Mets Rotation Plans
12:20pm: MLB.com’s Marty Noble writes:
The possibility of the Mets signing a lesser alternative isn’t precluded, but the club is unlikely to act on picking up another starter until it’s satisfied it has done all that is possible — and financially feasible — to bring in Lowe.
Noble says the Mets sense Lowe’s price tag is $16-17MM per year.
8:37am: Ken Davidoff of Newsday lays out the Mets’ plans for their starting rotation.
For Oliver Perez‘s slot, the Mets want to either re-sign Perez or sign Derek Lowe. Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, and possibly Tim Redding are the backup plans to these two.
The fifth starter job has sparked an internal debate – it could be given to Jon Niese, or the Mets could bring in competition with pitchers like Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, or Eric Milton. This decision will not be made this month.
Mets Interested In Tim Redding
Add another pitcher to the Mets’ list. According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Mets have expressed interest in new free agent Tim Redding. Redding was non-tendered by the Nationals on Friday after they failed to work out a deal with the Rockies.
Ken Davidoff says Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe continue to top the Mets’ list; they’re less enthused with Ben Sheets, Jon Garland, or Randy Wolf. As for Pedro Martinez‘s replacement, Davidoff suggests names like Freddy Garcia or Eric Milton. As for Andy Pettitte, Mark Feinsand says the Mets are not involved.
Astros Could Get In On Izturis
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle says Cesar Izturis‘ agent Peter Greenberg spoke with Astros GM Ed Wade to gauge his interest in Cesar Izturis, Freddy Garcia, and Bobby Abreu. Wade confirmed that Abreu is not a fit for the Astros. Izturis could be, though, if they manage to trade Miguel Tejada. The Orioles are known to be making progress on a deal with Izturis.
Tigers Rumors: Everett, Laird, Garcia
5:31pm: The diagnosis for Garcia is just shoulder tightness. MLB.com’s Jason Beck believes he may not sign until after Christmas, because he needs two weeks rest and then hopes to pitch winter ball in front of scouts.
12:32pm: The latest hot stove news involving the Tigers…
- MLB.com reports that the Tigers will meet with Adam Everett‘s agent at the Winter Meetings. The defensively-talented shortstop has other suitors as well.
- According to Jon Paul Morosi, the Tigers have become more aggressive in discussions for Rangers catcher Gerald Laird.
- Former Tiger Freddy Garcia‘s status remains in question as they wait upon his MRI results.
Freddy Garcia Injures Shoulder
Cubs f/x reports Freddy Garcia has injured his throwing shoulder during a game in the Venezuelan Winter League. The post cites a pair of sources, including an official team website and an article at Venezuelan newspaper El Universal.
The extent of the injury is presently unknown, but regardless, it certainly won’t help convince teams to sign Garcia to any sort of substantial contract this offseason.
Fewer starting pitching options may push contract values up, but few teams were likely pinning their hopes for a World Series on a healthy and effective Freddy Garcia.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Stark’s Latest: Putz, Manny, Lackey, Ibanez
Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
- Stark does the math and finds 15 potentially available closers versus six clubs in the market for one. Should result in a few bargains or teams holding on to their surpluses.
- The Mets don’t seem willing to extend to four years for Francisco Rodriguez. Stark says J.J. Putz would become the Mets’ top closer target if he’s made available. MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone wrote a few days ago that the Mets are likely to trade for a reliever with closing experience before attempting to sign one.
- J.P. Ricciardi quote: "We won’t be involved with Manny." Ricciardi last month: "He’s on our radar, but maybe not on our radar like some people will report."
- Despite reports to the contrary, Stark talked to a rival executive who says Jake Peavy made it "onto [the Angels’] radar pretty hard." Stark speculates that Peavy could fit if the Halos sign Mark Teixeira.
- It seems likely that the Angels will put out an offer to Teixeira with a deadline, and then either sign him or move on.
- John Lackey‘s been telling friends he expects to have an extension with the Angels by Opening Day. Lackey indicated last month he’d wait to see the Halos’ offensive plans before re-signing.
- Stark suspects the Players Union might be OK with C.C. Sabathia turning down a larger offer from the Yankees if he still signed for more than Johan Santana‘s $23MM per year. I don’t really see why Sabathia would worry about the union in any regard.
- The Dodgers inquired on the asking price of Jason Varitek, with the idea of moving Russell Martin to third base in mind. They balked at Scott Boras’ demand for Tek, however.
- Curt Schilling is "more likely than ever" to attempt a late June or early July comeback.
- Tons of teams have expressed some degree of interest in Raul Ibanez: the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels, and Mariners. Some interesting new ones in there.
- The Phillies never made a two-year, $21MM offer to Pat Burrell. Will the Phils at least offer him arbitration? The rumored offer was questionable from Day 1, as Paul Hagen said Burrell "reportedly turned down a two-year, $22MM offer" but didn’t reference a specific report.
- Stark believes that the Brewers were not thrilled with the Yankees’ "overbid" for C.C. Sabathia, and therefore would prefer not to trade Mike Cameron to them. Dan Graziano wrote yesterday about the Yanks’ conversations for Cameron.
