Astros Offer Arb To Valverde, Not Tejada, Hawkins, Brocail
The Astros offered arbitration only to Jose Valverde (A) and not Miguel Tejada (A), LaTroy Hawkins (A), or Doug Brocail (B), according to the team's Senior Director of Digital Media Alyson Footer.
Interesting relief choices; I'd predicted no arbitration offers to Valverde or Hawkins. That said, an offer to Valverde always made sense. He does not seem likely to accept arbitration and take a one-year deal. The Astros are known to have an offer on the table to Hawkins, so maybe they didn't want to complicate the picture by offering arbitration.
You might consider Valverde the loser here and Hawkins the winner, as Valverde will now come with a draft pick cost attached.
Astros Decline Option On Doug Brocail
The Astros declined their $2.85MM option on reliever Doug Brocail, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Instead they'll pay the $250K buyout on the righty, who turns 43 in May. Brocail pitched only 17.6 big league innings this year due to shoulder and hamstring injuries. Astros GM Ed Wade told McTaggart he respects Brocail but won't try to re-sign him. Instead, the Astros have interest in keeping Brocail on for a player development role.
McTaggart learned a month ago that retirement is a consideration for Brocail, but he'll play again if his shoulder is OK.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Sabean, Weeks
Tuesday linkage:
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke with commissioner Bud Selig, who was adamant that the Pirates are not pocketing their profits.
- Pirates starter Zach Duke was pulled last night from an 11-1 game, one out away from a complete game, with 103 pitches thrown. Talking to Kovacevic, team president Frank Coonelly "strongly rejected" the idea that manager John Russell made the move to weaken Duke's bargaining position at the arbitration table. Joe Posnanski questions Russell's explanation of his decision.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News feels that Giants managing partner Bill Neukom will retain GM Brian Sabean when that decision comes due in a week.
- Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks is strongly opposed to moving to center field, according to Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Weeks has explained his stance to GM Doug Melvin.
- Nomar Garciaparra told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle he hasn't thought about whether he'll play next year. Slusser says Nomar won't be back in Oakland, regardless.
- Reliever Doug Brocail is also undecided about 2010, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. An upcoming MRI on Brocail's shoulder will influence his decision.
Astros Sign Doug Brocail
According to a press release, the Astros signed Doug Brocail to a one-year deal today. He’ll get $2.5MM plus incentives in ’09 and there’s a club option for $2.85MM plus incentives for ’10 with a $250K buyout. The Astros declined Brocail’s $3.25MM ’09 option in October and did not offer him arbitration yesterday.
Brocail, 41, posted a 3.93 ERA in 68.2 innings this year. His strikeout rate was up significantly from ’07. He struggled in July and August, but pitched well in September.
Astros Decline To Offer Arb To Wolf, Brocail, Loretta
MLB.com’s Alyson Footer makes it official – the Astros did not offer arbitration to Type B free agents Randy Wolf and Mark Loretta or Type A free agent Doug Brocail. The Astros still hope to re-sign Brocail.
Just like the Cubs with Kerry Wood and the D’Backs with Adam Dunn, Wolf is a quality player who was not offered arbitration due to payroll concerns.
Richard Justice figures it may have come down to Wolf or Jose Valverde for the Astros, and they chose Valverde. Another note in Justice’s post – the Astros had their eye on Jose Ceda before he was traded to the Marlins.
Astros Rumors: Wolf, Brocail, Ross
Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle has the latest on the Astros:
- Astros GM Ed Wade said that he’s had to slow down negotiations with free agent lefty Randy Wolf because he’s unsure how much payroll he’s working with. Negotiations are on hold at least until next week, but the Astros would still like to sign Wolf to a multi-year deal.
- The Astros still hope to bring back reliever Doug Brocail, but they haven’t negotiated with his agent in over a week.
- Wade said he’ll try to address the team’s catching needs via trades or free agency. Houston is interested in free agent catcher David Ross.
- The Astros are also reportedly interested in converting free agent pitcher and former NCAA home run champion John Van Benschoten into a hitter.
