Odds and Ends: Abreu, Millwood, Wigginton
Links for Thursday…
- Luke Hudson agreed to stay with the Royals on a minor league deal. And because Braves fans keep emailing it…the Braves signed Lance Niekro as a pitcher, as noted in the minor league transactions we linked yesterday. Talking Chop and Henry Schulman have more.
- Along similar lines, here’s a link to Joel Sherman’s December 12th story about the Orlando Hudson and Adam Dunn being the Nationals’ backup plan for Mark Teixeira. That came four days before the Jon Heyman report people keep emailing.
- C.C. Sabathia‘s preferred teams heading into free agency: the Yankees, Brewers, and Angels.
- Dave O’Brien tries to figure out what the Braves should do with all their money.
- John Fay explains why the Reds may attempt to acquire a young shortstop.
- The Orioles may move on to Gregg Zaun now that Matt Treanor is off the board.
- Geoff Baker speculates on a possible Mariners-Brewers trade match, though nothing seems to be cooking currently.
- RotoAuthority looks at the biggest losers, comparing ’09 fantasy baseball mock draft positions to ’08.
- I did a Q&A with Called Safe At Second.
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes about how teams view free agent outfielder Bobby Abreu.
- Kevin Millwood has twelve million reasons to pitch 180 innings in 2009. I never understood that phrase. Why is each dollar a reason?
- Dejan Kovacevic says Ty Wigginton has no wish to return to Pittsburgh.
- Roch Kubatko is hearing the Orioles may have reached a settlement with Sidney Ponson regarding the grievance.
- Pitcher Jon Leicester is the latest to head to Japan.
- Might not read about this on MLBTR, eh? Chico Harlan says the Nationals signed 16 year-old Dominican prospects Bill Pena and Gregory Baez.
Odds and Ends: Cabrera, Tejada, Teixeira
A few random notes from around the MLBiverse…
- The Cardinals signed infielder Joe Thurston and catcher Justin Knoedler to minor league deals with spring training invites. Thurston appeared in four games for the Red Sox in ’08, while Knoedler last appeared in the majors with the Giants in ’06.
- Jordan Bastian says the Blue Jays are not one of the teams that have offered a contract to Daniel Cabrera. The Jays are interested, but want to see Cabrera pitch in the Dominican Winter League before making an offer…Cabrera’s agent says eleven teams have shown interest and Cabrera has received two contract offers.
- Jon Heyman is reporting that the FBI is still investigating Miguel Tejada, which will hinder any attempts to trade the shortstop…We previously heard that the Astros were trying hard to move Tejada but had yet to find any suitors.
- Mike Bauman believes the Red Sox offer to Mark Teixeira could be a direct reaction to the recent signings of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett by the Yankees. Bauman says the Red Sox "cannot sit idly by and watch the Yanks make dramatic, if incredibly expensive, improvements."
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Hunsicker, Burrell
Links for Monday…
- According to the Newberg Report mailing list and CBSSports.com, the Rangers re-signed pitcher Doug Mathis to a minor league deal.
- Joe Nelson‘s been popular since being non-tendered – he’s heard from "at least 12-14 teams." Ruben Amaro Jr. said today the Phillies inquired on "20 or so" non-tendered players.
- Adam Everett‘s deal with the Tigers is official – $1MM plus incentives.
- MLB.com’s Barry Bloom spoke to Padres owner John Moores.
- Richard Justice doesn’t think Drayton McLane would ask Ed Wade to trade Roy Oswalt, but he could see Oswalt requesting a trade.
- Dave Sheinin says nothing has happened with Mark Teixeira since the Winter Meetings ended, and it’s no coincidence that we haven’t heard much about offers from the Red Sox or Yankees. Michael Silverman says Boston’s eventual offer to Tex will easily be a record for this ownership group. He guesses eight years in the $145-175MM range, noting that the Red Sox do not like to have players signed beyond age 36.
- Buster Olney says the Orioles and Nationals bidding on Tex is "nothing less than lunacy."
- Gerry Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at Jonathan Sanchez.
- George King says Kenny Lofton attempted to dissuade C.C. Sabathia from signing with the Yankees.
- Ken Davidoff says it seems that the Yankees will avoid Scott Boras this offseason.
- Steve Serby did a Q&A with Omar Minaya, learning details of Minaya’s Winter Meetings dealings.
- Pat Burrell says he never received a formal offer from the Phillies. His replacement, Raul Ibanez, will receive three years and $31.5MM.
