Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Williams, Tazawa
Today’s links…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Great stuff on the Pedro Alvarez situation from Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein. Goldstein’s source says the union will claim that the Pirates and MLB engaged in a premeditated conspiracy, perhaps designed to take Scott Boras out of the picture by negotiating past midnight. The article is subscription-only. At $40 a year, BP is well worth it.
- It seems that Type B status is slipping away for Tigers reliever Kyle Farnsworth. Ivan Rodriguez recently fell from A to B, but the Yankees may choose not to offer him arbitration.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis says Mariners top draft pick Joshua Fields wants $2MM, while the team is holding firm at $1.5MM. Fields is advised by Scott Boras.
- Interesting note from last week…Bernie Williams is training and does not consider himself retired.
- Patrick Newman discusses the Junichi Tazawa situation in-depth. He says NPB’s commissioner plans to meet with Bud Selig. One reason MLB looks extra-appealing to Tazawa: NPB limits draft pick bonuses to $1MM.
- Geoff Baker discusses Jose Guillen.
Perrotto’s Latest: La Russa, Offseason Moves
John Perrotto at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up. Here’s the highlights from the Rumors and Rumblings section (with some added speculation here and there from yours truly):
- There’s a growing rumor that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa could step down after this season and pursue a job as a general manager. We all know Seattle’s looking…
- The Diamondbacks love Adam Dunn’s production so much that they are considering re-signing him and possibly having him play first base. Dunn’s racked up a .474 OBP since coming to Arizona… what’s not to like about that?
- The Padres seem willing to move Kevin Kouzmanoff once again. Perrotto doesn’t say, but it would make sense for young starting pitching to be the target for the Padres, and a move would allow Chase Headley to move back to his natural position, third base. The Giants are looking for help at third, but I doubt the Pads would trade him within the division. Minnesota, perhaps?
- The Marlins are considering playing Jorge Cantu at first next season, using Dallas McPherson at third, and trading Mike Jacobs in the offseason.
- The Royals will not re-sign Mark Grudzielanek this offseason, but will likely target both Rafael Furcal and Raul Ibanez. Given Mike Aviles‘ emergence at the plate, shifting him to second base and putting Furcal at shortstop would make for a very good middle of the infield in Kansas City. The Royals will also explore options for trading Jose Guillen. I personally didn’t like the contract they gave him at the time, and I doubt many clubs like it now either. Moving him could be difficult.
- The Rangers will try to trade Gerald Laird for pitching, given their surplus at catcher. The Yankees could use some help behind the plate if Jorge Posada is unable to catch…
- Jeff Kent, Frank Thomas, and Kent Mercker are all mentioned as possibilites for retirement this offseason, with Jeff Kent being almost a certainty, regardless of how his knee reacts to surgery.
Jose Guillen Denies Report
WEDNESDAY: Joe Posnanski writes that while the ESPN report wasn’t exactly true, it "did not completely miss the target, either." GM Dayton Moore admitted that "Jose Guillen likes attention." But, Moore knew what he was getting into.
TUESDAY, 6:13pm: Guillen denied the report entirely.
2:50pm: According to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas, Royals outfielder Jose Guillen is unhappy in Kansas City and wants out. He is reportedly not on speaking terms with manager Trey Hillman. He also doesn’t think the Royals are doing enough for build a contender for 2009-10.
Guillen would even defer some of the $24MM owed to him for 2009-10, if it would increase the chances of a trade. He is hitting .260/.287/.446 in 408 plate appearances, which is actually pretty bad. 29 left fielders have been more productive this year, including Willie Harris.
ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote on Thursday that the Braves asked about Guillen but the Royals wanted a cornerstone-type player like Gorkys Hernandez in return.
Stark’s Latest: Teixeira, Padilla, Sheffield, Beltre
ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings up. You may want to grab a glass of water or something, because this is a beast of a column.
- If the Braves have a bad weekend and decide to trade Mark Teixeira, a deal could come together quickly. Stark says the Braves have already touched base with the Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Yankees. Where Tex fits on the Rays, I’m not sure. Additionally, interest in Will Ohman is said to be "massive."
