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Odds and Ends: Hinske, Doumit, Colon, Greene

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It’s up to an impressive 5.7 degrees where I am, but I still don’t think I’ll be going outside much today.  Hence, some odds and ends.

  • Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald believes Eric Hinske might sign with the Diamondbacks this week.  The 30 year-old former ROY has a career line of .255/.336/.434, with much better work against righties.
  • John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Red Sox are interested in the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit.  However Perrotto says the Bucs are reluctant to trade the versatile Doumit, who turns 27 in April.  Only past Doumit rumor I can find was from Will Carroll in May of ’06, saying he and Oliver Perez were being dangled to the Phillies.
  • Perrotto believes the Royals could sign Bartolo Colon if he’ll take a one-year deal; that may be true for several clubs.  Paul Hoynes reports that the Indians watched Colon pitch, but weren’t impressed with his sub-90 velocity.  Hoynes says Kris Benson will have another throwing session and the Tribe will be in attendance.
  • According to Marc Topkin, the Rays are talking with lefty reliever Trever Miller.  The two sides haven’t agreed on the term yet.
  • Padres GM Kevin Towers commented about the team’s rejected long-term overtures toward shortstop Khalil Greene.  Towers brought a three or four year proposal to Greene but does not expect anything to get done.  He stated Greene’s possible desire to be on the East Coast as a factor.
  • Vince Gennaro does an economic analysis of the Johan Santana rumors, indicating that the acquisition makes the most sense for the Mets.

Odds and Ends: Stewart, Shelton, LaRoche

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Today’s smattering of random rumors and links.  Question for you readers: how do you feel about the Odds and Ends posts in general?  Interesting?  Lame?  Do you skip them, or are they worthwhile?

Perrotto’s Latest: Sabathia, Varitek, Crede, Villone

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John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus checks in with his usual Sunday column.  He’s got some new hot stove material to consider.

  • Perrotto says the Indians are holding firm at an offer of four years plus an option for C.C. Sabathia.  As of a week ago, the Indians were said to have an offer on the table for him.  I suggested that the Tribe might top out around four years, $72MM plus an option for 2013.
  • Perrotto writes that "Boston is expected to sign catcher Jason Varitek to a two-year extension worth around $20 million."  Varitek could retire after that.
  • Perrotto suggests that Joe Crede is on the Giants’ radar if they don’t re-sign Pedro Feliz (hat tip South Side Sox).  Crede seems like he’ll be involved in one of those late Spring Training deals, given the need to prove his health.
  • The Yankees, Mets, and Pirates are interested in free agent lefty reliever Ron Villone.

Odds and Ends: Inge, Snell, Jones

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Some early Monday odds and ends to get things rolling…

Astros Close On Runelvys Hernandez

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Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros are close to a one-year deal with starter Runelvys Hernandez.  Hernandez will turn 30 in April.  He spent 2007 in Triple A with the Pirates, Yankees, and Red Sox organizations.

None of this seems terribly interesting, but the article also says Hernandez got on a strict training regimen.  Now that he’s in shape, he’s reportedly hitting 97 on the gun (sounds like agent-speak to me).  I’ll believe it when I see it.  But Hernandez chose the right team in the Astros, as they’re hurting for starting pitching.  It’s not a done deal yet; he’s having some last minute discussions with other clubs.  McTaggart says the Rangers, Pirates, Phillies, and Reds have all shown interest. 

Pirates Talking Extension With LaRoche

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The Pirates have first baseman Adam LaRoche under team control through the 2009 season, currently.  However, they have recently approached LaRoche about a three or four-year contract.  They could be buying out two years of free agency.

Dejan Kovacevic notes that LaRoche and the Pirates only have a week to reach an agreement or put in their figures for his ’08 salary.  They could reach an agreement for ’08 and then work out an extension that would start with ’09.

LaRoche hit .272/.345/.458 in 2007, while the average NL 1B hit .284/.365/.481.  He was above average for his position in ’06, though.  And if we cut him a break for his first month in Pittsburgh, we see that he hit .296/.361/.492 thereafter.  LaRoche turned 28 in November, so he may still be in his prime.

Pirates Interested In Brad Thompson?

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Scott Wuerz of the Belleville News-Democrat suggests that Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson is a rumored target for the Pirates.  He could be part of a larger package, where players such as Jack Wilson, Matt Morris, and/or Jason Bay could be involved.

Thompson turns 26 soon.  The Cardinals tried him as a starter last year, and he posted a 4.66 ERA in that role.  He was at 4.91 in relief, but for his career he’s been better coming out of the pen.  Thompson lost his groundball mojo a bit in ’07, and as a result his HR rate rose dramatically.

At one point, the Cards and Bucs discussed a Wilson-for-Chris Duncan deal.  About a month ago Dejan Kovacevic said he expected Wilson to stay put this winter.  Morris was a Cardinals’ target at various times in ’07.   There hasn’t been much buzz about the Pirates trading Bay to St. Louis.

Pirates Rumors: Snell, Estrada, Villone

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John Perrotto had some new Pirates’ rumblings in yesterday morning’s column.

  • Don’t be so quick to dismiss the Ian Snell to Seattle rumor.  Perrotto acknowledges it, noting that the Mariners would offer Jeff Clement but the Pirates would probably require Adam Jones. 
  • Perrotto believes the Pirates have backed off their pursuit of Johnny Estrada, though Dejan Kovacevic hasn’t heard this. I never thought Estrada made much sense for them.
  • Perrotto says the Pirates have an eye on free agent lefty Ron Villone, who pitched for them back in ’02.

Bucs May Extend Capps, But Not Sanchez

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest regarding new GM Neal Huntington’s plans for closer Matt Capps and second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

Capps, 24, posted a fine 2007 (2.28 ERA) in his first year as the Pirates’ closer.  He’d be under team control through 2011 anyway if the Pirates went year-to-year with him.  But Huntington has an offer to Capps out for three or four years, buying out most or all of his arbitration years.  Kovacevic notes that this is a strategy Huntington observed under Mark Shapiro in Cleveland.

Huntington appears to have less faith in 30 year-old second baseman Sanchez.  He seems to have developed into a solid .800 OPS guy, and his second half in ’07 showed further upside.  Sanchez has two more years under team control; if the Pirates gave him an extension they’d want it to buy out his first year of free agency in 2010.  Sanchez would probably not be amenable to that, but even going two years would give the Pirates more cost certainty. At any rate, it would make sense for Huntington to entertain offers on Sanchez.

Ian Snell, Jason Bay On Mariners’ Radar?

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UPDATE, 1-5-08 at 10:29am: Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider says talks between the Pirates and Mariners for Bay and Snell "never went past the introductory stages" – the Bucs’ demands are not reasonable.

FROM 1-3-08 at 11:51pm:

Jake at Bucco Blog has been hearing a lot of buzz lately about the Mariners’ interest in Pirates’ righty Ian Snell.  The 26 year-old posted a 3.76 ERA in 208 innings in 2007.  He was an ace in the first half (2.93 ERA).

Snell seems somewhat comparable to Matt Garza, though he’s a bit older and has an extra year of service time.  So maybe acquiring him doesn’t require a Delmon Young-caliber player, but something close.  If Neal Huntington can get Adam Jones for him straight up, I think he should pull the trigger.   

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