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Kerry Wood

Heyman’s Latest: Furcal, Sabathia, K-Rod

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Jon Heyman has a few new posts on his Fan-Nation blog:

  • Heyman thinks its peculiar that Rafael Furcal passed up his last offer of 4 years, $35-40MM, especially while the shortstop market is thinning out. The Giants signed Edgar Renteria. The Cubs want a lefty-bat. The Braves need to deal Yunel Escobar before they’ll be interested in Furcal. Again, Buster Olney noted today that Furcal was asking 4 years, $52MM.
  • Can the Giants afford CC Sabathia? They’ve already signed Renteria, Jeremy Affeldt, and Bobby Howry. And he would be the team’s second $100MM contract having already made the mistake of overpaying Barry Zito. They admit they need a bat more than another arm. And while Sabathia would like to play in San Francisco, would he like to make less than Zito’s $18MM on the same team?
  • No surprise that Francisco Rodriguez is sitting atop the Mets closer wish-list. According to Heyman, he’s followed by Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, and then a combination of Trevor Hoffman and Huston Street, who would need to be dealt from the Rockies. Heyman doesn’t complete the list beyond those 4 options and notes that the Hoffman/Street option is a popular idea in the organization. For K-Rod, 3-4 years would be the Mets threshold.

Mets Likely To Offer Deals To Closers

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Andrew Marchand of ESPN radio 1050 in New York has a source who says the Mets will "probably" offer a deal to a closer at the Winter Meetings. Finding a closer remains a priority for the Mets, who may prefer Francisco Rodriguez over other options.  Buster Olney recently wrote that the Mets will offer deals to multiple closers during the Winter Meetings and will give the closer’s job to the first free agent to accept his offer.

Marchand’s source said that Bobby Abreu, who wasn’t offered arbitration, and Raul Ibanez, who was, could be targets for the Mets once they make progress in the bullpen.

Manny Ramirez is apparently not on the Mets’ radar.

Tigers, Mets Interested In Wood?

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According to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Tigers and Mets have shown the most interest in free agent closer Kerry Wood.  He expects Wood to sign a two-year deal with a third-year vesting option.  De Luca also notes that Wood never conveyed to the Cubs a willingness to take a one-year deal.  Still, the Cubs surely had read the quotes by the time they decided not to offer him arbitration.

Mariners Make Putz Available

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According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mariners have made closer J.J. Putz available.  The Mets will talk with the Ms about him at next week’s Meetings, but the Indians and other clubs will likely get involved.  It sounds like the Mets would be happy to acquire Putz rather than give four years to Francisco Rodriguez/Brian Fuentes or three to Kerry Wood.  Matthew Cerrone has more on the Mets’ bullpen plans here.

Putz, 32 in February, posted a 3.88 ERA in 46.1 innings this year.  He struggled with his control, and hits dropped it at an inordinate rate.  His average fastball velocity remained around 95 mph despite ribcage and elbow injuries.  He’s set to earn just $5MM in ’09 with an $8.6MM club option for ’10.  Putz could be a great pickup, as he was flat-out dominant from 2006-07.

Sherman adds that the Rays offered Chad Bradford to the Mets, hoping to move his $3.5MM salary.  His salary doesn’t suit the Mets either, though.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Burrell, Manny

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6:16pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves are not interested in Dunn because they seek a right-handed bat.  Does that rule out Raul Ibanez as well?

1:51pm: The latest from Ken Rosenthal:

  • The Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Phillies are pursuing free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.
  • Now that Adam Dunn wasn’t offered arbitration, the market is starting to take shape.  The Braves, Mariners, and Nationals are interested, and the Dodgers and Angels consider him a fallback option.  How about Dunn and Russell Branyan in the same lineup?  Rosenthal considers the Yankees another possibility.
  • Teams considering Pat Burrell, who was also not offered arb: the Mariners, Angels, and Giants.
  • Rosenthal considers the Giants a darkhorse for C.C. Sabathia.  Tim Brown says the Giants may be closing in on Edgar Renteria; Rosenthal has the Dodgers and Cardinals as other suitors.
  • The Brewers will need to increase their offer to Sabathia to six years to have a shot. 
  • Rosenthal believes Jason Varitek will accept his offer of arbitration.  He also wonders if Orlando Cabrera could accept.  He expects Ben Sheets to decline (I made an error on this eariler).
  • Rosenthal ponders the chances of Manny Ramirez accepting the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration.  Buster Olney says three GMs wondered the same.  I was under the impression Manny declining arbitration was a condition of his trade.
  • The Cardinals want to add a young starter with upside.  They also may go after a closer like Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood if prices drop.
  • Rosenthal believes the Reds could discuss a two-year deal with David Weathers.

Reds Rumors: Gonzalez, Reyes, Beimel

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Let’s gather up the latest on the Reds.

