Odds and Ends: Johan, Hudson, A-Rod, Dallas
Collection o’ links…
- LENIII has a Johan Santana update…nothing groundbreaking going on, pretty much looks like the Yanks and Red Sox are still both involved.
- The Brewers were apparently pretty deep in discussions for Miguel Tejada during the Winter Meetings.
- After a year out of baseball Javy Lopez is back with the Braves on a minor-league deal. Remember when he slugged .687 with 43 home runs in 457 ABs? Good times.
- Nick Piecoro has some chatter about Orlando Hudson, who hits free agency after the ’08 season. The most interesting part is that Hudson refers to Bob Melvin as "Bo-Mel." It’s the same story with Hudson – he’d like an extension, the D’Backs are noncommittal. You never know – I certainly didn’t expect them to re-up Eric Byrnes. But as of right now it seems like Hudson will walk.
- Alex Rodriguez is not on speaking terms with Scott Boras…let’s all hope they reconcile, they were a great couple.
- Barry Jackson says the Marlins have their eye on Dallas McPherson. The Giants are known to be interested as well.
- Mike Sweeney‘s agent has been in touch with the Royals as well as two other clubs. I think he might have to accept a bench role this year.
Odds and Ends: Rowand, A-Rod, Calero, Clemens
Some odds and ends floating about…
- Andrew Baggarly has the structure of Aaron Rowand‘s new deal. It’s quite backloaded and has partial no-trade protection after the first year.
- The Yankees made A-Rod’s ten-year deal official.
- The A’s quickly moved to sign Kiko Calero to a one-year deal the day after non-tendering him. I mentioned here that he was a solid reliever for four years prior to 2007.
- The Rocket denies the steroid allegations. Thoughts?
Morning Yankees Rumors
Just a few things I found scouring the Internets this morning.
- The team has finalized their marketing deal with Alex Rodriguez regarding his breaking of home run milestones. He’ll receive $6 million for reaching the home run totals of Willy Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds. And then he’ll get another $6 million for homer No. 763. Yes, that’s $12 million for two homers. The deal has been approved by MLBPA and the Commissioner’s office.
- Peter Gammons, via Buster Olney, reports that the Twins will be seeking three players in any trade to the Yankees of Johan Santana: Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Austin Jackson. Olney thinks that when combined with the $150 million financial commitment that will come along with the deal, the Yankees will not do it. I’d personally not like to give up Jackson, a highly regarded prospect when drafted who just had a breakout season in 2007.
- Steve Serby of the New York Post has a Q & A with Hank Steinbrenner. If you liked Hank before, you’ll like this. If you think he’s a braying ass, you’ll continue thinking the same.
- Ian O’Connor thinks that Omar Minaya needs to steal the Yankees thunder and beat them to the punch for Johan Santana. Personally, I think that’s the worst reason to do anything.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.
Odds and Ends: Glavine, Rowand, A-Rod Clark, LoDuca
Hi. I’m Joe. Tim is busy today, so I’ll be filling in. You can send any tips right to my email. So onto a few morning tidbits.
- Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution hears that the Braves are "close" to a deal with
Tom Glavine. His agent, Gregg Clifton, thinks "it’s a good possibility" that a deal gets done today.
- Aaron Rowand’s agent Craig Landis says that the "interest is definitely mutual" between his client and the Dodgers.
- Since I run a Yankees site, I suppose I can’t finish an odds and ends post without a mention of Alex Rodriguez. Ed Price of the Star Ledger says that the soon-to-be MVP’s deal is "intricate," and that we shouldn’t expect a deal until "perhaps after Thanksgiving."
- The Twins are said to be interested in Tony Clark. Not quire sure adding another low-OBP bad in addition to Craig Monroe is very smart here. Plus, this would make Clark the de-facto DH, and we know he’s looking for a starting gig.
- Mike Puma of the New York Post speculates that recently displaced Paul LoDuca could swap with Yorvit Torrealba and catch on as the Rockies’ starter for 2008.
Joe Pawlikowski is a co-author of River Ave. Blues, a New York Yankees blog.
Yanks, A-Rod Have Contract Outline
I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to put this thing to bed. Alex Rodriguez‘s record ten year, $275MM deal is almost done according to the AP. It sounds like they have an agreement but it needs to be put on paper. A couple of Goldman Sachs managing directors helped make the deal possible while Scott Boras sat on the sidelines. The contract discussions have been going on for roughly ten days covertly.
Part of the deal is that Alex will share in the revenue if he nears Barry Bonds’ career home run record. That’ll need to be approved by the commissioner’s office.
A-Rod Deal Looks Close
Yahoo’s Tim Brown has quietly been doing a fine job gathering info about Alex Rodriguez‘s dealings with the Yankees. Here’s a link to yesterday’s column, and here’s today’s. A summary follows.
- The base of the contract is ten years, $275MM. There are also performance incentives that can bring the value higher.
- The third party Rodriguez sent to initiate contact with the Steinbrenners was Mitch Modell, the sporting goods guy.
- The whole idea of the Yankees trying to bar Scott Boras or A-Rod having strife with Boras appears false. Everyone’s on good working terms, and the events of yesterday may even have been orchestrated by Boras. John Harper paints a very different story based on his sources, so you’ll have to decide who to believe.
