Sabathia Blasé About New York
For the most part, the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia continued to deflect questions about his future after his start today against the Yankees, says Andrew Castrovince of MLB.com.
Hounded by the Yankees-centric media, however, the soon-to-be free agent surely launched a jolt of pain through Yankees Nation when he was asked if he likes New York.
His response? "It’s all right," he said.
Sabathia continued to maintain with reporters that "in a perfect world," he would want to stay with Cleveland. After all, "I’ve been here since I was 17."
Yankees Not Scouting Joe Blanton?
5:05pm: Joel Sherman of the New York post says the Yankees were not watching Blanton specifically. The scouts were just doing normal coverage.
12:22am: According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Yankees had a scout watching Oakland starter Joe Blanton on Sunday.
Blanton, 27, saw his salary escalate to $3.7MM this year as he reached his arbitration years. He’ll remain under team control through the 2010 season. The projection would change if Blanton switched to pinstripes, but PECOTA sees a 4.36 ERA in 187 innings from him this year (a performance valued at $8.8MM).
The Yankees are relying on Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte to front their rotation. They’ll round it out with Phil Hughes, Mike Mussina, and Ian Kennedy. Joba Chamberlain is expected to join the rotation mid-summer. I imagine the Yanks are just doing their due diligence with Blanton; a preseason trade doesn’t seem likely.
Cafardo’s Latest: Inge, Marte, Fuentes, Lohse
TUESDAY: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has an update to Cafardo’s Yankees/Fuentes item. Renck says that while the Yanks have scouted Fuentes, Rockies’ GM Dan O’Dowd says there’s "zero chance" of a trade at this time. I imagine he wants to see a healthy Luis Vizcaino before considering it.
MONDAY: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe checks in with plenty of rumors in his Sunday column.
- The Red Sox checked in on Brandon Inge during the Winter Meetings, but found his contract prohibitive. Most teams seem to feel the same way.
- The Yankees are eyeing southpaw relievers Damaso Marte and Brian Fuentes, who’ve seemingly been on their radar for months. Fuentes makes $5.05MM this year, Marte makes $2MM this year with a $6MM club option for ’09.
- Cafardo believes the Noah Lowry injury could cause the Giants to swoop in on Kyle Lohse, and could also get in the way of a Joe Crede acquisition. Lowry’s only supposed to miss two to three weeks though. Kenny Williams says exactly two clubs have talked to him about Crede, but he’s saying Crede may still be his Opening Day third baseman.
Odds and Ends: Garland, Linden, A-Rod
Time to round up various tidbits and rumors.
- Jon Garland says that unless his agent kept him in the dark, a long-term deal was never discussed with the White Sox. But in the unlikely event the Sox pursue Garland this winter, he’ll listen. Here’s a look others who will be free agents after this season and under 30 years old for ’09.
- We’ve heard the Brandon Inge/Joe Crede rumors regarding the Dodgers. Tony Jackson speculates that Wes Helms or Jeff Cirillo could also be options.
- Paul Sullivan says Aaron Rowand was the Cubs’ Plan B to Kosuke Fukudome.
- ShysterBall can’t figure out why the Cubs would go after Coco Crisp.
- Todd Linden is mashing so far this spring, but he gets the feeling he won’t make the A’s. The 27 year-old switch-hitter has a Major League line of .231/.303/.335 in 502 ABs.
- Jon Heyman has an inside look at Alex Rodriguez‘s offseason adventure.
- In addition to the aforementioned Brandon Medders and Dustin Nippert, Arizona’s Edgar Gonzalez is out of options and has drawn interest.
Odds and Ends: Johnson, Ponson, Nady
Ever lose a contact in the bathroom and scour for it for hours? That was my morning. Good times. On to the links.
- Friend of MLBTR Susan Slusser notes that the Giants had two scouts watching the A’s on Wednesday. One guy they might have been eyeing is first baseman Dan Johnson. It seems that Johnson, who is out of options, may be able to linger around on the A’s roster until at least mid-April given the expanded rosters for the Japan series. And since Slusser’s article we’ve learned that Daric Barton‘s hand injury is more serious than initially thought. That could buy Johnson even more time if the A’s aren’t ready to trade him.
- The Cardinals, Mariners, Royals, and Diamondbacks, Astros, and Rangers were among teams with scouts watching Sidney Ponson touch 94mph today. He’s stopped drinking and lost some weight; who knows, maybe he can help an NL club.
- Peter Abraham views Joba Chamberlain‘s recent comments with a little skepticism.
- MLB.com’s Marty Noble calls a Mets trade for Xavier Nady "quite unlikely," though an anonymous Mets player likes the idea.
Papelbon Gets $775K
Outspoken Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon signed a one-year deal for $775K for ’08. That’s significantly more than the Sox had to give him, so it seems they value his happiness. His new salary beats Mariano Rivera‘s two-year service time closer record of $750K.
