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A.J. Burnett Rumors: Thursday

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4:22pm: Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi: "It looks like we’re going to lose Burnett."

1:53pm: O’Brien’s source says the Yankees are going to make an offer to Burnett today or tomorrow.

11:23am: According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Braves GM Frank Wren confirmed today that he made an offer to free agent starter A.J. Burnett.  Wren added that the proposal does not guarantee a fifth year.  O’Brien believes there is a fifth-year option.  He adds that the deal averages $15MM per year.  It doesn’t really sound like the type of offer Burnett needs to pounce on.

Olney’s Latest: Manny, Peavy, Fuentes

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ESPN’s Buster Olney has a bunch of new info in today’s blog.

  • Olney continues to wonder if Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras will "wave the white flag" and accept the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration.  It could result in a huge one-year salary, and the current market for Manny is not robust.  However, Peter Abraham said in July that a condition of Manny’s trade was that he would decline arbitration.  Did anyone else write this?  Hopefully a journalist will ask Boras about it soon.
  • Olney says the Cubs would love to have Adam Dunn in their lineup, but he’s a stretch as a full-time right fielder.  The Cubs are willing to sacrifice some defense in right, but how much?
  • Could Dunn or Pat Burrell wind up with the Rays on an affordable one-year deal?
  • The Cubs and Padres "have a basic framework in place" for a Jake Peavy deal built around third baseman Josh Vitters.  Things may pick up after the Cubs’ ownership situation is resolved.
  • The Astros don’t have a ton of flexibility to move their high-salaried stars, but Jose Valverde is one they can deal without restriction.  He’s due for a nice raise from this year’s $4.7MM.
  • Olney suggests the Rockies were wise to trade Matt Holliday when they did, or they might’ve gotten significantly less.
  • Olney speaks of "a belief within the Rockies’ organization" that Brian Fuentes could come back on a multiyear deal.  The Rockies could trade Huston Street in that case.
  • The Braves may push A.J. Burnett for an answer before C.C. Sabathia signs, in case the Yanks miss out on C.C. and come after Burnett.
  • Apparently there is "serious tension" between Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland.
  • Olney sees Rafael Furcal signing with the A’s.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Burrell, Manny

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6:16pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves are not interested in Dunn because they seek a right-handed bat.  Does that rule out Raul Ibanez as well?

1:51pm: The latest from Ken Rosenthal:

  • The Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Phillies are pursuing free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.
  • Now that Adam Dunn wasn’t offered arbitration, the market is starting to take shape.  The Braves, Mariners, and Nationals are interested, and the Dodgers and Angels consider him a fallback option.  How about Dunn and Russell Branyan in the same lineup?  Rosenthal considers the Yankees another possibility.
  • Teams considering Pat Burrell, who was also not offered arb: the Mariners, Angels, and Giants.
  • Rosenthal considers the Giants a darkhorse for C.C. Sabathia.  Tim Brown says the Giants may be closing in on Edgar Renteria; Rosenthal has the Dodgers and Cardinals as other suitors.
  • The Brewers will need to increase their offer to Sabathia to six years to have a shot. 
  • Rosenthal believes Jason Varitek will accept his offer of arbitration.  He also wonders if Orlando Cabrera could accept.  He expects Ben Sheets to decline (I made an error on this eariler).
  • Rosenthal ponders the chances of Manny Ramirez accepting the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration.  Buster Olney says three GMs wondered the same.  I was under the impression Manny declining arbitration was a condition of his trade.
  • The Cardinals want to add a young starter with upside.  They also may go after a closer like Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood if prices drop.
  • Rosenthal believes the Reds could discuss a two-year deal with David Weathers.

Braves Preparing Five-Year Offer For Burnett

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2:07pm: Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution believes the Braves will probably guarantee a fifth year to Burnett, at a salary of $15-16MM per.

9:56am: Will the Braves be the team to commit five years to A.J. Burnett?  According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, they’re preparing such an offer.  Feinsand wonders if Burnett will jump at this offer without waiting to see what C.C. Sabathia does. 

SI.com’s Jon Heyman seems to agree with Feinsand’s report.  He learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that the Braves are in on Burnett but not Jake Peavy, and heard talk that the Braves might consider a fifth year.  Wren described talks for Peavy as "pretty much" over.

Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves are one of six teams in negotiations with Burnett.  Heyman believes the other teams to be the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Nationals.

Odds and Ends: Thorman, Sabathia, Pettitte

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Links for Tuesday…

Arbitration Offer Feedback

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24 free agents were offered arbitration yesterday; several notable names were not.  The deadline for those 24 to accept or decline is Sunday at 11pm CST.  If a player accepts, he’s under contract on a one-year deal for ’09 and his salary cannot be reduced by more than 20% (most players get raises). 

Anyway, let’s round up feedback on yesterday’s decisions.

