Olney’s Latest: Bradley, Damon, Yankees, Harang
In today’s blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney writes that the presence of Ken Griffey Jr. should help Milton Bradley and the clubhouse culture in Seattle, however this might be the final straw for Bradley because he’s running out of second chances.
Let’s round up the rest of Olney’s rumors…
- One GM said the Bradley deal “means that one more chair just got taken away,” referring to another corner outfielder being taken off the market.
- Olney says that Johnny Damon might be a perfect fit for the Cardinals, who continue to talk with Matt Holliday.
- Meanwhile, there was some concern in the Yankees’ organization that if Damon took a paycut to return, he would have come into the season very unhappy.
- The rumored Aaron Harang to the Dodgers deal was never a good match, because LA doesn’t have much to spend and the Reds are trying to shed payroll.
Olney On Gonzalez, LaRoche, Holliday
ESPN.com's Buster Olney asked an "independent evaluator" to guess what the Red Sox would have to give up to obtain Adrian Gonzalez. Olney's source says the Padres need to acquire Ryan Westmoreland and Casey Kelly, plus other highly-touted prospects. Gonzalez is under control for two more years at $10.25MM. He'd probably be worth $40MM-plus over two years on the open market, so the Padres have some serious bargaining power. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- The A's are interested in Adrian Beltre, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."
- Some teams bristle at the idea of paying eight figures for Beltre.
- Some teams have been put off by Adam LaRoche's asking price.
- The Orioles checked out of the Matt Holliday derby when they learned that he's asking for considerably more than $75MM.
Boston Offered Holliday Five Years
Before they signed John Lackey, the Red Sox offered Matt Holliday a five-year deal worth $82.5MM, according to Peter Gammons (via Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney heard the same thing and adds, not surprisingly, that the Red Sox are no longer suitors for Holliday. That's comparable to the amount of money the Cardinals are willing to guarantee the left fielder, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Vazquez, Matthews
Some links for Friday…
- Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com expect the Cubs to go after free agent center fielders now that they've dealt Milton Bradley.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer doesn't expect the Reds to deal Aaron Harang in the near future.
- The Chiba Lotte Marines signed Bryan Corey, according to NPB Tracker.
- A source close to Javier Vazquez tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman that it's highly unlikely the pitcher would approve a trade to a west coast team like the Angels. The Braves are still interested in trading Derek Lowe.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale says it would be an upset to see anyone but the Cardinals sign Matt Holliday.
- Now that the Dodgers have traded Juan Pierre, the Angels are optimistic about unloading Gary Matthews Jr. and his contract, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The Angels will have to eat some of the $23MM owed to Matthews if they hope to deal him.
- O's reliever Jim Johnson tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's glad to have new acquisition Mike Gonzalez around.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still need another arm. Brian Cashman says the Yankees aren't done.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times expects the Yanks to spend big on next year's free agent class.
- New Blue Jay Kyle Drabek tells the Toronto Sun that he doesn't plan on changing his approach, though he does feel some pressure as a major piece of the Roy Halladay trade.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates evaluate players and then stand by the figures they decide on almost all the time. This approach prevents the Pirates from over-spending and sometimes prevents them from signing their targets (like Miguel Angel Sano).
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers expect Claudio Vargas to take his physical today and finalize his deal.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan examines Scott Boras' relationship with mystery teams.
Cardinals Rumors: Holliday, DeRosa, Smoltz
Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and John Smoltz are all possibilities for the Cardinals. Joe Strauss and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have the latest on the trio of free agents.
- The P-D reported that the Cards offered Holliday up to eight years, but they now revise that, saying the club hasn't guaranteed any more than five years. The Cards don't appear likely to guarantee more than six seasons.
- DeRosa hopes to sign soon and he isn't going to wait around for Holliday. The Yankees have some interest in DeRosa.
- Smoltz's agent, Keith Grunewald says the Cardinals are interested, though Smoltz is still in contact with other teams.
Odds & Ends: Orioles, Dodgers, Beltre, Pujols
Let's round up some Thursday evening links….
- The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly hears from Orioles officials that the team isn't serious about Matt Holliday or Adrian Gonzalez. This probably means that, despite their flurry of recent activity, Baltimore is done spending for now.
- Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts takes a look at the Dodgers' salary obligations for 2010.
- Todd Zolecki of MLB.com follows up on the Roy Halladay–Cliff Lee blockbuster by breaking down Halladay's extension and relaying Lee's reaction to the trade.
- While the Cardinals wait on Holliday, Mark DeRosa is exploring his other options, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Yahoo's Tim Brown adds a surprising team to a list of otherwise predictable suitors for Adrian Beltre: the Oakland Athletics. ESPN.com's Buster Olney follows up on this point, noting that the A's do have interest, but not at $10MM a year.
- The Marlins still could retain Dan Uggla, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. However, the team hasn't been in contact with his agent since the Winter Meetings, so a trade looks more likely. We heard some details earlier today about discussions the Marlins and Giants have had regarding Uggla.
