Odds and Ends: Lugo, Murton, Scherzer
A handful of random links…
- Josh Kalk did a guest post at RotoAuthority, using PITCHf/x data to analyze C.C. Sabathia‘s early struggles.
- Nick Cafardo comments on Julio Lugo‘s unimpressive Red Sox career, noting that Jed Lowrie is nipping at his heels. Is there any chance the Sox consider guys like Orlando Cabrera or Rafael Furcal this winter?
- Christina Kahrl believes leaving Matt Murton in Triple A was the right move.
- White Sox beat reporter Joe Cowley explains that real baseball is different from fantasy baseball.
- The Scherzer Watch begins, especially for fantasy leaguers.
- Joe Sports Fan offers their list of the seven worst baseball contracts.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Crisp, Murton, Lowrie
Ken Rosenthal, your favorite hot stove reporter, has a new article up. Let’s discuss.
- The Red Sox seem inclined to keep Coco Crisp unless they’re blown away with an offer. Jayson Stark noted last week that the Sox don’t want to eat any of the $11MM owed to him.
- The Rays still like Matt Murton, and are not content with Nathan Haynes as their only outfield acquisition. Rosenthal says the Cubs are asking for a lot for the 26 year-old, who is hitting .333/.487/.333 in 30 Triple A at-bats.
- Rosenthal notes that Jed Lowrie is pretty well blocked in Boston with their infielders signed through at least 2010. Could bring something nice in trade.
Latest Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 2:54pm: Jon Heyman puts the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets as the three leading suitors for Johan. Matthew Cerrone, however, believes the Rangers, rather than the Yanks, are the third leading suitor.
FROM 12-11-07 at 8:52am:
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest buzz surrounding the Johan Santana trade talks.
The Red Sox and Twins talked yesterday, and the Twins are leading toward Jacoby Ellsbury rather than Jon Lester. Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson would also be included, and the sides are trying to figure out a fourth player.
The Yanks and Twins haven’t talked much lately, but apparently Kei Igawa‘s name has come up in the talks. He can’t have much trade value in the Twins’ eyes.
Christensen implies that the Mets might be trying to finish second here, staying involved for the sake of PR.
Christensen also notes that the Twins are fond of Jered Weaver, and the Angels could jump in if they decide to use their trade chips on another starter.
Also, the idea of the Twins including another player on their end has come up. In the past Joe Nathan has been mentioned, but Christensen is referring more to Twins’ prospects. They don’t have much in the system though.
Johan Santana Rumors: Tuesday
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:00pm: LENIII says that despite their public proclamations, the Yanks haven’t told the Twins they’re out on Johan. Neal recommends you go to bed anyway.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:28: A new team is in the mix for Johan, but barely. The Rangers talked to the Twins today about what it would take, but they’re not expected to pursue it much further.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:05pm: Talks are expected to re-open in about an hour, after the execs have dinner.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 8:21pm: Theo Epstein expects negotiations with the Twins to carry "well into the night." He says the Red Sox are being flexible, so it sounds like they’ll hammer something out.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 7:50pm: Not much to report here. Twins and Sox still haggling, per LENIII.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 7:09pm: Hank is sticking to his story, that the Yanks’ deadline for a Santana deal has passed.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:02pm: All the Santana-Angels stuff is bogus, according to GM Tony Reagins.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 4:28pm: Per Will Carroll at Baseball Prospectus: Santana to Boston is "all but done" with Lester, Masterson, and Kalish in the package.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 4:25pm: Stark says the Angels and Twins continue to talk Santana, with many of the youngsters earmarked for Cabrera being mentioned. Seems the Halos have shifted gears from Cabrera to Johan even though they have no need for starters.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 4:14pm: Hey, it’s been a few minutes without a Johan update. A Red Sox source told Gordon Edes he’s not buying that the Yankees are out on Santana. I heard the exact same thing from my own Winter Meetings source – my guy says the Yanks fully expect to hear back from the Twins about a final offer later tonight.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:26pm: The Yankees, who rarely have kept their word lately, have closed the door on Johan talks.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:08pm: The Twins want to get this thing done by day’s end. 700 reporters just sighed in relief.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:51pm: Per Peter Gammons, this baby is getting closer and is now a 5-for-1 deal. The addition is outfielder Ryan Kalish.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:12pm: Phil Miller heard some speculation that the Twins could throw in another player on their side to make this thing work.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:04pm: According to Sean McAdam, the Twins will also meet with the Angels this afternoon to discuss Santana. The Twins would want Jered Weaver and Brandon Wood for starters. McAdam says the Red Sox and Twins haven’t spoken since this morning. Meanwhile Joe Christensen says there’s lobby buzz about the Red Sox/Twins deal becoming a 5-for-1.
