Nightengale On Holliday, Sheets, Yankees
USA's Today's Bob Nightengale is cranking out the tweets…put this stuff in a column, Bob!
- He says the Red Sox met with Scott Boras about Matt Holliday, as a Jason Bay contingency.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Nightengale no one has heard from Ben Sheets or his agent. Back in October, assistant GM Gord Ash told the AP, "There's been once and a while conversations with his agent to remind that we still have that ongoing interest."
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Nightengale he didn't sit down with a single agent. Seems kind of weird.
- Talking to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, Nightengale learned that the team is still open to acquiring a DH despite re-signing Ken Griffey Jr.
- D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes told Nightengale the Super Two cutoff is two years, 139 days, leaving Mark Reynolds one day shy. That saves the team some bucks. But it looks as though Adam Jones, Mike Fontenot, and Micah Owings will be arbitration-eligible. Are Fontenot and Owings non-tender candidates?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dodgers, Red Sox, Iwamura, Matsui
On this date 33 years ago, Bill Campbell became one of the first players to sign a contract with a new team under baseball's new free agency system. After saving 20 games with the Twins in '76, Campbell signed a four-year, $1MM deal with the Red Sox. In his first season in Boston, he would save 31 games and make his only All-Star appearance. As we enter the 34th Hot Stove season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- MLB Notebook suggests Ben Sheets or Erik Bedard for the Dodgers over Vicente Padilla.
- Around the Majors breaks down why Jeremy Hermida is a good pick-up for the Red Sox.
- Fire Brand of the American League explores what it will cost the Red Sox to sign Josh Beckett to an extension.
- Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke? likes what Akinori Iwamura brings to the Pirates both on the field and off.
- Raise the Jolly Roger wonders if Iwamura is worth the cost-controlled Jesse Chavez.
- Baseball Daily Digest says that the Iwamura acquisition is the Pirates latest move into the international market.
- Beyond the Boxscore feels the Pirates got a steal, noting that Iwamura is worth $7.5MM more than his $4.85MM salary
- Twins Geek laments the near-acquisition of Iwamura by the Twins.
- Mets Fans Forever hopes the Mets pass on Hideki Matsui.
- Crawfish Boxes takes a look back at every move the Astros made before and during the '09 season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Rangers Notes: Vizquel, Byrd, Rodriguez
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan examined what some of the Rangers' plans might be this winter, and here are some of the highlights…
- A right-handed bat is at the top of the Texas wish list for the off-season, with Sullivan singling out Jermaine Dye as perhaps the best fit for the Rangers amongst the veteran hitters on the free agent market.
- There is a good chance that veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel will re-sign with Texas before the club's exclusive negotiating period for free agents ends on November 19. Sullivan reports that "there appears to be genuine interest on both sides" to bring the 11-time Gold Glover back for his 22nd big-league season in 2010.
- Texas GM Jon Daniels says that the team would like to bring back free-agent outfielder Marlon Byrd, but since Byrd wants to test the market, "it's just not going to happen in the exclusive window period, if it's going to happen at all."
- The Rangers want to see how Jarrod Saltalamacchia rebounds from shoulder surgery before looking at re-signing veteran catcher and franchise legend Ivan Rodriguez.
- In regards to the other four Texas free agents, Sullivan said that Andruw Jones and Hank Blalock won't be pursued by the club, Eddie Guardado may retire and Joaquin Benoit is "in limbo" following shoulder surgery that sidelined him for all of 2009.
- If Ben Sheets is able to pitch in 2010, the Rangers still have interest in the right-hander who they thought they had signed last January.
- Relief pitching will become a priority if Neftali Feliz and C.J. Wilson are moved to the rotation. Sullivan lists several bullpen options for the Rangers, many of whom have pitched in Texas before.
Sheets Plans To Pitch In 2010
Ben Sheets plans to return to the majors in 2010, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. One of Sheets' representatives says the righty is throwing of flat ground now and expects to be "more than ready to go" in Spring Training.
Sheets had a fantastic 2008 campaign, but a torn flexor tendon sidelined him this past season. Like fellow-free agents Rich Harden, Erik Bedard and Justin Duchscherer, the 31-year-old can pitch when healthy. Sheets allowed 181 hits and 47 walks in 198.1 innings, striking out 158 for an ERA of 3.09 in 31 starts a year ago.
