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Mike Hampton

Odds and Ends: Thorman, Sabathia, Pettitte

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Links for Tuesday…

Braves Rumors: Hampton, Lowe, Burnett

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Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest on the Braves in a new blog post.

  • The Braves never intended Mike Hampton to be one of the two front-rotation starters they acquire this winter, so his rejection of their offer doesn’t affect their plans much.
  • O’Brien notes that he’s heard no indications that the Braves are actively pursuing Derek Lowe.  A.J. Burnett seems to be their top target, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jake Peavy talks revived at the Winter Meetings.
  • The Braves made trade inquiries on Roy Oswalt and Matt Cain and "haven’t received favorable replies in those pursuits."
  • Free agents Ben Sheets and Randy Johnson don’t seem to be on the radar due to concerns over their reliability.
  • The Braves continue to seek a power bat, with Ryan Ludwick and Jermaine Dye the two targets mentioned in recent weeks.

Hampton Seeks One-Year Deal

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ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to Mike Hampton’s agent Mark Rodgers, who said, "We’re looking for a straight one-year deal – no option, no nothing."  Hampton obviously just wants to re-establish himself as a healthy, useful starting pitcher after so many lost seasons.  It’s unclear whether Rodgers’ statement means Hampton will avoid incentive-based offers.

Crasnick says Hampton wants to pitch near his Arizona home, but the Braves, Astros, Padres, Giants, and Cardinals could be fits.  Astros GM Ed Wade said recently he’s had dialogue with Rodgers and Hampton is open to returning to Houston.  The Braves have also had dialogue.

Hampton, 36, posted a 4.17 ERA in 11 starts over the season’s final two months.  Still, his peripheral stats were not impressive during that period.

Braves Rumors: Hampton, Ludwick, Burnett

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Braves GM Frank Wren chatted with fans on MLB.com today and David O’Brien has some new Braves rumors as well.

  • Wren told O’Brien that the Braves have had "a number of conversations" with Mike Hampton about keeping him in Atlanta. In his MLB.com chat, Wren said he thinks Hampton is still a "very good pitcher."
  • O’Brien says that talks with the Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick "aren’t dead." Wren doesn’t comment when asked about Ludwick in the chat, but that is in itself something of a statement.
  • O’Brien says that if Atlanta can’t trade for Ludwick, Raul Ibanez would be an outfield target. Wren said in his chat that he’d like to acquire a "productive bat in the outfield," and that a right-handed hitter would be ideal.
  • Not surprisingly, Wren writes in the chat that he’d like to have A.J. Burnett in the Braves’ rotation next year. Wren adds that the Braves have had discussions about bringing back Paul Byrd for a third time.
  • Wren told O’Brien that he’s going to worry about assembling the 2009 team before working on extensions for players like Chipper Jones.
  • And Brian McCann’s already lost 22 pounds since the end of the season.

Stark’s Latest: Putz, Manny, Lackey, Ibanez

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Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

  • Stark does the math and finds 15 potentially available closers versus six clubs in the market for one.  Should result in a few bargains or teams holding on to their surpluses.
  • The Mets don’t seem willing to extend to four years for Francisco Rodriguez.  Stark says J.J. Putz would become the Mets’ top closer target if he’s made available.  MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone wrote a few days ago that the Mets are likely to trade for a reliever with closing experience before attempting to sign one.
  • J.P. Ricciardi quote: "We won’t be involved with Manny."  Ricciardi last month: "He’s on our radar, but maybe not on our radar like some people will report."
  • Despite reports to the contrary, Stark talked to a rival executive who says Jake Peavy made it "onto [the Angels’] radar pretty hard."  Stark speculates that Peavy could fit if the Halos sign Mark Teixeira.
  • It seems likely that the Angels will put out an offer to Teixeira with a deadline, and then either sign him or move on.
  • John Lackey’s been telling friends he expects to have an extension with the Angels by Opening Day.  Lackey indicated last month he’d wait to see the Halos’ offensive plans before re-signing.
  • Stark suspects the Players Union might be OK with C.C. Sabathia turning down a larger offer from the Yankees if he still signed for more than Johan Santana’s $23MM per year.  I don’t really see why Sabathia would worry about the union in any regard.
  • The Dodgers inquired on the asking price of Jason Varitek, with the idea of moving Russell Martin to third base in mind.  They balked at Scott Boras’ demand for Tek, however.
  • Curt Schilling is "more likely than ever" to attempt a late June or early July comeback.
  • Tons of teams have expressed some degree of interest in Raul Ibanez: the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels, and Mariners.  Some interesting new ones in there.
  • The Phillies never made a two-year, $21MM offer to Pat Burrell.  Will the Phils at least offer him arbitration?  The rumored offer was questionable from Day 1, as Paul Hagen said Burrell "reportedly turned down a two-year, $22MM offer" but didn’t reference a specific report.
  • Stark believes that the Brewers were not thrilled with the Yankees’ "overbid" for C.C. Sabathia, and therefore would prefer not to trade Mike Cameron to them.  Dan Graziano wrote yesterday about the Yanks’ conversations for Cameron.
  • Roy Oswalt wants the Astros to sign Ben Sheets, but the price tag may be too high.  Stark has the following names on their radar: Randy Wolf, Mike Hampton, Freddy Garcia, Paul Byrd, and maybe Pedro Martinez.  Is Drayton McLane willing to bring Andy Pettitte back?  GM Ed Wade seemed interested in his chat yesterday, saying, "We’ll have to see what develops down the road."

