Odds & Ends: Valverde, Gardner, Wells
Rounding up some news from around the majors on this Tuesday night….
- MLB.com's Jason Beck cites a report from an unnamed radio station which states the Tigers' offer to Jose Valverde is for two years. In another piece, Beck calls Detroit "the most logical destination" for Valverde.
- Brett Gardner has two backers (sort of) in Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News and ESPN's Keith Law. McCarron would like to see the Yankees acquire a "get-the-uniform-dirty type" but thinks Gardner should get "a real chance" to play every day. Law would let Gardner start the season because he feels that potential signings Reed Johnson or Xavier Nady are "marginal improvements that may not justify the cost."
- Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says the Blue Jays aren't thinking of moving Vernon Wells to a corner outfield spot in spite of Wells' declining UZR numbers in center. One factor might be that the Jays don't really have any other solid CF options, especially with Alex Rios no longer on the roster.
- C.J. Wilson is not a candidate to be traded despite the Rangers' signing of Darren Oliver, reports Ben Rogers of ESPNDallas.com.
- MLB.com's Jim Street says Miguel Tejada's asking price is too high for the Mariners to make a play for the free-agent infielder.
- Brian McTaggart of MLB.com passes along a report from Houston's KRIV-TV that Great Court Capital is the investment company negotiating to buy the Astros from Drayton McLane.
- Eric Hinske tells David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Atlanta "really seemed like the best situation" out of the clubs who made him offers.
- Doug Miller of MLB.com provides a quick round-up of some of the remaining free agents on the market.
Odds & Ends: Astros, Pirates, Giants
What's that you say? You want more news? You're just in time:
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane has entered into negotiations to sell the team. McLane says he's in no hurry to sell the team, but has entered into an exclusive 30-day negiotiating window with an unnamed New York investment banking company.
- According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the 2010 Pirates should use this as their motto: "Pirates baseball: Where unwanted relief pitchers seek employment."
- MLB.com's Chris Haft says that with the signing of Aubrey Huff, the Giants are likely finished making improvements to their roster.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck addresses the idea of Joel Zumaya as closer. The questions around Zumaya in that role are a big reason why Detroit is linked to free agent Jose Valverde, of course.
Odds & Ends: Maddux, Valverde, Davis, Felix
Links for Monday…
- Press release: Greg Maddux has joined the Cubs as an assistant to GM Jim Hendry. He'll work with the coaching staffs as well as baseball operations. Click here for the official story.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Diamondbacks' interest in Jose Valverde has cooled. The Tigers made an offer, the magnitude of which is unknown.
- Morosi says the Indians are not engaged in trade talks for Jhonny Peralta.
- ESPN's Keith Law praises the Reds for adding a pitcher with huge upside in Aroldis Chapman. He also points out that MLB's current draft setup "screws American-born players."
- David Coleman of The Crawfish Boxes says the Astros drew a line when they designated Julio Lugo for assignment in '03 following domestic violence charges, making their Brett Myers signing seem hypocritical.
- Free agent lefty Doug Davis is interested in joining the Nationals, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson, but Davis was told the Nats are more focused on adding a second baseman. Davis acknowledged, "Things are kind of going slow for me because I'm fifth or sixth down the line [when it comes to] starting pitching."
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times talks about the Mariners' need to sign Felix Hernandez long-term before the season begins.
- Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles evaluates the Giants' Aubrey Huff signing.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller discusses new defensive stats with experts and team officials.
Houston’s Compensation For Losing Valverde
Hundreds of players remain on the open market, but only one of the unsigned Type A free agents received an offer of arbitration. Now that players like Jason Bay and Matt Holliday have signed, just Jose Valverde remains.
- 19th – The Tigers would have to give their first rounder up, but they've reportedly made an offer.
- 23rd – The Marlins consider Valverde too pricey right now.
- 49th - The Pirates have some interest, but don't like Valverde's asking price of $8MM per year.
- 53rd – The D'Backs, who are also interested, have their first round pick protected.
- 57th – The A's have a protected first rounder, but they may stick with 2009 Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey.
- 58th – We haven't heard of definitive interest from the Blue Jays.
- The Phillies (27th), Yankees (32nd) and Nats (48th) would all surrender top-50 picks to sign Valverde, though those clubs don't appear to be likely destinations.
- The Red Sox haven't been connected to him either, and they'd rather avoid the luxury tax, but here's something to consider: they'd only have to give up their 107th overall pick to add the reliever. Valverde's ranked higher than John Lackey and Marco Scutaro, so the Astros get the 29th pick (now held by the Angels) if their former closer signs with the Red Sox. The Blue Jays and Angels are surely hoping to avoid this possibility because it would strengthen their rival's bullpen and diminish the value of their compensation picks.
- Confused? Check out our free agent compensation primer.
