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Angels Won’t Pursue Holliday; Bay Is An Option

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2:45pm: Moreno estimates that he has $12MM to spend on improving the club, according to FOX Sports. That could be enough to sign Bay if the left fielder agrees to sign a back-loaded deal.

1:16pm: Angels owner Arte Moreno told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that Matt Holliday is not an option for the Angels.

"He is not going to be an Angel," Moreno said. "We are not looking at Holliday at all."

Jason Bay, on the other hand, is a player "you have to look at," Moreno said. The Angels still have interest in bringing back John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero, but Moreno told the LA Times that the Angels won't be able to bring both Figgins and Lackey back.

As for Guerrero, Moreno hinted that he won't be back without saying so explicitly.

Stark On Bradley, Uggla, Yankees, Braves, Pedro

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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark responds to some of Scott Boras' recent comments before providing some rumors in his latest Rumblings and Grumblings column:

  • The Rays, Rangers and Jays appear to be the three likeliest landing spots for Milton Bradley. The Cubs say they don't want to eat much of the $21MM remaining on Bradley's contract, so a bad contract swap still seems possible.
  • Stark hears that the Marlins were in serious trade talks with the Giants and Rangers about Dan Uggla.
  • There's no indication that the Yankees are in on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday at this point. The Yanks figure to negotiate firmly with Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
  • The Braves would like to trade for a cleanup-hitter and are expected to try to extend Javier Vazquez if they can move Derek Lowe and his contract.
  • The Phillies don't appear to have a preference at third base, though they're said to be considering Placido Polanco, Mark DeRosa and Adrian Beltre.
  • At least two executives believe Pedro Martinez fits best as a half-year starter next season.

Bay Rejects Boston’s Offer

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Jason Bay rejected a contract offer from the Red Sox worth close to $60MM over four years, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. We've heard for a while that Bay wants to test the free agent market, and so have the Red Sox.

"It's not a surprise that a player that's gone this far wants to see what's out there,'' GM Theo Epstein said.

Bay will hit the open market in 12 hours, along with John Lackey, Matt Holliday and the rest of this year's free agents. Heyman says the Red Sox are thought to have interest in Holliday as well as Bay.

Epstein told a group of reporters including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that there's no firm timetable for signing Bay.

"This part of the process is important to him, so he’ll see what it’s like, see what’s out there and ultimately make a decision,” Epstein said.

Odds & Ends: Figgins, Holliday, Padres

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Some links to read through on Ryan Howard's 30th birthday…

  • The White Sox would like to add a true leadoff man and are open to bringing back Jim Thome, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
  • MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says the Phillies aren't considered serious contenders for free agent Chone Figgins.
  • MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports that the Marlins may spend on a corner outfielder, a second baseman or a third baseman if they free up some payroll by trading Dan Uggla. Jamey Carroll is one of the many free agents the Marlins would consider.
  • The Brewers are open to bringing Craig Counsell back, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says tension is rising between players and owners.
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock wonders if the Padres could bring Mike Cameron back.
  • Padres fixture Brian Giles won't return in 2010, though he hopes to keep playing.  
  • MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that the Cardinals will likely add a veteran bat if they don't re-sign Matt Holliday. However, the Cards say they're still hoping to sign Holliday, according to FOX Sports.
  • Leach expects the Cards to sign a pitcher to a one or two year deal to be the club's fourth starter.
  • As MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo points out, some of the best free agent signings are the ones that get the least attention.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun says there's a good chance the O's sign Pedro Feliz.

Odds & Ends: Yanks, Boras, Greinke, Cards

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A few more items for Wednesday evening…

  • Chad Jennings of The Journal News thinks the Yankees ought to at least call Toronto about right-handed ace Roy Halladay.  "I have no idea what the asking price might be," writes Jennings, "but Halladay is better than [John] Lackey and he’ll surely cost fewer prospects than Felix Hernandez."
  • As noted by the Boston Globe's Nick Carfado, MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said Wednesday the revenue sharing figures thrown out by agent Scott Boras during last week's GM meetings "have no basis in reality" and that Boras is living in a "fantasy land."
  • According to Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker, right-hander Ryota Igarashi and left-hander Hisanori Takahashi filed for international free agency on Wednesday.
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star expects Zack Greinke to move on once his contract with the Royals is through.  "The good news is that the team has Greinke under contract three more years," writes Mellinger.  "The bad news is they have a lot of improving to do in that time."
  • Joe Strauss and Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took to the radio Wednesday afternoon with a few opinions on the Cardinals' offseason plans.  Both feel Matt Holliday is only an average defender and that the Cardinals could be looking to add starting pitching via trade this offseason.

Cardinals: Bay Not A Priority

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Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has some interesting information concerning the Cardinals and their winter moves.

Matt Holliday is still tops on the agenda, of course, but though many observers figured Jason Bay would be Plan 1A, St. Louis GM John Mozeliak said that wasn't the case.

"We'll see how the market develops," Mozeliak told Strauss. "Is (Jason Bay) a possibility? Sure. But right now it's fair to say he's not one of our top priorities."

