Braves Seek Outfield Help In Stagnant Market
Mark Bowman of MLB.com talked to Braves GM Frank Wren about the possibility of trading for outfield help, and Wren's comments paint a picture of a tough market:
Bowman writes that "there would likely be some power bats that come into the picture" if the Braves were willing to offer top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, but notes the they have "absolutely no desire" to trade the righthander.
Wren went hard after pitching last offseason, picking up Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, and Javier Vazquez, but their offense has let them down so far.
Which hitters might be a good fit for the Braves? If Wren is unwilling to part with Hanson, how much should he give up for offensive help?
Return of Tim Hudson Scheduled for August
Tim Hudson, recovering from Tommy John surgery, believe he can rejoin the Atlanta Braves sometime in August, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
"I feel really good about where I'm at right now," Hudson said. "I haven't thrown breaking balls, splits or changeups or anything like that. But how I feel right now, it's hard to think that it's going to take me three months to get ready to pitch in a game."
Hudson could encounter a logjam when he returns, between starters Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens, not to mention prospects Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen and the old standby Tom Glavine.
But the real question is this: just how well would Hudson have to pitch in the season's final month for the Braves to pick up his $12MM option? Hard to imagine anything short of a Greinke would lead the Braves to do so. They have, as an alternative, a $1MM buyout.
Verducci On Hamels, Shields, Lowe, Manny
Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Tom Verducci.
- Interesting line: "One journeyman reliever, for instance, turned down a $2 million offer, saying he would retire before taking that kind of money." Many veterans will choose between swallowing their pride and retiring this spring.
- Verducci makes a comparison between Cole Hamels and James Shields, who were called up 19 days apart. The extra service time for Hamels gave him Super Two status, meaning he became arbitration-eligible four times instead of three. That decision probably cost the Phillies more than $10MM.
- The Mets were willing to give Derek Lowe $14MM per year.
- The Giants don’t believe Manny Ramirez is anywhere near a decision right now. He’s a special case for them (they’re not in the market for an outfielder) but they won’t enter a bidding war.
- The Blue Jays aren’t interested in Orlando Cabrera; they’re content with Marco Scutaro.
Phillies Considered Trading Myers?
Reader Connor Garrison has identified an interesting point made in the middle of an article from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
The article focuses on the addition of Derek Lowe to the Braves’ rotation, but offers a reason as to why the Braves went so strong so quickly after Lowe.
Says Bowman: "Motivated by last week’s meeting and under the belief that the Phillies might attempt to create payroll space by trading Brett Myers, the Braves acted quickly and provided an offer that Lowe couldn’t refuse."
Myers may have been taken off the block after Lowe signed with the Braves. On the other hand, perhaps a bigger-than-expected deal for Ryan Howard could convince the Phillies to revisit the idea of trading Myers.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Hudson, Tigers, Braves, Dunn, Yankees
On this day 29 years ago, Albert Pujols was born. 2009 will be the sixth year of his eight year, $111MM deal (safe to say Cards will pick up his ’11 option). According to Fangraphs, Pujols has already been worth $151.9MM in the first five years of the contract ($30.4M per season), begging the question: How much will Pujols command following the ’11 season, when he will be 32? Last winter, Alex Rodriguez signed for 10 years and $275MM prior to his age 32 season. With less than a month to go before pitchers and catchers report, many players are still looking for their own new contracts. Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- River Ave. Blues expands on Baseball Prospectus’ case against a salary cap and how small-market teams likely would not be able to support a minimum payroll.
- Bucco Blog says the value of young talent has kept the Pirates from rebuilding. Instead, the team has spent the last two years restructuring and are now moving on to the next phase.
- Jorge Says No examines the market for Orlando Hudson and feels the Nationals have to make a play for the second baseman.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog takes a look at who is still available to close for the Tigers in ’09.
- Infield Chatter says the Braves were forced to overpay for Derek Lowe.
- Braves Blast takes a look at the Braves offseason and what is left to do: adding an outfield bat and extending Chipper Jones’ contract.
- On Baseball and The Reds takes a look at Adam Dunn‘s value, with the numbers suggesting he is not worth much more than $20MM over four years.
- Pinstripes Published makes a case for the Yankees acquiring Lastings Milledge from the Nats, while The Chuck Knoblog argues for Elijah Dukes.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here. This is by far the best way to get your blog linked on MLBTR.
Rosenthal On Lackey, Dunn, Young, Isringhausen
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal.
