Odds and Ends: Steinbrenner, Burnett, Sabathia
Links for Sunday, before I head out to Chipotle…
- Hank Steinbrenner talked to George King of the New York Post. He made it clear that he has not taken a step back in running the Yankees. Hank also mentions Mark Teixeira by name, calling him a "quality player."
- Ken Davidoff tries to determine if A.J. Burnett‘s injury-prone days are behind him, as his agent would like us to believe.
- Henry Schulman chatted with Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.
- John Shea lays odds for the C.C. Sabathia bidding.
- Phil Rogers campaigns for an extension for Cubs GM Jim Hendry. He wonders if Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood would follow if Hendry joined a different team.
- A’s GM Billy Beane talked to Matthew Lutovsky of the Sporting News about fantasy baseball as well as a new video game.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Greinke, Manny, Burnett
A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- Royals Authority feels it will take a Johan Santana-type deal to trade Zack Greinke this offseason.
- Goat Riders Of The Apocalypse takes an in depth look at the Cubs ’09 roster and what changes could be made.
- Mets Geek (or is it Rays Geek?) thinks the most important move for the Mets this winter is to sign Manny Ramirez, but only for three-years and an option.
- River Ave. Blues agree that Manny should only be signed by the Yankees if it can be done for less than five years.
- MetsBlog calls Orlando Hudson a "must sign" this off-season.
- The Chuck Knoblog doesn’t see how the Yankees can sign two big free agent pitchers and a first baseman and still get the payroll down to $180-185MM.
- Drunk Jays Fans does not see any way A.J. Burnett will return to the Jays next season.
- First And Goal From Second Base wants to see the Twins trade Jason Kubel for a reliever.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Moore, Manny, Hudson
Reading material for Thursday…
- NBC San Diego reports that John Moores plans to sell his 49% of the Padres as part of his divorce settlement.
- Derrick Goold looks at the many teams that might consider Rafael Furcal, including the Cardinals. Imagine the kind of contract he’d be looking at if he’d been healthy all year.
- I did a Q&A with Sox and Pinstripes recently.
- According to Mariners president Chuck Armstrong, the new GM will have less power and a smaller payroll than Bill Bavasi. The list of candidates is down to ten.
- MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel talked to Royals GM Dayton Moore, who wants to add an offensive player (a hitter, not a guy who offends). Moore won’t be moving Joakim Soria to the rotation, though some in the organization support it. Also, MLB Interviews chatted Royals with Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post sees a parallel between Mike Mussina and Jimmy Key. Some Yankees officials expect Mussina to file for free agency to keep his options open.
- In another article, Sherman warns suitors that Manny Ramirez is a "con man."
- ESPN’s Buster Olney runs through possible destinations for Orlando Hudson, including the Mets, White Sox, Indians, and Angels.
- Anthony Marenna of DC Metroblog provides an offseason plan for the Nationals, while Jacob Jackson takes on the A’s at Athletics Nation.
Olney’s Latest: Sabathia, Ellis, Embree, Giles
Buster Olney brings the rumors:
- If the Yankees want CC Sabathia, they will not lose in any bidding war now that a new ballpark puts them in the position to "throw unlimited dollars" at CC. Unless CC wants to play in the NL, or avoid the media circus of New York City, Olney seems convinced the Yankees will land him.
- The A’s have begun contract negotiations with Mark Ellis. No details yet.
- Before the trade deadline, no teams expressed interest in Alan Embree and his $2.25MM salary. This could indicate that the A’s will not pick up his $3MM option. The 38 year old lefthander struggled with a 4.96 ERA this season.
- The Padres are going to pick up Brian Giles $9MM option at the deadline, shortly after the World Series, rather than buy him out for $3MM. This was expected.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Holliday, Teixeira, Mussina
A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- MetsBlog recognizes that Francisco Rodriguez will improve the team and appease fans, but is not sure he is worth a four or five-year deal.
- Mets Geek projects the Mets ’09 roster and looks at some options from outside the organization with Pat Burrell and Derek Lowe being the biggest offseason targets.
- Was Watching says bringing back Brian Cashman was a mistake.
- River Ave. Blues assesses the Matt Holliday market and feels that Phil Hughes and Robinson Cano for Holliday "doesn’t make much sense."
- Sox and Pinstripes provides an in-depth preview of the upcoming offseasons for the Yankees and Red Sox and wonders if Theo Epstein can convince the Rockies to take J.D. Drew and a top prospect for Matt Holliday.
- iYankees notes that Brian Cashman wants to make the Yankees’ OBP a priority this winter and feels Mark Teixeira fits the bill.
- Oriole Post does not want to see Mike Mussina return to the O’s and would prefer they "stay the course" with young players.
- C70 At The Bat takes a look at the Cardinals’ decision to sign Kyle Lohse and what it could mean for the offseason ahead.
- Viva el Birdos projects the Cardinals ’09 roster and payroll.
- McCovey Chronicles reacts to some quotes from Brian Sabean and what they mean for the Giants’ offseason.
- Newberg Report thinks the price for the Rangers to acquire Jake Peavy would be too high, even if he’d waive his no-trade clause to go there.
- Athletics Nation sees no point in signing Jason Giambi.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Olney’s Latest: Yankees, Cashman, Giambi
A few hot stove notes from ESPN’s Buster Olney…
- Olney heard the Yankees’ 2009 payroll will be in the $180MM range, down $29MM or so from this year.
- The Yankees didn’t need to negotiate dollars with Brian Cashman…it was just a matter of whether he wanted to come back.
- Olney can see Jason Giambi returning to the A’s "if the money can be worked out." Does two years, $20MM sound right? A Giambi signing would either push Daric Barton to the bench or Jack Cust to left field.