The Brewers confirmed that they would have interest in bringing Sheets back, the Rangers nearly signed him last year and, based on recent comments, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will likely have interest, too.
Red Sox Like Buy-Low, High-Upside Starters
John Smoltz and Brad Penny didn't work out for the Red Sox, but the pair of righthanders cost the club a relatively small amount, so they'll consider similar pitchers this offseason. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein tells Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald that he will remain open-minded as he looks for a starter to complement Tim Wakefield.
"We’re probably not going to end up with a front-line free agent starting pitcher with the way we look at the market and the nature of the market these days," Epstein said. "Could we end up with another buy-low, high-upside, low-risk starting pitcher somewhere on the roster? Sure. And if it doesn’t work out, we’ll move on.”
A number of scouts and execs tell McAdam that the Red Sox will likely pursue Rich Harden this offseason (Harden won't cost a draft pick, since he's a Type B free agent). Ben Sheets, Brandon Webb, Erik Bedard, Justin Duchscherer and Mark Mulder are also possible targets for Epstein and the Red Sox, who have Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka in their rotation already.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Wagner, Holliday, Brewers
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…
- Don't expect the Mets to just give away Billy Wagner as a salary dump. He'll have "actual trade value" this winter, and his $8MM club option would not be outrageous money on a one year deal if he's healthy.
- Even if his team declines the option, they could offer him arbitration and receive two high draft picks if he signs elsewhere since he projects to be a Type-A free agent. Wagner would be much more than a six-week rent in that case.
- Matt Holliday's performance with the Cardinals has undoubtedly boosted his stock as an impending free agent. One GM still thinks Jason Bay is a comparable player on the open market, but Holliday is better defensively, younger, and better at hitting breaking balls than Bay.
- The real question is how each player will age, which is impossible to say at this point.
- The Brewers have yet to place veterans like Mike Cameron and Trevor Hoffman on trade waivers, but with the team now out of contention, Rosenthal asks "why not?"
- GM Doug Melvin is disinclined to make such deals because he knows the return may not be significant, but Hoffman in particular would be attractive. The Rockies have already discussed him internally.
- Craig Counsell, Braden Looper, and Jason Kendall could have value as well.
- Earlier this season there was talk that Mark Mulder and Ben Sheets could help teams in the second half, but that hasn't happened. Sheets has decided that the risk of a setback isn't worth the reward of an accelerated return, but he should be healthy for next season.
- Mulder has only thrown 12.2 IP over the last two seasons, but he's been working with his former pitching coach Rick Peterson and supposedly wants to pitch this season.
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Brewers Rumors: Hardy, Escobar, Sheets
Lots of Brewers news this Wednesday morning. Here's the latest:
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers fired pitching coach Bill Castro and demoted J.J. Hardy to Triple A. The Alcides Escobar era begins in Milwaukee.
- In a different article, McCalvy writes that the Brewers are still looking for a starter on the waiver wire, though no top arms are available.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin has not heard from Casey Close, who represents Ben Sheets and wonders if the agent's silence means Sheets won't pitch this year: "I think he would call clubs if [Sheets] were going to pitch, wouldn't he?"
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files the team's moves under the "What Have We Got to Lose?" category.
Odds & Ends: Lilly, White Sox, Reds, Sheets
Back to back Odds & Ends posts? Madness!
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday writes about what the Yankees missed out on when they passed on Ted Lilly as a free agent in 2007.
- Rick Morrissey of The Chicago Tribune says that the White Sox need Roy Halladay, no matter the cost. He suggests a package built around Alexei Ramirez and John Danks.
- Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News says that he could see Aaron Harang and/or Bronson Arroyo moved for prospects if "the Reds nose dive before the July 31 trade deadline."
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Ben Sheets continues to make progress as he returns from elbow surgery, but it's unclear if he'll be able to pitch at all in 2009. Earlier this month we heard that Sheets may not pitch at all this year.
Sheets May Not Pitch This Year
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that three teams with "at least some level of interest" in starter Ben Sheets say he he won't be able to help a big league team this year. He's five months removed from flexor tendon surgery, an operation that kept Jason Jennings out for a year and a half.
Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus says he's heard some suggestions that Sheets could miss the season.
Discussion: Ben Sheets
We haven't checked in on Ben Sheets for quite some time. In fact, MLBTR's last update on the free agent right-hander was in early May, when he was spotted at the Rangers' ballpark visiting with pitching coach Mike Maddux.