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Aaron Rowand

Phillies Rumors: Iguchi, Inge, Silva, Ensberg

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Sounds like there’s a whole lot of ’nothin’ going on with the Phillies.

  • As you know, the Phils are out on Hiroki Kuroda.
  • Yesterday the Phillies made an offer and a second improved offer to Tadahito Iguchi.  Iguchi is looking for a three-year deal for around the $16.5MM Kaz Matsui received.
  • Todd Zolecki says the Phils have "kicked around" Brandon Inge’s name; he’s definitely available. The general sentiment is that the Tigers would have to eat some of the $19.1MM owed to Inge over the next three seasons.  Plus, the Phillies already tried the defense-first idea at third base.
  • Talks with Mike Cameron went nowhere, as the Phillies didn’t want to consider a multiyear deal. Aaron Rowand is also a long shot.  Not a very exciting Meetings for Phillies fans.
  • Scott Lauber checks in this morning and says Carlos Silva would like to return to the Phillies.  The interest isn’t mutual, however, if Silva continues to ask for four or five years.
  • Lauber suggests Morgan Ensberg is a strong non-tender candidate and someone the Phils should look at.

Cardinals Turn To Free Agent Market

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The Cardinals want to add at least one starting pitcher.  Once thought to be interested in Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse – the "premium" options – John Mozeliak is already digging through the bargain bin.  Matthew Leach and Joe Strauss have the latest.

  • Mozeliak has talked to Bartolo Colon’s agent and the Cards will take a look at his medical records.  It’s been suggested that Colon will not take a one-year deal.
  • Livan Hernandez is under consideration, but Mozeliak says he’s "not yet" a fit.
  • Josh Fogg is on the radar too.
  • The Cardinals have marginal interest in Kris Benson, and they’ll attend his workout on the 17th.
  • Interesting non-pitcher note from Mozeliak: the Cards have expressed interest in Aaron Rowand.

Odds and Ends: Guzman, Shelton, Garcia, Jones

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Rounding up some smaller rumors…

Dodgers Still In On Andruw, Rowand?

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:03pm: Talks between the Dodgers and Andruw revived today, according to Ken Gurnick.  Gurnick thinks Scott Boras is looking for something similar to J.D. Drew’s Dodgers deal, a long-term one with an opt out in the middle.  Boras told Jerry Crasnick today that he does not have a one or two-year deal in mind for Andruw.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:00am: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick is with Tony Jackson on this one…Colletti hasn’t made any offers and will move on to other priorities unless Jones and Rowand reduce their demands.  Gurnick notes that the Dodgers are still in hard on Hiroki Kuroda but don’t seem terribly interested in David Wells.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:44am: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times does not agree with Jackson exactly…he says the Dodgers still want to sign Jones or Rowand.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 11:49pm: Jackson now has some quotes from Ned Colletti…Colletti wasn’t able to get to the point of making an offer to Andruw.  Apparently Boras wants far more than the Dodgers think Jones is worth.  Also, Aaron Rowand wants 5/70 and the Dodgers ain’t havin’ that.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:31pm: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News counters Crasnick’s report, saying the Dodgers did not offer 2/32 to Andruw.  As far as Jackson can tell, no offer at all was made to Jones today.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 1:04pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says the Dodgers have a two-year, $32MM offer on the table.  That seems a little light; I suggested $38MM earlier.

FROM 12-3-07 at 1:24am:

According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Dodgers have stepped up their talks with free agent Andruw Jones.  As we suggested before, it seems Ned Colletti’s rift with Scott Boras was overblown.

Andruw is asking for something bigger than Torii Hunter’s five-year, $90MM pact.  However, Jones had a terrible 2007 and the Dodgers only want to give him two guaranteed years.  This is one of Ned Colletti’s methods that I actually like, the paying more to decrease the term (see Rafael Furcal and Jason Schmidt).

So if Torii makes $18MM annually, maybe the Dodgers will offer Andruw two years, $38MM?  That would keep their risk low while giving Jones a chance to become a free agent as he enters his age 33 season.  If no agreement can be reached, it sounds like the Dodgers could make a similar high-dollar short-term offer to Aaron Rowand.  Failing that, they’d turn to Mike Cameron.

Gurnick adds that the Dodgers are aggressively pursuing Hiroki Kuroda for rotation depth.

Phillies Rumors: Rowand, Benson, Colon, Reyes, Tavarez

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A few articles on the Phillies have surfaced this morning; let’s see what’s cooking on the hot stove.

  • The Phils would pay extra to get Aaron Rowand to take a three-year deal.  Jim Salisbury quotes Rowand’s agent as saying ten clubs are after him.  Salisbury names the usual suspects but throws in the Twins, Royals, Rangers, and Orioles depending on the term.
  • Todd Zolecki confirms the Phillies’ interest in Kris Benson.  He’ll be throwing for teams a few weeks from now.
  • The Phils like Benson best among the rehab project group, now that Randy Wolf is signed.  They’ve also contacted Bartolo Colon’s agent and may be in on Jason Jennings.  Zolecki also names Anthony Reyes and Julian Tavarez as two possible trade targets.
  • Despite what was said yesterday, Zolecki says Livan Hernandez is not high on Pat Gillick’s list.  They remain in the mix for Hiroki Kuroda. 

Levine’s Latest: Rowand, Prior, Hudson, Swisher

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Bruce Levine of ESPN 1000 went on air a few hours ago with some interesting tidbits regarding the Chicago teams.  This was before the Sox acquired Carlos Quentin so I’m not sure what kind of effect that has on this info.

