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.
Nats Trade For Olsen, Willingham
9:44pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel was assured this evening that Dan Uggla will not be traded this winter. Additonally, Mike Berardino says the Marlins won’t be signing Ivan Rodriguez for a second stint.
6:34pm: According to ESPN’s Peter Gammons, the Nationals acquired Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Marlins for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio and two minor league players, pitcher P.J. Dean and shortstop Jake Smolinski.
Bonifacio was the prospect the Diamondbacks traded straight up for Jon Rauch. He fits into the "speed and defense" plan. Smolinski was ranked 11th among Nationals prospects heading into the season according to Baseball America. They consider him a polished hitter with gap power. Dean was ranked 30th, but he projects well and could become a mid-rotation starter according to BA.
I have to say, I thought the Marlins would get more for these two players. There’s not really a sure thing in the bunch. Did Jim Bowden pull a heist, or was this the true market value of these two players? Olsen’s peripheral stats weren’t great this year, while Willingham has back problems.
Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.
Red Sox Rumors: Crisp, Lugo, Burnett, Baldelli
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the latest on the Red Sox.
- GM Theo Epstein says there’s one deal he might be able to do before the winter meetings, possibly involving Coco Crisp or Julio Lugo. The free agent market for center fielders and shortstops is weak this year.
- Cafardo doesn’t believe the Sox are in on C.C. Sabathia or A.J. Burnett, and he says they’re unsure about Derek Lowe. However, Buster Olney says "there is an expectation within other quarters of the AL East that the Red Sox will get in on the Burnett bidding." Cafardo does see Boston adding a starter of some kind, possibly a Japanese free agent.
- Catchers on Epstein’s radar to varying degrees: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, Jeff Clement, Bengie Molina, and Ivan Rodriguez.
- Cafardo says the Red Sox are "more than intrigued" by Rocco Baldelli, who could fill their fourth outfielder role if and when Mark Kotsay leaves.
- Tony Massarotti discusses Mark Teixeira in-depth at his blog.
Tigers Rumors: Pudge, Varitek, Lugo, Thames
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press doles out the latest Tigers rumors.
- How will the Tigers resolve their catching situation? GM Dave Dombrowski calls an Ivan Rodriguez reunion a longshot, and Scott Boras is asking the moon for Jason Varitek. The Tigers may not have the goods to swing a trade for Gerald Laird. Morosi likes the idea of Henry Blanco, but says the Tigers have yet to contact his agent. Check out the other free agent options here.
- Morosi considers a bad contract swap for Julio Lugo a viable option for the Tigers. He notes that Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson have similar commitments. Lugo for Robertson does seem reasonable for both sides.
- Morosi believes the Tigers match up well with the Reds, who are looking for a power-hitting outfielder. Magglio Ordonez is the marquee name, but Morosi likes the fit with Marcus Thames.
Odds and Ends: Pudge, Ohman, Manny
Rounding up linkage for Monday…
- The Jays claimed two players off waivers: shortstop Angel Sanchez and pitcher Kelvin Jimenez.
- The Cubs and Nationals swapped minor leaguers. The Cubs sent pitcher Matt Avery to the Nats for another pitcher named Ryan Buchter.
- Good stuff from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick – he surveyed 15 front-office people on the top stories of the offseason.
- One of a million conversations taking place at the GM meetings: Brian Cashman chatting with Walt Jocketty.
- Tony Massarotti’s top five lies told during free agency.
- Ken Davidoff names his top ten GMs.
- Joe Posnanski on the Mike Jacobs–Leo Nunez trade.
- River Ave. Blues explains why the Yankees should offer arbitration to Ivan Rodriguez.
- The official list of the 191 players eligible for free agency.
- The Braves hope to re-sign free agents Will Ohman, Greg Norton, and John Smoltz. The Smoltz situation may not be resolved until January.
- Tracy Ringolsby lists needs for every team.
- The Tigers signed an independent league lefty named Kris Regas to a minor league deal.
- John Shea says the Giants and A’s will consider the big-name free agent sluggers this winter.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers doesn’t see Manny Ramirez signing until Christmas time. He sees the New York and L.A. teams as suitors.
- Joe Sheehan proposes five radical offseason moves.
- The Cubs signed a couple of Korean players: catcher/outfielder Jae-hoon Ha and pitcher Soo-min Jung.
Odds and Ends: Byrnes, Teixeira, Swisher
Random links for Tuesday…
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman notes that a Cy Young award for Johan Santana would lock in his 2014 option at $25MM.
- Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball wonders if the Mets might end up signing Ivan Rodriguez.
