Phillies Still Focused On Pitching, Not Lowell
UPDATE: Gillick specifically said tonight not to believe everything you see on ESPN.com, in reference to the Lowell rumor.
Pat Gillick reiterated today that the Phillies are focused on pitching rather than Mike Lowell. Specifically a starter and a reliever.
Buster Olney had reported earlier that the Phils were making a big play for Lowell.
Dodgers Pursuing Aaron Rowand
Buster Olney’s blog today had some good rumors to digest.
- Olney writes that the Dodgers are making a "heavy play" for Aaron Rowand. Apparently they love the idea of adding a good character guy to the clubhouse. They’d be paying $25MM for Rowand and Juan Pierre in their outfield for the next several years.
- The Phillies are making a "big play" for Mike Lowell. This certainly doesn’t jive with the speculation that the Phils only have $10MM to spend and it’s going toward pitching. By the way, Ruben Amaro Jr. ruled out the possibility of signing Torii Hunter.
- Olney has an exec source who believes Hunter will sign with the Rangers for six years and $90MM.
- Olney doesn’t see Kenny Rogers apologizing to the Rangers anytime soon.
- Mike Cameron has a better chance of re-signing with the Padres, now that his 2008 season will be reduced by 15% in playing time.
- Six teams are in on Matt Clement, but he’s still expected to land in San Diego. The Royals are probably one of the six.
- Speculation is growing that the Braves might consider bringing Andruw Jones back.
Rumor Roundup: Colon, Barrett, Clement, Monroe
Rounding up some of today’s rumors…
- The Phillies have had conversations about Randy Wolf and Bartolo Colon. It’s assumed they have about $10MM to spend.
- The Rockies are talking to Michael Barrett’s agent. They’ve also got some interest in Mike Maroth. He doesn’t seem like a great match. LaTroy Hawkins hasn’t had any recent discussions with the Rockies, and other teams are knocking on his door (including the Brewers).
- The White Sox may look to Japan for relief help. They’ve been linked to Yasuhiko Yabuta in the past.
- Richard Griffin notes that the Blue Jays pursued Matt Clement three years ago, and they could go after him again now. I’m guessing Clement will opt for San Diego though.
- Sabernomics interviewed ESPN’s Keith Law. I chatted with Keith back in July, if you’re interested.
- The Cubs only get a player from the Twins for Craig Monroe if the Twins can strike a deal with him. And the Twins won’t be going to arbitration with Monroe.
Rangers Rumors: Rogers, Gagne, Hunter
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has some new info regarding the Rangers’ plans this offseason.
- Kenny Rogers has already had three separate stints with the Rangers, the last one ending with the cameraman incident. The Rangers would like to bring him back for a fourth tour, if the price is right. One emailer speculated that the team also wouldn’t mind an apology to management for the incident, also. Sullivan says the Mariners, Phillies, Dodgers, and Mets may also have Rogers on the radar. Seems like Ned Colletti is letting bygones be bygones with Scott Boras. UPDATE: Boras reiterated tonight that the Tigers are Rogers’ priority. He seemingly wants one year and $10MM.
- The Rangers have interest in another Boras client, Eric Gagne. I think I read this in ESPN Magazine recently – how about re-signing him and flipping him all over again at the ’08 deadline?
- Owner Tom Hicks and GM Jon Daniels had dinner with Torii Hunter tonight. I heard they had the roast beef. The Rangers will make an offer later this week, though they’ll have to top whatever the White Sox come up with.
- The Rangers also want to bring back Jamey Wright for the ‘pen.
Phillies May Only Have $10MM To Spend
The Phillies need a starting pitcher, maybe two. Problem is, they may only have $10MM left to spend. All of that money is expected to go to pitching, so Aaron Rowand should pack his bags.
Todd Zolecki says the Phils won’t attempt to retain Kyle Lohse. Carlos Silva seems too pricey. Instead, Zolecki names Hiroki Kuroda, Kris Benson, Matt Clement, Livan Hernandez, Tom Glavine, Mark Prior, Shawn Chacon, and Joe Kennedy as possibilities.
Scott Lauber has heard from Ruben Amaro Jr. that the team will definitely consider Japanese options like Kuroda and reliever Masahide Kobayashi. Trading for pitching seems unlikely, as the Phils would probably have to part with Shane Victorino to get anyone decent.
Molony’s Latest: Glavine, Fukudome, Percival
MLB.com’s Jim Molony has a new column up with some solid info.
- Molony says Tom Glavine will wait about a week and then announce he’ll pitch for the Braves in ’08. It would probably be for $8-9MM for ’08 with a mutual option for ’09.
- Molony suggests that the Phillies might go after Kosuke Fukudome, or lesser options like Brad Wilkerson or Trot Nixon.
- Eight teams are after Troy Percival, four of which consider him an option at closer. The Tigers aren’t involved as of yet. Maybe the Cubs are in the mix? Also a reader just emailed me to tell me that 790 The Sports Animal in Houston says the Astros are in on Percival.
Phillies Re-Sign J.C. Romero
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Phillies have signed lefty reliever J.C. Romero to a three-year, $12MM deal. There’s a club option for a fourth year that would bring the total to $16.75MM.
This is a terrible signing. Is it really this hard to find a competent lefty reliever? The Phillies seem to be demonstrating an ignorance of basic pitching statistics. Romero’s contract is based on 36 innings. I admit: Romero is fairly tough to hit, and he keeps the ball on the ground (which limits home runs).
