Odds and Ends: Renteria, Francoeur, Pedro
Today’s links…
- Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press wonders if Edgar Renteria has played his last game as a Tiger. He notes the possibility of buying Renteria out for $3MM and inking him to a cheaper one-year deal.
- Ken Rosenthal’s awards picks.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan asks five questions the Rangers will tackle this winter. Also, take a look at our offseason outlook.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney points to the Yankees’ poor drafting as the main factor in their decline.
- Craig Brown of Royals Authority doesn’t see a fit with Jeff Francoeur.
- The Fielding Bible’s plus/minus system rates Royals shortstop Mike Aviles fifth among shortstops with 16 more plays made than average.
- Pedro Martinez reflects on his time with the Mets. For $53MM the Mets received 486.6 innings of 3.88 ERA ball, almost half of those innings coming in the first year.
Will Yanks Re-Sign Giambi?
According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com:
The Yankees have not ruled out a return from Jason Giambi in 2009, and general manager Brian Cashman has already reached out to Giambi to gauge his interest in playing in New York for another season. Giambi said that Cashman told him he would need to figure out his own situation first.
Giambi is finishing up a seven-year, $120MM contract signed in 2001. He has a $22MM option for ’09 with a $5MM buyout. Getting Giambi at one-year, $17MM isn’t that bad, but the Yankees are still expected to take the buyout. They can probably get him back for less, and Giambi would love to stay. However, he has his eye on a multiyear deal and the Yankees probably won’t do that.
Giambi, 38 in January, hit .251/.377/.513 in 551 plate appearances. His defensive numbers at first base grade out poorly, and time will have to be spent at DH. Possible fits: the Angels or Rangers. However, the Rangers may focus on pitching even if Milton Bradley departs. If the Angels lose Mark Teixeira and Garret Anderson, they might have room for Giambi. They reportedly had interest in Giambi in May of last year.
Will Mike Mussina Retire?
Roch Kubatko recently spoke to Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, who recently spoke to Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina. When Palmer asked Mussina if he’d play in 2009, Mussina replied, "I don’t think so."
Everything I’ve read says Mussina doesn’t care about 300 wins. With 31 more to go, the plateau may require three more seasons. Regardless, it’d be a shame to see Moose retire when he’s clearly not finished as a pitcher. It’d also throw a wrench in the Yankees’ plans, as they’d probably like to bring him back on a one-year deal at $12-14MM.
Olney On The Free Agent Market
ESPN’s Buster Olney has a great blog post up today with his musings about this winter’s free agent market. Let’s take a look.
- Industry people believe the current state of the economy might temper offseason spending. We’ve already heard the rumblings that typically high-spending teams like the Angels, Tigers and Mariners backing off or holding the line on payroll.
- Olney feels C.C. Sabathia could draw a $140MM offer from the Yankees, but something more in the $90-100MM range from the Angels or Dodgers. So he may have to decide whether playing close to home is worth $30-50MM.
- Olney extols the virtues of Derek Lowe, who could get a deal comparable to Jason Schmidt‘s three years/$47MM. That was two years, ago though…I think Scott Boras gets Lowe $18MM a year.
- Olney considers this a strong market for starting pitching. Maybe so, but we might see a lot of multiyear deals for injury-risk hurlers after Sabathia and Lowe sign.
- Olney likes the match between the Cardinals and Brian Fuentes. Other teams that could consider Fuentes: the Rays, Indians, and Brewers.
- Olney is convinced the Yankees will offer Bobby Abreu arbitration but nothing more. Abreu is comfortably set to earn Type A status. If the Yanks offer arbitration, they’ll either get Abreu for one year and $16MM or so or they’ll get two draft picks. In contrast, Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman have said they expect the Yankees to let Abreu leave.
- Olney guesses the Red Sox will offer Jason Varitek two guaranteed years with a vesting option for 2011. The Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin wrote in August that she expects Varitek to re-sign.
Odds and Ends: Patterson, Lowry, Alvarez
Today’s linkage…
- Brewers fans, act quickly to snag free tickets to tonight’s game courtesy of Eric Gagne. Nice gesture.
- Of course Ned Colletti wants to re-sign Manny Ramirez. It’s just a question of dollars and years. Does Manny get the rumored 4/100 he might desire?
- The Jays locked manager Cito Gaston up through 2010.
- Richard Griffin says the Blue Jays will be better for it if they lose A.J. Burnett. Meanwhile, River Ave. Blues is open to the idea of the Yankees signing him.
- No, Corey Patterson is not dating Dusty Baker’s daughter. And Baker says he wasn’t behind the signing, either.
- The Reds might not be in the market for a catcher this winter, if they go with Ryan Hanigan as the starter in ’09.
- The Mariners officially founded the 100/100 club.
- Peter Abraham sees the Yankees going with Brett Gardner as the center fielder in 2009. Peter Gammons is "convinced he is going to be an everyday center fielder."
