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Blockbuster Trade Reactions

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One of the biggest trades in recent memory is nearing completion. Here are some reactions to the Roy Halladay–Cliff Lee-prospects swap from around the game.

  • ESPN.com's Keith Law expects Brett Wallace- the player the Jays will obtain for Taylor – to end up at first base. Law likes the prospects Seattle gave up, but doesn't love them. Given that Seattle has other prospects, he says "making a legitimate run at a division title is a pretty good reason to empty out your farm."
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Phillies couldn't afford to have Halladay and Lee in the same rotation because it would have cost too much in terms of money and prospects.
  • Scott Lauber of the News Journal says Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has staked his legacy on Halladay.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan says two teams have reason to celebrate this deal: the Jays and the Mariners. The Phillies, on the other hand, are "not demonstrably better" than before. 
  • One veteran talent evaluator tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the only clear winner is Seattle. Olney hears from some Yankees people who believe the Jays got less than what they were demanding from Brian Cashman & Co.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Yankees were willing to offer Jesus Montero in a package for Halladay, but not Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain.
  • Rob Neyer of ESPN.com agrees with Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner: the deal is a "heist" for the Mariners. Cameron likes the deal so much he tells Mariners fans to "dance in the streets."
  • Over at FanGraphs, Cameron says all three franchises had understandable motivations for making the trade. Still, he wonders if Philly could have obtained more for Lee.
  • Marc Hulet of FanGraphs wonders why the Phils didn't wait and deal Lee for more.
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says the Jays "should be embarrassed" by the return they got for Halladay.
  • One member of the Phillies organization tells MLB.com's Noah Coslov that he doesn't understand the trade because Michael Taylor is MLB ready now.
  • Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer says it was never realistic to expect Halladay and Cliff Lee to pitch in the same rotation.

Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday

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2:35pm: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News hears that the Yankees have no interest in signing Bay long-term. They don't have confidence in his ability to play the outfield in a few years. Another source tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that there's no chance the Yankees bid on Bay or Matt Holliday.

12:42pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Yankees did contact Bay's representatives. However, one source says the team isn't seriously interested in Bay right now.

Across town, the Mets are willing to offer a fifth year or increase their initial four-year offer. The Giants, Mariners and Angels have also shown interest in Bay according to FOX's sources.

8:38am: The Red Sox "officially" cut ties with Bay yesterday, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.

12:44am: The Yankees have reached out to Jason Bay's representatives, a source tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.  While the Mets, Angels, and Mariners are said to be the frontrunners for his services, the article says that the Bombers are "lurking in the weeds." 

Silverman stresses that the Yanks are not believed to have made an offer at this point and their level of interest is currently unclear.

Also, while it appears unlikely that there is a place for Bay in Boston, it should be noted that the club has yet to inform him that he is no longer in their plans.

As for the Yankees, do you think they're legitimately interested in Bay or just doing their due diligence?

Cards Offer Most Lucrative Deal In Team History To Holliday

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1:30pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Cardinals don't believe many teams are competing for Holliday on the level they are. Olney says the Cards intend to stand by a five-year offer – that's considerably short of the eight-year deal hinted at yesterday.

The Yankees have no intention of bidding on Holliday, according to Olney's sources.

TUESDAY, 11:19am: A source familiar with the talks tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that "nothing is imminent." The source says Boras and Holliday "are still looking for something that they're not finding."

MONDAY, 11:10pm: The Cardinals have offered Matt Holliday a deal which would pay him $16MM per year and could extend through eight seasons, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  It's unclear at this point how many of the seasons are option years – if any.  As St. Louis is anxious to reach a resolution, those familiar with the talks believe it possible that Holliday could reach a verdict before Christmas. 

This proposal dwarfs the average value of the 7-year, $100MM contract Albert Pujols inked in the winter of 2004.  Of course, the average value of Pujols' next contract will likely overshadow the pitch made to Holliday.

Strauss writes that the Yankees may be the most dangerous variable to the Cardinals, despite their insistance that they are not pursuing Holliday.  With Jason Bay pointed towards signing with the Mets and the Red Sox inking Mike Cameron, two potential suitors are presumably off the chase.

Do you believe that the Yanks are seriously considering throwing their pinstriped hat into the Holliday ring?  Could Scott Boras be overplaying his hand on what seems to be a titanic offer?  Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Nady, Holliday

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Some links for your Tuesday morning…

Joel Pineiro Seeks Four-Year Deal

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears from club executives that Joel Pineiro is looking for a four-year deal. The Angels and Cubs could look to sign the righty, who wants a higher annual salary than Randy Wolf, according to Jayson Stark. Wolf will make just shy of $10MM for each of the three guaranteed years on his deal with the Brewers.

The Mets, Dodgers, Yankees and Nationals are all looking for starters. We shouldn't rule out a return to Seattle either, though that's speculation for now. The Cardinals will obtain a supplementary rounder in next year's draft if and when Pineiro signs elsewhere.

Yankees “Very Interested” In Ben Sheets

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Yankees are "very interested" in Ben Sheets, though they don't believe the righty is in a hurry to sign. When the Yanks met with agent Casey Close at the Winter Meetings, it became apparent that they had some interest in Sheets, in spite of suggestions that he could seek $12MM per season (quite an ambitious target, in my opinion).

Now that the Red Sox have agreed to terms with John Lackey, it may be the Yankees' turn to add a former All Star of their own.

