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Red Sox Inquire On Lowe

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According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have inquired on free agent starter on Derek Lowe.  Scott Boras even gave them one of his infamous books hyping the 35 year-old righty.  Massarotti figures the Red Sox consider Lowe a safer bet than A.J. Burnett or Ben Sheets.

Massarotti adds that the Red Sox are looking for groundballing strike throwers in terms of bullpen additions.  He wonders if Doug Brocail or Brandon Lyon could work.  I noticed that Brian Shouse, Todd Coffey, Dennys Reyes, and Jeremy Affeldt also fit the profile, for what it’s worth.

Odds and Ends: Burrell, Atkins, Ohmura

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Links for Monday…

Rockies Rumors: Holliday, Taveras, Atkins

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4:54pm: More Rockies chatter from Troy Renck.  The Rockies intend to sort out the Holliday/Atkins trade situations before moving on to other concerns such as the bullpen.  They do like the idea of bringing Jeremy Affeldt back, though.  Renck has the Twins and Indians kicking the tires on Atkins, while Tracy Ringolsby believes Michael Cuddyer could be a fit for Colorado.

11:18am: The latest Rockies buzz…

  • Buster Olney says the Rockies are very motivated to move Matt Holliday.  Olney wonders if the Rox might end up taking a bit less than expected for him.  Troy Renck says various execs see the A’s and Phillies as the most likely matches for Holliday.  The Rays are another possibility.  GM Dan O’Dowd will be open-minded about the return.
  • Renck also says the White Sox have contacted the Rockies about Willy Taveras.
  • Renck talked to the agent for Doug Brocail, Brandon Lyon, and Kyle Farnsworth.  All three are open to pitching in Colorado.
  • Tracy Ringolsby says the Rockies have had "initial talks" with the Twins regarding Garrett Atkins.  He wonders if the Angels could jump in later.
  • Ringolsby suggests Brad Penny would be an interesting candidate for the Rockies.

Astros Rumors: Wolf, Hawkins, Hampton

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MLB.com’s Alyson Footer has the latest Astros buzz.

  • Astros GM Ed Wade will meet with Randy Wolf’s agents tomorrow, but doesn’t expect an agreement to be reached before the exclusive negotiating period ends.  Wolf will test the open market, and the Mets are already known to be interested.
  • Talks are ongoing with the agents for Doug Brocail and LaTroy Hawkins.  Brocail is a Type A free agent, and the Astros already declined a $3.25MM option on him.
  • Wade met with Mike Hampton’s agent recently.  Hampton could return to Houston on an incentive-laden contract.
  • Wade is on the lookout for a second-tier catcher to complement Humberto Quintero.
  • MLB.com’s Jim Molony wonders if the Astros will try to bring lefty Trever Miller back.

Astros Decline Brocail’s Option

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According to Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros declined Doug Brocail’s $3.25MM option for 2009.  The Astros are concerned about Brocail’s ailing shoulder.  However, they’d like to re-sign him at a lower rate.  Brocail seemingly profiles as a Type A free agent, though he might accept arbitration if the Astros offer it.  He was disappointed by their decision on his option though.

Brocail, 41, posted a 3.93 ERA in 68.2 innings.  His strikeout rate was up significantly from ’07.  He struggled in July and August, but pitched well in September.

Odds and Ends: Pavano, Dunn, Brocail, Washburn

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Random links for the day…

  • Joel Sherman notes that Carl Pavano has a chance to help his own cause if he can be mildly useful in September.  Pavano will be a free agent after the season when the Yankees buy out his $13MM option.
  • The Reds will free up about $30MM in payroll, and Walt Jocketty plans to be active.
  • Ben Bolch notes that the Dodgers could’ve blocked the D’Backs’ waiver claim of Adam Dunn.  Bolch cites the risk that caused the Dodgers to pass – Dunn’s salary and their outfield logjam.  But as readers of this site have pointed out, why not claim Dunn and offer a player of no value?  Would Walt Jocketty have chosen salary relief over two draft picks?
  • Multiple teams put in claims on reliever Doug Brocail, but the Astros did not want to trade him.  The ’Stros are playing for a miracle, as they’re assigned less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs.
  • Geoff Baker supported the Mariners’ decision not to trade Jarrod Washburn in July, but now they’ve overplayed their hand. 