Peter Abraham chimes in, saying the Yankees have made their final offer and the Twins would have to approach them now. That’s one way to frame it; Joel Sherman says it’s more that the Yankees just won’t get a chance to top Boston’s best offer. The Yankees left off pushing Hughes/Cabrera/Marquez/Alberto Gonzalez.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:15pm: ESPN Peter Gammons says the Twins are trying to decide between a 3-for-1 (Ellsbury/Lowrie/Masterson) or a 4-for-1 (Lester/Crisp/Lowrie/Masterson). No contract negotiations with the Red Sox and Santana’s agent have taken place yet.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:08pm: The Boston Globe has an update, basically saying negotiations are to resume this afternoon between the Red Sox and Twins. It’s still not known whether the Twins will take an Ellsbury package or the Lester one. Meanwhile WFAN’s Sweeny Murti expects the Red Sox to send Lester, Crisp, and two others for Johan.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:02pm: Jon Heyman says the Red Sox will enhance their offer one more time to get this thing done. It still won’t include both Lester and Ellsbury.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:13am: Not sure when this morning he wrote it, but George King still thinks the Yankees are the favorite for Johan. Peter Abraham quotes Hank as saying the Yanks are done talking to the Twins about Santana, for now.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:59am: Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has an update. The Red Sox looked at Lester’s medical records and saw no issues. There are two different possible scenarios/packages of players still in play. None include Ellsbury and Lester/Buchholz. Masterson and/or Lowrie are expected to be in there one way or another.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 8:34am: LENIII is hearing the four players are Lester, Crisp, Lowrie, and Masterson – same as Gordon Edes said.
FROM 12-4-07 at 7:31am:
It was a long Monday with all the twists and turns you’d expect in the Johan Santana talks. Here’s the latest, which will surely be updated throughout the day.
The Red Sox and Twins called it a night around 2am CST, but Gordon Edes thinks the Red Sox are close and a deal could be announced this morning. The Twins looked at Jon Lester‘s medical records; the Red Sox reviewed Santana’s. The supposed deal right now is Coco Crisp, Justin Masterson, Jed Lowrie, and Lester. Not bad but it would represent a concession by the Twins. If an agreement is reached, the Red Sox still need to pull off a contract extension.
Ed Price has a different take on Boston’s offer – his source says it’s Lester, Crisp, Ellsbury, and Lowrie. It would be odd to see two center fielders included, but there you go.
Meanwhile Mark Feinsand says the Yankees are moving on to Dan Haren. Brian Cashman will probably find equal if not bigger demands coming from Billy Beane.
Rockies Rumors: Fuentes, Fogg
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:28am: More from Renck. He confirms the Red Sox’ interest in Fuentes and adds the Astros to the mix. While the Rox like Burke, the teams don’t really match up because that’s not enough.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:01am: The Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck has more.
- Brian Anderson – remember him? – is on the radar as a lefty swingman. The 35 year-old hasn’t pitched in the bigs since ’05.
- Renck ponders whether the Rox might revisit talks for Matt Morris, a sentiment echoed by Jenifer Langosch.
