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Derek Lowe

Phillies Like Burnett, Lowe

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12:58pm: Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail has details on the Phillies’ pursuit of Burnett.  He says the Jays are scouting the Phils’ Double A club, and like Greg Golson, Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and Brad Harman.  It seems that Carrasco, Golson, or Marson would have to be in a deal.  Blair says the Phillies might try to convince Burnett not to opt out of his contract so he can remain near his Baltimore home for the 2009-10 seasons.

Additionally, the Phillies inquired about Derek Lowe’s availability with the Dodgers.

11:46am: Pitching and hitting…two things you need to win baseball games.  Insightful, eh?  The Philles are looking for both – manager Charlie Manuel wants a "blue-chip pitcher" as well as a "good bat."

Pitching is the team’s priority.  David Murphy bandies about names like A.J. Burnett, Roy Oswalt, and Erik Bedard.  Or the Phillies could look to the B list, like they did last year when they acquired Kyle Lohse.  Lohse, by the way, wasn’t a fan of the "B list" comment by Pat Gillick.

So who’s on the ’08 B list?  I’ll suggest Bronson Arroyo, Joe Blanton, Boof Bonser, Greg Maddux, Randy Wolf, Jarrod Washburn, Odalis Perez, Jason Marquis, Tim Redding, and Paul Byrd.  Most of these guys appeared on my June 4th look at the starting pitching market.  I’ll try to revisit that list this afternoon with a fresh post.

On the hitting side, the Phillies don’t have an obvious position to upgrade.  Thoughts?

Odds and Ends: Lowe, Arroyo, Chacon

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Here’s today’s link roundup.

Odds & Ends: Hill, Lowe, Renteria

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Some musings from the central divisions:

  • In this piece by Gordon Wittenmyer covering Carlos Zambrano’s shoulder strain, the Cubs may be forced to shut down Rich Hill.  Hill failed to get through the first inning for Triple-A Iowa start on Friday, recording 2 outs while giving up 6 ER and 4 BB, and the Cubs simply want to give him an extended mental break.  This may turn up the flames even further on the Cubs pursuit of a front line starter.
  • For what it’s worth, Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press says Derek Lowe is unlikely to become a Tiger this season.
  • Will another AL club give up on Edgar Renteria after a year?  In another piece, Morosi thinks Renteria could wind up staying with Detroit despite his $11MM club option and his batting average dropping over .060 points. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland both speak favorably of Renteria as a player and as a guy in the clubhouse. Still, possible free agent replacements do exist so this is worth monitoring.

By Nat Boyle

Gammons On Available Pitchers

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ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months.  We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.

Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood.  Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season.  Sowers and Duke are the kids.  Harden is the oft-injured ace.  Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.

Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios.  He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.

Odds and Ends: Pokey, Lowe, Boss

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Before you fire up the grill, check out these links.

Yanks Eyeing Derek Lowe For ’09?

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According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald:

There are already indications that the New York Yankees will be among Derek Lowe’s suitors during the offseason.

That’s not the point of Massarotti’s column; he’s mainly discussing Lowe’s leverage given his unique durability.  I did a piece of Lowe recently; Scott Boras should be able to get him at least three years and $39MM.  Does he make sense for the Yankees?  Could he succeed back in the AL East for his age 36-39 seasons (or more)?

Free Agent Stock Watch: Derek Lowe

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I was skeptical when the Dodgers signed Scott Boras client Derek Lowe to a four-year, $36MM deal in January of ’05 following an awful season for Boston.  Lowe proved his detractors wrong by demonstrating durability and effectiveness over his first three Dodger seasons.  He’s off to a nice start in this year as well. 

Since the beginning of the ’05 season, Lowe’s 3.64 ERA ranks 11th among all starters with 600 innings.  He doesn’t get enough credit – he’s been a legitimate #1 starter during this contract.

Lowe will sign his next deal as a 35 year-old (he hasn’t had any extension talks with the Dodgers).  Despite Lowe’s age, I have a hunch Boras can squeeze at least three years out of some team.  PECOTA wouldn’t pay more than $20MM for his 2009-11 seasons, though his market price should be twice that.  Other top free agent pitchers next winter include Oliver Perez, C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, and possibly A.J. Burnett.  Lowe is likely to require the shortest term.

