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C.C. Sabathia

Sabathia, Sheets, Shouse Decline Arb Offers

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11:33pm: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy says Type A free agents Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia also declined arbitration.  The Brewers will get two draft picks for each if they sign elsewhere.  Haudricourt says Sheets’ decision "almost certainly ends his association with the Brewers."

11:12pm: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Type B free agent reliever Brian Shouse declined the Brewers’ offer of arbitration.  The Brewers will get a supplemental pick if he signs elsewhere.  He’s looking for a two-year deal.

Angels Rumors: Teixeira, Sabathia

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Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has the latest on the Angels.

  • The Halos still haven’t made an offer to Mark Teixeira.  They’re thinking five or six years at $20MM per, but it could take seven or eight.
  • The Angels need to figure out the Tex situation soon, or risk missing out on C.C. Sabathia as well.
  • The Angels’ left field plans are linked to whether they sign Teixeira.  If they don’t get him, they could add a Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn, or Manny Ramirez.

Winter Meetings Previews

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We’ve added a few new Winter Meetings preview to the collection…

  • Yahoo’s Tim Brown runs through plans for all of the American and National League teams.
  • Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says the Rockies are all about left-handed relief help.  They’ve got several trade chips to work with.
  • Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the Phillies covered.  You know the plan: starting pitcher, outfielder.
  • Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reminds us of the Cardinals’ wish list: starter, closer, lefthanded reliever.  Arthur Rhodes would fit, but he’s leaning toward the Reds.  Strauss wonders if John Mozeliak can match up with the Blue Jays to find relief help.
  • The Twins still want to add a shortstop or third baseman according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, though several options have already been eliminated.  Neal summarizes the players on the radar.  The Twins are also looking for bullpen help.
  • Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune discusses the Padres.  Kevin Towers will keep the Jake Peavy talks going with the Cubs while also searching for a shortstop and veteran catcher.
  • Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reminds us that Peavy and a left-handed hitting outfielder are on the Cubs’ wish list.  The bat comes first, says Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star says Dayton Moore has already accomplished his main goals, and now looks to replenish his right-handed relief.  The Royals would also like to add a proven middle infielder and seem to have a glut of corner/DH types.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune analyze the Diamondbacks.  Josh Byrnes seeks a second baseman, left-handed reliever, and pitching in general.  Miguel Montero is the top trade chip.  They have about $10MM to spend, less if Brandon Lyon accepts arbitration.
  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers could trade Gerald Laird, Hank Blalock, Kevin Millwood, or Vicente Padilla.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel talked to Doug Melvin about C.C. Sabathia, who still hasn’t reacted to their offer.  If Sabathia and Ben Sheets leave, Melvin could add two starters.  Melvin also said it’d be too risky to trade J.J. Hardy and start Alcides Escobar at short.  Rickie Weeks has drawn interest, but Melvin would require "a pretty good hitter" in return.  Mike Cameron is a more likely trade chip.  As for the team’s closer search, Melvin doesn’t expect to be in on the big names.
  • Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins probably won’t steal headlines at these Winter Meetings as they did in ’07.  Still, Jorge Cantu, Matt Treanor, and Jeremy Hermida may be dealt.  The Fish have been "actively shopping" Treanor and Hermida.  The Marlins have mild interest in free agents Ivan Rodriguez and Carl Pavano.
  • Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says Ken Williams has asked the Reds about Homer Bailey.  Could the Reds match up for Jermaine Dye?  The White Sox hope to add more MLB-ready starting pitching and maybe a backup catcher.
  • The Orioles need starting pitching, with a slew of names under consideration according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun: A.J. Burnett, Paul Byrd, Jon Garland, Mark Hendrickson, Braden Looper, Randy Wolf, Kenshin Kawakami, Koji Uehara, Bartolo Colon, and Matt Clement.  The O’s also hope to extend Brian Roberts, trade Ramon Hernandez, and find a shortstop.  They have interest in Adam Everett.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASN Online explains what it’s like for a reporter at the Meetings.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Closers, Castillo, Cantu

