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Discussion: Pat Burrell

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Pat Burrell's move to the American League did not go as smoothly as he or the Rays hoped.  Burrell left the World Series-winning Phillies to sign a two-year, $16MM free agent contract with Tampa Bay last January, and then suffered through a season's worth of injuries and inconsistency to finish with a career-worst .682 OPS (.221/.315/.367) in 476 plate appearances.

With $9MM due to Burrell in 2010, the Rays have been openly shopping the slugger this winter.  Rumors of a deal of Burrell-for-Milton Bradley swirled for months before the Cubs dealt Bradley to Seattle last week.  With seemingly their best trade option gone, it appears as if Tampa Bay will go into next season with Burrell back in the DH spot — which, if 2009 was just an aberration, might not be a bad option given Burrell's 251 homers and .852 OPS over his first nine years in Philadelphia.

If the Rays still want to move Burrell and save some cash, however, here are a few of the clubs that are in need of a DH/LF type and might have the payroll flexibility to absorb some or all of Burrell's contract.

  • The Mets.  Should they give up on signing Jason Bay (or lose him to the Red Sox), New York would still have a hole to fill in left field.  The downside of Burrell going to a National League team, however, is his glove.  He played just two games in the outfield last season, and according to Fangraphs, his defense ranged from mediocre to terrible (a -25.2 UZR/150 in 2007) over his last four years in Philadelphia.
  • The Cardinals.  Just as Burrell is a backup plan for the Mets if they don't sign Bay, he can also be a backup plan for St. Louis if they don't sign Matt Holliday.
  • The Braves.  Atlanta's biggest offseason need was a right-handed power hitter.  While they are close to a deal with Troy Glaus, Glaus made just 32 plate appearances in 2009 after undergoing shoulder surgery last January.  Burrell is perhaps a more reliable option, and may regain his batting stroke back in the NL East.  
  • The White Sox.  Ozzie Guillen likes the idea of a rotating designated hitter, but GM Kenny Williams didn't close the door on the possibility of picking up an everyday DH if the right opportunity presented itself.
  • The Giants.  Mark DeRosa may be coming in as San Francisco's new left fielder, but Burrell could be an interesting alternative should DeRosa not accept the Giants' offer.  Or, the power-starved Giants could acquire Burrell to play in left, and then sign DeRosa to play third base, thus moving Pablo Sandoval over to first.  (Or, Sandoval plays 1B, DeRosa plays 2B and Freddy Sanchez moves over to 3B.)  If the Rays pay some of Burrell's contract, then he is a much cheaper option for San Francisco than Johnny Damon.

Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday

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6:32pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post is critical of how the Mets have handled negotiations with Bay.  He said "the Mets are losing their dignity" by spending so much of their offseason time and energy in pursuit of a player "who clearly has major concerns" about coming to New York.  Sherman suggests that the Mets should set a 24-hour deadline for Bay to accept their contract offer, and if he doesn't, the club should look at other left field options.  Sherman thinks that a player like Jack Cust would be a wiser, lower-cost signing who could provide similar power numbers. 

12:00pm: The Jason Bay to Boston rumors aren't exactly gaining momentum. An ESPNBoston.com article classifies the chances of a Bay return as a "long shot," while SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Red Sox would probably only consider Bay for less ("maybe much less") than the Mets' best offer. Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston adds (via Twitter) that Mike Cameron's agent hasn't heard anything about the Sox pursuing another left fielder.

8:36am: In yesterday's round of Jason Bay rumblings, we heard that there could potentially be a renewed mutual interest between Bay and the Boston Red Sox. Today, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe hears that the pairing would not be inconceivable, but that there are a couple of roadblocks: The Red Sox would have to extend their budget, after committing $15.5MM to Mike Cameron, and a potential contract would probably need to be heavily backloaded.

ESPN.com's Buster Olney agrees with that assessment, since a source tells him that the Red Sox have less than $5MM left in spending money. He writes that signing Bay would mean the Sox either blowing up their budget or having to move a contract or two.

As for the Mets' four-year offer that's still on the table, Olney says that the Mets are feeling more and more like Bay doesn't want to play for them, and are making alternative plans. Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks it wouldn't be the end of the world if the Mets refused to increase their offer to Bay and he ended up elsewhere.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Valverde, Phillies, Hanrahan

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Just because it's Christmas Eve doesn't mean the hot stove is taking a holiday. Let's check out some links….

Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday

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10:48pm: The Red Sox might also be looking into extending an offer to free agent Matt Holliday, reports Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald.  However, Silverman notes that signing Bay, let alone the more expensive Holliday, would be difficult.

7:31pm: The Mets have not heard from Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, in the last couple of days, a team official tells Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.  The same official says not to expect the club to ink Bay or Bengie Molina before Christmas.

In other Mets news, Carlos Delgado's delay in returning to baseball via the Puerto Rican winter league is apparently a result of issues related to the hip surgery he had last summer.