  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer figures the Reds would like to add a young shortstop.  Alex Gonzalez was supposed to play winter ball but the plan changed.  The Reds still hope he’s ready for spring training.
  • Kerry Wood is not likely, but the Reds have an offer out to Arthur Rhodes and maintain interest in David Weathers after offering him arbitration.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon throws a few new lefties into the mix: Dennys Reyes and Joe Beimel.  Darren Oliver is not under consideration since he’d cost the Reds their second-round pick.  I imagine Oliver’s agent is hearing that from most teams.
  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty also continues to talk to the agents for Mike Lincoln and Jerry Hairston Jr., according to Sheldon.

Reds Unlikely To Sign Wood

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TUESDAY: Baker might make a call, but Reds GM Walt Jocketty admits that Wood is likely to find offers to close elsewhere.

MONDAY, 11:03pm: Dusty Baker plans to give Wood a call and see if he might be interested in setting up Francisco Cordero in Cincinnati.

7:55pm: According to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat, the Cubs declined to offer arbitration to Type A free agents Kerry Wood and Bob Howry.  The Cubs decided they could not take on the financial risk of Wood accepting, as they’re tight on payroll.  Trading him might’ve been difficult, as he would’ve been a 10-and-5 player.  It seems that payroll forced the Cubs to make the questionable baseball decision to pass on a one-year deal for Wood. 

Wood now has an advantage on the market over Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes – he won’t cost a draft pick to sign.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Wood, Sheets

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Ken Rosenthal suggests that in this economy some teams may not offer arbitration to Type A free agents to avoid risking a payroll hit. Further, some players may opt to accept the certainty of arbitration over "a volatile free agent period."

The Dbacks were always expected to offer arbitration to Adam Dunn and he was expected to decline thus netting Arizona two draft picks to compensate for the three players they dealt in August. In arbitration, Dunn would command $15-16MM. Says Rosenthal,

"…if the D-backs made the offer, it’s doubtful that Dunn and his agents would determine by midnight Saturday that a multiyear contract was beyond their reach. What’s more, the D-backs always could trade Dunn if he accepted their offer. In that sense, he would be an asset on a one-year deal; the Nationals, among other teams, would jump."

In arbitration, Kerry Wood would get around $9-10MM per year but it’s obvious the Cubs are not interested in even one year at that price – that money is better spent improving the rotation. The Cubs see Carlos Marmol, not Wood, as their closer and have opted to replace their setup man by trading for Kevin Gregg rather than paying Wood to slot into the role. Rosenthal notes Wood said he would have returned on a one year deal, and if he were to accept arbitration then the Cubs would most likely look to deal him – perhaps to the Rangers?

Rosenthal also points out that arbitration contracts are not guaranteed, but releasing Wood in Spring Training would result in a grievance by the players union. It would be hard to justify releasing a player of Wood’s caliber.

Ben Sheets could command $13-14MM in arbitration and for an ace-quality pitcher that’s reasonable. Rosenthal makes this easy:

"If the Brewers fail to offer Sheets arbitration, it will be a clear indication that club officials are concerned about his ability to stay healthy in 2009. And remember, the Brewers know Sheets better than any other team."

Mets Will Try To Trade For Bullpen Help

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The New York Times has sources who say the Mets will look to improve their bullpen through trades before starting more involved discussions with Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes.

According to the article, the Mets have had discussions with various teams about trading for Jose Valverde, J.J. Putz, Huston Street and Bobby Jenks and are considering free agent relievers Kerry Wood and Trevor Hoffman.

Even if the Mets add one of these relievers, they could still sign K-Rod or Fuentes in their efforts to completely remodel their bullpen.

This week Mets GM Omar Minaya said Fuentes’ asking price was “a bit high,” so the Mets are considering alternatives even though they will continue to pursue K-Rod and Fuentes.

Mets Rumors: K-Rod, Dye, Vazquez

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6:22pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Minaya has reached out to K-Rod and Fuentes.  He says the Mets prefer free agency to trading. 

We also have a rumor from Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  He says the Mets offered Aaron Heilman to the Rockies for Street shortly after Colorado acquired him.  The Rox wanted the Mets to add Pedro Feliciano, and the Mets refused.  MetsBlog has more insight into the team’s plans.

1:33pm: Rounding up today’s Mets rumors…

  • On Friday, David Lennon of Newsday said the Mets had received Francisco Rodriguez’s medical records.  He also had Omar Minaya saying the club’s doctors were looking it over.  However, Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post writes today that the Mets did not receive the records until yesterday afternoon.  According to Hubbuch, the Mets told Paul Kinzer they’ll get back to him after Thanksgiving regarding K-Rod.
  • Hubbuch names five other Mets targets: Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Trevor Hoffman, J.J. Putz, and Huston Street.
  • Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News talked to Minaya, who said the Mets have not made offers to any free agents yet.
  • In case you missed it, Ken Rosenthal had several Mets nuggets in today’s column.  He said the Mets balked at Chicago’s asking price for Jermaine Dye, and aren’t enamored with Javier Vazquez.  Rosenthal believes the Rays’ Andy Sonnanstine "represents a more desirable target" for the Mets.
  • SI.com’s Jon Heyman rattles off a list of the Mets’ free agent targets, which does not include Manny Ramirez.
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