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Carlos Zambrano

Odds & Ends: Indians, Pirates, Zambrano

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Some links to wrap up a relatively busy weekend, with more on the way:

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, McLouth, Indians

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On this day in MLBTR history: In '08 the Dodgers picked up former ROY Angel Berroa from the Royals, while the Rangers, in a valuable lesson of history repeating itself, DFA'd Sidney Ponson.

A hearty helping of links, cooked up and served (semi-) fresh:

Zambrano Says He’ll Retire At End Of Contract

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According to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, Cubs' righthander Carlos Zambrano says he will retire at the end of his current contract. Zambrano is currently in the second year of a five year, $91.5MM million dollar contract that he signed before the 2008 season.

"After this contract, I'm done," said Zambrano, who is signed through 2012 with a vesting option for 2013. "I'm serious. I don't want to play. I want to help this team, I want to do everything possible to win with this team, but after five years or four years, or whatever I have left on my contract, I just don't want to play.

"I want to stay home and see my daughters grow up and hang out with my family more," he said. "Do you know how many Mother's Days I spend with my mother? Do you know how many things I've lost in my life?

"It's good to be here, it's good to play baseball — don't get me wrong," Zambrano said. "But five years, four years, whatever I have left in my contract, I will retire. That's it."

Zambrano turned 28 just this past week and just won his 100th career game last night. Like the quote says, his contract doesn't expire until after the 2013 season and has a vesting option for 2014 based on health and Cy Young voting, but it seems a bit odd that he would announce his intentions to retire so early. Perhaps he's just frustrated by some of the recent issues he's deal with. What do you guys think?

Mike Axisa writes for River Ave. Blues.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Glavine, Yankees, Phillies

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On this date nine years ago, the Marlins selected Adrian Gonzalez with the first pick of the amateur draft. The 16-year-old would sign a deal later that day that included a $3MM signing bonus. Two trades later, Gonzalez leads the National League with 22 home runs. The 2009 draft is in four days, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse propose a three-way deal in which the Cubs would send Carlos Zambrano to the White Sox and the Padres would send Jake Peavy to the Cubs.
  • River Ave. Blues takes a look at what the Yankees may need before the trade deadline and who they may be able to deal with.
  • Phlavio's Corner has a list of 20 players that could be moved and where each might end up.
  • The Ghost of Moonlight Graham analyzes the early returns on some of the trades from this past offseason.
  • Jorge Says No! argues that the Mariners might be better off moving Russell Branyan sooner rather than later.
  • MLB Notebook comes up with a list of five clubs that could land Tom Glavine.
  • Dodgers Rumors feels that Glavine is a perfect fit for the Dodgers.
  • We Should Be GM's says the Phillies need to add a starting pitcher now and generates a list of players to target.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds & Ends: Suzuki, Zambrano, Nationals

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Links for Tuesday…

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Thursday

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7:18: Mark Bowman at MLB.com says it’s down to the Braves or the Yankees for Burnett. Interestingly, he notes that A.J. might not necessarily want to be an "ace" of a staff like he would be in Atlanta. He has the Yanks’ offer between $80-85MM.

12:12pm: Rosenthal heard indications the Braves were preparing a final push for Burnett and would guarantee a fifth year.

10:33am: Rosenthal and Fraley see the Yankees as the clear frontrunner for Burnett.  They say Braunecker will contact other clubs today to give them one last chance to beat the Yanks’ five-year, $85MM offer.  Will the Braves counter?  Burnett signing with the Yankees would be undesirable for the Blue Jays in two ways – they’d have to face him fairly often, and they’d (tentatively) get the Yanks’ second-round pick instead of a first-round one.

9:46am: Buster Olney says the Yankees are confident they won’t be overbid for Burnett, at least.

9:19am: Chipper Jones spoke to Burnett about ten days ago, and the pitcher told him that if he does play in the NL, it’ll only be with the Braves.

8:53am: Ken Davidoff and Kat O’Brien wrote that the Yankees "appeared to be closing in on a deal" for Burnett late last night.  They put the offer at about $80MM.

8:32am: Ken Rosenthal and Gerry Fraley say the Braves have not offered Burnett five guaranteed years.  The fifth year is an easily attainable vesting option, though.  Dan Graziano says that this time around, Braunecker is not seeking an opt-out clause for Burnett.

2:19am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has been all over the A.J. Burnett talks.  Today he says the Yankees have a five-year deal worth about $85MM on the table.  Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker isn’t seeking much more than that – he’s eyeing a Carlos Zambrano-influenced $91.5MM payday.  It’s an interesting comparison, given that Z’s deal was signed over a year ago and not on the open market.

Crasnick says discussions continued with the Yankees late Wednesday.  Yankee players have been calling Burnett, lobbying him to choose their team over the Braves.  Crasnick believes a deal could be in place as soon as today.

Yesterday we heard conflicting reports about whether the Braves guaranteed a fifth year in their offer.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Wednesday

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11:53pm: Not seeing the $91MM rumor on Rosenthal’s blog anymore.  Mark Feinsand wrote earlier today it was $80MM.  Feinsand even said the Yankees and Burnett were "working into the night on closing a deal."  A Mark Bowman source put the Yanks’ offer at $85MM.

10:12pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Yanks are offering $91MM over five years.  He also learned that the Yanks will not sign both Burnett and Lowe – just one of them and then possibly other free agent pitchers.  Similar to Crasnick’s note below.