Olney’s Latest: Chapman, A’s, Yankees, Marlins
In his blog post this morning, ESPN's Buster Olney notes that evaluators are split on Aroldis Chapman, as some see him as once in a generation talent, while others see extreme risk because of control and makeup concerns. "Where was Randy Johnson when he was that age?" asked one scout, and the answer is in A-ball walking 94 batters in 119.2 innings.
Here's the latest on Chapman, and here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Olney hears that if Oakland doesn't commit to a new ballpark for the Athletics, that commissioner Bud Selig will step in and negotiate a lucrative territorial rights deal with the Giants, similar to what happened with the Orioles when the Nationals moved into town. That could result in the A's getting their long desired San Jose stadium.
- The Yankees are in no big rush to sign a righty hitting left fielder, and are content to let the market for guys like Reed Johnson and Jonny Gomes play out. Last night we learned that the team had interest in bringing Jerry Hairston Jr. back.
- The Marlins continue to scour the free agent market for a closer, however Jose Valverde is too expensive and they aren't expected to bring back Kevin Gregg.
Olney On Holliday, Valverde, Cust, Branyan
ESPN.com's Buster Olney argues that baseball writers shouldn't decide who makes it into the Hall of Fame. After explaining why he'd prefer to see the Hall of Fame appoint its own panel, Olney turns up some rumors from around the league. Here they are:
- One MLB official says the Matt Holliday deal may end up as "one of the worst deals in major league history" because the Cardinals were apparently bidding against themselves.
- Olney hears from negotiators who believe the Cards should have lowered their offer considerably once the Mets signed Jason Bay.
- Jose Valverde is asking for $8MM per season and wants to be a closer. As Olney points out, the Pirates and Marlins are not likely to match Valverde's asking price unless he lowers it. The Tigers have been cost-conscious this offseason, but they could use an accomplished reliever.
- Olney says it's clear that Billy Beane and the A's value Jack Cust "in a way that many other teams do not."
- Executives around the league are concerned about Russell Branyan's back. The 34-year-old slugged 31 homers last year, though he didn't play after August.
Pirates Rumors: Dotel, Ankiel, Iwamura
The Pirates won't spend as much on free agents as their division rivals, the Brewers and Cardinals, but they're still being aggressive. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are gaining momentum with Octavio Dotel, though talks with Rick Ankiel aren't progressing as well.
The Pirates, who made initial inquiries on Jose Valverde and Kevin Gregg before talks with the two relievers slowed, have offers out to Dotel and other relievers. As Ed Price reported yesterday, the Pirates are interested in Dotel's former teammate, D.J. Carrasco.
The Pirates aren't willing to promise any free agent – including Rick Ankiel – a starting job. The outfielder's agent, Scott Boras, hopes to find a full-time role for his client, so talks aren't developing, though the Pirates are open to signing the one-time pitcher.
Kovacevic also updates us on a couple former Rays. In this article, we hear that Akinori Iwamura has a release clause in his contract that allows him to become a free agent before he has six years of service time. He'll hit the open market after this year year if the Pirates don't lock him up. Also, the Pirates aren't interested in Jonny Gomes.
Jose Valverde Has Four Offers
FRIDAY, 8:12am: MLB.com's Jason Beck hears (via Twitter) from another source who agrees: Valverde has four offers and the Tigers are interested.
THURSDAY, 3:17pm: The market for Jose Valverde finally appears to be picking up. It's been relatively quiet for a few months, but the reliever now has four offers, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (via Twitter). All of the offers are for closing jobs and two of them are multi-year proposals. Brown says the Tigers and D'Backs "are in," so they've presumably made two of the offers.
The incumbent closers for the Blue Jays, Marlins, A's and Pirates don't have much seniority, but it's hard to imagine these teams spending big on Valverde.
Rosenthal On Holliday, Sheets, Valverde
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up in which he predicts destinations for ten of the top remaining free agents. A few worth noting:
- Rosenthal guesses the Cardinals will sign Matt Holliday for around seven years and $120MM.
- Rosenthal likes the Marlins for Aroldis Chapman.
- He sees the Cubs nabbing Ben Sheets, a possibility I hadn't really considered. It's unclear how much money the Cubs have left and how much Sheets will require.
- Rosenthal expects the Tigers to sign one of the available DH types (Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, and Carlos Delgado are out there).
- Rosenthal's choice for Jose Valverde, the Tigers, makes more sense than my earlier A's prediction. Rosenthal admits that the Tigers surrendering their #19 pick would be "a significant obstacle," but one person I talked to noted that it might not be since the Tigers traditionally go over slot and could therefore get a big talent later in the draft.
D’Backs Rumors: Valverde, Byrnes, Snyder
A D'Backs official tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the team's payroll now sits at about $75MM. Piecoro gets the sense that the D'Backs have the flexibility to spend a little more, but not much. That means Jose Valverde could return to the D'Backs if his asking price drops (let's not rule that out; the market for Valverde isn't great right now).