According to Strauss, a greater reliance on defensive metrics has redefined St. Louis' interest in Bay, who is a far worse defensive player than Holliday by nearly any statistical measure. Therefore, it isn't a surprise that the Cardinals are reluctant to top the four years and $64MM Strauss says is likely a starting point for bidding on Bay.

In addition to free agent options, the Cardinals retain interest in both Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham of the Nationals.

On the pitching side, Mozeliak has stayed in touch with the agent for John Smoltz, but Strauss says there are other options St. Louis will pursue first.

DeWitt On Matt Holliday, Trades

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Cardinals' chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. was a guest on Bernie Miklasz's 101 ESPN radio show today, and spoke about free agent Matt Holliday (among other topics). Let's round the discussion up…

  • The team still plans to make a serious push to retain Holliday, but DeWitt admitted that if a big-market club decides to go all out to sign him, they probably "don't have a chance."
  • The Cardinals haven't made an offer during the 15-day exclusive-right window simply because Scott Boras has made it clear he's taking Holliday on the open market.
  • DeWitt doesn't regret trading three prospects for Holliday, including 2008 first round pick Brett Wallace, because the goal was winning in 2009.
  • He also acknowledges that trading for Holliday and Mark DeRosa thinned out the team's farm system, but he believes the club still has prospects that will draw interest from other clubs.
  • If the Cardinals fail to re-sign Holliday, DeWitt said they would use the money set aside for him to improve other areas of the roster, depending on the player(s) and if it makes sense.

Angels Focused Lackey & Figgins, Not Holliday

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Yesterday we heard that the Angels were interested in free agent outfielder Matt Holliday, but GM Tony Reagins spoke to Mike DiGiovanna of The LA Times and shot down that rumor.

"He's a talented player," Reagins said of Holliday, who hit .313 with 24 home runs and 109 runs batted in for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals in 2009 and could command a deal in excess of $100 million. "But our focus is not on him right now."

Instead, the team is focused on re-signing John Lackey and Chone Figgins, according to DiGiovanna. Reagins indicated that he knows "where both of them stand," though he acknowledged that they have earned the right to "see what their value is."

DiGiovanna adds that the team has had discussions with Darren Oliver and Vladimir Guerrero, and that he doesn't expect the team's payroll (about $114MM last year) to be reduced "significantly."

Odds & Ends: Butler, Holliday, Counsell

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A batch of links to kick off the work week…

  • Newly minted Royals Player of the Year Billy Butler has not held long-term extension talks with the team, MLBTR learned on a conference call today.  Butler will not be arbitration-eligible until after the 2010 season. 
  • Desipio on the Cubs-Curtis Granderson idea: "In the end, this smells like a winter of Brian Roberts and Jake Peavy trade rumors.  One that ends with us talking ourselves into how Marlon Byrd isn’t so bad after all."
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes it's a three-horse race for Matt Holliday: the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick writes about Jed Hoyer and the Adrian Gonzalez situation.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that a dozen teams have expressed interest in free agent infielder Craig Counsell.  He'd like a multiyear deal.
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan sums up the Rangers' hot stove storylines.
  • Evan Grant wonders what it would take for the Rangers to acquire Edwin Jackson.
  • ESPN's Keith Law believes it'd be unwise for a team to acquire Dan Uggla and move him off second base.
  • Sean Smith's 2010 CHONE projections for hitters are now available, so take a peek into his crystal ball.
  • Jeremy Greenhouse of The Hardball Times cautions against misuses of the WAR statistic.
  • Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail thinks the Blue Jays "will be all over" Brandon Phillips to play third base if the Reds make him available.
  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post suggests Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd will hold Type A free agent reliever Rafael Betancourt hostage with an arbitration offer.  In my opinion, Betancourt has a decent chance of accepting.
  • Tommy Rancel of DRays Bay talked to Rays VP of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman.

Cafardo On Cabrera, Penny, Upton

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In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe examines the differing opinions on this year's free agent market and passes on some info from around the majors. The highlights:

  • One National League GM on the top players in this year's free agent class: "[Matt Holliday] won’t get what Mark Teixeira got. No chance. [John] Lackey may get A.J. Burnett money, but I’m not even sure anyone would go that high."
  • A separate source tells Cafardo that many teams will wait out the market this winter, potentially resulting in a few bargains for thrifty teams later in the offseason.
  • Cafardo wonders if the Detroit Tigers would entertain trade offers for Miguel Cabrera, who will make $20MM next season. If so, Cafardo thinks the Red Sox would get involved.
  • The Seattle Mariners believe they're very close to contending, which will mean hanging on to Felix Hernandez and pursuing players like Lackey and Jason Bay this offseason.
  • The San Francisco Giants are interested in bringing back Brad Penny.
  • Cafardo says it "isn't far-fetched" that the Rays could deal B.J. Upton. He suggests Upton's availability will depend on Carl Crawford's future with the team, or lack thereof.
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