Rangers Like Patterson, Ethier, Hamilton, Fukudome
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers are targeting various young outfielders.
- Corey Patterson, 28, is a free agent and Scott Boras client. He’s looking for multiple years while the Rangers only want to give one. His talent might tantalize somebody, though he hit just .269/.304/.386 this year. He’s shown in the past that he can hit like a league average CF and play plus defense, so he could be a bargain. Patterson reversed his platoon split this year, hitting lefties pretty well. He’s an Atlanta native; maybe the Braves would be a match.
- Andre Ethier, 26 in April, is expendable now that the Dodgers have four outfielders. His career line of .295/.357/.464 is solid, though that is average for an AL right fielder. The Dodgers may opt to move Juan Pierre instead, if they can find a taker. The Dodgers previously had interest in Rangers reliever Joaquin Benoit, according to Sullivan. The Rangers would have competition from the Rays on Ethier.
- Josh Hamilton, 27 in May, could be moved by the Reds for a starting pitcher. Hamilton was incredible in 300 ABs for the Reds this year in his MLB debut, despite several years off and only 89 ABs above A ball. That’s #1 pick talent. He dealt with wrist, hamstring, and stomach problems this year however. Sullivan says the Reds would want Edinson Volquez for him; there was talk of sending him to Florida for Dontrelle Willis previously.
- Kosuke Fukudome, 31 in April, hasn’t decided yet whether to play in MLB. Even limited by an elbow issue he hit .294/.443/.520 in Japan.
- Milton Bradley, 30 in April, needs more time to decide on the Padres’ $4MM offer. Coming off knee surgery, he might be interested in the Rangers’ open DH job. Bradley is injury-prone, but he hit .306/.402/.545 in 209 ABs this year.
- Others who have been mentioned: Coco Crisp, Rocco Baldelli, Jim Edmonds, and Juan Pierre.
Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Prior, Roberts
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago-Sun Times checks in with the latest Cubs buzz.
- The Cubs, Padres, and White Sox are in on Kosuke Fukudome. It seems that both Chicago teams are willing to spend big bucks.
- Wittenmyer’s source indicates sparse interest in Mark Prior, though the Cubs have been shopping him. The Cubs could still choose to non-tender him on Wednesday rather than pay $3MM+. Seems like a reasonable gamble though.
- The Orioles want to figure out their plans with Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada before making a move with Brian Roberts, so talks with the Cubs have cooled. The O’s want Sean Gallagher and a outfield prospect, but not Matt Murton. Could 22 year-old Tyler Colvin be involved? Felix Pie is said to be off-limits. Colvin has drawn Steve Finley/Shawn Green comparisons from Baseball America.
Cubs Willing To Pay $12-15MM Per Year For Fukudome?
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 7:39pm: Sandy Alderson was on 1090 AM XX Sports Radio tonight. He said the Padres gave Fukudome one of the top two or three offers the team ever proposed. An answer from Fukudome is expected tonight or tomorrow.
FROM 12-6-07 at 2:23pm:
According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, it "sounds like the Cubs might go as high as $12-15MM per year" for outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. He adds that Fukudome would have to be willing to take less money to play on the West Coast if he is to become a Padre. Many players have before, so don’t go buying those Fukudome Cubs jerseys just yet.
Krasovic also has a note on Andruw Jones. Apparently the only other concrete offer outside of the Dodgers was a two-year, $22MM one from the Royals.
ESPN’s Latest: Barrett, Ensberg, Mahay
Who said the Meetings are over? ESPN’s Peter Gammons, Buster Olney, and Jerry Crasnick are still running down rumors.
- The Rays want Michael Barrett, according to Gammons.
- Looks like Kevin Mench will be non-tendered.
- Crasnick says the Marlins may go after Morgan Ensberg, who is also likely to be non-tendered. The Phillies aren’t much interested in him.
- Gammons says Ron Mahay is down to the Yanks or Royals.