Mike Cameron Yankees Rumors
SUNDAY, 1:51pm: George A. King III with the New York Post writes that the Yankees want the Brewers to take on Igawa’s contract as well, but that Milwaukee doesn’t want to pay much of the $12MM he has left. The Brewers are trading Cameron to trim payroll, and don’t want to unload $10MM for Cameron just to take on another $4MM for Igawa.
New York has told Milwaukee that no pitcher on their 40-man roster is available. Both sides still expect a deal to get done eventually; Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt talks will resume tomorrow. River Ave. Blues thinks the Yankees should hold off, for now.
FRIDAY, 3:50pm: Haudricourt heard this might get tabled until Monday, though now with Burnett signed maybe the Yankees will switch their focus. Or maybe they’ll spend the weekend working on Andy Pettitte/celebrating the Burnett signing.
THURSDAY, 5:40pm: Haudricourt now writes that the Cameron negotiations are back underway after a "hiccup". Haudricourt heard from Doug Melvin that there’s a "strong possibility it could still happen." The clubs are negotiating over finances and whether a second player would go to the Brewers with Cabrera.
1:01pm: Cameron’s agent told Tyler Kepner nothing has been completed. Kepner says the Brewers have actually been asking about Igawa.
11:49am: Joel Sherman talked to a top exec involved in the talks who called the chances of a deal "remote." Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times was told the deal is done, however.
11:17am: Ken Rosenthal says the potential deal hit a roadblock over the Yankees’ desire to have Milwaukee pick up part of the tab on Cameron. Also, the Brewers want a second player after Cabrera. Tom Haudricourt says the Yankees tried to unload Kei Igawa on them.
9:28am: The Cabrera for Cameron deal is close but not done, according to Joel Sherman’s source. He says the Brewers could receive a pitcher as well, with the quality depending on whether they’ll assume salary.
8:41am: Tom Haudricourt is not sure this is done. He says the Yankees like Bill Hall as well. The Brewers could gain quite a bit of payroll flexibility here. It’d be interesting to see all three Brewers friends (including Sabathia) move to the Yanks.
7:15am: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are set to acquire Cameron for Cabrera.
12:55am: According to Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger, the Yankees met with the Brewers Wednesday to resume trade talks for Mike Cameron that began at the GM Meetings. Whatever mild concern the Brewers reportedly had about trading away a friend of C.C. Sabathia‘s is gone.
On November 7th, Peter Abraham wrote that Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera were on the Brewers’ radar. Clearly the Brewers want to add a starting pitcher.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Tigers, Braves, Red Sox, Pirates
Today is free agent Orlando Hudson’s 31st birthday and the 29th birthday of Garrett Atkins, the subject of many recent trade rumors.
Also, on this date 10 years ago, Kevin Brown became the first player to sign a contract worth at least $100MM, when he signed a seven-year/$105MM contract with the Dodgers. The deal came when Brown was 34, one season after going 18-7 with a 2.38 ERA. Brown’s first two seasons with the Dodgers (18-9, 3.00 and 13-6, 2.58) were solid, but he would only make 29 starts in years three and four combined. Since then, two pitchers have signed deals for at least six years. Mike Hampton and Barry Zito. That doesn’t bode well for C.C. Sabathia, but it’s a small sample size…With the winter meetings now wrapped up, let’s take a look at what is being said in the Blogosphere…
- Take 75 North feels the Tigers are going to regret acquiring Edwin Jackson and lament the loss of Matt Joyce.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog does not get the Edwin Jackson/Matt Joyce deal noting that at least Joyce has shown signs of being a very good player.
- When Sid Slid weighs the merits of acquiring Jake Peavy or A.J. Burnett and sees Burnett as the better option.
- Infield Chatter warns the Red Sox about signing Mark Teixeira, feeling Theo Epstein should be more concerned with acquiring a pitcher and noting the Red Sox have Lars Anderson waiting in the minors.
- Pirate Revolution feels the Pirates need to move Adam LaRoche, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson and John Grabow to unblock the paths of younger players.
- DraftInfo has a Q&A with Max Stassi, a high school catcher that is projected to be selected in the first round.
- Fire Brand of the American League takes a look at the impact C.C. Sabathia will have on the AL East.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Derek Lowe Rumors: Thursday
12:08pm: Despite yesterday’s reported contention from a Boras guy, ESPN’s Jayson Stark heard the Braves have "zero interest" in Lowe. Randy Wolf is on their radar as a backup plan for A.J. Burnett though.
Also, the Mets are probably out on Lowe and Burnett, according to Omar Minaya.
