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Dontrelle Willis

Willis Wants Extension With Tigers

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Now that he’s on a club with the financial resources for it, Dontrelle Willis would like to talk contract extension.  Willis is only 26 in January.

The model would apparently be Jeremy Bonderman’s four-year, $38MM deal.  That deal was signed two years prior to Bonderman being eligible for free agency, as Willis is now.  Add a little inflation and maybe it’s 4/40 or 4/42 for Willis.  A few years from now that might be the going rate for a guy with a high-4’s ERA who can eat 200 innings.  So even if Willis doesn’t bounce back the extension could be reasonable.  If he does, it’s a bargain.

Jays Waiting On Rios For Lincecum Offer?

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UPDATE, 12-08-07 at 3:12pm: Brian Sabean spoke on the radio about making this decision within a few days; there’s even a rumor the Giants could pursue the Tigers’ Dontrelle Willis to replace Lincecum.

UPDATE, 12-8-07 at 12:17pm: George King talked to a Blue Jays source who said "there was nothing to reports the Giants were talking to Toronto about Alex Rios for Lincecum or Cain."  Who’s right here, Blair or King?

FROM 12-5-07 at 11:36pm:

According to Jeff Blair, it’s in the Giants’ hands: Alex Rios for Tim Lincecum.  A Jays official suggested to Blair that Brian Sabean might sit on this for a few weeks, mulling it over.

Blair says Sabean is hesitant because he’s scared of making a mistake of the same magnitude as his Liriano/Nathan move four years ago.

It’s easy to bash Sabean for that trade.  But you should ask yourself – would you have bashed him at the time he made it?

Dontrelle For Josh Hamilton Was Discussed

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UPDATE, 12-8-07 at 2:47am: More excitement…throw Abraham Nunez into the mix of Marlins third base targets.  This team is going places.

FROM 12-7-07 at 11:27am:

MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro posted a new column last night full of good Marlins hot stove chatter.

  • The most interesting note is that the Marlins talked to the Reds about swapping Dontrelle Willis for Josh Hamilton, prior to the blockbuster with Detroit. 
  • With Miguel Cabrera, the White Sox and Rangers were involved during the Meetings before the Tigers jumped in.  The Rangers backed out when they couldn’t get an extension window for Cabrera.  The Tigers wanted the same but obviously it wasn’t the dealbreaker.  The Angels, Dodgers, and Giants were involved before the Meetings, with the Giants offering Noah Lowry.
  • Frisaro says there are "strong indications the Marlins will sign Jorge Cantu.  He’ll be in the mix at third base.
  • The Fish are offering the Phils Scott Nestor for Wes Helms, who’d also compete at the hot corner.
  • The Mets have some interest in Alfredo Amezaga, though the Marlins are inclined to keep him.
  • Miguel Olivo will be released soon, so throw him into the catcher market with Michael Barrett. 

Willis/Pudge Spinoff To Mets?

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UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 8:13am: Adam Rubin’s source still believes Willis could be flipped to the Mets.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:21pm: Danny Knobler says the Tigers did briefly consider a three-way scenario that sent Willis and Pudge to the Mets.  That permutation was dismissed before anything went public and won’t be revisited.

FROM 12-5-07 at 6:08pm:

According to Sweeny Murti via MetsBlog, the Tigers have looked into the idea of spinning Dontrelle Willis off to the Mets.  I’m sure this would thrill the Marlins, who didn’t want to trade within the division.  No offer has been made, but it’s been discussed. 

The part that doesn’t make sense is the inclusion of Ivan Rodriguez to the Mets as a salary dump.  The Tigers, after all, chose to exercise that $13MM option on Pudge.

Tigers Acquire Cabrera, Willis For Six Players

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 6:04pm: Jon Paul Morosi reveals the three remaining players, and they’re all pitchers: Burke Badenhop, Eulogio de la Cruz, and Dallas Trahern.  Based on Kevin Goldstein’s Tigers prospect list, the team surrendered its #1, 7, and 11th ranked prospects. Miller’s not on the list due to big league experience but he’d be third if he was. 

Morosi also notes that Marcus Thames, Brandon Inge, and Chad Durbin are now on the block.

Baseball Prospectus’ Nate Silver weighs in on the big trade here.

FROM 12-4-07 at 5:30pm:

ESPN’s Peter Gammons is reporting that the Tigers have acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, and three minor leaguers.

This is what the hot stove league is all about, unexpected massive eight-player blockbusters.  All the talk was that the Tigers would have a quiet Winter Meetings.  Instead they traded for one of the best hitters in the game, adding an immediate 5-7 wins in the process.  Swapping out Willis for Miller will probably be a push in 2008 before things swing toward the Fish.

Maybin and Miller are both elite prospects; it seems packaging Cabrera with Willis was the only way they could get both.  Interestingly, it seems like Sports Review Magazine may have scooped this trade way back at 9:52am CST.  I am surprised this link didn’t get in my hands until now.

Mets Rumors: Kuroda, Livan, Estrada, Colon

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:49pm: Jayson Stark says the Mets haven’t talked to the the A’s or Orioles at all in Nashville, meaning no talks for Haren or Bedard as of yet.

FROM 12-4-07 at 8:05am:

What’s cooking with the Mets?  Let’s round ’em up.