- A Jorge Posada move to first base could affect the Yankees’ interest in Teixeira this winter.
- Though Brian Fuentes has many suitors, the Rockies have actually exchanged names with only the Marlins and Yankees. GM Dan O’Dowd has not dropped his price. By the way, Todd Helton‘s injury takes Garrett Atkins off the market. As for Matt Holliday, many execs believe the Rockies will never trade him.
- The Phillies are focused on a left-handed reliever, with Fuentes, Damaso Marte, George Sherrill, and Jack Taschner in the mix.
- The Phillies were scared off by the asking prices on Holliday and Xavier Nady, and never even made an offer. They still could acquire a lesser hitter.
- The Pirates are inspiring much grumbling with high asking prices for Jason Bay, Nady, Marte, John Grabow, and Jack Wilson.
- The Rangers are looking for young, controllable starting pitching. Vicente Padilla is available, with the Tigers and Yankees showing mild interest. Eddie Guardado and Jamey Wright are not available.
- In pursuing Jarrod Washburn, Bronson Arroyo, and Padilla, the Yankees are demonstrating their plan to reduce the prospect price for pitching by taking on a decent-sized contract.
- While A.J. Burnett is "eminently available," no trade talks are cooking. The Jays apparently won’t deal him within the division. Other Jays veterans might be available, though Roy Halladay isn’t among them.
- The Tigers are looking for pitching and a long-term shortstop. They’d be willing to move Gary Sheffield, though they’d have to eat salary.
- Top Rays prospects such as Wade Davis, David Price, and Jeremy Hellickson are off-limits. Rays Index recently ran through the more likely trade candidates.
- The Braves asked the Royals about Jose Guillen, but Dayton Moore is asking for a ton.
- Stark says the Twins’ talks for Adrian Beltre are "far from dead." The Twins are zeroed in on a third base upgrade. Beltre, by the way, has the Dodgers on his no-trade list. Joe Christensen says the Twins have found the asking price prohibitive for various third basemen.
- The Rangers are looking for a young pitcher for Hank Blalock, who is drawing interest from the Twins, Giants, and Dodgers. The Dodgers also like Casey Blake, who is likely to be traded somewhere.
Royals To Stand Pat
Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star doesn’t expect the Royals to move anyone before the deadline because all of their pieces are under contract beyond this season and/or integral to their plan to contend in the future.
The Royals 2-prospect pricetag is too steep for Jose Guillen who’s signed through 2010 and leads the team in HR and RBI. Gil Meche has a no-trade clause and even so, the Royals feel he’s a key piece to their future chances. Even though the team isn’t discussing any long term deals with him, Zack Greinke is under control through arbitration through 2010 and the Royals are in no rush there. David Dejesus‘ contract, at $14.3MM for the next 3 years, is too good to trade away. And Ron Mahay is under contract through next year and filling a void left by Jimmy Gobble who continues to get worse.
Mark Grudzielanek remains the only name the Royals could deal, but there doesn’t seem to be much demand. Writes Dutton,
"’It will probably have to be a need-based thing for somebody,’ a club official said. ‘Somebody loses a second baseman and really needs to go get one. Otherwise, I don’t see it happening.’"
Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Burnett, Fuentes, Guillen
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. I updated the second bullet about Burnett – I had omitted an interesting rumor accidentally.
- The Dodgers could’ve gotten CC Sabathia, Casey Blake, and Jamey Carroll without giving up Matt Kemp. Owner Frank McCourt may have killed the deal, though he denies it. Rosenthal describes the Dodgers as a "near-impossible trading partner."
- Rosenthal reminds us that A.J. Burnett can veto trades to 15 teams and would probably require compensation to waive that right or his opt-out rights. Rosenthal also says the Jays offered Burnett to the Brewers for J.J. Hardy, but the Brewers passed and then acquired CC Sabathia.
- The Rays are named as the frontrunner for Brian Fuentes. Fuentes has been linked to nine clubs in various reports.