10:23am: According to WEEI’s Lou Merloni, the Yankees’ signing of C.C. Sabathia made the team more appealing to Lowe.
9:50am: Some Derek Lowe chatter this morning – Jayson Stark says the Yankees would remain interested in Lowe if they sign A.J. Burnett.
Odds and Ends: Rule 5, Beltre, Schmidt, Bako
Stray links I’ve collected over the past few days…
- John Manuel and Jonathan Mayo get us ready for the Rule 5 draft. Manuel has a second post on it here.
- Sarah Green looks at A.J. Burnett‘s possible commutes.
- LEN3 suggests the Twins might be part of Adrian Beltre‘s limited no-trade clause.
- K-Rod signing analysis from Dave Cameron, Jesse Spector, and Keith Law. Also check out the usual solid analysis over at Ken Davidoff’s blog.
- Law also takes on the Edwin Jackson, Ramon Hernandez, J.J. Putz, and C.C. Sabathia moves.
- The Red Sox are likely to non-tender Kevin Cash. Josh Bard is one free agent on their radar. Also, Tony Massarotti learned that the Red Sox are strongly opposed to opt-out clauses.
- UmpBump found some C.C. Sabathia rumors we missed on Monday. Also, the Brewers’ offer to C.C. had unique clauses and two club options.
- The Dodgers knew Jason Schmidt had a partial rotator cuff tear when they signed him.
- Rany Jazayerli on recent Royals rumors, reliever and otherwise.
- Bruce Miles says the Cubs have some interest in bringing Paul Bako back.
- Jason Davis, Raul Chavez, and R.A. Dickey became free agents. Davis may be headed to Japan.
- Nick Piecoro says Junior Spivey is looking for a job.
- Much of the money saved from recent White Sox trades was repurposed for Dayan Viciedo.
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Wednesday
11:40pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Red Sox made progress today in their Teixeira talks.
8:45pm: Dave Sheinin says the Nationals offered eight years and $160MM, and Ladson now agrees.
5:38pm: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles met with Boras last night and apparently made an offer. However, Peter Schmuck says the nine-year, $180MM report was "met with incredulity from O’s officials."
5:33pm: According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals offered Tex an eight-year, $180MM contract. Dave Sheinin talked to a Nationals exec who said in general about the rumors, "Ninety percent of this stuff is pure fabrication."
2:35pm: Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has the Nats willing to offer ten years at more than $20MM per and the Orioles willing to do nine years also at at least $20MM per year.
1:27pm: Ken Rosenthal and Ed Price heard Teixeira would prefer to be on the East Coast for family reasons. It could be an issue for the Angels.
1:14pm: Yahoo’s Jose Mota (new guy) says the Nationals made an offer to Tex for at least seven years and $150MM.
12:44pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to two high-ranking baseball officials who predicted Teixeira will get a $200MM deal. Heyman believes two teams already bid $160MM.
11:17am: Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post has heard the Yankees’ signing of C.C. Sabathia takes them out of the running for Tex. The Angels, Red Sox, Nationals, and Orioles will battle for the Boras client.
9:36am: Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times talks about Mark Teixeira:
The Boston Red Sox have emerged as front-runners, and the Washington Nationals, who appear willing to offer eight years and $160 million, could make the most lucrative bid. The Baltimore Orioles are in hot pursuit, the Yankees are lurking, and the Angels are growing more concerned that Teixeira might be slipping away, primarily because they’d like to sign him for six or seven years, not the eight or nine it might take.
Sabean Rant
Giants GM Brian Sabean treated beat writers to what could only be described as a rant today. He’s angry with the way the whole C.C. Sabathia thing went down in the media.
Brewers Looking For Pitching
9:00pm: Tom Haudricourt has an update. Nothing came of Doug Melvin’s talks with the Rangers, and he denied talking to the Giants or Mariners.
The Brewers haven’t made an offer yet to Randy Johnson, who seems to prefer the West Coast. Melvin says he won’t pursue Hoffman. And, some of the $100MM offered to Sabathia is available for pitching.
5:06pm: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says Melvin spoke to the Rangers about pitching. Melvin is said to hold Kevin Millwood in high regard.
3:27pm: Danny Knobler heard from two sources that Brewers GM Doug Melvin can’t shift any of the $100MM offered to C.C. Sabathia to players, and the Brewers are "very unlikely" to pursue a closer (this despite meetings with closers that are known to have taken place).
1:51pm: This information has all pretty much surfaced prior to today, but let’s put it all in one place. The Brewers are considering Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman as closer options, with Randy Johnson a rotation option.