Rangers Rumors: DeJesus, Lamb, Millar
Evan Grant writes for the Dallas Morning News, but he posted this column at night. Go figure. He’s got some new info regarding the Rangers.
- As you know, the Rangers have had difficulty finding a long-term center fielder. That’s the main focus of this offseason. The team has already shown interest in Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, the top center fielders available. Other free agents such as Andruw Jones and Mike Cameron appear to be in play as well. Grant’s trade candidates: Coco Crisp, David DeJesus, Mark Kotsay, and Carlos Beltran. We’ve speculated on DeJesus to Atlanta in the past. With DeJesus signed cheaply through 2011 and the market at the position robust this winter, it might make sense for Dayton Moore to wait a year to shop him aggressively.
- Grant adds that Jon Daniels is considering some affordable options for first base. They’ve already talked to Mike Lamb‘s agent and like Kevin Millar as well. Lamb came up through the Rangers’ system but was traded to the Yankees in ’04. Millar is under contract for ’08 but it’s in the $3-4MM range and the Orioles should be open to a trade. Grant says Ben Broussard could pique the Rangers’ interest if he’s non-tendered.
- Grant concludes with five Rangers whose names will be bandied about in trade talks: Gerald Laird, Vicente Padilla, Joaquin Arias, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Nelson Cruz. Salty’s not being shopped but Grant expects teams to ask. He proposes some kind of bad contract swap for Padilla – Jason Giambi, Richie Sexson, or Adam Eaton are named. I still think it’s funny the way Padilla crawled away from the brawl he started this year.
Latest Alex Rodriguez Rumors
Ah, your daily dose of Alex Rodriguez rumors. What would you do without it?
- Rob Bradford asked Red Sox captain Jason Varitek whether Alex Rodriguez would fit in with the Red Sox clubhouse. Varitek, you may recall, had a little face-shoving scuffle with A-Rod back in 2004. Varitek said he had no idea whether Rodriguez would fit in with the current team, but that he knows Mike Lowell does. It’s pretty obvious where Varitek’s allegiance lies given the "Re-sign Lowell" sign and all.
- Gwen Knapp doesn’t see the Dodgers getting A-Rod for a couple of reasons. First, of course, there’s the price. Second, there’s a possibly shaky relationship with Scott Boras given last year’s unexpected opt-out by J.D. Drew.
- Mark Feinsand disagrees – his L.A. source says the Dodgers will make a push for him. The expected hiring of Joe Torre will basically be a non-factor in Rodriguez’s decision. Plan B for the Dodgers might be to sign Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones. That leaves Juan Pierre in left field or traded. Hey, it was a dumb signing at the time.
- Feinsand also has a source indicating that Rodriguez is hoping the Yankees will entertain the possibility of bringing him back. The Yankees, of course, are scarred by the Texas money lost and have pledged repeatedly that they will not be involved. We’ve seen this a million times – teams love fresh faces. Say A-Rod had played out his Texas contract to this point – do you think the Yankees would be in the mix for him then? If the Yankees don’t want A-Rod because he’s simply too expensive, that’s reasonable. But if they simply feel scorned by the opt-out, that’s emotion.
- Omar Minaya said on a conference call yesterday that he planned on discussing the team’s interest in A-Rod with David Wright, since Wright would have to move to second base to accomodate him.
- A new team is going after A-Rod aggressively.
Dodgers Serious About Andruw Jones
Bill Shaikin has a small note in today’s column:
Scott Boras is believed to consider the Dodgers a more serious contender for center fielder Andruw Jones than for Alex Rodriguez.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen the Dodgers linked to Jones; David O’Brien suggested it several weeks ago.
Ned Colletti, you may recall, wasn’t exactly thrilled with Scott Boras a year ago when J.D. Drew unexpectedly opted out. But it sounded like much of his anger was directed at Drew. Boras seems to disagree with the notion that Jones should come with a significant price cut this winter. Before the season he was talking about $20MM annually. He’d still want at least $15MM per year.
