Heyman’s Latest: A-Rod, Atkins, Gagne
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up. Let’s discuss.
- Alex Rodriguez‘s five possible destinations: Angels, Red Sox, Mets, Giants, Dodgers. That sounds about right. Heyman notes that the Dodgers do not have an advantage because of Joe Torre; he says star players don’t consider managers as a criteria when deciding where to sign.
- Though not mentioned as one of A-Rod’s five potential landing spots, Heyman says the buzz is growing that Mike Ilitch and the Tigers could go after him.
- Heyman says the Rockies will hang on to Garrett Atkins and follow through with the plan to try Ian Stewart at second base. That could mean the end of Kaz Matsui in Colorado.
- How about Eric Gagne to the Tigers? If they are interested, that bodes well for me getting at least 1 of 50 right.
- Johnny Damon for Joe Crede first mentioned in the Chicago Tribune??!! That trade speculation, sir, is MLBTR’s baby. Anyway, Heyman’s source thinks the Yankees could do better for Damon.
Crede For Damon Picking Up Steam
This thing is gaining traction. Buster Olney comments on the idea of a Joe Crede for Johnny Damon swap this morning:
Makes sense in a lot of ways: The Yankees would get the veteran third baseman they need without committing themselves to big dollars, shed Damon’s salary, and the White Sox would solve their third base logjam while adding a center fielder for much less than what the free agent center fielders will get (Damon is owed about $26 million over the next two seasons, and presumably, the Yankees would eat some of that to make a deal happen).
Mark Feinsand also entertains the notion of this trade in today’s column.
Kenny Williams Ready To Deal
This is going to be an incredible offseason, I just know it. This is going to be a hot stove season for the ages. White Sox GM Kenny Williams seems ready to dive right in, starting with the GM meetings on Monday.
Interesting notes from the above-linked Mark Gonzales article:
- Josh Fields‘ position for 2008 will be revealed shortly, which seems to indicate a trade of Joe Crede on the horizon. Fields will end up at third base or left field next year.
- Outfielders Brian Anderson and Ryan Sweeney may be shopped. Anderson is doing a nice job talking his way out of Chicago, and Williams notes that Anderson must be "disappointed over the opportunities he hasn’t maximized." Ouch. Maybe the Marlins will take a flier.
- Gonzales throws down the Crede for Johnny Damon idea I’ve been pushing here repeatedly. This idea is spreading!
Yanks Dragging Feet With Posada, Discussing Crede
Mark Feinsand has really been on top of the Yankee rumors in this young offseason. Bill Madden helps him on this one. The Yankees still haven’t made an offer to Jorge Posada, and baseball insiders can’t figure out why. The Yanks are said to be prepared to offer 3/40, which most perceive as only a starting point in the negotiations.
The Mets hope to lure Posada away, but it could take four or even a ridiculous five years. Like I’ve said…4/56. The Yankees will pay up. But if the Mets do get the Posada prize, the Yankees at least get the Mets’ #22 overall pick in ’08 as consolation. In past years that could’ve represented Joba Chamberlain, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza, Colby Rasmus, Travis Buck, Clay Buchholz, Phil Hughes, or Huston Street.
Regarding their third base vacancy, the Yanks have already touched base with Kenny Williams about Joe Crede. Given the uncertainty, Crede’s pending free agency after ’08, and his Boras association, his trade value can’t be very high right now. My best guess remains some kind of Johnny Damon swap where the Yanks eat money. A year of Crede doesn’t seem worth four or five of any decent youngster.
Also, the deadline on Bobby Abreu‘s $16MM option is tomorrow. The Yanks will probably exercise it.
Latest Phillies Rumors: Lowell, Rivera, Schilling
Let’s catch up on the rumors and minor moves involving the Phillies recently.
One offseason objective is, of course, third base. Abraham Nunez was an easy buyout decision; Pat Gillick will import a new third baseman this winter one way or another. Phils fans can stop dreaming up A-Rod scenarios; Gillick won’t pursue him. Mike Lowell is the one free agent 3B on the Phils’ radar. While Lowell wouldn’t mind playing in Philly, he made it clear yesterday that Boston remains his first choice. So there’s a good chance Gillick will have to get his man via trade. Scott Lauber names Garrett Atkins and Joe Crede (free agent after ’08, Boras client) as possible targets. We all know how Gillick loves dealing with Kenny Williams (and the Sox can use Josh Fields at third base).
Rod Barajas won’t be retained; Chris Coste will serve as the backup to Carlos Ruiz. A nice, cheap catching tandem.
How about pitching? Randy Miller has a source saying the Phils are targeting a couple of AL East stalwarts – Curt Schilling and Mariano Rivera. To sign Rivera at $12MM per and use Brett Myers in setup seems like a misallocation of resources to me. As for Schilling, Miller says he’s expressed interest in coming back to Philly to finish his career. I like the fit.
Miller also has some very interesting info on Aaron Rowand – he’s looking for a six-year, $84MM contract! Does that mean he ends up with a five-year, $60MM deal? Pretty hefty for a guy coming off a career year. Miller says the Phils won’t go for big-name replacements like Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter.
Finally, Pat Burrell has surfaced as a solid trading chip. He’s left with a reasonable one-year, $14MM commitment, albeit with a full-no trade clause that would require more compensation. How about Burrell to the White Sox for Crede? Phils kick in a couple mil, the White Sox get much-needed OBP for ’08 plus draft picks when Burrell leaves.
Dodgers Need a Third Baseman
Ken Rosenthal has a bunch of news and notes, including a bit about the misshapen offense of the Dodgers. They have plenty of bats and plenty of prospects, but not enough to solve every problem they’ve got. Rosenthal mentions Morgan Ensberg, Hank Blalock, and Joe Crede as potential trade targets, but rightfully notes that none would make that big of a difference.
