Yankees Rumors

Derek Lowe Rumors: Friday

By Tim Dierkes | January 9, 2009 at 8:55pm CDT

7:45pm: Mark Bowman reports that the Braves are actually readying their first offer for Lowe, which they plan to make on Monday or Tuesday. More from Bowman here.

3:40pm: O’Brien has details on the Braves’ five-hour meeting with Lowe and Boras. He says the Braves’ offer is expected today and they want Lowe badly. It may require a four-year commitment.

As far as Kenshin Kawakami – the Braves are among the four finalists. On the offensive side O’Brien suggests Adam Dunn or Xavier Nady could be targets.

9:26am: According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves met with Derek Lowe and Scott Boras for several hours yesterday. O’Brien says the Braves’ offer was unknown, implying that they did make an offer.

O’Brien also reiterated that Boras said the Mets’ widely reported three-year, $36MM offer was never made and would’ve been far too low anyway. O’Brien mentions the Phillies, Brewers, and Angels as other Lowe suitors, but Ken Rosenthal said those three clubs denied interest. Brewers GM Doug Melvin said Tuesday in regard to Lowe: "We’re not in on him."

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, M’s, Cards, Mets, Manny

By Cork Gaines | January 9, 2009 at 3:38pm CDT

On this date eight years ago, Juan Gonzalez signed a one-year deal for $10MM with the Indians. The contract is significant because Gonzalez had turned down an eight-year, $143MM deal from the Tigers less than a year earlier. Four years later on this same date, Carlos Beltran would not turn down a seven-year, $119MM offer from the Mets, becoming the tenth $100MM player in Major League history. With C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira already spoken for this year, there are no more $100MM players available, but there are still plenty of signings being made and many players still looking for work. Let’s gander at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

T he Bottom Line takes a look at which prospects the Red Sox should be willing to part with in order to acquire a catcher.
In Mo We Trust wonders if the Yankees would be better suited to keep both Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher.
When Sid Slid wonders if Kenshin Kawakami is a good fit for the Braves and feels the money would be better spent on Derek Lowe.
Bleeding Blue and Teal asks if the Mariners are better suited looking at a player like Eric Hinske.
C70 At The Bat contemplates the Cardinals’ payroll and wonders how the team can consider keeping all six of their outfielders.
Mets Geek breaks down the Mets’ offseason and wonders if Omar Minaya miscalculated the market.
El Lefty Malo is warming to the idea of the Giants signing Manny Ramirez.
Feeling Dodger Blue says Manny is a "must," outlining why he is worth more than just the offense he will provide.
We Should Be GMs chronicles the Phillie’s history of signing the "wrong brother."
Midwest Sports Fans breaks down the Twins’ roster and payroll and looks at who the Twins should bring in and who should be moved, arguing that the team should keep Delmon Young.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Carl Pavano’s Comments

By Tim Dierkes | January 9, 2009 at 2:49pm CDT

Carl Pavano’s comments today won’t exactly patch up his relationship with New Yorkers:

"When you’re down, you expect your organization to pick you up, not kick you when you’re down. I’ve had to pick myself up quite a few times the last four years."

Odds and Ends: Bradley, Roberts, Cruz, Smoltz

By Tim Dierkes | January 9, 2009 at 10:40am CDT

Links for Friday…

David Chase looks at fantasy baseball’s top strikeout pitchers.
The third year of Milton Bradley’s contract turns into a club option if he has serious health problems this year.
Two players expected to attend the Brewers’ open tryout this month: Randall Simon and Mark Bellhorn.
Dave Cameron looks at the premium teams pay for proven closers.
Bobby Valentine comments on the Orioles’ Koji Uehara signing in Dan Connolly’s article. Within that article Connolly suggests the trade market for Brian Roberts may be suffering because of Orlando Hudson’s availability on the free agent market.
The D’Backs wouldn’t be thrilled, but the Yankees could sign Juan Cruz and only surrender a fourth-round pick.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington said the team is looking at some comeback-type free agent outfielders. Dejan Kovacevic guesses that Emil Brown, Craig Monroe, or Jonny Gomes could fit the bill.
The Red Sox designated knuckleballer Charlie Zink for assignment.
J.C. Bradbury believes the Braves were misleading with the public regarding their offer to John Smoltz.

