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Giants Notes: DeRosa, Free Agent Targets

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Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has Giants notes after a conference call with Brian Sabean and newly-signed Mark DeRosa.

  • DeRosa explained that he was "tired of being a lot of teams' Plan B."
  • Sabean hopes to add another hitter, and has free agent offers on the table.  One offer is to Juan Uribe, while Baggarly speculates that another might be to Adam LaRoche.  There are plenty of first basemen and corner outfielders still available, if you'd also like to speculate.
  • Sabean reiterated that Matt Holliday is too expensive for the Giants, while Baggarly added that the Giants are not in on Adrian Beltre.
  • Sabean mentioned that he hasn't yet beefed up efforts to acquire a fifth starter or catcher.  We did hear the Giants linked to many catchers earlier this winter, however.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltre, Morrow

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Some Saturday afternoon links..

  • The Dodgers should have offered salary arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudsonto allow themselves the opportunity to receive draft picks, writes Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times.  Weisman argues that the worst case scenario of being stuck with one or both players at a slightly inflated price for one season wouldn't have been so bad.  It's hard to dispute this point as we have yet to see the Dodgers do much of anything this winter.
  • Not only are the Athletics talking to free agent Adrian Beltre, they may be the only serious bidder at the moment, according to an item on ESPN's MLB rumor page.  The piece also notes that if Beltre's asking price - believed to be north of $10MM per season – drops into Oakland's price range, the Giants, Cardinals, and Tigers could get in the mix.
  • Seattle's poor decisions stunted the development of Brandon Morrow, writes Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.  While he never had the same ceiling as Tim Lincecum, who was drafted five spots later in the 2006 draft, things could have worked out differently for Morrow if he were given adequate time to develop in the minors. 
  • Shi Davidi of the Associated Presspraises new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and his plan to rebuild the franchise.  Davidi writes that Anthopoulos has the support of ownership in a way that J.P. Ricciardi never did.
  • A few free agents left on the market might want to consider lowering their asking price, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Adam LaRoche seeking $30MM over three years might be the most wishful of the bunch.

Olney on Bay, Beltre, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the Yankees and Red Sox when they say that they have budget lines that they are not currently willing to cross.  When the trade deadline rolls around, however, it will likely be a different story.  Olney brings us his take on the teams who are still willing to spend this winter…

  • Since Jason Bay continues to sit on their offer, the Mets may soon give up on him and move on to less expensive free agents.  Olney suggests that they ignore fans who are focused on big names and instead spend their money on players who can be had for short-term deals, such as Randy Winn and Orlando Hudson.  The Mets "seem to have" something in the range of $15MM to $22MM in payroll flexibility. 
  • The Mets are shopping for a catcher, left fielder, and starting pitcher.  Joel Pineiro tops their list of desired starters. 
  • Olney characterized the A's consideration of Adrian Beltre as "serious."
  • As the Cardinals continue to wait on Matt Holliday's answer, Olney wonders out loud if the club might look into signing Bay as a backup plan. 
  • Rival executives sense that the M's have some money left to spend, but not a great deal.  Seattle needs either a first baseman or second baseman plus help for the back end of their rotation.
  • Because of the mass of arbitration-eligible players on their roster, the Angels have limited payroll flexibility.  This means that they could pursue Pineiro if they chose to, but are unlikely to factor into the bidding for Bay or Holliday.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Beltre, Carroll

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Merry Christmas everyone!  It's time to see what news has been left for us under the tree.  I hope there's a vortex football in there for me as well…

  • Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports took a look at the offseason thus far in the National League.  For his portion on the Cubs, Ringolsby writes that they got the better end of the Milton Bradley-for-Carlos Silva swap.
  • Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball counted up the money spent by every team in baseball from 1999-2009, using the end of year salary totals.  Over this stretch, the Yankees have spent 44% more than the number two top spender, the Red Sox.
  • Sam Borden of the LoHud Yankees Blog takes a look at the remaining free agents who could fill the Yankees' vacancy in left field.  Three names that jump out to him: Jonny Gomes, Xavier Nady, and Reed Johnson.  Although Gomes had a strong '09 offensively (.879 OPS), his career defensive metrics leave much to be desired.  Nady, of course, is only an attractive option if healthy.
  • The A's are talking with free agent Adrian Beltre, according to the headline of a post by Mychael Urban of Comcast SportsNet.  We first heard that Oakland was interested a week ago, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."  Urban's piece says that Beltre is reportedly seeking $10-15MM per season.
  • Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that Jamey Carroll's contract with the Dodgers does not include the "Ramirez Provision", which is a clause that mandates a donation to the team's charity.  While owner Frank McCourt said that the clause would be standard for all contracts after Manny Ramirez signed his new deal, a grievance filed by the player's union may have caused the Dodgers to ease up on the requirement.
  • The Chiba Lotte Mariners will be sending a representative to California to negotiate with/for Dodgers pitcher Eric Stults, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker who passes along the report from Spinochi.  The Japanese club has been interested in Stults for a couple of months and have already been rebuffed by the Dodgers once already.