6:48pm: Boston has had internal discussions about extending their organizational budget to potentially allow for another offer to be made to Jason Bay, a team source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.  The discussed proposal would be in the vicinity of the four-year, $60MM deal originally pitched to the slugger.

It was widely thought that the signings of John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron spelled the end of Bay's tenure with the Red Sox as the club is now teetering on the edge of the $170MM luxury tax threshold.

Olney On Mets, Chapman, Duchscherer

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Mets would still like to sign Jason Bay, but are considering alternatives in case the left fielder's demands don't match their budget. Instead of signing Bay, the Mets could spread their resources and sign a number of the many available free agents. The Mets could obtain lots with the $15-22MM they have available, so Olney envisions some possible solutions. Here are a couple more hot stove notes:

  • Aroldis Chapman should sign for more than the $15.67MM that Stephen Strasburg obtained, even though scouts aren't uniformly impressed with the Cuban lefty and wonder if he might end up as a reliever. Chapman is on the open market, while Strasburg could only negotiate with one team. Other clubs tell Olney that the Yankees didn't have much of a presence at Chapman's workout last week.
  • Olney hears that the A's could bring Justin Duchscherer back. The right-hander may sign soon.

Javier Vazquez Trade Reactions

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Javier Vazquez was traded for the fifth time in his 12-season career today, and we've collected reactions.

  • Braves GM Frank Wren told reporters that Melky Cabrera is a nice fit, but he's still looking for offense.  David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the $8MM or so saved by the Braves probably won't go toward Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, but he wonders if they'll try for Adrian Gonzalez.  We've got more on potential bats for the Braves here.
  • ESPN's Keith Law says the Braves were "lucky to get a young pitcher as good as Arodys Vizcaino," as he feels this trade was basically a salary dump.  Law believes the Braves' Kenshin Kawakami signing in January was unnecessary, and that led to this Vazquez trade.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post has pretty much every Yankees angle covered.  Vazquez was simply the best available option for them.  The Yanks' payroll is up around $198MM against a $200MM target, though trading Sergio Mitre and/or Chad Gaudin would free up a little cash.  The Yanks will try to snag a veteran left fielder at a bargain rate, and aren't considering Holliday or Bay.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman confirmed that he won't be adding a big piece (MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reporting).  Chad Jennings of The LoHud Journal has quotes from Vazquez from the conference call.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Rays, Orioles, and Blue Jays should just give up now.

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Duchscherer, Chapman

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Some links for your Tuesday…

Outfield Options For The Braves

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The Braves have Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera, Jordan Schafer, Jason Heyward and Matt Diaz under team control next year, but they could still go after an outfielder.

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says the Braves saved about $9MM by dealing Javier Vazquez. Jason Bay is too pricey for them, but Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady could be fits. As an alternative to free agency, Stark suggests the Braves could deal an outfielder for a bat (he mentions Dan Uggla as a possible trade target).

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Braves and Yankees both say Bay and Matt Holliday are too expensive. Both teams are interested in Mark DeRosa, and Rosenthal says we shouldn't rule out Marlon Byrd for either club. The Braves would prefer to sign a right-handed hitter like DeRosa or Byrd, but could still bring back lefty-hitting first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday

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9:45am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says (via Twitter) that Bay, Johnny Damon and Matt Holliday remain too expensive for the Yankees.

8:49am: There were indications that Jason Bay and his representatives were active yesterday, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Mets, who are bidding against themselves at the moment, are hesitant to expand their four year offer unless they know which other teams are interested.

The Red Sox never budged from a four-year offer because of concerns about Bay's shoulder and knee, Silverman says. They're not frontrunners to re-sign the left fielder now, but it's too early to rule the Red Sox and Yankees out completely.

Yesterday, we heard that the Mets' offer to Bengie Molina may hinge on their negotiations with Bay, so Bay's decision will influence more than just the outfield market.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Giants, Nationals

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Lots to get to as we round out another Hot Stove Monday…

  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has the backstory on Mike Lowell, his thumb injury and the trade that wasn't. Lowell expects to be ready for baseball activities by the first week of spring training, but has no idea if that will be with Boston or another team.
  • MLB.com's Chris Haft answers mail from Giants' fans. He says, among other things, that the Giants are reluctant to trade Jonathan Sanchez straight-up for Dan Uggla-as well they should be.
  • Washington Post Nationals beat reporter Chico Harlan weighs in on the Jason Marquis signing, noting that Marquis has more career victories than the other starters on the Washington 40-man roster combined.
  • AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price says that "All we hear out of the Mets camp is that they don't want to be bidding against themselves. Well, the fact of the matter is, the Mets might just have to bid against themselves." This is hard to understand, considering that Jason Bay and Bengie Molina certainly aren't likely to sit out the season rather than accept offers from the Mets.
  • Lyle Spencer of MLB.com speculates about what it would take for the Angels to acquire Derek Lowe.
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