- Brown suggests a contract announcement could come on Monday at the same time Rodriguez is named AL MVP.
Angels and Dodgers Battling For Miguel Cabrera
UPDATE, 11-15-07: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Angels are in the lead now, and trade talk for Cabrera is picking up with A-Rod on the verge of signing. Frisaro says a deal could be done by Thanksgiving, in contrast to Joe Capozzi’s suggestion that this would happen at the Winter Meetings. The L.A. Times explained several Dodgers/Angels scenarios on Wednesday; that’s also worth a read.
FROM 11-13-07:
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says the Dodgers and Angels are leading the pack in the Miguel Cabrera derby. Four other clubs are said to be in the mix. The Marlins will continue to field offers and hope to trade Cabrera at the Winter Meetings in a few weeks.
Both the Dodgers and Angels are also in the mix for Alex Rodriguez. Scott Boras must love Cabrera messing up his market. A friend of Tommy Lasorda’s told me today that Lasorda puts the Dodgers’ chances of signing A-Rod around 25%.
From the Angels, the Marlins want Howie Kendrick, Nick Adenhart, another pitcher, and an outfielder. Now that’s a tall order! Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders could be in the mix. Maybe the Marlins like Terry Evans, Nathan Haynes, or Reggie Willits as well.
The Dodgers are being asked to pony up four of Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Andy LaRoche, James Loney, and Matt Kemp. Capozzi suggests the Dodgers would probably only include one of the pitchers. Even so, a Kershaw/LaRoche/Loney/Kemp package is insane for one player. That has to be well over $100MM of value – a bit less than 20 team-controlled seasons. Three of the five would still make for a sweet bounty. The team acquiring Cabrera would probably be compelled to lock him in past 2009.
An educated guess at the other four teams in the mix for Cabrera: White Sox, Red Sox, Yankees, and Giants. I’ll guess that the Indians have bowed out.
A-Rod Close To $280MM Deal With Yanks
Jon Heyman, Dan Graziano, and Ed Price are reporting it: Alex Rodriguez is nearing a ten-year, $280MM contract with the Yankees. Heyman says the deal would have tons of incentives, allowing it to go "well over $300 million."
And of course, Scott Boras is deeply involved in the negotiations. Covert talks have been going on for days, apparently. Perhaps A-Rod won’t be seen as such a villain now. $28MM would be a pretty fair deal for him, maybe even a bargain.
Yankees Discussing Deal With A-Rod
UPDATE: An official statement from A-Rod – he and his wife spoke with the Steinbrenners today. Contract talks are expected to continue and it looks positive. I’m also getting emailers from readers who have heard from John Sterling, Yankees radio announcer. Sterling apparently has a source close to Rodriguez saying that the chance of A-Rod re-signing is 101 on a scale of 1 to 100. So there you go.
UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal notes that A-Rod would need to fire Boras for the Yankees to exclude him from negotiations. Otherwise, it would be a violation of the Basic Agreement.
This is a shock to some, not so much to others. Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden are reporting that the Yankees are in contract talks with Alex Rodriguez.
Two stipulations from the Yanks: the contract would have to compensate for the lost Texas money, and they don’t want Scott Boras involved. Rodriguez would have to talk directly to the Steinbrenner brothers before anything could be completed. Taking a "below-market" deal might be a way for Rodriguez to improve his public perception. Would Boras still get a 5% commission?
The Yankees have surveyed the third base market and may have realized that they can’t afford to lose Rodriguez’s production. Perhaps they feel Mike Lowell at four years is questionable, and acquiring Miguel Cabrera creates too many new holes.
Peter Abraham, by the way, doesn’t buy any of this. He’s certain it’s posturing, and expects Rodriguez to make a point to talk about coming back to the Yankees on Monday’s MVP conference call. ShysterBall leans toward skepticism as well.
Dodgers To Seek Pitching Via Trade
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has some insight into Ned Colletti’s gameplan this offseason.
Colletti still isn’t a fan of the free agent market for starting pitchers. He feels that the Dodgers’ best chance of upgrading the rotation is via trade. Though the Dodgers have been previously linked to Hiroki Kuroda, Colletti seemed unimpressed by the Japanese market. Trade options might include Erik Bedard, A.J. Burnett, Cliff Lee, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, Johan Santana, Dan Haren, Joe Blanton, Chris Capuano, and Dave Bush. Did I miss anyone?
As far as third base, Colletti says the Dodgers haven’t decided whether to go after Alex Rodriguez. He was able to tolerate Scott Boras enough to talk with him briefly last week. The other options for the Dodgers would be Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera. Giving Andy LaRoche a try wouldn’t be a terrible idea.
It sounds like the Dodgers really want to sign a center fielder and move Juan Pierre over. It seems that Colletti will investigate the Big Three among free agent center fielders. Him being on OK terms with Boras bodes well for the Andruw Jones possibility.
Second base is still unresolved, and Colletti could go for Luis Castillo if Jeff Kent retires. Kent’s agent shot down the whole Larry King thing. Tony Abreu makes for a fine internal fallback.