Tigers Rumors: Zumaya, Hoffman, Miner
Joel Zumaya might be ready to pitch this spring–and he might not be, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. Tigers assistant GM Al Avila calls it "basically a week-to-week, month-to-month situation." That’s enough to force the Tigers to come up with a backup plan for their relief corps.
Adding Trevor Hoffman as closer may be at the center of that plan. Brandon Lyon is another option for the ninth, says Beck. Zach Miner is mentioned as an in-house option for the bullpen, but likely wouldn’t close. He may need to move to the rotation, pending an update on the futures of Kenny Rogers and Freddy Garcia.
While the bullpen is the focus for the Tigers this offseason, upgrades are also needed at shortstop and catcher, following the departure of 2008 Opening Day starters Edgar Renteria and Ivan Rodriguez.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Monday
8:04pm: Furcal is "shocked and excited" about possible interest from the Braves, though Yunel Escobar would have to be traded first. Furcal already has a three-year, $39MM offer on the table from an unknown team. Kinzer says it might be a few weeks before his client signs.
MLB.com’s Chris Haft says the Giants are also considering Orlando Cabrera and Edgar Renteria as shortstop options. However, those players might cost the Giants their second-round draft pick (Furcal wouldn’t). The Giants are also still pondering making a play for one of the Big Three free agents, according to Jon Heyman.
1:26pm: Mychael Urban of MLB.com talked to Rafael Furcal‘s agent Paul Kinzer this morning. Kinzer says six teams have contacted him about Furcal since free agency opened Friday. The A’s have yet to make an offer, but Kinzer’s comments imply that the Giants might have. Both teams have very strong interest in the 31 year-old shortstop, who could sign before the winter meetings. When asked about the reported four-year, $40MM demand for Furcal, Kinzer said it was in the ballpark.
It’s hard to peg the other four suitors, but the Cubs, Blue Jays, and Orioles are possibilities. The Cardinals and Dodgers may be out, while the Royals, Tigers, and Dodgers may balk at the salary or term. Presumably the Braves are backing off given the state of the Jake Peavy talks. Kinzer and Furcal will narrow it down to three teams soon.
Odds & Ends: Kawakami, Renteria, Johnson, Ohman
A number of Odds & Ends for your weekend update:
- From Japanball.com, Kenshin Kawakami is filing for free agency.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports the Cubs are considering Randy Johnson for a one year deal. The 45 year old lefty is a career 13-0 against the Cubs, 4-0 at Wrigley, and needs 5 wins to reach 300.
- The Cardinals are moving in on free agent Will Ohman, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and are reportedly interested in Jeremy Affeldt and Arthur Rhodes.
- In the same article, Goold suggests the Cards will stall on their efforts to pursue Edgar Renteria until after the Tigers decline their offer of arbitration, since signing the Type A free agent beforehand would result in any team losing a first round draft pick. So despite "mutual interest", don’t expect the Cardinals, or anyone, to sign Renteria before the second week of December. Matthew Leach of mlb.com notes there are a lot of free agent shortstop options.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Giants are finding mutual interest in Rafael Furcal and Bobby Howry.
- Utility man Donnie Murphy signed a minor-league deal with the O’s – from Peter Schmuck’s blog.
- John Hickey at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says M’s GM Jack Zduriencik expects Raul Ibanez to wait for Seattle to name it’s next manager before making any decisions.
Cardinals Infield Rumors
5:06pm: MLB.com’s Matthew Leach says a team source was "somewhat nonplussed" by the report of the Lopez offer, and Lopez says he has not been informed of anything.
Leach says mutual interest is clear with Edgar Renteria, but the Cardinals were not among the ten teams to have expressed interest in Rafael Furcal.
2:32pm: According to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals have already made an offer to free agent infielder Felipe Lopez. Lopez, a Scott Boras client, is said to desire a multiyear contract on the strength of this year’s resurgent 169 plate appearances with the Cards.
Keith Law’s thoughts on Lopez: "He’s not a .385 hitter and probably isn’t even a .300 hitter, but as a guy who could easily hit .280/.350/.400 and play a capable second base, he’s one of the best infield options on this market." However, Law notes that Lopez’s effort level has been questioned often.
Odds and Ends: El Duque, Tazawa, Ausmus
Links for Tuesday. Be sure to check back on Odds and Ends posts, as I update them throughout the day with minor links.
