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Francisco Cordero

Rivera Agrees To Deal With Yanks

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UPDATE: Kat O’Brien’s sources also indicate that Rivera has accepted the offer.  We can close the book on this one.

Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record has the scoop: Mariano Rivera has agreed to the Yankees three-year, $45 million offer. Caldera’s source is a friend who spoke to Rivera today, so I suppose it’s not official official.

Caldera also reports that the friend said, "He would have taken two years and an option." Wonderful. So not only did the Yankees overpay, but now it’s rubbed in their faces.

This will surely somehow factor into the deal for Francisco Cordero, now the best closer option on the market. Maybe moreso, it could affect the Joe Nathan negotiations, scheduled to begin about a year from now.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Odds And Ends: Cordero, Torrealba, Koskie, Clement

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Just browsing the web this morning:

  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post speculates that the Mets deal with Yorvit Torrealba might have fallen apart because of the catcher’s shoulder issues. This is based on Torrealba having missed time in 2006 with two shoulder injuries. The deal fell apart when it was thought to be complete, with only the physical remaining.
  • The Rockies have also inquired on Matt Clement. Renck mentions the Diamondbacks as also having interest in the 33-year-old righty, adding them to the aforementioned Padres and Royals. Clement has thrown just 65.1 innings in the past two years.
  • The Yankees have identified Francisco Cordero as their Plan B closer, should talks with Mariano Rivera fall apart. It should be moot, though, as Rivera is expected to sign this week. Cordero has not made any significant strides in talks with the Brewers.
  • The Twins, who could use an upgrade at third base, aren’t interested in Corey Koskie, who was drafted by the team in 1994 and played with them until he reached free agency after the 2004 season. Koskie missed 2006 with symptoms related to post-concussion syndrome.
  • It is unclear whether the Marlins are still interested in Yorvit Torrealba, writes Joe Capozzi. The price tag could be prohibitive. If the Marlins gave Torrealba the same three-year, $14.4 million deal he was to get with the Mets, he would become their second highest paid player. A catcher was the Marlins highest paid player last year, but they look to be severing ties with Miguel Olivo. I’m not sure Torrealba is much of an upgrade, though. At least Olivo has some pop, having hit 16 homers in each of the last two years.

    Remember, Torrealba hit just .212/.292/.326 away from Coors Field. Then again, Olivo had some pretty severe home/road splits: .247/.277/.493 at home, .228/.249/.325 on the road. You can decide for yourself what that could mean.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Cordero, Livan, Jenkins

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Somehow, I missed a Ken Rosenthal column.  This thing is already 14 hours old.  I’m slipping.

  • A Mystery Team has already made a four-year offer to Francisco Cordero.  We know the Brewers made an offer on Monday but Rosenthal may be referring to another club.
  • Rosenthal suggests Scott Linebrink could be reunited with Bruce Bochy to become the Giants’ closer.  It’s known that the Astros already have an offer out to Linebrink.
  • Teams interested in Geoff Jenkins: the Cubs, Padres, Giants, Rangers, and Royals.  Several of those are new to me.
  • The Tigers’ payroll is expected to exceed $115MM.  Time to head over to Cot’s and do some math.  By my count the Tigers are around $105MM right now (includes some arbitration guesses).  That leaves room for one starting pitcher signing, be it Kenny Rogers, Carlos Silva, or whoever.
  • The Cardinals, Astros, and Mets have their eye on Livan Hernandez.  Mets’ management is divided on signing him, since he’s a back-rotation guy.
  • Rosenthal believes the Reds could shop Joey Votto or Josh Hamilton a year from now in hopes of acquiring starting pitching.
  • Tony Clark is gaining in popularity as a cheap power source.  He might be looking at two years, $4MM plus more playing time.

