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Odds and Ends: Cameron, Inge, Bay

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Here are some random rumors and links I’ve cobbled together today.

  • The Fish officially signed Jorge Cantu to a minor-league deal worth $500K with $100K in incentives.
  • The Cardinals re-upped Aaron Miles for $1.4 mil.  This team needs some good middle infielders.
  • According to Tyler Kepner, Alex Rodriguez has been "privately endorsing" Mike Cameron.  Well, it’s not private anymore!  The Yankees could entertain such a signing if they trade Melky Cabrera but don’t want to move Johnny Damon back to center.  Kepner’s article also discusses the internal struggle between Hank and Hal Steinbrenner.  Hank wants Johan Santana, Hal wants to show a little financial restraint.

  • Lynn Henning digs into the Brandon Inge situation, with help from the always-insightful Keith Law.  Henning believes Inge would view a shift back to catcher "with contempt."
  • Scott Wuerz runs through various possible Cardinals targets.  He notes that the Pirates had considered the White Sox their best possible trade partner for Jason Bay, and are disappointed by Chicago’s Nick Swisher acquisition.
  • Seems that Bartolo Colon has yet to crack 90 mph in the Dominican Winter League.
  • There are rumblings that the Astros are considering bringing Freddy Garcia back.
  • R.J. Anderson snagged an interesting interview with Paul DePodesta.
  • Minor League guru and MLB.com senior writer Jonathan Mayo has a new book coming out about what it’s like to face Roger Clemens.  I’m going to do a Q&A with Jonathan next week; if you have any good question ideas leave ’em in the comments.  By the way, Mayo finished his book before the Mitchell Report came out.
  • Yankees fans – Ray Istorico has an illustrated history of the early Yankees coming out in a few months.
  • I will be appearing on XM Radio’s MLB Home Plate show on Sunday around 2:25 CST.

Yankees Won’t Re-Sign Clemens

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Anthony McCarron got another tidbit out of Hank Steinbrenner in his interview yesterday.  He learned that the Yankees will not consider re-signing Roger Clemens, if he does play in 2008.

Hank feels that Andy Pettitte will provide all the veteran leadership his staff needs, and he doesn’t expect Roger back anyway.  Back on December 15th, Ken Davidoff suggested that Clemens was leaning toward coming back, with his sights on the Red Sox or Astros.

Clemens will address Brian McNamee’s steroid claims Sunday on 60 Minutes.

Hank Speaks About Johan

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Yesterday it seemed that the Yankees’ talks for Johan Santana were pretty much dead, with his contract extension presenting an issue.  But Hank Steinbrenner weighed in with Anthony McCarron, and the Yankees seem squarely in the mix.  Key points of the article:

  • The implication is that the Yankees’ best offer – Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and a fourth player – is still on the table.
  • Hank says point blank the Yankees are best-equipped to handle Santana’s contract demands.  Yesterday Gordon Edes said Santana’s agent implied a seven-year, $140MM deal would be necessary and the Red Sox were willing to pay it.
  • Despite just "minor dialogue" between the Yanks and Twins lately, Steinbrenner seems unwilling to let the situation linger more than another two weeks.
  • McCarron says the Mets remain in the mix as well.  Matthew Cerrone believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox "have essentially made their final offers."
  • The Sports Hernia weighs in on Hank’s comments.

Latest Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 1-2-08 at 10:45pm: Nothing new with Boston’s pursuit of Santana; Nick Cafardo says the Sox still have two different offers on the table for the Twins.  Cafardo notes that Santana’s agent quoted the starting bid around seven years, $140MM – and the Red Sox are fine with that. 

UPDATE, 1-2-08 at 4:19pm: LEN3 adds that the Mariners are not in the running for Johan.  Coupled with the info below it seems to be between the Mets and Red Sox currently.

FROM 1-2-08 at 1:21pm:

Peter Abraham had a note this morning about Johan Santana.  He says "there are no indications the Yankees will suddenly get back into the mix for Santana."  Abraham notes that the main issue for the Yanks remains the massive extension they’d have to give Santana.

