Reds Interested In Josh Fogg
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds are interested in free agent starter Josh Fogg.
The righty starter recently turned 31. As Fay notes, he made $3.625MM in 2007. He seems like he might seek three years and $21MM, just a guess. I don’t want to dog the guy but he is below average in most aspects of pitching – allows tons of hits and HRs, doesn’t strike people out. He’s a flyball pitcher too. He does have decent control, though. Not a great fit for the Reds, but it’s slim pickens out there.
Cardinals Turn To Free Agent Market
The Cardinals want to add at least one starting pitcher. Once thought to be interested in Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse – the "premium" options – John Mozeliak is already digging through the bargain bin. Matthew Leach and Joe Strauss have the latest.
- Mozeliak has talked to Bartolo Colon‘s agent and the Cards will take a look at his medical records. It’s been suggested that Colon will not take a one-year deal.
- Livan Hernandez is under consideration, but Mozeliak says he’s "not yet" a fit.
- Josh Fogg is on the radar too.
- The Cardinals have marginal interest in Kris Benson, and they’ll attend his workout on the 17th.
- Interesting non-pitcher note from Mozeliak: the Cards have expressed interest in Aaron Rowand.
Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Fogg, Lee, Millwood
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 1:55pm: Heyman says the impasse between the Cards and Brewers in the Rolen talks was the second player coming over with Chris Capuano. He thinks the two teams will revisit these discussions in the future.
FROM 12-5-07 at 7:29am:
As usual, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has all the insight into the Cardinals’ situation.
- It doesn’t look like Scott Rolen is going anywhere before the Meetings end, and GM John Mozeliak may have to start the season with him. The talks with the Brewers were disheartening, apparently. The Cards don’t think there should be a discount. There is a glimmer of hope in that Mozeliak may talk again with the Dodgers about Rolen today.
- On the starting pitching front, the Cardinals are being realistic. That means they’re looking into signing Josh Fogg. Fogg will probably get a three-year, $21MM deal or so. Other starters on the radar include Cliff Lee and a new name, Kevin Millwood. Millwood will earn $8.5MM in ’08, $11MM in ’09, and $12MM in ’10. He has a limited no-trade clause, and the club may be able to void the deal after ’09 if he misses certain innings targets.
- Seems odd that the Cards are pursuing guys like the above but are willing to deal Anthony Reyes. As we learned yesterday, the Indians and Padres like the young hurler. The Phillies have coveted him for a while as well.
Rockies Rumors: Fuentes, Fogg
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:28am: More from Renck. He confirms the Red Sox’ interest in Fuentes and adds the Astros to the mix. While the Rox like Burke, the teams don’t really match up because that’s not enough.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:01am: The Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck has more.
- Brian Anderson – remember him? – is on the radar as a lefty swingman. The 35 year-old hasn’t pitched in the bigs since ’05.
- Renck ponders whether the Rox might revisit talks for Matt Morris, a sentiment echoed by Jenifer Langosch.
- Nothing seems to be imminent on the Fuentes-Lowrie rumor.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:21pm: A suitor for Fuentes has emerged. ESPN’s Amy Nelson says the Red Sox are interested and the Rockies could seek Jed Lowrie. Lowrie would be a nice fit at second base.
FROM 12-3-07 at 8:28pm:
MLB.com’s Thomas Harding checks in with some Rockies nuggets.
- The Rockies have no pressing need to trade Brian Fuentes, so they’ll sit pretty with two closers unless an impressive and helpful offer comes along. Dan O’Dowd believes four or five clubs might have the goods and need to get Fuentes. We’ll see.
- The Rox let Josh Fogg‘s agent know they’d like to explore bringing him back. No figures were exchanged.
- The team still hopes to bring LaTroy Hawkins back, but they’d have to go to two years to pull that off. They already chose not to exercise an effective $3.5MM option on him. It seems the Rockies may have underestimated the interest in Hawkins.
Odds and Ends: Colon, Clark, Gagne
Random rumors, let’s round ’em up.
- How about Bartolo Colon to the Mets? David Lennon notes that Omar Minaya sold the farm to acquire him in 2002 as the Expos’ GM.
- Scott Lauber says Aaron Rowand is insisting on a five-year deal. He adds that the Phils have interest in Geoff Jenkins but he might be too expensive.
- Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller are considered untouchable, so don’t look for the Tigers to make any big trades.
- Patrick Saunders runs down some free agents the Rockies may consider for the back end of their rotation: Tony Armas, Matt Clement, Steve Trachsel, Josh Fogg, Jason Jennings, Jon Lieber, Mark Redman, Brett Tomko, and Kip Wells.
- The Rays may go after Tony Clark, in large part because they’re seeking leadership. Marc Topkin agrees, and also rattles off Geoff Jenkins, Brad Wilkerson, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lamb, Mark Sweeney, Corey Koskie, and Greg Nortion as other possibilities.
- It’s expected that Eric Gagne will not accept Boston’s offer of arbitration, because he wants to close. One place he could do so is Texas, who like him if he’ll take one year.
- The Marlins’ new marketing materials exclude Miguel Cabrera.
- The Rangers have interest in Sean Casey and Mike Lamb.
Rockies Expect A Quiet Offseason
Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus recently wrote in reference to the Rockies:
Teams that overachieve expectations tend to keep everything in place, and in fact that’s exactly what Charlie Monfort is saying. This is likely to be one of the bigger misplays of the offseason.
Indeed, no one is expecting any kind of shake-up or blockbuster. That said, Tracy Ringolsby indicates that teams will inquire on Brian Fuentes and Garrett Atkins over the next few months. The free agent market for closers and third basemen isn’t robust.
Ringoslby notes that Josh Fogg may seek the Jason Marquis special – three years, $21MM. The Rockies will pass, instead entertaining bringing Jason Jennings back.
The Rockies are also expected to sign a veteran catcher to help Chris Iannetta along. Ringolsby names Yorvit Torrealba, Jason Kendall, and Paul Lo Duca as the options. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post names the same trio.
Renck adds that the Rockies will attempt to re-sign Kaz Matsui and Matt Herges soon as well. Renck mentions that the team has also gotten in touch with Shawn Chacon‘s agent. Chacon came up through the Rockies system but was traded to the Yankees in July of 2005.
What do you think about this plan? Should the Rockies make a major free agent strike or trade instead?
Orioles Like Josh Fogg
According to the Denver Post, Josh Fogg remains on Baltimore’s radar after they almost traded for him a few months ago. Fogg makes $3.625MM in his walk year.
Fogg is one of those guys who just shows up and puts in his 170 lackluster innings. He doesn’t get strikeouts, doesn’t have great control, doesn’t get a lot of groundballs, and pitches to contact. I’m not sure how the Orioles can win the wild card if they give him 30 starts. They’ve already got Steve Trachsel.