- Nothing seems to be imminent on the Fuentes-Lowrie rumor.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:21pm: A suitor for Fuentes has emerged. ESPN’s Amy Nelson says the Red Sox are interested and the Rockies could seek Jed Lowrie. Lowrie would be a nice fit at second base.
FROM 12-3-07 at 8:28pm:
MLB.com’s Thomas Harding checks in with some Rockies nuggets.
- The Rockies have no pressing need to trade Brian Fuentes, so they’ll sit pretty with two closers unless an impressive and helpful offer comes along. Dan O’Dowd believes four or five clubs might have the goods and need to get Fuentes. We’ll see.
- The Rox let Josh Fogg‘s agent know they’d like to explore bringing him back. No figures were exchanged.
- The team still hopes to bring LaTroy Hawkins back, but they’d have to go to two years to pull that off. They already chose not to exercise an effective $3.5MM option on him. It seems the Rockies may have underestimated the interest in Hawkins.
Red Sox Leading For Santana?
UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 10:30pm: The Yankees’ offer stands at Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and maybe Jose Tabata. Phil Hughes is a big upgrade over Kennedy, and the Twins are insisting on him. Meanwhile the Red Sox are still pushing Coco Crisp while the Twins are holding out for Jacoby Ellsbury. If one of the teams cracks on Hughes or Ellsbury this thing might get done.
UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 8pm: Despite what Jon Heyman said, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo seems to think the Red Sox are still in the lead for Santana. It would be the package named below by Olney. Nothing is done yet, as Santana’s agent hasn’t been approached about an extension. Meanwhile Cafardo indicates that the Yankees may part with Robinson Cano after all. One other note: Peter Gammons suggests that the Sox would have to redo Josh Beckett’s reasonable deal if they acquire Santana and give him $20MM+.
UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 2:50pm: Buster Olney suggests the same package as Walters from the Red Sox, except with Michael Bowden rather than Masterson. However the fourth player is still undetermined. He also notes that the Yankees are simultaneously talking to the Twins.
UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 1pm: The Boston Herald has a bit more. Basically the Red Sox are only willing to include one of Ellsbury/Buchholz/Lester, while the Twins want two from that group.
FROM 11-29-07 at 8:30am:
Shooter Charley Walters is back with a new column of rumors and whatnot. Remember, Walters was the one saying the Garza for Delmon rumor wouldn’t die.
- Despite the exclusion of Jacoby Ellsbury, Walters says the Red Sox have the lead in the Johan Santana sweepstakes. The package would be Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, Jon Lester, and Justin Masterson. Not a bad haul. I was thinking Lowrie might become a target of the Twins.
- The following clubs are interested in Carlos Silva: Tigers, Mets, Phillies, and Royals. None of those teams are new.
- The amount of cash each club is getting this year for online media properties like MLB.com sites: $25MM. And don’t forget the Twins get about $20MM in revenue sharing. Maybe that’s why they have interest in Aaron Rowand.
Red Sox Emerge As Top Buehrle Suitor
Here’s something we didn’t see coming. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Red Sox have emerged as the frontrunner for southpaw Mark Buehrle. They’ve jumped ahead of the Braves and Mets on the strength of their farm system.
Cowley says talks between Buehrle and the White Sox regarding an extension are basically dead. Now Boston has taken center stage, even sending assistant GM Allard Baird to watch Buehrle’s last start (a typical fine effort from him).
Cowley believes a major motivation for the Red Sox is keeping Buehrle away from the Yankees. The Red Sox would apparently give him a five year extension. Possible targets for Kenny Williams: Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jed Lowrie. In my opinion: two of those guys, done deal. Buchholz is arguably the best pitching prospect in the minors, and would make White Sox fans forget about Buehrle fairly quickly.
Williams plans to sit back and listen to all offers first, of course. According to Cowley, at least seven teams have made serious contact.