Twins Looking To Upgrade Infield, Rotation

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The Minnesota Twins are interested in bolstering their infield and their starting rotation, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. For now, they seem to be adopting a wait-and-see approach, in hopes that the asking prices for some free agents will drop. Here are the highlights from Morosi's update:

  • According to a source, Jarrod Washburn, Jon Garland, Doug Davis, and Brett Myers are among the Twins' pitching targets.
  • Garland, who is hoping to sign a multi-year deal, may be out of the Twins' price range.
  • The Twins are interested in Mark DeRosa and Adrian Beltre, but may not be able to afford them either. Their more realistic infield options include Miguel Tejada and Juan Uribe.
  • The Indians could move Jhonny Peralta, but the Twins "haven't actively pursued a trade" for him yet.

Olney On Gonzalez, LaRoche, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney asked an "independent evaluator" to guess what the Red Sox would have to give up to obtain Adrian Gonzalez. Olney's source says the Padres need to acquire Ryan Westmoreland and Casey Kelly, plus other highly-touted prospects. Gonzalez is under control for two more years at $10.25MM. He'd probably be worth $40MM-plus over two years on the open market, so the Padres have some serious bargaining power. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • The A's are interested in Adrian Beltre, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."
  • Some teams bristle at the idea of paying eight figures for Beltre.
  • Some teams have been put off by Adam LaRoche's asking price. 
  • The Orioles checked out of the Matt Holliday derby when they learned that he's asking for considerably more than $75MM. 

Mariners Could Trade Morrow, Talking Extension With Gutierrez

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1:19pm: Earlier in the week Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the club isn't currently talking trades with the Mariners. A deal is still possible, but the Brewers have shown no inclination to trade Gamel.

10:59am: The Mariners are trying to trade one of their young players and lock another one up long-term, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal hears that the Mariners are trying to trade Brandon Morrow for a corner infielder or DH. The M's may re-visit talks with the Brewers about a Mat Gamel for Morrow swap. 

One of Franklin Gutierrez's agents tells Rosenthal that the Mariners are "making progress" with the outfielder on a three or four year deal. Gutierrez isn't scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2012 season, so a four-year deal would buy out a free agent year. By comparison, Curtis Granderson signed a deal that pays him $3.5MM, $5.5MM and $8.25MM for his three arbitration years. 

Discussions with Felix Hernandez have not developed as much. Rosenthal notes that the M's have not ruled out bringing back free agents Adrian Beltre and Russell Branyan.

Heyman On Bay, Molina, M’s, Dodgers

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The Mariners are "not a serious player" for Jason Bay, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Braves and Giants don't appear to be engaged with Bay and the Angels aren't focused on him now, so the Mets are the lone known suitor for the left fielder. They're keeping in touch with Scott Boras, who represents Matt Holliday, but they may be willing to offer Bay a deal in the five-year $75MM range. They're hoping to hear back from him today. 

Ideally, the Mets would like to sign Bay and Bengie Molina, who still wants a three-year deal worth about $20MM, or roughly twice as much as the team is presently willing to commit. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:

  • The Angels have more interest in Javier Vazquez than Derek Lowe, according to one source.
  • The Mariners are interested in locking up Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez. 
  • The Red Sox would like to acquire Adrian Gonzalez. If they can't pull a trade for Gonzalez off, they would like to sign Adrian Beltre. However, that could put them over the luxury tax. 
  • The Dodgers are interested in Ronnie Belliard and Felipe Lopez. 

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Dodgers, Beltre, Pujols

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Let's round up some Thursday evening links….

Market For Adrian Beltre

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The market for third baseman Adrian Beltre, 31 in April, remains difficult to decipher.  You might expect a third baseman coming off an injury-shortened .265/.304/.379 line to take a make-good, one-year deal, even considering exceptional defense.  For example, Joe Crede signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal in late February.  Since both players are Scott Boras clients, why is Boras seeking a four-year deal worth at least $40MM for Beltre?  (Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reporting).

One reason is that Beltre proved very durable prior to 2009, whereas Crede was not.  Also consider that Beltre has a better offensive track record and played in a tough park for hitters.  At the risk of doing Boras' bidding, it's interesting to note that Beltre hit .286/.330/.486 away from Safeco over the last three seasons.  Considering that Beltre might be the game's best defensive third baseman, Boras' asking price doesn't seem so crazy.

As far as the current market, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Giants have remainined in contact.  However, they are not finding common ground with Boras on the years or dollars.  The Red Sox are known to like Beltre, but as WEEI's Alex Speier noted yesterday, signing him could push them over the luxury tax threshold.  The Orioles, Twins, Angels, and Cardinals haven't generated much Beltre buzz, though the Mariners appear to be leaving the door open to re-sign him.

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