Odds and Ends: Sexson, K-Rod, Halladay
Random links for the day…
- We’ll have our weekly live chat here today at 2pm CST.
- R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay writes the Rays Comprehensive Trade Post.
- Brian Cashman confirmed interest in Richie Sexson.
- Danny Knobler quotes Francisco Rodriguez as saying that the Angels offered him three years, $34MM in November.
- Josh Hamilton called all his friends to tell them he was a Cub, then had to call them all back.
- People in Pedro Alvarez‘s neighorhood expect him to sign.
- Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay wants to see the team make some progress.
- Viva El Birdos would like to see the Cardinals acquire Jarrod Washburn.
- Ichiro’s profane, annual AL All-Star team pep talk.
Francisco Rodriguez Will Test The Market
Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez plans to file for free agency, though he didn’t rule out re-signing with the Halos.
Kurt Streeter named several contracts that might be used as comparables for K-Rod:
- Mariano Rivera: three years, $45MM ($15MM per year)
- Francisco Cordero: four years, $46MM, fifth year club option ($11.5MM per year)
- Joe Nathan: four years, $47MM, fifth year club option ($11.75MM per year)
It seems clear that K-Rod will set a new record for relievers in terms of total contract value. He’ll probably want $13-15MM per year over four or five seasons. Will the Angels pay up? Will his price be artificially high if he sets a new saves record?
Odds and Ends: Vizquel, Saito, Burnett, K-Rod
So many links, so little time.
- Barry Bonds‘ agent, Jeff Borris, says the prospects of his client playing this year look bleak.
- The Tigers made their first Taiwan signing, adding outfielder Tang Chao-Ting.
- Aside from Jim Bowden’s other problems, he’s having a hard time finding common ground with the Nationals’ top five draft picks.
- Interesting post at NPB Tracker contrasting Masa Kobayashi with Yasuhiko Yabuta and Kazuo Fukumori.
- The White Sox will have to choose between pitchers D.J. Carrasco and Adam Russell soon.
- Troy E. Renck heard "simmering buzz" that Omar Vizquel could retire right now, but Vizquel debunked it.
- 19 year-old Tigers starter Rick Porcello probably won’t see big league time this year, but 19 year-old Mets outfielder Fernando Martinez has a chance.
- The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo notes that outfielder Brandon Moss is a top trade chip for the Red Sox, but they don’t want to deal him. Also, check out Cafardo’s Q&A with Globe readers here. All sorts of informed Red Sox hot stove speculation in there. They’re looking at lefty relievers and shortstops.
- Takashi Saito‘s elbow injury is worrisome – I wonder if they will put in a call on a Jon Rauch type or just ride it out with Jonathan Broxton. At least ten teams are interested in Rauch.
- Ron Gardenhire’s wish list for the Twins: a lefty-mashing hitter and maybe bullpen help.
- Should the Orioles consider signing A.J. Burnett this winter, if he reaches free agency? They’ve flirted with him before.
- Another available lefty reliever to add to the list: the Braves’ Will Ohman.
- Kurt Streeter believes the Angels should offer K-Rod four years and $55MM.
- Pure speculation – could the White Sox quietly enter the market for a starter?
- The MLB Trade Rumors daily email is currently broken…sorry about that. We’re working on it.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Burnett, Ibanez
Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count video Saturday covered many interesting topics; yesterday he put the info into column form and added even more.
- Same old story with Adam Dunn – he’s just not drawing much interest. Even with the whiffs and ugly defense, this is surprising to me. Rosenthal says the Reds "will take a considerable risk" if they offer Dunn arbitration after the season and he accepts. Would having Dunn on a one-year deal at market price really be so bad?
- Rosenthal says "it remains to be seen whether Jim Bowden’s authority will be compromised" in the wake of his involvement in the FBI’s bonus-skimming investigation. The Nationals have a couple of mildly interesting starters to shop in Tim Redding and Odalis Perez, plus perhaps the top righty reliever in Jon Rauch. Maybe Rauch will be packaged with a starter.
- The Angels will try to retain Francisco Rodriguez after the season.
- The Blue Jays started A.J. Burnett on three days rest in an attempt to maximize his starts before the trade deadline, though the J.P. denies it. Burnett responded well against the Yankees. Rosenthal wonders whether he would abandon his opt-out clause if his contract was extended through 2011 upon a trade. A dissenting opinion – Jon Heyman talked to one GM who does not expect Burnett to opt out.
- The D’Backs apparently do not see Raul Ibanez as much of an upgrade over Chad Tracy. However, Jack Magruder wrote Saturday that the Mariners and D’Backs had discussions on Ibanez.
- The Dodgers are still interested in Jack Wilson.
- Rosenthal says some teams are skeptical that the Pirates would offer Damaso Marte arbitration after this season. Why wouldn’t they? The Red Sox are interested in the lefty.
Stark’s Latest: K-Rod, Burnett, Oliver Perez, Bedard
It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to dig in and feast on Jayson Stark’s latest rumor-packed column.
- The Braves have shifted their focus from starting pitching to an impact bat in left field. Stark suggests Raul Ibanez, Jason Bay, and Xavier Nady would make sense. Matt Holliday would be too costly; Adam Dunn is not mentioned.
- We have seen the surprising rumor that the Angels could pursue C.C. Sabathia. However, Stark’s sources are in agreement with Bill Plunkett – the Angels are likely to stand pat.
- Francisco Rodriguez wants four years and more than $60MM, a dangerous record-breaking commitment. The Halos aren’t even sure if they’d do three years and a vesting option.
