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Albert Pujols

Heyman On Washburn, Halladay, Red Sox, Rangers

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Let's dig into the latest from SI's Jon Heyman.

  • The Yankees called the Mariners Saturday to inquire on Jarrod Washburn, and were told at the time that the Ms weren't ready to sell.  Perhaps that has since changed, based on today's report from Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi.  Here's my question: was Seattle's decision to hold on to Washburn last summer prudent, or did they just get lucky?  Heyman says Bronson Arroyo is a "fallback option" for the Yanks should the Reds change course and offer to eat significant salary.
  • Heyman gives his take on the Roy Halladay situation, explaining where suitors such as the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Rangers, and Dodgers sit.  Heyman still sees the Phils as the favorite.  He says the Dodgers "are more focused on Cliff Lee than Halladay" but don't want to break up their Major League roster.  Good luck with that.  One Heyman source suggested the Red Sox would need to give up Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and Jed Lowrie (Gordon Edes says Bard is off-limits).
  • Heyman also talks a bit about Boston's interest in major bats Victor Martinez and Adrian Gonzalez.
  • Heyman finds the Rangers unlikely to acquire Halladay or Cliff Lee, though they have expressed interest.  The Rangers won't be restricted, at least by MLB, because of Tom Hicks' financial woes.  I don't see why the money owed to Halladay would be an issue for any club.  He's a massive bargain.
  • The Angles have yet to cop to interest in Rays starter Scott Kazmir.  Heyman guesses Tampa Bay would love to be free of Kazmir's contract ($24.8MM through 2011 doesn't seem too burdensome though).  Earlier today the lefty was connected to the Rangers and Mets by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Heyman speculates that one reason the Cards would like to extend Matt Holliday is to impress Albert Pujols.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Mariners, Cardinals, Indians

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Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's round up the rumors…

  • With the Mariners fading out of contention, they could make lefties Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn available. If they do, it could cloud the market for Roy Halladay because teams will have more options.
  • One GM tells Rosenthal that the Mariners are likely to play out the weekend before deciding to sell.
  • The Yankees have been in touch with Seattle, and would love to see Washburn made available again after expressing interest in him in the past.
  • The Brewers remain "on the periphery" of the Halladay sweepstakes, but they aren't playing well enough to justify such a major trade.
  • After moving five players and adding $6MM in salary to acquire Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa, Albert Pujols shouldn't have any questions about ownership's commitment to winning. However with Holliday likely to leave as a free agent after the season, the team will be in the same situation again, looking for a bat to protect Pujols.
  • Indians ownership would need to sign off on a deal involving catcher Victor Martinez or lefty Cliff Lee, neither of which is imminent. The team knows the Red Sox will not trade them Clay Buchholz in a package for Martinez, and moving Lee would be an even bigger blow given how thin their pitching staff is right now.

In a separate video, Rosenthal says that the Phillies and Blue Jays are still haggling over which players would be included in a potential deal for Halladay. The Angels have made a strong offer for Doc, and the Jays expect other teams to get involved this week. Meanwhile, Lee's agent Darek Braunecker says Lee has told his team that he will test the free agent waters at the end of next season after being told "no" when asking about a contract extension last spring. If traded, Lee prefers it to happen sooner rather than later.

Odds And Ends: Holliday, Yabu, Bay, Latos

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Some links to look through on the morning of the Midsummer Classic…

  • This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
  • MLB.com's Mychael Urban keeps hearing about a possible deal that would send Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera and salary relief to the Braves for Yunel Escobar and prospects.
  • The Giants released Keiichi Yabu yesterday, according to the Kyodo News. He had been pitching in Triple A.
  • Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Albert Pujols belongs with the elite players in baseball history.
  • John Tomase of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox still aren't talking with Jason Bay about an extension, but there are indications they may revisit his contract before the end of the season.
  • It looks like the Padres will promote their top pitching prospect, Mat Latos, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.  
  • In the second part of my Q&A with NESN.com, I discuss Pedro Martinez, Clay Buchholz and the Mets. 

Rosenthal On Yankees, Acta, Pedro

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • The Yankees' bullpen ranks 12th in the AL with a 6.47 ERA in 64 innings.  Rosenthal learned that GM Brian Cashman isn't interested in any of the available relievers, and the plan seems to be to let them pitch their way out of the funk.  Early offenders include Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and Damaso Marte.  Plus, Brian Bruney is out with an elbow injury.
  • Rosenthal explains some of the criticisms of Nationals manager Manny Acta.  He does not think a firing is imminent, but Acta may not make it through the year.
  • David Ortiz on Pedro Martinez: "When I saw him pitch, I had hot flashes of when he was here."
  • Rosenthal notes the team-friendly nature of Albert Pujols' current seven-year, $100MM contract.

Albert Pujols: A Lifetime Cardinal?

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According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Cardinals plan on doing all they can to retain Albert Pujols for the rest of his career.

"If there’s a way to keep Albert a lifetime Cardinal, that makes a lot of sense for everyone," GM John Mozeliak told Heyman. "He’s very much an iconic player there, and if he wants to stay, we’re going to try to find a way to make that happen."

MLBTR has covered the topic at length this offseason.  Pujols has two years and a team option remaining on his current deal, so the Cardinals don’t have to get serious for quite some time.  "We’ve had casual mentions, but nothing in depth," said team owner Bill DeWitt.

