Brad Penny Rumors: Saturday
1:26pm: According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Yankees and Giants have also begun showing serious interest in Penny. Heyman opines, and many others agree, that an "NL team might be better for him."
9:19am: Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports says that the Marlins are "among the most serious suitors" for Brad Penny's services in the wake of Penny's release from the Red Sox this week. Penny is apparently set to clear release waivers sometime soon.
The Marlins' interest has been noted here, but it looks like a decision will come soon. Morosi believes that the finalization of the move will probably be predicated on how well the Fish play against the Padres this weekend, and says that winning this series could justify a Penny addition. Morosi also says that the Rockies, while still looking for starting pitching, aren't in the market for Penny.
When Penny departed the Marlins for the Dodgers in 2004 in a trade he was in top form, having put up a 3.15 ERA and 105/39 K/BB ratio in 131 innings that season. He's only matched that brilliance in one season since, but a move to the NL certainly can't hurt.
Odds & Ends: Yankees, Kazmir, Torres
My momma always said, "Odds & Ends posts are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get…"
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post says that the Yankees negotiated with then-free agent Paul Byrd earlier in the summer, but refused to meet his request of a guaranteed September call-up. Once the Red Sox signed Byrd, Yanks' brass assumed that they had agreed to Byrd's demand, and then claimed Chris Carter off waivers in hopes of creating some 40-man roster havoc for their main rival.
- SI.com's Tom Verducci provides some insight into why the Rays traded (or will trade, since we're still waiting on an official announcement) Scott Kazmir. He notes that while he is still very young, Kazmir's velocity has been dropping and his strikeout rate is declining.
- Alex Torres, one of the players involved in the Kazmir trade, was named one of this week's hottest prospects in Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet.
Odds And Ends: Burnett, Baker, Ichiro
Some links for the morning…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if A.J. Burnett will be able to cope towards the end of his contract, when his stuff will presumably begin to fade.
- Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch believes Dusty Baker's job is safe, partly because the Reds don't want to eat his contract next year.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan wonders if Ichiro can reach 4,000 hits, or more than double the amount he has so far. A friend of Ichiro's says the Japanese star wants to play well into his forties.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com believes the Yankees and Red Sox were smart to add C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner, respectively. Verducci notes that salaries negotiated through arbitration are not guaranteed so the Red Sox could cut Wagner if they agree to a contract through arbitration and he underperforms in Spring Training.
Report: Chris Carter Claimed By Yankees
7:07pm: Buster Olney has some more color to this "he claimed, she claimed" story.
Olney writes in ESPN the Magazine, "The rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox burns strongly even when it comes to waiver claims.
"When the Mets and Red Sox worked out a trade for left-hander Billy Wagner earlier this week, Chris Carter, an outfielder-first baseman currently playing for Class AAA Pawtucket, became part of the deal as a player to be named headed to Boston. In preparation for the deal, the Red Sox placed Carter on waivers, with the intention of moving him on to the Mets.
"But the Yankees placed a claim on Carter — perhaps to create some 40-man roster discomfort for the Red Sox. In order to complete the Mets trade, the Red Sox are now pulling Carter back from waivers — and for the rest of the year, they must carry him on their 40-man roster.
"And Boston may struggle to squeeze bodies onto its 40-man roster in September. When Paul Byrd was a free agent, he informed teams that as a condition for signing him, he wanted a guarantee that he would be added to the 40-man roster for the final month. If Boston has made that same concession, the Carter claim by the Yankees might have made that just a little more difficult."
5:50pm: In what should come as a surprise to no one, Amalie Benjamin clarifies that the Red Sox have pulled Carter back, and will deal him in the offseason.
5:30pm: Because it wouldn't be a normal day without some bad news for the Mets, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports on her Twitter account that Chris Carter, the more significant of the two players rumored to be headed to the Mets in exchange for Billy Wagner, has been claimed by the New York Yankees.
It isn't clear that this hurts the Red Sox any, since the trade is not dependent on Carter passing through waivers. Instead, the claim prevents the Mets from getting a first-hand look at Carter until after the season. Presumably, the Red Sox will pull him back, though they also have the option of working out a deal with the Yankees (not likely) or letting the Yankees have him for nothing (see previous parenthetical statement). So much for city unity.
Worth noting: the Yankees have the best record in the American League, meaning that 1) no one else in the AL claimed Carter, 2) if they hadn't claimed Carter, the Red Sox could have traded him to the Mets without any problem had the National League followed suit, and 3) the Yankees, apparently, weren't willing to show pity upon their injury-shattered New York brethren.
Stark On Holliday, Lee, Yankees, Hoffman
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the Cardinals and Phillies may be better off letting their respective deadline acquisitions walk once they hit free agency. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:
- We know that Matt Holliday's interested in staying in St. Louis. But one AL exec doubts the Cards can afford to tie up $40-50MM per year in Holliday and Albert Pujols. It could work short-term, but could prevent the Cardinals from keeping Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Plus, the pair of sluggers may not be worth a combined $50MM in a few years.
- One team official believes Cliff Lee's agent will be looking for a $100MM payday once the lefty hits free agency after next season (assuming the Phils pick up his 2010 option). The official says the Phillies should consider letting Lee walk after next year, instead of committing long-term to him.
