Cafardo’s Latest: Lowe, Lowell, Dye, Saltalamacchia
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says when Derek Lowe sat down with his agent, he inquired first about the Boston Red Sox. Says Cafardo,
"This Lowe doesn’t bear much resemblance to the guy who left the Sox after 2004. Back then, his out-of-control personal life seemed to consume him. The Red Sox didn’t want to deal with it and let him become a free agent. Lowe feels leaving was the best thing. ‘I think I’m a lot better pitcher now, teammate now, than I was four years ago,’ he said. ‘Sometimes you have to learn, and I think getting out of Boston was the best thing for me.’"
Lowe notes the Red Sox fit the mold of what he’s looking for in his next team.
And around the bigs:
- Roy Oswalt is pushing Ben Sheets to consider the Astros.
- Split opinions on interest in Mike Lowell, but either way this shouldn’t affect the Red Sox pursuit of Mark Teixeira. Cafardo lists Dodgers, Angels, Indians, and Twins as possible destinations for Lowell.
- Jermaine Dye is a good fit for Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, and the Mets. The White Sox would want more than Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson in exchange for Dye.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia looks good in the Dominican League, hitting .435 with 4 homeruns and 2 doubles in 23 ABs.
- Willie Bloomquist could be Alex Cora’s replacement at utility in Boston.
Third Team In Peavy Deal: Orioles?
According to Jeff Zrebiec and Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles appear to be the third team in the Jake Peavy-Cubs trade talks. Kevin Towers told Tim Brown earlier this week he may have found the third team.
According to the Sun, one scenario could have the Cubs sending Felix Pie to Baltimore for Garrett Olson, who would become part of the Cubs’ package for Peavy. The Orioles once targeted Pie during the Brian Roberts talks, while the Padres wanted Olson for Khalil Greene. No deal is imminent. The authors add that acquiring Pie would not affect the Orioles’ pursuit of Mark Teixeira, even if some current team members lose playing time.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Varitek, Burnett, Teixeira
Let’s take a look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- River Ave. Blues debates Ben Sheets versus A.J. Burnett and wonders if Sheets will be the better bargain in the end.
- Detroit Tiger Thoughts shows that Jason Varitek is not a good fit with the Tigers, even in a platoon situation.
- Fire Brand of the American League lays down several reasons why the Red Sox should avoid signing Teixeira.
- Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? sees no downside to the Pirates’ signing of Indian imports Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh.
- The ‘Burgh Blues feels Eric Hinske is an economical fit for the Bucs.
- Amazin’ Avenue does not see Raul Ibanez as an upgrade for the Mets, suggesting he may not be any better than Fernando Tatis.
- The Baseball Opinion breaks down what the acquisition of Tyler Lumsden means for the Royals and Astros.
- Batter’s Box takes a look a recent J.P. Ricciardi quote and the current state of the economy and wonders if the Jays are going to reduce their payroll.
- Royals Review lists the ten best free agent signings in Royals history, topped by David Cone. Amazingly, four of the signings occurred in the last five seasons.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Brown’s Latest: Fuentes, Hoffman, Wilson, Aurilia
Here’s a look at the latest from Yahoo’s Tim Brown.
- The Mets kicked around the idea internally of signing both Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman. The eighth inning would be a tough sell for either pitcher though.
- Brown says that if the Angels fail to sign Mark Teixeira they will try to sign C.C. Sabathia as well as a closer like Fuentes.
- The Dodgers want the Pirates to eat "a huge chunk" of the $7.85MM Jack Wilson has coming.
- The Giants and Dodgers have shown interest in Rich Aurilia.
C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Wednesday
6:19pm: It sounds like Sabathia’s agent Greg Genske is shutting things down for the weekend. He didn’t reveal anything new to Brewers GM Doug Melvin. Adam McCalvy also notes that the Brewers will offer Sabathia arbitration, a procedural move.
12:49pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to Yankees people who believe the Angels leaked interest in Sabathia to reduce Tex’s demands. Those people also believe the Halos will limit their offer to the $100-120MM range. Other factors: Tex makes more sense for the Angels, Arte Moreno loves him, and signing Sabathia could reduce the chances of extending John Lackey.
Nonetheless, Heyman agrees with a rival executive that the Angels are quite serious about Sabathia.
8:51am: The big news yesterday was the L.A. Times report stating that the Angels "are in discussions with C.C. Sabathia and could offer him a contract that approaches the $140 million bid extended to him by the Yankees."
