Griffey Talking To Four Teams
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked to Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent, Brian Goldberg. They’re talking to four teams, two in each league. The Mariners are one; the Reds and Rays are not. Nick Cafardo suggested the Nationals back on December 7th.
Fay believes Griffey could be signed for $3-4MM on a one-year deal. His knee is said to be healthy now following offseason surgery.
Mariners’ Priorities
Larry Stone talked to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, who listed the team’s needs:
"I’d love to have an outfield bat, and I’d love to have another infielder. And everyone is looking for pitching."
Stone also learned that the Ms have an offer out to one free agent and Zduriencik is very optimistic he will be signed.
Stone says Adam Dunn "has a strong preference to remain in the NL," and there’s no indication the Mariners are interested in Manny Ramirez. Ken Griffey Jr. seems to be a backburner issue. Stone says we should "tuck away" Gabe Kapler as a possibility.
Five Teams Interested In Griffey
Five teams have expressed interest in Ken Griffey Jr., according to Jon Heyman who confirms the Rays and Mariners are two of them. One other AL team and two NL clubs comprise the five.
For Griffey, Seattle would be a nostalgic return; however, the Rays would provide the convenience of playing two hours from his Orlando home. Writes Heyman,
"Griffey always has been a dedicated family man, so the convenience would appeal to him. The Rays are looking for one or two hitters, and while Griffey’s on their list, a couple other younger players, such as Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, and perhaps Jason Giambi or Garrett Anderson may be higher on it. Adam Dunn is another big hitter in a free-agent market still stacked with sluggers."
The Kid is 39 years old. Despite hitting 15 homeruns for the Reds, he parked only 3 after being dealt to the White Sox. He hit only .249 last season with an OPS of .777. His agent, Brian Goldberg, says the low output was due to a hidden knee injury he suffered after tripping "over a misplaced foot locker in the Reds clubhouse," says Heyman; however, this excuse doesn’t build any confidence in his ability to stay healthy. Griffey could come at a bargain for a team looking for a short term solution at DH.
Olney’s Latest: Lowe, Castillo, Hudson
Buster Olney focuses his new column on reluctant-to-spend teams and how they’ve changed the market. He turns up some interesting rumors…
- The Rays and A’s are in a "bidding war" of sorts over the likes of Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu. Both teams are willing to spend, but neither wants to go first since prices are higher now with both teams interested than they will be once the first team signs a player.
- The Mets are in a great position since the Cards and Brewers aren’t likely to compete for Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf. This means they can wait, knowing that bargains will likely surface.
- The Mets have "quietly continued to gauge" the Luis Castillo market and are interested in moving him and some of his salary.
- If they find a taker, they could pursue Orlando Hudson.
- As Joel Sherman predicted, the Nationals are now courting O-Dog.
- Olney asks whether aging stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Pedro Martinez will choose to play for the offers they’re likely to get.
- Brad Penny may soon decide where he wants to pitch next year. He’s weighing "an overture from the Cardinals" against other options.
Heyman: Burrell A Fit For Tampa Bay
Jon Heyman calls a potential Pat Burrell signing by the Tampa Bay Rays a "real possibility," in his latest blog post. Heyman says Burrell would be signed as a designated hitter.
Other free agents on the Rays’ short list include Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley, Garrett Anderson and Ken Griffey Jr., according to the update. The Rays are focused on upgrading their offense this offseason.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Abreu, Griffey, Varitek
The latest hot stove info from Ken Rosenthal…
- One executive told Rosenthal Bobby Abreu seeks a three-year, $48MM deal. He may have a hard time convincing someone he’s worth $16.5MM more than Raul Ibanez.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, rather than his bosses, has final say on whether to sign Ken Griffey Jr.
- If the Mets can move Brian Schneider, they could pursue Jason Varitek. They might have to give him a multiyear deal (and also surrender their second-round pick to the Red Sox). The Mets reportedly discussed Schneider with the Red Sox several weeks ago. Rosenthal says some execs still believe in the Mark Teixeira-Varitek package deal idea though. It doesn’t really make sense to me.
Rays Rumors: Bradley, Rivera, Griffey
4:44pm: Mike DiGiovanna says the Rays are also believed to be interested in Juan Rivera.
3:14pm: Rosenthal adds that Bradley went to lunch today with Rays officials.
3:12pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Rays are "thought to be considering" Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, and Raul Ibanez. Heyman adds that Ken Griffey Jr. would be thrilled to play for the Rays.
I imagine the Rays will wait back until January in hopes of signing somebody to a one-year deal.
Cafardo’s Latest: Halladay, Hermida, Abreu
Time for a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- Relievers on the Tigers’ radar: Trevor Hoffman, David Weathers, Arthur Rhodes, and Joe Beimel.
- Blue Jays J.P. Ricciardi is frank: "We will not trade Roy Halladay."
- Marlins right fielder Jeremy Hermida is said to interest the Reds, Rays, and Giants. John Perrotto says the Rays have inquired on Hermida.
