According to the AP, the Blue Jays offered arbitration to A.J. Burnett and declined to offer it to Gregg Zaun. No big surprise here. Burnett’s a Type A free agent, so he’ll cost a draft pick to sign.
A.J. Burnett
Perrotto’s Latest: Teixeira, Burnett, Wilson
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus has his Sunday article up. Let’s go through it:
- The Angels may be willing to match the Yankees $140MM offer to CC Sabathia. They won’t offer 10 years to Mark Teixeira. If they can’t land Teixeira, they will consider Pat Burrell for first base.
- A.J. Burnett is looking at the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Orioles, and Phillies.
- The Twins want a left-side infielder for Delmon Young, so they can open a spot for Denard Span in the starting lineup.
- The Tigers are pursuing Jack Wilson from the Pirates and Matt Treanor from the Marlins. They are also putting high priority on signing Joe Beimel who’s getting interest from a number of teams.
- The Dodgers will not re-sign Rafael Furcal for health reasons so the Giants, Athletics, and Reds are his most likely destinations.
- The Cubs will need to offer more than Jason Marquis to the Royals for David DeJesus. If they can’t get it done, they’d sign Raul Ibanez over Bobby Abreu.
- The Braves are interested in Javier Vazquez and Jermaine Dye…
- The Reds need to offer more than Homer Bailey to get Dye.
- The Mets are considering Jon Garland, Vazquez, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays want more than Aaron Heilman for either of their starters.
- The Mets could soon become suitors for Manny Ramirez.
- The Brewers could soon become suitors for Francisco Rodriguez.
- The Astros are targeting Paul Bako and David Ross as backup catchers.
- The Rockies are trying to find lefthanders, eyeing Alan Embree, Will Ohman, Brian Shouse, and Glendon Rusch.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Varitek, Burnett, Teixeira
Let’s take a look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- River Ave. Blues debates Ben Sheets versus A.J. Burnett and wonders if Sheets will be the better bargain in the end.
- Detroit Tiger Thoughts shows that Jason Varitek is not a good fit with the Tigers, even in a platoon situation.
- Fire Brand of the American League lays down several reasons why the Red Sox should avoid signing Teixeira.
- Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? sees no downside to the Pirates’ signing of Indian imports Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh.
- The ’Burgh Blues feels Eric Hinske is an economical fit for the Bucs.
- Amazin’ Avenue does not see Raul Ibanez as an upgrade for the Mets, suggesting he may not be any better than Fernando Tatis.
- The Baseball Opinion breaks down what the acquisition of Tyler Lumsden means for the Royals and Astros.
- Batter’s Box takes a look a recent J.P. Ricciardi quote and the current state of the economy and wonders if the Jays are going to reduce their payroll.
- Royals Review lists the ten best free agent signings in Royals history, topped by David Cone. Amazingly, four of the signings occurred in the last five seasons.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Blue Jays, Dodgers, Dunn
Happy Thanksgiving! Here are some links to snack on before the big meal.
- Blue Jays interim CEO Paul Beeston believes they have a chance to re-sign A.J. Burnett, but may choose to save the money earmarked for him if he signs elsewhere.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark assesses the Tigers. Catching seems to be their top priority this winter, though they need a shortstop and closer too.
- There is a growing sentiment that the Blue Jays will have less to spend this winter than originally anticipated.
- Bill Plaschke attempts to get clarification from Jamie McCourt on her recent quotes.
- Curt Schilling remembers the events leading up to his trade to the Red Sox.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the market is eerily quiet for Adam Dunn so far.
A.J. Burnett Rumors: Wednesday
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman chatted with A.J. Burnett’s agent, Darek Braunecker. Braunecker is confident he can get a five-year deal for Burnett, though a fifth year is not necessarily a requirement. A four-year deal is possible if the average annual value is significantly higher. My feeling: why pay Burnett $72MM over four years if you could get that fifth year for a marginal $8MM?
The Braves and Burnett still have mutual interest, and Braunecker characterized talks as positive. Bowman also talked to Chipper Jones, who had kind words for Burnett. Bowman believes Jones will feel more comfortable about finishing his career with the Braves if they sign Burnett.
C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Wednesday
6:19pm: It sounds like Sabathia’s agent Greg Genske is shutting things down for the weekend. He didn’t reveal anything new to Brewers GM Doug Melvin. Adam McCalvy also notes that the Brewers will offer Sabathia arbitration, a procedural move.
12:49pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Yankees people who believe the Angels leaked interest in Sabathia to reduce Tex’s demands. Those people also believe the Halos will limit their offer to the $100-120MM range. Other factors: Tex makes more sense for the Angels, Arte Moreno loves him, and signing Sabathia could reduce the chances of extending John Lackey.
Nonetheless, Heyman agrees with a rival executive that the Angels are quite serious about Sabathia.
8:51am: The big news yesterday was the L.A. Times report stating that the Angels "are in discussions with C.C. Sabathia and could offer him a contract that approaches the $140 million bid extended to him by the Yankees."
