Rosenthal On Sheets, Cruz, Cabrera, Reyes
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- Rosenthal recommends the Yankees sign Ben Sheets and Juan Cruz, partially because they’d pay less of a cost in draft picks than any other team. One exec predicted Sheets would require a $6-8MM base with the potential to earn at least $14MM, and possibly a "lucrative club option." Despite Rosenthal’s recommendation, the Yanks remain focused on Andy Pettitte (who is not weighing an offer from the Astros).
- Industry sources tell Rosenthal that the Red Sox have kept their payroll flexible in case mid and low-revenue teams need to dump contracts.
- The A’s probably cannot afford both Nick Johnson and Orlando Cabrera, so they’ll wait to see what happens with Cabrera before pursuing the trade with Washington.
- Prince Fielder filed for $8MM against the Brewers’ $6MM; Rosenthal indicates the team feared he’d file higher.
- One chatter mentioned yesterday that Cory Sullivan and Jeremy Reed are the exact same player; one GM said the same to Rosenthal.
- Dennys Reyes has backed off his demand for Jeremy Affeldt money (two years, $8MM). Affeldt seemed like a bargain at the time.
- Expected to be in attendance at Kris Benson‘s upcoming throwing session: the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Rockies, and D’Backs. Looks like an NL West affair.
Cafardo’s Latest: Varitek, Sheets, Glavine
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a new article up in this Sunday’s paper:
- Mariners advisers have suggested bringing in Jason Varitek to improve the Seattle pitching staff.
- "Arbitration-strapped" Philadelphia may have interest in Ben Sheets as he becomes a bigger bargain by the day.
- Cafardo details the Kevin Youkilis contract extension, to the dollar.
- Kris Benson will work out for the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Cubs next Saturday.
- Tom Glavine would entertain an offer from Washington.
- If Atlanta takes on Andruw Jones, they would only have to take on $400K of the $21MM plus the Dodgers are paying him.
Odds and Ends: Smoltz, Cordero, Colon, Byrd
Links for Thursday…
- John Smoltz told Dan Patrick that the Yankees and Dodgers also courted him.
- KNBR had interviews with Scott Boras and Ned Colletti yesterday.
- The Dodgers are "only monitoring" Kris Benson and Chad Cordero.
- The Phillies have "kept tabs" on Cordero and Eric Milton.
- Baseball America ranked the Rangers’ farm system as the best in baseball.
- Andy MacPhail says the Orioles don’t necessarily have to add a first baseman.
- South Side Sox and Sox Machine on the Bartolo Colon signing.
- Jon Paul Morosi says Jason Isringhausen is a "natural fit" for the Tigers.
- The Red Sox will only get a supplemental pick for Paul Byrd if he signs before the June draft.
- Barry Bloom gathers responses from baseball execs on the salary cap issue.
- Eddie Bajek made a breakthrough in his attempt to crack the Elias code.
- Richard Justice has an interesting story involving new Astro Russ Ortiz.
- Rickey Henderson says he’s still available to play. Asked about the WBC, he responded, ""What is [the WBC], wrestling?"
- Transcript of an interview with Red Sox owner John Henry.
Four Clubs Interested In Kris Benson
Roch Kubatko talked to starter Kris Benson, who said his shoulder hasn’t felt this good since 2000. Benson had rotator cuff surgery almost two years ago. Benson says the Cardinals and Dodgers have expressed the most interest, with the D’Backs and Rangers also in the mix.
Dodgers Watch Kris Benson Throw
According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Dodgers assistant GM Logan White watched free agent starter Kris Benson long-toss today. Benson will work out for other clubs soon. Benson had rotator cuff surgery in March of 2007, and was not able to pitch effectively for the Phillies in ’08.
Odds and Ends: Pavano, Giambi, Manny, Tigers
Links for Thursday…
- RotoAuthority looks at possible injury risk young starters for 2009, by way of the Verducci Effect.
- Anthony Castrovince says the Indians looked at Mark Mulder, Kris Benson, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon before signing Carl Pavano. The Tribe’s rotation appears set. The article also outlines Pavano’s incentives, which kick in at 18 starts.
- A reminder: for the past month or so we’ve had a Top Stories section in the righthand sidebar. If you’re looking to find the biggest hot stove news of the past few days quickly, look there first.
- I did a Q&A with 3:10 To Joba.
- Ben Shpigel tries to quantify how slow this offseason has been.
- Susan Slusser has a few details on Jason Giambi‘s contract. Jon Heyman confirms Slusser’s earlier comment that the A’s are considering Orlando Cabrera.
- Bill Plaschke says the Dodgers are "playing the Manny Ramirez game perfectly." McCovey Chronicles liveblogs that game from the Giants’ side.
- Jason Beck looks at the dwindling closer options for the Tigers.
Blue Jays, Indians, Dodgers Interested In Kris Benson
Roch Kubatko of MASN Online ran into Kris Benson, who says he’s fully recovered from rotator cuff surgery. The Blue Jays, Indians, and Dodgers have expressed interest.
Kris Benson Released
The Delaware News-Journal reported that Kris Benson was released by the Phillies following last night’s game. Benson had indicated earlier that his preference was to be a starter and the Phillies do not have any openings in their rotation.
Benson was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA in 11 starts in triple-A. He was making $75K per month without any clauses.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Benson Stays With Phillies
Rehabbing starter Kris Benson chose not to opt out of his contract with the Phillies; his window to do so has passed. According to Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury, his contract was restructured yesterday to allow him to opt out on May 15th if he’s not on the Phils’ 40-man roster.
Benson, 33, had surgery a year ago to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in February.
Do the Phillies have sufficient depth behind Brett Myers and Cole Hamels? Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer, and Adam Eaton have the last three slots. J.D. and Chad Durbin are additional options. Would it make any difference to add Claudio Vargas to this group?
Odds and Ends: Giles, Crisp, A-Rod
Nothing huge cooking this morning, so here are some odds and ends.
- Doesn’t look like the Dodgers will acquire Marcus Giles.
- Rany Jazayerli writes about how Kansas City is home to many of the country’s best baseball journalists. On a related note, the Star’s Sam Mellinger has a chat with Brian Bannister on his blog.
- Coco Crisp rattles off the trade rumors he’s heard: Cubs, Sox, A’s, Padres. No deal appears imminent, though Crisp was healthy enough to pinch-run this morning.
- John Harper snags an exclusive with Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod admitted he chose the Rangers over the Mets for money and feared he was going down that road again this past winter.
- Roch Kubatko writes that Brian Roberts was pulled from the lineup today for back pain, hoping to nip trade speculation in the bud.
- The Phillies have to make a decision on Kris Benson today.
- Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Joe Nathan extension. Buster Olney talked to baseball execs who felt the Twins should’ve added Nathan’s money to their Johan offer.