Odds and Ends: Griffey, Springer, Hoffman
Links for Wednesday…
- Common misconception Joe and I keep running into: signing one of the 15 Type A free agents who were offered arbitration will only cost the signing team one draft pick. The player’s old team also gets a second pick, but it doesn’t come from the new team. It’s just squeezed into the supplemental round. Check out a deeper explanation here.
- Nuggets from a Frank Coonelly chat: he expects the Pirates to make room on the 40-man roster for a potential Rule 5 addition, and they’d still like to re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz.
- Pirates pitcher Jason Davis looks like a non-tender candidate.
- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire doesn’t have Delmon Young in his preferred starting outfield.
- The Cubs signed pitcher Chad Fox to a minor league deal.
- Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent Brian Goldberg says he’s fine with DHing but is capable of playing the field. Goldberg thinks Junior can bounce back and have a 30 home run season.
- Click here to listen to free agent reliever Russ Springer talk to The ITD Morning After radio show on 1380 AM. He’s gotten calls from teams in both leagues, including "World Series participants." Springer is known to be on the Phillies’ radar.
- Recently I talked to Sarah Small of the Daily Illini.
- SI.com’s Tom Verducci looks at the supposed shortstop revolution that seems to have petered out.
- Dave Cameron respects the Astros’ signing of Mike Hampton.
- Tony Jackson says the Dodgers offered a minor league deal to Juan Castro.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore did a Q&A with fans at MLB.com. His priority is adding right-handed relief help after trading Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez. Also, he says Mark Teahen is "more important to our team today then he was in all of 2008 — and he was very important to our team in ’08."
- McCovey Chronicles is skeptical of all the teams blaming the economy.
- Drunk Jays Fans predicts Kevin Mench‘s Japan experience.
- Jesse Spector looks at comparable pitchers for C.C. Sabathia.
- Trevor Hoffman may meet with the Mets soon. Also, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon spoke of "addition by subtraction" yesterday.
- East Windup Chronicle disputes a Richard Griffin column.
- The Phillies are still willing to sign Type A free agents who were offered arbitration, such as Raul Ibanez or Juan Cruz.
- Evan Grant’s latest Rangers mailbag, always a good read.
- Joe Sheehan discusses various poor arbitration decisions by teams.
- Minor league deals for the Mets: Nelson Figueroa, Adam Bostick, and Rene Rivera. Marty Noble adds Andy Green.
- Rany Jazayerli figures Mark Grudzielanek agreed in advance to reject the Royals’ offer of arbitration.
- As usual, ESPN will be all over the Winter Meetings. I’m told they’ll be doing daily Baseball Tonight specials and will have a team of seven on the scene in Vegas.
- ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the free agent and trade markets are flooded with corner/DH type bats. There will be bargains.
- Bruce Miles thinks Milton Bradley would be a nice match for the Cubs. The biggest issue would be his ability to play right field every day.
Royals Offer Arb To Grudzielanek
8:17pm: Grudzielanek says he’s almost certain to decline the Royals’ offer. Instead of the maximum salary, he wants to play for a contender. He feels he can play for at least two more seasons. Five or six clubs have already expressed interest.
6:36pm: According to a press release, the Royals offered arbitration to second baseman Mark Grudzielanek. This was a somewhat unexpected move, but perhaps the Royals prefer to stick with the middle infield tandem of Grudz and Mike Aviles for ’09. Grudzielanek seems likely to accept the offer, as he could earn north of $4MM.
Royals Rumors: Francoeur, Butler, Ibanez, Greinke
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star has several Royals rumors this morning…
- Dutton says the Braves appear willing to trade Jeff Francoeur. While no trade talks have taken place, it’s known that Royals GM Dayton Moore is a fan. Dutton speculates that the Royals would not give up Zack Greinke for Francoeur, but may consider offering Luke Hochevar, Danny Cortes, or Mark Teahen.
- The Royals and Mariners discussed a Billy Butler for Yuniesky Betancourt trade before the ’07 season, and Dutton wonders if Seattle’s new GM could reignite those talks.
