Odds & Ends: Astros, Royals, Abreu
Let's kick off the day with links…
- Yahoo's David Brown caught up with Pedro Martinez as part of his Answer Man series.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes about the Astros' mistake of ignoring pitching.
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle notes that the Michael Bourn–Brad Lidge swap no longer looks lopsided. The Astros sent Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to Philly for Bourn, Geoff Geary, and Mike Costanzo in November of 2007.
- Rany Jazayerli has an open letter to Royals owner David Glass regarding the Dayton Moore extension.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times writes about Bobby Abreu's influence on the Angels' other hitters. In the article, Abreu says, "I definitely want to come back."
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the legend of Garrett Jones. The 28 year-old Rookie of the Year contender has crushed 18 home runs in 237 plate appearances. What kind of numbers do you see him putting up next year?
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that Johnny Damon makes more sense for the Yankees next year than Hideki Matsui.
Rosenthal On Abreu, Royals, Garland
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Bobby Abreu and the Angels have mutual interest in continuing their relationship, according to his agent Peter Greenberg. Greenberg says there have been discussions but they'll probably wait until after the season. Abreu, 36 in March, is hitting .297/.391/.428 in 547 plate appearances while playing subpar defense. He should end up earning $6MM given his plate appearance incentives. He'll easily achieve Type A status again.
- Rosenthal praises the Royals for extending GM Dayton Moore, and suggests the team should commit to a full-bore rebuild. Rosenthal believes it would've been wise to trade Mark Teahen and Gil Meche.
- Rosenthal says to expect another overloaded 1B/DH market this winter. Survey the free agent market here. I think we might find a .400 OBP on the cheap in Nick Johnson, while Jason Giambi is in for a minor league deal. Carlos Delgado, Russell Branyan, Hank Blalock, Ken Griffey Jr., Hideki Matsui, Aubrey Huff, Gary Sheffield, and Jim Thome are some of the other names.
- The Phillies decided to stick with Miguel Cairo as their right-handed bench bat, rather than pursue Nomar Garciaparra.
- A rival exec Rosenthal spoke to feels that Tony Abreu is not enough for Jon Garland, since the D'Backs are picking up all of Garland's contract.
Angels Rumors: Abreu, Reagins, Free Agency
Some Angels rumors, from around the league:
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, who says the Angels are the Yankees' biggest threat, spoke with Bobby Abreu and heard that he wants to return to LA next year.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan shows that the Angels, unlike most of their rivals, have managed to hold onto most of the players from their 2006 team.
- It's not a coincidence. GM Tony Reagins says the Angels hold onto the talent they acquire and try to avoid making drastic moves.
- The Angels will see Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, Chone Figgins and others hit free agency after the season, so they have a franchise-defining winter coming up.
Productive Free Agent Pickups
Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira have all produced since headlining last offseason's free agent class, but they're far from the only free agents to make meaningful contributions this season. Here are the five free agents who have been worth most this year according to FanGraphs. I've included the player's worth, as calculated by FanGraphs, his contract info and some more traditional stats:
- Raul Ibanez, Phillies – He's been worth $16.1MM this year, but the Phillies are paying him just $6.5MM (plus incentives) in the first year of a deal worth $31.5MM. Ibanez has 26 homers, 75 RBI and an OPS just shy of 1.000.
- C.C. Sabathia, Yankees - Sabathia has been worth $15.6MM this year, making a $14MM salary in the first year of a deal that could pay him $161MM. Despite a drop in his K-rate, Sabathia has an ERA below 4.00 in the AL East and leads the league in starts.
- Mark Teixeira, Yankees – He's been worth $15.1MM so far, so he's on pace to earn the first $20MM of his $180MM deal. He's added 26 homers, 80 RBI and 56 walks to the Yankees' offense.
- Bobby Abreu, Angels – He's been worth $13.8MM this year and he's making a base salary of just $5MM. What a deal for the Angels, who get an .869 OPS, nearly as many walks as strikeouts and 22 steals.
- Juan Rivera, Angels - Another unheralded signing by the Angels. Rivera and Abreu have both approached Teixeira's production this year and the Yanks pay Tex more in one season than the Angels will pay Abreu and Rivera in total over the course of their current deals. Rivera makes a base salary of $3.25MM this year and will make at least $12.75MM on his new deal. He's batting .311 with 18 homers.
Odds And Ends: Byrd, Timlin, Giambi
Some links to look through…
- Bobby Abreu tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that it was frustrating to see other players sign big contracts last offseason. Abreu waited and finally settled for a $5MM deal, but now he loves LA.
