John Lackey

Odds & Ends: Mets, Royals, Dodgers, Lowe

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2009 at 7:38pm CDT

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Nady, Holliday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2009 at 12:33pm CDT

Some links for your Tuesday morning…

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says there's no guarantee the Dodgers will spend the money they saved in the Juan Pierre deal.
Newsday's David Lennon says Omar Minaya had plans to speak with John Lackey today and concludes that the pitcher wasn't interested in joining the Mets.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says there's speculation that the Jays will deal Lyle Overbay now that they're set to obtain Brett Wallace.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Red Sox are looking at righty outfielders such as Xavier Nady to contribute in a utility role.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff doesn't expect the Yankees to commit to another nine-figure salary and sign Matt Holliday, especially since they need pitching.
Rob Neyer of ESPN.com says the $130MM or so the Cardinals have apparently offered Holliday is "too much risk for too many years."
The Marlins signed Clay Hensley to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 30-year-old righty didn't pitch in the majors last year.
Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Marlins, who will watch Aroldis Chapman throw, have "legit" interest in the 21-year-old lefty.
Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston points out that the Red Sox have tons of cash, even if they like to downplay their wealth.
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe likes the Lackey signing for the Red Sox.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Kelvim Escobar will pitch in front of teams this week in Venezuela. We know the Mets recently offered him a minor league deal.
Lots of people have said the Brewers are a threat to sign Mark Mulder. GM Doug Melvin confirmed on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he thinks the Brewers are the "frontrunners" to sign the lefty (Hat Tip: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner says the Mariners could use a player like Luke Scott.
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun wonders how seroiusly the Orioles are interested in Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. The O's met with his agents at the Winter Meetings.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are glad to see Roy Halladay leave the AL East. I'm sure Yankees fans agree.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yanks would be comfortable playing Melky Cabrera in left and using Johnny Damon as the primary DH.
The A's sent three people to watch Aroldis Chapman throw in Houston, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Braves Waiting To Deal Lowe

By Zachary Links | December 14, 2009 at 6:06pm CDT

MONDAY, 6:06pm: The wait may be nearing its end. Now that they have lost Lackey to Boston and appear to have missed out on landing Cliff Lee, the Angels have a pitching void to fill. This now means that the Angels are "among the favorites" to acquire the Lowe from the Braves, according to an update in Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi's blockbuster deal story.

The Halos could offer outfielder Juan Rivera, who the FOX Sports duo says is the type of right-handed run producer Atlanta is seeking.

SATURDAY, 11:37pm: According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, the Braves are waiting until starting pitching on the open market becomes more scarce to deal starter Derek Lowe. Specifically, John Lackey signing with a club would, arguably, make Lowe more attractive than any other free agent starter.

Morosi mentions two possible teams for the 36-year-old – the Angels and Mariners. We've heard in recent weeks that the M's are still looking to spend even after committing major money to Chone Figgins. What destination makes the most sense to you?

Odds & Ends: Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Cust

By Zachary Links | December 12, 2009 at 8:49pm CDT

Some Saturday links:

The Mets have yet to make an offer to John Lackey and continue to focus on Jason Bay, according to David Lennon of Newsday (via Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets would be willing to give Bay a five-year deal if necessary.
Braves GM Frank Wren said the club is open to retaining Kelly Johnson at a lesser salary, he said that he would be better suited to an opportunity where he could get more at-bats, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While Wren continues to explore other options on the open market, the club is leaving the door open for Jason Heyward to win the job in right field, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Prior to being selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 draft and sold to the Dodgers, Carlos Monasterios told Bravos de Margarita that both the Dodgers and the Tigers were in contact with him (passed along by Diamond Leung).
The Red Sox trade of Mike Lowell to Texas has not been officially completed as Rangers officials are looking over the third baseman's thumb, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Recently non-tendered Jack Cust could be a fit for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that the club still has room to spend this winter.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says that barring something that's not currently on the team's radar, the second baseman job will go to Blake DeWitt plus a veteran, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America brings us the latest minor league transactions. Most notably, former Seton Hall Prep standout and Yankees' first round selection Eric Duncan has landed with the Braves.