Derek Lowe Enters Contract Year

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Dodgers righty Derek Lowe is entering a contract year again, and he feels much less pressure than he did entering the ’04 season.  Lowe posted a 5.42 ERA but still snagged a four-year, $36MM deal from Paul DePodesta.  I believe the deal was panned by many but it turned out phenomenally for L.A.  There’s a decent chance he makes over 130 starts during the life of the contract.  He’s been first or second in the league in groundball rate during each Dodger season.

Lowe turns 35 in June, and could be primed for $12MM a year if he has a typical ’08.  He may be able to find a team willing to go to three years, if Scott Boras is on his game.  Looking at the 2008-09 free agent class, Lowe may be accompanied by A.J. Burnett, Jon Garland, Pedro Martinez, C.C. Sabathia, and Ben Sheets.

Odds and Ends: Kelly Johnson, Nathan, Crede

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Time for some early Monday odds and ends.

  • Remember how White Sox GM Ron Schueler embarrassed Cubs GM Ed Lynch in 1998 by acquiring Jon Garland for Matt Karchner?  Rany Jazayerli sees a parallel to that heist with the Royals’ acquisition of Daniel Cortes as part of the July ’06 Mike MacDougal trade.
  • Mike Berardino’s blog continues to entertain; this time with a Dan Miceli story.  Ah, knife fights with siblings.  Who among us can say they haven’t had one or two?
  • Buster Olney learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that Kelly Johnson has been the team’s most asked-for player in trade talks this winter.
  • The look on Kyle Kendrick’s face is priceless.
  • Extension talks with the Twins and Joe Nathan have gone dormant.  Nathan still thinks the gap can be bridged but wants it done before the season begins.
  • Andy Marte and Shin-Soo Choo are both out of options; when Choo comes back from elbow surgery a month into the season one of them could be traded.
  • Henry Schulman says the White Sox may accept prospects from the Giants for Joe Crede.
  • Derek Lowe is entering his walk year, and he hasn’t had any extension talks with the Dodgers yet.

WEEI’s Tejada Rumor Making Rounds

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The Dennis and Callahan Show on WEEI 850 in Boston broke out an improbable-sounding trade rumor this morning.  Here’s the idea:

Dodgers send: Derek Lowe, Hee Seop Choi
Red Sox send:  David Wells, Alex Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, Tony Graffanino
Orioles send:  Miguel Tejada, Luis Matos

Dodgers receive: Wells, Graffanino, Matos
Red Sox receive:  Tejada, Choi
Orioles receive:  Lowe, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Lester

In my humble opinion, there’s about zero chance of a deal like this going down.  Then why am I posting about it?  For one thing, I’ve received a host of emails about the possibility.  So it seems that the people want to discuss it.  Secondly, plenty of these players are likely to be dealt, just not in this combination.

Is Derek Lowe on the block?  Certainly.  I know for a fact that the Cubs and Phillies have expressed interest in him.  I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t represent a big gain for the Orioles, however.  The Phils could still try to hammer something out to obtain Lowe.

Hee Seop Choi has nowhere to play on the Dodgers, and I mentioned before that I think the Devil Rays should make a play for him.  However, they’ve added Russell Branyan as a corner guy so it seems less likely at this point.  There isn’t much of a market for a first baseman, but Choi still deserves a chance.

Wells is certainly likely to be dealt, and the Dodgers are a viable candidate.  I mentioned yesterday that the Mets could consider Boomer as well.

Without doing any research, I have a feeling that a team can’t sign a free agent and trade him immediately.  That’s why the Alex Gonzalez thing seems way off to me.  Plus, Boston seemed to be trying to strengthen their defense.  That is supposedly where Gonzalez’s value lies.

The Red Sox won’t be trading Youkilis and Lester.  They’re far too valuable as building blocks.  Graffanino should be on the move, but that’s a minor deal.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Tejada dealt before the deadline, and a guy like Lester would have to be involved.  There’s a fair chance Ronny Cedeno bombs and the Cubs try to re-engage the Orioles this summer.  They’d be relying on the further development of minor leaguers to form an attractive package.

Matos, sure, he’ll end up somewhere.  But the Dodgers don’t need him.   

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