9:57pm: Tony Massarotti indicates the Red Sox are out and Burnett will choose between the Yankees and Braves.  Jerry Crasnick says that if the Yankees sign Burnett, a third free agent rotation addition would likely be a short-term guy like Ben Sheets as opposed to Derek Lowe.

6:54pm: Jon Heyman believes the Yankees’ five-year offer to Burnett is for $80MM.

6:09pm: Crasnick’s report about the Yanks’ five-year offer to Burnett is online now.  Crasnick’s source says a deal could be in place as soon as tomorrow.  He says the dollar figure is not known but Burnett’s agent is believed to be seeking a deal approaching Zambrano’s five years, $91.5MM. 

6:06pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports on TV that the Yankees have offered Burnett a five-year deal.

4:53pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman has a Major League source who does not believe the Braves offered Burnett five years.

4:06pm: ESPN’s Keith Law believes bidding on Burnett will exceed the value of Carlos Zambrano’s contract, which is for $91.5MM over five years.

12:54pm: Rosenthal and Gerry Fraley report that the Braves made an offer to Burnett late Tuesday for $80MM over five years.  That guaranteed fifth year could be big.

11:14am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Braves are pushing hard for A.J. Burnett and talks with him progressed through the night.  The Yankees remain involved, however.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday

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8:36pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock learned from Towers that he should know one way or another on a Peavy trade by the end of the Meetings.  Towers now believes a fourth team will be required.  Towers mentioned that Marquis and DeRosa may be hangups, especially Marquis’ contract.  Though he’d prefer not to, under certain circumstances the Padres might pay some of his salary.

There was some goofy Carlos Carrasco/Jason Donald stuff we didn’t link to today, and that was shot down.  Brock suggests names like Josh Vitters, Felix Pie, and Kevin Hart could be involved on the Cubs’ part.

8:31pm: Jayson Stark says Peavy to the Cubs doesn’t seem inevitable anymore, and the sides have not made progress in the last 24 hours.  The Cubs have leverage, so they’ve dug in their heels.  Stark adds that once word of the possible inclusion of DeRosa linked, Jim Hendry has been "bombarded with calls from other clubs interested" in him.  Hendry does not want to trade DeRosa.

6:00pm: Buster Olney says the Yankees have talked with the Padres recently about Peavy, but it didn’t go anywhere.

5:19pm: Brock talked to a Padres source who does not believe the Twins are involved.

4:10pm: Buster Olney says Axelrod left the Meetings with no word of a deal but the expectation is still that the Cubs will get it done.

3:48pm: Tom Krasovic reminds us that Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said going into the Meetings that the Yankees would be more attractive to his client if they signed C.C. Sabathia.  Still, Peavy prefers the NL.

3:17pm: Corey Brock says the Phillies might want Scott Hairston from the Padres to use in left field.

2:33pm: Carrie Muskat’s Cubs source says DeRosa will not be traded.

9:45am: LEN3 says the Twins discussed DeRosa with the Cubs yesterday.  The Cubs will present the Twins with a list of pitchers they like, which will be influenced by the Padres’ preferences.

9:31am: There’s word from Jim Salisbury that pitcher Kyle Kendrick could be included in this three-team trade.

1:19am: If you dare to sort through yesterday’s Jake Peavy rumors, click here.  Today, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times maintains that the biggest obstacle is the Cubs moving part of Jason Marquis’ contract.  Another factor – the Padres will need to free up several spots on the 40-man roster.  The Cubs’ sale will not be an issue.

Wittenmyer adds that a Phillies official didn’t expect to get Mark DeRosa from the Cubs but rather other players.  Also, Cubs officials shot down the John Perrotto rumor that the Cubs might shop Carlos Zambrano after acquiring Peavy.

Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune also weighs in.  He says the Padres have discussed Phils catching prospect Jason Jaramillo.

Perrotto’s Latest: Zambrano, Wolf, Anderson

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Gathering some rumors from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus…

  • We know you like "crazy rumors," so here’s one Perrotto heard.  The Cubs would possibly entertain trading Carlos Zambrano if they acquire Jake Peavy.
  • The Cards have Randy Wolf on the radar.
  • The Rays have "at least some interest" in Garrett Anderson.

Perrotto’s Latest: Reds, Dempster, Silva, Lugo

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John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday column is up over at Baseball Prospectus. For those without a BP subscription, here’s the highlights:

  • Perrotto believes that Reds owner Bob Castellini will give Walt Jocketty the go-ahead to dive into the free agent market this season in an attempt to contend in 2009. The Reds like their young core, and feel a solid bat or two can help them contend in NL Central immediately.
  • Jed Lowrie’s play since taking over for the injured Julio Lugo has convinced the Red Sox that he can be the everyday shortstop. They’ll look to move Lugo (and his contract) this offseason.
  • There’s been a lot of talk about teams looking for corner outfield help, but don’t expect the Tigers to jump into that category. They’re convinced that rookie Matt Joyce can be their everyday left fielder next season. Joyce already has 12 home runs this season in just 183 ABs.
  • Despite a great season, the Cubs may be hesistant to re-sign Ryan Dempster to a long-term deal because they already have Rich Harden, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Jason Marquis signed for 2009.
  • I apologize in advance to Mets fans for what I’m about to write: Perrotto feels that the Mets could make a push to trade for Carlos Silva in the offseason, in the hope that a reunion with his close friend and former teammate Johan Santana can revitalize him.
  • The Pirates are almost certain to trade Jack Wilson before the 2009 season begins.
  • Another name for teams seeking starting pitching: The Marlins are likely to trade Scott Olsen this offseason to help keep their payroll down.
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