Odds and Ends: Giambi, Saberhagen, Chacon
Today’s stray Winter Meetings links as everyone heads home…
- Jason Giambi maintains hopes of returning to the Yankees; he may be willing to take a discount.
- Dave Cameron believes the Rays won the Edwin Jackson–Matt Joyce swap, handily.
- Brett Saberhagen was hired as an agent for Dan Evans’ firm. He’ll focus on pitchers.
- Shawn Chacon‘s agent is trying to find his client a job. Troy Renck also notes that the Rockies’ offer to Glendon Rusch is a $750K minor league deal.
- Kevin Kaduk relays his first Winter Meetings experience.
Rays Met With Giambi
Marc Topkin says the Rays met with Jason Giambi Monday night, and even found photo evidence to prove it.
Giambi Not Signing Yet
4:48pm: Kat O’Brien talked to Giambi, who said, "Nothing’s getting done yet."
2:16pm: According to Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto:
Jason Giambi appears headed back to the Athletics as a free agent, and an announcement could come at the meetings as the first baseman/designated hitter lives in Las Vegas.
The report comes as a surprise, as other recent reports have said Giambi is low on the Oakland’s list of priorities.
Giambi Expects To Sign With A’s
According to Ken Rosenthal, Jason Giambi expects to sign with the A’s. However, a source of Rosenthal’s says Giambi is low on the A’s list of priorities. No word on whether Giambi really seeks a three-year deal.
Rays Rumors: Bradley, Rivera, Griffey
4:44pm: Mike DiGiovanna says the Rays are also believed to be interested in Juan Rivera.
3:14pm: Rosenthal adds that Bradley went to lunch today with Rays officials.
3:12pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Rays are "thought to be considering" Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, and Raul Ibanez. Heyman adds that Ken Griffey Jr. would be thrilled to play for the Rays.
I imagine the Rays will wait back until January in hopes of signing somebody to a one-year deal.
A’s Out Of Running For Furcal
According to Ken Rosenthal, Rafael Furcal declined the A’s contract proposal of four years in the $35-40MM range. The A’s then told Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer they’re moving on. Kinzer says the door is still open, but Rosenthal says the A’s won’t raise their offer. The A’s were thought to be Furcal’s most likely suitor after they wined and dined him in Oakland. Rosenthal ponders whether Furcal would be willing to play second base to expand his market.
The A’s will pencil in Bobby Crosby for another year while moving on to free agent targets such as Randy Johnson, Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, and Jason Giambi.
Olney’s Latest: Cano, Burnett, Furcal, Giambi
Good stuff from ESPN’s Buster Olney in today’s blog post.
- Olney says the Yankees would ask for Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw from the Dodgers for Robinson Cano. After the Dodgers turn down that request, the Yanks will ask for Matt Kemp. If the Yankees do move Cano, they could then pursue Orlando Hudson.
- Rival executives believe the Braves’ offer to A.J. Burnett is worth $75MM over five years, if the fifth year vests.
- The A’s will leave their offer to Rafael Furcal on the table for perhaps another two or three days before moving on.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik will reach out to Raul Ibanez to discuss his situation. Ibanez has been devalued in the eyes of potential suitors by the draft pick cost that comes with him. Still, most teams must’ve expected the Ms would offer arbitration.
- Jason Giambi‘s agent is suggesting a three-year deal. Good luck with that.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Johnson, Cano, Peavy
4:54pm: The Big Unit is open to the Giants or A’s, not a big surprise. Johnson’s agent says about ten teams have expressed interest, Giants included.
11:49am: Ken Rosenthal is working overtime; here’s his latest.
- The A’s remain the frontrunners for Rafael Furcal. Also, they’re targeting starter Randy Johnson to add a veteran presence to their rotation. Rosenthal adds that the A’s may prefer Nick Johnson over Jason Giambi.
- The Phillies made an offer to Derek Lowe, who seems to be their backup plan if they can’t sign Jamie Moyer. Rosenthal speculates that the Dodgers could consider Moyer. If the Phils sign Lowe, they may have to go cheap in left field.
- Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf are on the Yankees’ radar.
- The Braves haven’t ruled out five guaranteed years for A.J. Burnett. Rosenthal agrees with Mark Bowman that the Braves actually have little interest in Adam Dunn. He adds that Raul Ibanez might be out of their price range. Instead, the Braves could choose to trade Kelly Johnson for an outfielder.
- Rosenthal believes the Dodgers will renew talks for Robinson Cano at the Winter Meetings, and the Yankees will again ask for Matt Kemp.
- The Cubs are speaking daily to the Padres about Jake Peavy. Rosenthal says the Orioles do not seem to be the third team at this time.
- Rosenthal believes the Royals could make a run at Kyle Farnsworth.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Kawakami, Uehara, Giambi, Cabrera
It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon, but one gets the feeling there’s a major signing or trade lurking right around the corner. In the meantime, here are some odds and ends:
- Fox Sports’ Jeff Moore looks back at the top trades of the past three offseasons. His number one? Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota to Boston for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado and Harvey Garcia.
- The Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice says everyone knows Astros owner Dayton McLane has told GM Ed Wade "to keep the payroll at around $100 million," but "to keep the current team together would mean a $120-million payroll." Justice says McLane should ‘fess up about his financial shortcomings.
- SI’s John Donovan gives a shoutout to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, which is most writers’ go-to site for baseball contract info.
- NPB Tracker, a site that reads Japanese baseball articles and distills them into bite-size English nuggets, says the Rangers are interested in Kenshin Kawakami, while Koji Uehara is practicing throwing a Major League ball (which is slightly larger than the ball they use in Japan).
- DRays Bay wants the Rays to sign Jason Giambi.
- MASN’s Roch Kubatko says, "The Orioles still haven’t decided what to do with pitcher Daniel Cabrera, but they have until Dec. 12 to figure it out. That’s when they’ll need to tender him a contract and risk going to arbitration, or turn him loose and hope he doesn’t evolve into another Curt Schilling."
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.
A’s Interested In Nick Johnson, Jason Giambi
3:06pm: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has more. She says the A’s checked in on Johnson a month ago, and they’re looking into multiple first base/DH types that fit the affordable/solid OBP mold. Slusser believes Jason Giambi remains the A’s top target, assuming he backs off his three-year demand. She adds that the A’s want to keep Daric Barton and get him back on track.
12:59pm: MLB.com’s Bill Ladson talked to a baseball source who says the A’s received Johnson’s medical records but trade talks have not yet begun. Ladson’s source added that several other teams have Johnson’s records as well.
9:33am: I missed this nugget in Ken Rosenthal’s column last night, but fortunately DRays Bay found it:
The A’s have requested and received the medical records of Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson, who underwent season-ending wrist surgery last June.
On paper, adding Matt Holliday, Rafael Furcal, and Johnson would transform Oakland’s offense. Of course, Furcal and Johnson are injury risks. Johnson is set to earn $5.5MM in ’09 after missing most of the ’08 season. The asking price for him can’t be terribly high, yet he’s capable of a .400 OBP and would benefit from the chance to DH occasionally.
I initially had a note here about Jim Bowden and Billy Beane matching up in ’03 on the Jose Guillen–Aaron Harang trade, but I just read that Bowden was fired a few days before the deal.