Angels/Marlins Cabrera Negotiations Hit Snag
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has the latest on the Angels’ ongoing talks with the Marlins about superstar third baseman Miguel Cabrera.
The two teams have hit a snag about the combination of players, according to Giovanna. It’s not that the Angels view any of Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Nick Adenhart, Reggie Willits, or Brandon Wood to be untouchable (previously it had been said that the inclusion of Adenhart was an issue). It seems that the Angels will give up certain combinations of the above-named players (probably three of them) but the two teams can’t quite match up.
Heyman’s Latest: Piazza, Matthews, Milledge
SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with a new Daily Scoop column full of rumors.
- A lot of the standard trade talk we’ve seen regarding Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, Miguel Tejada, and Dan Haren. All these guys require two good young players or more in a trade.
- Mike Piazza is considering DHing in Japan if he doesn’t find anything he likes in the U.S.
- Heyman talked to an AL exec who speculated that the Angels may try to unload Gary Matthews Jr. GMJ makes $9MM in ’08, $10MM in ’09, $11MM in ’10, and $12MM in ’11. He currently has a full no-trade clause.
- Juan Uribe and Vicente Padilla are two salary-dump types whose names have surfaced in recent trade talks (unrelated to each other). Padilla is owed $24.75MM over the next two seasons.
- Heyman believes the Mets are very willing to trade Lastings Milledge and have discussed him often.
- We knew the Mets had discussed Ramon Hernandez and Gerald Laird. Heyman adds the Nats’ Brian Schneider to the mix. He makes $4.9MM in ’08 and another $4.9MM in ’09.
Odds and Ends: Santana, Hunter
Let’s kick off the morning with some odds and ends, absent any earth-shattering rumors. I’ll keep adding to this post.
- Awesome inside look at the Torii Hunter deal via Bob Nightengale. Hunter’s first choice outside of Minnesota was the Cardinals, but they weren’t interested.
- Hunter – not overpaid? So says J.C. Bradbury.
- Still some confusion about Johan Santana‘s no-trade clause. Buster Olney says it’s full and doesn’t indicate that the rights change on any certain date. Matthew Cerrone says it’s a full NTC only until Opening Day ’08, when it switches to 12 teams. Those are not mutually exclusive comments, so I guess we’ll see.
- Phil Rogers doesn’t think the Cubs will re-sign Kerry Wood. He also sees the Giants in the lead for Miguel Cabrera now.
- My coworker Jonathan makes a good point – thought the Sox wouldn’t give four-year deals to pitchers? They made a huge fuss over Mark Buehrle. Suddenly Scott Linebrink is worthy of breaking the rule again? Some are skeptical.
- Bobby Kielty typically smacks around left-handed pitching (Brian Fuentes for example). He’ll hook on as some team’s fourth outfielder as a free agent. He’d like to return to Boston, but that would require a Coco Crisp trade. Rob Bradford names the Twins, Braves, Rangers, and White Sox as possibilities otherwise.
Odds And Ends: Cabrera, Bay, Liriano, Clement, Dotel
Lots to go over this morning, so this might not be the last bullet point list you see.
- The Angels and Marlins are progressing in talks for Miguel Cabrera. It’s believed that the Angels are willing to deal players like Reggie Willits, Howie Kendrick, and Jeff Mathis, but the sticking point here is the inclusion of Nick Adenhart. If the Angels want Cabrera, I would have to think Adenhart would be a part of any deal.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that he is not actively shopping any of his players. However, he acknowledges that if he hears an offer, he’ll have to consider it. Some of his team’s asking prices are "outrageous," he says. This includes players like Jason Bay and Jack Wilson. But the Pirates may choose in the end to dish Bay, since their strength, if any, is the outfield, and Bay is slated to make $13.25 million over the next two years. That might not seem like a lot, but it’s costly when you’re working with a paltry $50 million budget. Surely Huntington would love to deal Wilson, though he denies it. He might have trouble finding a partner on that one.