- Players such as Orlando Cabrera, Cristian Guzman, Jack Wilson, and Hardy may be hot commodities this winter given the large number of teams looking for a shortstop.
- The Royals received inquiries on Jose Guillen in the wake of his scuffle with the team’s pitching coach. However, the Royals plan to keep him.
- The Padres hope to acquire up-the-middle players. On a related note, Randy Wolf had a nice start last night.
Odds and Ends: Adam Jones, Weaver, Jocketty
You know how it works…random rumors and links to clear out my inbox.
- Adam Jones left winter ball early, perhaps as a prelude to a trade.
- The Cardinals’ interest in Jeff Weaver is "at best, tepid" according to Derrick Goold. However, Goold thinks they should bring him back.
- Walt Jocketty said on XM Radio: "I don’t want to be a GM again." I guess that settles that, Wayne Krivsky can rest easy.
- This is kind of funny. Mark Teahen on meeting Jose Guillen: "For the most part he didn’t rub me the wrong way – he seemed like a good guy." Hmmm….for the most part?
Odds and Ends: Guillen, Crede, Hamilton, Boone
Rounding up some of the day’s random rumors and tidbits…
- Jose Guillen might get a light suspension for his exploits.
- There was a report that the Brewers were close to obtaining Joe Crede, but it was published last night.
- The BBWAA approved a new resolution for 2013. Any player with a contract provision linked to a major award of theirs will not be considered for that award. Makes sense – to repeat Curt Schilling’s situation. Curt Schilling could get a million bucks by netting one Cy Young vote in 2008. The BBWAA would rather preserve its right to have members make off-the-wall votes on occasion without bribery being accused.
- The Reds traded Buck Coats to the Jays. They also released Jorge Cantu. They now have an open spot on the 40-man roster.
- Could the Rays re-acquire Josh Hamilton? There’s speculation on the topic in Nashville.
- Buster Olney says Aaron Boone interests the Giants, Nationals, and Brewers.
Odds and Ends: Peavy, Ellsbury, Montero, Fukumori
More random rumors to devour…
- The Braves are looking at adding Damian Miller as their backup catcher. The Nats are known to have interest and more playing time for Miller. The Padres are considering him as well; Miller will definitely play in ’08.
- Jake Peavy will get a three-year, $52MM extension with a $22MM option for 2013. Who knows how the Padres will feel about that option when they get there. Peavy will earn $15MM in 2010, $16MM in ’11, and $17MM in ’12. The ’13 option has a $4MM buyout attached.
- Jacoby Ellsbury signed on with the Scott Boras Corporation. I made an error earlier saying Jon Lester had as well.
- Pirates inked utility man Chris Gomez for a million bucks.
- The Nationals have their eye on Arizona’s Miguel Montero. They’re also one of the ten teams in on Kazuo Fukumori. Barry Svrluga tosses a new Japanese reliever into the mix: Katsuhiko Maekawa. Don’t know a thing about him yet.
- Larry LaRue tries to explain why the Mariners didn’t offer arbitration to Jose Guillen.
Braves Offer James For DeJesus?
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 4:21pm: Debunked! David O’Brien says the Braves aren’t in talks about DeJesus, and the Royals have a negative opinion of James anyway.
FROM 12-4-07 at 2:09pm:
According to the KC Star’s Bob Dutton, the Jose Guillen signing puts the Royals in a better position to trade David DeJesus or Joey Gathright. The Rangers and Braves are on DeJesus’ trail. Dutton believes the Braves offered up lefty Chuck James for him. It seems a little light, as I’m not sure James could be effective in the American League. Royals GM Dayton Moore, of course, came from the Atlanta organization.
Dutton says not only is Hiroki Kuroda looking for four years, he may want $48MM. The Royals could move on and spend the money on Andruw Jones instead, if he’ll take a one or two-year deal. The money could also be diverted to Carlos Silva if he’ll take 4/40. Otherwise the Royals will just chase rehab guys like Jason Jennings, Kris Benson, and Matt Clement.