Grudzielanek Wants To Play Two Or Three More Years
According to the Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton, Royals second baseman Mark Grudzielanek would like to play two or three more years. Grudzielanek, 38, is hitting a healthy .307/.365/.406 in 269 plate appearances. He’s earning $4.5MM this year.
Dutton notes the Royals’ other second base options, and wonders if the team will shop Grudzielanek this month. Grudzielanek is undecided as to whether he’d prefer to stay in Kansas City beyond this year.
The Blue Jays and Dodgers seem like possibilities. However, the Jays have Joe Inglett playing well and Jeff Kent had a decent June for the Dodgers. There is not an obvious suitor for Grudzielanek.
Rockies Rumors: Iguchi, Grudzielanek, Rusch, Fukumori
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 12:20am: Troy Renck says that if the Rox do acquire a second baseman, Dan O’Dowd is ready to trade both Clint Barmes and Jamey Carroll. The Cardinals, Marlins, and Indians would be suitors for those two.
FROM 12-5-07 at 10:09pm:
MLB.com’s Thomas Harding checks in with a slew of new Rockies rumors.
- The Rockies have their eye on Tadahito Iguchi and could offer him a two-year deal. However, Iguchi is craving a contract similar to Kaz Matsui’s three-year, $16.5MM pact. Should one bad contract beget another one?
- Mark Grudzielanek can be had, but the Rox aren’t interested.
- The Rockies will take a gander at the suddenly popular Glendon Rusch.
- The Rox will pass on Kazuo Fukumori – they’re worried about his elbow.
Odds and Ends
Some random rumors and links for Tuesday afternoon…
- The Rockies signed Mark Redman to a minor league contract. It makes sense to add some depth, but I like the team’s plan of using high-octane arms Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales instead of the safe veteran options.
- Rick Sutcliffe‘s thoughts on showboating.
- At one time, it seemed that Jason Jennings would be primed for a big payday this winter. He still could get a Marquis contract despite his 6.45 ERA in 18 starts. But prospective buyers have to be concerned that he replied "I don’t know" when asked if he is healthy. By the way, that link details a failed ballpark marriage proposal that resulted in popcorn being dumped on the guy’s head. On the Jumbotron.
- It wouldn’t be the Kansas City Star without an enormous pixellated close-up of the player in question. This time it’s Mark Grudzielanek, who’s been extended through 2008. Grudz wouldn’t have reached the 500 PAs needed to guarantee his $4MM option for ’08.
- The Red Sox still haven’t spoken to Mike Lowell about a contract extension. He wants to stay, and Nick Cafardo suggests Jermaine Dye could be the comp at two years, $22MM. That’d be a major concession for Lowell, who’d be the best free agent third baseman unless A-Rod opts out. One scenario has Kevin Youkilis moving to third base and some sort of league average first baseman stepping in, like the newly acquired Chris Carter. Another has the Red Sox signing Alex Rodriguez. The middle ground to those extremes is just to agree on a two-year deal with Lowell. It’d make sense for the Red Sox to hold off on Lowell until they see what A-Rod does.
- The Eric Byrnes contract may serve as a model for Jose Guillen.
- Tom Koch-Weser of STATS, Inc. has a new WHIFF profile of San Diego’s Chris Young. A must-read as always.
Mets Hunting For Reliever, Second Baseman
Pretty much the same old story with the Mets, though Joel Sherman and Mark Hale of the New York Post do have some new tidbits.
- The authors name Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel, and Eric Gagne as relievers on the radar. However it seems the asking price is too high for Gagne and the Indians have become the frontrunner for Dotel (they may have passed the Dodgers). Shawn Chacon doesn’t catch the Mets’ eye, and they don’t want Chad Bradford‘s three-year commitment. They had that option with Bradford this winter. I think that logic is silly – Bradford’s pitched well this year, and acquiring him now would be akin to a two-year contract. Sometimes it seems GMs pass over certain players because they simply want to add a fresh name.
- You can add Al Reyes to the mix for the Mets, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
- The Mets think many of the available starting pitchers could be traded in August – Jose Contreras, Kyle Lohse, and Steve Trachsel for example. I don’t agree on Lohse – he’ll be traded today or tomorrow. But Contreras’s contract would probably get through waivers without a claim.
- The Post reports no substantive talks to the Royals about Mark Grudzielanek. An inquiry has been made on Mark Loretta.
- Meanwhile, Newsday says the Twins are open to trading Luis Castillo but don’t want any of the current Major League Mets. Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger seems to disagree, citing a Twins scout at Shea yesterday. Graziano does not believe Castillo would get through waivers unclaimed. He believes the Twins want Double A starter Kevin Mulvey and then some (perhaps Ruben Gotay).
- Graziano says a deal for Castillo could be expanded to include 28 year-old righty reliever Juan Rincon. Rincon had been consistently solid for three years (perhaps aided by steroids) but has seen his strikeout rate and overall performance plummet in 2007. Rincon is under control next year and will make at least $2MM again.
- Graziano notes that the Mets have talked to the A’s about Joe Blanton, but Billy Beane wants Lastings Milledge. The Mets can’t do that without damaging the current team. The Mets could actually add an outfielder in Jay Payton; the Cubs’ interest has waned. The Sammy Sosa rumor also has some legs, as the Mets could bring him in to platoon with Shawn Green if they decide they can tolerate the sideshow.