- The Jason Giambi signing didn't work out nearly as well for the A's. When MLB.com's Mychael Urban asked manager Bob Geren if Giambi will be back next year, Geren avoided the question. Presumably the A's would rather buy the slugger out for $1.25MM than pay him $6MM next year.
- Paul Byrd told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he's in Boston to win a World Series ring.
- Mike Timlin is rehabbing in the Rockies' minor league system to prove he can still pitch, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.
- Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Julio Borbon top Jamey Newberg's updated list of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com.
Angels Rumors: Betancourt, Abreu, ‘Pen
A few Angels rumors, from Bill Shaikin of the LA Times:
- The Angels tried to acquire Rafael Betancourt before the Indians dealt him to Colorado yesterday.
- Manager Mike Scioscia says he wants Bobby Abreu to return next year. The 35-year-old outfielder will become a free agent after the season.
- The Angels could add an ace pitcher, but adding a reliever seems more likely.
Angels Waiting To Talk With Their Free Agents
The Angels are going to hold off on negotiating with their seven potential free agents until after the season, according to Bill Shaikin of The LA Times. The Angels will have a 15 day window to talk exclusively with their players after the World Series, but after that all teams can bid for their services.
"It's unlikely we'd do anything during this time period," General Manager Tony Reagins said Friday. "We don't want it to be a distraction. We want to focus on trying to win."
The team had discussed an extension with ace John Lackey earlier this season, but no agreement was reached. Third baseman Chone Figgins and outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and Bobby Abreu highlight the rest of the Angels' potential free agent class, which includes utility man Robb Quinlan and pitchers Kelvim Escobar and Darren Oliver.
Rosenthal On Pedro, A-Rod, Beimel, Ohman
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- One executive tells Rosenthal Pedro Martinez seeks a contract similar to the one John Smoltz received (a $5.5MM base plus $5.5MM incentives). Rosenthal’s speculative candidates for Pedro include the Dodgers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. He says the A’s, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are out.
- Rosenthal does not expect a major acquisition by the Yankees to cover for Alex Rodriguez. He adds that the Yanks will not collect insurance on A-Rod’s salary.
- In addition to Orlando Cabrera, Manny Ramirez has a clause in his contract prohibiting his team from offering arbitration if he’s a Type A free agent after the season. Orlando Hudson and Bobby Abreu do not have such clauses.
- Two GMs told Rosenthal Joe Beimel wants a one-year, $2.5MM deal, but the pitcher’s agent Joe Sroba says they have’t gotten that specific. Sroba says new teams are in the mix for Beimel and he’s waiting for one to be "aggressive and sincere in their pursuit."
- The White Sox and Dodgers are two teams in on free agent lefty Will Ohman.
Odds And Ends: Griffey, Varitek, Giants
A few links for Saturday morning…
- Russell Branyan wants Ken Griffey Jr. to join him in Seattle according to this AP story found in the Globe and Mail.
- If Griffey ends up in Seattle, Cameron Smith of the Washington Post says it’s nothing but a marketing ploy.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times likes the depth the Bobby Abreu addition gives the Angels.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants could make a trade in Spring Training if teams are looking to dump salary. Brian Sabean says he’s keeping his eye on teams who may need to free up money.
- Alex Speier of WEEI in Boston heard from Jason Varitek about his contract negotiations this offseason. Varitek says he never doubted that he would stay in Boston.
- This doesn’t have to do with rumors, but it’s a good read: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan shares anecdotes from 20 years of Spring Training.
Odds and Ends: Dunn, Schumaker, Abreu
Links for Friday…
- The Blue Jays signed pitcher Dirk Hayhurst to a minor league deal; they’d released him to make room for Matt Bush.
- Alex Speier of WEEI has quotes from John Smoltz about his departure from Atlanta. Smoltz leaving the Braves was the biggest surprise of the offseason for me.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark surveyed 15 baseball sages for all kinds of opinions on the best and worst of the offseason (which is not officially over yet).
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post has more from the Adam Dunn press conference.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sees Skip Schumaker as the Cardinals outfielder most vulnerable to a trade.
- ESPN’s Keith Law weighs in on the Bobby Abreu signing.
- Kevin Goldstein’s Top 100 Prospects list is up over at Baseball Prospectus.
- Scott Moore cleared waivers; he’ll remain in the Orioles organization.
- My definition of a fantasy baseball sleeper, over at RotoAuthority.
- Shoutout: MLBTR had over 9,800 pageviews from Puerto Rico this month.