Odds And Ends: Crede, Marlins, Canó, Bonds
Some interesting tidbits this afternoon before I check out:
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that one of Brian Sabean’s top advisors, Ted Uhlaender, was present to witness Joe Crede’s homer off of Arizona’s Max Scherzer on Saturday. Seems more and more likely, as Crede proves his back is fine, that he will be moved to the Giants. Will the White Sox get Kevin Correia in exchange for Crede? The White Sox need a back-of-the-rotation guy, and Kenny Williams and company think they can win this year. So prospects probably won’t get it done. While the Giants could conceivably use Rich Aurilia or Kevin Frandsen at third, Sabean will most likely be unable to resist Crede’s 2006.
- Juan Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel digs up this little tidbit: The Florida Marlins haven’t signed a player to a multi-year contract since December 2005, when they signed Carlos Delgado to a four-year, $55MM contract, and Paul Lo Duca to a three-year, $18MM deal. One would hope that this trend will end soon enough, and that owner Jeff Loria will open the purse strings for Hanley Ramirez when the time is right.
- Tyler Kepner of The New York Times explores the relative surprise that Robinson Canó has been considering his draft position and reputation as a prospect, and details how frequently the Yankees almost dealt him before he made the big club. Canó was nearly dealt for Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltrán, and Randy Johnson in different instances.
- AP Sports Writer Bob Baum explains that Bud Selig isn’t trying to keep Barry Bonds from being signed. Selig stressed that each club is free to deal with whomever they please.
Odds and Ends: Crede, Rodriguez, Marlins
Just a couple items worth mentioning:
- Matt Hurst notes Elasticman Scot Shields says "(Heck) yeah" to whether or not the Angels should dish out the big bucks for Francisco Rodriguez, this despite incentives in Shields contract that would kick in should he be transitioned into the closer role.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times touches in on Joe Crede‘s fate after notching his first homerun of the spring, easing concerns for his surgically repaired back. Says Cowley, "Crede’s agent, Scott Boras, already has told general manager Ken Williams that they want to explore the market. With Josh Fields waiting in the wings, the Sox are dealing from a position of strength. The Giants are a top suitor." Scouts were present for Crede’s homerun.
- Marlins Owner Jeff Loria says payroll is "all going to be a function of the revenues we generate. If we have a bigger base than we anticipate, that will go back to the payroll." This from Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post who add, "When asked if the team could lock up young stars like shortstop Hanley Ramirez for the long term, Loria said: ‘We’re going to look at that going forward. But we are challenged until we get into that new stadium." The Marlins payroll this year is just under $20MM.
MLB Roundup Video
Time for more video! This time it’s a team effort for a program called MLB Roundup. I do a section on Joe Crede.
Odds and Ends: Roberts, Garcia, Crede
Today’s assortment of links.
- Gary Sheffield is not fond of Scott Boras.
- Arte Moreno and the Angels aren’t closing the door on K-Rod yet.
- Turns out Brian Roberts left camp because of a possible kidney stone.
- From Small Ball To The Long Ball has all kinds of cool data that I haven’t seen elsewhere. For example, average initial pitch speed for pitchers. Dustin McGowan‘s fastball: 96.11mph. Tim Wakefield‘s: 75.62mph.
- Seems that Freddy Garcia might wait a few months before signing.
- Andrew Baggarly says the Giants consider Joe Crede a possible long-term piece even with his impending free agency. So maybe if they get him and he stays healthy they’ll look to extend him. Baggarly speculates that a guy like Fred Lewis (who is out of options) could work for a Crede swap.
Odds and Ends: Kelly Johnson, Nathan, Crede
Time for some early Monday odds and ends.
- Remember how White Sox GM Ron Schueler embarrassed Cubs GM Ed Lynch in 1998 by acquiring Jon Garland for Matt Karchner? Rany Jazayerli sees a parallel to that heist with the Royals’ acquisition of Daniel Cortes as part of the July ’06 Mike MacDougal trade.
- Mike Berardino’s blog continues to entertain; this time with a Dan Miceli story. Ah, knife fights with siblings. Who among us can say they haven’t had one or two?
- Buster Olney learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that Kelly Johnson has been the team’s most asked-for player in trade talks this winter.
- The look on Kyle Kendrick‘s face is priceless.
- Extension talks with the Twins and Joe Nathan have gone dormant. Nathan still thinks the gap can be bridged but wants it done before the season begins.
- Andy Marte and Shin-Soo Choo are both out of options; when Choo comes back from elbow surgery a month into the season one of them could be traded.
- Henry Schulman says the White Sox may accept prospects from the Giants for Joe Crede.
- Derek Lowe is entering his walk year, and he hasn’t had any extension talks with the Dodgers yet.