Back on December 28th Joel Sherman said the Yanks had "become more entrenched in their unwillingness to pay the price both in prospects and dollars."  He noted that they were reluctant to hand over Phil Hughes or $130MM to Johan.

On the 27th, Jayson Stark said the Yankees last offer was Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and an undetermined fourth player, but the proposal was off the table.  Stark believed that Hank Steinbrenner could still decide to re-engage the Santana talks though.

Odds and Ends: Hillenbrand, Tsao, Uehara

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Here are some random bits and pieces to hold us over until front offices re-open…

  • Shea Hillenbrand has only received one inquiry this winter – from the Giants.  He probably won’t be earning $6MM again.  Hillenbrand posted a .599 OPS in 267 ABs for the Angels and Dodgers this year.  I thought perhaps that was one of the worst performances of the decade for guys with 250+ ABs.  However it’s only the 49th worst since 2000.  Homer Bush’s 2000 takes the cake – a .524 OPS for the Blue Jays in 297 ABs.
  • The Royals inked Chin-Hui Tsao to a minor-league deal.  Tsao was once considered the Rockies’ best prospect, but he’s been decimated by injuries.  Makes sense for the Royals to throw him a bone though.
  • Koji Uehara re-signed with the Yomiuri Giants for 400 million yen – about $3.57MM.  He’ll turn 33 in April.  A hamstring injury knocked Uehara out of the ’07 season’s first month, denying him free agency this winter.  Now he needs to be active for just eight days to be eligible after the season.  The Giants used him in relief in ’07, perhaps to spite him.  Read more about that and his repertoire in my Q&A with Mike Plugh on Uehara.   
  • John Fay runs down the Reds’ veteran free agent starter options.
  • A-Rod still won’t return Scott Boras’ calls.
  • Jason Churchill names some intriguing, possibly available young hurlers who may be on Seattle’s radar: Scott Olsen, Noah Lowry, Daniel Cabrera, Edwin Jackson, Chris Capuano, Ian Snell, and Anthony Reyes.
  • Nothing is cooking with Brandon Inge, and the Tigers won’t be bringing Sean Casey back.

Mailbag: Lopez, Colon, Cano

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Let’s dig into the MLBTR mailbag once again.  You could ask a question by emailing mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.

What moves would you like to see the Rockies make to improve their starting rotation? – Sean

The Rockies seem to have decent rotation depth – Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Jason Hirsh, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, Taylor Buchholz, even Kip Wells and Mark Redman.  I would like to see Dan O’Dowd toss an injury-recovering free agent into the mix.  The one I like is Rodrigo Lopez.  He was quietly very solid for a half-season in Colorado this year.  He had surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in August but there’s no timetable quite yet.  Adding a wrinkle is that Scott Boras represents him.

Why don’t the White Sox go after Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon or something like that? – Tim

Two clubs that have seen Colon’s medical reports and/or price tag have already backed off (Astros, Rangers).  The Cardinals, Nationals, and Mets may have lingering interest, but we don’t have great information here.  How healthy is he?  Would he take a one-year deal?  On December 4th, Bill Ladson suggested he was not open to one year.  Anyway, I like the idea of Colon returning to the White Sox in theory, and they’ve got the money and need, but it’s hard for an outsider to say whether this is a good investment.

I read a piece last night that noted the Yankees have pulled Robinson Cano from winter ball. Do you think there is a chance that the Yanks are holding him up while he is doing well (Cano was hitting .389 in 9 games) and considering a revised offer that would include him in a Santana deal? – Steve

While there is a chance, this doesn’t seem likely to me.  I’ve always read that Phil Hughes was the one Yankee the Twins had to have in a Santana deal, and including Cano would probably mean he’s out.  Plus Cano has two years of service time, so he’s more expensive than Hughes. 

Report: Juan Gonzalez Signs With Yankees?

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UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 12:43pm: I’m told the article is the equivalent of an April Fool’s joke.