- Though the Twins deny it, any Johan Santana deal might be dependent on the status of Francisco Liriano. The 24-year-old "hasn’t had a single setback" in his recovery from ligament replacement surgery last October. He’s completed his rehab program, and might pitch in the Dominican this winter. He’s expected to be ready in February fo Spring Training.
- Add the Pirates to the list of teams interested in Matt Clement. It now spans the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Royals, Padres, and Blue Jays in addition to the Bucs. However, with their payroll cap, Clement might not be feasible.
- The Tigers remain interested in closer Octavio Dotel. There is no word on whether the team has offered him a contract.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.
Hunter Signing Won’t Stop Rolling Angels
UPDATE: Some added info from yesterday’s Miami Herald. It sounds like the Angels are willing to part with Reggie Willits, Howie Kendrick, and a catcher. Not a bad haul. However the Marlins are apparently insisting on the inclusion of top pitching prospect Nick Adenhart as well.
Just because the Angels dropped $90 million on Torii Hunter doesn’t mean they won’t continue to make deals this off-season. Specifically, the two players most linked to them — Miguel Cabrera and Miguel Tejada — are still hot on the radar, according to GM Tony Reagins.
"All I can say is I’m going to be looking at some other things to make us better," Reagins said. "The winter meetings are coming up, and I’m sure we’ll have more discussions. I’m going to be open-minded."
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times opines that the acquisition of Hunter could make it easier to incur the loss of Howie Kendrick, a potential major chip in a Cabrera trade. Other players sought by the Marlins are catcher Jeff Mathis, pitcher Nick Adenhart, and one of Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, or Ervin Santana. That’s quite steep asking price, but in line with the Marlins demands from the Dodgers of Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Andy LaRoche, and one more prospect.
The deal for Tejada would be less costly, but could cost the Angels SS Erick Aybar. Since the Halos want to move Tejada to third, that could mean starting Chone Figgins at short, or, as Tim mentioned the other day, bringing back David Eckstein.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.
Stark’s Latest: Santana, Hamilton, Snell
Ah, a new Rumblings and Grumblings from Jayson Stark. Let’s dig in.
- It sounds like the Yankees would discuss Phil Hughes and the Red Sox might part with one of Ellsbury/Lester/Buchholz to acquire Johan Santana. The acquiring team would need an extension window though. The Mets are in on Santana big-time and would have to give up Carlos Gomez and then some. If the Twins do trade Santana, they would probably hang onto Matt Garza. But otherwise Garza could be traded for a young hitter, as we’ve been hearing.
- The Fish want four 0-3 players for Miguel Cabrera, pretty much the names we’ve been tossing around here at MLBTR for a while.
- The Marlins would ask for two 0-3 guys for Dontrelle Willis, but aren’t inclined to trade him unless they’re blown away. Stark names the Mets, Mariners, and D’Backs as suitors. So think Gomez, Adam Jones, or Carlos Gonzalez.
- The Orioles and Cardinals don’t want to eat any money on Miguel Tejada and Scott Rolen, respectively. The Cards were asking for too much from the Yanks for Rolen – one of their top three young pitchers (you know the trio).
- The Reds are willing to trade Ryan Freel or Josh Hamilton to clear space for Jay Bruce.
- Ian Snell could be available. It’s not the first time his name has appeared in the rumor mill. Hell, Snell for Hamilton kind of makes sense.
Miguel Cabrera Rumors
I think it’s about time to dissect the Miguel Cabrera situation, don’t you? The Angels, Dodgers, Giants, White Sox, and maybe the Rangers are battling to acquire him.
Five days ago, the Angels were the frontrunners. It was even suggested a trade could be completed by Thanksgiving. But according to Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers now have the lead. It may require Matt Kemp, Andy LaRoche, and Clayton Kershaw. Now that’s quality.