White Sox Never Offered Crede Multiyear Deal?
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has received conflicting reports from Joe Crede and the White Sox. It seems that Sox GM Kenny Williams claims multiyear overtures were made to Scott Boras regarding Crede, while the player says nothing was ever offered.
Additionally, Crede implied that he never spoke to Aaron Rowand about being traded to the Giants. I find this a little hard to believe; it would be kind of weird for the topic not to come up. Crede’s mindset right now is that he’s a member of the White Sox, though a trade before Opening Day seems inevitable.
Crede will earn $5.1MM in ’08. He won’t find much competition among free agent third basemen next year – Casey Blake, Nomar Garciaparra, and Wes Helms comprise the others.
Giants Considering Ensberg, Crede
We learned earlier today that Pedro Feliz rejected the Giants two-year offer. The team plans to look internally for a solution at third base. Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News comes in with the possible leading candidate: Kevin Frandsen.
He hasn’t manned the hot corner regularly since college, but his performance in just under 300 plate appearances last year has earned him a legitimate shot at the starting gig. He played third base for 55 innings last year. Most of his time was spent at second base, which figures to be occupied by Ray Durham in 2008.
Frandsen is a better option than Feliz, but the Giants still might bring in veteran competition in the form of Morgan Ensberg or Joe Crede. Baggarly’s club source said there’s a "good chance" of acquiring Crede if his back is healthy this spring. Noah Lowry would be too much; Brad Hennessey maybe?
Joe would like to remind you, just this once, that he writes for River Ave. Blues, a Peter Gammons-approved Yanks blog. Tim also contributed to this post.
Odds and Ends: Foulke, Ordonez, Feliz, Phillips
All sorts of odds and ends to discuss this morning.
- I will be appearing on Rutgers Student Radio this morning at 8:40am CST. You can go here and click the "listen" link to hear it live.
- Keith Foulke threw for the majority of teams in baseball last week, topping out around 84. The D’Backs may make an offer. I don’t believe they have signed a free agent yet.
- The New York Times says Jose Canseco has apparently dragged Magglio Ordonez into the steroid mess, with the FBI getting involved on possible extortion. I have to admit, I am going to read Canseco’s new book. The first one was interesting but poorly written.
- The Giants’ two-year offer to Pedro Feliz was rejected, and they seem inclined to fill third base internally. Joe Crede is not out of the question though.
- Seems that the Reds might be talking about a long-term deal with Brandon Phillips.
- Rewriting history: the Padres almost acquired Mark McGwire in 1995. Speaking of Kevin Towers, here’s a quick look at his trading record. It’s good.
- Team payroll data for ’07 is out; it’s not terribly surprising.
Odds and Ends: Cano, Colon, Lowry
Here are some links I’ve rounded up this morning.
- In theory, Robinson Cano would be open to a long-term deal. River Ave. Blues recently took a look at how historically good Cano has been so far, and suggest the Yankees lowballed him with their arbitration submission.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Derek Jacques saw Bartolo Colon pitch in the Dominican League Finals, and lends his evaluation. Colon was not impressive, but not terrible. It doesn’t seem like he will get the two-year deal he wants.
- The Brewers will bring Abraham Nunez to camp. Versatile, but a drain on offense.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox aren’t done yet. The Joe Crede situation should linger into spring. Gonzales also mentions that the Giants are "listening to offers for Noah Lowry."
- A factual look at whether Omar Minaya really stockpiles Latin American players.
- The Astros can’t settle their gaps with Mark Loretta or Jose Valverde, and Ed Wade expects the team to go to its first arbitration hearings in over a decade. Wade has set a deadline of this afternoon and will go to hearings otherwise. Loretta asking for $4.9MM seems particularly off.
- Matthew Cerrone takes an educated guess on the current Johan Santana situation.
- Some interesting quotes from XM Radio from Michael Cuddyer and Scott Boras, separately.
Perrotto’s Latest: Sabathia, Varitek, Crede, Villone
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus checks in with his usual Sunday column. He’s got some new hot stove material to consider.
- Perrotto says the Indians are holding firm at an offer of four years plus an option for C.C. Sabathia. As of a week ago, the Indians were said to have an offer on the table for him. I suggested that the Tribe might top out around four years, $72MM plus an option for 2013.
- Perrotto writes that "Boston is expected to sign catcher Jason Varitek to a two-year extension worth around $20 million." Varitek could retire after that.
- Perrotto suggests that Joe Crede is on the Giants’ radar if they don’t re-sign Pedro Feliz (hat tip South Side Sox). Crede seems like he’ll be involved in one of those late Spring Training deals, given the need to prove his health.
- The Yankees, Mets, and Pirates are interested in free agent lefty reliever Ron Villone.