- There have been no recent extension talks between the Angels and Vladimir Guerrero, but his $15MM option for ’09 is an easy call.
- As we’ve written before, A.J. Burnett is like a rental, but worse. He either pitches well and opts out or pitches poorly and you’re stuck with him. Stark adds that despite Burnett’s willingness to pitch for the Cubs, he’s not on their list. The Cubs are still planning a run at Sabathia. The Brewers are also serious about the Cleveland ace.
- The Mets might shop Oliver Perez, but I’d be surprised if he draws much interest.
- The Blue Jays were already one of Adam Dunn‘s ten no-trade teams. His no-trade rights switched from full to ten teams on June 15th.
- Bill Bavasi talked to the Reds about bringing Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle, but Lee Pelekoudas isn’t interested.
- Interesting Indians players who might be available: Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, and Franklin Gutierrez.
- The Yankees aren’t interested in Erik Bedard, but the Phillies are. The teams have differing opinions on whether Bedard’s surly demeanor would present a problem.
Odds and Ends: Lane, K-Rod, Adam LaRoche
Random linkage…
- Jason Lane has agreed to remain a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee.
- Francisco Rodriguez would like to play nine more seasons. Four or five or those might come with his next contract, which may set a record for a reliever.
- Pirates prospect Steve Pearce is getting some time at first base in Triple A. Despite that development, Dejan Kovacevic says there is no Adam LaRoche trade chatter yet. LaRoche followed up his standard awful April with an .804 OPS in May.
- RotoAuthority looks at the fantasy studs of May.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman speculates that it’d require at least two of a team’s best young players to get Matt Holliday.
Angels Open To In-Season Talks For K-Rod
Angels owner Arte Moreno said today that the team is flexible and is willing to negotiate a contract extension with closer Francisco Rodriguez during the season. K-Rod and his agent were strongly leaning toward putting talks off until after the season after an agreement could not be reached by Opening Day.
Twins closer Joe Nathan inked a four-year, $47MM deal in March. The total is the highest ever for a reliever, though Mariano Rivera earns $15MM annually on a three-year pact. Another comparable is Francisco Cordero‘s four-year, $46MM deal. Nathan and Cordero both have fifth-year club options.
Assuming they hit the open market, the big name closers for the winter of 2008-09 are K-Rod and Brad Lidge. Will one top the $50MM mark or get five guaranteed years? Brian Fuentes and Brandon Lyon seem to fit into the second tier of free agent closers.
Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez
Time to round up today’s linkage.
- Susan Slusser believes Rich Harden and Joe Blanton will both be traded this season. She sees the Yankees and Mets as suitors for Harden, though he’s already having a start pushed back.
- Jim Caple recently made his case for the Mariners to sign Barry Bonds; his logic is sound.
- Our Brian Bannister Q&A got a mention in the KC Star. Nice!
- RotoAuthority has the fantasy take on K-Rod’s ailing ankles.
- Pure speculation, but Ken Rosenthal thinks Ramon Hernandez would be a good fit for the Reds. Not sure if the Reds were looking at Michael Barrett, but that option’s off the table now.
- Who said you can’t go home again? Craig Wilson is back with the Bucs.
- We’ll be doing our third MLBTR chat here at 2pm CST; don’t miss it!
K-Rod Won’t Negotiate During Season
The Daily News LA has a brief update on the Angels and their attempt to re-sign Francisco Rodriguez. Apparently neither party has made much headway on getting a deal done before the season and now that Spring Training is ending K-Rod and his agent, Paul Kinzer, won’t negotiate during the season.
"…Kinzer said he has ‘absolutely not’ given the Angels a deadline or ultimatum to sign Rodriguez before the season starts or watch him leave as a free agent next fall.
Rodriguez conceded Saturday that seems to be the likely outcome.
‘Everything’s headed that way,’ he said. ‘But there’s going to be six long months of the season and I can’t predict what’s going to happen in one week or one month or six months.’"
MLBTR suggests $50MM over 4 years is not unreachable for K-Rod, given Joe Nathan‘s recent $47MM over 4 years. Still both sides are distant at this point as the Angels best offer has been $34 over 3 years. K-Rod argued for $12.5 in the arbitration case he eventually lost, so the Angels contract offer falls short of what Rodriguez feels he deserves now in arbitration. K-Rod is only 26, seven (!) years younger than Nathan, and for that should be able to command a 4+ year deal easily.
By Nat Boyle
Odds and Ends: Crede, Rodriguez, Marlins
Just a couple items worth mentioning:
- Matt Hurst notes Elasticman Scot Shields says "(Heck) yeah" to whether or not the Angels should dish out the big bucks for Francisco Rodriguez, this despite incentives in Shields contract that would kick in should he be transitioned into the closer role.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times touches in on Joe Crede‘s fate after notching his first homerun of the spring, easing concerns for his surgically repaired back. Says Cowley, "Crede’s agent, Scott Boras, already has told general manager Ken Williams that they want to explore the market. With Josh Fields waiting in the wings, the Sox are dealing from a position of strength. The Giants are a top suitor." Scouts were present for Crede’s homerun.
- Marlins Owner Jeff Loria says payroll is "all going to be a function of the revenues we generate. If we have a bigger base than we anticipate, that will go back to the payroll." This from Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post who add, "When asked if the team could lock up young stars like shortstop Hanley Ramirez for the long term, Loria said: ‘We’re going to look at that going forward. But we are challenged until we get into that new stadium." The Marlins payroll this year is just under $20MM.