Odds & Ends: Torrealba, Rangers, Damon

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Some evening links…

  • Yorvit Torrealba's pending grievance hearing against the Mets will take place Wednesday, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com.  Torrealba contends that back when he was a free agent in 2007, the club falsely created the impression that he was an injury risk.  Interestingly, the article notes that despite this, the Mets could still sign Torrealba this time around if they are unable to sign Bengie Molina.
  • The Texas Rangers could sell for as much as $530MM, according to Maury Brown of BizOfBaseball.  Brown indicates that the group led by Jim Crane holds the highest bid at the moment.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweeted earlier today that the signings of Mike Cameron and Hideki Matsui could improve the chances of Johnny Damon returning to the Bronx.  Not just a good point but one that many of us have probably overlooked in the chaos of today.
  • All of the player movement of today puts a great deal of pressure on Mets GM Omar Minaya, writes Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
  • With Lackey and Halladay seemingly off the market, the Yankees can now focus on whittling down a list of available second-tier starters, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.  Carig suggests that Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer are possibilities.
  • Steve Gilbert of MLB.com has a list of possible non-tenders who could land with the D'Backs.  We've heard the other names already, but Gilbert suggests Ryan Church as a fit, noting that Arizona has an uncertain interest level. 
  • A person familiar with the Mets' thinking tells Marty Noble of MLB.com that the team has interest in two pitchers: starter Chien-Ming Wang and a lower-profile name in reliever Mike MacDougal.

Odds & Ends: Glaus, Carroll, Capps, Fossum

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Links to kick off the work week….

  • Free agent Troy Glaus prefers a full-time infield corner job over a DH role, and has made his medical records available to all 30 teams reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has Randy Wolf's contract details, courtesy of the AP. 
  • ESPN's Keith Law provides his take on recent non-tenders Capps, Wang, Ryan Langerhans, Gabe Gross, and Kelly Johnson.
  • Jamey Carroll is deciding between multiple two-year offers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He notes that the Angels, Dodgers, and A's have shown interest.  Perhaps today's Craig Counsell signing will lead to a deal for Carroll.
  • Chien-Ming Wang might not sign for months, his agent Alan Nero told ESPN's Buster Olney. Speaking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan said Wang would interest him.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington explained to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday that Kovacevic's December 8th report of a non-tender threat caused Matt Capps to lose all trade value.  As if the possibility couldn't have crossed the minds of Capps' suitors otherwise.  But note that Huntington took issue with the leak itself rather than Kovacevic printing it. 
  • The Blue Jays announced on their official Twitter page that they've agreed to terms with Jose Bautista ($2.4MM) and Dustin McGowan ($500K).  McGowan gets a raise of about $80K after missing all of '09 with a shoulder injury.  Bautista will receive no raise.  Perhaps the Jays had told him that they'd only tender him if he took the same salary.
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff explains that "the whole notion of an 'offer' is overblown," mainly a publicity move.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times wrote about the emergence of Twitter in baseball coverage, and I contributed a few thoughts.
  • The Hanshin Tigers inked lefty Casey Fossum to a one-year deal worth $600K, reports Kyodo News.  Fossum, 32 in January, pitched at Triple A for three organizations this year, compiling a 3.55 ERA in 129.3 innings.
  • NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman reports that pitcher Colby Lewis will return to MLB after a couple of very effective years starting in Japan.

Odds & Ends: Wang, Yankees, White Sox

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Some Sunday links…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that three AL teams and three NL teams have shown interest in Chien-Ming Wang.  However, the Dodgers are not one of those teams "yet."  Rosenthal notes that Wang is a favorite of Joe Torre and his staff.
  • In his running blog, Rosenthal says that Kevin Youkilis' versatility gives the Red Sox a number of options this winter.  Boston could sign Adrian Beltre to play third or, for a much lower price, Nick Johnson to play first.
  • Regardless of where Wang signs, we can safely assume that it will not be for a split contract.  The Yankees made the 29-year-old a minor-league offer that would become a major-league deal once his shoulder was healthy.  Wang's agent demanded guaranteed money, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.
  • Earlier today, Buster Olney mentioned the Yanks as a possible destination for free agent outfielder Brian Giles.  Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger hears that the club is just doing its "due diligence" by checking in on the soon-to-be 39-year-old.
  • The White Sox have signed Freddie Bynum and T.J. Bohn to minor league deals, according to the FutureSox twitter page.
  • Kevin Correia's agent Barry Axelrod told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the Brewers and Rays both showed interested in trading for his client.  While GM Jed Hoyer gave him no guarantees that the one-year deal won't be a sign-and-trade, Axelrod is confident that the 29-year-old will pitch for San Diego in 2010.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke to Mike Rivera, who was non-tendered by the Brewers yesterday.  Rivera says he was caught off guard by the decision but was told by GM Doug Melvin that the organization might reach out to him again at some point.

Yankees Yet To Make Offer To Johnny Damon

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Johnny Damon told George A. King III of the New York Post that he has yet to receive a proposal from the Yankees.  On top of that, Damon has yet to tell the club what he wants out of a contract.

It seems as though his agent, Scott Boras, is focused on securing a three or four-year deal for his client.  Most recently, we heard that the Giants have thrown themselves in the mix for the 36-year-old slugger.  In 2009, Damon delivered a slash line of .282/.365/.489 with 24 HRs. 

Despite his advanced age, Damon has played in upwards of 140 games every season of his career, excluding his rookie campaign.  With that in mind, would you be willing to give Damon more than two years?  Does it make sense to match his $13MM salary in '09?  Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

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