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."
Schulman On The Giants
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle gives us a look at what the Giants’ offseason plans look like right now.
- For one, they’d like to upgrade at shortstop. However, the Giants’ current pursuit of Rafael Furcal would be "impacted," says Schulman, by any deal that sends Jake Peavy to Atlanta. It’s expected the Braves would get in on the bidding for Furcal if Peavy were acquired. By "impacted," I’m going to assume this means the Giants would be much less interested in the free agent shortstop.
- Second, they need an impact bat for the middle of the order. There seems to be "some dialog" between the Giants and Brewers regarding Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy. However, Schulman notes that teams across the league, the Brewers included, are hesitant to give up everyday players in exchange for anything but top-tier pitching.
- As for pitching, the Giants are keeping an eye on Japanese starting pitcher Kenshin Kawakami, and will give Keiichi Yabu another shot at a spot in the bullpen this spring.
Brown on Sabathia, Teixeira, Lowe, Peavy
In his latest article, Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports considers a possibility that others have discussed: maybe C.C. Sabathia doesn’t want to play for the New York Yankees. He certainly has options–Brown’s list includes the Dodgers, Angels, White Sox, Red Sox, Mariners, Tigers, and of course, the Brewers.
Not signing C.C. would increase the likelihood that the Yankees make a serious offer to Mark Teixeira. Nick Swisher seems to have the starting job at first base for now, but failing to land Sabathia might shift the Yankees’ attention to all three of Teixeira, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, says Brown.
Lowe might take his time before signing a new deal this offseason, with the news that Scott Boras is looking for the same average annual value obtained previously by Barry Zito ($18MM).
Finally, Brown notes that Padres GM Kevin Towers is waiting to hear from the Cubs about the possibility of continued trade talks regarding Jake Peavy, now that Ryan Dempster has been signed.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Giles, Beimel
Links for Wednesday…
- You can hear me on Lenny Melnick’s radio show at about 7:15pm CST.
- The Marlins could be an interesting long shot for Raul Ibanez, but he’d have to leave significant money on the table.
- Indians manager Eric Wedge really wants the team to bring in a closer.
- George King likes Jason Giambi for the Rays; Cork Gaines imagines the negotiations.
- Jesse Spector talking to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who wasn’t in a revealing mood.
- Tony Massarotti expects the Red Sox to make a huge offer to Mark Teixeira.
- Padres outfielder Brian Giles doesn’t expect to be traded this winter. If the team is in the tank next summer he might approve a deal, perhaps contingent on a contract extension.
- Jacob Jackson says Kevin Towers has handled the Jake Peavy negotiations poorly so far.
- Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky could end up in Baltimore’s front office.
- Bernie Williams is still not ready to retire.
- Derrick Goold believes the Cardinals have $17-21MM to spend.
- At least six clubs are in on Joe Beimel. The Tigers are one, while the Cardinals, Rockies, and Mets may be others.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday
Dan Hayes of the North County Times talked to Jake Peavy‘s agent Barry Axelrod, who said there are "probably six or eight more teams we’d be willing to look at" beyond Peavy’s initial preferred five.
Some suggest the Cubs are still in play; MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat says talks have ended. No other team is generating buzz. The Braves certainly have the goods, if they’re willing to up their offer (and give Peavy a full no-trade clause).
Cubs Rumors: Marquis, Furcal, Peavy
The Cubs re-signed Ryan Dempster yesterday; what’s next? They’ve got one of the game’s most expensive rotations, yet could add another starter. They’re also projecting to exceed a $130MM payroll, so GM Jim Hendry will need to be creative.
- Joel Sherman expects the Cubs to try to trade Jason Marquis, who is owed $9.875MM in 2009.
- Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times runs through the options for a lefthanded/switch-hitting bat.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says the Cubs spoke to Rafael Furcal‘s agent, though nothing is serious yet. Furcal was very nearly a Cub in 2006. Sullivan says the Cubs are still in on Jake Peavy and Randy Johnson.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers said yesterday (before the Dempster signing) that it was down to just the Cubs in the Peavy talks. Towers says a third or fourth team would be necessary to find a match on players.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Burnett, Lowe, Peavy
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal.
