Perrotto’s Latest: Top 20 Remaining Free Agents
John Perrotto’s latest Every Given Sunday column at Baseball Prospectus takes a look at the top 20 remaining free agents (sorted by WARP3 – Wins Above Replacement Player) and offers destination predictions and top suitors (or lack thereof in some cases) for each one. For those without a BP subscription, here’s a quick summary:
- Manny Ramirez – Dodgers
- Orlando Cabrera – Athletics
- Derek Lowe – Braves/Mets/Cubs
- Adam Dunn – Nationals
- Bobby Abreu – Reds
- Ben Sheets – Rangers
- Orlando Hudson – Nationals
- Andy Pettitte – Astros (at less than $10MM)
- Jason Varitek – Red Sox (at less than $10MM)
- Ty Wigginton – Astros
- Ivan Rodriguez – Not much of a market, may have to take a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training if he’s not signed soon. Could he end up involuntarily retired, a la Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mike Piazza?
- Kevin Millar – Orioles
- Mark Grudzielanek – Padres
- Braden Looper – Brewers
- Garret Anderson, Eric Hinske, Ray Durham, Jim Edmonds, Paul Byrd, Odalis Perez – All of them (with the exception of Byrd, who may retire) are drawing little to no interest and may be without a club on Opening Day.
Dodgers Rumors: Wolf, Garland, Looper
Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News has a variety of Dodgers rumors for us:
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he would like to add "a starter, a reliever or both" as well as a versatile bench player.
- Jackson writes that the club’s believed to have refined its search for a starter to three pitchers: Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Braden Looper. Yahoo’s Tim Brown wrote that the Dodgers had interest in these three earlier in the week.
- The Dodgers are also believed to be looking at Juan Cruz, a Type A free agent. Signing Cruz would require giving up a draft pick, so Jackson says he’s less likely to join the Dodgers. Ken Rosenthal suggested the Dodgers had interest earlier in the week.
- The club could bring Nomar Garciaparra back, but he has another suitor now that the Phillies are also interested.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday
10:37pm: Kevin Towers said tonight the Braves made a good offer for Peavy a few months ago, but it was unclear whether Peavy would approve a trade there. He also said a proposal from the Cubs "would fill several holes" on the Padres’ roster. Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod says a framework was in place with the Cubs at the Winter Meetings but they were "trying to fill out that framework" by acquiring some pieces.
Bruce Miles runs through the chances of the Cubs signing various free agent starters mentioned below.
3:32pm: Padres CEO Sandy Alderson doesn’t believe there have been new talks with the Cubs, though that is not exactly what Wittenmyer said below. Alderson said it’s likely Peavy will be with the Padres on Opening Day. He added that the Padres were never that close to a deal with the Braves and did not have an offer from the Cubs on which they could give a yes or no. Also, he doesn’t believe the team’s impending sale changes their position on Peavy.
10:03am: According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, "those close to Jim Hendry expect him to restart the Jake Peavy talks" now that the Cubs have unloaded salary with the Jason Marquis trade. Hendry admitted yesterday he hopes to add another pitcher before Opening Day.
Wittenmyer notes that the Cubs’ 2010 payroll was unaffected by the recent moves, so Hendry would need a nod from the new ownership group before taking on Peavy’s contract. The new ownership could be in place with just enough time for the Cubs to swing a Peavy deal, Wittenmyer believes.
As alternatives, Wittenmyer suggests Braden Looper and Tim Redding would fit better financially than Derek Lowe. Dave van Dyck wonders if Andy Pettitte could be a fit. Bob Klapisch says the Mets have considered Pettitte.
Orioles Sign Koji Uehara
7:02pm: The two year deal is for $10MM with incentives. Says Connolly:
"His contract could be worth as much as $16 million over two years if the eight-time Japanese all-star meets certain performance bonuses and escalating clauses such as starts made and innings pitched. There is also a games-finished clause included for Uehara, who was an all-star closer in 2007 for the Yomiuri Giants, but the Orioles view him almost exclusively as a starter."
6:24pm: The contract is a two year deal. It is hinging on "specific contractual language" and a physical later this week, reports MLB.com.
2:00pm: According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles signed pitcher Koji Uehara to a multiyear deal (pending some contract language and a physical). Uehara, 34, is the team’s first Japanese player. The O’s will use Uehara as a starter and continue to pursue Braden Looper, Tim Redding, and Kenshin Kawakami.
ESPN’s Keith Law ranked Uehara 22nd on his free agent list. His bottom line:
In an ideal environment — National League, non-hitters’ park — he could be a midrotation innings-eater because he’ll allow so few baserunners. In the American League, he’d be more of a fourth starter, but would have to have some luck keeping the ball in the park to keep his ERA under 4.00.
Brown’s Latest: Abreu, Manny, Looper
The latest from Yahoo’s Tim Brown…
- Bobby Abreu still wants $48MM over three years, according to Brown and Gordon Edes. Abreu may have lost three potential suitors today in the Cubs, Rays, and A’s. Buster Olney suggests Abreu is "probably out on the ledge, more than any other player in the corner outfield market."
- Brown says the Dodgers, Orioles, Nationals and Mariners "seem to have the most interest in adding an outfielder." Haven’t heard much about the Orioles looking for help there.