- Dutton says the Mark Teahen to Cleveland rumor "just won’t die," despite Moore labeling it an "absolute lie" on October 27th. It may be that Teahen is on the Indians’ list but no talks have occurred.
- Will the Royals offer arbitration to second baseman Mark Grudzielanek? He’s a Type B free agent, so it’s under consideration. The risk is that he accepts.
- Another Royals rumor from Ken Davidoff of Newsday: they’ve expressed an interest in bringing Raul Ibanez back to Kansas City. The Mets and Cubs are other known suitors.
- ESPN’s Keith Law says the Royals would like to sign Zack Greinke to a long-term deal, but if that fails they would make him available. Greinke, 25, is under team control for two more seasons.
Perrotto’s Latest: La Russa, Offseason Moves
John Perrotto at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up. Here’s the highlights from the Rumors and Rumblings section (with some added speculation here and there from yours truly):
- There’s a growing rumor that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa could step down after this season and pursue a job as a general manager. We all know Seattle’s looking…
- The Diamondbacks love Adam Dunn’s production so much that they are considering re-signing him and possibly having him play first base. Dunn’s racked up a .474 OBP since coming to Arizona… what’s not to like about that?
- The Padres seem willing to move Kevin Kouzmanoff once again. Perrotto doesn’t say, but it would make sense for young starting pitching to be the target for the Padres, and a move would allow Chase Headley to move back to his natural position, third base. The Giants are looking for help at third, but I doubt the Pads would trade him within the division. Minnesota, perhaps?
- The Marlins are considering playing Jorge Cantu at first next season, using Dallas McPherson at third, and trading Mike Jacobs in the offseason.
- The Royals will not re-sign Mark Grudzielanek this offseason, but will likely target both Rafael Furcal and Raul Ibanez. Given Mike Aviles‘ emergence at the plate, shifting him to second base and putting Furcal at shortstop would make for a very good middle of the infield in Kansas City. The Royals will also explore options for trading Jose Guillen. I personally didn’t like the contract they gave him at the time, and I doubt many clubs like it now either. Moving him could be difficult.
- The Rangers will try to trade Gerald Laird for pitching, given their surplus at catcher. The Yankees could use some help behind the plate if Jorge Posada is unable to catch…
- Jeff Kent, Frank Thomas, and Kent Mercker are all mentioned as possibilites for retirement this offseason, with Jeff Kent being almost a certainty, regardless of how his knee reacts to surgery.
Odds And Ends: Giants, Maddux, Grudzielanek, Arias
A few post-deadline notes from the MLBiverse…
- Brian Sabean is confident that he will be able to sneak some of his veteran players (Rich Aurilia, Omar Vizquel, Randy Winn, Bengie Molina, etc.) through waivers in the coming month for the purpose of making a trade. Chris Haft feels that the large number of teams remaining in contention will make that very difficult.
- Kevin Towers does not sound optimistic about the possibility of trading Greg Maddux in the next month noting that such a move would be "dicier" and any trade would still require the Dodgers to "step up and give us the prospect package [the Padres want]."
- Bob Dutton reports that the Royals will still try to move Mark Grudzielanek.
- The Astros claimed relief pitcher Alberto Arias off waivers from the Rockies. Arias had been DFA’d on Tuesday and the Astros will send him to triple-A.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Twins Looking For A Second Baseman?
According to Bob Dutton of the KC Star, the Twins are in the market for a second baseman. Alexi Casilla has a serious thumb injury. Dutton mentions Mark Grudzielanek, Rich Aurilia, and Brian Roberts as possibilities. Roberts, however, may be off the market. Dutton says the Twins could use Boof Bonser and Craig Monroe as bait.
Here’s a look at the trade market for second basemen.
Ray Durham Trade Reactions
Yesterday, the Giants traded second baseman Ray Durham to the Brewers for minor leaguers Darren Ford and Steve Hammond. They were ranked 21st and 27th among Brewers prospects heading into the season, according to Baseball America. Today let’s look at reactions to the trade.
- ESPN’s Keith Law considers Durham a useful addition for Milwaukee, albeit only offensively. He considers the prospects received by San Francisco to be "close to a zero return."
