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Felix Hernandez

Odds & Ends: Maddux, Valverde, Davis, Felix

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Links for Monday…

  • Press release: Greg Maddux has joined the Cubs as an assistant to GM Jim Hendry.  He'll work with the coaching staffs as well as baseball operations.  Click here for the official story. 
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Diamondbacks' interest in Jose Valverde has cooled.  The Tigers made an offer, the magnitude of which is unknown. 
  • Morosi says the Indians are not engaged in trade talks for Jhonny Peralta.
  • ESPN's Keith Law praises the Reds for adding a pitcher with huge upside in Aroldis Chapman.  He also points out that MLB's current draft setup "screws American-born players."
  • David Coleman of The Crawfish Boxes says the Astros drew a line when they designated Julio Lugo for assignment in '03 following domestic violence charges, making their Brett Myers signing seem hypocritical.
  • Free agent lefty Doug Davis is interested in joining the Nationals, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson, but Davis was told the Nats are more focused on adding a second baseman.  Davis acknowledged, "Things are kind of going slow for me because I'm fifth or sixth down the line [when it comes to] starting pitching."
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times talks about the Mariners' need to sign Felix Hernandez long-term before the season begins.
  • Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles evaluates the Giants' Aubrey Huff signing.
  • MLB.com's Doug Miller discusses new defensive stats with experts and team officials.

Cafardo On Damon, Hernandez, Delgado

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In his new column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses the Red Sox' decision to move Jacoby Ellsbury from center field to left field, concluding that the 26-year-old should excel in left. Here are some other notes from Cafardo's piece:

  • Despite having a productive season, Johnny Damon acknowledges that he's expecting to take a pay cut. Right now though, he isn't willing to slice his earnings in half, which is what he'd be doing if he accepted a deal worth $6-7MM annually, after making $13MM in each of the last four years. Is returning to the Bronx still a possibility for Damon? "I don’t know. I haven’t had any conversations with them recently. Nothing would surprise me, but there’s nothing there right now."
  • Talks between Felix Hernandez and the Mariners are "getting serious" and there's a chance that they could work out a long-term deal before the season begins.
  • The Mets and Orioles are the primary suitors for Carlos Delgado. Baltimore is more interested in Delgado as a first baseman than a designated hitter, since they'd prefer a right-handed DH.
  • Gary Sheffield still feels he can be an everyday player, but says a market hasn't developed for him yet this offseason.
  • Cafardo describes the lack of interest in Miguel Tejada so far as "baffling."
  • Although Miguel Cabrera's name popped up earlier in the winter as a possible trade candidate, it looks like the enormous price tag (in terms of both his salary and the required return) has quieted those rumors for now.
  • Colby Lewis' impressive numbers in Japan over the past two seasons could earn him a multi-year contract. Cafardo says that at least six teams are interested, and that the Red Sox aren't one of them.

Olney On Gonzalez, Holliday, Dodgers

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney offers some storylines to look for in 2010 and turns up some rumors along the way. Here they are:

  • The Padres will, "in all likelihood," gauge the market for Adrian Gonzalez this summer and deal him before the July 31st trade deadline. The Mets, Mariners and Red Sox could all bid for the slugger, but the list of suitors could change drastically by mid-summer.
  • One GM expects the Mariners to consider offers for Felix Hernandez if they don't lock him up long-term. "They may seriously have to think about trading him," the GM said. Locking Felix up won't be cheap, either. As Olney notes, Hernandez could command C.C. Sabathia-type money ($161MM) if he were a free agent. Luckily for Mariners fans, Felix won't hit the open market until after the 2011 season at the earliest.
  • Olney says the Orioles offered Matt Holliday $70MM or so at one point before moving on. Here's a look at some other offers Holliday has received.
  • Executives tell Olney that the Dodgers' quiet offseason is giving other teams confidence and emboldening them to make more moves. 

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Cabrera, Molina

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Links for Monday…

  • Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs gave his thoughts on the Orioles' "enviable outfield logjam."  In his Offseason Outlook for the club, Tim suggested that Luke Scott could make sense as a trade candidate.
  • A week ago, we heard conflicting reports about whether or not the Yankees had talked to the Cubs about acquiring Carlos Zambrano. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports, via Twitter, that the Yankees "definitely" inquired, and speculates that Zambrano is "eminently available."
  • In a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David O'Brien suggested in passing that the Braves could potentially use Melky Cabrera as a trade chip. Heyman tweets that the Cubs would be very interested, if the Braves were to make Cabrera available.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Bengie Molina "might be willing to consider" a two-year deal.  So far the Mets are at one year with an option.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik must retain at least one of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez long-term.
  • Derek Zumsteg of U.S.S. Mariner gives us a Milton Bradley chronology.
  • CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban tweets that he's heard a whisper connecting the Giants to free agent reliever Kiko Calero.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier examines the differences between the contracts of John Lackey and A.J. Burnett.  In case you missed it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe revealed on Wednesday that Lackey must play for the league minimum in 2015 "if an old elbow injury forced him to miss significant time with surgery any time during the deal."
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says statheads and scouts are mostly in agreement these days, and Moneyball would be a very different book if Michael Lewis wrote it today.

