Odds & Ends: Kawakami, Renteria, Johnson, Ohman
A number of Odds & Ends for your weekend update:
- From Japanball.com, Kenshin Kawakami is filing for free agency.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports the Cubs are considering Randy Johnson for a one year deal. The 45 year old lefty is a career 13-0 against the Cubs, 4-0 at Wrigley, and needs 5 wins to reach 300.
- The Cardinals are moving in on free agent Will Ohman, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and are reportedly interested in Jeremy Affeldt and Arthur Rhodes.
- In the same article, Goold suggests the Cards will stall on their efforts to pursue Edgar Renteria until after the Tigers decline their offer of arbitration, since signing the Type A free agent beforehand would result in any team losing a first round draft pick. So despite "mutual interest", don’t expect the Cardinals, or anyone, to sign Renteria before the second week of December. Matthew Leach of mlb.com notes there are a lot of free agent shortstop options.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Giants are finding mutual interest in Rafael Furcal and Bobby Howry.
- Utility man Donnie Murphy signed a minor-league deal with the O’s – from Peter Schmuck’s blog.
- John Hickey at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says M’s GM Jack Zduriencik expects Raul Ibanez to wait for Seattle to name it’s next manager before making any decisions.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy, Teixeira, Burnett
Ken Rosenthal’s got an interesting new column up.
- Now that talks with the Braves have ended for the time being, Padres GM Kevin Towers is talking with the Yankees about Jake Peavy. The Yankees have had “numerous discussions” with the Padres, even though they just offered C.C. Sabathia a contract and are still considering A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.
- Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said that “the Angels probably would be more appealing” geographically, but “from other perspectives, they might be less appealing” than other teams
- Rosenthal talked with an agent who said that the Angels could wait a week or 10 days before making Mark Teixeira a “knockout offer” with a deadline.
- Even though the Yankees traded for Nick Swisher, they could still have interest in Teixeira if he’s willing to consider a shorter contract of four or five years for top dollar.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi knows that Toronto “won’t be the highest bidder” for A.J. Burnett. Ricciardi hopes that Burnett likes Toronto enough to re-sign.
- The Indians are considering going after both Juan Cruz and Jeremy Affeldt instead of an experienced closer.
- The Phillies and Giants could also bid on Cruz.
- The Cardinals will have interest in Affeldt and Joe Beimel as they try to strengthen their bullpen.
Odds and Ends: Perez, Torres, Beimel
Links for Friday, with an unplanned emphasis on relievers…
- The Tigers and Trevor Hoffman may be a match. Hoffman’s agent closed the door on the Padres.
- The Royals brought Mike Arbuckle aboard, formerly of the Phillies.
- The Nationals have interest in re-signing Aaron Boone and Odalis Perez. MLB.com’s Bill Ladson gives it a 50-50 chance. The Nats re-signed infielder Pete Orr, who could earn $600K.
- The Brewers picked up Salomon Torres‘ 2009 option, more of a procedural move than anything.
- The Marlins have an eye on minor league free agent Zach McClellan.
- Ken Davidoff makes contract and destination predictions for top free agents. K-Rod, Juan Cruz, and Russ Springer to the Cardinals for a combined $73MM?
- The Rockies have Joe Beimel and Jeremy Affeldt on the radar, among others.
- The New York Daily News has a cool free agent tracker.
Stark’s Latest: Abreu, Arroyo, Hudson
ESPN’s Jayson Stark is back with a look at needs and plans for all 30 teams. I highly recommend you read the article, but here are a few highlights. He’s also got a fresh blog post here.
- The Phillies are eyeing Doug Brocail and Russ Springer.
- The Mets like Bobby Abreu, but not his three year, $45MM asking price.
- The Reds are quietly listening on Bronson Arroyo, and the Rangers may be interested.
- Contrary to previous reports, Stark believes the Mets’ first order of business is getting a starting pitcher.
- Here’s a new one – the Marlins are interested in Orlando Hudson?
- The Astros may be trying to move money, and Stark implies trading Miguel Tejada or Jose Valverde could be one path.
- The Rockies have "actively explored" signing Jeremy Affeldt, who could also wind up back home with the Mariners. A few more interesting names for Seattle: Joe Crede (if Adrian Beltre is traded), Jason Giambi, and Ken Griffey Jr.
Reds Rumors: Pitching, Greene, Hairston
Here’s the latest from John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- GM Walt Jocketty said he will not be trading young pitching for a quick fix. Still, you have to think Homer Bailey is available in the right deal for another young player.
- Despite an earlier report to the contrary, the Reds are not interested in San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene. If Jocketty is to acquire a shortstop, it’ll be a pre-arbitration player. The Reds are shaky at shortstop – Alex Gonzalez is penciled in for next year, but he missed all of ’08 with a compression fracture in his knee.
- The Reds like young backstop Ryan Hanigan, but they are still in the market for catchers. Fay says Jocketty chatted with the Rangers regarding their surplus, though a recent report didn’t have Cincinnati in the mix. Joel Sherman seems to indicate the Reds have interest in the Mets’ Brian Schneider.
