Yankees Offer To Rivera: 3/45
UPDATE: Hank Steinbrenner confirms the offer as 3/45. Not sure what Rivera is waiting for…no need to haggle over a no-trade clause since Rivera would be a 10 and 5 player.
According to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, the Yankees have a very aggressive offer on the table for closer Mariano Rivera: three years, $45MM. $15MM a year for a closer! It’s unheard of. Billy Wagner makes $10.5MM annually, but he signed two years ago. Rivera’s next deal could inflate Francisco Cordero‘s contract.
If Rivera pushes for a higher average annual salary or a fourth year, I think the Yankees would be right to pass no matter what kind of media backlash they might receive.
Odds and Ends: Clark, Izturis, Clemens
First day for teams to negotiate with free agents, always a good time. Here are today’s odds and ends.
- Jeff Blair notes that one athlete may still be better paid than Alex Rodriguez: Kimi Raikkonen, a Formula One driver, earns $51MM per year. No need to debate on whether race car drivers should be considered athletes, I just thought it was interesting.
- The D’Backs don’t figure to spend much on free agents, because they’re a smart team. Tony Clark wants two years, $4MM, and the team is thinking it over.
- The Bucs will probably hold onto Jack Wilson this winter, as they’re cutting Cesar Izturis loose rather than pay him $5.45MM. The Cardinals have interest in Izturis, by the way.
- Confirming what we already knew: the Yankees will pursue Mike Lowell and Johan Santana.
- Marty York has a source saying the Blue Jays might pursue Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Say what?
- Doug Melvin isn’t planning on moving Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun from third base unless the Brewers acquire another "legitimate, bona fide third baseman."
- Mark Gonzales notes that the White Sox tried to acquire Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel in 2006, implying that Kenny Williams might go after one of them now. Linebrink is going to be a costly sign, as he’s a Type A and I imagine the Brewers will offer him arbitration.
- Scott Gregor places odds on various center field possibilities for the White Sox. He thinks they have a decent chance of trading for Coco Crisp.
Yankees Sign Posada – 4 Years, $52.4MM
Mark Feinsand has the scoop: the Yankees beat the buzzer and signed Jorge Posada to a four-year, $52MM contract. Omar Minaya was ready to pounce, but Brian Cashman got it done. Posada jumps above Ivan Rodriguez as the game’s highest-paid catcher.
The Yankees probably could’ve signed Posada for three years, $30MM back in February. His huge season cost them big-time, though it’s still slightly less than I expected.
Feinsand also says re-signing Mariano Rivera is something that should happen this week.
Rivera, Posada, Lowell To Hit Open Market?
Brian Cashman was unable to reach an agreement with either of his big-name free agents tonight. Both Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada will hit the open market despite receiving improved offers from the Yankees. Rivera hinted that he could follow Joe Torre to the Dodgers. That seems an unlikely way for the Dodgers to spend $40MM+.
Honestly I thought the Yankees would extend themselves to get both deals done by midnight tonight. I’m surprised to see this pair hit the open market, where any team is liable to overpay. Peter Abraham speculates that Posada might require four years, $56MM, because that’s what Mike Lowell wants.
Speaking of Lowell – the Red Sox don’t seem willing to stretch to add that fourth year. They’re still negotiating, so maybe something creative can be done before Lowell starts fielding offers from other clubs.
Odds and Ends: Rolen, Silva, Capps
Here are some hot stove links to digest this evening.
- The New York Post’s Joel Sherman runs down some third base options for the Yankees. He feels that Scott Rolen, Bill Hall, Freddy Sanchez, and a few others might be reasonable options. Bernie Miklasz says there’s no indication any team is truly interested in Rolen, though Randy Youngman suggests the Angels may look at him.
- Youngman also believes the Halos have slight interest in Carlos Silva, if he can be had at less than $10MM annually. Not bloody likely.
- Jon Paul Morosi thinks the Tigers could go after the Pirates’ Damaso Marte, Salomon Torres, or even Matt Capps.
- Hat tip to Bucco Blog on the Sherman and Morosi links above. Check out Jake’s latest post, where he uncovers some interesting minor league free agents.
- Rob Biertempfel names David Riske, Doug Brocail, Shawn Camp, and Scott Linebrink as some relievers the Pirates might consider. I imagine Riske and Linebrink will be too pricey.
- Troy E. Renck believes the Rockies might inquire about Cliff Lee.
- RotoAuthority assesses the health risks within the Nationals’ rotation.
Abraham: Posada Will Stay In New York
UPDATE: A colleague of Abraham’s snagged some quotes from Posada tonight, and they do sound favorable for the Yankees. Posada said, "we’re really close."
Peter Abraham of the Journal News gives his take on the Yankees’ situations with Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. He says the Yankees have offers out to both players, and negotiation is ongoing.
