Heyman’s Latest: Furcal, Jenks, Nats, Yankees, White Sox
Here are a few of the latest notes from Jon Heyman…
- The Dodgers offered Rafael Furcal a two-year deal worth $25-30MM. A source close to Furcal told Heyman that the Dodgers know that it will take more and at least eight teams have expressed interest in Furcal.
- In the same piece Heyman says the White Sox are open to trading Bobby Jenks, but Heyman’s source says it will "take quite a bit."
- Heyman says the Nationals are not likely to land any of the big names they covet noting they do not have the pieces for a trade and few free agents would be willing to play for a 100-loss team. Heyman does say Adam Dunn could be one player that is willing to sign with the Nats based on his relationship with Jim Bowden.
- Heyman says the Yankees may be serious about trading for Mike Cameron noting that they have even asked for Alex Rodriguez’ opinion of his former teammate.
- Heyman reports that the White Sox could trade several of their bigger players. Most of the names have been heard here over the last couple of days, but one we haven’t heard in a while is Paul Konerko. Heyman says Konerko could be an attractive backup plan to any team that fails to sign Mark Teixeira. Heyman also says the White Sox could go after Orlando Hudson if they can unload some of their bigger contracts.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Fields, Garcia, Bonds
Welcome to today’s roundup…
- Josh Byrnes would never give a pitcher eight years, just so you know (hat tip AZ Snakepit).
- South Side Sox explains how Josh Fields was posturing in not signing his contract. Unrelated interesting fact – Fields seemed headed to Florida in a Miguel Cabrera for a split-second in December.
- Bobby Jenks‘ salary is set to skyrocket next year, as he becomes arbitration-eligible.
- Freddy Garcia‘s agent talks about the Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox for his client. Garcia is targeting a June or July return.
- DRays Bay’s free season preview guide is now available. Speaking of the Rays, owner Stuart Sternberg may be willing to spend some money for midseason acquisitions if need be. And he "sounded as if he were open" to the idea of signing Barry Bonds, according to Marc Topkin.
White Sox Considering Jenks, Cabrera Extensions
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says the White Sox "began preliminary talks last month on a contract extension" for closer Bobby Jenks. GM Kenny Williams also hopes to extend new shortstop Orlando Cabrera before the season begins.
Jenks, 27 in March, has a 3.26 career ERA with 87 saves in 174 innings. Last year he traded some missed bats for improved command, while also maintaining a strong groundball rate. By my count he is eligible for arbitration after the ’08 season and free agency after 2011.
Cabrera, 33, hit .301/.345/.397 for the Angels in ’07. Bill James’ panel of ten experts ranked his defense 11th among shortstops. He makes $9MM in ’08, though the Angels are paying $1.5MM of it.
Sox Brass Displeased With Jenks, Hermanson
All April Fooling aside, let’s get down to some serious trade rumor business. I just spoke with a respected White Sox source, so here’s the latest info.
Seems the club’s decision makers are quite vexed with both Bobby Jenks and Dustin Hermanson.
Not only did Jenks show up overweight to spring training, but he still hasn’t gotten into shape. His conditioning, and not his velocity, is the point of concern here.
The Sox are incensed at Hermanson for telling them he was OK when he really wasn’t. The severe back problems could force him to retire, and he did not give the team early warning to prepare.
UPDATE: My source just got back to me with further details on Hermanson. He told me:
"Kenny and Ozzie called him into Ozzie’s office around the first weekend of March and asked if his back condition was bad enough for them to look for a reliever. He said no. Then a few weeks later the news came out in the papers that Hermanson would consider career-threatening surgery if the epidural shots didn’t work. When Kenny read that, it sent him over the edge."
In 2005, Jenks and Hermanson combined for 96.6 innings of 2.33 ERA ball with 40 saves. The Sox need to replace this production somehow, and obviously Boone Logan and Matt Thornton aren’t the answer. Jenks and Hermanson have put management in a compromising position – they’ll be forced to trade for a reliever in the near future. The starting six will have to be broken up.