FROM 12-29-07 at 10:38am:

El Vocero, one of the bigger newspapers in Puerto Rico, is reporting that the Yankees signed Juan Gonzalez to a two-year, $2MM deal.  This report definitely makes me raise an eyebrow, for three reasons:

  • In both 2006 and 2005, odd reports surfaced about teams being interested in Gonzalez, only to have the teams publically deny interest a day or two later.
  • It seems absurd to give Gonzalez two years or $2MM when he hasn’t played in the Majors since that one at-bat in 2005. He’s 38 currently.
  • The Yankees would seem the last team with room for another DH.

Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 10:59am: Jayson Stark’s sources speak of glacially moving Santana talks with the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Mariners that may drag out for several more weeks.

UPDATE, 12-28-07 at 11:00am: Joel Sherman’s sources name the Red Sox as the "strong favorite" to acquire Santana in the new year.  He sees the Yankees backing down and the Mets as lagging behind for lack of MLB-ready young players in their offer.  Also here’s a Jayson Stark Santana article I missed yesterday giving his take on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets.

UPDATE, 12-27-07 at 2:59pm: Charley Walters has some quotes from the Twins’ president.  He gives the impression that the Twins’ priority is still to sign Santana to an extension, for what it’s worth.  They’ll have to do better than four years and $80MM though.

FROM 12-26-07 at 10:50pm:

LEN3 checks in with the latest Johan Santana rumors this evening.

  • The Mets appear to be a solid contender, even without offering up Jose Reyes.  Neal ponders whether the Twins would prefer to send Santana to the NL so they can avoid him.  Matthew Cerrone has been saying this for some time, adding that Santana would prefer to come to the NL as well.
  • Interesting note – Neal says Kei Igawa’s name has surfaced in regards to the Yankees talks.  It wouldn’t materially change the deal though.
  • Neal says talks with the Red Sox are currently dormant. 

Odds and Ends: Villarreal, Cano, Rowand

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Alright let’s round ’em up.

  • This was one I was going to pass on posting, but it’s pretty dead right now.  The Astros signed newly acquired reliever Oscar Villarreal to a two-year deal.  He was already under team control through 2008.  The MLB.com article adds that Ed Wade’s interest in Livan Hernandez and Bartolo Colon is low, and talks with Jon Lieber pretty much died.
  • The Yankees pulled Robinson Cano out of Winter Ball.  The word is that he doesn’t want to aggravate a calf injury.  You could read into it and speculate he’s a part of trade talks.  Seems like a stretch though.  I believe the Yanks also pulled Melky Cabrera from Winter Ball; we know he’s in trade talks.
  • R.J. Anderson’s book about the Devil Rays and Chuck LaMar is now available for free download.
  • J.C. Bradbury says the Aaron Rowand signing is the best free agent signing of the offseason.  Personally, I don’t hate it.  I don’t like it too much either though.

Twins Back Down On Santana Demand

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Murray Chass reports this morning that the Twins have scaled back their demands for Johan Santana, at least with the Yankees.  He says they are now willing to substitute Jeff Marquez for Ian Kennedy.  So the Yankees would have to give up Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Marquez (and one more player, I’m guessing). 

Marquez is a 23 year-old Double A righty who probably does not fall within the Yankees’ top ten prospects.  He seems a more reasonable demand than Kennedy.  About three weeks ago, Bill Madden said the Yanks could’ve acquired Santana for Hughes, Cabrera, Marquez, and Mitch Hilligoss but bailed out for financial reasons.

Anyway, Chass adds that the Yanks would be hit by luxury tax if they acquired and extended Santana.  For example, a five-year, $100MM deal would result in a constant $7.5MM annually in luxury tax.  This does not seem to bother the Yankees.

Nick Cafardo wrote a few days ago that the Red Sox are standing pat with an offer of Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, and Jed Lowrie for Santana.  For what it’s worth, David Ortiz doesn’t think the Sox will get Johan.

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