Cafardo’s Latest: Mauer, Red Sox, Glavine
With every Sunday come rumors from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo:
- Cafardo asks Tom Glavine whether he’d consider another year if 2009 is a success. Glavine didn’t say no: "I’m not prepared right now to say. It would take a lot of good things to happen this year to consider playing next year. Last year, I didn’t think I’d be sitting here this year, so I guess you never know."
- Nomar Garciaparra had placed a call to the Red Sox front office inquiring about their potential interest.
- If he hits free agency, Joe Mauer is expected to receive offers in the $20-25MM range and "The Sox are expected to be front and center." Mauer is signed with the Twins through 2010. He’ll make $10.5MM this year and $12.5MM in 2010.
- Dusty Baker thinks Barry Bonds would still be a top hitter in the league. Says Baker, "He’s one of those guys that will be able to pick up a bat when he’s an old man and still get a hit."
- Andruw Jones is 4 for 18 with 10 strikeouts to start spring training.
- Scouts agree: George Kottaras would clear waivers if designated for assignment, meaning the Red Sox may not have to deal the catching prospect.
- Cafardo would make the Clay Buchholz-Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade right now.
Barry Bonds Rejections
Yesterday Bob Nightengale of USA Today talked to Barry Bonds‘ agent Jeff Borris, learning that Borris will contact all 30 teams in hopes of landing a job for his client. Borris is not optimistic. In case it becomes a trend, we’ll use this post to note which teams have rejected the agent’s overtures.
- The Nationals will pass – manager Manny Acta told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post that "It’s not a match for us" while choking back laughter.
- Twins GM Bill Smith to the AP: "I would tell you that I don’t think it’s a very good fit for us right now."
- Reds manager Dusty Baker to John Fay: "I don’t [see] where. He might be better suited for an American League team."
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly: "We are not interested in inviting Barry to Spring Training."
- Nick Cafardo hears that the Red Sox won’t pursue Bonds either.
- Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that Angels GM Tony Reagins has no interest in Bonds.
Barry Bonds Hopes To Play
Bob Nightengale of USA Today talked to Barry Bonds‘ agent Jeff Borris, who plans to contact all 30 teams in hopes of landing a 2009 job for his client. Bonds’ trial has been indefinitely delayed. Borris is not optimistic about finding a team for Bonds, given that teams declined to sign the outfielder at the league minimum for ’08.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
9:46pm: Chris Haft of MLB.com wonders if Manny Ramirez would be given as many opportunities to hit the ball if he signed with the Giants, similar to how Barry Bonds was intentionally walked so often.
4:30pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Manny still wants a four or five-year deal at about $25MM per. On rival exec believes the Dodgers and Manny are in the "fourth inning" of negotiations.
10:17am: The latest Manny Ramirez information came from Bill Shaikin on Saturday, and there’s not much to report. It seems that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti awaits a counteroffer from Scott Boras after their two-year, $45MM offer was made almost three months ago. Boras wants the Dodgers to up their bid:
"We have let the Dodgers know what Manny’s position is. They are fully aware of the terms he feels are fair."
Shaikin says the Dodgers "do not equate an asking price with a counteroffer." He adds, "The Dodgers do not believe the San Francisco Giants are serious about Ramirez. The Giants are happy to let the Dodgers think that way."
I have to side with Colletti on this one. His offer was initially laughed off, but now it looks quite fair. Manny doesn’t appear to have any other offers, and there are other quality free agent corner outfielders available who will likely play for one year and less than half the average annual salary.
Odds and Ends: Arb, Royals, Compensation
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 3pm CST (one hour later than usual).
- 16 starters were chosen within the first seven rounds of 2008 fantasy drafts. How many were worth it?
- Confused about all this arbitration stuff? Read this.
- Fred Claire notes that teams continue to sign pitchers to long-term deals.
- Just for the fun of it, Joe Posnanski envisions a Royals alternate reality where they drafted perfectly in 1999.
- Mike Axisa attempts to fix the free agent compensation system.
- Rinku and Dinesh hang with Barry Bonds.
- Ken Davidoff suggests the Mets sign Ben Sheets, Jon Garland, and Ty Wigginton.
- We’ve been doing many entries lately so be sure to check Page Two and Page Three for more.
Perrotto’s Latest: Ramirez, Lowe
Every Sunday we read John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday:
- The Giants may be considering two offers for Manny Ramirez. One for two years "with vesting and club options that could make it a four-year, $100MM contract." The other for 3 years, $63MM, with no options.
- Derek Lowe has not given up on a five-year, $80MM offer, although that remains doubtful.
- Barry Bonds had hip surgery and wants to return in 2009. Some still speculate he will pursue collusion charges.
- Tony La Russa is considering using Chris Carpenter as a closer.
Odds and Ends: Bonds, Boras, Snell
Links for Thursday…
- MLBTR had over 3,500 posts in 2008. Thanks for reading! In ’08 we added a Facebook page, a mobile site, and weekly chats while also redesigning the main site. It was my first year working full-time on MLBTR.
- Barry Bonds had hip surgery with the intent of playing in 2009, according to John Shea.
- The Rays re-signed catcher Michel Hernandez to a minor league deal.
- Darren Rovell interviewed Scott Boras.
- Ian Snell agrees with Jack Wilson – the Pirates need more players.
- A discussion of power/speed players over at RotoAuthority.
- The River Avenue Blues writers break down the Johnny Damon contract in a post on Peter Abraham’s blog. They argue that he’s been worth 13MM per year so far.
- Mike Berardino expects the Marlins to remain quiet for now, but predicts that they’ll find a bargain or two before Spring Training.
- The Toronto Star looks ahead towards a potentially tough year for Toronto sports fans, no thanks to the Blue Jays.
- The recent merger of Aaron Miles and the Cubs isn’t well-received at FanGraphs.
More Jocketty Talk On The Reds
C. Trent Rosecrans of TheLotD.com also talked with Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty today. Here are some conversation highlights:
- The Reds are still talking to Jerry Hairston Jr. to play left field. “We’re still trying to get Hairston,” Jocketty told Rosecrans. “We’ll have a different look on our club, but we still have guys like (Joey) Votto, (Jay) Bruce, (Brandon) Phillips, (Edwin) Encarnacion and even (Ramon) Hernandez with power.”
- Jocketty hasn’t spoken with Pat Burrell in awhile. They are holding back on that one right now.
- Health remains a serious issue with Rocco Baldelli, Jocketty said.
- The Reds have been in discussion with the New York Yankees about their extra outfielders, but no deals are close.
- No Barry Bonds; no Sammy Sosa.
Bonds: “I’m Not Retiring”
A TMZ cameraman caught Barry Bonds outside an L.A. restaurant recently, and got Bonds to say, "I’m not retiring" a few times. It’s really not much of a story.
A’s Chatter: Ellis, Giambi
A few notes from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:
- Mark Ellis‘s deal is for two years with a third year option; it could be worth close to $20MM. He came at a discount due to his shoulder injury this year. He would’ve been a bargain regardless; the market continues to undervalue defense in some ways. Tom Tango goes as far as to say the players union should be having a fit over Ellis’ new deal.
- Just like he was open to Barry Bonds, third baseman Eric Chavez would like to see the A’s sign Jason Giambi. Speaking of Bonds – John Shea doesn’t buy the idea that he’d play for the minimum.