  • Plenty of good insight from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.  How about the idea that the D’Backs didn’t offer arbitration to Dunn because they didn’t want to shell out too much money on draft picks next year?
  • River Ave. Blues says yesterday’s arb decisions were the first clear indicator of the U.S. economy affecting MLB. I agree.  The decisions not to offer arb to Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn, Kerry Wood, and others serves as proof that teams are exercising extra caution.
  • Buster Olney agrees, suggesting that teams are scared of overpaying free agents.  He says some execs believe Abreu will be fortunate to make $8MM a year on his next deal.
  • Joel Sherman finds the Abreu decision fascinating.  He suggests Abreu would’ve gotten a $17.5MM arbitration award.  While the right fielder would’ve forfeited no-trade rights by accepting, the Yankees would’ve had to eat a significant amount to move him.
  • Ken Rosenthal says even the Yankees are cutting back, and their ’09 payroll will "almost certainly be below their $209 million figure at the start of ’08."
  • Tony Massarotti gives five possible reasons for the slow market.
  • Ken Davidoff feels Jason Varitek is a good candidate to accept Boston’s offer of arbitration.

Yankees Decline To Offer Arb To Pettitte, Abreu, Mussina

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8:04pm: One of Abreu’s agents, Chris Leible, spoke to Peter Abraham.  Though Cashman said he was still engaged with Abreu, Leible says he hasn’t heard from the Yankees once since the end of the season.

4:48pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Yankees declined to offer arbitration to Type A free agents Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, and Mike Mussina (and all other free agents). Peter Abraham and Ed Price may have had this on the web earlier; it was close. 

The Abreu decision comes as a surprise; until this morning most believed the Yankees were willing to risk a one-year deal with him to have a chance at the two draft picks.  Abreu is certainly more attractive to potential suitors now.  Abraham has Brian Cashman saying the Yanks remain engaged with Abreu and Pettitte.

Another note from Heyman: the Yankees have not ruled out signing Manny Ramirez.

Perrotto’s Latest: Teixeira, Burnett, Wilson

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John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus has his Sunday article up. Let’s go through it:

  • The Angels may be willing to match the Yankees $140MM offer to CC Sabathia. They won’t offer 10 years to Mark Teixeira. If they can’t land Teixeira, they will consider Pat Burrell for first base.
  • A.J. Burnett is looking at the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Orioles, and Phillies.
  • The Twins want a left-side infielder for Delmon Young, so they can open a spot for Denard Span in the starting lineup.
  • The Tigers are pursuing Jack Wilson from the Pirates and Matt Treanor from the Marlins. They are also putting high priority on signing Joe Beimel who’s getting interest from a number of teams.
  • The Dodgers will not re-sign Rafael Furcal for health reasons so the Giants, Athletics, and Reds are his most likely destinations.
  • The Cubs will need to offer more than Jason Marquis to the Royals for David DeJesus. If they can’t get it done, they’d sign Raul Ibanez over Bobby Abreu.
  • The Braves are interested in Javier Vazquez and Jermaine Dye…
  • The Reds need to offer more than Homer Bailey to get Dye.
  • The Mets are considering Jon Garland, Vazquez, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays want more than Aaron Heilman for either of their starters.
  • The Mets could soon become suitors for Manny Ramirez.
  • The Brewers could soon become suitors for Francisco Rodriguez.
  • The Astros are targeting Paul Bako and David Ross as backup catchers.
  • The Rockies are trying to find lefthanders, eyeing Alan Embree, Will Ohman, Brian Shouse, and Glendon Rusch.

Odds And Ends: Tazawa, Hoffman, Halladay

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Links for Saturday…

  • Junichi Tazawa is expected to announce early next week that he will sign with the Red Sox. He turned down offers from the Rangers, Mariners and Braves.
  • The Padres recently offered to talk with Trevor Hoffman, but he hasn’t responded.  Tom Krasovic also has a Sandy Alderson quote that the Padres are "highly unlikely" to offer Hoffman arbitration.
  • Robert MacLeod talked to Blue Jays insiders who believe trading ace Roy Halladay would send "the wrong signal" to fans since the Jays want to compete in 2009.
  • Rob Neyer wonders how C.C. Sabathia’s weight will affect his performance going forward.
  • Joba Chamberlain tops Peter Abraham’s list of the 20 most important people to the Yankees organization.
  • Peter Gammons asks five post-Thanksgiving questions about free agents and trades.  Also within that blog post, Gammons mentions that Kevin Towers went to Sunday’s Chargers game with Brad Ausmus and hopes to sign him.
  • Larry LaRue writes that the Mariners could use a couple good outfielders to go along with Ichiro.
  • Bob Verdi expects a quiet retirement accouncement from Greg Maddux.

Colletti: “Some” Interest In Pettitte

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George King of the New York Post swapped emails with Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who admitted to "some" interest in free agent southpaw Andy Pettitte.  Ken Rosenthal originally reported the Dodgers possibility on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Ken Davidoff talked to a team official who considered a deal unlikely.

With Pettitte considering the Dodgers, King says the Yanks have a dilemma regarding the decision to offer him arbitration.  River Ave. Blues runs through the scenarios.  In a recent poll of over 2,700 MLBTR readers, 39.1% expected the Yanks to offer Pettitte arbitration.

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