Twins, Dodgers Lead Charge For Blake
6:31pm: Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins offered Blake a two-year deal worth about $6MM per year with an option for 2011. Christensen says not to expect a signing tonight. Jayson Stark wrote earlier today that if the Twins or Dodgers guarantee a third year they’ll get Blake.
9:07am: Casey Blake‘s agent Jim McDowell talked to all kinds of outlets yesterday. In speaking with Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, McDowell said they’re not far apart with the Dodgers or Twins. The Twins are apparently "within shouting distance" on the years and money. The Indians seem less interested than the other two clubs; Anthony Castrovince doesn’t see it happening. Castrovince notes that the Tribe could’ve signed Blake through ’09 a year ago but figured Andy Marte would be ready.
Yesterday Yahoo’s Tim Brown said McDowell’s initial request was $20MM over three years for Blake, more than the Twins want to spend.
Stark’s Latest: Sabathia, Furcal, Peavy
A few notes from Jayson Stark’s latest blog post…
- Stark believes the possibility of C.C. Sabathia signing with the Giants is alive, and the Giants have talked to the pitcher’s agent. Such a signing might compel Brian Sabean to remove Matt Cain‘s "untouchable" tag, in Stark’s opinion. Earlier today Ken Rosenthal suggested the Giants were a dark horse for C.C. Also, Sabathia’s wife Amber prefers the Giants according to George King.
- The Giants offered three years to Rafael Furcal. He wants four, so they switched their attention to Edgar Renteria. The Giants want a shorter-term deal so their own prospects can take over within a few years.
- Stark notes that the recent Jake Peavy-Cubs rumors do not seem to be coming out of Chicago. He suggests those talks may not be active, partially because the Cubs are in payroll limbo til their sale goes through.
- The Twins and Dodgers have two year offers out to Casey Blake. Whichever team blinks and adds a third year can get him.
Brown’s Latest: Sabathia, Blake, Young
6:56pm: Ken Rosenthal has more on Blake after talking to his agent Jim McDowell. Blake seeks a three-year deal, and the Twins and Dodgers are in the lead for his services. The Indians have been less persistent, as they don’t want to give him three years. Brown wrote earlier that the Twins feel the same.
6:23pm: Let’s take a look at the latest from Yahoo’s Tim Brown.
- C.C. Sabathia has had no conversations with the Dodgers in recent weeks.
- Casey Blake opened negotiations with the Twins at three years and $20MM. That’s not a price the Twins are willing to pay, rightfully so. The Indians have cooled on Blake as well.
- Brown says teams aware of the Twins’ outfield depth have been calling Twins GM Bill Smith about Delmon Young.
Dodgers Offer Arb Only To Manny, Lowe, Blake
The Dodgers’ numerous arb decisions are in, courtesy of MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe, and Casey Blake get offers. Joe Beimel, Brad Penny, Jeff Kent, and Greg Maddux (all Type Bs) don’t. The only real surprise here is Beimel, who earned less than $2MM this year and seemed worth the risk.
Twins Rumors: Padres, Blake, Reyes
Joe Christensen brings us the latest on the Twins, but unfortunately there’s not much going on.
- Christensen learned from a Padres official that there’s been very little dialogue with the Twins. Some have suggested Kevin Kouzmanoff and Khalil Greene would be fits for Minnesota. Hopefully they’re setting their sights higher.
- On the Casey Blake front: slight progress.
- The Twins have an arbitration decision to make by Monday’s deadline with Dennys Reyes, who is a Type B. The Twins won’t get burned badly if Reyes accepts, so I imagine they’ll offer. He probably wants two years somewhere instead.
Rockies Rumors: Embree, Shouse, Taveras, Atkins
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has the latest on the Rockies.
Manager Clint Hurdle says the Rockies are focused on adding pitching, particularly in the bullpen. On the radar: Aaron Heilman, Alan Embree, Joe Beimel, and Brian Shouse. Yesterday Joel Sherman said the Mets balked at the idea of swapping Heilman and Pedro Feliciano for Huston Street.
Renck adds that the Reds and White Sox remain interested in outfielder Willy Taveras. On November 11th, Tracy Ringolsby said the Reds were not interested in Taveras despite reports. As for Garrett Atkins, Renck believes the market will take shape after Casey Blake signs.
Twins Making Progress With Blake
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins have yet to make a formal offer to Casey Blake, but they’re making progress in discussions of the term and salary range. Blake’s agent says eight clubs are interested but only four have discussed a contract.
Blake is looking for a three-year deal, and doesn’t have any geographic leanings. The Indians, Dodgers, and Rangers are known to be in the mix. T.R. Sullivan believes Blake and Joe Crede are out of the Rangers’ price range, however.
Odds and Ends: Phillies, Blake, Pedro
More links for Thursday…
- Don McKee says the Phillies should consider Jim Edmonds for the outfield.
- Ken Mandel has a source who says the Phillies have discussed Raul Ibanez. Mandel adds that it hardly means the Phillies plan on going after him aggressively.
- The Indians are keeping Casey Blake on their radar, but they’re just talking for now.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com writes that the Royals’ trades have them headed in the wrong direction.
- Nick Swisher says he would be "super excited" if the Yankees sign C.C. Sabathia. He adds that playing for the Yankees is a "dream come true."
- Howard Megdal thinks the Mets should part ways with Pedro Martinez.
Twins Working Towards Blake Offer
According to MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier, the Twins are in contract discussions with Casey Blake and his agent.
Blake’s agent, Jim McDowell, said he received the “framework of an offer from the Twins” that they’ll work on in more detail.
Blake, who hit .274/.345/.463 last year with the Indians and Dodgers, has had seven teams express interest in him, according to Thesier.
La Velle Neal heard rumblings that the Twins could make a formal offer as early as next week.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Johnson, Peavy, Dempster
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- It doesn’t seem likely that Randy Johnson re-signs with the Diamondbacks, though Johnson is holding out filing for free agency until the possibility is exhausted. The D’Backs hope he will take a significant hometown discount; they have roughly $10MM to spend for Johnson and a second baseman. If a Mark Loretta type takes $2MM, will Johnson take $8MM after earning $15.1MM for a fine ’08 season?
- The Braves are frustrated with the progress on the Jake Peavy talks, and will explore other options (especially once the free agent market opens Friday). Rosenthal says the Padres sent revised proposals to the Cubs and Braves yesterday, but those teams intend to stick with their offers. Will the Padres crack and make a deal before Friday?
- Rosenthal criticizes the Padres for the classless farewell to Trevor Hoffman. They pulled their reduced offer, and didn’t agree to the meeting with ownership he requested.
- Suddenly there may be more solid free agent closers than teams seeking one. The Mets have their pick. To me this is a sign that K-Rod will fall short of five years, $75MM.
- Rosenthal believes Kevin Gregg is next up on the trading block for the Marlins, with Jeremy Hermida another possibility.
- Casey Blake doesn’t have any geographic leanings regarding his next destination. His agent feels a three-year deal is reasonable. The Twins and Indians are among seven teams eyeing Blake.
- The Cubs offered Ryan Dempster something in the range of Kyle Lohse‘s four years, $41MM. Teams don’t like to use the Carlos Silva deal as a benchmark, because it was such a clear mistake.