  • Mark Hale reports that the Mets have advanced to "Round 2" of the bidding process for Hiroki Kuroda.  They did this by indicating a ballpark of what they might offer but without actually making an offer.  Hale says 8-10 teams are in on Kuroda, including the Royals, Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Mariners.  The Ms reportedly have some kind of offer out to him, either 3/30 or 4/44.  The Phils are said to have an offer out as well.  Hale doesn’t name the Dodgers but it’s been said they’re getting aggressive on him too.  The Cubs and Rangers are other teams that have been connected to Kuroda. 
  • The Mets appear to have mild interest in Livan Hernandez, perhaps as a fallback innings-eater option.  The Phillies, Cardinals, Nationals, and Astros are other known suitors for Livan.
  • The big fish are still out there in Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, and Dan Haren.  The Mets won’t include Jose Reyes, David Wright, or Carlos Beltran in any deal.  It’s been said that a Carlos Gomez/Aaron Heilman/Philip Humber package was offered for Bedard and rejected.
  • Dan Graziano says the Mets also inquired on Dontrelle Willis, Ben Sheets, and Roy Oswalt and were told none of the three are available.  Graziano adds that the Mets are looking into signing Bartolo Colon.
  • Omar Minaya will meet with the agents for Octavio Dotel and Shawn Chacon today.
  • Minaya disputes Ken Rosenthal’s report that he sought an extension from the Mets and didn’t get one.  Ownership told him he’ll be there "a long time."
  • Though they didn’t want him in the Lastings Milledge deal, the Nationals are interested in acquiring Johnny Estrada for their catcher vacancy.  Damian Miller is also known to be a target of Jim Bowden’s.

Marlins/Tigers Cabrera/Willis Blockbuster

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:41pm: Joe Capozzi agrees – separate deals if anything.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:29pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro has a source indicating that the Tigers are interested in Willis or Cabrera and not necessarily both.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:23pm: According to Danny Knobler, the Tigers feel they’re being used by the Marlins to jack up the price for other teams like the Angels.  The trade talks between Detroit and Florida are characterized as discussions rather than trade negotiations.  Knobler says Dombrowski doesn’t want to trade Maybin, but I can’t see this happening otherwise.

FROM 12-4-07 at 11:02am:

Ken Rosenthal has an update with a whopper of a trade rumor.

  • The Marlins and Tigers are talking about a monster deal that would send Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis over to the Tigers for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, and others.  Dave Dombrowski has always worked well with the Marlins, his former team.
  • Rosenthal confirms Bob Dutton’s assertion – the Royals signing Jose Guillen may not stop them from getting Andruw Jones too.
  • The O’s are trying to move Ramon Hernandez. They could sign Michael Barrett if they move him, or else get Jeff Mathis or Mike Napoli from L.A. in a Tejada deal.
  • The Tribe hasn’t decided whether to trade Cliff Lee, though there’s been plenty of buzz so far.

Heyman’s Latest: Santana, Bedard, Willis

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UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 5:48pm: Jayson Stark confirms the Reds’ interest in Willis.  However he suggests that the Marlins would ask for Homer Bailey and then some in return.

FROM 12-3-07 at 11:41am:

SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with the latest hot stove banter he’s hearing.  There’s some confusion here as Heyman has contrary info to other published sources.

  • Heyman believes Johan Santana is "more likely than not" to get traded at the Meetings, and quite possibly today. 
  • Heyman says the Red Sox and Yankees are the two teams Santana would waive his veto power for, running contrary to LENIII’s recent note.
  • Heyman reports that the Mets offered Gomez/Humber/Heilman for Erik Bedard, though as you may recall Roger Rubin said it was Lastings Milledge and not Gomez.  Whatever it was, the Orioles weren’t impressed with the offer.  Heyman says the Mets feel they still have a chance.  The Dodgers, Mariners, and loser of Santana will be in on Bedard as well.
  • Heyman seems to indicate the Marlins are still asking for Adenhart and Ervin Santana in a Miguel Cabrera deal, despite Peter Gammons’ comment this morning.
  • The Reds may pursue Dontrelle Willis.  I was thinking they might, the fit makes sense.  A package with Josh Hamilton and one of the Reds’ stud pitchers might be required though.  Also keep in mind that Joe Frisaro said the Marlins plan to keep Willis at least until July.
  • Heyman suggests the Mets could re-acquire Xavier Nady to play right field for them.

Marlins Plan To Keep Willis

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According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, the Marlins expect to keep Dontrelle Willis at least until the July trading deadline.  That said, the Fish have had preliminary talks with the Tigers and Astros during the past few weeks.  Those clubs deemed the asking price too high.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark commented on the Willis situation in late November, noting that the price is two young players.  Stark said the Marlins would have to be "blown away" by these two players, so don’t think you’re going to steal him away.  He named the Mets, Mariners, and Diamondbacks as the suitors. 

Can Mets Acquire An Ace?

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We’ve discussed this before…it seems like the Mets don’t stack up with certain other clubs trying to acquire available frontline starting pitching.  Ken Rosenthal definitely feels this way – Carlos Gomez is considered a blue-chipper but the others may not be.

Rosenthal notes that a package starting with Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman doesn’t do much for Billy Beane.  The A’s don’t see Milledge as a long-term center field solution, and Heilman is a reliever.  Mike Pelfrey and Phil Humber aren’t the top-shelf pitching prospects the A’s covet in return for Dan Haren or Joe Blanton.  It seems as if the very best package the Mets can assemble might only be enough for Blanton.

The Mets are also after Johan Santana and Erik Bedard, but it’s the same story.  Unless they create a huge hole by trading Jose Reyes, it doesn’t seem they can offer the best package.  Though the Twins still want Reyes, Adam Rubin and Joel Sherman indicate that’s not an option.   

Dipping into the free agent market for Hiroki Kuroda or Carlos Silva seems to make more sense.  One option the Mets have been linked to in the past, Dontrelle Willis, may be off the market now.

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