Brewers Targeting Herges, Hawkins, Mahay

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UPDATE: Melvin signed sidearmer Randy Choate this afternoon to start things off.  This MLB.com article also quotes Cordero’s agent Bean Stringfellow that "numerous" teams have shown serious interest in the closer.  The Astros may be making a strong push. 

Tom Haudricourt checks in with some names among the eight or nine free agent relievers on Brewers GM Doug Melvin’s radar.  And to think, they cut this part out of Haudricourt’s newspaper article.

Melvin is currently interested in righties Matt Herges and LaTroy Hawkins, as well as southpaw Ron Mahay.  The Rockies have one-year offers on the table for Herges and Hawkins in the $1.5-2MM range.  Any team guaranteeing two years can probably have Herges or Hawkins.  Mahay’s in the three-year, $12MM class.  Haudricourt suggests David Riske, another 3/12 type, might also be a consideration.

The Brewers have an offer out to Francisco Cordero, and haven’t decided whether to make a proposal to Scott Linebrink.  Both are Type A free agents, so at least the Brewers should offer them arbitration.  I say let ’em both walk and reap the draft picks.  (The Mets, by the way, seemingly won’t be in on Linebrink).

Random Rumors: Glavine, Cordero, Percival

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Let’s kick things off today with one of those posts packed with random rumors.

  • Tom Glavine’s agent Gregg Clifton meets with Braves’ GM Frank Wren this afternoon.  They’ll talk money.  Wren is expected to offer $8-10MM for ’08 plus a mutual option for ’09.  Glavine isn’t a lock for the Braves – three other teams are interested.  The pool includes the Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Cardinals and Astros.
  • Reds beat writer John Fay recently suggested the Reds might have a payroll around $75MM, giving them only $6MM to spend.  But now Fay is saying he thinks the Reds might go past $75MM.  He believes the Reds will strike quickly with a focus on relief help – maybe even Francisco Cordero.  The Brewers made an offer to Cordero Monday, and the Astros and Royals ar expected to be in the mix as well.
  • Previously it was noted that eight teams were in on Troy Percival, four of which were considering him at closer.  Now we’re up to ten clubs, and the Rays are having serious talks with his agent.  The Astros may also be in the mix.

Astros To Make Offers To Cordero, Castillo, Wolf

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So far, Ed Wade’s list of targets for the Astros is as follows:

Jeremy Affeldt
Luis Castillo
Francisco Cordero
Tom Glavine
Tadahito Iguchi
Jason Jennings
Troy Percival
Jon Lieber
Scott Linebrink
Kaz Matsui
Dontrelle Willis
Randy Wolf

According to the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice, Wade will be making offers today to Cordero, Castillo, Wolf, and more.  Wade plans to toss out "multiple offers at multiple positions" until each hole is filled with some kind of warm free agent body.  It seems like a strange way to build a team. Sounds like the Astros intend to sign a second baseman, closer, and starting pitcher or two.

Royals Rumors: Cordero, Silva, Guillen

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Some good info surfacing regarding the Royals, as usual courtesy of the KC Star’s Bob Dutton.

  • While Joakim Soria will remain in the pen, the Royals want to add more relief help.  They could re-sign David Riske, and even plan to contact Francisco Cordero’s agent (Bean Stringfellow).  Bringing back Octavio Dotel is also being considered, though Soria would remain the closer.
  • Ron Mahay is on the radar.  It’s thought that he’ll require something close to a three-year, $12MM deal as one of the better southpaw relievers out there.  Riske wants a deal like that too.  Dayton, just take the draft pick.
  • I’ve yet to mention here Dayton Moore’s quotes.  Basically, steroid allegations won’t affect the team’s pursuit of any player, meaning they still like Jose Guillen.  It’s not surprising to see GMs moving in this direction.
  • Japan presents options such as Hitoki Iwase, Kazuo Fukumori, and Yashuhiko Yabuta.  New manager Trey Hillman observed Iwase up close this year.
  • What about more starting pitching?  The Royals like Carlos Silva, Hiroki Kuroda, Kris Benson, Matt Clement, and Jason Jennings.  Something useful could come out of that.
  • By the way, the Royals saw Glendon Rusch work out recently.  The swingman came up as a Royal before being traded to the Mets in ’99.

