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Matt Holliday

Mets Offer Five Years To Bay, Will Pursue Holliday

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According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Mets "tweaked their offer to Jason Bay," offering five guaranteed years as an alternative.  This five-year contract is at a "slightly lower" salary than the $16.25MM featured in their four-year, $65MM offer.  Heyman says the Mets are willing to go to five years and $75MM for Bay, which would be a $15MM salary.

Heyman says the Mets focused on Bay in hopes of signing him more quickly than Matt Holliday.  However, GM Omar Minaya will now jump in on Holliday and may talk to Scott Boras today.  If the Mets have their sights set on one of the two big-name sluggers, competition could come from the Angels for Bay and the Cardinals for Holliday.

ESPN's Buster Olney feels differently – he says the Mets are currently at four years for Bay but could go to five eventually, and are monitoring the Holliday talks but not actively involved.

Heyman adds that the Mets' talks for Bengie Molina are at a standstill, due to Molina's demand for a three-year deal in the $20MM range.  Hopefully the Mets are not that desperate.  Heyman believes the Mets might do two years and $10MM for the 35-year-old.  With all the lousy catchers getting two guaranteed years, Molina certainly has a case.

The Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee Blockbuster

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8:28pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi report (scroll down to 7:50pm) that Billy Beane and the A's first became interested in Taylor last summer when the Phillies tried to acquire Matt Holliday.

6:39pm: Jayson Stark reports on the historic maginitude of this deal as this will be the closest two Cy Young winners have ever come to being traded for each other.

6:35pm: It appears as though one of the last hurdles has been overcome as Todd Zolecki reports that Halladay has passed his physical.

2:54pm: Olney says the option vests if Halladay is close to as durable as he's been for the last two years. Halladay's made 65 starts and thrown 485 innings the last two years; he's as durable as they come.

2:43pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown hears that the Halladay extension runs through 2013 at $20MM per season. A vesting option for another $20MM could prolong the pact by another year. The deal is now pending physicals.

11:56am: Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the Phillies have agreed to an extension with Halladay.

10:00am: Rosenthal hears there's a chance for a fourth year. It's still under discussion, but it could be guaranteed and it could be a vesting option.

9:42am: A source tells Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the deal is "very unlikely" to be completed today. We could see resolution tomorrow.

9:36am: The Phillies are still working out extension details with Halladay, according to Heyman. The teams may not complete the deal until tomorrow.

9:02am: Halladay will agree to a three-year extension worth $60MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The deal will include two vesting options, so it could keep Halladay in Philly through 2015.

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Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday

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2:35pm: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News hears that the Yankees have no interest in signing Bay long-term. They don't have confidence in his ability to play the outfield in a few years. Another source tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that there's no chance the Yankees bid on Bay or Matt Holliday.

12:42pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Yankees did contact Bay's representatives. However, one source says the team isn't seriously interested in Bay right now.

Across town, the Mets are willing to offer a fifth year or increase their initial four-year offer. The Giants, Mariners and Angels have also shown interest in Bay according to FOX's sources.

8:38am: The Red Sox "officially" cut ties with Bay yesterday, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.

12:44am: The Yankees have reached out to Jason Bay's representatives, a source tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.  While the Mets, Angels, and Mariners are said to be the frontrunners for his services, the article says that the Bombers are "lurking in the weeds." 

Silverman stresses that the Yanks are not believed to have made an offer at this point and their level of interest is currently unclear.

Also, while it appears unlikely that there is a place for Bay in Boston, it should be noted that the club has yet to inform him that he is no longer in their plans.

As for the Yankees, do you think they're legitimately interested in Bay or just doing their due diligence?

Cards Offer Most Lucrative Deal In Team History To Holliday

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1:30pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Cardinals don't believe many teams are competing for Holliday on the level they are. Olney says the Cards intend to stand by a five-year offer – that's considerably short of the eight-year deal hinted at yesterday.

The Yankees have no intention of bidding on Holliday, according to Olney's sources.

TUESDAY, 11:19am: A source familiar with the talks tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that "nothing is imminent." The source says Boras and Holliday "are still looking for something that they're not finding."

MONDAY, 11:10pm: The Cardinals have offered Matt Holliday a deal which would pay him $16MM per year and could extend through eight seasons, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  It's unclear at this point how many of the seasons are option years – if any.  As St. Louis is anxious to reach a resolution, those familiar with the talks believe it possible that Holliday could reach a verdict before Christmas. 

This proposal dwarfs the average value of the 7-year, $100MM contract Albert Pujols inked in the winter of 2004.  Of course, the average value of Pujols' next contract will likely overshadow the pitch made to Holliday.

Strauss writes that the Yankees may be the most dangerous variable to the Cardinals, despite their insistance that they are not pursuing Holliday.  With Jason Bay pointed towards signing with the Mets and the Red Sox inking Mike Cameron, two potential suitors are presumably off the chase.

Do you believe that the Yanks are seriously considering throwing their pinstriped hat into the Holliday ring?  Could Scott Boras be overplaying his hand on what seems to be a titanic offer?  Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Nady, Holliday

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Some links for your Tuesday morning…

Cardinals Make Formal Offer To Matt Holliday

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SATURDAY, 8:44am: Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post Dispatch spoke to a source that says the deal "does not offer an average annual value of $18 million." That number is significant because Holliday rejected a similar offer to remain in Colorado.