Abraham seems certain that Rivera will remain a Yankee, noting that other teams probably feel the same since other suitors have not surfaced.
Posada, on the other hand, has the Mets, Blue Jays, and Marlins lining up. Abraham contends that Posada’s family situation and home will certainly compel him to stay in New York. The only question is whether Omar Minaya will jump in with an irrational offer – say four years at $16MM per. The New York Daily News has a source indicating that Posada is intent on exploring the open market.
Yankees Expected To Release Carl Pavano
It’s been a long, strange journey. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports that the Yankees plan on releasing oft-injured starter/punchline Carl Pavano before November 20th. The 40-man roster spot will be needed to protect more valuable players. At the latest, the Yanks would release Pavano before Spring Training.
The $13MM still owed to Pavano has to be treated as a sunk cost. At most he might be able to pitch for two months in 2008 following Tommy John surgery.
Has a lesson been learned here? Just last year the Yankees committed $46MM for five years of Kei Igawa, seemingly as an answer to the Red Sox getting Daisuke Matsuzaka. It doesn’t seem likely that they’ll go after any of these free agent landmines this winter.
Yankees May Require Cano For Santana
How about Ken Davidoff this winter? The Newsday reporter has been digging up some great hot stove rumors so far. Today, he has some new info about Johan Santana.
While Santana isn’t up for bidding quite yet, he should be soon after the Twins make their token offer. The Yankees will certainly be in on him. Davidoff says a package of Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and a prospect wouldn’t cut it, even though those players are very valuable. The Twins are one of few teams that actually feel good about their pitching, so the focus is on acquiring a star position player. With that in mind, they’d demand Robinson Cano from the Yankees. Cano is more expensive than a Hughes or Cabrera, but the Twins would free up $13MM by dealing Santana. Plus you have to think Cano would be better for public relations/damage control.
Random speculation on players the Twins might covet for Santana: Josh Hamilton, Chris Young of Arizona, Jacoby Ellsbury, Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, or Garrett Atkins.
In contrast to all of this, Ken Rosenthal speculates that the Twins would want "elite pitching" in return for Santana.
Healey’s Latest: Shoppach, Lee, Crawford
Some more submissions from Mark Healey at Gotham Baseball Magazine that I’d like to sift through:
- The first is the Yanks and Mets mutual interest in Indians catching prospect Kelly Shoppach. According to Mark, scouts around the league view Shoppach as "one of the best up-and-coming prospects" in baseball. Says Mark, "The Mets’ needs are more immediate, as their interest in Yankees’ backstop Jorge Posada are a bit ‘overblown’ said one agent." The report goes on to note that GM Mark Shapiro is not looking to deal Shoppach but would listen if Aaron Heilman or Mike Pelfrey. I simply don’t see Shoppach, an already 27-year-old, as having displayed enough to merit a deal for either of them. Dealing a to-date backup catcher for pitching with upside is not common practice…
- In the same report, Mark Healey mentions Omar Minaya’s interest is primarily for starter Cliff Lee, an intriguing starter to imagine in the NL.
- Finally, Gotham Baseball reports on the Brewers’ serious interest in Carl Crawford. The Dev… sorry, The Rays obviously have no interest in trade pieces Ben Sheets or Chris Capuano, both too "pricey", says Healey. Meanwhile, the Yanks have reportedly expressed interest in both, so the Brewers and Rays will be trying to get the Yankees involved. If nothing else, this is a fun one to imagine.
Makes for great speculation.
Contract Window For Miguel Cabrera?
MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Miguel Cabrera trade talks are heating up. As you know, Cabrera is under team control for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He might become more enticing if the acquiring team can talk to his agent prior to completion of a trade, with a long-term contract in mind. As far as I can tell Cabrera is represented by Arn Tellem and Fernando Cuza currently.
Frisaro says the Angels and Dodgers are in the lead for Cabrera. The Yankees, White Sox, Indians, and Tigers are also in the mix. However this Paul Hoynes article seems to indicate the Indians are fading on Cabrera. And I think it’s questionable whether the White Sox have the goods. Frisaro doesn’t include the Red Sox, which jives with Michael Silverman’s info today. Peter Gammons says the Red Sox could get Hank Blalock in a Coco Crisp deal but aren’t ready to do that right now.
It’s known that the Marlins want Howie Kendrick from the Angels; Ken Rosenthal first reported that yesterday. Maicer Izturis would also be thrown in there, but I imagine Nick Adenhart would be required as well. If such a deal were reached, Dan Uggla would move to third base to accomodate Kendrick. There’s also speculation that the Marlins could trade Uggla if they get Kendrick.
Frisaro expects Dontrelle Willis to stay put this winter.