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Heyman’s Latest: Manny, Holliday, Peavy

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new rumor-packed article up.

  • Heyman suggests the battle for the three elite free agents – Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and C.C. Sabathia – will mostly be fought by the New York and Los Angeles clubs.  Heyman talked to one GM who believes the country’s economic situation will not affect the big names but could be bad for the lower-tier guys.
  • Heyman’s potential Manny suitors: the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Phillies.  The Phillies’ interest will depend on whether Pat Burrell stays.  I’m not sure why the Orioles would be in the mix.
  • The Rockies are "very likely" to trade Matt Holliday. The Rox would be willing to sign Holliday for five years and $100MM, but that won’t cut it.  The team’s focus in a trade will be a young starter.  Heyman echoes a Ken Rosenthal thought from a few months ago: surprising small-market teams may enter the Holliday bidding.
  • Heyman has the Mets, Rangers, and Indians as teams looking at Brian Fuentes.  The Mets are the favorite to sign him in the three-year, $36MM range.
  • Jake Peavy has already turned down one American League team.  Heyman believes hes particularly opposed to the Rangers and has mixed feelings about the Yankees.  Peavy is reeling from the Padres’ decision to shop him. 
  • Heyman has unkind words for Luis Gonzalez, who may not be welcomed back to the D’Backs based on his "uneasy relationship" with Stephen Drew and Chris Young.
  • Heyman does not think MLB has any evidence against Nationals GM Jim Bowden in the scout skimming scandal.
  • Heyman gives Ruben Amaro a slight edge over Mike Arbuckle to replace Pat Gillick as Phillies GM.
  • George W. Bush as baseball’s next commissioner?  "Many have long believed" that Bush would like to be Bud Selig’s successor.

Odds and Ends: Yankees, Pena, Epstein

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Let’s round ’em up for Friday…

Davidoff’s Latest: Mussina, K-Rod, Manny

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Ken Davidoff of Newsday has some new hot stove info in a blog post.

  • Davidoff would be shocked if Mike Mussina does not retire.  He expects a news conference after the World Series, and gives a 1% margin of error for his prediction.  Bold prediction; Buster Olney felt differently in his blog a week ago.  Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham agrees with Davidoff that Mussina will retire.
  • The Mets apparently do not believe Francisco Rodriguez is worth his asking price.  They’re also not intending to pursue Manny Ramirez.  Not exciting news for fans, but Omar Minaya can’t acquire players based on media or fan pressure.

Yankees Targeting Cameron?

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George King of the New York Post talked to "an industry source," who believes the Yankees have targeted center fielder Mike Cameron in the event that the Brewers decline his $10MM option.  GM Brian Cashman wouldn’t bite on the rumor.  Ken Rosenthal wrote back in January that the Yankees pursued him but may have passed due to concerns over paying both Cameron and Johan Santana.

King says the Brewers could also pick up Cameron’s option and then trade him.  Cameron is a Type B player, by the way.  Joel Sherman believes Cameron is a backup plan for the Yankees, as they’d prefer a longer-term solution in center.

Dodgers To Offer Shorter Term, Higher Salary To Manny?

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to "people familiar with the Dodgers’ thinking" recently.  One such person told Heyman the Dodgers may offer Manny Ramirez a short term with a very high annual salary, perhaps something like $55MM for two years.  GM Ned Colletti has taken this approach in the past with free agents Jason Schmidt, Rafael Furcal, and Andruw Jones.

Heyman’s sources say the Dodgers are "strongly disinclined" to give Manny five or six years.  Colletti himself noted the Dodgers don’t have six-year contracts.  However, "there are some who believe" Scott Boras won’t even sit down with a team offering four or fewer years.  I can see Boras eventually finding a team willing to give four years.

Heyman lists six other potential suitors for Manny: the Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays, Mets, Orioles, and Rangers.  Some of those suggestions are questionable though.

Peavy Rumors: Monday

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Let’s kick off the day with a roundup of Jake Peavy rumors.

  • Peavy is not a fan of the American League or New York, so don’t look for him to land with the Yankees or Mets.  The Mets don’t seem interested anyway.
  • David O’Brien figures the Braves will have to surrender Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, Tommy Hanson to get it done.  Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein says Hanson flies under the radar a bit, as he belongs in any discussion of the game’s top pitching prospects.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Padres were doing a lot of background work recently on Braves center field prospect Jordan Schafer.
  • Despite Peavy’s wishes, the Padres have identified four possible AL trading partners for him: the Yankees, Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox.  Peavy’s agent says he hasn’t closed any doors but the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman believes the Red Sox or Yankees would have to pay a steep price in extra compensation to entice the pitcher.

