Cubs Exercise Harden’s Option
1:47pm: The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Harden does not need surgery and the Cubs exercised his $7MM option for ’09.
8:34am: Some fresh notes regarding the Cubs’ offseason plans…
- Turns out the Cubs have to decide on Rich Harden‘s $7MM option by midnight tonight. Even if he needs arthroscopic shoulder surgery, they’re expected to exercise it. Other less likely options include declining it and going to arbitration or just non-tendering him. Unless Harden needs major surgery, he’s a Cub in ’09.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wonders whether the Cubs will buy out backup catcher Henry Blanco and re-sign him more cheaply rather than exercise his $3MM option.
- Gordon Wittenmeyer believes the Cubs could try to re-sign Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood before they reach free agency.
- The team’s organizational meetings begin eleven days from now.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Laird, Strasburg, Chipper
Let’s gather up today’s linkage.
- Andy Pettitte will probably pitch next year, but Mike Mussina remains an unknown.
- Reader Peter H. reminds us that the Brewers’ playoff berth means the Indians get to choose the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia deal.
- Ross Newhan finds it indisputable that the Dodgers and Angels have to re-sign Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at any cost. Manny generated an estimated $7.6MM in extra revenue for the Dodgers. T.J. Simers snagged all kinds of quotes from Manny in recent articles, including one about Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick dissing Manny in front of his teammates prior to the shoving incident.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News names some possible fits for Gerald Laird this winter – the Tigers, Brewers, Reds, and Red Sox.
- The Nationals will pick first in the 2009 draft. Will they go for Stephen Strasburg?
- Kerry Wood felt bad about his three-year, $32.5MM deal, and basically signed a blank check after the ’07 season.
- Ron Villone would like to return to the Cardinals rather than attempt to tie Mike Morgan‘s record of playing for 12 different teams.
- Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson for next Tigers pitching coach?
- Athletics Nation puts together a plan to compete in ’09 without sacrificing the future.
- Chipper Jones wants to retire a Brave. But if he doesn’t sign an extension beyond ’09 and the Braves want to trade him next summer, he’s got a short list of teams to which he’d accept a trade.
Odds And Ends: Sosa, Rhodes, Twins, Rays, Cubs
A few minor notes from around the MLBiverse…
- The Mariners have signed Jorge Sosa to a minor league deal. This is Sosa’s third organization this season.
- Despite reports that the Brewers would not add a relief pitcher, Milwaukee had a scout at Friday’s game and Geoff Baker believes the scout was there to watch Arthur Rhodes.
- Joe Christensen says that the Twins may prefer to promote Francisco Liriano, and move him or another starter to the bullpen, rather than trade for a relief pitcher.
- Joe Maddon says that there is only a "50-50 chance" that the Rays make a move before the deadline.
- Jim Hendry says that the Cubs are not likely to make any trades unless an injury necessitates a move. Carrie Muskat says that a move may depend on how well Kerry Wood recovers from the blister on his throwing hand.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Cubs Sign Kerry Wood
UPDATE, 11-26-07 at 1:45pm: It’s official, and it’s worth $4.2MM plus another possible $3.45MM in incentives. Ryan Dempster‘s move to the rotation is official, and it looks like the Cubs may not pursue another starter (they had been linked to Hiroki Kuroda).
FROM 11/26/07 at 11:50am:
According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000, the Cubs have signed Kerry Wood to a one-year, $4MM deal with no options. Wood apparently had four other offers for two years worth $5-6MM. The Padres, Brewers, and Red Sox were among them.
I like the lack of risk here; it’s hard to find a reliever with Wood’s upside for one year. I really thought he’d get two years, $10MM. Of course, I am biased as a Cubs fan. We all know Wood remains a significant injury risk.
Odds and Ends: Santana, Hunter
Let’s kick off the morning with some odds and ends, absent any earth-shattering rumors. I’ll keep adding to this post.
- Awesome inside look at the Torii Hunter deal via Bob Nightengale. Hunter’s first choice outside of Minnesota was the Cardinals, but they weren’t interested.
- Hunter – not overpaid? So says J.C. Bradbury.
- Still some confusion about Johan Santana‘s no-trade clause. Buster Olney says it’s full and doesn’t indicate that the rights change on any certain date. Matthew Cerrone says it’s a full NTC only until Opening Day ’08, when it switches to 12 teams. Those are not mutually exclusive comments, so I guess we’ll see.
- Phil Rogers doesn’t think the Cubs will re-sign Kerry Wood. He also sees the Giants in the lead for Miguel Cabrera now.
- My coworker Jonathan makes a good point – thought the Sox wouldn’t give four-year deals to pitchers? They made a huge fuss over Mark Buehrle. Suddenly Scott Linebrink is worthy of breaking the rule again? Some are skeptical.
- Bobby Kielty typically smacks around left-handed pitching (Brian Fuentes for example). He’ll hook on as some team’s fourth outfielder as a free agent. He’d like to return to Boston, but that would require a Coco Crisp trade. Rob Bradford names the Twins, Braves, Rangers, and White Sox as possibilities otherwise.
Brewers Inquire On Wood
We learned a week ago that Brewers GM Doug Melvin has eight or nine different free agent relievers on his radar (apparently aside from Francisco Cordero or Scott Linebrink). Four of the relievers are known: Matt Herges, LaTroy Hawkins, Ron Mahay, and Troy Percival.
Some new facts emerged today, courtesy of Tom Haudricourt (as usual). Haudricourt says Percival wants more years and money than the Brewers are comfortable with. I’m guessing that means $5MM+ annually over three guaranteed years? Seems crazy but that’s my guess on what he’s asking.