- Cafardo believes the Dodgers will turn to Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, or Jermaine Dye if they fail to re-sign Manny Ramirez.
- Cafardo likes the Angels and Brewers as dark horses for Jake Peavy.
- Cafardo says not to discount the possibility of the Nationals signing Ken Griffey Jr.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Izturis, Gaudin
Links for Thursday…
- Check out this week’s minor league transactions. Some familiar names were signed.
- The Red Sox officially announced the signing of Junichi Tazawa.
- J.C. Bradbury likes the Dustin Pedroia contract.
- Sox Machine has parting words for Javier Vazquez, whose trade to the Braves was officially announced today. ESPN’s Keith Law tells you all you need to know about the players involved in the deal. Tyler Flowers is the key, Santos Rodriguez the wild card.
- The Rockies’ talks for lefty reliever Joe Beimel continue. In another article, Patrick Saunders looks at the team’s wish list.
- Rob Neyer believes teams are starting to figure out defensive evaluation, creating a weak market for lumbering LF/1B/DH types.
- Jesse Spector spoke to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski.
- T.R. Sullivan says the Tigers’ talks for Rangers catcher Gerald Laird continue.
- Larry Dobrow offers suggestions to fix the Reds.
- Aaron Gleeman says the Twins have already missed several good opportunities to affordably improve their bullpen.
- Viva El Birdos explains why the Cardinals should’ve offered arbitration to Russ Springer and Braden Looper.
- Lee Jenkins provides insight into Mark Teixeira – the perfect baseball player and ideal Boras client.
- Roch Kubatko says Cesar Izturis remains a strong possibility for the Orioles.
- Fred Claire notes that Jack Zduriencik will always remember Russell Branyan as his first free agent signing. Geoff Baker examines the Branyan signing and the Ken Griffey Jr. idea.
- Paul Sullivan suggests Chad Gaudin is a non-tender candidate for the Cubs. He’s set to get an arbitration raise on this year’s $1.775MM salary.
Odds and Ends: Griffey, Springer, Hoffman
Links for Wednesday…
- Common misconception Joe and I keep running into: signing one of the 15 Type A free agents who were offered arbitration will only cost the signing team one draft pick. The player’s old team also gets a second pick, but it doesn’t come from the new team. It’s just squeezed into the supplemental round. Check out a deeper explanation here.
- Nuggets from a Frank Coonelly chat: he expects the Pirates to make room on the 40-man roster for a potential Rule 5 addition, and they’d still like to re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz.
- Pirates pitcher Jason Davis looks like a non-tender candidate.
- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire doesn’t have Delmon Young in his preferred starting outfield.
- The Cubs signed pitcher Chad Fox to a minor league deal.
- Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent Brian Goldberg says he’s fine with DHing but is capable of playing the field. Goldberg thinks Junior can bounce back and have a 30 home run season.
- Click here to listen to free agent reliever Russ Springer talk to The ITD Morning After radio show on 1380 AM. He’s gotten calls from teams in both leagues, including "World Series participants." Springer is known to be on the Phillies’ radar.
- Recently I talked to Sarah Small of the Daily Illini.
- SI.com’s Tom Verducci looks at the supposed shortstop revolution that seems to have petered out.
- Dave Cameron respects the Astros’ signing of Mike Hampton.
- Tony Jackson says the Dodgers offered a minor league deal to Juan Castro.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore did a Q&A with fans at MLB.com. His priority is adding right-handed relief help after trading Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez. Also, he says Mark Teahen is "more important to our team today then he was in all of 2008 — and he was very important to our team in ’08."
- McCovey Chronicles is skeptical of all the teams blaming the economy.
- Drunk Jays Fans predicts Kevin Mench‘s Japan experience.
- Jesse Spector looks at comparable pitchers for C.C. Sabathia.
- Trevor Hoffman may meet with the Mets soon. Also, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon spoke of "addition by subtraction" yesterday.
- East Windup Chronicle disputes a Richard Griffin column.
- The Phillies are still willing to sign Type A free agents who were offered arbitration, such as Raul Ibanez or Juan Cruz.
- Evan Grant’s latest Rangers mailbag, always a good read.
- Joe Sheehan discusses various poor arbitration decisions by teams.
- Minor league deals for the Mets: Nelson Figueroa, Adam Bostick, and Rene Rivera. Marty Noble adds Andy Green.
- Rany Jazayerli figures Mark Grudzielanek agreed in advance to reject the Royals’ offer of arbitration.
- As usual, ESPN will be all over the Winter Meetings. I’m told they’ll be doing daily Baseball Tonight specials and will have a team of seven on the scene in Vegas.
- ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the free agent and trade markets are flooded with corner/DH type bats. There will be bargains.
- Bruce Miles thinks Milton Bradley would be a nice match for the Cubs. The biggest issue would be his ability to play right field every day.