Rosenthal On Fielder, Buchholz, Edmonds

By Tim Dierkes | January 9, 2009 at 8:54am CDT

The latest from Ken Rosenthal…

Rosenthal suggests the Brewers trade Prince Fielder for "premium pitching" and then sign Adam Dunn to replace him. Which begs the question, why wouldn’t the team giving up this premium pitching just sign Dunn instead?
Despite signing John Smoltz, the Red Sox still are not willing to trade Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Sox may be willing to move Michael Bowden or especially Daniel Bard for Salty.
The Yankees’ interest in Mike Cameron "seems to be waning."
Despite Jon Heyman’s report, the Phillies, Angels, and Brewers deny interest in Derek Lowe. Rosenthal says the market for Oliver Perez is even worse.
Rosenthal suggests veterans such as Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, and Jim Edmonds could go the Kenny Lofton route. Lofton, a capable player, sat out the 2008 season when his salary demands weren’t met. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ll soon see which former stars are willing to play for a pittance (if you consider more than $500K a pittance).
The Orioles have Edmonds on the radar as a first base candidate.
Suitors for lefty reliever Dennys Reyes: the A’s, Mets, and Dodgers. The Tigers and Rangers are also known to be on the lookout for a southpaw in the pen.

Yankees Want To Trade Nady

By Tim Dierkes | January 9, 2009 at 8:39am CDT

FRIDAY: Ken Davidoff of Newsday says Yankees GM Brian Cashman has received more requests for Swisher than Nady, but agrees the Yanks would prefer to move Nady. (Chris Haft likes Swisher for the Giants). Davidoff says the Mets had interest in Nady at last year’s trade deadline but are currently focused on their rotation.

THURSDAY: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle heard from a good source that Yankees GM Brian Cashman wants to keep Nick Swisher and trade Xavier Nady. Would Nady make sense for the Giants at first base? Schulman doesn’t think so, as the Nady hasn’t played the position much and is unlikely to sign an extension with Scott Boras as his agent. Nady will be eligible for free agency after the ’09 season.

Braves, Orioles Eyeing Kenshin Kawakami

By | January 8, 2009 at 11:14pm CDT

11:14pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the Braves were aggressive on Kawakami even before John Smoltz left, so the Japanese pitcher is in a good position. Brown’s list of Kawakami suitors includes some new clubs. He names the Braves, Cardinals, Red Sox, Twins, Pirates, Orioles, and possibly Yankees.

A Nikkan Sports article about Kawakami (in Japanese) has been making the rounds lately. I asked Patrick Newman about it; apparently it says Kawakami has advanced to final negotiations with the Braves. My guess is that this report jumped the gun.

8:34pm: Steve Melewski of MASN reports that the Orioles are still in the hunt for Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.

"The O’s remain in the mix, no question," a source told MASN. "They’ve showed a strong pursuit of Kawakami." Baltimore has already signed another Japanese import, Koji Uehara, but are looking for more starting pitching depth. Kawakami, 34, has a career record of 106-62 and a 3.17 ERA in Japan. The O’s extended an offer to him at the end of December, but he’s obviously keeping his options open. The Braves, Twins and Cardinals are also believed to have interest.

Pirates Talk Nady, Swisher With Yankees

By | January 8, 2009 at 7:30pm CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates have had trade talks with the Yankees regarding outfielders Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady.

Kovacevic, however, goes on to say that there is "little cause to expect a deal involving either coming to Pittsburgh," noting that Swisher is due $22MM over the next three years and hit just .219 last season. A Nady deal is even less likely because the Yankees will demand top young talent; and the Pirates should be in full rebuilding mode.

Pettitte Return To Houston Is Unlikely

By | January 8, 2009 at 5:53pm CDT

Astros GM Ed Wade admitted Thursday that an Andy Pettitte return to Houston is highly unlikely. Alyson Footer filed the report for MLB.com.

"We haven’t had any discussion with Andy or his representatives and we don’t see a scenario where he would fit into our payroll scenario at this time," Wade said. Most experts in the baseball industry believe Pettitte will eventually return to the Yankees. But he may now have to settle for less than the one-year, $10MM offer that the Yanks extended to him previously this offseason.

Andy Pettitte Open To Astros?

By Tim Dierkes | January 8, 2009 at 8:52am CDT

According to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff, free agent lefty Andy Pettitte "might be softening his opposition to rejoining the Astros." Davidoff believes a deal with the Yankees is in jeopardy, though the sides continue to talk. Davidoff says Xavier Nady "figures to be dealt now" as another way to trim payroll.

Pettitte may be amenable to a Houston return, but it takes two to tango. So far this winter the Astros have already pulled their offer to Randy Wolf and non-tendered their starting third baseman Ty Wigginton.

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