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Luis Vizcaino

Yankees Contact Mahay, Vizcaino

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman contacted the agents for free agent relievers Ron Mahay and Luis Vizcaino today.  It’s possible he’ll make an offer to Mahay soon.

Mahay is said to be after a three year, $12MM deal, probably the top of the Yankees’ price range for him.  Here’s a summary of the other teams pursuing him. 

The Viz might look at the Scott Linebrink signing and demand something near four years, $19MM. The only other team I can find linked to Vizcaino is the Rangers.

O’Brien’s Latest: Vizcaino, Wang

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Newsday’s Kat O’Brien checks in with a couple of new Yankees tidbits not related to Johan.

  • O’Brien spoke to the man himself, Bean Stringfellow. Bean says Luis Vizcaino is looking for Linebrink money.  So, the fact that he "likes New York" isn’t going to matter much.  The Yanks may pass, but the Viz is talking to the Mets, White Sox, Royals, and Dodgers.  If the Viz returned to the White Sox at 4/19…that would be just wrong.
  • Chien-Ming Wang’s agent, Alan Nero, wanted to talk to the Yankees about a long-term deal for him.  The discussion ended when the Yankees requested that Nero make the first move. 
  • That reminds me of when Homer Simpson went to Mr. Burns’ mansion in possession of Burns’ childhood teddy bear, repeating to himself that he will reject Burns’ first offer no matter what.  Burns: May I offer you a drink?  Homer: Sorry Burns, no deal. [takes the bear and leaves].

Odds and Ends: Tavarez, Lieber, Stewart

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Another collection…

Rangers Rumors: Bay, Gagne, Fukudome

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T.R. Sullivan has the Rangers goods for us this evening.  Wow, did MLB.com send 30+ reporters out to Nashville?

  • The Rangers are still pursuing Eric Gagne to return as their closer (and then maybe they’d flip him again).  The interest is mutual. 
  • The team is also considering LaTroy Hawkins, Shawn Chacon, Luis Vizcaino, Trever Miller, and Octavio Dotel.  Basically, most of the relief market.  Problem is, the Rangers don’t want to give more than one year to any of these guys.
  • The Rangers are moving toward filling center field internally after exploring options.  Carlos Gomez, Felix Pie, and Carlos Gonzalez proved unavailable or too pricey (though if all the Mets wanted for Gomez was Gerald Laird, Daniels should’ve pounced).
  • Daniels has shifted gears to a corner outfielder.  Kosuke Fukudome remains on the radar.
  • The Rangers had a preliminary conversation with the Bucs about Jason Bay. 
  • The team isn’t focused on getting pitching for once, but Daniels is still perusing medical reports on Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, and Jason Jennings.   
  • Daniels said he’s not shopping Hank Blalock.

Abraham On Hawkins, Igawa, Santana

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Peter Abraham of The Journal News checks in on his blog with a couple of new Yankees tidbits.

  • The Yankees are considering LaTroy Hawkins, Ron Mahay, and a return of Luis Vizcaino among relief possibilities.  Hawkins has the Tigers and Rockies after him.  Mahay interests the Braves, Brewers, and Royals.  Haven’t heard much about the Viz yet.
  • Abraham says there is a market for Kei Igawa.  The Yanks don’t have a rotation spot for him, but they are paying him through 2011.  He’s signed cheaply since a large part of the expenditure was his posting fee.  Other teams known to have shown interest in Igawa at one point: Padres, Orioles, Mariners, D’Backs, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Braves, Tigers, and Indians.
  • Abraham does not think the Mets will surrender Jose Reyes, and therefore doesn’t think they can pull off a Johan Santana deal.

White Sox Obtain Javier Vazquez

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In a move that took both me and Mark Gonzales by surprise, the White Sox acquired starter Javier Vazquez for center fielder Chris Young (plus the unwanted salaries of Orlando Hernandez and Luis Vizcaino).  Whenever a defending World Champion makes a couple of major trades, the GM is inevitably described as "bold" in the media.  I'm not sure whether I count as a member of the media, but "bold" is getting cliche.  Check out some of these synonyms:  spunky, audacious, gritty.  I think I'll call Kenny Williams spunky when referencing the Vazquez and Thome deals.

If you're a Sox fan, you can't possibly dislike this trade.  It's a classic Williams "win now" move.  He's been doing this for years, dealing can't-miss prospects for all sorts of players.  And why not?  The White Sox have raised tons of failed #1 prospects through the years.  Remember Scott Ruffcorn, Chris Snopek, Mike Caruso, Jon Rauch, and Joe Borchard? 

Williams was dealing from a position of strength in center field.  The 22 year-old Young was ranked #7 among White Sox prospects by Baseball America entering the 2005 season. (If you're curious, Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood, who were used in the Thome deal, ranked #8 and #19, respectively).  Young is a skinny, speedy athletic guy with good power.  He hit .277/.377/.545 in Double A this year and plays a mean center field.  Baseball America compares him to Mike Cameron and says he'll be ready by 2007.  By that time, the D-Backs' young outfield should be in full force, boasting Carlos Quentin, Young, and maybe Conor Jackson.

But the White Sox have no reason to worry about 2007.  In Vazquez, the club has added a durable innings eater with solid peripheral stats.  By that I mean he strikes people out and keeps the walks down.  Home runs have been an issue for the last couple of years, and it ain't gettin' better at U.S. Cellular.  In fact, the Cell will exacerbate the problem.  Still, Vazquez can be counted on for 400 innings of at least league average pitching for the next two years, which is plenty valuable.  The fact that Arizona took the washed-up Orlando Hernandez and might give the Sox some cash makes the deal look even better for Chicago.   

I'll probably break out a RotoAuthority projection for Vazquez later today, but for now let's see what Bill James's minions came up with.  They expect Vazquez to go 12-11 with a 3.85 ERA over 211 innings in '06.  Projected WHIP is 1.25, and a 7.8 K/9 is predicted.  Of course, the effects of U.S. Cellular and the AL aren't factored into that projection.

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