A’s Rumors: Ellis, Embree
More A’s rumors and news, courtesy of Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (here and here).
- GM Billy Beane is committed to the long-term plan, and is not interested in quick fixes. He’d like to add a free agent bat, probably an older player on a short-term commitment (Jason Giambi could make sense).
- Second baseman Mark Ellis had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago. The uncertainty hurts his free agency prospects, which might give the A’s a better chance to re-sign him. Ellis is a Beane favorite, and the A’s hope to bring him back.
- The A’s will decide on Alan Embree‘s $3MM option after the World Series.
A’s Rumors: Street, Crosby, Embree
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has a slew of A’s hot stove info for us today.
- Pending free agents include Mark Ellis, Frank Thomas, Emil Brown, and Keith Foulke. All except Ellis are certainly goners.
- Huston Street trade talks may resume with the team that claimed him in August. All we know is that it was a non-contender. Street is under team control through 2010, and could earn $5MM next year.
- The A’s aren’t planning to trade Justin Duchscherer, and are currently just hoping his hip will be OK for ’09.
- Shortstop Bobby Crosby will earn $5.25MM next year. He racked up 605 plate appearances this year, the most since his rookie year. However, he didn’t hit or play acceptable defense. Interest in him will not be high.
- Lefty reliever Alan Embree spoke of "positive dialogue" between him and Billy Beane regarding his next year. Embree posted a 4.96 ERA, so maybe the A’s will decline his $3MM option and re-sign him for less.
- Kirk Saarloos is a non-tender candidate.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Laird, Strasburg, Chipper
Let’s gather up today’s linkage.
- Andy Pettitte will probably pitch next year, but Mike Mussina remains an unknown.
- Reader Peter H. reminds us that the Brewers’ playoff berth means the Indians get to choose the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia deal.
- Ross Newhan finds it indisputable that the Dodgers and Angels have to re-sign Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at any cost. Manny generated an estimated $7.6MM in extra revenue for the Dodgers. T.J. Simers snagged all kinds of quotes from Manny in recent articles, including one about Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick dissing Manny in front of his teammates prior to the shoving incident.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News names some possible fits for Gerald Laird this winter – the Tigers, Brewers, Reds, and Red Sox.
- The Nationals will pick first in the 2009 draft. Will they go for Stephen Strasburg?
- Kerry Wood felt bad about his three-year, $32.5MM deal, and basically signed a blank check after the ’07 season.
- Ron Villone would like to return to the Cardinals rather than attempt to tie Mike Morgan‘s record of playing for 12 different teams.
- Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson for next Tigers pitching coach?
- Athletics Nation puts together a plan to compete in ’09 without sacrificing the future.
- Chipper Jones wants to retire a Brave. But if he doesn’t sign an extension beyond ’09 and the Braves want to trade him next summer, he’s got a short list of teams to which he’d accept a trade.
Offseason Outlook: Oakland Athletics
Next up in the Offseason Outlook series, the A’s. Here’s how they might line up in 2009:
C – Kurt Suzuki -$400K
C – Rob Bowen – $410K+
1B – Daric Barton – $400K
2B – Eric Patterson – $400K
SS – Bobby Crosby – $5.25MM
3B – Eric Chavez – $11MM
IF – Jack Hannahan – $400K
IF – Cliff Pennington – $400K
LF – Aaron Cunningham – $400K
CF – Carlos Gonzalez – $400K
RF – Ryan Sweeney – $400K
OF – Rajai Davis – $400K
DH – Jack Cust – $410K+
SP – Justin Duchscherer – $1.2MM+
SP – Greg Smith – $400K
SP – Sean Gallagher – $400K
SP – Dana Eveland – $400K
SP – Dallas Braden – $400K
RP – Huston Street – $3.3MM+
RP – Brad Ziegler – $400K
RP – Joey Devine – $400K
RP – Santiago Casilla – $400K
RP – Andrew Brown – $400K
RP – Jerry Blevins – $400K
RP – Josh Outman – $400K
Other outfielders: Travis Buck – $400K, Chris Denorfia – $400K, Matt Murton – $400K
Other starters: Gio Gonzalez – $400K, Dan Meyer – $400K, Vince Mazzaro – $400K, Trevor Cahill – $400K, Brett Anderson – $400K
The A’s opened the ’08 season with a $48MM payroll, down $31MM from the year before. They have roughly $29MM committed for ’09, plus arbitration raises to Bowen, Cust, Duchscherer, and Street. They’ll surely come in under $40MM, and could trade Duke or Street.
Oakland’s pitching has been strong once again, and their fourth-ranked ERA holds up even after you subtract Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, and Chad Gaudin. Lack of offense is the problem – the A’s are dead last in baseball in OBP, SLG, and runs scored.
Cust and Suzuki made positive contributions offensively; Sweeney was OK. The infield could be an area to upgrade this winter (second base would require a stopgap solution due to the minor league depth). Chavez will figure in if he can come back from shoulder surgery, but he may be incapable of playing third base. The A’s have tons of outfielders, but no real trade surplus. Given Billy Beane’s success developing and finding pitching, that’s the surplus. He could deal Duchscherer or Street or attempt to swap young pitching for young hitting.
The A’s could target third basemen such as Edwin Encarnacion or Kevin Kouzmanoff, though neither player is an offensive monster. Young shortstops are more difficult to find via trade. Dan Uggla could be an interesting target for second or third base. The A’s probably aren’t in the market for a first baseman, though Prince Fielder might be available. That’d make for an amusing story. Mike Jacobs could be a more feasible target.
Shrewd free agent signings might be a better and more likely path – Jason Giambi, Rafael Furcal, and Casey Blake could help. The outfield market is strong, if the A’s don’t mind pushing various youngsters further down the depth chart.