Phillies Notes: Werth, Quentin, Willingham
Let's check out some Phillies news courtesy of MLB.com's Todd Zolecki..
- For some time we have heard that the Phillies are not serious about keeping Jayson Werth as he is said to be seeking something similar to the seven-year, $120MM that Matt Holliday secured last winter. However, the Phillies could be in position to bring Werth back if his market falls and he instead looks for a deal in the range of four years.
- If Werth does not return to Philadelphia in 2011, the club likely won't sign someone to replace him if it's not a clear upgrade. There are several right fielders who will be available via free agency and trade, and one player that reportedly interests the Phillies is Carlos Quentin of the White Sox. However, Zolecki feels that he's not the strong right-handed bat the club wants and we learned last week that Chicago is not shopping him.
- Of the names that have been mentioned, Zolecki feels that Josh Willingham, Jeff Francoeur, and Matt Diaz make the most sense for the club as they are affordable and "ideal platoon players."
Stark On Tigers, Angels, Werth, Rangers
Teams have money to spend this offseason and ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark explains which clubs will spend more than others and what they’re going to devote their resources to. Here are the details:
- The Tigers, who announced the Victor Martinez signing today, are still “prowling” for a right-handed corner outfielder. Scott Boras clients Jayson Werth and Magglio Ordonez could be options for Detroit.
- One AL executive predicts that the Angels will “spend their butts off."
- Teams will be surprised if Carl Crawford doesn’t end up with the Angels, who could add Adrian Beltre, too.
- The Red Sox appear to be the favorites to sign Werth.
- Other clubs expect the Rangers to pursue Crawford or Zack Greinke if they can’t sign Cliff Lee.
- The Orioles, Nationals, A’s, Brewers and Pirates are also looking to spend this offseason.
Phillies To Offer Werth Arbitration, Not Durbin
The Phillies will offer arbitration to Jayson Werth, but not to Chad Durbin, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. There's no reason not to offer Werth arbitraiton. The Type A free agent will turn down the Phillies' offer in search of a multi-year deal, so Philadelphia stands to pick up two top picks for losing him.
The Phillies are interested in bringing Durbin, a Type B free agent, back, but they're reluctant to give him a significant raise. The right-hander earned $2.125MM in 2010 and would likely have earned more in 2011 through the arbitration process. If Durbin had turned down an offer of arbitration to sign elsewhere, the Phillies could have obtained a supplementary round pick in next year's draft.
Click here to vote on which Type A free agents will be offered arbitration and here to vote on which Type B free agents will be offered arbitration.
Stark On Cubs, Kemp, Werth, Quentin
ESPN's Jayson Stark leads his latest Rumblings and Grumblings with scouts' opinions on pitchers Jorge de la Rosa, Vicente Padilla, Carl Pavano, Brian Fuentes, Randy Choate, Joaquin Benoit, and Koji Uehara. His rumors:
- Adrian Gonzalez's labrum cleanup surgery downgrades the chances of an offseason trade considerably.
- The Cubs "seem a lot less inclined" to trade Kosuke Fukudome and Carlos Zambrano, though some clubs believe they'd discuss the latter. Stark says there's a vibe the Cubs will not go after Adam Dunn for their first base opening, instead looking for an above-average defender.
- One team official who kicked the tires says of the Dodgers, "They ain't trading Matt Kemp."
- The Phillies are far apart with Jayson Werth and are exploring right field replacements. They've done extensive groundwork on Chicago's Carlos Quentin, and are considering Jeff Francoeur or Jermaine Dye for lesser roles. The Red Sox, by the way, are not willing to spend $100MM on Werth.
Sherman On Crawford, Angels, Tigers, Greinke
In his latest Hardball piece for the New York Post, Joel Sherman previews the upcoming GM meetings and look specifically at what to expect for a few top free agents and trade targets. Here are some of the highlights:
- "Three teams with money will definitely be bidding" on Carl Crawford, according to an American League insider. Those three teams? The Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels.
- People around baseball expect the Angels to spend big this winter, with one of Sherman's sources indicating that it wouldn't surprise him to see the Halos end up with Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Adrian Beltre.
- Several executives believe the Tigers will make a play for two bats from the top tier of free agents, which includes Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adam Dunn, and Victor Martinez.
- Sherman predicts that Werth will sign a contract that lands somewhere in between the deals signed by Jason Bay and Matt Holliday a year ago. Five years and $90MM is the estimate from Sherman.
- According to an NL exec, a Zack Greinke trade may be unlikely because the Royals "are starting from a position of not wanting to trade [Greinke], and when you start there, it is hard to get anywhere." Still, Sherman names the Rangers as a team to watch in the Greinke sweepstakes, particularly if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere.
Poll: Are The Phillies Really Intent On Re-Signing Werth?
For some time now, the general consensus has been that Jayson Werth would be moving on in 2011 as the Phillies are not willing to dole out the money and years necessary to retain him. On Wednesday, a Phillies source told ESPN's Jayson Stark that there was "no chance" of the right fielder remaining in Philadelphia.