The signing could leave the Dodgers with an outfield of Juan Pierre, Jones, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier. One of the last two could be peddled, and the team might have soured on Kemp a bit. How about Kemp for Miguel Tejada?
Tigers Hot Stove Talk
Lynn Henning of the Detroit News runs down all of the big names rumored to be possibilities for the Tigers this winter and assesses the likelihood of each. It’s a well-written article so be sure to read it. Here are the players, ranked by the percent chance of playing for Detroit next year:
Kenny Rogers – 90%
Todd Jones – 80%
Geoff Jenkins – 75%
Edgar Renteria – 50%
Jack Wilson – 30%
Francisco Cordero – 5%
Alex Rodriguez – 3%
Mariano Rivera – 3%
Raul Ibanez – 0.5%
Torii Hunter – 0%
Andruw Jones – 0%
- Henning believes Jenkins is quite likely to become a Tiger on a two-year deal. He only costs money, as the Brewers won’t be offering him arbitration if they decline his option. The Twins may be in the mix for him as well.
- Henning notes that new Braves GM Frank Wren and current Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski have a connection and could easily work together on a Renteria trade. Pitching would be the requirement. Jeremy Bonderman seems like too much; Nate Robertson perhaps too little.
- The Tigers badly want to bring Rogers back; that seems very likely.
- Henning expects Jones back unless he receives an offer from the Braves, located somewhat near his home. That’s not expected.
State Of The Dodgers
The L.A. Daily News’ Tony Jackson has a look at the Dodgers’ upcoming offseason. You also might be interested in my recent Needs and Luxuries post on the team. A summary of Jackson’s column:
- Juan Pierre could be shifted to left field to allow the Dodgers to employ a stronger arm in center field. It’s odd…teams seem to be souring on last winter’s signings even when they received exactly what everyone expected (Pierre and Jason Marquis, for example). It’d be different for the Red Sox to sour on J.D. Drew, he played well below expectations in Year 1. Anyway, Pierre could be moved to accomodate Matt Kemp (perhaps putting Andre Ethier in right), or the Dodgers could pursue a center fielder. They’ve already been connected to Andruw Jones.
- The Dodgers perceive third base as a big hole, apparently not willing to give Andy LaRoche another look. Of course we have to mention Alex Rodriguez. But how about Mike Lowell?
- The Dodgers will pass on options for Ramon Martinez and Randy Wolf, but might consider Mike Lieberthal at $1.5MM. Liebs could earn almost $40K per game next year, not too shabby.
- L.A. has a couple of non-tender candidates: Mark Hendrickson and Chin-hui Tsao. Apparently they will keep Hendrickson but cut Tsao loose.
Phillies Have $20MM To Burn
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Todd Zolecki tallied up the Phillies’ commitments and determined that they have roughly $20MM free to spend on pitching, third base, and perhaps Aaron Rowand. Zolecki feels that the Phils would choose to let Rowand walk if they couldn’t fit it all in the budget.
Zolecki mentions Mike Lowell as a possibility for the hot corner; that’d run $8-12MM for ’08 depending on how you backload it. Lowell seems in line for at least two years, $22MM. Gordon Edes has speculated that it could require a three or four year commitment. The Phillies at least fall under the teams on Lowell’s list, it appears.
The other $10MM or so might all have to go toward a starting pitcher. The Phillies have Jamie Moyer, Adam Eaton, Cole Hamels, and Kyle Kendrick locked in. If the Phils don’t like the free agent market (they had interest in reacquiring Carlos Silva this summer), they could pursue Jon Garland or Dontrelle Willis via trade. The Phils have also scouted Anthony Reyes.
That doesn’t leave any money for Andruw Jones, despite recent speculation.
Braves Notes: Hampton, Lowry, Andruw
Mike Hampton makes $15MM next year, and the Braves aren’t getting any relief from the Rockies or Marlins. However, it turns out the Braves actually spread around those payments so that they’d pay out about $8MM to Hampton in each year of the deal.