Astros Contact Cordero, Iguchi, Matsui

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As promised, new Astros GM Ed Wade has touched base with a ton of free agents.  We already knew about Luis Castillo, Jon Lieber, Scott Linebrink, Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand, and Tom Glavine (see Astros rumor archive).

Today we’ve got more names to add to the list, courtesy of Jose de Jesus Ortiz.  The most interesting one: closer Francisco Cordero.  Buster Olney’s thinking is that the Astros contacting Cordero indicates a willingness to trade incumbent closer Brad Lidge.  Olney spoke to one executive who predicted Cordero would get $40MM this winter.  That sounds about right.  Cordero’s agent, the delightfully named Bean Stringfellow, represented Billy Wagner for his landmark four-year, $43MM deal in November of 2005.  If several teams decide they need to have an All-Star closer, I could see bidding getting closer to $50MM for Cordero.  Or even a five-year deal.

The Astros are also poking around on a couple of second baseman, despite their supposed satisfaction with Chris Burke.  Aside from Castillo, Wade has contacted Tadahito Iguchi and Kaz Matsui.  That trio pretty much sums up the second base market. 

By the way, Olney also notes that any notion of the Astros making Roy Oswalt available is false.

Rosenthal’s Latest: A-Rod, Glaus, Cordero

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Ken Rosenthal’s work is a must for any rumor junkie.  Here are some highlights from his latest column.

  • Rosenthal gives his take on possible A-Rod destinations, discussing the Mets, Tigers, and Dodgers in depth.  He tosses out an idea I hadn’t seen before – moving David Wright to left field and declining Moises Alou’s option.  MetsBlog discusses Scott Boras’ sales pitch to the Mets. 
  • The Cards want to hire Chris Antonetti, but the Indians don’t want to let him go.  Rosenthal says they may have to pay him GM money and/or promise him the post in the future.
  • Rosenthal has a new I hadn’t mentioned for the Yankees’ third base vacancy, though I believe several commenters did.  That name is Troy Glaus, about whom the Yanks inquired last summer.  There are complications aplenty with Glaus: foot problems, $12.75MM owed to him in ’08 and an $11.25MM player option for ’09, a full no-trade clause, and a steroid connection.  Sounds like Jason Giambi Part II.
  • Francisco Cordero would be priced out of the Brewers’ range if he demands a four or five year deal worth $9-11MM annually.  I assume he will, though the Brewers could afford it.

Tigers Hot Stove Talk

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Lynn Henning of the Detroit News runs down all of the big names rumored to be possibilities for the Tigers this winter and assesses the likelihood of each.  It’s a well-written article so be sure to read it.  Here are the players, ranked by the percent chance of playing for Detroit next year:

Kenny Rogers – 90%
Todd Jones – 80%
Geoff Jenkins – 75%
Edgar Renteria – 50%
Jack Wilson – 30%
Francisco Cordero – 5%
Alex Rodriguez – 3%
Mariano Rivera – 3%
Raul Ibanez – 0.5%
Torii Hunter – 0%
Andruw Jones – 0%

  • Henning believes Jenkins is quite likely to become a Tiger on a two-year deal.  He only costs money, as the Brewers won’t be offering him arbitration if they decline his option.  The Twins may be in the mix for him as well.
  • Henning notes that new Braves GM Frank Wren and current Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski have a connection and could easily work together on a Renteria trade.  Pitching would be the requirement.  Jeremy Bonderman seems like too much; Nate Robertson perhaps too little.
  • The Tigers badly want to bring Rogers back; that seems very likely.
  • Henning expects Jones back unless he receives an offer from the Braves, located somewhat near his home.  That’s not expected.
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