Red Sox Eyeing Relief Options

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12:51pm: MLB.com’s Jim Molony says Brocail, Geary, and Jose Valverde aren’t going anywhere since the Astros are actually looking to add to their ’pen.

11:21am: ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the Red Sox have been discussing Doug Brocail with the Astros.

9:57am: Boston’s top priority at the trade deadline seems to be relief help, if anything.  They were linked to several relievers this morning.

Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal says the Sox "are interested again and expect expect to get back to the Royals on Ron Mahay."  Mahay is generally believed to be unavailable.

Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald has the Red Sox eyeing Geoff Geary, Brian Fuentes, George Sherrill, and Will Ohman.  Ohman seems the likeliest candidate, though they may have competition for him in the division-rival Rays.

Inexplicably Aggressive Astros

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11:40pm: Nick Cafardo suggests Doug Brocail might be the reliever the Red Sox are eyeing.

11:03pm:  Footer says the Red Sox are more likely interested in Geoff Geary than Miguel Tejada.  She doesn’t expect Geary to be traded, since as she previously noted the Astros are looking to acquire a reliever.

8:47pm: No one is quite sure why, but the Astros are still acting like buyers.  The latest example comes from ESPN’s Buster Olney, who says Ed Wade is looking for a "high profile, experienced reliever."  MLB.com’s Alyson Footer concurs, but her sources put the chance of a deal around 30%.

Today’s Arbitration Decisions

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The decision whether to offer your own free agent arbitration can affect your team in two ways: you may end up retaining a player you didn’t want, or you may score a draft pick or two as compensation.  With that in mind let’s run down the rumors regarding some Type A and B free agents.

  • The Red Sox plan on offering arbitration to Type B Eric Gagne.  Worst case scenario, they hang onto him for one more year.  Best case, they get a sandwich pick.
  • The Astros have to decide on Trever Miller and Mark Loretta.  Both are Type Bs, but the Astros might not want them back.  Richard Justice notes that the old Astro regime made a mistake not offering arbitration to Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
  • The Angels decided not to offer arby to Bartolo Colon, because the most they could give him would be a 20% pay cut.  So best case scenario they could get him for one year, $11.2MM.  Colon is not a Type A or B, so there’s no compensation regardless.
  • The Phils will offer arb to Aaron Rowand but not Freddy Garcia.  Rowand is a Type A, Garcia a Type B.  It’s a no-brainer with Rowand, who will hopefully net them a first-round pick plus a supplemental depending on who he signs with.  With Garcia they risked getting burned as he might’ve accepted.   
  • The D’Backs will offer arbitration to Livan Hernandez, who will likely decline it to pursue a three-year deal.  He’s a Type B so they’ll snag a sandwich pick.
  • The Padres will offer arbitration to Michael Barrett, and Kevin Towers actually hopes he accepts.  No worries if he doesn’t – Barrett is a Type A.  The Friars will also offer arby to Mike Cameron and Doug Brocail.  Brocail nets them a sandwich pick for sure; Cameron still has a slight chance of accepting.
  • The Braves did not offer arb to Andruw Jones but did for Ron Mahay.  Both are Type Bs; I’m surprised they didn’t want to risk Andruw returning on a one-year deal.

Astros Sign Doug Brocail

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Fox 26 Sports out of Houston is reporting that the Astros have agreed to a contract with free agent reliever Doug Brocail.  Terms are unknown; but an announcement is expected Tuesday.

Brocail turns 40 in May.  He pitched for the Astros in 1995-96 before his inclusion in a huge multiplayer deal with the Tigers.  He had a nice 2007 for the Padres with a 3.05 ERA in 76 innings.  However his strikeout rate was quite low at 5.05 per nine innings.  He seems likely to fill the seventh inning role for Houston.

I am OK with the move for one year and $2-3MM, if Ed Wade got something similar.

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