout. This is so cheap it’s hard to decline, even if Joey Votto is ready. The Reds could definitely exercise it and trade Hatteberg at their discretion. The market for first basemen is weak.
- Everyday Eddie has a $3MM club option with no apparent buyout. He didn’t show anything, so I’m guessing the Reds will pass.
- Valentin’s option is for $1.35MM with a $75K buyout. I imagine they’ll exercise it.
- Since we are talking about options, I should add that Moises Alou‘s is due on November 15th. His is for $7.5MM vs. a $1MM buyout.
- Additionally in that same Fay article, Baker denies any tampering with Kerry Wood or Mark Prior. They didn’t talk about coming to the Reds, and Baker has spoken to over 40 players since he was hired.
Mets, Marlins Interested In Torrealba
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Mets and Marlins have interest in free agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba. The Rockies would like to bring him back, but otherwise they’ll look at Paul Lo Duca or Michael Barrett.
The 29 year-old Torrealba hit .255/.323/.376 in 396 ABs this year. Typically he hits for a touch more power. Meanwhile the average NL catcher hit .257/.318/.394 in 2007, so Torrealba’s bat is tolerable.
Torrealba was lousy at throwing out baserunners this year, checking in at just 19.7% caught stealing. Only Jason Kendall and Johnny Estrada were worse among qualifiers. Oddly Torrealba threw out 40.4% of baserunners in 2006 and 35.7% the year before. The reason for the decline is most likely a strained shoulder that lingered into the season.
Torrealba earned $1.075MM in ’07, and he might be looking for $3MM or more in ’08. Regarding the Marlins, they’re also interested in Barrett, Kendall, and Ramon Castro if they don’t keep Miguel Olivo.
A-Rod Aftermath
Lost in the shuffle of Alex Rodriguez‘s opt-out media frenzy – the Yankees should be able to snag some nice draft picks for him. They’ll undoubtedly offer him arbitration, and he’ll decline that offer. If that does happen and he’s signed by the Cubs, Tigers, Mets, Angels, or Red Sox, the Yankees will get that team’s first-round pick. The Giants and Dodgers’ first round picks are protected however.
Joel Sherman names the Angels, Dodgers, Cubs, Mets, Red Sox, and Tigers as teams to watch in this bidding war. Kat O’Brien adds the White Sox to the mix, while Peter Abraham adds the Giants. My best guess is the Halos. Another thought – does it have to be Lowell or A-Rod for Boston? Couldn’t it be both if they believe Rodriguez can play a capable shortstop?