Odds and Ends: Holliday, Takahashi, Lincecum
Links for Wednesday…
- Richard Justice says the Astros should offer Andy Pettitte $7-8MM to come back.
- Joe Christensen doesn’t see Huston Street landing in Minnesota.
- Larry Beinfest dismissed a "cyberspace rumor" that the Marlins are planning a run at Manny Ramirez.
- Gordon Wittenmyer says the Cubs could fit both Jake Peavy and Ryan Dempster into the payroll, and that the Peavy situation will be resolved first.
- Today is the deadline for MLB.com’s Free Agent Frenzy. You have until 4pm CST to submit your picks for 15 free agents. Here are my predictions from November 3rd…I would change the Furcal and Sheets ones for starters.
- Who had the Matt Holliday scoop? SI.com’s Jon Heyman broke the story, while Yahoo’s Tim Brown was the first to name the players involved.
- Holliday figures to be a three to six month rental for the A’s. Over at FanGraphs, Dave Cameron takes a closer look at Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith. ESPN’s Keith Law says the Rockies received a "fair return" for Holliday.
- Athletics Nation suggests the A’s sign Derek Lowe.
- Ken Davidoff looks at the Yankees’ seesawing philosophy.
- Japanese southpaw Ken Takahashi intends to sign with an MLB club, and the Mets may be interested. Nikkan Sports says the Cubs, Padres, and Giants are also in on him.
- River Ave. Blues looks ahead to Derek Jeter‘s next contract.
- Andrew Baggarly reminds us that Tim Lincecum intends to go year to year.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney talked to one GM who expects "a whole lot of bargains" in late January, given the nation’s economy.
- Rany Jazayerli didn’t like the Royals’ acquisition of Mike Jacobs, but doesn’t think it’s the end of the world.
- Braves GM Frank Wren on Jeff Francoeur: "We haven’t talked about him at all. It’s not to say that we wouldn’t."
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hardy, Flowers, Wolf
Another day, another column from Ken Rosenthal.
- With multiple vacancies in the rotation and bullpen, the Brewers may need to see what kind of pitching Mike Cameron and/or J.J. Hardy can bring in return. GM Doug Melvin is not ready to shop Hardy. He’s received interest, but most teams have not given names (one team suggested swapping him for a pitcher Melvin termed, "a fifth starter.")
- The Padres have asked the Braves to substitute catcher Tyler Flowers for center fielder Gorkys Hernandez in their Jake Peavy offer. Dave O’Brien sees this as unlikely.
- If they can’t sign Mark Teixeira, the Angels are ready to shift gears to C.C. Sabathia, Francisco Rodriguez, or other players. The idea of a Manny Ramirez pursuit was "tabled rather quickly."
- The Cardinals plan to add one or two lefthanded relievers, probably free agents.
- In his quest for righthanded power, Reds GM Walt Jocketty inquired on Matt Holliday and Josh Willingham before they were traded. Purely speculative – Jermaine Dye could be a nice fit.
- At least half a dozen teams have expressed interest in free agent starter Randy Wolf.
Brown’s Latest: Furcal, Manny, Abreu
Tip of the cap to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, who was the first reporter yesterday to name the three players the Rockies would receive in the Matt Holliday trade. Now let’s take a look at Brown’s latest column.
- Brown believes everyone cleared their physicals in the Holliday deal, so expect news conferences soon. He says the A’s may add a couple more hitters, possibly Rafael Furcal and/or Jason Giambi.
- Brown says Jim Bowden is promising everyone the Nationals will be in on the Manny Ramirez bidding. With Josh Willingham, Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, and Willie Harris already under team control, where does Manny fit in? Bowden has already said he plans to use Willingham as an outfielder.
- The Yankees have yet to contract Bobby Abreu. They still figure to offer him arbitration, of course.
Royals Payroll Could Reach $70 Million
Sports Radio 810 in Kansas City talked to Royals GM Dayton Moore recently.