The Dodgers recently called up prospect Andy LaRoche, a third baseman, and moved another prospect, Tony Abreu, to third at Triple-A Las Vegas. So they are at least trying some different things while Wilson Betemit continues to not hit. Through yesterday’s games, Dodgers 3Bs (mostly Betemit) combined to "hit" 183/291/240, which is barely 80 points of OPS better than Dodgers pitchers!
The move that would solve all of their problems would be giving Nomar Garciaparra a shot back at the hot corner. Nomar played some third with the Cubs in 2005, but I certainly understand the team’s reluctance to put any more pressure on his body. But it would be perfect: Nomar at third would open up first base for James Loney, one of the best blocked prospects in baseball, and one of the guys teams will invariably ask about as the Dodgers try to upgrade during the season.
By Jeff Sackmann
Brew Crew Ball
White Sox Considering Erick Aybar?
In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons mentions that the White Sox might pursue Angels shortstop Erick Aybar if Juan Uribe‘s future remains unclear. Joe Crede could be the trade candidate.
Aybar, who turned 23 yesterday, hit .283/.327/.413 in Triple A last year (equivalent to .234/.269/.328 in the Majors). Baseball America ranks Aybar as the Angels’ third best prospect, behind Brandon Wood and Nick Adenhart. Aybar has come up in many trade rumors already in his career. According to BA, Aybar handles the bat well and his glove, arm, and speed are plus tools. They see him as more of a bottom-of-the-order, defensive-minded SS.
My feeling is that swapping out Uribe and Crede for Aybar and Fields would make the Sox significantly worse in 2007…but it is just a trade rumor right now.
Gleeman: Crede In Play
Aaron Gleeman reports from Orlando that White Sox third baseman Joe Crede "continues to be in play, regardless of whether the Angels remain the destination."
As a Scott Boras client with two years left of service time, now might be the time to cash in for Kenny Williams. The feeling seems to be that Josh Fields is ready to step in at third base after posting an .894 OPS at Triple A as a 23 year-old. Of course, no one knows what kind of overall dropoff the Sox would experience in making that substitution.
Williams, of course, holds other important cards in his starting rotation. It makes sense to deal a pitcher separately rather than package one with Crede.
Pitchers on the move
Jason Schmidt has been offered $45 million over three years to join the Cubs. If that offer has been leaked already, $60M/4 seems within the realm of possibility. Strangely, Schmidt has already said he’s not interested in the East Coast–you’d think he’d wait until Cashman made an offer and drove up his price before saying no. Once Schmidt signs, it’ll be fun to watch Scott Boras conduct the sure-to-be-insane bidding for Barry Zito.
Some team (to be announced tonight) won the bidding for Kei Igawa for $25 million. Hanshin has accepted. That’s the second largest posting fee ever–somebody must think Igawa is pretty good, definitely on the high side of the typical #3/#4 projection he’s gotten. I’m guessing it’s not the Cubs, or we wouldn’t be hearing so much about the other pitchers they’re after. That leaves plenty of other possibilities, though.
The Baltimore Orioles are continuing their quest to build the most expensive bullpen of all time: Chad Bradford is close to a three-year deal with them. Anybody think it’s a little odd that the O’s traded Chris Britton for a reclamation project and are now probably spending about $8M a year for Bradford and Danys Baez? (Odd? Yes. In character? Absolutely.)
And, this just in: the O’s are also adding Scott Williamson. He’s cheap–only $900K for the year. Oddly enough, he could be the best of their new additions. I’m a little surprised nobody else was willing to go higher for him on a one-year deal.
Many of you have emailed me about a possible Angels-White Sox trade involving Ervin Santana and Chone Figgins for Freddy Garcia and Joe Crede. As Rotoworld points out, this could be a recycled rumor; regardless, Kenny Williams says no. And there’s no way Bill Stoneman deals Santana for Garcia without getting a lot more in return. Five years of a good pitcher under the team’s control for one year of Garcia? Right.
By Jeff Sackmann
Chone Figgins On The Block?
Ah, finally a legitimate trade rumor. The well had been running dry for a while. Doug Padilla of the L.A. Daily News tells us that center fielder/utility man Chone Figgins could be traded this offseason, possibly to the White Sox for Joe Crede.
Crede, who is represented by Scott Boras, has continually inked one-year deals with the Sox. This is his fourth full season, and he’s making a little less than $3MM. Crede’s breakout .298/.331/.535 campaign should bring another hefty raise. Crede should cross or near the 30 HR, 100 RBI plateaus for the first time in his career. He’ll be a very valuable trade commodity if the Sox wish to turn third base over to Josh Fields eventually. This is Crede’s age 28 season. The market for free agent third basemen is bleak unless Aramis Ramirez opts out of his contract.
Figgins, on the other hand, has taken a step backward in his age 28 season. He’s earning $2.25MM in ’06, $3.5MM in ’07, and $4.75MM in ’08. Figgins has been reliant upon a .295 batting average to keep his OBP in an acceptable range, and this year his average dropped to .254. His contact rate is the lowest of his career, though his walk rate is the highest it’s been. 96% of Figgins’s ABs have come from the leadoff spot, which isn’t a great idea when you’re below average at getting on base.
Figgins is very similar to Scott Podsednik, only more versatile. They have almost identical numbers this year. It would be peculiar for the Sox to cut Pods and then trade their star third baseman for Figgins. I really can’t see Kenny Williams doing this, though he did reportedly express interest in late June.