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Cafardo On Red Sox, Hudson, Garland

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In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe speculates about where "old hands" such as Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz could land. Here are some of Cafardo's other notes:

  • The Red Sox "are debating whether they’ll go for it and pay luxury tax money," as their payroll approaches the $170MM mark.
  • If the Sox wanted to sign Jason Bay, they could offer a low, one-year base salary with three heavily backloaded option years. With as much as $48MM coming off their books next winter, they would be better equipped to pay Bay after 2010.
  • Baseball executives think that plenty of good values will be available by mid-January, with some established major league players having to sign minor league contracts. One NL GM says "the Pirates will load up" on this type of player.
  • The Mets are still the team most interested in Orlando Hudson, but would have to find a way to move Luis Castillo.
  • A market is starting to form for Jon Garland, and the Rangers seem to be the early frontrunner.
  • Other Rangers notes: The team might prefer Jermaine Dye to Vladimir Guerrero, since Dye can still play the outfield (albeit not particularly well, according to UZR/150). Texas and Minnesota could also be good fits for Miguel Tejada.
  • The Indians aren't saying Fausto Carmona is available, but baseball execs feel that the club would have to listen on any offers.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltre, Morrow

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Some Saturday afternoon links..

  • The Dodgers should have offered salary arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudsonto allow themselves the opportunity to receive draft picks, writes Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times.  Weisman argues that the worst case scenario of being stuck with one or both players at a slightly inflated price for one season wouldn't have been so bad.  It's hard to dispute this point as we have yet to see the Dodgers do much of anything this winter.
  • Not only are the Athletics talking to free agent Adrian Beltre, they may be the only serious bidder at the moment, according to an item on ESPN's MLB rumor page.  The piece also notes that if Beltre's asking price - believed to be north of $10MM per season – drops into Oakland's price range, the Giants, Cardinals, and Tigers could get in the mix.
  • Seattle's poor decisions stunted the development of Brandon Morrow, writes Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.  While he never had the same ceiling as Tim Lincecum, who was drafted five spots later in the 2006 draft, things could have worked out differently for Morrow if he were given adequate time to develop in the minors. 
  • Shi Davidi of the Associated Presspraises new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and his plan to rebuild the franchise.  Davidi writes that Anthopoulos has the support of ownership in a way that J.P. Ricciardi never did.
  • A few free agents left on the market might want to consider lowering their asking price, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Adam LaRoche seeking $30MM over three years might be the most wishful of the bunch.

Olney on Bay, Beltre, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the Yankees and Red Sox when they say that they have budget lines that they are not currently willing to cross.  When the trade deadline rolls around, however, it will likely be a different story.  Olney brings us his take on the teams who are still willing to spend this winter…

  • Since Jason Bay continues to sit on their offer, the Mets may soon give up on him and move on to less expensive free agents.  Olney suggests that they ignore fans who are focused on big names and instead spend their money on players who can be had for short-term deals, such as Randy Winn and Orlando Hudson.  The Mets "seem to have" something in the range of $15MM to $22MM in payroll flexibility. 
  • The Mets are shopping for a catcher, left fielder, and starting pitcher.  Joel Pineiro tops their list of desired starters. 
  • Olney characterized the A's consideration of Adrian Beltre as "serious."
  • As the Cardinals continue to wait on Matt Holliday's answer, Olney wonders out loud if the club might look into signing Bay as a backup plan. 
  • Rival executives sense that the M's have some money left to spend, but not a great deal.  Seattle needs either a first baseman or second baseman plus help for the back end of their rotation.
  • Because of the mass of arbitration-eligible players on their roster, the Angels have limited payroll flexibility.  This means that they could pursue Pineiro if they chose to, but are unlikely to factor into the bidding for Bay or Holliday.

Nationals Notes: Garland, Orlando Hudson

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So far this winter the Nationals have traded for reliever Brian Bruney and signed starter Jason Marquis and catcher Ivan Rodriguez.  They're a finalist to sign reliever Matt Capps.  They've also added Joel Peralta, Jamie Burke, and Doug Slaten, among others.  What's next for GM Mike Rizzo? 

  • Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says the Nats initially targeted Jon Garland, but Garland prefers to sign with a West Coast team.  He should have some options if he's willing to take a one-year deal in the $6-7MM range.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that the Nationals still have interest in free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson.  Signing Hudson would mean keeping Cristian Guzman at shortstop.

Dodgers Sign Jamey Carroll

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The Dodgers signed veteran infielder Jamey Carroll to a two-year deal, as first reported by ESPN's Buster Olney.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports specified the contract's value as $3.85MM.  Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says there's another $500K in incentives.  Carroll reportedly drew interest from eight teams this winter.

Carroll hit .276/.355/.340 in 358 plate appearances with Cleveland last season, playing mostly as a second baseman but also seeing significant time at third base and in the outfield.  His versatility makes him particularly attractive to the Dodgers, since they stand to lose multiple infielders to free agency and Carroll would fill any number of holes on the bench or in the starting lineup should Blake DeWitt struggle as the everyday second baseman.

Where did the cash-strapped Dodgers get the money for Carroll?  Hernandez notes that the infielder's funds came from the money GM Ned Colletti saved by shipping Juan Pierre to the White Sox.  Colletti quickly spent about half of the Pierre savings on Carroll.

This post has been rewritten by Tim Dierkes.

Giants Make Offer To DeRosa?

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3:30pm: Baggarly believes DeRosa is one of multiple offers the Giants have out to free agents.  He's less certain that Johnson and Scott Podsednik received offers.

1:15am: Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports says that DeRosa is the team's top third base target because he's cheaper then Beltre, and versatile enough to move if Pablo Sandoval can stick at third.

THURSDAY, 12:22am: Baggarly writes that the Giants "might be making a subtle misdirection play to get the Florida Marlins to take a lesser return" for Uggla.

1:07pm: MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that we should not rule out the Giants on Uggla – "there is still smoke."  He notes that the Marlins never asked for Madison Bumgarner in return.

WEDNESDAY, 12:59am: According to Baggarly, the Giants are hoping to sign one infielder from a group that includes DeRosa, Nick Johnson, and Adrian Beltre. Hudson is also a possiblity, while Adam LaRoche is a "back-burner option." Baggarly also notes that Sabean doesn't sound too enthusiastic about pursuing Jermaine Dye, despite previous reports of the Giants' interest in the veteran: "We want to stay young," Sabean said. "That's a blanket statement, not a comment against Dye."

TUESDAY, 7:50pm: Baggarly reports that the Giants are not a serious bidder for Dan Uggla. His salary (which could be $7MM or so) and his weak glove limit the team's interest. 

6:50pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has the latest on the Giants:

  • Johnny Damon is not a fit for the Giants.
  • Bengie Molina will not return: in the words of Giants GM Brian Sabean, "that ship has sailed."
  • It's possible that Juan Uribe will reconsider the Giants' contract offer (for one year, plus an option).

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more:

  • The Giants will move Freddy Sanchez to third base if they sign Orlando Hudson.
  • Mark DeRosa , however, would fit in at the hot corner if the Giants sign him.
  • Rosenthal confirms that the Giants and Padres have discussed a Kevin Kouzmanoff trade, but says the Padres aren't enticed by the Giants' youngsters.
  • Rosenthal hears that Sabean has at least considered signing Jason Bay.

Minaya: No Pressure To Make Moves

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Ben Shpigel of the New York Times writes that Omar Minaya arrived in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings and has said that he's not under any pressure to make moves, despite having issues to address at catcher, left field, the rotation, and the bullpen.

"I don't feel like I have to do something," Minaya is quoted as saying, and that includes signing Bengie Molina, as many expect the Mets to do. Shpigel backs up his tweet that we linked to earlier, stating that the Mets are more likely to make a trade at the meetings than sign a free agent.