- The Giants picked up roughly half the money owed to Durham.
- The trade was jarring for Ford.
- Henry Schulman wonders if Rich Aurilia will be the next Giants veteran to go.
- Sam Mellinger notes that Durham is a reasonable comparable for Mark Grudzielanek.
Rosenthal’s Latest: K-Rod, Maddux, Wolf, Street
Rumor guru Ken Rosenthal is at it again.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins is doing his due diligence on available hitters. Rosenthal admits his own suggestion of a Mark Teixeira/Will Ohman blockbuster acquisition is unlikely.
- Rosenthal believes Francisco Rodriguez‘s expected asking price to be five years, $75MM. The Angels would not bite on that.
- Greg Maddux only wants to be traded to a West Coast team. He might accept a trade back to the Dodgers, if Ned Colletti and Kevin Towers want to go down that road.
- The Orioles would trade George Sherrill if someone wants to overpay. Tons of teams are looking for lefty relievers, and many are available. Rosenthal notes that the Orioles have plenty of players likely to clear waivers, making August trades quite possible.
- The Dodgers are apparently interested in Toronto shortstop John McDonald. Talks for Cristian Guzman and Jack Wilson have stagnated. An extension is more likely than a trade for Guzman.
- Randy Wolf and Cla Meredith are the most popular Padres in trade talks. Wolf’s no-trade clause doesn’t include the teams that like him, so that won’t be an issue. If the Friars were to move Kevin Kouzmanoff, they’d ask for a young outfielder back.
- Even with their second base surplus, the A’s want to sign Mark Ellis to an extension.
- A Milton Bradley deal is unlikely, but the Rangers are getting calls on Marlon Byrd and Nelson Cruz. In return, they might be looking for young starting pitchers.
- The Royals are said to be "actively shopping" Miguel Olivo and Mark Grudzielanek. However, it’s been suggested that the Royals might not have the catching depth to move Olivo.
- Rosenthal’s list of Huston Street suitors: Mets, White Sox, Dodgers, and Brewers.
Royals To Stand Pat
Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star doesn’t expect the Royals to move anyone before the deadline because all of their pieces are under contract beyond this season and/or integral to their plan to contend in the future.
The Royals 2-prospect pricetag is too steep for Jose Guillen who’s signed through 2010 and leads the team in HR and RBI. Gil Meche has a no-trade clause and even so, the Royals feel he’s a key piece to their future chances. Even though the team isn’t discussing any long term deals with him, Zack Greinke is under control through arbitration through 2010 and the Royals are in no rush there. David Dejesus‘ contract, at $14.3MM for the next 3 years, is too good to trade away. And Ron Mahay is under contract through next year and filling a void left by Jimmy Gobble who continues to get worse.
Mark Grudzielanek remains the only name the Royals could deal, but there doesn’t seem to be much demand. Writes Dutton,
"’It will probably have to be a need-based thing for somebody,’ a club official said. ‘Somebody loses a second baseman and really needs to go get one. Otherwise, I don’t see it happening.’"
Odds And Ends: International Signings, Lo Duca, Ichiro, ChiSox
Here’s a list of loose links (sink ships) from today:
- The A’s officially inked Michel Inoa for $4.25MM.
- Corey Brock of MLB.com has a piece on the Padres’ international signings. More here from the man himself, Paul DePodesta.
- The Marlins are still looking for a catcher, and one of their former guys might be available. That would be Paul Lo Duca. With the Nats out of it, could they swap Lo Duca within the division? And would they assume part of Lo Duca’s remaining salary? Keep in mind that MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro said yesterday that the Marlins were "not serious" about Lo Duca.
- Ozzie Guillen is completely content with the current White Sox team. Other than an underperforming and injured Paul Konerko, they’re looking solid.
- Sam Mellinger goes over the Royals trade options. It’s full of the usual suspects: Mark Grundielanek and Ron Mahay. He also mentions Esteban German, who in the past might have intrigued teams as a solid utility player, but who has dropped off considerably in 2008.
- The best way to rebuild the Mariners? Trade Ichiro, says Scott Miller.