Astros Rumors: Wolf, Hawkins, Hampton

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MLB.com’s Alyson Footer has the latest Astros buzz.

  • Astros GM Ed Wade will meet with Randy Wolf’s agents tomorrow, but doesn’t expect an agreement to be reached before the exclusive negotiating period ends.  Wolf will test the open market, and the Mets are already known to be interested.
  • Talks are ongoing with the agents for Doug Brocail and LaTroy Hawkins.  Brocail is a Type A free agent, and the Astros already declined a $3.25MM option on him.
  • Wade met with Mike Hampton’s agent recently.  Hampton could return to Houston on an incentive-laden contract.
  • Wade is on the lookout for a second-tier catcher to complement Humberto Quintero.
  • MLB.com’s Jim Molony wonders if the Astros will try to bring lefty Trever Miller back.

Braves Rumors: Ludwick, Dempster, Francoeur

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David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been churning out rumors in the comments section of his blog.

  • He believes the Braves are interested in Ryan Ludwick, but is not sure if they’d give up Kelly Johnson.  O’Brien also suggests Rick Ankiel could be available, and that either player would interest Atlanta.
  • O’Brien says the Cubs offered three years, $36MM to Ryan Dempster.  Most folks think he’ll re-sign, but the Braves have spoken to Dempster’s agent.
  • He adds that the Braves will make an offer to Mike Hampton, though Hampton will shop around and may prefer the West Coast.  He’s looking for a one-year deal.
  • The Royals still love Jeff Francoeur.

Hampton Will Consider Astros

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MLB.com’s Alyson Footer has some quotes from free-agent-to-be Mike Hampton regarding Houston:

"I’ve always loved this place.  Definitely. I’m sure there will be interest on both sides. We’ll see if we can work something out. I’ve always loved it here."

Hampton, 36, showed promise in thirteen starts this year.  He could be a useful back of the rotation addition for Houston.  Many teams might consider him (Rockies excluded).

Odds and Ends: Santos, Blalock, Lo Duca

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Let’s dig through today’s rumor bin…

Rockies’ Hampton Buyout Prefunded

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Gerry Fraley wrote about Mike Hampton in the Rocky Mountain News a few weeks ago.  One notable statement:

"The Rockies will be free of a financial obligation once they pay the $6 million buyout on his option for 2009 – a sum that was prefunded so it won’t impact Rockies finances."

In my Rockies Offseason Outlook, the $6MM was included when I said the team had $77.6MM committed before arbitration raises.

Since the buyout won’t impact finances, the Rox actually have about $71.6MM committed before possible arbitration raises to Clint Barmes, Garrett Atkins, Willy Taveras, Jorge de la Rosa, Jason Grilli, and Cory Sullivan.  So figure the Rockies will come in a bit under $80MM to keep their current players (aside from free agents).

Even going from this year’s $68.6MM to $80MM in ’09 would be a 16.6% increase in payroll.  To add players, they’ll have to go even higher or perhaps trade Atkins.  The Rockies drew over 2.65MM fans this year, up from last year’s 2.38MM.

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