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Benson Stays With Phillies

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Rehabbing starter Kris Benson chose not to opt out of his contract with the Phillies; his window to do so has passed.  According to Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury, his contract was restructured yesterday to allow him to opt out on May 15th if he’s not on the Phils’ 40-man roster.

Benson, 33, had surgery a year ago to repair a partially torn rotator cuff.  He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in February.

Do the Phillies have sufficient depth behind Brett Myers and Cole Hamels?  Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer, and Adam Eaton have the last three slots.  J.D. and Chad Durbin are additional options.  Would it make any difference to add Claudio Vargas to this group?

Miguel Cabrera Signs Extension

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4:08pm: John Lowe has the year by year breakdown and adds that there are ten teams Cabrera can be traded to without his permission.

TUESDAY, 12:44pm: Cabrera’s seven-year extension is official.  $20MM a year is a solid price for 25 year-old superstar who has never been injured.  And Cabrera sets himself up for one more massive deal, just like A-Rod did.

MONDAY, 8:57am: Though we don’t have an official announcement and press conference from the Tigers yet, it’s obvious that an agreement has been reached.  Sabernomics thinks Cabrera will be worth $268MM over this time period; PECOTA feels differently.  Cabrera will only be 32 when this contract ends.  Though their ages don’t match up, Jim Salisbury and Todd Zolecki believe this deal could be a comparable for Ryan Howard.

SUNDAY, 8:52pm: Danny Knobler clarifies: it’s a seven-year extension worth around $140MM, starting with the 2009 season.  Regardless, it’s a team-friendly deal.

12:18am: According to ESPN’s Enquire Rojas, Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera is set to sign an eight-year, $153.3MM extension.  That’s $19.16MM per year for 2009-16.  Definitely less than I expected him to sign for.  We’ll examine the deal more closely when details become available.   

Odds and Ends: Giles, Crisp, A-Rod

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Nothing huge cooking this morning, so here are some odds and ends.

  • Doesn’t look like the Dodgers will acquire Marcus Giles.
  • Rany Jazayerli writes about how Kansas City is home to many of the country’s best baseball journalists.  On a related note, the Star’s Sam Mellinger has a chat with Brian Bannister on his blog.
  • Coco Crisp rattles off the trade rumors he’s heard: Cubs, Sox, A’s, Padres.  No deal appears imminent, though Crisp was healthy enough to pinch-run this morning.
  • John Harper snags an exclusive with Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod admitted he chose the Rangers over the Mets for money and feared he was going down that road again this past winter.
  • Roch Kubatko writes that Brian Roberts was pulled from the lineup today for back pain, hoping to nip trade speculation in the bud.
  • The Phillies have to make a decision on Kris Benson today.
  • Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Joe Nathan extension.  Buster Olney talked to baseball execs who felt the Twins should’ve added Nathan’s money to their Johan offer.

Braves Expect Trades

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien talked to Braves GM Frank Wren, and he learned that Wren expects to "make a deal or two."

DOB says the Braves are looking to add a proven bench bat.  They can spare an out of options reliever from the group of Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop, Tyler Yates, and Royce Ring.  O’Brien sees Yates as the one to go.  Catcher Brayan Pena and first baseman Scott Thorman are other possible trade chips.

As for who’s coming to Atlanta, O’Brien pretty much ruled out Reed Johnson and Robert Fick.  He considers Wes Helms a possibility.  The Orioles and Giants are two teams with veterans to spare, though most are of the overpriced variety. 

Stark’s Latest: Roberts, Fuentes, Lofton

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new blog post jam-packed with hot stove rumors.

  • The Cubs are getting frustrated with the Brian Roberts situation, wondering if they’ll ever complete this trade.  The Orioles are scouting players but still haven’t given the Cubs the names they crave.  I got the exact same vibe from the source who told me Jose Ceda’s inclusion was never proposed by the Cubs.
  • The Tigers and Phillies are both hunting for bullpen help; Detroit’s sights are set higher than Philadelphia’s.  Unwanted players such as Wes Helms and Brandon Inge aren’t in demand.  And while Marcus Thames is desirable, he’s not enough to get Aaron Heilman from the Mets.  Brian Fuentes, also a Yankees target, may be the best available reliever.  But Stark says the Rox want a "high-upside young arm" for the southpaw.
  • My own guess at some useful relievers who may be available: Damaso Marte, Joe Nathan, Jamie Walker, Chad Bradford, Huston Street, Alan Embree, Kevin Gregg, Jon Rauch, and Chad Cordero.
  • Stark names the Cubs, Rays, and Mets as the teams looking for an extra outfielder.  No deals appear imminent, though the Rays made an unsuccessful offer to Kenny Lofton.  The Mets and Cubs are considering the same names we’ve heard for a few weeks now.  The Cubs are in a holding pattern since they may get Jay Payton in a Roberts deal with Baltimore. 

