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Johan Santana

Olney On Rockies, Brewers, Harden, Santana

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Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that team ownership has never prevented him from acquiring the players he needs. The team had to take on salary to acquire Joe Beimel and Rafael Betancourt, but the relievers have solidified the Rockies bullpen. Olney also suggests the Rockies might not have finished upgrading their pitching staff. Here are a few more rumors:

  • The Brewers haven't put their players on waivers and, even though they've fallen out of contention, they may decide to hold onto everybody and win as many games as possible before the end of the season.
  • Olney guesses that Rich Harden won't make more than $20MM as a free agent. Even after pitching well for nearly a full season last year, Ben Sheets wasn't seeing offers in the Oliver Perez range, so I wonder how many teams would offer Harden a multi-year deal given his injury history.
  • The Yankees and Red Sox wondered about Johan Santana's elbow when they considered dealing for him after the 2007 season. In a separate report, Olney says Santana won't likely need serious surgery, but Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post says the Mets haven't ruled surgery out.

Odds And Ends: Johan, Ozzie, Orioles

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Updates on the latest Met to go down and more…

  • You thought it couldn't get worse for the Mets? Johan Santana will miss his next start with elbow trouble, according to ESPN.com. As one Mets person said to Jon Heyman of SI.com, it's "not a good day" for the club.
  • Manager Ozzie Guillen believes his White Sox are "good enough to win the World Series," according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • The Orioles signed Freddy Guzman to a minor league deal, according to this Roch Kubatko Baseball America article. Guzman played 20 games with the Padres five years ago and last appeared in the majors in 2007 with Texas.

Olney On Wilson, Johan, Harper

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Red Sox could take advantage of the shortage of teams willing to take on payroll by offering little more than salary relief to their trading partners. Rival executives told Olney that the Red Sox could offer to take on the salary owed to players like Jack Wilson, without including any highly touted prospects in proposed deals. Here are a couple more details from Olney's column:

  • It's looking more and more like Bryce Harper will be eligible for next year's draft and it's looking more and more like the Nationals will again select first. Olney wonders how the Nationals would cope with talks of record-setting deals for two straight years.
  • Olney shows that Johan Santana is throwing slower fastballs, and not as many of them. 
  • Cause for concern? Jon Heyman of SI.com asked a Mets "bigwig" and heard that the team is "not at all" worried about their ace pitcher.

No Elbow Tests For Santana

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3:06pm: Marty Noble of MLB.com reports that Santana won’t have his elbow tested. He felt fine after a bullpen session and told the Mets there is no need for tests.

1:44pm: Lennon reports that Santana’s elbow tests have been delayed because winter storms are expected in New York.

10:29am: An encouraging update from Lennon at Newsday. Johan Santana completed a bullpen session this morning without pause, and did not report any elbow discomfort. Santana will still go to New York for tests.

10:01am: Marty Noble of MLB.com confirms that the exam of Johan Santana’s elbow will take place, but says that Minaya did not specify that an MRI would be part of the procedure.

Noble also puts the potential injury into perspective: "Though the tightness is not considered serious, it has delayed Santana’s conditioning and made it unlikely he will be the Mets’ Opening day starter April 6."

9:42am: We don’t always report every injury here at MLBTR, but sometimes the news is so big that it can’t really be ignored.

According to David Lennon of Newsday.com, Johan Santana is expected to be sent to New York for some precautionary tests, including an MRI, and an examination by team physician David Altchek.

Lennon quotes Mets GM Omar Minaya himself as referring to these tests as "precautionary." But this is certainly something to keep an eye on.

Murray Chass: Furcal, Sabathia, Lowe, Teixeira

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Murray Chass has a nice Sunday post covering some of the biggest names in the game.  Let’s take a look:

  • Chass summarizes the Rafael Furcal fiasco nicely, and explains the potential legal hazards that refusing to work with the Wasserman group could lead to.
  • Brian Cashman has said that his refusal to trade for Johan Santana last year was because the Yankees knew C.C. Sabathia was going to be a free agent this year. Chass looks at their numbers side-by-side and points explains how by not trading for Santana, the Yankees risked missing out on both aces.
  • The Mets are very interested in Derek Lowe, but not his pricetag. Boras wants similar money to Barry Zito – about $18MM per season – for the 35-year-old Lowe. The Mets also like Oliver Perez, but he’s another Boras client with a big price tag. The Mets don’t want to add another big contract.
  • Is there really a team with a $200MM+ offer on the table for Mark Teixeira? Chass isn’t so sure. It seems that Boras always has a "mystery team" in on the negotiations, but his client never seems to sign there… Don’t count the Red Sox out just yet.

White Sox Have Inside Track On Abreu?

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Here’s a rumor from Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that slipped through the cracks yesterday.  His source says the White Sox seem to have the inside track on Bobby Abreu, assuming they trade Jermaine Dye first.  Feinsand doesn’t figure the Rays will match Abreu’s price, though they met with his agents at in Vegas.  He adds that Johan Santana is pushing the Mets to sign Abreu.

