Heyman On Pudge, Wolf, Crede
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- The Giants, Mets, and Royals have interest in free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, assuming he doesn't accept the Rangers' arbitration offer. Heyman says the Royals were trying to sign Brian Schneider before the Phillies signed him.
- Heyman names the Mets, Brewers, and Phillies as three clubs "believed to have some interest" in free agent lefty Randy Wolf. First we've read this winter of a possible Wolf-Phillies reunion.
- "At least the Orioles and Astros" are interested in free agent third baseman Joe Crede.
Phillies Sign Brian Schneider
The Phillies signed catcher Brian Schneider, according to Mandy Housenick of The Morning Call (hat tip to Jon Heyman). He signed a two-year deal, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Zolecki says Schneider will earn $1.25MM in '10 and $1.5MM in '11 for a total of $2.75MM. Schneider grew up a Phillies fan, which was part of the reason he was willing to accept a role backing up Carlos Ruiz rather than start for another team. The Rockies were known to have interest, but that was also for a backup job.
Schneider, 33, hit .218/.292/.335 in 194 plate appearances for the Mets this year, catching 437 innings. He dealt with knee, back, and calf issues. He earned $4.9MM in the last year of a four-year, $16MM deal signed in January of '06. In November of '07, Schneider was traded by the Nationals with Ryan Church to the Mets for Lastings Milledge.
Giants Interested In Yorvit Torrealba
MONDAY, 3:40pm: MLB.com's Chris Haft talked to Torrealba's agent Melvin Roman, who confirmed the Giants' interest in his client.
SUNDAY, 9:08pm: After turning down a two-year, $4.5MM offer to remain with the Rockies, Yorvit Torrealba is expected to receive an offer from another NL West club, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Although Renck isn't 100% certain, he believes that the Giants are the team interested in the 31-year-old catcher as they might be looking for someone to keep the seat warm for Buster Posey.
Renck also reports that the Rockies have "expressed preliminary interest" in Brian Schneider in the event that they do not retain Torrealba. In 59 games last season, the veteran catcher recorded an OPS of .627, his lowest since his rookie campaign.
As for Torrealba, does anyone see an NL West club other than the Giants or Rockies being a match?
Odds & Ends: Nationals’ Catcher, Brewers’ GM, Uggla
Some food for thought, even though you shouldn't be snacking so close to bed…
- With Jesus Flores undergoing surgery for a torn labrum, putting his 2010 start date into question, Washington manager Jim Riggleman said the Nationals may have to seek another catcher. According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Rod Barajas may be a good fit, "because he is an excellent handler of pitchers." Barajas also has a bit of power, and would be a decent fit. Phil Wood of MASN speculates that Brian Schneider could return to Washington, noting that Schneider is "just 32, and would likely have multiple offers", though anyone who has seen Schneider hit this season would assume those offers won't be to play baseball. A shame, since Schneider is one of the best clubhouse guys in the game, has been a tremendous mentor to the younger Mets' players, and will be a tremendous manager if he pursues it.
- Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio strongly denied that General Manager Doug Melvin's job is in jeopardy. "It seems like a cop-out to me to blow everything up and start from scratch," Attanasio told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "We've built this team around a good core of players now for five years and we took a step back [this year]. We'd like to take two steps forward next year."
- Dan Uggla is sad that the Marlins are likely going to trade him this offseason.
- Carl Crawford and Pat Burrell "had words" in Tampa Bay clubhouse, and not polite ones like "please" or "thank you."
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Schneider, Claggett
A few links to start the evening off…
- When asked if the Pirates might pursue a free agent this winter to address their lack of power, Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said the team has indicated "that they will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs." That sounds like a "no," or at least a "probably not."
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson said he would not be surprised if Brian Schneider returned to the Nationals as a backup catcher next year, but he would have to take a big paycut. Schneider has already said he doesn't expect to return to the Mets next year, and after making $4.9MM this year, he should be prepared to take a big paycut wherever he goes.
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Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09257/997985-63.stm?cmpid=pirates.xml#ixzz0R7cZcwUs
- The Yankees designated reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Freddy Guzman, reports Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Claggett was originally acquired in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit, and got annihilated in his brief callup (33.75 ERA & 5.62 WHIP in 2.2 IP) this year.
Schneider Doesn’t Expect To Return To Mets
Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News writes that catcher Brian Schneider knows his days with the Mets are numbered.
"I won't be back," Schneider told the Daily News, accepting that the Mets don't plan to re-sign him. "I'm okay with that. I'll easily get a job next year. I'm not worried about it. I'll get a job and just move on. Guys do that. I'm not going to retire. No way."
The 32 year-old Schneider missed part of April and most of May due to injury, and has been riding the bench in favor Omir Santos and Josh Thole recently. He's started just 15 games since August 1st, and has hit a meager .195/.274/.318 on the year. In his two seasons with New York, Schneider's produced a .237/.319/.352 batting line in 590 plate appearances, which isn't far off from his career output.
Schneider projects to be a Type-B free agent after the year, but he's right on the cutoff and could easily become a no-compensation free agent. It probably wouldn't even matter, because it seems extremely unlikely that the team would offer Schneider arbitration after he made $4.9MM this year.
Schneider, Castro Halting Pudge Pursuit
According to Jim Baumbach of Newsday, Mets assistant GM Tony Bernazard told El Nuevo Dia that having two catchers under contract is keeping the team from pursuing Ivan Rodriguez. This does not come as a surprise. The Mets owe Brian Schneider $4.9MM and Ramon Castro $2.5MM, and would reportedly like to move Castro.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Abreu, Griffey, Varitek
The latest hot stove info from Ken Rosenthal…
- One executive told Rosenthal Bobby Abreu seeks a three-year, $48MM deal. He may have a hard time convincing someone he’s worth $16.5MM more than Raul Ibanez.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, rather than his bosses, has final say on whether to sign Ken Griffey Jr.
- If the Mets can move Brian Schneider, they could pursue Jason Varitek. They might have to give him a multiyear deal (and also surrender their second-round pick to the Red Sox). The Mets reportedly discussed Schneider with the Red Sox several weeks ago. Rosenthal says some execs still believe in the Mark Teixeira-Varitek package deal idea though. It doesn’t really make sense to me.
Red Sox In Talks For Brian Schneider?
10:59pm: Heyman says "most long-time Red Sox observers believe they will eventually work out a deal to retain Varitek." We’ve already seen multiple teams back away after the Red Sox offered Tek arbitration.
7:47pm: Joel Sherman says the Schneider talks took place several weeks ago. The Mets were planning to replace him with Jason Varitek, until the Red Sox offered Tek arbitration.
6:32pm: According to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post, two sources confirmed the Red Sox are in trade discussions for Mets catcher Brian Schneider. Schneider is owed $4.9MM in ’09, the last year of his deal.
Looking Beyond Varitek
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.
On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox. He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving. Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.