Yankees Rumors

Mets Join Yanks In Sabathia Chase?

By Tim Dierkes | November 14, 2008 at 8:56am CDT

Bill Madden, Anthony McCarron, and Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News say the Mets will be in the mix for C.C. Sabathia:

Omar Minaya was dicussing a trade for a pitcher with a GM but said he would first have to see how Sabathia’s free agency was progressing, a baseball executive said. A Mets official subsequently wouldn’t deny interest in Sabathia.

Of course, the Yankees hope to sign Sabathia quickly. Joel Sherman believes the Mets are only trying to drive up the price for the Yankees, since both teams will be in on the same second-tier starters. Matthew Cerrone doesn’t even see the Daily News article as an indicator of Met interest in C.C.

Nick Swisher Trade Reactions

By Tim Dierkes | November 14, 2008 at 5:00am CDT

The Yankees acquired Nick Swisher yesterday for Wilson Betemit, Jhonny Nunez, and Jeff Marquez. The reactions are clearly in favor of the Yanks; let’s take a look.

ESPN’s Keith Law says Swisher has upside for the Yankees at a reasonable price. He is unimpressed with Chicago’s return, though mildly intrigued by the idea of the Sox teaching Marquez a cutter.
Peter Abraham notes that the Yankees see Swisher as their regular first baseman, and Mark Teixeira loses leverage. MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer figures the Angels are thrilled by the trade, as they may not have to compete with the Yanks for Tex.
Ken Davidoff loves the move for the Yankees, and believes it gives them even more cash to throw at C.C. Sabathia.
South Side Sox gives us an inside look at the trade negotiations between Brian Cashman and Ken Williams. They really don’t get the move.
Williams would not commit to keeping the rest of the lineup intact.
Ken Rosenthal believes the Swisher trade is a prelude to something bigger.
Sox Machine says the White Sox must be banking on Swisher failing to right himself.
Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald wonders if Swisher can handle the New York media.
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo looks at the prospects involved in the trade.

Odds and Ends: Ankiel, Hoffman, Mussina

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2008 at 3:37pm CDT

Linkage for Thursday…

Viva El Birdos tries to put a price on Rick Ankiel, and decides now is the time to trade him. Ankiel, a Scott Boras client, is eligible for free agency after the ’09 season.
Derrick Goold runs through the lefty reliever options for St. Louis on his blog. It doesn’t seem like Trevor Hoffman is on the Cardinals’ radar. Hoffman wants to remain a closer, so he won’t be going to San Francisco either.
Brian Cashman explains that $6MM for one year of Damaso Marte was too much, but $12MM over three years works. Ken Davidoff still doesn’t get it.
Mike Mussina will make his decision early next week.
Tony Massarotti runs through best and worst case scenarios for the Yankees and Red Sox.
Jeff Zrebiec names ten possible free agent targets for the Orioles.
Omar Minaya spilled the beans to WFAN’s Mike Francesa. He’s not interested in Ben Sheets, but will make an offer to Pedro Martinez.
The Twins seem more likely to make trades than sign free agents, according to Joe Christensen.
Could Ted Turner buy back the Braves?

Yankees Acquire Nick Swisher

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2008 at 3:02pm CDT

3:02pm: Rosenthal now says the White Sox will also receive Wilson Betemit and pitching prospect Jhonny Nunez. Betemit could be an option at third base for the Sox.

2:54pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Yankees also get pitcher Kanekoa Texeira from Chicago.

2:41pm: According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher from the White Sox for minor league pitcher Jeff Marquez. It’s not yet known if other players are involved.

Swisher, 28 this month, hit .219/.332/.410 in 588 plate appearances this year. He’s set to earn $5.3MM in ’09, $6.75MM in ’10, $9MM in ’11, and has a $10.25MM club option for ’12 with a $1MM buyout. So, about $22MM over the next three years. River Ave. Blues loves the flexibility for the Yanks.

Nothing Imminent On Peavy Deal

By Tim Dierkes | November 12, 2008 at 5:48pm CDT

5:46pm: Manager Lou Piniella thinks the Peavy-Cubs rumors are "only talk." At least, he hasn’t talked to Cubs GM Jim Hendry much about it. Piniella remains fixated on a lefthanded hitter.

4:31pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown has an update on the Jake Peavy trade talks, though it’s not very exciting. A Padres exec says the team has options, but nothing is close. The Padres have not yet asked Peavy to approve a trade.

Interesting note from Brown – the Yankees pushed hard, while the Red Sox and Mets "inserted themselves" into the mix.

Brown notes that Peavy would probably want the fifth year of his contract guaranteed upon a trade. At that point it’d be a five-year, $81MM deal. How much worse off would a team be signing a solid free agent starter at a lower price, while preserving the farm system?