- Rosenthal says reports of the Blue Jays’ four-year, $54MM offer to A.J. Burnett are inaccurate – they’ve yet to make a proposal. He’s on board with Kat O’Brien’s info from yesterday, noting Boston’s interest.
- Scott Boras is apparently telling teams he wants "a Zito-type contract" for righty Derek Lowe. Lowe is 35, while Zito was 28. Is Boras implying that he wants $18MM a year? Obviously Lowe will not find a seven-year offer. ESPN’s Buster Olney says Boras wants five years for Lowe.
- The Padres told the Yankees a Jake Peavy deal is possible even without Phil Hughes. They’ve scouted Hughes anyway, but he’s off-limits.
- The Rockies will sit back and listen on Garrett Atkins and Huston Street. They don’t plan on signing a free agent to replace Matt Holliday.
- The Mets want to add a righthanded bat, though they’re not high on Pat Burrell.
Towers: Peavy To Braves Could Still Happen
Now that the Cubs have essentially taken themselves out of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes by signing free agent pitcher Ryan Dempster, Padres GM Kevin Towers is looking for a new trade partner.
MLB.com’s Corey Brock reminds us that "Towers indicated Monday that the Cubs were essentially his sole focus as far as discussions to trade Peavy, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner."
Now the Padres may try to rekindle talks with the Braves:
Towers wouldn’t rule out the possibility of circling back around to the Braves, who last week said they were moving on after a deal couldn’t be reached.
"You never know … we certainly made more progress with them," Towers said. "We were able to ID and agree upon a large part of the package."
The Braves have always been the logical landing place for Peavy. Atlanta GM Frank Wren said recently that he had given up on trading for the Padres ace.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.
Cubs Re-Sign Dempster
3:45pm: ESPN is reporting details of the contract. Dempster gets a $4 million signing bonus, $8MM in 2009, $12.5MM in 2010, $13.5MM in 2011, and a $14MM player option for 2012. He can make additional money based on awards. Looks like the Cubs backloaded the deal to leave payroll room.
11:51am: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times also says there’s a four-year, $52MM agreement and Dempster will sign the deal today. I consider this an acceptable price. There’s a health risk, but Dempster already had Tommy John surgery. He can probably maintain an ERA below 4.00.
11:47am: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger has a source saying the Cubs and Dempster have agreed on a four-year, $52MM deal.
11:24am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Cubs are "making progress" on a deal with Dempster.
10:50am: Rosenthal says the deal would be worth "slightly more than $50 million."
9:53am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs are close to re-signing Ryan Dempster to a four-year contract. Depending on their ownership situation, the Cubs may still pursue Jake Peavy or Randy Johnson. They could also be in the mix for Rafael Furcal.
Yankees Rumors: Abreu, Burnett, Teixeira
George King of the New York Post and Kat O’Brien of Newsday have the latest on the Yankees, who are in hot pursuit of free agent starting pitching.
- The Yankees will offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu, according to Jon Heyman. No surprise there.
- King says the Yankees are preparing an offer for A.J. Burnett, "perhaps a five-year deal worth about $80 million." Burnett’s agent says they’re just discussing parameters. It would be a strong offer, dwarfing the Blue Jays’ four years, $54MM. ESPN’s Buster Olney believes a fifth guaranteed year will ultimately result in the winning bid for Burnett.
- The Yankees may make an offer to Derek Lowe soon; they’ve reached out to Scott Boras regarding him. Other Lowe suitors: the Dodgers, Red Sox, Mets, and Rangers. O’Brien adds that the Yanks expressed interest in Mark Teixeira to Boras (despite the Nick Swisher acquisition). The Orioles are also in on in Tex.
- King talked to a "baseball exec" who sees the Cubs re-signing Ryan Dempster at four years, $52MM.
- Andy Pettitte‘s agent doesn’t want a pay cut from this year’s $16MM.
- The expectation is still for Mike Mussina to retire; we may know this week.
- The Yankees aren’t in on Jake Peavy, as evidenced by Kevin Towers’ comments last night. Rick Sutcliffe and Mark Grace have been pitching the Cubs to Peavy, though the hangup seems more about which players the Chicago would send to San Diego.
- The Yanks have an offer of about six years, $140MM on the table for C.C. Sabathia, and he’s mulling it over (somewhere).