- He also says the Padres’ Milton Bradley signing won’t get in the way of their Kosuke Fukudome pursuit.
- Olney backs up the rumor about the Giants’ interest in Hideki Matsui.
Padres Near Deal With Milton Bradley
UPDAT, 12-6-07 at 12:11pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock says the deal is worth $3.5-4MM.
FROM 12-6-07 at 11:24am:
According to MLB.com’s Jim Molony, the Padres are nearing a one-year deal with outfielder Milton Bradley. Bradley is expected to be ready to play in April; hopefully he can stay healthy and give the Padres 400-500 good ABs. Bradley recently lost 15 pounds in an effort to reduce his injury risk.
Does this take the Padres out of the Kosuke Fukudome sweepstakes? Probably not – the Padres won’t sign both Fukudome and Mike Cameron, but Bradley probably came cheaply.
Kosuke Fukudome Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:09pm: In a Baseball Prospectus chat today, Will Carroll said "Fukudome will decide today. Someone made a big offer." By that, Carroll means Fukudome will sign today.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 1:17pm: Jon Heyman suggests the Red Sox could get involved on Fukudome. Where to put him?
FROM 12-5-07 at 8:43am:
Let’s start a thread just for Kosuke Fukudome. The prevailing sentiment is that the Cubs are the frontrunners for his services. Newsday’s Ken Davidoff adds today that Fukudome has narrowed his choices to the Cubs and Royals.
Cubs Asked For Spilborghs
A note at the end of Troy Renck’s column today: when the Rockies asked the Cubs about southpaw reliever Will Ohman, the Cubs asked for outfielder Ryan Spilborghs. Spilborghs hit 11 home runs in 264 ABs this year. The Rockies passed, and the Cubs went on to trade Ohman to the Braves.
Renck adds that the Cubs are "closing in on Kosuke Fukudome," which echoes Geoff Baker’s take last night.
Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Ibanez, Dempster
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Gordon Wittenmyer already has his Wednesday column up for review.
- Wittenmyer still thinks Kosuke Fukudome is going to be much more expensive than anyone originally thought. Could the bidding reach $40MM over three years?
- If the Cubs can’t go Fukudome they will turn to Raul Ibanez. They might offer Sean Marshall for him. They’d only have to endure a year of Ibanez butchering right field.
- Jim Hendry debunked a Jeff Blair report that the Cubs want to move Ryan Dempster.
- The Cubs have no intention of trading Felix Pie or Sam Fuld, not that there had been any recent rumors.
Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Prior
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:58pm: MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says there is "very minimal buzz"that the Mets may have inquired on Prior.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 7:04pm: Tasty rumor morsel: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Fukudome is "almost certainly" going to sign with the Cubs.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:20pm: Some new stuff from ESPN Radio 1000’s Bruce Levine.
- The Cubs have talked to the Royals about Mark Teahen; the Royals like Matt Murton.
- Levine says there’s nothing to the Josh Hamilton rumor.
FROM 12-4-07 at 12:11pm:
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times discusses the rumors around the Cubs.
- Wittenmyer implies that Kosuke Fukudome could get a deal similar to Torii Hunter‘s – five years, $90MM. That’s not in line with what’s been said so far, plus Fukudome has said he wants three years and not more.
- The Padres are the frontrunner to acquire Mark Prior, but Dusty Baker’s Reds are also interested. The Reds idea first surfaced here. The Padres, though, have made many deals with the Cubs over the past few years as Jim Hendry and Kevin Towers work well together.
Padres Make Offer To Fukudome
MLB.com’s Corey Brock says the Padres made a preliminary offer to Kosuke Fukudome for three years. His source indicates it could be for around $24MM, but the Padres have some flexibility on that. As you know, Fukudome wants exactly three years on his deal. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it climb to $36MM.
The Padres were also said to be close to a deal for Luke Scott, but it seems that deal died.