- Albert Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Cardinals' negotiations with Holliday won't affect a possible Pujols extension: "Albert respects Matt and would love to have him as a teammate and hopes he gets his money, but Matt’s situation must be seen as independent of Albert’s."
- A source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Adam Dunn "is not going anywhere for now."
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks that Johnny Damon's run in New York is about to come to an end.
- Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News says that if the Mike Lowell trade falls through because of Lowell's health, the Rangers have other targets, including Vladimir Guerrero, Jermaine Dye, and Jim Thome. Morosi says we should know about the Lowell deal "one way or the other" by the end of the weekend.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington answers fans' questions about his team's future in an MLB.com mailbag.
Orioles Join Holliday Bidding?
3:11pm: We have a pair of Holliday tweets from earlier this afternoon. ESPN's Buster Olney says the Orioles had brief talks for Holliday ten days ago, talks that are now dormant. Meanwhile Yahoo's Tim Brown believes Holliday has a legitimate offer from an East Coast team, not the Orioles.
12:20pm: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun says that privately, the Orioles "have no expectations whatsoever that Holliday will be with the team next year."
12:05am: The Orioles have "jumped into" the bidding for outfielder Matt Holliday, write Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Despite the leap, the writers question the team's seriousness and Holliday's inclination to play in Baltimore, labeling the O's a longshot.
The majority of the article explains why signing Holliday could make sense for the Orioles, in the vein that signing Mark Teixeira a year ago made sense for them in some people's minds. You tell us, Orioles fans – would signing Holliday energize you? Would you want the O's to subsequently deal from their outfield depth to add pitching?
Olney On Holliday, Bay, DeRosa
Hot stove nuggets from ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney doesn't see Jacoby Ellsbury as a great fit for the Padres in a potential Adrian Gonzalez deal, in that Ellsbury will be arbitration-eligible a year from now and is represented by Scott Boras.
- Olney heard the Red Sox would be interested in signing Matt Holliday at less than the current Cardinals offer. Here's the question: what exactly did the Cardinals offer to Holliday in guaranteed money and years? $15-16MM a year for up to eight years is pretty vague. Is it just a five-year offer, as Olney suggested a few days ago?
- Jose Valverde is in a bad place, writes Olney, as there's no clear suitor looking to spend $8-10MM for a closer and give up a draft pick. If Valverde lingers on the market into February he could be a bargain.
- Olney heard that the Mets' "five-year concept" for Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, so much that the true value is similar to Boston's rejected four-year, $60MM offer.
- Righty Edgar Gonzalez might be Japan-bound. He spent this year in the Oakland organization.
- Mark DeRosa's asking price appears to have come down – Olney says it's in the three-year, $18MM range. Still seems too pricey, but it's a step in the right direction.
Adrian Gonzalez Rumors: Wednesday
8:00pm: Edes tweets that the Orioles "made a pretty good run" at Gonzalez during the Winter Meetings. It seems clear that Gonzalez has the potential to spark quite a bidding war.
1:36pm: ESPN's Gordon Edes tweets that there's "nothing going on" on the Gonzalez front. Edes doesn't expect the Red Sox to land Adrian Beltre or Matt Holliday either. Larry Stone of the Seattle Times believes that if the Padres do make Gonzalez available, the Mariners "won't let the Red Sox get him without a fight."
11:36am: Interesting tweet from ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. – he has a source close to Gonzalez who believes the player will be traded to Boston within the next ten days.
9:13am: The Red Sox are "working hard" to obtain Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, write Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The writers caution that a deal is "not close, and might not happen at all." Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote late last night that the two teams are not talking, but wondered if they'd re-engage.
Rosenthal and Morosi suggest the signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron give the Red Sox flexibility to trade Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury, and the Padres would be tempted by the chance to acquire both for Gonzalez. The Sox are reluctant to make that deal. Still, getting Gonzalez at $10.25MM over two years would free up resources for other pursuits during that time.
Mets Notes: Bay, Marquis, Pineiro
A few newsbits surrounding the Flushing Meadows nine….
- Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says the the Mets "are trying to be careful not to bid against themselves" for Jason Bay since they may be the only club with serious interest at this point. Rosenthal notes that the Red Sox are no longer a factor given the Mike Cameron signing, the Angels and Giants have "consistently downplayed their interest" in the free agent outfielder and the Mariners were never a major player in the Bay sweepstakes. We learned earlier today about the Mets' current offer to Bay.
- Rosenthal and his cohort Jon Paul Morosi also note that the Mets have interest in Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro, but may face some competition from division rivals Washington. Rosenthal and Morosi say the Nationals want to add two pitchers, with at least one being a No. 2 starter, and the Nats are also looking at Jon Garland.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff said that (of all things) Bay's long-ago stint in center field with Pittsburgh is the reason that New York rates him as a better defender than Matt Holliday.
- While answering e-mails from Mets fans disappointed by their team's lack of big free agent moves, MLB.com's Marty Noble points out that no number of free agents would make the Mets contenders in 2010 unless their large number of injured stars are healthy. Noble also "wouldn't count on a reunion" between the Mets and Joe Torre in spite of the fact that Torre's contract is up in Los Angeles after next year and Jerry Manuel might be on the hot seat.