  • The White Sox are still very much in the mix for Aaron Rowand, but they really don’t want to give him five years.  By the way Jerry Crasnick mentioned today that the Phillies may be willing to stretch to four years on Rowand or at least three years plus a vesting option.
  • The Cubs are having all sorts of trade discussions involving Mark Prior.  The Rangers and Padres are said to be two interested parties.
  • Of course the Cubs still have Kosuke Fukudome in their sights.  But they also have their eye on Oakland’s Nick Swisher and Arizona’s Orlando Hudson.  Both are switch-hitters, by the way.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Roberts, Barrett, Piazza

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Ken Rosenthal is presumably in Nashville doing what he does best – collect trade rumors by the dozen.  His latest column is an excellent example.  What’s the over/under on Rosenthal scoops over the next four days?  I’ll set it at 10.

  • Rosenthal says the Mets are unwilling to extend the contract of GM Omar Minaya, who is signed through 2009.  The lack of job security could compel Minaya to mortgage the future, and the Lastings Milledge trade was a good example.  Carlos Gomez, watch out.  Here’s MLBTR’s look at Omar Minaya’s Mets trade profile.
  • The Astros, Giants, and Cardinals aren’t really in the running for Miguel Cabrera, so they don’t need to wait for that shoe to drop to go after Miguel Tejada.  However it sounds like all three clubs don’t have the talent even for a Tejada trade.  Jon Heyman mentioned today that the Orioles do have interest in Adam Everett and Michael Bourn of the Astros.
  • Here’s a good one: Peter Angelos favorite Brian Roberts might be available.  The Mets and Astros inquired but moved on, but Roberts might be just what the Cubs are looking for.  The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec recently told us that he doesn’t expect Andy MacPhail to move Roberts unless he’s "totally overwhelmed."
  • The Marlins, Rays, and Orioles have interest in Michael Barrett.  In the case of Baltimore, the interest indicates the availability of Ramon Hernandez.  If Barrett can find a multiyear deal from one of those teams, he may decline the Padres’ offer of arbitration.  It’s a catch-22, though, because that would make Barrett much less signable in terms of draft pick compensation. 
  • If Barrett does decline, the Padres might bring Mike Piazza back.
  • The Nationals keep asking for Rickie Weeks for Chad Cordero, and the Brewers keep saying no.
  • The Braves are big fans of Coco Crisp, and could have a passing interest in Corey Patterson.  But they certainly wouldn’t mind going with internal options in center next year.
  • Aaron Rowand is definitely getting that five-year deal – a Mystery Team has already offered one.  The Yanks could pursue him if they trade the Melk Man. 
  • Deja vu – the Yanks and Mets both like Octavio Dotel, again.  It’s known that Octavio loves New York.

Odds and Ends: Colon, Clark, Gagne

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Random rumors, let’s round ’em up.

Today’s Arbitration Decisions

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The decision whether to offer your own free agent arbitration can affect your team in two ways: you may end up retaining a player you didn’t want, or you may score a draft pick or two as compensation.  With that in mind let’s run down the rumors regarding some Type A and B free agents.

  • The Red Sox plan on offering arbitration to Type B Eric Gagne.  Worst case scenario, they hang onto him for one more year.  Best case, they get a sandwich pick.
  • The Astros have to decide on Trever Miller and Mark Loretta.  Both are Type Bs, but the Astros might not want them back.  Richard Justice notes that the old Astro regime made a mistake not offering arbitration to Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
  • The Angels decided not to offer arby to Bartolo Colon, because the most they could give him would be a 20% pay cut.  So best case scenario they could get him for one year, $11.2MM.  Colon is not a Type A or B, so there’s no compensation regardless.
  • The Phils will offer arb to Aaron Rowand but not Freddy Garcia.  Rowand is a Type A, Garcia a Type B.  It’s a no-brainer with Rowand, who will hopefully net them a first-round pick plus a supplemental depending on who he signs with.  With Garcia they risked getting burned as he might’ve accepted.   
  • The D’Backs will offer arbitration to Livan Hernandez, who will likely decline it to pursue a three-year deal.  He’s a Type B so they’ll snag a sandwich pick.
  • The Padres will offer arbitration to Michael Barrett, and Kevin Towers actually hopes he accepts.  No worries if he doesn’t – Barrett is a Type A.  The Friars will also offer arby to Mike Cameron and Doug Brocail.  Brocail nets them a sandwich pick for sure; Cameron still has a slight chance of accepting.
  • The Braves did not offer arb to Andruw Jones but did for Ron Mahay.  Both are Type Bs; I’m surprised they didn’t want to risk Andruw returning on a one-year deal.

White Sox Looking At Fukudome, Bay

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According to Ken Rosenthal, the White Sox have cooled on Aaron Rowand as they do not want to give him a five-year contract.  Instead, they’ve set their sights on Kosuke Fukudome and Jason Bay.

This isn’t the first time they’ve been linked to Fukudome; Dan Graziano noted back in August that the Sox had scouted him.  The White Sox could entertain using Fukudome in any of the three outfield positions.  He could easily handle left field if Joe Crede is traded and Josh Fields plays third.  He could probably get by in center.  And he’s probably better than Jermaine Dye in right, so maybe it would be Dye switching to left.

New Pirates GM Neal Huntington perhaps hasn’t made an impression on the team’s fans yet.  A Bay trade this winter will be big for him in terms of PR.  It’d be a sell-low move, however.  I do think the White Sox could throw something together to make it work.

Meanwhile Mark Gonzales says the Sox still like Coco Crisp as a center field possibility.  The only problem is that Crisp could be headed to Minnesota in a Johan Santana deal.  That will have to unfold before Crisp becomes available to other teams – unless the other team makes a ridiculous offer.

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