Mariners Could Trade Morrow, Talking Extension With Gutierrez

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1:19pm: Earlier in the week Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the club isn't currently talking trades with the Mariners. A deal is still possible, but the Brewers have shown no inclination to trade Gamel.

10:59am: The Mariners are trying to trade one of their young players and lock another one up long-term, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal hears that the Mariners are trying to trade Brandon Morrow for a corner infielder or DH. The M's may re-visit talks with the Brewers about a Mat Gamel for Morrow swap. 

One of Franklin Gutierrez's agents tells Rosenthal that the Mariners are "making progress" with the outfielder on a three or four year deal. Gutierrez isn't scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2012 season, so a four-year deal would buy out a free agent year. By comparison, Curtis Granderson signed a deal that pays him $3.5MM, $5.5MM and $8.25MM for his three arbitration years. 

Discussions with Felix Hernandez have not developed as much. Rosenthal notes that the M's have not ruled out bringing back free agents Adrian Beltre and Russell Branyan.

Heyman On Bay, Molina, M’s, Dodgers

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The Mariners are "not a serious player" for Jason Bay, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Braves and Giants don't appear to be engaged with Bay and the Angels aren't focused on him now, so the Mets are the lone known suitor for the left fielder. They're keeping in touch with Scott Boras, who represents Matt Holliday, but they may be willing to offer Bay a deal in the five-year $75MM range. They're hoping to hear back from him today. 

Ideally, the Mets would like to sign Bay and Bengie Molina, who still wants a three-year deal worth about $20MM, or roughly twice as much as the team is presently willing to commit. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:

  • The Angels have more interest in Javier Vazquez than Derek Lowe, according to one source.
  • The Mariners are interested in locking up Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez. 
  • The Red Sox would like to acquire Adrian Gonzalez. If they can't pull a trade for Gonzalez off, they would like to sign Adrian Beltre. However, that could put them over the luxury tax. 
  • The Dodgers are interested in Ronnie Belliard and Felipe Lopez. 

Twitter Rumors: Smoltz, Damon, Mulder, Felix, Counsell

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Twitter madness…

  • Surprisingly, Ken Davidoff of Newsday writes of an "increasing expectation around MLB" that the Yankees will eventually re-sign Hideki Matsui.
  • Crasnick talked to one exec who says Scott Boras wants three years and big money for outfielder Rick Ankiel.
  • The Royals talked to the Dodgers about Juan Pierre, writes ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, but the Dodgers would have to eat too much money to make it work.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Phillies are now looking hard at John Smoltz as a possible "back-of-the-bullpen weapon."  Smoltz's agent apparently told the Phils that the pitcher has no problem with Citizens Bank Park.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney heard "the Yankees are in the process of negotiating with Johnny Damon's camp."  He adds that the Yanks "intend to use market forces to pressure Damon to make a decision quickly."  I'm sure Scott Boras will love that.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin plans to visit free agent lefty Mark Mulder in January to discuss a possible contract, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says there have been no Felix Hernandez negotiations this week after an initial four-year offer from the Mariners.
  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that they'll tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players.  No big surprise, though it's a large group of players.
  • Scott Lauber of the News Journal talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who said Astros GM Ed Wade stole Brandon Lyon from the Phillies.  The Astros committed three years and $15MM to Lyon despite holes at shortstop and third base.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says the Brewers upped their offer to Craig Counsell this morning and GM Doug Melvin is confident they'll get it done.  The Reds are still in the mix for Counsell, says MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. 
  • La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune heard last night that Twins infielder Alexi Casilla is available.

Twitter Rumors: Capps, Felix, Harden, Pierre

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A fresh batch of Twitter rumors, for those of you with extra-short attention spans…