We also learned a fifth reliever on Melvin’s radar: Kerry Wood. The Red Sox and Cubs are the frontrunners but the Brewers have inquired. If Wood somehow gets three years…wow.
Browsing the available relievers, I’ll guess that Keith Foulke, Jeremy Affeldt, David Riske, and Octavio Dotel are the other guys.
Cubs Rumors: Wood, Matsui, Crawford
The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan has the latest on the Cubs this morning.
- It’s been known for a few days now that the Red Sox like the idea of adding Kerry Wood as their setup man. Sullivan confirms the interest, and quotes Cubs GM Jim Hendry saying Wood is "getting a lot of action around the industry." In a pitching-starved market, teams will convince themselves Wood can stay healthy and dominant. Sullivan speculates that it could take multiple years at $5MM per. To see a team go 3/15 would not shock me.
- Kaz Matsui is still on the Cubs’ radar for a three-year deal. They could consider using him at shortstop or second base. Two days ago Tracy Ringolsby had said Matsui "appeared headed to the Astros," but Ken Rosenthal chimed in noting the Cubs and Rockies are ahead of Houston in the Matsui derby. Hendry met with Matsui yesterday, but no deal is imminent.
- A left-handed hitting outfielder remains on Hendry’s wish list. Carl Crawford hasn’t yet been made available according to Sullivan, but the Cubs will surely look into it if he is. Kosuke Fukudome remains a possibility as well. Bruce Miles adds Ryan Church to the mix.
- The Cubs expect to increase payroll beyond last year’s $110MM.
Wood On BoSox Radar
In Nick Cafardo’s column in the Boston Globe today, he mentions that Kerry Wood is on Sox’s radar. He says they envision him as the guy they were looking for when they traded for Eric Gagne on July 31. Unfortunately, this may not jibe with Wood’s intentions. As Tim has discussed here, he might be looking to remain as a starter, though that would limit the teams that are interested in him. Presumably, given his injury history and temporary success as a reliever in ’07, more teams would line up to have Wood in their bullpens.
The Cubs, who could use Wood either as a starter or a reliever — even a closer — remain the front runners. Other teams with a noted interest include the Reds, the Rangers, and the Yankees.
Cafardo also offers up the standard-issue rumors regarding Matt Clement (Padres or Royals), Bartolo Colon (Giants, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies), and Kris Benson ("drawing a lot of interest"). He also mentions the Tigers in connection with Livan Hernandez, Carlos Silva, and obviously Kenny Rogers. He also notes that without Joel Zumaya, the team might be looking at Eric Gagne.
And then there’s the recycled Miguel Cabrera talks. Cafardo describes the situation as we’ve all known it for some time now (guess what…Angels and Dodgers!).
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.
Cubs Send $2MM To Tigers With Jones
Turns out the Cubs added a nice bonus for the Tigers to take Jacque Jones off their hands: $2MM in cash. So let’s see here. Omar Infante will be up around $1.5MM in ’08, and the Cubs tossed in $2MM. Jones makes $5MM in ’08, though I’m not sure which team pays out the final chunk of his $4MM bonus. But I think it’s fair to say that this "salary dump" saved the Cubs about $1.5MM. The Tigers got Jones pretty cheaply.
So the Cubs didn’t clear much payroll, but they do have a clear vacancy in right field now. Kosuke Fukudome, as a left-handed hitting right fielder, is a perfect fit. I think the Cubs are on the right track with that one. Other considerations could include Ryan Church or J.D. Drew, in my opinion.
Gordon Wittenmyer notes in the above-linked article that the next order of business for Jim Hendry is re-signing Kerry Wood. This will be a good test of Wood’s loyalty, as some team is liable to come in with some kind of two-year, $15MM type offer.
Odds and Ends: Garcia, Greene, DeJesus
With so many rumors, there’s a need for a daily Odds and Ends post to catch ’em all.
- Buster Olney talked to Freddy Garcia‘s agent. He’s looking at a June return from shoulder surgery.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro made an offer on Brad Lidge. The Astros didn’t even reply. They did hear back from the Marlins on their Miguel Cabrera inquiry. The price is seemingly too high for talks to continue. Peter Gammons says that before the Astros got Michael Bourn, the White Sox pushed for a Chad Qualls for Ryan Sweeney swap.
- Evan Grant notes that the Rangers have discussed trading shortstop Joaquin Arias to the Royals for Joey Gathright. They’ve also talked to the Brewers about Tony Gwynn Jr. GM Jon Daniels needs to have options if he can’t afford Torii Hunter or the other free agents. Grant adds that the Rangers have already been in touch with Kerry Wood.
- Jose Guillen declined his $5MM option with the Mariners – that’s no surprise. So far the Royals have expressed interest.
- Khalil Greene is under the Padres’ control through 2009, but his salary is going to jump significantly in arbitration for the ’08 and ’09 seasons. The Padres want to sign him to a multiyear deal, perhaps buying out one year of free agency. GM Kevin Towers is also posturing that he might use Scott Hairston as the regular center fielder next year, which seems a stretch. Also, Geoff Jenkins is on Towers’ radar.
- Ed Wade and the Astros have asked the Marlins about Dontrelle Willis. However the ‘Stros probably do not have the goods.’
- One way or another, the Marlins will ditch Miguel Olivo. They hope to bring Yorvit Torrealba aboard, which would take an offer better than two years, $6MM. The Mets, Brewers, and Blue Jays also like Torrealba. The Marlins are serious about upgrading behind the plate and will spend some money to do so.
- Jorge Posada seems set on testing the market, which never bodes well for the incumbent team.
- David DeJesus is a hot commodity as an affordable center fielder, but Dayton Moore expects to hang onto him. Maybe he’ll change his mind once some big names are off the board.