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Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 10:59am: Jayson Stark’s sources speak of glacially moving Santana talks with the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Mariners that may drag out for several more weeks.

UPDATE, 12-28-07 at 11:00am: Joel Sherman’s sources name the Red Sox as the "strong favorite" to acquire Santana in the new year.  He sees the Yankees backing down and the Mets as lagging behind for lack of MLB-ready young players in their offer.  Also here’s a Jayson Stark Santana article I missed yesterday giving his take on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets.

UPDATE, 12-27-07 at 2:59pm: Charley Walters has some quotes from the Twins’ president.  He gives the impression that the Twins’ priority is still to sign Santana to an extension, for what it’s worth.  They’ll have to do better than four years and $80MM though.

FROM 12-26-07 at 10:50pm:

LEN3 checks in with the latest Johan Santana rumors this evening.

  • The Mets appear to be a solid contender, even without offering up Jose Reyes.  Neal ponders whether the Twins would prefer to send Santana to the NL so they can avoid him.  Matthew Cerrone has been saying this for some time, adding that Santana would prefer to come to the NL as well.
  • Interesting note – Neal says Kei Igawa’s name has surfaced in regards to the Yankees talks.  It wouldn’t materially change the deal though.
  • Neal says talks with the Red Sox are currently dormant. 

Latest Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 2:54pm: Jon Heyman puts the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets as the three leading suitors for Johan.  Matthew Cerrone, however, believes the Rangers, rather than the Yanks, are the third leading suitor.

FROM 12-11-07 at 8:52am:

Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest buzz surrounding the Johan Santana trade talks.

The Red Sox and Twins talked yesterday, and the Twins are leading toward Jacoby Ellsbury rather than Jon Lester.  Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson would also be included, and the sides are trying to figure out a fourth player.

The Yanks and Twins haven’t talked much lately, but apparently Kei Igawa’s name has come up in the talks.  He can’t have much trade value in the Twins’ eyes.

Christensen implies that the Mets might be trying to finish second here, staying involved for the sake of PR.

Christensen also notes that the Twins are fond of Jered Weaver, and the Angels could jump in if they decide to use their trade chips on another starter.

Also, the idea of the Twins including another player on their end has come up.  In the past Joe Nathan has been mentioned, but Christensen is referring more to Twins’ prospects.  They don’t have much in the system though.

Abraham On Hawkins, Igawa, Santana

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Peter Abraham of The Journal News checks in on his blog with a couple of new Yankees tidbits.

  • The Yankees are considering LaTroy Hawkins, Ron Mahay, and a return of Luis Vizcaino among relief possibilities.  Hawkins has the Tigers and Rockies after him.  Mahay interests the Braves, Brewers, and Royals.  Haven’t heard much about the Viz yet.
  • Abraham says there is a market for Kei Igawa.  The Yanks don’t have a rotation spot for him, but they are paying him through 2011.  He’s signed cheaply since a large part of the expenditure was his posting fee.  Other teams known to have shown interest in Igawa at one point: Padres, Orioles, Mariners, D’Backs, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Braves, Tigers, and Indians.
  • Abraham does not think the Mets will surrender Jose Reyes, and therefore doesn’t think they can pull off a Johan Santana deal.

Yanks, Padres Fail To Reach Igawa Deal

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Disappointing lefty Kei Igawa will not be traded this season.  According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees chose not to dump Igawa’s contract on the Padres, and the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement via trade.  The Padres had won the claim on Igawa, which shows just how little interest there was around baseball.

As I mentioned a couple days ago, the Yankees don’t really have an opening for Igawa in 2008 if all goes according to plan.  Many teams have shown past interest in Igawa, including the Orioles, Mariners, Padres, D’Backs, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Braves, Tigers, and Indians.  Igawa had expressed a desire to pitch on the West Coast.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Possible Waiver Deals

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Ken Rosenthal has a new post up; below are some points of interest for rumor-hounds like us. 

  • Josh Towers and Steve Trachsel have both cleared waivers.  You’ll find their contract info as well as a complete list of those who have cleared waivers here.  Rosenthal says the Rockies are monitoring both pitchers; they were forced to start journeyman Tim Harikkala today.  The Rox also called the A’s about Chad Gaudin but found the price prohibitive.  Another reason a Gaudin trade wouldn’t make sense is that he wouldn’t pass through waivers. 
  • Towers is attracting multiple suitors.  I think he’ll have moderate success in the NL as a #4 starter.
  • Mark Loretta and Mike Lamb were both claimed on waivers and then pulled back, so they’re not going anywhere. 
  • The Yankees have no reason to throw down a chunk of change on a free agent starter this winter.  They’re all set for 2008 with a formidable rotation of Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, and Andy Pettitte.  I think we’ve learned by now that there’s really no such thing as a surplus of starting pitching, so I imagine the Yanks will only trade Kei Igawa in the right deal.  Buster Olney said this morning that there was a 50% chance of Igawa going to the Padres soon.  Additionally, it will be nice to have Ian Kennedy around as the sixth starter.