Odds & Ends: Jacobs, Bradley, Lackey, Lyon

By Mike Axisa | December 12, 2009 at 12:31pm CDT

Some links to start the weekend…

MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says that Mike Jacobs isn't a fit to return to the Marlins. The team's second best prospect is first baseman Logan Morrison, who is on the cusp of the big leagues after spending most of 2009 in Double-A.
Milton Bradley continues to hamstring the Cubs this offseason, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.
Tommy Bennett at Beyond The Box Score compared John Lackey to A.J. Burnett, and doesn't think he deserves a bigger contract than the Yanks' hurler.
The Astros will make the Brandon Lyon signing official today, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
Curious about what the 2010 draft order looks like following the recent signings? Check it out.

Gammons On Bay, Beltre, Red Sox

By Mark Polishuk | December 11, 2009 at 5:28pm CDT

Peter Gammons' departure from ESPN has become a story in itself during this busy off-season, and Gammons' media rounds continued today as a guest on the WEEI Sports Radio Network's Big Show. A full transcript is available here, but here are some of the hot stove items that Gammons had to share….

Gammons said that Jason Bay "does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple," in spite of the fact that the Giants would be willing to offer Bay the five-year contract that he is apparently seeking.
The Angels won't be players in the Bay sweepstakes, as Gammons predicted they will instead spend their money to re-sign John Lackey.
Gammons thinks the Mariners might still make an offer to retain Adrian Beltre, though such a move might create some issues with the newly-signed Chone Figgins, who came to Seattle under the impression that he would be the new third baseman. Gammons reported that Beltre "hates" Safeco Field.
Given Roy Halladay's injury history, Gammons said "it would be a disaster" for Boston to trade Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz for Halladay and sign the Toronto ace to a long-term contract.
If the Red Sox don't end up with either Bay or Matt Holliday, Gammons opined that Boston could pursue a defense-first strategy for a season by signing Mike Cameron and Xavier Nady. Or, Boston could just save their money now and stand pat until mid-season before making any trades.
Even if the Red Sox add another big-money starter, the team would like to keep Josh Beckett because of the leadership he provides to the younger pitchers.
Speaking of clubhouse leadership, Gammons said that Marco Scutaro's ability to mentor Jose Iglesias was a factor in Boston signing the former Blue Jays shortstop. Another reason was that Scutaro had a clean bill of health, unlike Mark DeRosa, who Gammons said the Red Sox were "a little bit cautious" on signing due to his wrist problems last season.

Orioles, Mariners Interested In Jason Marquis

By Tim Dierkes | December 11, 2009 at 4:35pm CDT

4:35pm: An Orioles official told MASN's Roch Kubatko not to get too excited about Marquis. Kubatko says the Orioles are "more likely to sign a pitcher who's coming off injury to an incentive-ladened deal." They're known to have interest in bringing Erik Bedard back, for example.

3:20pm: This week we learned that the Phillies, Mets, and Nationals are in on free agent starter Jason Marquis. Today Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports add two American League clubs to the mix: the Mariners and Orioles. Marquis' positive traits: he can eat innings, and he was third in baseball with a 55.6% groundball rate.

The FOX writers note that the Mariners are in on many free agent starters, including John Lackey, Ben Sheets, Doug Davis, and Jarrod Washburn. This is the first I've heard of the Sheets connection.

Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday

By Mike Axisa | December 10, 2009 at 11:36pm CDT

11:36pm: One baseball source tells Tom Verducci of SI.com that the Phillies have been "very aggressive" in their efforts to obtain Halladay. Apparently the Phils are trying to find the players the Blue Jays want, even if that means looking on other teams.

10:00pm: Angels GM Tony Reagins didn't comment on the reported offer of Saunders, Aybar and Bourjos, but two sources shot the rumor down when Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times asked them about it.