- Moore hopes to sign Zack Greinke long-term. Greinke, however, is comfortable going year to year to maximize his earnings.
- Moore named three free agent bats he ranked above Mike Jacobs: Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and Bobby Abreu. He implied those three are out of the Royals’ price range. Moore feels that Jacobs will continue to improve.
- Moore says he has flexibility to extend payroll toward $70MM or even higher. He notes that last year the Royals tried to sign Jose Guillen and Torii Hunter, which would’ve pushed payroll to that range.
- Moore lists his needs as speed, OBP, a starting pitcher, and bullpen help.
- Mike Aviles could be shifted to second base if the Royals can acquire a "proven everyday shortstop." Royals Authority says: don’t move him!
Heyman’s Latest: Manny, Martin, Jenks
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has some hot stove musings today.
- Heyman talked to one GM who asked (in reference to C.C. Sabathia), "When does anyone ever leave a dollar on the table, much less twenty or thirty million dollars?" I have heard this sentiment often but I do remember certain players leaving money on the table (often to play in California). Randy Wolf took less in ’06 to sign with the Dodgers, and Brian Giles did the same for the Padres in ’05. Kerry Wood turned down a multiyear offer from Boston last year. And how about Andre Dawson and the blank check in ’87? Evan Longoria left a ton of money on the table too, but let’s stick to free agents. Any other examples?
- Heyman still likes the Orioles as one of Manny Ramirez‘s suitors.
- Heyman describes the evidence as "fairly thin" that the Dodgers are looking to trade Russell Martin.
- White Sox GM Ken Williams is listening on Bobby Jenks, and the Mets are in on him. Javier Vazquez and Paul Konerko may also be available, though Konerko has full no-trade rights.
Odds and Ends: Burrell, Atkins, Ohmura
Links for Monday…
- Even after signing LaTroy Hawkins, the Astros would like to re-sign Doug Brocail. They already chose a $250K buyout over his $3.25MM option. Further complicating matters, Brocail is a Type A free agent.
- The Royals signed pitcher Brandon Duckworth and then outrighted him to Triple A.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan ranks all the free agents, from C.C. Sabathia at #1 to Vance Wilson at #183.
- The Giants seem likely to hit the free agent market for a reliever.
- Pat Burrell hasn’t heard from the Phillies yet.
- John Brattain battles Scott Boras on his Manny Ramirez claims.
- Aaron Gleeman suggests the Twins would be better off platooning Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris at third base than acquiring Garrett Atkins.
- Joe Posnanski continues to find the Royals’ Mike Jacobs acquisition baffling. Jacobs seems to be aiming for a .320 OBP.
- Free agent pitcher Kenshin Kawakami still hasn’t decided whether to jump over to MLB.
- Outfielder Saburo Ohmura seems to have changed his mind – he’s likely to remain in Japan.
Perrotto’s Latest: Free Agent Predictions
John Perrotto has his Every Given Sunday column up over at Baseball Prospectus. Perrotto offers a list of some educated guesses as to where some of the top free agents in baseball will land, with some surprises here and there. Let’s take a look:
- Perrotto lists the Yankees loading up on starting pitching, landing C.C. Sabathia and Derek Lowe, while the Dodgers land Manny Ramirez after doubling their initial offer to four years, $100MM.
- Perrotto says the Nationals will land Mark Teixeira, as they could be prepared to offer Teixeira – a Maryland native – ten years, $200MM. Turning down that kind of money would certainly be difficult.
- Perrotto has Adam Dunn landing on the North Side of Chicago and having an adventurous time in right field for the Cubs. According to these predictions, he’ll be joined by Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood – neither of whom are going anywhere.
- Perrotto feel Andy Pettitte won’t be back with the Yankees, and feels that he will either take a below-market contract from his hometown Astros or retire. He also pegs Mike Mussina to likely retire, but agrees he’ll be back with the Yankees if he does indeed make a run at 300 wins.