- Jocketty made progress toward re-signing Jerry Hairston Jr. (also on Philly’s radar), and he plans to talk to the agents for David Weathers, Jeremy Affeldt, and Mike Lincoln this week.
Rockies Rumors: Holliday, Taveras, Atkins
4:54pm: More Rockies chatter from Troy Renck. The Rockies intend to sort out the Holliday/Atkins trade situations before moving on to other concerns such as the bullpen. They do like the idea of bringing Jeremy Affeldt back, though. Renck has the Twins and Indians kicking the tires on Atkins, while Tracy Ringolsby believes Michael Cuddyer could be a fit for Colorado.
11:18am: The latest Rockies buzz…
- Buster Olney says the Rockies are very motivated to move Matt Holliday. Olney wonders if the Rox might end up taking a bit less than expected for him. Troy Renck says various execs see the A’s and Phillies as the most likely matches for Holliday. The Rays are another possibility. GM Dan O’Dowd will be open-minded about the return.
- Renck also says the White Sox have contacted the Rockies about Willy Taveras.
- Renck talked to the agent for Doug Brocail, Brandon Lyon, and Kyle Farnsworth. All three are open to pitching in Colorado.
- Tracy Ringolsby says the Rockies have had "initial talks" with the Twins regarding Garrett Atkins. He wonders if the Angels could jump in later.
- Ringolsby suggests Brad Penny would be an interesting candidate for the Rockies.
Reds Will Consider Mulder
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer spoke to Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently. A few nuggets from the conversation:
- The Reds will "at least explore" signing free agent lefty Mark Mulder. Jocketty, of course, has a history with Mulder from the Cardinals. Mulder recently told MLB.com’s Mychael Urban he won’t consider signing until he’s healthy and throwing well.
- Jocketty has spoken to the agents for free agents David Weathers, Mike Lincoln, Jeremy Affeldt, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Javier Valentin. Weathers doesn’t seem interested in taking a discount, while Valentin said last month he’d love to return.
- The Reds aren’t interested in signing Ken Griffey Jr. The White Sox are expected to pass as well, but Mark Gonzales believes he could be considered in a lesser role if healthy. At any rate, the two teams will split Junior’s $4MM buyout.
Mets To Explore Trade For Closer
Ken Davidoff of Newsday has a new article up discussing possibilities for the Mets’ closer vacancy. He says the Mets will check in on free agents Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, but remain wary of the price. I’m wondering if K-Rod will have to back off the five year demand if he wants to get multiple serious bidders. Davidoff says the Mets feel that they have the minor league depth to swing a trade for a closer rather than buy one.
Davidoff goes on to speculate that the Mets could look at J.J. Putz, Huston Street, George Sherrill, Joakim Soria, and Kevin Gregg. Gregg would be the easiest to acquire. Not sure why Soria is mentioned here. The Mets had several young players emerge this year who weren’t necessarily highly touted (Dan Murphy, for example). Davidoff says the Mets feel they have more such hidden gems to use as trade chips.
Davidoff also tosses out two more free agent possibilities: Jeremy Affeldt and Chad Cordero. Affeldt is starting to generate buzz as a more affordable closing candidate, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Indians get involved.
Odds and Ends: Hughes, Tigers, Affeldt
Links for Monday…
- I’m working on this year’s Top 50 Free Agents list, with predicted destinations. It’s always a tough puzzle to assemble. Anyone have educated guesses on where Ben Sheets, Oliver Perez, Braden Looper, and Jon Garland might sign?
- MLB.com’s Mychael Urban believes Mark Mulder would like to return to the A’s, but the team may not be interested. Plus, Mulder isn’t even considering destinations until he is healthy.
- Japanese free agent pitcher Kenshin Kawakami hired American agent Tony Attanasio. The Red Sox may be interested.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post takes the Yankees to task for their unwillingness to include Phil Hughes in a Johan Santana package.
- Tigers officials are meeting in Detroit for four days to discuss trade possibilities.
- MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel explains why a Luis Castillo for Jose Guillen swap is unlikely.
- Dave Cameron considers Jeremy Affeldt a possible free agent bargain. He could be underrated, but not a bargain if he renews last year’s desire for a four or five-year deal.
Reds Make Offers To Hairston, Weathers
5:00pm: Jocketty told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon that he hasn’t heard back from Weathers’ or Hairston’s people in about a week since making the offers.
1:01pm: According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds made contract offers to David Weathers and Jerry Hairston Jr. Both are eligible for free agency. Weathers would probably serve as the seventh inning guy, while Hairston might handle center field duties. Weathers seems to profile as a Type B free agent, while Hairston is neither A nor B.
Fay believes GM Walt Jocketty will also attempt to re-sign relievers Mike Lincoln and Jeremy Affeldt. Affeldt had pretty big demands at the outset of the last offseason (four or five years), but ended up signing for one year.