Ken Davidoff wrote this morning that the Yankees are reluctant to raise their offer to Sabathia, even if it means he signs with the Halos. Davidoff says the Yanks would step up their efforts for A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe if they lose Sabathia.
Meanwhile Dan Graziano says Yankees officials scoffed at the idea of the Angels turning their attention to Sabathia. Those officials believe it’s a ploy to get Mark Teixeira to drop his demands. Danny Knobler, however, believes the Angels have already moved on from Teixeira. He says the Angels have long-term concerns about Tex’s knee.
No Agreement Yet For Moyer
12:01pm: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News says everyone expects the Phils to re-sign Moyer. He says not to read into the Lowe/Burnett inquiries; the team has inquired on more than 25 free agents. MLB.com’s Ken Mandel names six of them: Doug Brocail, Russ Springer, Raul Ibanez, Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Nick Punto.
10:16am: According to Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies are still talking to free agent pitcher Jamie Moyer but don’t have an agreement yet. Moyer apparently wants a multiyear deal. The Phils recently contacted Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett to hedge their bets.
Orioles Rumors: Burnett, Markakis, Japan
3:08pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online gives thoughts on the Orioles and Mark Teixeira and Burnett. Kubatko believes there’s no chance the O’s offer five years to Burnett, and even four would be a stretch. He’d have to be willing to take a discount to come to Baltimore. As for Tex, will he be willing to play for a team that may not be competitive in the first few years of his deal?
8:32am: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun talked to A.J. Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker, who said his client has narrowed his list from twelve to about six teams. The Orioles remain in the mix after Andy MacPhail had a "nice conversation" with Braunecker on Friday.
It’s speculated that the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Braves are the other five clubs. In his comments, Braunecker didn’t seem dead set on a five-year deal.
In other Orioles news, Nick Markakis’ agent had "active talks" with MacPhail about a contract extension. Markakis is entering his three arbitration years.
Finally, Steve Melewski of MASN Online says the O’s have shown interest in four Japanese free agents: Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami, Junichi Tazawa, and catcher Ryoji Aikawa. Tazawa seems close to signing with the Red Sox. Uehara might be a more affordable alternative to Burnett.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dye, Burrell, Young
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Rosenthal says the Braves are interested in A.J. Burnett, but you already knew that.
- Rosenthal believes Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers "makes sense."
- The Red Sox apparently have confidence they could trade Mike Lowell if need be, but rival execs believe he’d have to prove his health in spring first. Lowell has two years and $24MM on his deal.
- The White Sox want a young starter and additional players for right fielder Jermaine Dye. The Mets, Rays, and Phillies are "balking at such a price." Rosenthal learned that most of the six teams on Dye’s no-trade list are in the northeast. Interesting that the White Sox are still willing to trade Dye after moving Nick Swisher.
- The Mets "aren’t enamored" with Javier Vazquez.
- Rosenthal suggests the Rays will sit back and hope one of the free agent DH-types becomes a bargain for them.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote on Friday that the "Braves, Dodgers, and Mets are believed to be among teams that have inquired about Rangers starting pitchers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla." However, Rosenthal says the Braves and Mets are not interested in either pitcher and the Rangers aren’t desperate to move them.
- Rosenthal has Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Pat Burrell on the Angels’ radar if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, or Manny Ramirez.
- A rival GM tells Rosenthal Twins outfielder Delmon Young is "very, very much out there."
Odds and Ends: Halladay, Lopez, Glavine
Links for Monday…
- The Cardinals still don’t have a deal with Trever Miller.
- Is a multiyear deal coming soon for Jamie Moyer? Ken Mandel’s source says it’s been delayed only because of scheduling conflicts.
- The D’Backs released infielder Jamie D’Antona, who is headed to Japan.
- J.P. Ricciardi says trading Roy Halladay hasn’t even crossed his mind. Dan Graziano wrote last Wednesday that some continued to insist the Jays would explore trading their ace.
- River Ave. Blues considers Ben Sheets a better investment than A.J. Burnett for the Yankees.
- Jim Allen profiled the five Japanese players who plan to come over to MLB. He’s not high on Junichi Tazawa, Ken Takahashi, or Ryoji Aikawa.
- I never mentioned this, but the Braves released Rodrigo Lopez earlier this month (thanks to Jeff at Cot’s for the link).
- Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune talked to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen about various hot stove issues.
- Murray Chass talked to Tom Glavine about his future. Chass’ blog is an oddity – a veteran journalist writing and researching newspaper-style articles for his personal site.
- Joel Sherman believes the Angels are the Yankees’ biggest threat for C.C. Sabathia. Ken Davidoff agrees.
- In another article, Davidoff summarizes the situations of the ten big-name players.
- Ken Rosenthal talked to an agent who says the market is moving slowly right now.
- Viva El Birdos assesses the trade value of Ryan Ludwick.
- South Side Sox offers more thoughts on Dayan Viciedo.