Minaya feels that the Mets had more focused needs than last year, according to Shpigel. He quotes Omar:

“I remember coming here last year and we were trying to get Frankie Rodriguez… We knew that and we focused on that. Coming into the meetings we had meetings with the agent and we felt that we could get things done and address that last year. This year, it’s not as clear as it was last year. Last year we needed a closer and we ended up getting two closers. This year we have more parts that we have to fill in. Are we going to be able to fill all of them in here? I don’t know that."

The Mets would like to unload Luis Castillo in an effort to lure Orlando Hudson to New York, and they're very interested in Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham to fill their need for a slugging left fielder. Shpigel says that the Nats currently have a steep asking price though, as Willingham is in high demand.

If the Mets can't land Willingham, Shpigel suggests Marlon Byrd as a possibility, though he notes that the Mets are wary of the vast disparity between Byrd's home and road splits in 2009. Byrd hit a whopping .282/.336/.538 and clubbed 14 of his 20 home runs at home, but posted a much more pedestrian line of .285/.322/.419 away from Arlington.

Rockies Interested In Orlando Hudson

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7:37pm: Rockies' GM Dan O'Dowd said the club is not actively pursuing Hudson, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.

"That is not anything near a front-burner issue," O'Dowd said. "We're very happy with Clint Barmes as our second baseman." 

1:31pm: The Rockies are interested in free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.  It's a surprising name, but Ringolsby explain that the Rockies feel that Clint Barmes would get a lot of playing time in a super-utility role.

Hudson, 32 later this month, hit .283/.357/417 in 631 plate appearances for the Dodgers this year.  His playing time slipped after the Dodgers acquired Ronnie Belliard, but he still earned almost all his incentives and reached almost $8MM in total.  Hudson would not cost the Rockies their #26 draft pick, because the Dodgers did not offer arbitration.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Pujols, Gonzalez, D-Backs

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Some Thursday night links…

  • Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports note that the Phillies had a creative idea for third base before signing Placido Polanco – they asked Orlando Hudson if he'd make the position change.  He passed.
  • Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III spoke openly about the club's limitations in retaining Albert Pujols beyond his current deal, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Signing Pujols and free agent Matt Holliday to new contracts would almost definitely mean committing upwards of 40% of the team's payroll to two players.
  • If the Tigers cannot re-sign free agent relievers Brandon Lyon or Fernando Rodney, they may have to look into a pair of Type A free agents, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com.  Atlanta's Mike Gonzalez or Rafael Soriano could appeal to Detroit, but they would require the forfeiture of a first-round pick.
  • Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes conducted a live chat today on MLB.com.  It sounds as though Byrnes would be content to more or less stand pat this offseason, telling one fan that most of the club's impact players evolve within their system rather than "arrive via offseason splash."  Don't expect Arizona to go after a second baseman this winter either as Byrnes says he looks forward to competition over the spot this season, featuring late-season acquisition Tony Abreu.
  • More from Arizona as the club outrighted a pair of prospects to their Triple-A affiliate – pitcher Kyler Newby and catcher Luke Carlin, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.  Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic writes that the move was not made in anticipation of a free agent signing or trade.
  • Matt Stairs told Larry Mahoney of the Bangor Daily News that he would like to play next season.  Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer says not to expect Stairs back in Philadelphia next season, as Phils GM Ruben Amaro offered him the opportunity to audition for other teams at Spring Training.
  • Jacque Jones also wants back in baseball, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.  The 34-year-old last played in 2008, seeing time in 42 games in which he recorded an OPS of .446.  However, his agent insists that teams will be impressed with his physical conditioning and desire to continue his career.

Red Sox Interested In Hudson; Lowell Update

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The Red Sox are interested in Orlando Hudson, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The Dodgers didn't offer the second baseman arbitration, so he won't cost a draft pick. Marco Scutaro, who would cost a draft pick, still appears to be a priority for the Red Sox. Presumably, Dustin Pedroia would move to shortstop if the club signed Hudson.

And Pedroia isn't the only Red Sox willing to change positions. Mike Lowell wouldn't rule out a move across the diamond to first base, though it's not something the club has approached him about. He hasn't played first base professionally since he was a minor leaguer in the late 1990's.

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