Odds & Ends: Mariners, Gomes, Holliday, Bay
Links for Wednesday…
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times sees Adam LaRoche as the best free agent first base option for the Mariners. He likes the idea of acquiring the Orioles' Luke Scott as an alternative.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked to Reds assistant GM Bob Miller, who said Jonny Gomes wants to explore the market.
- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch can't see how Scott Boras will find a suitor for Matt Holliday aside from the Cardinals.
- WEEI's Alex Speier looks back at the circumstances that resulted in Jason Bay being traded by Omar Minaya and Steve Phillips early in his career.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro has a new Marlins mailbag up, in which he explains that Dan Uggla no longer appears to be a fit for the Giants.
Olney On Adrian, Pineiro, Holliday, Orioles
The latest from Buster Olney's ESPN blog…
- Despite preliminary talks, Olney finds a Padres extension for Adrian Gonzalez to be "very, very unlikely."
- The Dodgers "are in the chase" for free agent starter Joel Pineiro, with the Angels and Mets other suitors. The Dodgers were first linked to Pineiro by MLB.com's Ken Gurnick on December 8th. With a chunk of the Juan Pierre savings already spent on Jamey Carroll, Pineiro seems out of their price range.
- Olney guesses that Matt Holliday will ultimately sign for five years and $82.5-85MM, with options and/or incentives that could "dress it up as a deal that could be worth over $100MM."
- The Orioles continue to hunt for a pitcher and corner infielder. I should note that they were initially linked to Pineiro, but maybe the $9MM committed to Kevin Millwood takes them out of the mix. An Erik Bedard reunion could be a possibility.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Guardado, Yankees, Marlins
Let's round up some lingering Tuesday links….
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox kept in touch with Jason Bay's representation right up until the outfielder agreed to terms with the Mets. Boston was a longshot destination for Bay though, with the Angels and Mariners also involved.
- Like Brian Bruney, Eddie Guardado hopes to close for the Nationals in 2010, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Doesn't seem too likely, with Bruney and Matt Capps on board, but Guardado could earn a setup role for the Nats.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs argues that even if they have the money to sign Matt Holliday, the Yankees don't need him. ESPN.com's Rob Neyer and Joseph Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues respond to Cameron's piece.
- The Florida Marlins haven't been aggressively signing their arbitration-eligible players so far this winter, but they should take care of it soon, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (via Twitter).
- Frisaro also tweets that the Marlins remain "firmly" entrenched in the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes.
Matt Holliday Rumors: Tuesday
8:18pm: In a follow-up story on ESPN.com, Olney reports that the Cardinals are increasingly optimistic that they will be able to sign Holliday.
6:01pm: After the Mets reached an agreement with Jason Bay earlier today, Matt Holliday stands as the only elite hitter remaining on the free agent market. ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that agent Scott Boras has been doubling back to teams to discuss Holliday, and that his asking price in at least one conversation was $18MM per year.
The Mets' agreement with Bay removes them from the list of possible Holliday suitors, and we've already heard today that neither the Giants or the Yankees are in on the outfielder. Looking around the majors, there are very few teams that have a left field opening and could afford to take on the 29-year-old at anything close to $18MM.
Like Bay with the Mets, it seems that the Cardinals represent the most logical and realistic fit for Holliday. Boras will continue to attempt to get the best possible deal for his client, but at this point it's hard to imagine which club could get involved and outbid the Cards.
Giants Notes: DeRosa, Free Agent Targets
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has Giants notes after a conference call with Brian Sabean and newly-signed Mark DeRosa.
- DeRosa explained that he was "tired of being a lot of teams' Plan B."
- Sabean hopes to add another hitter, and has free agent offers on the table. One offer is to Juan Uribe, while Baggarly speculates that another might be to Adam LaRoche. There are plenty of first basemen and corner outfielders still available, if you'd also like to speculate.
- Sabean reiterated that Matt Holliday is too expensive for the Giants, while Baggarly added that the Giants are not in on Adrian Beltre.
- Sabean mentioned that he hasn't yet beefed up efforts to acquire a fifth starter or catcher. We did hear the Giants linked to many catchers earlier this winter, however.
Yankees Considering Affordable Left Fielders
After talking to a Yankees official, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News hammers home some points reported yesterday in our Yankees Search For Left Fielder post.
We're not going to get crazy and underline it, but here's McCarron quoting the official:
"No chance on Matt Holliday, no chance on Jason Bay. Zero. None. Underline it."
Also, McCarron talked to two Yankees officials who say they have no interest in Jermaine Dye. Various reports had previously suggested otherwise.
