Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Carlos Pena

Rays Dealings: Pena, Kazmir, Shields

By | at

We discussed the Carlos Pena deal here, but now we have the breakdown via Marc Topkin.  He’ll get $6MM in ’08, $8MM in ’09, and $10.125MM in ’10.  Meanwhile fellow Boras client Matt Holliday will get $9.5MM in ’08 and $13.5MM in ’09.  Holliday may be the superior player, but is he 60% better?  Seems Pena just wanted the security and likes Tampa Bay.

Topkin wrote earlier today that Scott Kazmir expected to have an arbitration hearing with the Rays.  However, Kazmir and the Rays were able to agree on a $3.785MM salary for ’08. Avoiding a hearing might help a bit if the Rays attempt to sign Kazmir long-term in the future.

Topkin adds that the Rays are trying to sign Jamie Shields to a six or even seven-year deal (and he’s not even arbitration-eligible yet).  I believe he’s not due for free agency until after the 2011 season.  Marc Lancaster says it could be a five or six year deal with Shields and "it may be wrapped up within the next week."

Carlos Pena Signs Three-Year Deal

By | at

According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Carlos Pena has signed a three year deal worth about $24MM.  The deal buys out one year of free agency.

If the amount is accurate, the Rays have a serious bargain on their hands.  I was guessing this would cost $36MM.  Despite all the concerns about Pena’s Boras representation, he’s staying in Tampa Bay through 2010. 

Carlos Pena Could Sign Long-Term

By | at

The St. Petersburg Times’ Rays blog has a note up about first baseman Carlos Pena.  (Hat tip DRays Bay.)  Pena is under team control through the 2009 season, but a multiyear extension is a possibility.  The post says Pena will probably earn in the $4.5-7.5MM range in ’08.  In ’09 he’d probably get up to the $12MM+ range.

Maybe the Rays could work out a three-year, $36MM extension to buy out one year of free agency?  There was an erroneous report in late November that Pena had rejected a three-year, $30MM extension.  Pena is represented by Scott Boras, who didn’t seem optimistic about a multiyear deal in early December.  Boras had all kinds of debatable quotes about Pena in September.

Rays Rumors: Pena, Floyd, Scott

By | at

UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 2:17pm: Molony confirms that the Rays have talked to the Astros about Scott, though the Padres are still the frontrunner.

FROM 12-6-07 at 8:29am:

A few minor Rays nuggets (hat tip Drays Bay)…

  • Marc Lancaster talked to Scott Boras about the possibility of Carlos Pena signing a long-term deal with the Rays.  Pena is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season.  Boras indicated that Pena would go year to year.  If 2008 and 2009 are in the stratosphere of what Pena did in ’08, he’s looking at four years, $60MM easily in my opinion.
  • Adam Rubin reports that the Rays are eyeing Cliff Floyd, a name we’ve seen linked to them before.
  • Marc Topkin considers Luke Scott a realistic possibility for the Rays, Luis Gonzalez and Josh Hamilton not so much.  Topkin suggests Andre Ethier could be a good match, in a separate post.

More Odds and Ends: Kuroda, Pena, Wolf, Percival, Molina

By | at

Tim sent me a couple of items, so let’s create another bullet list:

  • Mariners GM Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren have met with Hiroki Kuroda yesterday. There is no report of an offer, but it’s believed that four years and $45 million are expected. Kuroda hopes to make his decision on the 29th.
  • Impacto Deportivo, the same site that had first news of the Mets deal with Luis Castillo, reports that Carlos Pena has rejected a three-year, $30 million deal from the Rays. Pena, however, calls the report "a straight lie."
  • Randy Wolf is generating interest from the Padres, Phillies, and Astros. Ken Rosenthal notes that the market for high-risk, moderate-reward pitchers is strong, since the rest of the market isn’t very appealing. This includes Bartolo Colon, Jason Jennings, Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber, Matt Clement, and Kris Benson.
  • The Brewers are in on Troy Percival after losing Francisco Cordero to the Reds. As has been said since the signing, this could also mean that Derrick Turnbow gets another shot in the closer’s role.
  • The Mets inquired about Bengie Molina at the GM meetings, and even though they have acquired Johnny Estrada, they could rekindle talks at the Winter Meetings. Rosenthal notes that the Giants might not want to trade Molina, since they lose considerable leverage because of the $12 million owed to him over the next two years.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Rays Pony Up

By | at

Mark Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune reports that the Devil Rays are set to raise their payroll by at least 20% for 2008.  This would bring the total to just under the whopping $35MM mark.  The additional payroll will go toward extending Carlos Pena who only made $800,000 to hit 44 homeruns this year. 