- The Jays officially received Fabio Castro to complete the Matt Stairs deal. Buster Olney had this one in August.
- Bummer to see Larry Borowsky of Viva El Birdos stepping down from blogging. He’s been my favorite Cardinals writer.
- Nick Piecoro wonders if Eric Byrnes could be traded for another bad contract player like Luis Castillo.
- The Red Sox treated Mark Teixeira poorly when he was drafted as an 18 year-old. That will have no bearing this winter, though.
- From last Friday…Nick Swisher is frustrated with his lack of playing time in Chicago. Doesn’t make him trade bait, though.
Tigers Rumors: Leyland, Farnsworth, Renteria
The latest hot stove buzz around the Tigers…
- Manager Jim Leyland doesn’t expect the team to sign big-name free agents this winter. He even brought up the idea of signing minor-league free agents to help the ’09 club. As you know, it’s been rumored the Tigers may need to move Magglio Ordonez to get down to a targeted $100MM payroll.
- Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts got some nice coverage in the Detroit Free Press for his work cracking the Elias code. Jon Paul Morosi’s article centers on the likelihood of Kyle Farnsworth losing Type B status while Ivan Rodriguez maintains it. Edgar Renteria‘s Type A status is also noted. It’s not known whether the Yankees and Tigers will risk offering arbitration to Rodriguez and Renteria.
Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Williams, Tazawa
Today’s links…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Great stuff on the Pedro Alvarez situation from Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein. Goldstein’s source says the union will claim that the Pirates and MLB engaged in a premeditated conspiracy, perhaps designed to take Scott Boras out of the picture by negotiating past midnight. The article is subscription-only. At $40 a year, BP is well worth it.
- It seems that Type B status is slipping away for Tigers reliever Kyle Farnsworth. Ivan Rodriguez recently fell from A to B, but the Yankees may choose not to offer him arbitration.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis says Mariners top draft pick Joshua Fields wants $2MM, while the team is holding firm at $1.5MM. Fields is advised by Scott Boras.
- Interesting note from last week…Bernie Williams is training and does not consider himself retired.
- Patrick Newman discusses the Junichi Tazawa situation in-depth. He says NPB’s commissioner plans to meet with Bud Selig. One reason MLB looks extra-appealing to Tazawa: NPB limits draft pick bonuses to $1MM.
- Geoff Baker discusses Jose Guillen.
Odds and Ends: LaRoche, Bradley, Burnett
Digging into today’s random links…
- Joel Sherman looks at what went wrong for the Yankees this year. Did they fall too in love with their farm system?
- At least six teams have called the Pirates about third baseman Andy LaRoche in recent weeks. If LaRoche pans out and Pedro Alvarez comes aboard, the Bucs could have a surplus at some point.
- Craig Harris examines the rise of D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes.
- Eddie Bajek updated the Elias rankings for the AL 1B/OF/DH category. They’re fluctuating wildly. Eddie also did catchers for both leagues; Ivan Rodriguez is headed into Type B territory. Gregg Zaun lost Type B status.
- Mike Hindman conducted a roundtable asking what kind of contract the Rangers should offer Milton Bradley.
- 29 teams passed on Rays reliever Grant Balfour last spring. Now he has a 1.62 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 50 innings. Balfour’s been through a lot.
- Joe McDonald and Sean McAdam don’t see the Red Sox signing A.J. Burnett (or any big-name free agent starter).
- Padres CEO Sandy Alderson scoffed at the idea of a $40MM payroll for ’09. I never heard that figure tossed around; Buster Olney suggested the $50MM range.
- Maury Brown heard a rumor that Thomas Ricketts won the bid for the Cubs.
Cafardo’s Latest: Salty, Renteria, Pudge
Let’s take a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- The Red Sox are "intrigued" by Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (I believe they have been for some time). Jamey Newberg would like to see Clay Buchholz in a Rangers uniform, but admits the deal would have to be expanded.
- The Red Sox will not have to pay the $3MM buyout on Edgar Renteria if the Tigers decline his $11MM option for ’09. The free agent market for shorstops is weak, but the Tigers will probably look elsewhere given Renteria’s .269/.318/.375 showing.
- Cafardo wonders if Jason Bay or Matt Holliday will be on the Braves’ radar this winter (both are signed through ’09). You’d have to think the Sox will want to keep Bay. The Braves will have $30-40MM to spend, and Bobby Cox expects two starting pitchers to be added.
- Cafardo talked to a scout who feels Ivan Rodriguez still has something left to offer despite his poor performance for the Yankees. Ideally he’d sign a one-year deal. It won’t be with the Yankees; Jorge Posada noted that Pudge is "going to have to go somewhere else."