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, let’s take a look at the highlights:

  • Rosenthal doesn’t see Mark Teixeira signing with the Nationals, even for the rumored ten-year, $200MM contract. He’s got better options in the Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees. Scott Boras managed to get Alex Rodriguez a ten-year deal with a losing team in 2000 when he signed with the Rangers, but Rosenthal doesn’t forsee a repeat.
  • The Indians are waiting on the Mets’ closer decision to make a decision of their own. Once New York signs or trades for a closer, the market will likely collapse. The Mets are preparing simultaneous offers to Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Kerry Wood.
  • The Brewers could spend big money on a closer once they hear from Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. If the Brewers can somehow retain both, they won’t have money to spend on a closer and would likely have to trade Prince Fielder.
  • The Mets are desperately trying to unload Luis Castillo so they can make a run at Orlando Hudson. They’re having no luck though, even in trying to swap him for another bad contract. The Rangers rejected a swap of Castillo for Vicente Padilla.
  • Nationals GM Jim Bowden is interested in Willy Taveras. Doesn’t make any sense to me. The Nats already have Lastings Milledge, Josh Willingham, Elijah Dukes, and Austin Kearns.
  • The Rockies prefer to keep Garrett Atkins, but the Twins, Dodgers, Giants, and Phillies are all interested. Chase Utley has been a long-time supporter of bringing his former UCLA teammate to the Phils for a reunion.
  • The Marlins are getting several inquiries on Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. They don’t plan to trade either, though if the Giants were to offer Jonathan Sanchez for Cantu, the Marlins would jump at the chance.
  • Jermaine Dye, Mike Cameron, Marcus Thames, and Marlon Byrd are all available via the trade market, for teams needing a right-handed hitting outfielder. Rosenthal still feels Cameron could still end up in pinstripes.

Heyman’s Latest: Furcal, Sabathia, K-Rod

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Jon Heyman has a few new posts on his Fan-Nation blog:

  • Heyman thinks its peculiar that Rafael Furcal passed up his last offer of 4 years, $35-40MM, especially while the shortstop market is thinning out. The Giants signed Edgar Renteria. The Cubs want a lefty-bat. The Braves need to deal Yunel Escobar before they’ll be interested in Furcal. Again, Buster Olney noted today that Furcal was asking 4 years, $52MM.
  • Can the Giants afford CC Sabathia? They’ve already signed Renteria, Jeremy Affeldt, and Bobby Howry. And he would be the team’s second $100MM contract having already made the mistake of overpaying Barry Zito. They admit they need a bat more than another arm. And while Sabathia would like to play in San Francisco, would he like to make less than Zito’s $18MM on the same team?
  • No surprise that Francisco Rodriguez is sitting atop the Mets closer wish-list. According to Heyman, he’s followed by Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, and then a combination of Trevor Hoffman and Huston Street, who would need to be dealt from the Rockies. Heyman doesn’t complete the list beyond those 4 options and notes that the Hoffman/Street option is a popular idea in the organization. For K-Rod, 3-4 years would be the Mets threshold.

Olney’s Latest: Winter Meetings

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As we wait for arbitration decisions, Buster Olney offers his latest on the winter meetings:

  • CC Sabathia, who will be sitting down with the Red Sox and Yankees today or tomorrow, may want to wait for Mark Teixeira to sign first. If the Angels don’t land Sabathia, they could be expected to compete with the Yankees $140MM offer.
  • Francisco Rodriguez is not going to get the 5 year, $75MM originally anticipated by his agents and he may find it in his best interest to seek a 3 year deal, and re-enter free agency, perhaps in a better market, before he turns 30.
  • Says Olney, "Look, [Jake] Peavy is going to be traded, and what will be left is a team looking at a long rebuilding process."
  • The Nats are courting Adam Dunn as well as Teixeira, pointing out that Jim Bowden ran the Reds when they drafted Dunn. No word on Dunn’s interest in Washington.
  • Sources say the White Sox moving Jermaine Dye is "overblown." He’ll cost $11.5MM next year with a $1MM buyout for 2010 and teams in need of a corner outfielder can target Dunn or Bobby Abreu rather than give up prospects to the White Sox.
  • Orlando Cabrera has been made aware that Alexei Ramirez is the starting shortstop in 2009 and, for that reason, OC is expected to decline arbitration even in a depressed shortstop market.
  • Olney reports that Rafael Furcal’s final contract request was 4 years, $52MM. He wound up rejecting the offer of 4 years, $35-40MM.

C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Saturday

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11:17pm: Ken Rosenthal explains why the idea of Sabathia signing with the Red Sox is not far-fetched.  He notes that free agent markets in years to come may not offer a pitcher of Sabathia’s character.

7:23pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman jumps in on the Brewers angle.  He says Sabathia is telling friends he expects the Brewers to upgrade their offer soon, perhaps when they get together at the Winter Meetings.  Heyman’s heard deferred money in the Brewers’ current offer makes it closer to $90MM over five years.

9:14am: According to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff, the Brewers might offer a six-year contract to C.C. Sabathia. Davidoff has a source who said the possible sixth year would bring the total value of the deal to about $110MM, still $30MM short of what the Yankees have offered, but $10MM more than Milwaukee’s initial proposal. Jayson Stark first reported on Thursday that the Brewers could offer a six-year $110MM deal.

Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News has a source of his own who doubts Sabathia has serious suitors other than the Yankees and Brewers at this point. The source said to McCarron that a deal with the Giants is "not happening," and doubts that the Angels were ever involved.  Yesterday, Jon Heyman wrote that the free agent lefty received two offers from teams other than the Yankees and Brewers.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins thinks that the Giants have a chance with Sabathia even if they can’t compete dollar for dollar with the Yankees.

Odds and Ends: Red Sox, Rays, Orioles

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A few more links to add to what Coley posted earlier (if I find more links later this afternoon, I’ll just update this post):

  • An assertion that Boston is unlikely to get into a bidding war for any free agent pitcher–that refers mostly to Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett, and C.C. Sabathia–is buried in this Boston Globe slideshow. It reflects the sentiments heard elsewhere.
  • From Bill Chastain of MLB.com, the Rays are starting MLB’s first baseball academy in Brazil.  East Windup Chronicle has a good analysis of the move. Though it won’t pay off for years, getting in first will give the Rays a head start in scooping up top talent.
  • Bill Ordine and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun debate how aggressive the Orioles need to be at the winter meetings in Vegas.
  • MLB sources confirm to Ken Rosenthal that several much-discussed free agents are unlikely to accept arbitration, including Jason Varitek, for whom arbitration had been mentioned as a possible solution earlier today. (Key roadblock there: Varitek’s agent Scott Boras.) This also contradicts an earlier report from Rosenthal, which suggested Varitek might accept arbitration.

Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro.

Heyman’s Latest: Sabathia, Manny, Lowe

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Be sure to check out Jon Heyman’s Winter Meetings preview.

  • A friend of C.C. Sabathia tells Heyman the pitcher received two offers from unknown teams prior to Thanksgiving, in addition to the ones from the Brewers and Yankees.  Sabathia is taking his time with this, as he should.
  • Manny Ramirez "admires the dollar."  Just letting you know.
  • A competing owner suggested to Heyman that the Cubs could cut budget.  At any rate, they probably won’t do anything major til their ownership situation is settled.
  • Derek Lowe is looking for $90MM over five years.  He wants at least five years; ten teams are after him. Brian Cashman apparently expressed "heavy interest" to Scott Boras yesterday. 
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