But his control is awful – he’s walked almost five batters per nine innings in his career. And while he has allowed fewer than a hit per inning in his career, his 2007 success with the Phillies is based on him allowing just 3.72 hits per nine innings. Limiting hits to that degree is simply not a repeatable skill, and the Phils are paying him as if it is.
More On Mike Lowell
Michael Silverman has a little detail on Boston’s three-year offer to Mike Lowell: it’s between $12-15MM per season. It’s all guaranteed, and it doesn’t seem to be a "take it or leave it" offer, but they won’t add a fourth year. So it’s for $45MM on the high end. If you agree with Jon Heyman’s 4/52 prediction, Lowell would be leaving a minimum of $7MM on the table.
Silverman adds that the Red Sox won’t go nuts trying to replace Lowell with a big name if things don’t work out. They figure that if Kevin Youkilis can win a Gold Glove at first, he might be adequate at third base. They peeked their head in on Miguel Cabrera and balked at the price of Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz. Joe Crede might be someone for the Sox to consider.
The Yankees, Angels, and Phillies will be in on Lowell if he can’t come to an agreement with Boston. However, Phils GM Pat Gillick has stated his focus is pitching rather than third base.
Rockies Rumors: Atkins, Barrett, Fukumori
What are the Rockies up to as they plot to defend their NL pennant? Tracy Ringolsby and Troy E. Renck have the latest.
- Ringolsby says Garrett Atkins is staying put, which should help the third baseman relax a little bit. This echoes Renck’s sentiments yesterday. Renck also noted that the Rox won’t be offering Atkins a multiyear deal anytime soon.
- Yesterday Renck said that after Yorvit Torrealba, the Rockies were considering Jose Molina, Paul Lo Duca, Jason Kendall, and Ramon Castro for catcher. However Ringolsby says today that Michael Barrett and Kendall are the main targets. Renck has come on board with that today, noting that Dan O’Dowd has contacted the agents for Barrett, Kendall, and Lo Duca.
- Ringolsby adds that the Rockies are exploring the Japanese reliever market, namely Hitoki Iwase and Kazuo Fukumori. Fukumori might appeal as the cheaper of the two.
- Meanwhile the Indians, Brewers, Phillies, and Mets like Brian Fuentes. We’ve also read about the Tigers’ interest. The Rockies’ willingness to trade him may depend on the progress of 2007 top draft pick Casey Weathers.
- Jason Jennings might be leaning toward signing with the Padres. This echoes an obscure article we found back in July.
- Renck says that if the Rockies don’t hear by Tuesday about their offers to Kaz Matsui, Matt Herges, LaTroy Hawkins, and Torrealba, they’ll start looking at other options.
- Renck adds that the Rockies have checked in with Ron Mahay‘s people. He’s getting popular.
- The Rockies are out on Jon Garland – they can’t fit his $12MM salary into the 2008 budget. Matsui moving on would clear $3MM though.
- The idea of locking up Troy Tulowitzki long-term is being entertained. It probably wouldn’t happen until after the 2008 season though.
Odds and Ends: Lowell, Sabathia, Polanco
I’m going to start up a catch-all Odds and Ends post for smaller rumors and notes today. Refresh to see it grow.
- A reader emailed me to tell me that Buster Olney said on XM Radio recently that there are talks of the Twins going after Scott Rolen. These reports can be tough to confirm, but there you go. UPDATE: Joe Christensen squashes this one.
- Mark Feinsand doesn’t think Epstein is keen on giving Mike Lowell even a three-year contract. He might get five on the open market. UPDATE: The Red Sox apparently have a three-year offer out to him, and he’s still mulling it over.
- The White Sox inquired about Bill Hall, but Kenny Williams and Doug Melvin couldn’t find a match.
- Baseball America weighs in on the Brad Lidge trade. BP’s Nate Silver gives his opinion here and here. He thinks the Phillies made a mistake.
- The Astros have contacted Jeremy Affeldt‘s agent. Also, Jim Molony speculates in this piece that speedy Josh Anderson could be expendable because of the Michael Bourn addition.
- Back to where it all began: the Dodgers have signed Chan Ho Park. No need for more starters now!
- Andy Pettitte hopes to tell the Yankees whether he’ll play by the New Year. Also, Ken Davidoff notes that the Yanks would prefer to trade Hideki Matsui over Johnny Damon, but Godzilla’s full no-trade clause would be the problem.
- Theo Epstein let Scott Boras pitch his entire client list last night, A-Rod included. There’s a very slight chance the Red Sox sign Eric Gagne, and a contract extension for Jason Varitek may have been discussed. Also I hear Boras did the hard sell on Bruce Chen. Just kidding. UPDATE: That slight chance for Gagne just went away, as he’ll be closing according to Boras.
- Mark Shapiro is preparing a contract extension offer for C.C. Sabathia; he’ll have to run it by the Dolans first. No surprise there. Paul Hoynes notes that Sabathia gets an extra $2MM for ’08 if he wins the ’07 Cy Young. Shapiro, by the way, would listen to offers on any player. I get the feeling the Indians could come from out of nowhere and do something big this winter.
- Could the Tigers send Placido Polanco to the Mets? Mark Healey suggests it.
- The Giants included a vesting option for 2009 in Omar Vizquel‘s deal. McCovey Chronicles weighs in.