- Roy Oswalt wants the Astros to sign Ben Sheets, but the price tag may be too high. Stark has the following names on their radar: Randy Wolf, Mike Hampton, Freddy Garcia, Paul Byrd, and maybe Pedro Martinez. Is Drayton McLane willing to bring Andy Pettitte back? GM Ed Wade seemed interested in his chat yesterday, saying, "We’ll have to see what develops down the road."
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.
Tigers Interested In Darren Oliver
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press talked to Darren Oliver‘s agent, who said the Tigers and Angels are two of four teams interested in his client. Morosi says the Tigers have also contacted the agents for Trevor Hoffman, Brandon Lyon, David Weathers, and Arthur Rhodes while also expressing interest in Florida’s Kevin Gregg.
Oliver, 38, posted a 2.88 ERA in 72 innings. His strikeout rate wasn’t great, but he limited walks and home runs. He earned $2MM this year. As a Type A free agent, Oliver comes with the added tax of Detroit’s second-round pick in the June ’09 draft (assuming the Halos offer arbitration and he declines).
In other Tigers news, MLB.com’s Jason Beck says they’ve yet to contact Freddy Garcia‘s agent.
Odds and Ends: Beltran, Brewers, Padres
Links for Friday…
- The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants. Surprising to see the Giants let him go.
- Ted Berg at MetsBlog explains how a Carlos Beltran rumbling spun out of control.
- I recently did a Brewers Q&A with Bernie’s Crew.
- The Padres called yesterday’s report about John Moores selling his share of the team "highly speculative." Tim Sullivan considers the statement revealing, and notes that this is a bad time to sell.
- Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times chatted with Scott Boras.
- Mark Cuban mentions that the struggling economy is slowing down the sale of the Cubs.
- Terry Pluto believes the Indians should pursue Brian Roberts.
- David Brown at Yahoo profiles Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman.
- Freddy Garcia is headed to winter ball. The Tigers will have the first crack at signing him. Andruw Jones will also play winter ball; he seems to want a trade if he’s not a starter next year.
- Elbow surgery for Tom Gordon, which probably means the Phillies will buy out his ’09 option for $1MM.
Perrotto’s Latest: GMs, Angels, Offseason Moves
John Perrotto at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up, let’s take a look at what he has to say:
- Perrotto believes that there’s a good chance that the only GM change baseball will see this offseason may be the one we already know about, as Pat Gillick has already announced his retirement. Perrotto cites Assitant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. as a likely replacement. The most likely other change is in Seattle, and cites Dodgers’ Assistant GM Kim Ng as a possible replacement, which would make her the first female general manager in the game’s history. Perrotto believes Cashman and the Yankees will work something out, though notes that if Cashman leaves, he will ascend to the top of both the Mariners’ and Phillies’ lists.
- Angels’ owner Arte Moreno says that the 2009 club will not exceed the current $123MM payroll. This leaves the Angels with hard decisions on Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Garrett Anderson, Juan Rivera, and Jon Garland. Of all those options, I see Teixeira as the top priority, as well as the most likely to return. Garland and Rivera seem like certainties to be gone, with Garland being one of the more appealing starters on the free agent market.
- The Robinson Cano trade rumors continue, as Perrotto expects the Yankees to make a run at Orlando Hudson. Giving up on Cano seems like a mistake to me, but he certainly hasn’t lived up to the expectations he set when he nearly won a batting title in 2006. The Yankees are also not likely to re-sign Jason Giambi or Bobby Abreu.
- The Tigers feel they have a good chance at re-signing Freddy Garcia for 2009. Garcia could potentially be a nice rebound candidate in a rotation that desperately needs help. Perrotto mentions that Detroit has considered Derek Lowe as a possibility, but I don’t see how that could work with the Tigers trying to cut payroll at the same time. One thing seems certain: Kenny Rogers will not be pitching for Detroit in 2009.
- The White Sox have removed the nameplate from Joe Crede’s locker. Doesn’t seem like he’ll be back in 2009, not that that’s necessarily a new revelation.
- The Royals/Jeff Francouer rumors continue in Perrotto’s column. It’s been written all over the site, but doesn’t it seem like the Royals should actually be pursuing people who have a career OBP that isn’t lower than several good hitters’ career average?
- The Giants are willing to trade Matt Cain for a solid power hitter in return. Again, I think keeping a rotation headed by Cain and Tim Lincecum for the next few years is a far better option than trading Cain.
- The Pirates have said that the only guarantee for their rotation next season is Paul Maholm. It’s been a rough season for Ian Snell, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot as well, unless they’re not positive he’ll still be with the club.
- The Mariners will likely non-tender Erik Bedard, completing the downward spiral on what has been one of the worst trades in recent history. Bedard will have shoulder surgery and likely miss a good portion of 2009.
- Speaking of disappointing moves: Both Greg Maddux and Kosuke Fukudome are in danger of being left off their respective teams’ postseason rosters.