Pujols, 29, has a career line of .334/.425/.624 and 319 home runs over eight major league seasons.

Albert Pujols Discusses His Future

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8:22pm: MLB.com’s Matthew Leach gathered a ton of relevant quotes from Albert during the first baseman’s sitdown with reporters on Sunday.

"Do I want to be in St. Louis forever? Of course," Pujols said.  "People from other teams want to play in St. Louis and they’re jealous that we’re in St. Louis because the fans are unbelievable. So why would you want to leave a place like St. Louis to go somewhere else and make $3 or $4 more million a year? It’s not about the money. I already got my money. It’s about winning and that’s it."

5:59pm: Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols was reluctant to speak about his future with the club during the annual Winter Warm-Up in St. Louis back in January.  Well, Sunday morning he opened up a bit more to the Associated Press, via USAToday.com.

"It’s not about the money all the time," the first baseman said. "It’s about being in a place to win and being in a position to win.  If the Cardinals are willing to do that and put a team (on the field) every year like they have, I’m going to try to work everything out to stay in this town. But if they’re not bringing championship caliber play every year, then it’s time for me to go somewhere else that I can win… When I signed my contract I was really happy with what I got.  When that time comes (for another contract) then we’re going to figure it out."

MLBTR had a nice discussion on Albert’s free agent value earlier this winter.  Barring an extension, El Hombre will be free to test the market after the 2011 season.  A .334/.425/.624 career hitter, he is currently just 29 years old.

Manny Ramirez Rumors: Thursday

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According to the AP, Albert Pujols said he can’t understand how his friend Manny Ramirez is not signed yet.  Pujols gave Manny’s phone number to Tony La Russa and wondered if he’d give the Cardinals a discount.

When asked by Bill Shaikin if the Cardinals are interested in Ramirez, GM John Mozeliak said, "The answer is no."

Pujols Not Concerned About Future Contract

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Matthew Leach of MLB.com spoke with Albert Pujols Monday at the annual Cardinals Winter Warm-Up in St. Louis.  According to Leach, Pujols "deflected questions about his future contract status" and "has hardly given a thought to what Mark Teixeira’s contract with the Yankees means to his own situation."

"Ask me that question in 2011," Pujols said. "Right now I don’t really care about it.  That’s [my agents’] job. That’s why they’re my agents. That’s why they’re getting paid. They got me the money that I got because they do their homework. So when that time comes, we need to take care of it. As of right now, I don’t even worry about it. I worry about getting ready for this year, next year and 2011 if I’m still here and they don’t trade me. Because they have the right to trade me wherever they want right now."

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the first to make the Pujols-Teixeira contract comparison back in December.  He described Albert’s 2011 free-agent value as simply "mind-boggling."

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Hudson, Tigers, Braves, Dunn, Yankees

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On this day 29 years ago, Albert Pujols was born. 2009 will be the sixth year of his eight year, $111MM deal (safe to say Cards will pick up his ’11 option). According to Fangraphs, Pujols has already been worth $151.9MM in the first five years of the contract ($30.4M per season), begging the question: How much will Pujols command following the ’11 season, when he will be 32? Last winter, Alex Rodriguez signed for 10 years and $275MM prior to his age 32 season. With less than a month to go before pitchers and catchers report, many players are still looking for their own new contracts. Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • River Ave. Blues expands on Baseball Prospectus’ case against a salary cap and how small-market teams likely would not be able to support a minimum payroll.
  • Bucco Blog says the value of young talent has kept the Pirates from rebuilding. Instead, the team has spent the last two years restructuring and are now moving on to the next phase.
  • Jorge Says No examines the market for Orlando Hudson and feels the Nationals have to make a play for the second baseman.
  • The Detroit Tigers Weblog takes a look at who is still available to close for the Tigers in ’09.
  • Infield Chatter says the Braves were forced to overpay for Derek Lowe.
  • Braves Blast takes a look at the Braves offseason and what is left to do: adding an outfield bat and extending Chipper Jones’ contract.
  • On Baseball and The Reds takes a look at Adam Dunn’s value, with the numbers suggesting he is not worth much more than $20MM over four years.
  • Pinstripes Published makes a case for the Yankees acquiring Lastings Milledge from the Nats, while The Chuck Knoblog argues for Elijah Dukes.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.  This is by far the best way to get your blog linked on MLBTR.

Rosenthal On Dunn, Angels, Garland, Roberts

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Let’s take a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal.

  • The Dodgers won’t go after Adam Dunn until they exhaust their options with Manny Ramirez.  Rosenthal likes the Dunn-L.A. match.  Should Dunn opt for a one-year deal so he can try his hand at a weaker free agent market?
  • Rosenthal wonders if Tony La Russa and/or Albert Pujols will depart if the Cardinals do not contend in coming seasons.
  • The Angels are not in on any hitter currently, but could engage in trade talks this summer if necessary.
  • Rosenthal drives home just how difficult it would be for the Mets to move Luis Castillo.  He says the team wants to bring in a capable backup infielder such as Alex Cora, David Eckstein, or Craig Counsell.
  • The D’Backs made offers for Jon Garland and Brad Penny, but Penny signed with Boston and they’re out on Garland.  Rosenthal says the D’Backs still aren’t necessarily in the market for a starter.
  • A Brian Roberts trade is said to be a "growing possibility."
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