The Yankees have a couple million to play with, though they could free up a few more million by trading Chad Gaudin and/or Sergio Mitre. McCarron's official named Reed Johnson and Jerry Hairston Jr. as considerations for the left field vacancy.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Holliday, Bruney
Monday night linkage..
- Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal points out that Boston giving Jason Bay a backloaded contract would do nothing to keep them out of luxury tax territory. Payroll is calculated by totalling the average yearly earnings of a player, not a player's year-to-year salary. However, Barbarisi offers up a number of other ways the Red Sox could retain Bay without getting hammered by the luxury tax.
- Chuck Brownson of The Hardball Times writes that the Cardinals can afford to be patient with Matt Holliday as long as alternatives remain on the open market. Brownson feels that Mark DeRosa signing with the Giants put a little more pressure on St. Louis.
- Brian Bruney told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he wants to close for the Nationals in 2010. Bruney will have to compete with newly acquired Matt Capps for the role.
Yankees Search For Left Fielder
The New York Yankees are interested in Mark DeRosa and will be disappointed if the versatile veteran agrees to terms with the Giants, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). Here are a few other recent updates on the Yankees' hunt for a left fielder:
- The Yankees still appear serious about their payroll restrictions. GM Brian Cashman says Xavier Nady's price "is above the Yankees' current budget," according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
- Hoch adds that Cashman is "throwing ice water" on any ideas of signing a player like Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Hoch notes that the situation is reminiscent of 2005, when the Yankees insisted Bubba Crosby would start in center field, before they eventually signed Johnny Damon.
- The Yanks also don't appear to be a primary suitor for Jermaine Dye, tweets Heyman. Heyman lists a handful of teams more likely to sign Dye, including the Braves, Giants and Rangers.
Matt Holliday’s Best Offer
Based on published reports, let's try to determine the best offer Matt Holliday has received.
- Tracy Ringolsby, then of the Rocky Mountain News, reported that Holliday rejected a four-year, $82MM extension from the Rockies in the spring of 2008. Ringolsby's colleague Dave Krieger talked to Holliday about the offer, and learned that it did not include a no-trade clause. In another article, Ringolsby put the offer at four years and $72MM, and noted that Holliday would've been able to void the contract if dealt.
- Did the Rockies really top out at four years? Reader Dan B. passed along this video of 9NEWS' Susie Wargin interviewing Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd in November of '08. About 35 seconds into the video, O'Dowd said the Rockies offered Holliday $107.5MM over seven years during Spring Training of '08. That comes to a salary of $15.36MM, but it's the only $100MM+ offer Holliday received.
- ESPN's Buster Olney reported that the Cardinals' offer to Holliday this winter guaranteed five years, while Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put the salary at $15-16MM. If both reports are accurate, the Cardinals' best offer could not exceed five years and $80MM.
- It appears that in terms of total dollars, Holliday's pre-John Lackey offer from the Red Sox was the best. Boston's five-year offer was initially pegged at $82.5MM, while today John Tomase of the Boston Herald says it was $85MM.
- It seems that Holliday's best offer in terms of yearly salary was $20.5MM from the Rockies before the '08 season, but the lack of a no-trade clause devalued it. It appears that the Red Sox outdid the Cardinals by a million or two per year, but Boston's offer is no longer on the table. Perhaps Scott Boras is holding out for a sixth guaranteed year or $18MM per, but with no obvious competition there's no reason for the Cardinals to raise their offer. The Orioles' interest waned quickly and the Mets are currently focused on Jason Bay. In Boras' perfect world Bay would not sign with the Mets, and they'd tangle with the Cards for Holliday.
Mets Notes: Holliday, Rotation
For weeks now, we've heard the rumors connecting the Mets and Jason Bay, leaving many to wonder why the Mets seem reluctant to make a more concerted effort to pursue Matt Holliday as well. Howard Goldin reports that general manager Omar Minaya answered that question himself when he was the guest speaker at the "21 Days of Clemente" benefit in New York:
"We are pursuing Matt Holliday. It seems to be easier to make a deal for Jason Bay."
That Bay seems an easier target is no surprise. Holliday is regarded by many as the top free agent on the market, and it should almost go without saying that Bay is easier to negotiate with simply because he is not represented by Scott Boras. Bay and his agent, Joe Urbon, would like the Mets to offer five years, while Minaya seems content with four. If talks of interest in Holliday continue, it would likely place some pressure on Bay, as he's not exactly being bombarded with other offers at the moment.
Minaya also comments on the club's 2010 rotation, stating that it will consist of Johan Santana, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, and Jonathon Niese, though a free agent addition is a possibility. Joel Pineiro currently sits atop the Mets' wishlist of starters, though an upside signing like Ben Sheets or Erik Bedard would make more sense if you ask me.