This also brings bad news for teams waiting to get in on the Scott Kazmir sweepstakes.  Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg is exploring long term deals with both Kazmir and James Shields. Sternberg believes that with the ongoing development of their young pitching core and proper offseason moves, a postseason berth is possible for 2008.

Well, one thing seems certain: look for the Rays to be suitors for a number of relievers this off season.

<!–
google_ad_client = “pub-0166880705926637”;
google_ad_width = 300;
google_ad_height = 250;
google_ad_format = “300x250_as”;
google_ad_type = “text_image”;
//2007-08-08: MLBTradeRumors.com In-Post
google_ad_channel = “4848445967”;
google_color_border = “000000”;
google_color_bg = “000000”;
google_color_link = “CCCCCC”;
google_color_text = “CCCCCC”;
google_color_url = “CCCCCC”;
google_ui_features = “rc:0”;
//–>

<script type="text/javascript"
src=”https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js”>

Posted By: Nat Boyle

Boras Offers Opinion On Carlos Pena

By | at

I have to admit it: sometimes I like Scott Boras.  I always love a good villain in a movie.  My personal favorite is Kurtwood Smith (the dad from That 70’s Show) in Robocop.

But sometimes even I get annoyed with Boras’s hyperbole.  He seemed to stretch the truth a bit on Kyle Lohse.  He implied the Cardinals would fail to win the division this year because they didn’t sign Jeff Weaver.  And now he’s making his pitch for Devil Rays first baseman Carlos Pena (hat tip DRays Bay). 

The difference is that while Lohse and Weaver are mediocre at best, Pena truly did have an elite season.  Boras called him "the greatest player to ever put on a Devil Ray uniform."  That’s a bold statement given that the D-Rays have employed a near Hall-Of-Famer (Fred McGriff) and an actual Hall-Of-Famer (Wade Boggs).

I’d like to take a quick aside and determine if Pena’s 2007 is even the best-ever single season by a Devil Ray.  So far he’s got 565 plate appearances with a robust .279/.401/.608 line.  His total offensive and defensive contribution this year has been worth 8.2 wins according to Baseball Prospectus.  If you want to get all technical about it, Julio Lugo’s 2005 was worth 8.4 wins.  Pena still has ten games to close the gap, but it’ll be close either way.  Just saying is all.  Boras also said Pena’s 2007 was one of the five best performances in the Majors this year, which is not even remotely true.

Back to the matter at hand.  Boras says the DRays basically got a $15MM season for the cost of $1.2MM and also takes some digs at the franchise.  But it’s disingenuous to imply that a fourth-year player should be earning free agent prices.  That ain’t the way it works. Albert Pujols earned $7MM in his fourth year, which seems like some kind of record.  Jason Bay is earning $3.25MM in his fourth year.  Matt Holliday is at $4.4MM.  I could make a laundry list of young players who are huge bargains because of baseball’s pay scale.  Hanley Ramirez is making $402,000 this year.

Pena reaches free agency after the 2009 season, and Marc Topkin says the Rays have already begun discussions on a three or four-year deal.  If the Rays are to buy out a year or two of free agency, those might cost $12-15MM each.  More likely, the team just goes to arbitration with him twice and trades him in a summer of ’09 blockbuster (assuming he remains a 40 HR threat). 

Rays Mulling Plans For Pena, Baldelli

By | at

We’ll start with the positive vibes: the Rays unearthed Carlos Pena from the free talent pool this year, and he’s got a decent shot at besting the franchise home record of 34 (held jointly by Jose Canseco and Aubrey Huff).  He could also top Canseco’s team-best .563 SLG from 1999.

Pena, a Scott Boras client, is making just $800,000 this year.  Talk about bang for your buck.  He’ll have about four years of big league service time after this season, meaning he’s under team control and could go to arbitration.  He’s set to reach free agency after the 2009 season, in my estimation.  Going to arbitration with him is the low-risk option, as the Rays would just be on the hook for one year.  The two sides might be able to come to an agreement in the $4MM range, even. 

Another option, suggested by Marc Topkin, is to sign Pena to a three-year deal with an option.  Pena is loves Tampa Bay; he’s up for the idea.  A three-year pact would buy out the first year of free agency.  Would $21MM be enough?  Most commenters at D-Rays Bay seem in favor of a multiyear contract.