  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch learned that the Pirates plan to tender a contract to Matt Capps.
  • Stubborn Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says he has no regrets about not offering arbitration to Randy Wolf, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Hernandez also notes that the Dodgers are considering Ronnie Belliard, Craig Counsell, Juan Uribe, and Jamey Carroll as second base options.  The Reds also like Carroll, says MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • Yahoo's Steve Henson says the Rockies are open to re-signing Jason Marquis at a reduced number (less than the $9.875MM he made in '09).
  • SI's Jon Heyman believes Felix Hernandez is seeking six years and $100MM, while the Mariners are thinking four years plus an option at less than $50MM.  That phrasing makes a possible divide seem larger than it is, since those last two years of the deal would be the most expensive (more than $15MM per year).  At any rate, Shannon Drayer and Mike Salk learned that no numbers have been exchanged on Felix yet.
  • La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wants Mike Redmond to back up A.J. Pierzynski.
  • MLB.com's Steve Gilbert says the Rangers may have interest in arbitration-eligible D'Backs infielder Augie Ojeda.  The Rangers added Joe Inglett off waivers, but were said to still be looking at utility infield candidates.
  • Morosi tweets that Rich Harden is "willing to sign a one-year deal with a lot of incentives."  Will he exceed Brad Penny's $7.5MM base salary?  Morosi names the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mariners as the most serious suitors. 
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Tigers have interest in Juan Pierre, and are "looking for a third team to supply the pitcher L.A. needs."  Odd, since the Tigers have more bad pitching contracts than anyone.  The Tigers apparently prefer to unload Carlos Guillen.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates are not interested in bringing back Brian Giles.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Red Sox "have two or three teams they could trade Mike Lowell to right now" if they'd take a similar contract back.  Looking at our Bad Contract Swap Meet I don't see any obvious matches for one year and $12MM.
  • There's been some tire-kicking with the Phillies and Ron Mahay, writes Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Red Sox were linked to Mahay by Michael Silverman on Monday.  Martino also says the Phillies met with John Smoltz's agent this morning, "but discussions remain informal."
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star characterizes the White Sox and Red Sox interest in Coco Crisp as "low-level," but says that's still more than the Royals have shown.  Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the White Sox would consider Crisp, Mike Cameron, and Marlon Byrd. ESPN's Mike Salk notes that the Mariners spoke to Byrd's agent.
  • Dutton also has the Red Sox eyeing Ryan Shealy on a minor league deal.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports names the most asked-about Padres: Heath Bell, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Adrian Gonzalez (in that order).  He says the Padres are "not hearing anything compelling on Bell."  MLB.com's Corey Brock says about eight teams inquired on Kouzmanoff.  Surprised not to see Kevin Correia mentioned by Rosenthal.  He'd be a great affordable option for a team like the Brewers.  ESPN's Buster Olney heard from rival execs who expect the Padres to get second-line prospects for Kouzmanoff and Correia.
  • The Mets appear to find a Luis Castillo deal unlikely, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Yankees are shopping their #1 pick in tomorrow's Rule 5 draft, which they acquired for Brian Bruney.  If they don't trade the pick, Yahoo's Steve Henson says the Yankees could use it on pitcher Arquimedes Caminero.

Mariners Discussing Extension For Felix

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5:20pm: Nero told Larry Stone of the Times that he's been "philosophically dancing" with Zduriencik so far regarding a long-term deal for Hernandez.  Nero hopes fans and media will just chill out, because Felix is happy and the relationship remains strong.

MONDAY, 11:39am: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Zdruriencik had an informal chat with Hernandez's agent Alan Nero today, and they'll hold more serious talks later this week.  SI's Jon Heyman tweets that Felix "will likely seek" about $100MM over six years.

SUNDAY, 4:24pm: Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mariners have begun discussing a long-term deal with Cy Young runner-up Felix Hernandez. Both sides are still far apart, according to one of Rosenthal's sources.

Hernandez, still just 23, is under team control for another two seasons, and could be in line for an epic contract through free agency if he remains healthy and is not extended. Rosenthal states that the Mariners have offered somewhere in the range of a four-year, $45MM deal to their ace.

After earning $3.8MM in 2009, Rosenthal speculates that King Felix could earn $7MM or more in 2010, and over $10MM in 2011. Using C.C. Sabathia's $23MM annual salary as an estimate point for Hernandez's free agent salary, Rosenthal theorizes that Felix could earn near $60MM over those four years going year-to-year.

Hernandez could fetch a deal worth more than $100MM over six years if he reaches free agency, but as Rosenthal says, he enjoys pitching in Seattle and you have to imagine the Mariners want to make every last effort to keep him.

Players face this dilemma all the time; is it wiser to hold out and go year-to-year for more money, when one injury could cost you everything, or do you take an extension that may net you less money than the alternative if you stay healthy?

The very fact that the two sides are talking is good news for Mariners fans. After reaching an agreement with Chone Figgins just a few days ago, the possibility of a long-term deal for their ace gives more reason to be happy if you're a Seattle fan. If you were Jack Zduriencik, how many years and how many dollars would you offer to keep one of the best young arms in the game with your club?

Mariners Unlikely To Pursue Bay?

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12:02pm: ESPN's Buster Olney says the Mariners are "unlikely to get involved" on Bay.  He never did seem to fit with Jack Zduriencik's style.

5:12am: Geoff Baker tweeted that the he's heard Jason Bay told his former Pittsburgh teammates he'd "stand on his head and sing" to play for the Mariners.

It makes sense geographically that Bay would like to play in Seattle, as his home province of British Columbia is north of the Emerald City. Additionally, his wife is from Kirkland, just 30 minutes outside of Seattle, and Bay and his family live there in the offseason (Hat tip: Ryan Divish). We've heard several reports that the Mariners are interested in Bay already, which stands to reason as they could use some added punch to the middle of their lineup.

While Bay's defense has been called into question time and time again this offseason, the team that general manager Jack Zduriencik has put together thus far in Seattle figures to be one of the best defensive clubs in baseball in 2010, so sacrificing some glovework to add a legitimate power threat in the middle of the lineup might make sense. A lineup that features Chone Figgins, Ichiro Suzuki, and Bay toward the top is certainly one that should generate some runs.

With their agreement with Figgins in place, talks of extending Felix Hernandez, and interest in Jason Bay, the Mariners are definitely not shy when it comes to spending this offseason. Adding Bay would go a long ways toward making them favorites in the AL West. What type of offer should the Mariners make to land Bay?

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