Ken Davidoff wrote this morning that the Yankees are reluctant to raise their offer to Sabathia, even if it means he signs with the Halos. Davidoff says the Yanks would step up their efforts for A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe if they lose Sabathia.
Meanwhile Dan Graziano says Yankees officials scoffed at the idea of the Angels turning their attention to Sabathia. Those officials believe it’s a ploy to get Mark Teixeira to drop his demands. Danny Knobler, however, believes the Angels have already moved on from Teixeira. He says the Angels have long-term concerns about Tex’s knee.
Rosenthal On Boras’ Scheme
Ken Rosenthal has a theory on Scott Boras’ goals in the free agent game:
- Mark Teixeira and Jason Varitek to the Red Sox
- C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez to the Angels
- Derek Lowe to the Yankees
The crux of the theory seems to be that Boras would want Manny near his Newport Beach headquarters to better babysit him. Personally I have a hard time seeing any team sign two of the big three free agents, and it’s difficult to picture Manny as an Angel.
Rosenthal doesn’t see the Dodgers as major players, partially based on recent comments made by the McCourts.
Boras Has Offers For Teixeira
According to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, Scott Boras has received "a number of offers" for Mark Teixeira. These are formal offers that Tex has the right to accept. The Angels haven’t made an offer; we can only speculate on which clubs did submit early bids.
Orioles Rumors: Burnett, Markakis, Japan
3:08pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online gives thoughts on the Orioles and Mark Teixeira and Burnett. Kubatko believes there’s no chance the O’s offer five years to Burnett, and even four would be a stretch. He’d have to be willing to take a discount to come to Baltimore. As for Tex, will he be willing to play for a team that may not be competitive in the first few years of his deal?
8:32am: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun talked to A.J. Burnett‘s agent Darek Braunecker, who said his client has narrowed his list from twelve to about six teams. The Orioles remain in the mix after Andy MacPhail had a "nice conversation" with Braunecker on Friday.
It’s speculated that the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Braves are the other five clubs. In his comments, Braunecker didn’t seem dead set on a five-year deal.
In other Orioles news, Nick Markakis‘ agent had "active talks" with MacPhail about a contract extension. Markakis is entering his three arbitration years.
Finally, Steve Melewski of MASN Online says the O’s have shown interest in four Japanese free agents: Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami, Junichi Tazawa, and catcher Ryoji Aikawa. Tazawa seems close to signing with the Red Sox. Uehara might be a more affordable alternative to Burnett.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dye, Burrell, Young
Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Rosenthal says the Braves are interested in A.J. Burnett, but you already knew that.
- Rosenthal believes Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers "makes sense."
- The Red Sox apparently have confidence they could trade Mike Lowell if need be, but rival execs believe he’d have to prove his health in spring first. Lowell has two years and $24MM on his deal.
- The White Sox want a young starter and additional players for right fielder Jermaine Dye. The Mets, Rays, and Phillies are "balking at such a price." Rosenthal learned that most of the six teams on Dye’s no-trade list are in the northeast. Interesting that the White Sox are still willing to trade Dye after moving Nick Swisher.
- The Mets "aren’t enamored" with Javier Vazquez.
- Rosenthal suggests the Rays will sit back and hope one of the free agent DH-types becomes a bargain for them.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote on Friday that the "Braves, Dodgers, and Mets are believed to be among teams that have inquired about Rangers starting pitchers Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla." However, Rosenthal says the Braves and Mets are not interested in either pitcher and the Rangers aren’t desperate to move them.
- Rosenthal has Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Pat Burrell on the Angels’ radar if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, or Manny Ramirez.
- A rival GM tells Rosenthal Twins outfielder Delmon Young is "very, very much out there."
Angels Begin Talks With Sabathia
According to Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Angels have begun contract discussions with C.C. Sabathia. The authors believe the Halos could make an offer in the range of Johan Santana‘s six-year, $137.5MM deal. If the Angels do make such an offer, you have to imagine the Yankees will respond by upping their bid significantly.
Despite the talks for Sabathia, Mark Teixeira remains the Angels’ top priority. They haven’t made an offer yet, but Scott Boras seems to want ten years while the Angels are willing to do seven. It makes sense to open serious dialogue with Sabathia to lessen the risk of missing out on both star free agents.