Papelbon’s salary will increase drastically a year from now, as he’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time. He probably won’t get the $10MM Ryan Howard did, but something north of $5MM seems possible.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Thames, Konerko, Ellis, Atkins
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up; let’s take a look.
- Rosenthal dissects the outfield options for the Mets, many of the names we’ve been speculating. He notes that the Mets’ talks for Marcus Thames fizzled during the Winter Meetings.
- He says Paul Konerko "remains quietly available," and expresses the opinion that the Mets or Yankees could both use him. Rosenthal believes Chicago’s biggest need is starting pitching.
- Rosenthal speculates that six years at $18MM per might be the Rockies’ limit for Matt Holliday. Will the Scott Boras client demand full market value? Also, Colorado doesn’t seem to have any plans to lock up Garrett Atkins.
- Signing Mark Ellis to an extension rather than trading him is a possibility for the A’s. Three or four years at $5MM per would be the going rate.
- Though Dylan Hernandez wrote that the Dodgers "don’t appear to be interested in Brandon Inge," Rosenthal says they’re "indeed intrigued."
Odds and Ends: Thames, Sosa, Inge, Crisp
Here’s today’s link roundup.
- MetsBlog passes along a Jon Heyman WFAN appearance tidbit. The SI.com writer said the Mets and Tigers are discussing a Marcus Thames for Jorge Sosa swap. Thames definitely fits the Mets’ needs, though Sosa seems a little light for him.
- I did a fantasy baseball mailbag for Hardball Times.
- Brandon Inge tries to explain his comments about catching.
- John Smoltz has advice for Cole Hamels.
- Nice to see a popular player legitimately spending time to sign fan mail.
- Buster Olney says the Red Sox and A’s are still discussing Coco Crisp.
- Olney also notes that "talent evaluators say the Reds have demonstrated a clear willingness to deal Homer Bailey."
Odds And Ends: Crede, Marlins, Canó, Bonds
Some interesting tidbits this afternoon before I check out:
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that one of Brian Sabean’s top advisors, Ted Uhlaender, was present to witness Joe Crede’s homer off of Arizona’s Max Scherzer on Saturday. Seems more and more likely, as Crede proves his back is fine, that he will be moved to the Giants. Will the White Sox get Kevin Correia in exchange for Crede? The White Sox need a back-of-the-rotation guy, and Kenny Williams and company think they can win this year. So prospects probably won’t get it done. While the Giants could conceivably use Rich Aurilia or Kevin Frandsen at third, Sabean will most likely be unable to resist Crede’s 2006.
- Juan Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel digs up this little tidbit: The Florida Marlins haven’t signed a player to a multi-year contract since December 2005, when they signed Carlos Delgado to a four-year, $55MM contract, and Paul Lo Duca to a three-year, $18MM deal. One would hope that this trend will end soon enough, and that owner Jeff Loria will open the purse strings for Hanley Ramirez when the time is right.
- Tyler Kepner of The New York Times explores the relative surprise that Robinson Canó has been considering his draft position and reputation as a prospect, and details how frequently the Yankees almost dealt him before he made the big club. Canó was nearly dealt for Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltrán, and Randy Johnson in different instances.
- AP Sports Writer Bob Baum explains that Bud Selig isn’t trying to keep Barry Bonds from being signed. Selig stressed that each club is free to deal with whomever they please.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Garcia, Lohse, Colon
With a full slate of Spring Training games underway today, there are still some big names hanging out in the free agent market. After the Red Sox signed signed former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal, there are still two big-name starting pitchers that have yet to find new homes. Former all-star Freddy Garcia is not expected to be ready until mid-season after having rotator cuff surgery last fall, but may have interest from several clubs. On the other hand Kyle Lohse is still looking for work despite being perfectly healthy. His biggest ailment maybe that his agent’s name is Scott Boras. With just over four weeks until opening day, let’s take a look at coverage of these pitchers in the blogosphere.
If there is a topic you would like to see covered in "Baseball Blogs Weigh In" please let me know HERE.
- Mets Fever notes that the names Garcia and Lohse keep popping up on the radar and they are not surprised considering that the Mets rotation is a crapshoot once you get past Johan Santana.
- Sox and Pinstripes says that signing Garcia would be a smart move for the Red Sox. With Colon and Curt Schilling, Garcia would provide the Sox with plenty of second half pitching insurance.
- Fire Brand of the American League is hoping the Red Sox will sign Garcia as they believe he will be more dependable than Colon.
- MetsBlog can’t see the Mets signing Lohse unless they can find a way to unload Orlando Hernandez. And then they would only go for a one year deal.
- Sox & Dawgs notes the age-old baseball cliche that a team can never have too much pitching and likes the addition of Colon.
- Bugs & Cranks says that the signing of Colon has them seeing El Guapo Deja Vu and wonder if he will be as important and beloved as another former Cy Young winner, Eric Gagne.
- Surviving Grady notes that every good sitcom needs a fat guy and now the Red Sox have theirs in the form of Colon.