Padres Awarded Claim On Kei Igawa

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UPDATE: Buster Olney gives the deal a 50/50 chance and says the deadline is 2pm Tuesday.  The Yanks would target one of the Padres’ many fine relievers.  As expected, the posting fee is a sunk cost and doesn’t factor in here.

The Padres were awarded a waiver claim on Kei Igawa today, a pitcher they pursued in the offseason.  A healthy dose of a National League pitcher’s park may be just what Igawa needs.  As Ken Rosenthal notes, all AL teams as well as clubs like the Dodgers, Rockies, Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, and Braves passed on Igawa.  I’m surprised the Mariners passed, also.

The Yankees and Padres now have 48 hours to work out a trade.  The Yankees could just dump the contract on the Padres, but it’s really not that bad since the posting fee is a sunk cost.  Igawa gets $4MM annually through 2011, which is really cheap if he can be even league average.

Padres Interested In Igawa, Lamb, Loretta

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UPDATE: Will Carroll reports that the Padres appear to be close to a deal for both Lamb and Loretta.  Not sure if the Ensberg acquisition changes this.

I’m not sure when it was published, but Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Padres have interest in Mark Loretta or Mike Lamb from the Astros.  That we knew, but Krasovic also mentions that the Padres would like to buy low on Kei Igawa but the Yankees aren’t shopping him.

Madden Takes On Mike Pagliarulo

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Bill Madden of the New York Daily News illustrates an interesting discrepancy regarding some harsh criticism of Brian Cashman.  Mike Pagliarulo, former player and co-founder of a scouting company, has a pretty cool website called The BaseLine Report where he dishes scouting knowledge.  His company often gathers intelligence on Japanese players and consults for many teams.

Pagliarulo put up this MySpace post a few weeks ago, giving Brian Cashman a D- grade and calling him one of the worst GMs in the game.  He compares the Kei Igawa signing to the Mike Hampton contract.  Huh?  Madden quotes Pagliarulo as writing, "The Yankees chose not to use (Cashman’s) Japan consultants, who told him to walk away from Igawa."  That’s Pagliarulo’s way of saying Cashman ignored his sound advice against signing Igawa.

However, that sentence has apparently been removed from the blog post since Madden revealed that Pagliarulo’s actual report to Cashman was fairly positive.

Madden called out Pagliarulo, whose response has apparently been to edit the MySpace post in his company’s favor. 

Rosenthal’s Latest Videos: Teixeira, Dye, Garland

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Ken Rosenthal has a couple of recent videos up at FOXSports.  Check ’em out.  Some highlights:

  • The Mark Teixeira talks are at a standstill; the Braves and Angels are reluctant to improve their offers.  The Dodgers are said to be out of the picture.  Daniels, Schuerholz, Stoneman – which one blinks first?  I’ll say Daniels; he’ll go with Atlanta’s best offer.
  • Jermaine Dye is Plan B for the Angels, but as you know the Red Sox still have interest.
  • Jon Garland can be had, but Kenny Williams’ price is sky-high.  The Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Mets, and Braves all have interest.  The Braves had offered not only Edgar Renteria but a top pitching prospect, and still were rejected.  Rosenthal expects Garland to stay put because as the asking price is not met.
  • The Dodgers are still the leaders on Octavio Dotel, but the Tribe could jump in if they part with Ben Francisco.  Would Francisco really be missed?
  • The Cubs are looking at role players like Jay Payton and Jeff Conine.  Many Cubs fans have written me looking for some good rumors – anything I would hear would go on the site.  My gut feeling is that they do nothing major.
  • The Orioles asked about Kei Igawa, but were told he’s not available.
  • Rosenthal can see Adam Dunn and Eric Gagne staying put at the deadline.  The need to deal Gagne is a bit more pressing, in my opinion.

Mariners Considering Kei Igawa, Al Reyes, Jason Jennings?

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Apparently the Mariners have some interest in twice-demoted Yankees starter Kei Igawa, according to an uncited TV report.  The report pleased Ichiro Suzuki and Kenji Johjima.

Igawa is locked up through 2011, which may or may not be a positive.  He earns another $1.5MM this year plus $4MM annually through the end of the contract.  The posting fee situation ensures that Igawa’s salary is  really cheap, the price a team might pay for a semi-utility guy like Mark DeRosa.  If Igawa can be league average in the comfy confines of Safeco, he’s a bargain.  More likely he’d have value to an NL team. 

The Mariners were in on Igawa this offseason, along with the Padres, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Cubs, Tigers, and Indians.  Igawa was said to prefer playing on the West Coast.  The 28 year-old had a decent strikeout rate but has otherwise been rocked in 62 innings as a Yankee.

Meanwhile Dan Graziano says the Mariners are entertaining practically every available starter.  He says they’re "hot on the trail" of Jason Jennings.  I still think Jennings stays put.

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times has a few new names for us: the Mariners have "serious interest" in reliever Al Reyes and may go for Edwin Jackson as well.

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