Perrotto’s Latest: Zambrano, Wolf, Anderson
Gathering some rumors from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus…
- We know you like "crazy rumors," so here’s one Perrotto heard. The Cubs would possibly entertain trading Carlos Zambrano if they acquire Jake Peavy.
- The Cards have Randy Wolf on the radar.
- The Rays have "at least some interest" in Garrett Anderson.
Garrett Anderson A Fit For Rays?
Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times passes along quotes from Rays manager Joe Maddon, who is fond of Garrett Anderson. Maddon knows GA from his days as an Angels coach. Whether the Rays are actually interested in his services remains to be seen.
Angels Offer Arb To Tex, K-Rod, Garland, Oliver
11:50pm: Mike DiGiovanna and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times believe Garland and Oliver will accept their offers and work out one-year deals with the Angels.
7:31pm: According to the AP, the Angels offered arbitration to Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Jon Garland, and Darren Oliver today. The last two were uncertain, but the decisions make sense. Oliver now seems less likely to sign elsewhere, as a new team would have to pay the draft pick tax. Garret Anderson (Type B) did not receive an offer.
Boras Comments On Garret Anderson
Agent Scott Boras spoke about his new client Garret Anderson recently to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Boras says Anderson wants to play every day, and could handle the outfield regularly for an NL club. He also said Anderson is four years away from 3,000 hits, a reasonable suggestion assuming he’s healthy and effective through his age 37-40 seasons. Rob Neyer says is this is highly unlikely. Jerry Crasnick spoke to an NL exec who believes Anderson has two or three years left.
Anderson was "a little surprised and disappointed" the Angels didn’t pick up his $11MM option, but he’s leaving the door open.
Heyman’s Latest: Lowe, Teixeira, Guillen
SI.com’s Jon Heyman recently published several new blog posts.
- Free agent outfielder Garret Anderson has a new agent: Scott Boras. Click here for our full list of Boras clients.
- Rangers starters Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood are drawing interest from the Braves, Dodgers, and Mets. Padilla is owed $12MM in 2009 with a 2010 option for the same ($1.75MM buyout). Millwood gets $23MM over the next two seasons and has a limited no-trade clause.
- Heyman says rather than battle for A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox and Yankees may duke it out for Derek Lowe. Other suitors for Lowe: the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Mariners and Dodgers. There he goes naming the Mariners again as a player for a major free agent…interesting. The Giants are a new one as well, though Heyman says Lowe may prefer to head back east.
- Heyman agrees with info from Nick Cafardo, that the Red Sox and Tigers have discussed swapping Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admitted to interest in C.C. Sabathia. Colletti said he’s waiting to hear from Scott Boras regarding Manny Ramirez, even though the Dodgers pulled their two-year, $45MM offer.
- It hasn’t happened yet, but the Angels plan to make a "very serious" offer to Mark Teixeira. A competing exec guessed eight years, $160MM. Remember, that’s a non-Angels exec making a guess. Heyman tosses a new team into the mix for Tex: the Mariners.
- The Royals are "quietly shopping" Jose Guillen. Guillen, 33 in May, hit .264/.300/.438 in 633 plate appearances this year while playing below-average defense. He’s owed $24MM for the 2009-10 seasons.
- Competing execs tell Heyman the Mets appear open to trading Ramon Castro or Brian Schneider. The Mets would then presumably sign a free agent catcher.
Crasnick On Retirement Candidates
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick looks at nine veteran players and estimates their chances of retiring. He assesses the situations of Jim Edmonds, Garret Anderson, Ken Griffey Jr., Cliff Floyd, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Luis Gonzalez, Frank Thomas, and Moises Alou.
Crasnick feels Edmonds, Anderson, Griffey, and Floyd are likely to play, while the rest are not. Of the long shots, Thomas seems most intent on playing in ’09.
Angels Hold Off On Teixeira Bid
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times describes the Angels’ strategy regarding free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. He says that since Tex will test the open market regardless, the Halos will not make an offer within their exclusive negotiation period. So much for resolving the situation quickly.
The Angels do not want Scott Boras shopping around their offer to the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, and Nationals and driving up the price. Just a guess, maybe the Nats consider Josh Willingham their cleanup hitter acquisition and will back out of the Teixeira derby.
DiGiovanna adds that the Angels "plan a serious run" at C.C. Sabathia and could bid on A.J. Burnett. He also describes their stance on their own free agents aside from Teixeira:
The team will look to re-sign reliever Darren Oliver, is open to retaining closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Juan Rivera, and seems lukewarm to the idea of retaining pitcher Jon Garland and outfielder Garret Anderson.
Garret Anderson Tries Free Agency
MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer talked to outfielder Garret Anderson, who is set to test free agency for the first time in his 14-year career. Anderson was "a little surprised and disappointed" the Angels didn’t pick up his $11MM option for 2009. The 36 year-old hit .293/.325/.433 in 593 plate appearances while playing average defense when he was in left field.
Anderson told Spencer the $3MM the Angels will pay him in January was not a buyout, but rather part of the original contract that would’ve been paid no matter what. So, it was not an $8MM decision for the Halos.
The Angels would like to bring Anderson back, but they haven’t talked money yet. Anderson thought $11MM was a fair price for his services.
Odds and Ends: Myers, Crede, Giants
Links for Wednesday…
- The Brewers snagged infielder Casey McGehee off waivers from the Cubs. The Crew also designated Joe Dillon for assignment.
- The Reds signed 16 year-old lefty Ismael Guillon out of Venezuela.
- MLB.com’s Marty Noble discusses the Mets and impending free agents Oliver Perez and Pedro Martinez. The Mets will entertain re-signing Perez at their price, but they’ll let Pedro leave. Any guesses on where he pitches next year?
- Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues would like the Yankees to sign free agent outfielder Juan Rivera. Brian Cashman traded Rivera, Randy Choate, and Nick Johnson to the Expos for Javier Vazquez back in 2003.
- Brett Myers never wants to pitch in Boston again.
- Two more free agent bargains from Dave Cameron: Joe Crede and Dave Ross. Crede would be a solid one-year signing for the Dodgers or Twins.
- South Side Sox doesn’t see the White Sox adding much else for second base. There goes my Ray Durham idea.
- El Lefty Malo examines the latest Giants rumors.
- J.C. Bradbury provides values for Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, and Garret Anderson.
Will Anderson Remain An Angel?
Yesterday, the Angels decided to buy out left fielder Garret Anderson‘s $14MM ’09 option for $3MM. Anderson’s friends told the L.A. Times he prefers to stay in Anaheim, but the Angels may not have a spot for him. Said GM Tony Reagins:
He still wants to play. He still thinks he can play a significant role, as far as getting 500 or 600 at-bats. We just need to determine whether we have that place for him.
The quote seems to imply that the Angels may not view Anderson as an everyday player anymore. He hit .293/.325/.433 in 593 plate appearances this year, spending significant time at DH. The Angels have more pressing concerns this winter, and they’ll deal with those first. Waiting around for the Halos could be a risky move for Anderson.