- Brown believes the Dodgers are "sitting on their original offer of two years and $45 million guaranteed" to Manny Ramirez. He says Scott Boras still wants four or five years at $25MM per.
- Starters on the Dodgers’ radar: Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, and Braden Looper. Looper might be a new name.
- Kenshin Kawakami is apparently "drawing solid interest from the Braves, Cardinals, Red Sox, Twins and Orioles." It’d be surprising to see Boston sign him after getting Brad Penny.
Brewers Done Until After Holidays
It looks like the Brewers won’t be making any moves prior to the holidays. General Manager Doug Melvin revealed on Sunday that the team was interested in pitcher Braden Looper, but also said that nothing is close. He echoed those statements earlier today, saying that doesn’t think anything will happen with the free agent righty. "I think he’s going to wait until after the holiday, too. Players are all still looking for multiyear deals and waiting for other players to sign," said the GM.
Melvin also addressed the issue of lefty closer Brian Fuentes. The Brewers have targeted him, but nothing appears close. In fact, Melvin described his dealings with Fuentes’ agent, Rick Thurman, as "talks" and not "negotiations." MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy takes this to mean that the Brewers have not yet submitted an offer. Still, Melving says that he doesn’t expect the team to get Fuentes.
Brewers Not Close To Looper Deal
5:41pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed interest in Looper but denied that they’re close to a deal. Melvin would not say whether the Brewers made an offer, but suggested Looper and the Brewers’ other targets want multiyear deals.
10:28am: In the "Etc." section of his Sunday update, Nick Cafardo has some updated information on a few free agents, as well as some potential trades.
- Updating a key part of the back-of-the-rotation market, Cafardo says Braden Looper is "close to signing with the Brewers."
- The Diamondbacks and Red Sox may soon revisit the possibility of an Eric Byrnes trade. Such a deal would likely be made more enticing for the Sox if Miguel Montero were somehow included.
- The Red Sox would really rather not move Clay Buchholz for a catcher, even if that catcher were Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden of the Texas Rangers. However, Daniel Bard may be in play for a potential deal with Texas.
- The Reds, Indians, Pirates and Giants are all in the mix for Ty Wigginton. Back on Dec. 18, we had a Wigginton update in an Odds and Ends post that said the player was not interested in returning to Pittsburgh.
Other topics of note (found on page 5 of Cafardo’s article) include the Tampa Bay Rays’ plan for a DH upgrade, as well as some notes on Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Looper, Redding
In detailing their offseason plan to address the rotation, Ken Rosenthal adds the Baltimore Orioles to the short list of teams interested in acquiring Tim Redding. The Orioles are also interested in Braden Looper, says the article.
In addition to the Orioles, Redding is being sought after by the New York Mets and Colorado Rockies. The Rockies have also been mentioned in rumors regarding a potential pursuit of Looper.
It may take a two-year deal to land Redding, and recent rumors have made it appear as though only the Mets are willing to go that far.
Based on the rumors we’ve been seeing lately, it may come down to dividing three back-end starting pitchers among three teams in need of rotation help: one each of Redding, Looper and Jason Marquis, for the Orioles, Rockies, and Mets.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Odds and Ends: Redding, Turnbow, Looper
Links for Saturday…
- RotoAuthority looks at projections for Chris Davis. 35 home runs next year?
- Bill Madden suggests Paul Kinzer screwed up in both the Rafael Furcal and Francisco Rodriguez negotiations.
- More details on Dan Johnson – the Rays are selling him to a Japanese team for $100,000-500,000.
- Tim Redding‘s agent says "the Mets are very much in the mix" for the righty.
- Juan C. Rodriguez confirms the Marlins’ interest in Derrick Turnbow, but says they aren’t going after Ray King.
- The Rockies could pursue Braden Looper.
- The Orioles have expressed interest in Phillies catcher Chris Coste.
- New National Josh Willingham likes the Marlins’ young talent.
- New Phillie Raul Ibanez likes the chances that the Mariners will have a better offense in 2009.
- The AP has details on the perks in the C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett deals.
- Ken Davidoff looks at the impact Mark Teixeira‘s decision will have on six teams. Amazing how one deal will shape so many teams’ plans.
- Buster Olney writes that many players are going to make much less than expected in 2009, including Manny Ramirez. In that same blog post, Olney notes that his colleague Jerry Crasnick says the Angels’ signing of Juan Rivera takes them out of the market for Manny.
- The D’Backs’ discussions for Tony Clark are progressing.
Orioles Interested In Redding, Looper, Kawakami
9:55pm: Peter Schmuck agrees – Pavano is not on Baltimore’s radar. Instead, they like Redding, Braden Looper, and Kenshin Kawakami. He says they’ve extended an offer to Kawakami. Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker learned of two new Kawakami suitors today via a Sponichi report: the Twins and Giants. Interesting to see the Twins linked; signing Kawakami could give them the depth to make a trade.
3:07pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Orioles’ main focus is Redding rather than Pavano.
1:36pm: According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Orioles have been talking to agent Tom O’Connell, who represents free agent starters Tim Redding and Carl Pavano. Crasnick notes that the Padres have no interest in either pitcher. The Orioles are looking into tons of mid-rotation types.
Redding has drawn interest from the Mets and Rockies since being non-tendered Friday. Pavano has been linked to the Blue Jays, Marlins, and Red Sox.