- The teams that considered dealing for Johan Santana after the 2007 season aren't surprised to hear that he's having elbow trouble now, though it's not something they anticipated with any sense of certainty. However, Mets assistant GM John Ricco says he doesn't regret the way the team handled its ace.
- There are increasing indications that the Yankees don't plan on being big buyers in the free agent market this offseason. The Yankees seem more likely to keep Johnny Damon and let Austin Jackson grow into a full-time player than pursue Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
- Stark hears that the Red Sox were the only team to claim Billy Wagner. We heard the Angels had interest, but apparently they never made a claim.
- One executive believes AL teams would have very little interest in Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman has value because of his status as a Type A free agent, which could factor in to teams' claims.
- Rival clubs expect the Blue Jays to try dealing Edwin Encarnacion after the season. He makes $4.75MM in 2010, so it won't be easy.
- The Royals are still trying to deal Ron Mahay and at least one scout expects a team or two to have interest in ther veteran lefty.
Odds And Ends: Oliver, Wolf, Penny
Links for Thursday morning…
- Darren Oliver doesn't know for sure if he'll play again next year, but he tells Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he's leaning towards returning for another season
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets made the wrong choice last winter, when they went after Oliver Perez instead of Randy Wolf, who has quietly out-performed Perez for less money.
- Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald wonders if Brad Penny could return to the Marlins, now that the Red Sox released him.
- Padres starter Clayton Richard has been outstanding since joining the Padres in the Jake Peavy trade, as Adam Rosenberg of MLB.com notes.
Odds And Ends: Santana, Sano, Zambrano
More links, with less than a week remaining for contenders to add pieces…
- Pete Abraham of the Journal News says the Brian Cashman and the Yankees were smart not to trade for Johan Santana, even though it seems likely that the Mets will get their ace back.
- Matthew Carruth of FanGraphs argues that Santana won't likely be worth the $90MM-plus remaining on his extension.
- Ryan Zimmerman's extension has worked out well for the Nationals, and Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors believes the team deserves some credit.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that talks between the Pirates and Miguel Angel Sano have stalled. The Pirates made a formal offer at the beginning of July, but pulled it back more than a month ago.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says Carlos Zambrano's next meaningful start will come on Opening Day 2010.
- It looks like top Japanese amateur Yusei Kikuchi will play in Japan, as Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker shows.
- Jerry Ford of PerfectGame.org says Bryce Harper has been overhyped. But has his ability been overrated? Not at all – Ford says he has tons of potential. Check out the entire piece for a wide-ranging discussion of the top prospect.
Odds And Ends: Selig, Hughes, Byrd, Santana
More links for the afternoon, as the Red Sox just keeping adding players…
- If you've ever wondered about the view from Bud Selig's office, what the commissioner eats for lunch or who his all-time favorite player is, check out Hal McCoy's piece in the Dayton Daily News.
- As effective as Phil Hughes has been out of the Yankees' 'pen, the Yanks will have a tough call when it's time to determine his role next season, as Dave Allen of FanGraphs notes.
- Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus doubts that teams will overpay Marlon Byrd by much this offseason. Byrd's about to turn 32, but his versatility and pop should attract interest, even if he doesn't see massive offers.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the Mets mishandled Johan Santana by continuing to trot him out there.
Odds And Ends: Wagner, Santana, Strasburg
More links for Tuesday afternoon…
- Today's chat is coming up at 2pm CST.
- Billy Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow tells Joe Haggerty that his client changed his mind at the "last minute" and decided to go to Boston. The agent told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Wagner "threw caution to the wind."
- Finally, some relatively good news for the Mets. Jon Heyman of SI.com reports via Twitter that doctors recommend arthroscopic surgery for Johan Santana, who should be back for next year. Ben Shpigel reports that the surgery will end Santana's season.
- As MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports, Stephen Strasburg will pitch in the Arizona Fall League this year
- Tom Verducci of SI.com marvels at the success of the older Yankees hitters. Within his article, he suggests Brad Penny is no longer cut out to start in the majors.
Rosenthal On Mets, Cubs, Yankees, Hawkins
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders how Mets GM Omar Minaya and Cubs GM Jim Hendry will untangle themselves from their respective messes. Both execs have overpaid for players in the recent past, but both can point to recent successes. Here are the details:
- The Mets are expected to lower their payroll from the $150MM range next season.
- The Rockies obtained Carlos Gonzalez from the A's in last winter's Matt Holliday trade and, for all of Holliday's heroics in St. Louis, Gonzalez is out-slugging Holliday by 142 points since the A's flipped him to the Cards.
- A Yankees official says it's "very likely" the team will bring Johnny Damon back after the season if he's willing to take a paycut.
- Like their cross-town rivals, the Yanks are expected to be operating on a lower payroll next year.
- The Yankees figure to be in the mix for Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or both.
- Alex Gonzalez could have vetoed the trade that sent him to Boston.
- The Astros placed LaTroy Hawkins on waivers and Rosenthal expects the Rockies, Cardinals and Dodgers to at least consider him.