FRIDAY, 1:50pm: The Cardinals made a formal offer to Matt Holliday, GM John Mozeliak told Bernie Miklasz on ESPN 101 St. Louis this morning.  Mozeliak expects to hear back from the Scott Boras camp within 48 hours.

Gammons On Bay, Beltre, Red Sox

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Peter Gammons' departure from ESPN has become a story in itself during this busy off-season, and Gammons' media rounds continued today as a guest on the WEEI Sports Radio Network's Big Show.  A full transcript is available here, but here are some of the hot stove items that Gammons had to share….

  • Gammons said that Jason Bay "does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple," in spite of the fact that the Giants would be willing to offer Bay the five-year contract that he is apparently seeking.
  • The Angels won't be players in the Bay sweepstakes, as Gammons predicted they will instead spend their money to re-sign John Lackey.
  • Gammons thinks the Mariners might still make an offer to retain Adrian Beltre, though such a move might create some issues with the newly-signed Chone Figgins, who came to Seattle under the impression that he would be the new third baseman.  Gammons reported that Beltre "hates" Safeco Field.
  • Given Roy Halladay's injury history, Gammons said "it would be a disaster" for Boston to trade Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz for Halladay and sign the Toronto ace to a long-term contract.
  • If the Red Sox don't end up with either Bay or Matt Holliday, Gammons opined that Boston could pursue a defense-first strategy for a season by signing Mike Cameron and Xavier Nady.  Or, Boston could just save their money now and stand pat until mid-season before making any trades.
  • Even if the Red Sox add another big-money starter, the team would like to keep Josh Beckett because of the leadership he provides to the younger pitchers.
  • Speaking of clubhouse leadership, Gammons said that Marco Scutaro's ability to mentor Jose Iglesias was a factor in Boston signing the former Blue Jays shortstop.  Another reason was that Scutaro had a clean bill of health, unlike Mark DeRosa, who Gammons said the Red Sox were "a little bit cautious" on signing due to his wrist problems last season.

Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday

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7:36pm: A source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets offered Bay more than $60MM, but less than $65MM.

5:57pm: The Mets confirmed that they made Bay and Bengie Molina offers, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

3:27pm: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets offered Bay four years and about $65MM.  He feels "they'd probably have to bump it to five years to get him."  Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the offer was in the four-year, $60MM range.  Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News agrees with Heyman's figure.

12:57pm: Newsday's David Lennon tweets that the Mets' first two free agent offers are going out to Bay and Bengie Molina.

5:18am: Going into the fourth day of the Winter Meetings, the Angels, Mariners, Red Sox, and maybe even the Mets are suitors for free agent outfielder Jason Bay, writes Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald. One source indicated that Boston was in a "holding pattern" until the Bay situation was resolved, however they could turn to Matt Holliday, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.

WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes that if anyone offers Bay a five year contract, that would likely seal the deal. However, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that there are "concerns within the Boston organization about whether Jason Bay would hold up physically through a multi-year deal." For what it's worth, Bay has only been on the DL twice in his career, the last time coming way back in 2004.

Meanwhile, Kevin Baxter of The LA Times says that Angels' manager Mike Scioscia would prefer to re-sign John Lackey instead of importing Bay, noting that they have to be as balanced as possible.  

Odds & Ends: Wolf, Stammen, Lackey

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Post-Winter Meetings links for Thursday…

  • ESPN's Keith Law calls the Astros' signing of Brandon Lyon "hobbling," but likes the Rays impending acquisition of Rafael Soriano.  He says the Soriano situation shows that if a team has a borderline call with a Type A free agent, they should offer arbitration.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney says Randy Wolf would've re-signed with the Dodgers for a two-year deal in the $14-16MM range.
  • Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says the Blue Jays talked to the Nationals about pitcher Craig Stammen but "he does not appear to be available."
  • The Cardinals touched base with Scott Boras before leaving Indianapolis, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cards still haven't made an offer to Matt Holliday.
  • ESPN's Mike Salk heard that John Lackey is the Mariners' top priority.
  • The Hanshin Tigers signed reliever Randy Messenger for about $600K, says NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  Messenger will replace Scott Atchison, who signed with the Red Sox.
  • The Big Lead did a Q&A with new Yankee Curtis Granderson.

Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday

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11:08pm: The Red Sox are one of four teams involved with Bay, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Mariners and Angels are talking with him and Silverman hears indications that the Mets might be, too. Still, that's speculation at this point. The Red Sox are still interested in Matt Holliday and willing to get creative if Bay signs elsewhere.

5:04pm: Theo Epstein doesn't expect any kind of blockbuster move before the meetings end, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Talks haven't progressed with Jason Bay's reps.

2:16pm: Angels m anager Mike Scioscia said his team has "more pressing needs" than Bay right now, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.

2:41am: Although the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are among the main players for Jason Bay, they have still only engaged in "preliminary talks" with the slugger, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

"He's a guy we have interest in," [GM Tony] Reagins said. "We have to find out what it's going to take to make a deal, and we don't have an indication right now."

We didn't hear a whole lot about Bay on Tuesday, so we'll see if Wednesday brings any more action.

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