Braves Talk: Infante, Francoeur
MLB.com's Mark Bowman has a new blog post about the Braves' current situation.
- Utility man Omar Infante is out six to eight weeks after Manny Corpas broke a bone in his hand with a fastball. There is a trickle-down effect on the trade market – the Braves have less depth now, and probably can't move a guy like Kelly Johnson.
- Bowman adds that the Braves are likely to shop Jeff Francoeur, but the prospects are grim given his performance in recent times. The Braves are still hurting for power at the corner outfield spots.
Odds & Ends: Boras, Francoeur, Cubs
Links for Tuesday…
- This week's chat will be held tomorrow at 2pm CST.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo discusses the Scott Boras effect on this year's draft, while Baseball America's John Manuel provides a draft overview.
- SI's Tom Verducci explains why the Rangers are for real. At 23-14, they're in first place (4 games ahead of the Angels).
- Andrew Beaton of Hot Foot provides a rebuttal to The Jonathan Sanchez Paradox: Oliver Perez.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta talks about recently acquired shortstop Josh Wilson.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman writes about the Jeff Francoeur situation.
- According to Ameet Sachdev of the Chicago Tribune, actors Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, and John Cusack have met separately with Tom Ricketts about investing in the Cubs.
- RotoAuthority looks at the groundball rate leaderboard…did you know Gil Meche is second?
Braves Avoid Arb With Jeff Francoeur
According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, the Braves avoided arbitration with outfielder Jeff Francoeur by signing him at $3.375MM for ’09. He can earn another $25K in incentives. The two parties settled at the midpoint of their submissions, though most expected Francoeur to lose his case after a dismal ’08. The deal marks the conclusion of Atlanta’s arbitration cases for ’09.
Francoeur Not Budging In Arb Case
According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, "there is a growing belief" that the Braves will not be able to avoid arbitration with Jeff Francoeur.
Francoeur’s hearing is currently scheduled for Friday, February 20. He requested a salary of $3.95MM and the Braves countered with $2.8MM. Bowman does a fine job explaining the Braves’ thinking:
Simply making an uncomfortable salary concession to avoid having to air dirty laundry in front of an arbitrator would further diminish the available funds Braves general manager Frank Wren is attempting to utilize while satisfying his roster needs.
Francoeur, 25, hit just .239/.294/.359 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI in 599 at-bats last season.
Reds Rumors: Rhodes, Reyes, Francoeur
10:18pm: Mike Berardino says the D’Backs are one of the other two Rhodes finalists.
TUESDAY, 4:37pm: Rhodes’ agent says he should make a decision within 24-48 hours. It’s down to the Reds plus two unknown teams.
MONDAY, 10:52pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Reds "may have some interest in Jeff Francoeur." However, the Braves don’t want to move him.
8:35pm: A few Reds rumors this evening…
- The Reds met with the agents for Jerry Hairston Jr. and David Weathers and will meet again tonight. Weathers is already a Red for ’09 after accepting arb, but his salary has yet to be determined.
- The Reds still have an offer to Arthur Rhodes on the table.
- Also on the lefty reliever front, the Reds have had talks with Dennys Reyes‘ agent.
Francoeur-Greinke Rumor Shot Down
3:05pm: As expected, Dayton Moore shot this down.
1:38pm: ESPN’s Steve Phillips says there’s nothing to this rumor.
9:01am: From: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe:
According to one National League executive, the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves have had serious discussions about a trade that would send outfielder Jeff Francouer to the Royals for pitcher Zack Greinke. The same source said he believed the teams were close to executing the deal, but that Atlanta was holding up any and all trade discussions until the Braves had a resolution of their pursuit of right-hander A.J. Burnett.
I’d be surprised to see this happen without the Braves adding significant pitching to their offer for Greinke. But in general I am skeptical that anything like this is close, even given the Burnett contingency. We probably would’ve heard some rumbling from Dave O’Brien, Mark Bowman, Bob Dutton, or Dick Kaegel.
Royals Rumors: Greinke, Francoeur
2:55pm: There was one other Greinke rumor; we missed it in ESPN’s Rumor Central. Jayson Stark said the Braves inquired but didn’t get far. He added at the time that the Royals may at least listen on him during the Winter Meetings.