Odds and Ends: Holliday, Takahashi, Lincecum

By Tim Dierkes | November 12, 2008 at 4:00pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Richard Justice says the Astros should offer Andy Pettitte $7-8MM to come back.
Joe Christensen doesn’t see Huston Street landing in Minnesota.
Larry Beinfest dismissed a "cyberspace rumor" that the Marlins are planning a run at Manny Ramirez.
Gordon Wittenmyer says the Cubs could fit both Jake Peavy and Ryan Dempster into the payroll, and that the Peavy situation will be resolved first.
Today is the deadline for MLB.com’s Free Agent Frenzy. You have until 4pm CST to submit your picks for 15 free agents. Here are my predictions from November 3rd…I would change the Furcal and Sheets ones for starters.
Who had the Matt Holliday scoop? SI.com’s Jon Heyman broke the story, while Yahoo’s Tim Brown was the first to name the players involved.
Holliday figures to be a three to six month rental for the A’s. Over at FanGraphs, Dave Cameron takes a closer look at Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith. ESPN’s Keith Law says the Rockies received a "fair return" for Holliday.
Athletics Nation suggests the A’s sign Derek Lowe.
Ken Davidoff looks at the Yankees’ seesawing philosophy.
Japanese southpaw Ken Takahashi intends to sign with an MLB club, and the Mets may be interested. Nikkan Sports says the Cubs, Padres, and Giants are also in on him.
River Ave. Blues looks ahead to Derek Jeter’s next contract.
Andrew Baggarly reminds us that Tim Lincecum intends to go year to year.
ESPN’s Buster Olney talked to one GM who expects "a whole lot of bargains" in late January, given the nation’s economy.
Rany Jazayerli didn’t like the Royals’ acquisition of Mike Jacobs, but doesn’t think it’s the end of the world.
Braves GM Frank Wren on Jeff Francoeur: "We haven’t talked about him at all. It’s not to say that we wouldn’t."

Yankees Sign Damaso Marte

By Tim Dierkes | November 12, 2008 at 3:38pm CDT

3:38pm: Joel Sherman says the 2012 option is for $4MM, with a $250K buyout. Ken Davidoff believes this contract was a mistake in light of the ’09 option, and I agree.

1:06pm: It’s official. Marte gets a three-year deal with a club option for 2012.

9:01am: According to Impacto Deportivo, the Yankees signed Damaso Marte to a three-year, $12MM deal (link is in Spanish). The Yanks had declined a $6MM option for 2009 earlier.

It’s good news for Marte, who was saddled with Type A status. Marte is getting up there a bit; he’ll be 34 in February. He initially had a rough go of it with the Yankees, battling elbow inflammation. Fortunately, Marte finished strong with a 1.64 ERA in his final 15 games.

Brown’s Latest: Furcal, Manny, Abreu

By Tim Dierkes | November 11, 2008 at 7:35pm CDT

Tip of the cap to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, who was the first reporter yesterday to name the three players the Rockies would receive in the Matt Holliday trade. Now let’s take a look at Brown’s latest column.

Brown believes everyone cleared their physicals in the Holliday deal, so expect news conferences soon. He says the A’s may add a couple more hitters, possibly Rafael Furcal and/or Jason Giambi.
Brown says Jim Bowden is promising everyone the Nationals will be in on the Manny Ramirez bidding. With Josh Willingham, Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, and Willie Harris already under team control, where does Manny fit in? Bowden has already said he plans to use Willingham as an outfielder.
The Yankees have yet to contract Bobby Abreu. They still figure to offer him arbitration, of course.

Matt Holliday Trade Roundup

By Tim Dierkes | November 11, 2008 at 4:45pm CDT

It seems that the Rockies will send left fielder Matt Holliday to the A’s for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, and Huston Street soon (assuming Smith’s elbow checks out). While the A’s were rumored to be in the mix for Holliday, the trade still comes as a surprise to most. Let’s round up today’s links on the topic.

Nick Cafardo says the Red Sox were briefly involved in talks for Holliday.
ESPN’s Peter Gammons says Beane first engaged the Red Sox on Jason Bay before moving on to Holliday.
Troy Renck says Holliday is flying to Oakland today to meet with team officials. Garrett Atkins hopes the Holliday trade keeps him in Colorado.
Dave Cameron thinks Holliday can hit around .300/.380/.500 for the A’s.
Athletics Nation considers this a message that the A’s are trying to compete in ’09, and expects more additions. They also believe Billy Beane will take stock in July and decide whether to trade Holliday or keep him all year and take the draft picks. I agree on both points.
Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post have scouting reports on the players Colorado will receive.
Depressed Fan tries to get a handle on Beane’s motivation for the trade.
Holliday’s dad would like to see his son join the Yankees.

Angels Hold Off On Teixeira Bid

By Tim Dierkes | November 11, 2008 at 10:14am CDT

Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times describes the Angels’ strategy regarding free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. He says that since Tex will test the open market regardless, the Halos will not make an offer within their exclusive negotiation period. So much for resolving the situation quickly.

The Angels do not want Scott Boras shopping around their offer to the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, and Nationals and driving up the price. Just a guess, maybe the Nats consider Josh Willingham their cleanup hitter acquisition and will back out of the Teixeira derby.

DiGiovanna adds that the Angels "plan a serious run" at C.C. Sabathia and could bid on A.J. Burnett. He also describes their stance on their own free agents aside from Teixeira:

The team will look to re-sign reliever Darren Oliver, is open to retaining closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Juan Rivera, and seems lukewarm to the idea of retaining pitcher Jon Garland and outfielder Garret Anderson.

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