- Sam Mellinger discusses a way to drastically shake up the Royals: trade both Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria for loads of young, cheap players. As he notes, the strategy could work out but might cause a fan revolt.
- Andrew Baggarly wonders if Noah Lowry‘s injury problems could prevent a Matt Cain trade. Also, Baggarly sees a non-tender in Kevin Correia‘s future.
- Frank Coonelly suggested Pedro Alvarez‘s new deal is comparable in value to the original. Scott Boras then jumped on the conference call to say it was a favorable change, and much different from the original. Additionally, Coonelly contacted Baseball America’s Jim Callis to dispute the idea of a premeditated plan to negotiate with Alvarez after the deadline.
- The Marlins will focus on improving their defense this winter.
Yankees Or Retirement For Pettitte, Again
Andy Pettitte has been pitching through shoulder pain in recent months, and he’s finally been shut down. He told reporters yesterday he will choose between the Yankees and retirement for 2009. Pettitte added that the Yankees "pretty much let it be known they’d like to have me back."
Pettitte would probably not require the same $16MM he did this year (George King says a the Yankees want him back for "a lot less money.") If he’s willing to pitch for $12MM or so, I don’t know why the Yankees wouldn’t bring him back.
Odds and Ends: Santos, Blalock, Lo Duca
Let’s dig through today’s rumor bin…
- The Jays claimed southpaw Reid Santos off waivers from the Indians. MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says the Indians are clearing room on their 40-man roster in preparation for the winter.
- Dejan Kovacevic has yet to observe why new Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche is so highly regarded.
- Jamey Newberg feels Hank Blalock‘s $6.2MM option for ’09 is an easy call to exercise.
- J.C. Bradbury sees a rift within the Braves organization.
- Craig Calcaterra dismisses the silly idea of Frank McCourt suing Andruw Jones.
- Paul Lo Duca would prefer a non-guaranteed deal next year if he gets a chance to compete for a starting job.
- Ian O’Connor doesn’t see Alex Rodriguez finishing his contract as a Yankee.
- C.C. Sabathia just wants to be happy in his next destination.
- Will the Braves re-sign Mike Hampton this winter? Is it possible both he and Carl Pavano are useful pitchers in 2009?
Yankees Want Cashman Back
9:18pm: The Steinbrenners want to know Cashman’s decision by next week, according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman. If he agrees to stay, the two sides will then hammer out a contract.
9:06am: The Yankees officially want GM Brian Cashman back, according to Kat O’Brien of Newsday. Hal Steinbrenner told O’Brien, and Cashman confirmed the team’s desire. The two parties have yet to discuss dollars on a possible contract. Cashman prefers to wait until after the season.
O’Brien’s sources say Cashman is torn on this decision, in part due to concerns for his family. Hal played down his brother’s "advisory board" talk; that may not be an issue.
Odds and Ends : Snyder, Ludwick, Bradley
Reading material for Tuesday…
- Chris Carpenter is reportedly dealing with a unique and career-threatening nerve injury, which could increase the Cardinals’ need for starting pitching this winter.
- Viva El Birdos says the Cardinals should offer Ryan Ludwick and others for Matt Cain. Can’t hurt to ask.
- The Cubs claimed outfielder Brad Snyder off waivers from the Indians. He was the 18th overall pick in 2003, but hasn’t produced enough in the minors.
- Milton Bradley stands to earn another half-million bucks if he can snag seven more plate appearances. Bradley met with the Rangers a few months ago to discuss a long-term deal, but nothing is close. Bradley feels the Rangers are dragging their feet, and gives 50-50 odds on a return. He said he’d quit baseball if he couldn’t find a multiyear deal somewhere.
- Sam Mellinger reminds Royals fans that their long-term success hinges on the development of in-house youngsters rather than free agent signings.
- Steven Goldman notes that the Red Sox are far better prepared for the future than the Yankees.
Odds and Ends: Hawkins, Pettitte, Strasburg
Rounding up the day’s links…
- Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News talks about the future of Garrett Atkins. We discussed the possibility of an Atkins trade in this post.
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony says the Astros would like to re-sign reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Amazingly, Hawkins has thrown 17 scoreless innings as an Astro.
- This is a popular link lately…Vegas Watch examines April predictions from various analysts. Meanwhile, Scott Long digs in deeper on PECOTA’s American League predictions. Personally I am more interested in the logic behind projections. Did anyone predict Rays starters to post a 3.88 ERA? Did anyone peg Dioner Navarro and Carl Crawford‘s seasons?
- Viva El Birdos hopes the Cardinals do not sign Jon Garland this winter.
- Sam Mellinger wonders how the Royals would replace David DeJesus if they traded him.
- Andy Pettitte remains undecided on 2009. He’s hinted a desire to come back, but it’s unknown whether the Yankees want him. Houston could make sense.
- The Mariners are currently in line to have first crack at drafting Stephen Strasburg. They could even use Erik Bedard‘s money to sign him.
- Javier Valentin hasn’t heard from the Reds regarding 2009.