- Other predictions from Perrotto: Raul Ibanez and Francisco Rodriguez to the Mets, Milton Bradley to Toronto, Orlando Cabrera to Minnesota, Casey Blake back to Cleveland, A.J. Burnett to the Orioles, Brian Fuentes to the Angels, Nick Punto to St. Louis, Randy Johnson to the Angels, Jason Giambi to Oakland, and Orlando Hudson to the Mets.
- The list of players who will end up back with their current teams: Ben Sheets, Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Jamie Moyer, and Jason Varitek, on a two-year $20MM contract, courtesy of Scott Boras.
Odds And Ends: Saltalamacchia, White Sox, Ludwick
Links for Sunday…
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia says playing with Jason Varitek for the Red Sox would be a "dream come true."
- Ken Davidoff writes that the White Sox would like to trade Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko or Jim Thome.
- Bernie Miklasz asks whether the Cardinals believe in Ryan Ludwick.
- According to the Chicago Tribune, 19-year-old Cuban prospect Dayan Viciedo has raw tools and questionable commitment. Yesterday, the Chicago Sun-Times suggested the Sox were interested.
- Mike Jacobs doesn’t expect to walk more than he did last year.
- Tim Cowlishaw thinks the Rangers should try to sign Manny Ramirez.
- Phil Rogers says that the Cubs could sign Ryan Dempster by Thursday. Rogers doesn’t expect Manny Ramirez or C.C. Sabathia to sign soon.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nationals, Manny, Peavy, Vazquez
We’ve already touched on Ken Rosenthal’s Matt Holliday update, but there are other good tidbits in the article as well:
- "Club officials believe" that the Nationals are "reasonably close to a breakthrough." They blame 2008’s sorry performance on the raft of injuries Washington suffered, which is why they’re willing to spend now for a big bat — the key names floating around have been the aforementioned Holliday, Adam Dunn, and Mark Teixeira, though Rosenthal seems skeptical they could snag any of them. But what about Manny Ramirez? "Jim Bowden, the Nats’ unconventional GM, probably would love the idea, but D.C. might not be big enough for Manny and Barack Obama." Looking at the impact that Manny has had on the LA’s attendance, and looking at the empty seats at Nationals Park, it could make sense.
- Obligatory Jake Peavy update: Padres discuss keeping the ace, Braves grow impatient. Cubs are still in the mix, while the Dodgers and Yankees are "on the backburner." (Buster Olney had a subtly different take posted a few hours later — that Peavy would be dealt before the turkey hits the sideboard.) Rosenthal also quotes Pads GM Kevin Towers as wanting to move the fences in at Petco (which is hard enough just to write without typing in "cavernous" as an automatic prefix).
- The Mets, among other ballclubs, are interested in Rays’ righties Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson, but the Rays are in no hurry to make a deal.
- "The White Sox are in an ideal position with" Javier Vazquez if they wait until Peavy, CC Sabathia, et al are placed and then shop him, Rosenthal argues. The 32-year old righty will make $23 MM through 2010, which he calls "a bargain for a pitcher who has produced four straight 200-inning seasons, albeit with a 49-51 record and 4.41 ERA." On the other hand, Vazquez has also hit the 200-strikeout mark in each of the last two seasons.
Sarah Green can be reached here.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Holliday, Manny, Swisher, Johnson
A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- Cardinals Diaspora would love to see the Cardinals land Matt Holliday but does not think the front office will have the guts to make the move.
- Oriole Post is not sure the Orioles are truly interested in Manny Ramirez. If there is indeed interest, Oriole Post thinks the O’s should pass.
- MetsBlog does not see the Mets going after Manny Ramirez even if the Yankees and Angels drop out of consideration.
- River Ave. Blues makes a case for the Yankees trading for Nick Swisher over signing Mark Teixeira to play first base.
- Talking Chop argues for keeping Yunel Escobar and moving Kelly Johnson for a power bat.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.