Reagins said the Blue Jays have targeted Saunders, Bourjos and Mike Napoli. It's even "possible" that the deal could be expanded to send more Blue Jays to Anaheim.

"They have a lot of pieces that are attractive," Reagins said.

8:33am: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had this to say to Scott Lauber about acquiring Halladay: "I don't think there's any likeliness. None."

6:01am: Mark Feinsand of The NY Daily News spoke to a source who said "Don't rule out them including Cole Hamels" in a potential Halladay deal. I'm not sure it's wise for Philly to sell low on Hamels for only one year of Halladay, but that would be something.

4:47am: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com says that the Angels and Phillies have emerged as the frontrunners in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. Philadelphia is prepared to offer a package that will likely include J.A. Happ, plus either Michael Taylor or Domonic Brown. Echoing a report from yesterday, Rosenthal says the Angels offered Joe Saunders, Erick Aybar, and Peter Bourjos to the Blue Jays.

Halladay will likely require a contract extension in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause according to Rosenthal, and the Phillies would almost certainly have to make another move to fit Halladay into the payroll. Joe Blanton is a prime candidate to be that sacrificial lamb. Meanwhile, the Angels are trying to re-sign John Lackey, and could withdraw from the Halladay pursuit if he returns.

Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday

By Mike Axisa | December 10, 2009 at 7:36pm CDT

7:36pm: A source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets offered Bay more than $60MM, but less than $65MM.

5:57pm: The Mets confirmed that they made Bay and Bengie Molina offers, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

3:27pm: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets offered Bay four years and about $65MM. He feels "they'd probably have to bump it to five years to get him." Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the offer was in the four-year, $60MM range. Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News agrees with Heyman's figure.

12:57pm: Newsday's David Lennon tweets that the Mets' first two free agent offers are going out to Bay and Bengie Molina.

5:18am: Going into the fourth day of the Winter Meetings, the Angels, Mariners, Red Sox, and maybe even the Mets are suitors for free agent outfielder Jason Bay, writes Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald. One source indicated that Boston was in a "holding pattern" until the Bay situation was resolved, however they could turn to Matt Holliday, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.

WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes that if anyone offers Bay a five year contract, that would likely seal the deal. However, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that there are "concerns within the Boston organization about whether Jason Bay would hold up physically through a multi-year deal." For what it's worth, Bay has only been on the DL twice in his career, the last time coming way back in 2004.

Meanwhile, Kevin Baxter of The LA Times says that Angels' manager Mike Scioscia would prefer to re-sign John Lackey instead of importing Bay, noting that they have to be as balanced as possible.

Stark On Halladay, Bradley, Lackey, Gonzalez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 10, 2009 at 6:56pm CDT

The Blue Jays are still demanding nearly as much for Roy Halladay as they were this summer, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The Angels, Phillies and Yankees appear to be "the only realistic destinations" for Halladay at this point. The Angels would apparently want Halladay to sign an extension if they traded for him, but the Jays don't appear to be close to dealing their ace away. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

One GM would be shocked if the Angels don't sign Jason Bay or John Lackey. The Angels haven't shown any indications that they're ready to offer Lackey A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM).
The Yankees are focused on adding a free agent starter and determining whether Johnny Damon will return.
If the Cubs and Rays can figure out the money, Milton Bradley could still end up in Tampa Bay.
The Red Sox will have a hole at first or third if and when the Mike Lowell deal goes through, but you can count out Adrian Gonzalez. Stark says the Padres just have no motivation to move the hometown slugger.
The Red Sox are "clearly infatuated with" Adrian Beltre.
Dan Uggla, Francisco Cordero, Luis Castillo, Lyle Overbay, Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Pierre, Jose Guillen and Eric Byrnes were all being shopped this week.
Stark notes that the market for starting pitchers hasn't been bad so far, pointing to Randy Wolf and Andy Pettitte as examples.

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