No Agreement Yet For Moyer
12:01pm: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News says everyone expects the Phils to re-sign Moyer. He says not to read into the Lowe/Burnett inquiries; the team has inquired on more than 25 free agents. MLB.com’s Ken Mandel names six of them: Doug Brocail, Russ Springer, Raul Ibanez, Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Nick Punto.
10:16am: According to Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies are still talking to free agent pitcher Jamie Moyer but don’t have an agreement yet. Moyer apparently wants a multiyear deal. The Phils recently contacted Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett to hedge their bets.
Odds and Ends: Wade, Crisp, Holliday
Links for Thursday…
- New commenters are signing up every day as MLB Trade Rumors grows. Before commenting, be sure to read our policy. If you ever see someone violating the policy just send me an email and I’ll take care of it.
- If you receive an email from noreply@mlbrumors.com talking about some kind of newsletter, that has nothing to do with me or MLB Trade Rumors. We have a daily email of our latest posts, and that comes from dierkes@gmail.com.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wonders if Kerry Wood might accept an offer of arbitration from the Cubs.
- Hal Steinbrenner officially took over control of the Yankees from George.
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire takes a look at Jeremy Affeldt‘s motivations in signing early with the Giants.
- Check out recent fan chats with Astros GM Ed Wade and agent Scott Boras. Wade still hopes to sign Randy Wolf and Doug Brocail and doesn’t seem keen on trading Jose Valverde. Some fans didn’t seem to realize that just holding payroll steady will pose problems for the Astros.
- Joe Posnanski discusses the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp.
- Nick Cafardo wonders if the Crisp trade sets up other moves for the Red Sox. They’ll explore signing Rocco Baldelli, according to Amalie Benjamin.
- Sox Machine reflects on Nick Swisher‘s time with the White Sox.
- A’s owner Lew Wolff would prefer to keep Matt Holliday all year.
- Tom Haudricourt wonders if the Brewers will pursue David DeJesus if they trade Mike Cameron.
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone lists which teams have been connected to the top free agent starting pitchers.
- Chad Finn wonders if the Red Sox are considering trading David Ortiz.
- Alan Schwarz has a nice article on Junichi Tazawa.
Stark’s Latest: Abreu, Arroyo, Hudson
ESPN’s Jayson Stark is back with a look at needs and plans for all 30 teams. I highly recommend you read the article, but here are a few highlights. He’s also got a fresh blog post here.
- The Phillies are eyeing Doug Brocail and Russ Springer.
- The Mets like Bobby Abreu, but not his three year, $45MM asking price.
- The Reds are quietly listening on Bronson Arroyo, and the Rangers may be interested.
- Contrary to previous reports, Stark believes the Mets’ first order of business is getting a starting pitcher.
- Here’s a new one – the Marlins are interested in Orlando Hudson?
- The Astros may be trying to move money, and Stark implies trading Miguel Tejada or Jose Valverde could be one path.
- The Rockies have "actively explored" signing Jeremy Affeldt, who could also wind up back home with the Mariners. A few more interesting names for Seattle: Joe Crede (if Adrian Beltre is traded), Jason Giambi, and Ken Griffey Jr.
Wolf Will Test Market
THURSDAY: Wolf told KRIV-TV in Houston last night that he’s flattered by the Astros’ efforts, but he plans to test the market. His main goal is playing for a winning team, and he says his urge to play on the West Coast is overstated. Astros GM Ed Wade says he’ll look at alternatives starting Friday.
WEDNESDAY, 5:30pm: The Astros also made an offer to reliever Doug Brocail. His agent says about a dozen teams have inquired, the Red Sox among them. The Astros would also like to re-sign Mark Loretta, but conversations have not yet begun.
1:46pm: According to Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros made an offer to free agent lefty Randy Wolf. They’re hoping to get him signed before he hits the open market Friday.
Wolf, 32, tossed 190.1 innings of 4.30 ball for the Padres and Astros this year. According to Ken Rosenthal, at least six other teams have expressed in Wolf already. He could pull in a three-year deal north of $30MM.