Odds and Ends: Rivera, Hamels, Sherrill

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Here’s today’s gathering of links.

  • John Shea examines the Giants’ roster crunch, which would be greatly relieved by trading Dave Roberts and Steve Kline.
  • Adam Rubin implies that the Angels want too much from the Mets for Juan Rivera – Jon Niese or Bobby Parnell.  A deal seems unlikely.
  • Cole Hamels, accused by a heckler of being a cross between Casey Fossum and Shawn Camp.  BURNED!
  • Buster Olney is hearing from other teams that the Orioles may shop 30 year-old newly anointed closer George Sherrill this summer.
  • Joe Christensen believes that we’ll learn about Joe Nathan’s future with the Twins by week’s end.
  • Brock For Broglio posted an interesting interview with Voros McCracken.  This quote from McCracken caught my eye: "One of the things that kind of bugged me with the Red Sox was a somewhat implied expectation that I’d come up with something like DIPS on a regular basis."

What To Do With Wes Helms?

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In the 2006-07 offseason, Wes Helms had just finished his best year (in terms of rate stats, at least).  He hit .329/.390/.575 for the ’06 Marlins, facing a disproportionate number of lefties. 

David Bell and Abraham Nunez had combined for an OPS under .700 at the hot corner for the ’06 Phillies, so they figured Helms would be an upgrade even stretched as a full-timer.  They gave him a two-year, $5.45MM deal with a $3.75MM club option for ’09.  Part of the motivation was to save money for an Alfonso Soriano bid.  Plus, Mark DeRosa had already signed with the Cubs.

The signing did not go as planned, as Helms hit just .246/.297/.368 and lost full-time status quickly.  The Phils gave third base time to Nunez and Greg Dobbs, once again generating subpar results.  They signed Pedro Feliz to a two-year deal this winter.

The Phils would like to trade Helms now, and David Murphy suggests swapping him with Steve Kline could make sense.  The Giants aren’t interested though.  Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto says the Phils indeed desire a southpaw reliever for Helms, who is drawing interest from the Braves and Marlins (both clubs he’s played for previously).

Odds and Ends: Dan Johnson, Baldelli, Soria

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Let’s round up some linkage.

Cafardo’s Latest: Fuentes, Sowers, Laffey

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Boston Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo’s Sunday column has new hot stove material, as usual.

  • Cafardo notes that Kyle Snyder, Julian Tavarez, and Bryan Corey have all been heavily scouted by other clubs.  Snyder is out of options, so he’s a good trade candidate.  Cafardo mentioned on Thursday that the Orioles were taking a look at Corey, who might return to Japan if he doesn’t join a big league ’pen.  I imagine the Sox are going to want the insurance Tavarez provides.
  • The Phils are hunting for a southpaw reliever and another starter. Brian Fuentes remains on their radar, but they’re competing with the Tigers and Yankees for him. 
  • The Indians could make southpaws Jeremy Sowers and/or Aaron Laffey available, if Cliff Lee maintains his spring success.  Cafardo says the Cardinals, Phillies, and Astros are eyeing them.

Odds and Ends: Inge, Salcedo, Corey, Nathan

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I write this odds and ends post with two less wisdom teeth than I had yesterday.  Looks like applesauce for dinner.

  • Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Tigers haven’t talked lately, and doesn’t see L.A. taking on Brandon Inge’s $19.1MM.  Aside from the standard Giants suggestion, Heyman puts on his speculation cap and wonders whether Inge could catch for Houston.  What is J.R. Towles, chopped liver?
  • This is questionable, but hey, it’s a Friday.  Hi5 is a popular social networking site in Central America.  A reader sent me a link to this page, which may belong to future superstar kid shortstop/Boras client Edward Salcedo.  The owner of the page slapped up a big ol’ Indians logo over a month ago with the caption "my team."  I have to reiterate that I don’t know if this is really Salcedo’s page.  The Tribe said on Tuesday that Salcedo remained unsigned.
  • The Orioles are observing 34 year-old journeyman reliever Bryan Corey.
  • Joe Nathan, still chatting contract with the Twins.  Kelly Thesier noted that it was the Twins reaching out recently.  Nathan’s agent will meet with them Tuesday.
  • Jacob Jackson goes out on a limb and wonders if Justin Upton could be Oakland’s first $100MM player.
  • The new Phils-ville blog is up.
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