1:12pm: Yesterday, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick said the Nationals explored trading for Royals starter Zack Greinke. Of course, that could’ve just been a phone call inquiry from Jim Bowden to Dayton Moore that went nowhere. That’s pretty much the only Greinke rumor we’ve heard in recent weeks.
Today Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com wrote that Moore has grown more fond of Greinke, and is more likely to sign him to an extension than trade him. We know that’s Moore’s preference, but Greinke is comfortable going year to year. He’s under team control for two more seasons.
Knobler adds that Moore’s interest in Jeff Francoeur has waned, as the Royals already have a crowded outfield.
Odds and Ends: Holliday, Takahashi, Lincecum
Links for Wednesday…
- Richard Justice says the Astros should offer Andy Pettitte $7-8MM to come back.
- Joe Christensen doesn’t see Huston Street landing in Minnesota.
- Larry Beinfest dismissed a "cyberspace rumor" that the Marlins are planning a run at Manny Ramirez.
- Gordon Wittenmyer says the Cubs could fit both Jake Peavy and Ryan Dempster into the payroll, and that the Peavy situation will be resolved first.
- Today is the deadline for MLB.com’s Free Agent Frenzy. You have until 4pm CST to submit your picks for 15 free agents. Here are my predictions from November 3rd…I would change the Furcal and Sheets ones for starters.
- Who had the Matt Holliday scoop? SI.com’s Jon Heyman broke the story, while Yahoo’s Tim Brown was the first to name the players involved.
- Holliday figures to be a three to six month rental for the A’s. Over at FanGraphs, Dave Cameron takes a closer look at Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith. ESPN’s Keith Law says the Rockies received a "fair return" for Holliday.
- Athletics Nation suggests the A’s sign Derek Lowe.
- Ken Davidoff looks at the Yankees’ seesawing philosophy.
- Japanese southpaw Ken Takahashi intends to sign with an MLB club, and the Mets may be interested. Nikkan Sports says the Cubs, Padres, and Giants are also in on him.
- River Ave. Blues looks ahead to Derek Jeter‘s next contract.
- Andrew Baggarly reminds us that Tim Lincecum intends to go year to year.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney talked to one GM who expects "a whole lot of bargains" in late January, given the nation’s economy.
- Rany Jazayerli didn’t like the Royals’ acquisition of Mike Jacobs, but doesn’t think it’s the end of the world.
- Braves GM Frank Wren on Jeff Francoeur: "We haven’t talked about him at all. It’s not to say that we wouldn’t."
More Odds And Ends: Padres, Francoeur, Manny, Phillies
A few more notes from the MLBiverse…
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Padres have not set their ’09 payroll but that it could be as low as $40MM. Krasovic also notes that the Braves are not one of the teams that have inquired about Khalil Greene. Also, Kevin Towers continues to sound positive about the possibility of resigning Trevor Hoffman. The Padres have offered Hoffman a one-year deal for $4MM with a ’10 option at the same price.
- Paul DePodesta comments about all of the rumors that are swirling on his personal blog.
- We have heard this before, but now a Braves official is saying there have been no recent discussions involving Jeff Francoeur.
- Jayson Stark discusses why a six-year deal for Manny Ramirez makes little sense.
- Ken Mandel takes a closer look at the Phillies’ contract commitments and what they mean for the ’09 roster.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Royals May Be Done
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star talked to Royals GM Dayton Moore, who suggested he might not be able to do much more this winter due to payroll limitations. After arbitration raises, the Royals should be close to their $60MM budget. So don’t look for any big free agent signings unless a player is moved to create payroll room.
Dutton says rumors continue to link the Royals to outmakers Jeff Francoeur and Yuniesky Betancourt. Dutton asked Moore why he seemingly ignored his OBP plan for Mike Jacobs, and Moore said he can only take advantage of the players who are available. Joe Posnanski comments on the recent rumors.
Elsewhere, Ken Rosenthal and Keith Law are saying the Royals hope to sign Greinke to a long-term deal. If that fails, the 25 year-old hurler could be available.