Cafardo’s Latest: Lowe, Maddux, Peavy

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Here’s a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

  • Interestingly, the Red Sox are reportedly Derek Lowe’s preferred destination.  It’s unknown whether the Sox intend to add a starter this winter, but they may lose free agent Paul Byrd (and will have to decide on Tim Wakefield’s $4MM option).  Cafardo names a dozen other clubs interested in Lowe: the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Cubs, Angels, Braves, Phillies, Rangers, Astros, and Blue Jays.
  • Bill Mueller, 38 in March, admits he’d like to play again.  Medically, it’s a long shot because he’d need to regrow cartilage in his knees.
  • One of Greg Maddux’s teammates feels he’ll retire. Maddux could return to the Padres as a player/coach (specifically, he’d prefer a bench coach gig).
  • The Brewers as a sleeper for Jake Peavy?  They’re not on his list, but he’s named other midwest clubs.
  • Cafardo believes catchers Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez will be available this winter.  Makes sense, given the weak free agent market at the position.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy Suitors, Lowe, Cardinals, Marlins

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, focusing largely on suitors for Jake Peavy, but also touching on some other news at the end… so let’s take a look!

  • Rosenthal states that the following teams have been speculated to be suitors for the Padres’ ace: Braves, Angels, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, Cardinals, Brewers, Rays, Rangers. While all of these are not serious possibilities, he elaborates on each team. He mentions Yunel Escobar as a likely centerpiece from Atlanta, and states that the Angels would love to acquire a frontline starter to allow them to send Ervin Santana and/or Joe Saunders to Colorado in a deal for Matt Holliday and/or Garrett Atkins. Rosenthal states that Howie Kendrick could be a big part of any trade, but his health seems like too serious of a concern to me. Rosenthal speculates on the possibility of a dominant rotation for the Yankees if they traded for Peavy and signed C.C. Sabathia. One rival executive’s speculative package for Boston included Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson. The Padres will likely charge the Dodgers considerably more for Peavy’s service, as they are division rivals. He lists Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy as a possible centerpiece for a Milwaukee blockbuster, but also points out that Ben Sheets has made the Brewers wary of injury concerns. The other teams don’t seem to match up well, in Rosenthal’s opinion.
  • Rosenthal says that he was wrong in stating that Derek Lowe would prefer to remain on the West Coast. Lowe has now told him that he’d prefer to go East, with Boston being his top choice. He reiterated this desire to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
  • The Cardinals prefer a short-term solution for their closer situation, and will likely give Chris Perez the ninth inning job, or seek a lower-budget option through the trade market. They may also trade a young outfielder for an established bat at a corner OF position.
  • Kevin Gregg is still likely to be traded (perhaps an option for St. Louis), and four teams have asked Florida about Jeremy Hermida. Rosenthal speculates that the Marlins will begin 2009 with Cameron Maybin in center field and Cody Ross in right.

Perrotto’s Latest: Peavy, Unit, Joba

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John Perrotto has his Every Given Sunday column up over at Baseball Prospectus. Here’s some highlights from his "Rumors and Rumblings section" this week:

  • Perrotto expects a Jake Peavy deal to be done before the Winter Meetings, stating that the Braves, Yankees, and Dodgers seem to be the leaders in the race right now. He notes that the Yankees will be willing to include Phil Hughes, while the Braves are willing to move Yunel Escobar. I personally like the Escobar idea for San Diego, as it would allow them to make Atlanta take on Khalil Greene’s salary. A package around Escobar and Tommy Hanson would certainly be tough to ignore.
  • Perrotto reiterates that a move to the Dodgers or Angels for California-native Randy Johnson seems like a strong possibility. Johnson posted a fine season for the Diamondbacks, despite being 45 years old. He’s maintained a very solid strikeout-rate even at this stage in his career, fanning 8.46 batters per nine innings.
  • The Yankees are planning on using Joba Chamberlain in their rotation next year, but are not planning on settling for what they have. Perrotto states that the Yankees will "go all-in" on the free agent market, making aggressive offers to C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, and Mark Teixeira. Add in the pursuit of Peavy, and decisions on numerous free agents, and it looks like a very busy offseason for the Bombers.

Olney’s Latest: Teixeira, Sabathia, Ramirez, Burnett

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Buster Olney has some fun-to-read analysis of last night’s game, as well as some solid rumors for our consumption:

  • The Yankees seem almost destined to sign Mark Teixeira this offseason, but while it’s been suggested that Teixeira is seeking upwards of 10 years, $200MM, the Yankees may be looking to offer half of that, or "a deal in the range of 6 years, $18-20MM a year." Good news for the Orioles who look to be the biggest competitor for the Yankees in pursuing both Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.
  • The Yankees are gearing up to offer CC Sabathia "an offer that may dwarf those of other clubs, by a factor of 30 or 40 percent." Olney feels that may be a necessary surcharge to convince Sabathia to pitch in the Big Apple.
  • An interesting note: a few months ago, the suggested numbers for a Manny Ramirez contract were 3 or 4 years and $45MM; however, Scott Boras is effectively "working to change the perception of what is an acceptable offer… trying to raise the bar in the minds of teams, so that in the end, somebody might give him 3 years, $60MM and feel like they’re getting a bargain." I’ll add that Manny has done a lot, if not more, to change this perception as well.
  • Make of this what you will but Derek Jeter, whether intentional or not, contributed toward restoring Roger Clemens’ image by standing beside him on the sidelines of the nationally televised Longhorns game yesterday. Olney notes, "I know a whole lot of image-conscious players who would not have done that." Clemens is still unsure whether he is officially retired or not.
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