- John Lackey is due up for extension talks with the Angels, as he’ll be eligible for free agency after the ’09 season. He’d easily be the best available starter. Rosenthal says talks with the Angels should occur before the beginning of the season, but the Halos may not be willing to offer A.J. Burnett money (five years, $82.5MM). In November, Jayson Stark said Lackey had been telling friends he expects to have an extension by Opening Day. That came after Lackey’s confirmation he’d wait to see the Angels’ offensive plans before re-signing.
- The Braves paid $60MM for Derek Lowe, though no one else made a comparable offer. This is a testament to Scott Boras (and perhaps the Braves’ desperation), though Boras has more challenging work ahead in Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek.
- The Red Sox have shown interest in Adam Dunn, one rival exec tells Rosenthal. Rosenthal considers the possibility a longshot – "a square peg in a round hole." The Sox could always make a midseason deal if their offense isn’t cutting it.
- A Rangers official put Michael Young‘s chances of being with the team on Opening Day at at least 90%. The Rangers aren’t interested in moving Ian Kinsler to left field and Young to second base.
- Rosenthal believes Xavier Nady is likely to garner Type A status when he becomes a free agent after the ’09 season, but half of the equation (his 2009 stats) is missing.
- Jason Isringhausen is considering four teams, and he’d have a shot to close for those clubs. The Dodgers aren’t terribly interested, while the Cardinals and Tigers are possibilities.
- Should the Mets sign Andy Pettitte as well as Randy Wolf or Oliver Perez? One rival exec suggested the idea.
- The Astros apparently made a three-year, $28.5MM offer to Wolf before pulling it back. Looks like he’ll be settling for less.
- Rosenthal says a Rangers trade for Jermaine Dye is "not happening." They’ll go with Hank Blalock‘s left-handed offense rather than sign an aging veteran. Blalock is headed into a contract year.
- If Todd Helton has a healthy spring, the Rockies could shop Garrett Atkins.
- The Red Sox and D’Backs are not close to a deal involving catcher Miguel Montero. Arizona will need to add a capable backup catcher if they do find a deal for Montero.
Odds and Ends: Lowry, Kawakami, Lowe, Young
Links for Wednesday…
- Rany Jazayerli has withdrawn his support for Royals GM Dayton Moore.
- Chris Haft says that if Noah Lowry has a nice spring, perhaps the Giants should trade him rather than Jonathan Sanchez.
- Keith Law says Kenshin Kawakami should provide bulk innings for the Braves, while the risk with Derek Lowe is his age.
- La Velle E. Neal III doesn’t get the sense the Twins are interested in Michael Young.
- Jeff Wilson looks at the likely free agent options for the Rangers.
- Peter Abraham suggests the Yankees don’t have sufficient rotation depth without Andy Pettitte or a similar veteran addition.
- It was bound to happen sooner or later…a blog dedicated entirely to Scott Boras.
- The Reds are looking for power off the bench…Mark Sheldon has suggestions.
- A look at the Twins’ non-roster invitees.
- Geoff Baker says the Mariners screwed up with Jarrod Washburn.
Braves Sign Derek Lowe
10:59pm: O’Brien adds that Lowe did not receive a no-trade clause.
9:43am: According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves agreed to terms with Derek Lowe on a four-year, $60MM deal. For all the talk of the Braves’ failed offseason, they’ve added three quality starting pitchers. Even if Lowe wasn’t their first choice, he probably should’ve been. Ken Rosenthal says the Braves made their four-year offer to Lowe "on the condition that he accept the deal quickly."
Mets Lose Lowe; What’s Next?
Ben Shpigel of the New York Times looks at the Mets’ plans now that Derek Lowe has signed with the division-rival Braves.
Contrary to Jon Heyman’s report yesterday, Shpigel says the Mets have not yet made an offer to Oliver Perez. He expects that to happen within a day or two. The Mets are also "weighing a run at Ben Sheets, but are wary of his injury history." This Sheets-Mets idea is picking up steam. Sheets is also a "person of interest" for the Rangers, but they have not made an offer. Randy Wolf seems to be Mets’ fallback plan. David Lennon says the Mets are also involved with Jon Garland.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the Wolfs of the world – do those guys all end up with one-year, $8MM deals?
Braves Offer Four Years, Close To $60MM To Lowe
9:12am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a source saying Lowe is "leaning strongly toward signing with Atlanta."
7:34am: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Braves’ offer to Derek Lowe is close to $60MM over four years. The two sides are in serious discussions. Heyman says Lowe prefers the National League. The reported offer seems fair; it’s difficult to see the Mets matching it.
The Mets could end up with another Boras client, Oliver Perez. They’re at three years and $30MM for him. Jerry Crasnick and Matthew Cerrone both wondered today if the Mets will get in on Ben Sheets.