This is confirmed by Bill Shanks of Scout.com, for starters. Shanks notes that the Braves owe $8.25MM to Hampton next year because of amortization. I’ve heard that David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said something similar in the comments of one of his blog posts, but it’s been buried somewhere. Bottom line, the Braves have $7MM more than we thought they did. A $95MM payroll would give Atlanta some wiggle room to add a starter.
It’s not a stretch to add Tom Glavine, with this new information. However, O’Brien thinks the Braves need more. While Dan Haren or Joe Blanton may be out of reach, Noah Lowry seems a more realistic target. The point is to find a decent young controllable arm.
O’Brien’s also got some early interested parties in Andruw Jones: the Dodgers, Rangers, Giants, White Sox, Nationals, Phillies, and Mets. Seems like the idea of moving Beltran to right field has been discussed within the Mets organization. The Dodgers, I imagine, would shift Juan Pierre to left field.
Andruw Jones’ Braves Career Over
According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Andruw Jones has priced himself out of the Braves’ range and will not be returning next year. O’Brien says Scott Boras’ starting point was seven years and nearly $20MM annually. So basically no discount at all despite Jones’ terrible season. Boras would be a true magician to pull that off.
All of this just goes to confirm the sentiment from a few days ago. But don’t think this frees up a ton of money for the Braves to spend on Torii Hunter. As I noted earlier, a $95MM payroll (a $7MM increase from last year) would probably just buy the Braves their current roster without Andruw or Octavio Dotel. The raises are that significant.
When it’s all said and done, I still think Boras and Jones will accept a significantly discounted contract in both years and average annual value.
Andruw Likely Gone
Update: Keith Law just predicted Torii Hunter will make 16MM/year in Texas. That gels with what Andruw’s seeking.
Tim discussed The Andruw Jones Situation recently and whether he’d accept a 1-year deal or a 5-year hometown discount. Now, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses the inevitable departure of Andruw Jones here and here.
Despite Andruw coming off career-worst season of hitting .222 with 26 homeruns and 94 RBIs, Scott Boras has said there’s "no way" he’ll accept a 1-year deal. Instead, he’s seeking a contract at the "fair-market value" of $17-20 million per year. That’s Vernon Wells-esque. And why not? Wells has yet to approach Andruw’s career production. And it’s always easy to forget after 12 years in the bigs that Andruw Jones is only 30.
Jones has three games left on his contract that paid him $75MM over the last 6 years, a real hometown discount. Boras has made it known they have no interest in taking another one.
With the Braves’ desire to re-sign their new-darling Mark Teixeira after next season, who in the interim will command around $12MM in arbitration, along with salary increases for John Smoltz, Tim Hudson and other arbitration eligible players, Boras’ demands seem to indicate the unthinkable: An Atlanta without Andruw.
Posted By: Nat Boyle
The Andruw Jones Situation
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a thorough dissection of the Andruw Jones situation.
The Braves have yet to speak to Jones, and their intentions for the center field spot in ’08 are anybody’s guess. If the Braves want to go short-term, it appears Andruw would consider a one-year offer. Scott Boras scoffed at the idea a few months ago but Jones had a subpar second half since then. If the Braves still want to lock him up, O’Brien reports that Jones might take a five-year, $75MM pact. I don’t see the Braves doing it.
As for fitting Andruw into the 2008 budget, the team’s president has indicated that payroll is likely to rise next year. It could reach the $90-100MM range. Payroll stood at $87MM on Opening Day.
Here’s the problem: even subtracting Jones’ $13.5MM salary and replacing him internally with, say, Kelly Johnson, the Braves are looking at roughly a $7MM net increase just with current players. Hudson, Smoltz, and Teixeira’s raises will add roughly $17MM to the payroll, plus another several million for arbitration-eligible players. So a $95MM payroll might just buy the Braves their current roster sans Andruw and Octavio Dotel. Trading Edgar Renteria might be a necessity.
Meanwhile, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune has reported that the Padres are mulling a one-year offer to Jones in excess of his current $13.5MM salary. The Nationals and many other clubs could make a similar one-year offer.