Mets and Devil Rays
Ryan McConnell of the New Jersey Star-Ledger posted a run-down of Mets’ rumors, mostly old hat by now. Items of note:
- The Mets are being asked too much for both Chad Cordero and Octavio Dotel, causing them to take another look at Eric Gagne. They are also looking at Matt Thornton (White Sox), Shawn Chacon (Pirates), Chad Bradford (Orioles) and Jon Rauch (Nationals). I think they should go for Chad Bradford, silly contract be damned.
- We’ve all heard about second base possibilities in Mark Grudzielanek, Mark Loretta and Luis Castillo. I think that of these candidates, Grudzielanek is the best defender, while Castillo is the best offensive player, even though Loretta is putting up better numbers this year. All three will be free agents this off-season, with the exception of Grudzielanek if he earns the $4M player option for 2008 which vests with 500 plate appearances, a slim possibility. Castillo is the youngest player and the best choice for the Mets, if they can get him. He’s likely be a Type A free agent if the Mets let him go; if they don’t, he could be their 2008 second baseman. All in all, though, I’d prefer the Mets stick with Damion Easley and Rubén Gotay.
- Now the kicker. This is what makes trade deadlines fun (and painful). From McConnell:
And, finally, the hot, completely unsubstantiated rumor floating around my workplace was that the Mets and D-Rays were discussing a Lastings Milledge and "a Minor League pitcher" (probably Pelfrey, maybe Humber) for Carl Crawford. It didn’t pass my smell test — I’d think Tampa would command a lot more for their stud outfielder — but it’s fun to think about regardless. Plus, for what it’s worth, a Met scout was spotted at Tropicana Field last week.
It doesn’t pass my smell test either, but it’s still fun to think about, unless you’re convinced that Lastings Milledge is the next Gary Sheffield, like I am.
John Peterson writes for the Met-blog Blastings! Thrilledge.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dye, Lamb, Jennings
Ken Rosenthal has a new article up. Let’s see what’s in there beyond the Teixeira stuff.
- The Angels have a few alternatives to Mark Teixeira in Jermaine Dye and Mike Piazza. However, the team isn’t exactly bursting with open outfield/DH spots, especially once Juan Rivera returns. Troy Glaus still makes a ton of sense, but the Blue Jays would want a lot. Probably 2/3 of the Teixeira package.
- Aside from Mark Loretta, the Padres would also like to acquire Mike Lamb from the Astros. Even tossing aside his awful April, Kevin Kouzmanoff has been about average for his position offensively (.271/.328/.476 since May 1). If the Padres instead used Lamb against southpaws and Kouzmanoff against lefties, they’d have a nifty platoon.
- The Mets have inquired on Joe Blanton and Jon Garland but have found the price prohibitive. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that both are just innings eaters. They’re just elevated by a terrible market for starters.
- The Phillies also asked about Blanton, but are more likely to settle for Kyle Lohse or Jason Jennings. Phil Garner decided to offer Jennings’ ERA up for sacrifice today, leaving him in to allow 11 earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. That was a several million-dollar decision, as Jennings is a free agent after the season.
- The Mets seem to have only mild interest in Luis Castillo and Mark Grudzielanek due to salary and injury concerns.
Latest Mets Rumors: Luis Castillo, Chad Cordero
Let’s have a look at the latest rumors swirling around the Mets.
- Second base remains an area of focus. A Twins scout was at Shea recently, presumably trying to figure out what to ask for from the Mets for Luis Castillo. The Mets were recently scouting the Twins as well. The problem is that Castillo is not yet officially available. A couple of Marks, Grudzielanek and Loretta, remain on the radar. The Astros might consider signing Loretta to an extension, though no details have been discussed.
- The Devil Rays hosted the Red Sox last night, and a Mets scout was on hand. Speculation on my part, but possible targets include Ty Wigginton, Jonny Gomes, Edwin Jackson, Al Reyes, and Casey Fossum. The Mets had some interest in Jackson way back in November.
- According to Dan Graziano, the Mets are still pushing for Chad Cordero or Jon Rauch. Graziano is skeptical that the Nationals can arrive at a trade. Matthew Cerrone believes the Mets might give up Mike Pelfrey to get Cordero.
- Will Carroll has some other relievers the Mets are considering: Matt Thornton, Chad Bradford, and Shawn Chacon.
- The Mets had a scout in attendance yesterday to watch Jon Garland. He gave up ten hits but only three runs in 7.1 innings to the Blue Jays.
Grudzielanek Leaves Game
UPDATE: Turns out Grudz is just day-to-day with knee soreness. The Mets deny any rumor that they’ve traded for him. Two Royal false alarms today, sorry about that.
A friendly emailer tells me that Royals second baseman Mark Grudzielanek was in the original lineup, but was scratched at the last minute. Joe Girardi says he may be headed to the Mets. We’ll keep you posted. And now back to my sweet n’ sour chicken.
And an update on Reggie Sanders: according to Girardi, Reggie was just shipping his kids’ stuff off to Arizona, where they’ll go to school. False alarm.