The negative vibes: what to do with Rocco Baldelli?  He’s locked in at $2.25MM for ’08.  Then he’s got a $6MM club option with an unfortunate $4MM buyout for ’09.  The 2010 and 2011 options ($8MM and $9MM) must be exercised together and come with a $2MM buyout.  Baldelli seemed ready to break out after a strong 92 game stint last year.  But this season has been completely lost to injuries.  B.J. Upton now owns center field, leaving Baldelli to share DH with Jonny Gomes if he can take the field. 

I don’t see how the Rays can trade Baldelli until he puts together a couple of healthy months to start 2008.  That’d probably be at the expense of Gomes unless an outfielder is injured.  Hindsight being 20/20, the Rays should’ve taken what the Braves were offering back in December.

Healey’s Latest

By | at

Mark Healey at Gotham Baseball has long been a solid, underappreciated source of inside information.  He’s got another Rumor Mill up at his site.  My summary follows.

  • The Yankees have an eye on big-name 1Bs like Mark Teixeira and Todd Helton.  But more realistically, they’re looking at Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena.  He’s got the defense, so even if he regresses to a 20 HR bat it’s a nice pickup.  Healey’s source believes Tyler Clippard is too much but the Rays like Sean Henn.  The Yanks have also inquired about the versatile Ty Wigginton.
  • The Reds, Rockies, and others have been scouting the Yankees’ Double A Trenton affiliate.  Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, and Brett Gardner are probably the most desirable players on that roster.  Gotham Baseball has previously connected the Yankees to Brian Fuentes and David Weathers.  Another reliever the Yankees like is Chad Bradford, though the O’s price may be too high.
  • Gotham quotes an NL scout who doesn’t believe the Mets will acquire a starter by trading Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, or Fernando Martinez.  That scout believes the return of Pedro will supply the needed boost.  Personally, I can see Milledge going.
  • Some former Mets on the radar: Brady Clark, Jay Payton, and David Weathers.
  • Healey says the Mets sent scouts to look at Randy Winn this weekend.  They must not be pleased with Moises Alou’s progress.  As I mentioned earlier, Winn is signed through 2009.  He has a full no-trade clause this year.  For 2008-09 he can block deals to ten teams.
  • The Pirates have some vets to trade, and have contacted the Mets regarding Shawn Chacon and Damaso Marte.  Marte is quietly having a fine season with a 1.21 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.  Marte earns $2.45MM this year, and $2MM in ’08 with an odd $6MM club option for 2009.  He can also earn incentives based on games finished.

Rosenthal’s Latest

By | at

The authority on all trade rumors, Ken Rosenthal has spoken.  Let’s review.

  • As we have heard before, the Dodgers like Adam Dunn.  We’ve also discussed the fact that there’s not a clear place to put him.  Whether you go with first base or left field, a veteran must move.  The Padres like Dunn as well but talks have yet to occur.  The Angels may have liked him in the past but they don’t seem likely at this point.  And the Twins?  They just won’t break the bank for him unfortunately.
  • With Michael Barrett having issues with 40% of the Cubs’ rotation, the Cubs could look to trade him.  Even though he’s a top offensive catcher, his impending free agency might prevent any strong return.  Plus, the Cubs would have to go with a Henry Blanco/Koyie Hill tandem.  A more likely scenario is that the Cubs will let Barrett walk after the season.
  • Finally some clarity on Eric Gagne’s limited no-trade protection.  Rosenthal reveals that he can veto trades to 12 teams.  The Phillies and Indians are again mentioned as suitors.  Rosenthal thinks Mark Teixeira could generate a lot of talk but no action at the trading deadline.  Kind of like Alfonso Soriano or A.J. Burnett before him.
  • The asking price for Brad Lidge, supposedly: a premium young catcher and promising young pitcher.  Lidge will probably earn $8MM next year before hitting free agency.  The Astros should be happy with a young catcher or a young pitcher, not both.  I’d mention Salty here but I think he is worth much more than Lidge.  Rosenthal says the Astros could move another bullpen arm like Wheeler or Qualls to get the bat they need. 
  • Could the Devil Rays simply retain Al Reyes and Carlos Pena?  Both players could be valuable contributors to the 2008 club.  I like the idea of keeping Reyes around for next year, but I think Pena has peaked.
  • Noah Lowry would get the attention of the Braves or Cardinals, but the Giants are unlikely to move him.
  • The Phils are likely to pass on Tomo Ohka despite their need for pitching.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top