Angels Begin Talks With Sabathia

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According to Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Angels have begun contract discussions with C.C. Sabathia.  The authors believe the Halos could make an offer in the range of Johan Santana’s six-year, $137.5MM deal.  If the Angels do make such an offer, you have to imagine the Yankees will respond by upping their bid significantly.

Despite the talks for Sabathia, Mark Teixeira remains the Angels’ top priority.  They haven’t made an offer yet, but Scott Boras seems to want ten years while the Angels are willing to do seven.  It makes sense to open serious dialogue with Sabathia to lessen the risk of missing out on both star free agents.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pedro, Sabathia, Peavy

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A look at what is being written about the hot stove in the Blogosphere…

  • Fire Brand of the American League looks at the ramifications of the Coco Crisp trade and what could happen if the Red Sox acquire Mark Teixeira and are unable to move Mike Lowell.
  • Baseball Opinion says the Crisp deal leaves the Royals with a crowded outfield and a depleted bullpen and wonders if Mark Teahen or David DeJesus will be the next to go.
  • Nationals Pride sees the Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham trade as a good start towards building a team with a core of young veterans that will be in place when the prospects are ready to contribute.
  • The ’Burgh Blues would like to see the Pirates go after Pedro Martinez, noting his close relationship with Joe Kerrigan and Denny Bautista.
  • Sox and Pinstripes is worried about a potential signing of A.J. Burnett by the Red Sox and would prefer Derek Lowe.
  • BaseBlog has a "tale of the tape" comparing C.C. Sabathia’s 2008 season to Johan Santana’s 2007 season.
  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse wonders if the Cubs are better off with Jake Peavy and Kosuke Fukudome versus Jason Marquis and a high-priced free agent right fielder.
  • DC Sports Plus takes a closer look at 79 minor league free agents, focusing on former major leaguers, former top prospects and left-handed relief pitchers.
  • Padres Revolution offers up a list of the 10 best trades brokered by Kevin Towers.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Stark’s Latest: Putz, Manny, Lackey, Ibanez

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Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

  • Stark does the math and finds 15 potentially available closers versus six clubs in the market for one.  Should result in a few bargains or teams holding on to their surpluses.
  • The Mets don’t seem willing to extend to four years for Francisco Rodriguez.  Stark says J.J. Putz would become the Mets’ top closer target if he’s made available.  MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone wrote a few days ago that the Mets are likely to trade for a reliever with closing experience before attempting to sign one.
  • J.P. Ricciardi quote: "We won’t be involved with Manny."  Ricciardi last month: "He’s on our radar, but maybe not on our radar like some people will report."
  • Despite reports to the contrary, Stark talked to a rival executive who says Jake Peavy made it "onto [the Angels’] radar pretty hard."  Stark speculates that Peavy could fit if the Halos sign Mark Teixeira.
  • It seems likely that the Angels will put out an offer to Teixeira with a deadline, and then either sign him or move on.
  • John Lackey’s been telling friends he expects to have an extension with the Angels by Opening Day.  Lackey indicated last month he’d wait to see the Halos’ offensive plans before re-signing.
  • Stark suspects the Players Union might be OK with C.C. Sabathia turning down a larger offer from the Yankees if he still signed for more than Johan Santana’s $23MM per year.  I don’t really see why Sabathia would worry about the union in any regard.
  • The Dodgers inquired on the asking price of Jason Varitek, with the idea of moving Russell Martin to third base in mind.  They balked at Scott Boras’ demand for Tek, however.
  • Curt Schilling is "more likely than ever" to attempt a late June or early July comeback.
  • Tons of teams have expressed some degree of interest in Raul Ibanez: the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels, and Mariners.  Some interesting new ones in there.
  • The Phillies never made a two-year, $21MM offer to Pat Burrell.  Will the Phils at least offer him arbitration?  The rumored offer was questionable from Day 1, as Paul Hagen said Burrell "reportedly turned down a two-year, $22MM offer" but didn’t reference a specific report.
  • Stark believes that the Brewers were not thrilled with the Yankees’ "overbid" for C.C. Sabathia, and therefore would prefer not to trade Mike Cameron to them.  Dan Graziano wrote yesterday about the Yanks’ conversations for Cameron.
  • Roy Oswalt wants the Astros to sign Ben Sheets, but the price tag may be too high.  Stark has the following names on their radar: Randy Wolf, Mike Hampton, Freddy Garcia, Paul Byrd, and maybe Pedro Martinez.  Is Drayton McLane willing to bring Andy Pettitte back?  GM Ed Wade seemed interested in his chat yesterday, saying, "We’ll have to see what develops down the road."

Odds and Ends: Hughes, Tigers, Affeldt

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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.
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