- The Jays may no longer have A.J. Burnett under contract, but they continued their claiming frenzy by adding pitcher Les Walrond.
- The A’s re-hired Jason Giambi‘s strength coach. Does it mean anything?
- The Cardinals remain intrigued by the idea of bringing Edgar Renteria back.
- The Dodgers bought out catcher Gary Bennett for $50K; he’s a free agent now.
- Mike Cameron thinks C.C. Sabathia has a good chance of re-signing with the Brewers. He says Sabathia could be a pioneer by taking less money to stay.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown says Orlando Hernandez is working out and intends to play next year. He did not pitch in the Majors at all this year due to foot injuries.
- Dylan Hernandez chatted with Scott Boras last week.
- The New York Daily News discusses Baseball Prospectus’ Nate Silver, whose political website is immensely popular.
- Patrick Newman points out that Junichi Tazawa will not be the first Japanese amateur to sign with an MLB team.
- Buster Olney says Brad Ausmus wants to play in 2009 if it’s close to his San Diego home. The Dodgers could be one possibility.
Cardinals’ Offseason Plans
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains the Cardinals’ offseason plans. The areas of concern: middle infield, lefthanded relief, and perhaps the rotation (maybe a swingman type pitcher). The Cards would also like an impact bat to protect Albert Pujols, but that is of lower priority.
Strauss says the Cardinals will investigate the price for Brian Fuentes and Joe Beimel. They’ll also consider bringing Edgar Renteria back to St. Louis on a one-year deal worth considerably less than $10MM. The Cards should have $20MM+ to spend in total.
As for trade chips, young catcher Bryan Anderson could be one. Second baseman Adam Kennedy wants out, but has negative trade value. The Cards could also move an outfielder. Derrick Goold of the P-D suggests possible matches.
Odds and Ends: Jacobs, Howard, Renteria
Links for Friday…
- The A’s claimed infielder Joe Dillon off waivers from the Brewers.
- Dave Cameron criticizes the Royals’ acquisition of Mike Jacobs. ESPN’s Keith Law also panned the move, suggesting Jacobs was a non-tender candidate for the Marlins.
- Peter Abraham breaks down the different types of hot stove stories and sources.
- Derrick Goold looks at Ryan Howard‘s arbitration case.
- MLB.com’s Chris Haft talked to various scouts about Matt Cain‘s trade value.
- Edgar Renteria hopes to remain in Detroit, saying "Next year, we are going to win everything."
- ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian names his top ten offseason storylines.
- Ken Davidoff says the Mets were interested in Brad Lidge last year, but the Astros’ asking price was too high.
- Joel Sherman debates the merits of a Luis Castillo–Andruw Jones swap while stressing that no such deal is actually being discussed.
- The 2008 Fielding Bible awards are out.
Orioles Considering Cabrera, Furcal, Renteria
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Online, the Orioles have internally discussed free agent shortstops Orlando Cabrera, Rafael Furcal, and Edgar Renteria. They’re also considering trade possibilities. The Orioles’ #5 overall draft pick next year is protected, but they’d have to surrender their second rounder if they sign Cabrera or Renteria. The market for Furcal will be robust if he doesn’t re-sign with the Dodgers.
Possible names on the trade market: J.J. Hardy, Julio Lugo, Jack Wilson, Khalil Greene, Ronny Cedeno, and Chin-lung Hu.
Tigers Decline Renteria’s Option
The announcement was made a month ago, but today the Tigers officially declined Edgar Renteria‘s $12MM option for 2009 (or $11MM – I’ve seen conflicting reports). It’s possible the Tigers re-sign Renteria at a lower salary. Will they offer him arbitration, since he profiles as a Type A free agent? Eddie Bajek notes that Renteria would prefer the Tigers decline to offer, making him more attractive to other teams.
Tigers To Decline Renteria’s Option
John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press has the news – Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said today the team will decline shortstop Edgar Renteria‘s $12MM option for 2009. They’ll pay the $3MM buyout instead. Next question: will the Tigers offer him arbitration? Renteria is a Type A free agent, and he’ll be less attractive to the other teams if he’ll cost draft picks.
Dombrowski will be looking to improve the club at catcher, shortstop, and closer next year (though Francisco Rodriguez will be too costly). Dombrowski debunked the rumor about the Tigers reducing payroll – he says it won’t be down significantly. In general, the Tigers will not be active on the free agent market. One other note – Kenny Rogers says it’s the Tigers or retirement for him in ’09.