According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Mets realize now they won’t be locking up Oliver Perez quickly. Their reported three-year, $30MM offer is not on the table and Perez is still seeking about $60MM over five years. It’s the same old story regarding their backup plans: Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland.
Jon Garland
Odds and Ends: Arb, Royals, Compensation
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 3pm CST (one hour later than usual).
- 16 starters were chosen within the first seven rounds of 2008 fantasy drafts. How many were worth it?
- Confused about all this arbitration stuff? Read this.
- Fred Claire notes that teams continue to sign pitchers to long-term deals.
- Just for the fun of it, Joe Posnanski envisions a Royals alternate reality where they drafted perfectly in 1999.
- Mike Axisa attempts to fix the free agent compensation system.
- Rinku and Dinesh hang with Barry Bonds.
- Ken Davidoff suggests the Mets sign Ben Sheets, Jon Garland, and Ty Wigginton.
- We’ve been doing many entries lately so be sure to check Page Two and Page Three for more.
Wolf Rejects D’Backs Offer
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, free agent lefty Randy Wolf rejected an offer from the Diamondbacks. Jon Garland did the same last week; Garland’s offer apparently had two option years. Piecoro says the D’Backs have about $4-5MM left to spend this winter. Braden Looper is said to be next on the list.
Piecoro adds that the D’Backs have two arbitration-eligible players, Chad Qualls and Conor Jackson. They’re closer to an agreement with Qualls than Jackson.
Mets Rumors: Andruw, Manny, Perez
Peter Botte of the New York Daily News has a handful of Mets rumors to pass along:
- One Mets official says the team is "probably not" interested in Andruw Jones, even if he comes cheaply.
- Botte did hear from one person familiar with the team’s thinking who believes the Mets could check in with Jones if he’s still available when Spring Training begins.
- One baseball official said the Mets "are not even in on" Manny Ramirez.
- The Mets don’t expect to come to any sort of agreement with Oliver Perez in the next few days.
- They’ve been in regular contact with the representatives for Randy Wolf and Jon Garland, who are considered fallback options if they don’t sign Perez.
- The Mets have talked with Freddy Garcia.
Russell Martin Hopes To Discuss Extension
According to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, Dodgers catcher Russell Martin hopes to discuss a long-term extension with the team this winter. Martin changed agents this offseason. He’s arbitration-eligible for the first time, so his salary will jump up from $500K to several million. Said Martin:
"I just want to get treated fairly. I’m not trying to steal the bank."
Martin had a private lunch with the McCourts yesterday at the Dodgers’ new spring home, but they did not discuss a contract. Brian McCann will be paid $15.5MM for his three arb years, $8.5MM for his first free agent year, and has a $12MM club option for another. That deal was signed almost two years ago, however. Also, Martin is a Super Two player and under team control through 2012.
In other Dodgers’ notes, Shaikin adds that they’ve backed off on Juan Cruz. Jon Garland, Braden Looper, Randy Wolf, Andy Pettitte, Luis Ayala, and Dennys Reyes remain on the radar to varying degrees.
Odds And Ends: Garland, Selig, Arbitration
Links for Thursday night:
- Nick Piecoro thinks the D’Backs could use Jon Garland to provide some solid innings, but their chances of acquiring him are much lower now that he’s rejected their offer.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown passes along a bizarre Scott Boras quote: "Baseball markets are like breakfast." More specifically, Boras called this market "an Aunt Jemima market."
- Bud Selig talked economics with MLB owners and admitted that baseball’s not "recession proof."
- Ryan Howard leads an impressive class of players who filed for arbitration.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi hasn’t gone to an arbitration hearing yet, and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian doesn’t expect that streak to end soon.
- Rob Neyer likes the depth in the Boston rotation, but he thinks the Mets still need another arm and maybe two.
Cards Could Pursue Free Agent Pitchers
According to MLB.com’s Matthew Leach, the Cardinals would love to upgrade their rotation and could do so via free agency. Ideally they would trade an outfielder for pitching, but the Cards are interested in pitchers with limited health risks willing to sign a short-term contract.
Leach confirmed with Jon Garland’s agent that the Cardinals "have called," but nothing has happened beyond that. Leach breaks down the chances that Andy Pettitte, Braden Looper, Randy Wolf, Odalis Perez, Ben Sheets or even Oliver Perez ends up in St. Louis.
The Cardinals appear unlikely to add a reliver or a second baseman.
Jon Garland Rejects Offer From D’Backs
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, starter Jon Garland rejected a contract offer from the Diamondbacks. The offer is unknown, but Piecoro believes the D’Backs have about $4MM left to spend this winter.
Pedro Martinez, Ben Sheets, and Jason Jennings are also on the radar. Piecoro figures Braden Looper would make sense based on his similarity to Garland.
Mets Lose Lowe; What’s Next?
Ben Shpigel of the New York Times looks at the Mets’ plans now that Derek Lowe has signed with the division-rival Braves.
Contrary to Jon Heyman’s report yesterday, Shpigel says the Mets have not yet made an offer to Oliver Perez. He expects that to happen within a day or two. The Mets are also "weighing a run at Ben Sheets, but are wary of his injury history." This Sheets-Mets idea is picking up steam. Sheets is also a "person of interest" for the Rangers, but they have not made an offer. Randy Wolf seems to be Mets’ fallback plan. David Lennon says the Mets are also involved with Jon Garland.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the Wolfs of the world – do those guys all end up with one-year, $8MM deals?
Dodgers Rumors: Wolf, Garland, Looper
Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News has a variety of Dodgers rumors for us:
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he would like to add "a starter, a reliever or both" as well as a versatile bench player.
- Jackson writes that the club’s believed to have refined its search for a starter to three pitchers: Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Braden Looper. Yahoo’s Tim Brown wrote that the Dodgers had interest in these three earlier in the week.
- The Dodgers are also believed to be looking at Juan Cruz, a Type A free agent. Signing Cruz would require giving up a draft pick, so Jackson says he’s less likely to join the Dodgers. Ken Rosenthal suggested the Dodgers had interest earlier in the week.
- The club could bring Nomar Garciaparra back, but he has another suitor now that the Phillies are also interested.