GM Ruben Amaro now says that he needs an answer from the 31-year-old quickly, a request that seems unlikely to be fulfilled by a Scott Boras client. Amaro wouldn't confirm or deny that the club has made Werth an offer but SI's Jon Heyman (via Twitter) hears that they are making a big push to keep him aboard.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Phillies' push to re-sign Werth is nothing more than a public relations move. The club, he says, wants to be able to say that they made the slugger a big offer and tried their best to hang on to him. Is the "big push" to keep the right-handed bopper nothing more than a PR ploy? We want to know your take on the situation.
Are the Phillies really intent on keeping Werth?
Phillies Want Quick Answer From Werth
8:48pm: The Phillies are "making [a] big push to keep Werth," tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.
7:13pm: Ruben Amaro is hoping to know soon if Jayson Werth is willing to return to the Phillies, reports Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I don't think it's something we're going to let go on for a while," Amaro said. "Hopefully we'll find out if he's a viable option to bring back in a short period of time. Regardless of what happens with Jayson, there are things we need to do."
ESPN's Jayson Stark heard from an unnamed Phillies source that there was "no chance" of Werth remaining a Phillie in 2011. Amaro denied being the source himself and said that the statement wasn't true, though he didn't confirm or deny if the club had already made Werth an offer. An early offer probably wouldn't make much difference since any high-profile Scott Boras client will thoroughly test the market before considering re-signing with his previous club.
The general consensus is that Werth will be playing elsewhere next season. To wit, in MLBTR's own free agency predictions list, none of our five writers believe Werth will re-sign with Philadelphia.
Stark On Greinke, Jeter, Phillies, Uggla
It's looking more and more likely that MLB will add a second wild card team to each league, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. He also has the latest rumblings from around the league; here they are:
- Clubs that have spoken to the Royals say Kansas City would only accept a bunch of front-line players for Zack Greinke. One of those players must be a pitcher with a Greinke-like ceiling, so GM Dayton Moore expects a lot for his ace.
- Clubs that have checked in with the Royals believe Greinke would veto a deal to any major market East Coast team. However, one official says the pitcher “would at least think about the L.A. clubs.”
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently suggested that the Yankees make Derek Jeter a Yankee for life with a 25-year contract that would keep him involved in the organization once his playing days end, but Stark hears that Jeter’s next deal will be “a baseball contract. Period.”
- A Phillies source summed up the chances of Jayson Werth returning to Philadelphia concisely: "No chance. None. Zero.
- "The Phillies are working aggressively to re-sign Jose Contreras, according to Stark.
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Stark that he has been working the phones this week. "We've made contact with 40 free agents, predominantly bullpen guys." He said. "Left-handed relief is a priority for us."
- Teams that have contacted the Marlins about Dan Uggla see definite signs that if extension talks don’t go anywhere, the second baseman could soon become trade bait.
Odds & Ends: Werth, A’s, Yankees, Berkman, D’Backs
A few more Saturday night links….
- SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) views Boston as the most likely landing spot for Jayson Werth.
- Billy Beane spoke to Athletics After Dark, discussing Eric Chavez, Mark Ellis, and the Athletics' offseason flexibility. You can listen to the podcast here.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News wonders about the Yankees' Plan B if they can't land Cliff Lee this winter.
- It may be painful, but not pursuing Lance Berkman is the right move for the rebuilding Astros, according to the Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic looks ahead to the Diamondbacks' first offseason under Kevin Towers, who says he has started making calls to agents about players of interest.
Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Red Sox, Simmons, Bush
We're now less than 12 hours away from the start of free agency. Here are some links to help you pass the time…
- The Diamondbacks have outrighted pitchers Leo Rosales and Clay Zavada off the 40-man roster according to the team's official Twitter feed.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe places odds on each of the Red Sox's four free agents returning the team.
- Larry Larue of The Tacoma Tribune reports that the Mariners have hired Ted Simmons as a senior advisor to GM Jack Zduriencik. Simmons was in the mix for various managerial jobs.
- The Rays have added Matt Bush, the first overall pick in 2004, to their 40-man roster according to The Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Bush would have been eligible for minor league free agency otherwise.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears from a source that Terry Collins is anywhere from "a strong candidate to the front-runner" for the Mets managerial job. Collins will interview with new GM Sandy Alderson this weekend, and has a backer in Fred Wilpon. He's also a favorite of Paul DePodesta, who Alderson is trying to lure to New York.
- Don Wakamatsu has plenty of job opportunities these days. FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that he has an offer to become the Blue Jays bench coach, an interview for the Mets manager's job forthcoming, and is also in the mix to be Baltimore's bench coach.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik unsurprisingly declined to comment about Hisashi Iwakuma two days ago, according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. Last night we heard that the Mariners appear to be the favorites to land the righty.
- Robert MacLeod of The Globe And Mail passes along a quote from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos in which he indicates a willingness to bringing Kevin Gregg back. He just wasn't comfortable with the price of the reliever's options, which is why they were declined.
- Scott Boras told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the Phillies "have the ability to do what they need to do to retain their players," referring to Jayson Werth. He compared Philadelphia's financial situation to that of the Yankees
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News offers some good and bad news about the Rangers' catching situation.
- Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle speculates that the Giants will keep an eye on Derek Jeter's negotiations with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean ran New York's farm system when Jeter was drafted, so there's a connection there in the unlikely event that he can't work out a deal with the Yanks.