Rosenthal has a source saying the Halos may counter with Ervin Santana, Howie Kendrick, Chris Bootcheck, and Nick Adenhart. It’s thought that the Angels’ acquisition of Jon Garland frees them up to trade a starter or two. Many other Angels interest the Marlins – Joe Saunders, Brandon Wood, Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis, or Reggie Willits could enter the picture. Miguel Tejada is said to be the Angels’ fallback option.
The proposed White Sox package of Josh Fields, Ryan Sweeney, and Gio Gonzalez just doesn’t seem comparable to the above.
Should the Dodgers give up Kemp to snag Cabrera, they’ll then sign a free agent center fielder. Aaron Rowand is the flavor of the week.
Orioles, Dodgers Talking Bedard, Kemp
Earlier this month, we learned that the Orioles will listen to offers for Erik Bedard. Sounds kinda crazy, shopping a potential Cy Young candidate with two years remaining until free agency. But if the Orioles can pick up a couple of younger but still MLB-ready players, so be it. The first connection comes from the Dodgers, who are offering a package centered around — guess who — Matt Kemp.
Kemp himself won’t get this deal done. Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports lists the usual suspects from the Dodgers: Andy LaRoche (because 93 at-bats is a plenty big sample), Jonathan Meloan, James Loney, Clayton Kershaw, Delwyn Young, Andre Ethier, and Tony Abreu.
Of course, Kemp would play a large part in a potential Miguel Cabrera trade, so the Dodgers must choose wisely. They certainly have the players it would take to land either player.
Brown notes that the Dodgers are already looking to upgrade at center field. We all know what that means: Hunter, Rowand, and Jones.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.
Miguel Carbera To Drop Weight
Miguel Cabrera has spoken to LasMayores.com, the Spanish version of MLB.com. Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald relays the information. Apparently, Cabrera is at least saying that he plans to get into better shape this off-season so that he can "have the best season possible for the team [he ends] up on." He even says that he’s been at it for four weeks already.
This would help alleviate universal concerns regarding Cabrera’s weight and defensive ability. He’d like to stay with the NL because of his familiarity with it, but AL teams might be more interested, since they can move him to DH in the later years of a potential long-term contract.
"I’d like to stay at third, but if the team feels that it’s best for me and everyone that I play somewhere else, that’s what I’ll do,” Cabrera said. "I’d have no problem playing first, or even the outfield again, if that’s how I can help my team in 2008."
Cabrera ranked third to last for third basemen in Dave Pinto’s PMR, ahead of only Ryan Braun and Garrett Atkins, and second to last in Zone Rating, only to Braun. Dropping some weight might help things, but unless he’s taking 1,000 ground balls per day like Braun, he could still be a liability at the hot corner.
The Dodgers and the Angels, both with a bevy of young talent, remain the front runners in any potential Miggy trade.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.
Odds and Ends: Kuroda, Hunter, Crede
What’d I miss recently? Here are some odds and ends.
- The Tigers have expressed interest in Hiroki Kuroda. They join the Phillies, Mariners, Dodgers, Royals, Rangers, Cubs, and Mets in that pursuit.
- 10 teams are interested in Aaron Rowand! That’s almost 1/3 of all baseball teams!
- Torii Hunter is after a seven-year deal. Most feel he’s saying that because he wants six. Clever!
- The Twins are taking a look at Tony Clark as a cheap DH option. He’s supposedly looking for something like two years, $4MM and more playing time. This would be a very Twins-like signing.
- T.R. Sullivan has a Rangers update. Apparently Jon Daniels is checking in on big names like Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, and Miguel Cabrera. More realistically Daniels may go out to Japan for players such as Kosuke Fukudome and Hiroki Kuroda (we knew that already). We also knew the Rangers had Kerry Wood and Eric Gagne on their radar. Sullivan speculates that Scott Linebrink and LaTroy Hawkins could also be in the mix.
- Barry Rozner expects Joe Crede to be traded. It seems like Crede is a Plan B or C for a lot of teams and Kenny Williams may have to wait til a few dominoes fall first.