By Tim Dierkes | at
Today marks Paul Konerko’s tenth year of big league service time. Happy anniversary Paul! Konerko’s spent more than the last five seasons with the White Sox; as a result, he’s a 10-and-5 player. He can now veto any trade, and sees himself staying in Chicago at least for the length of his current deal (through 2010).
There were some rumblings in the winter that the Angels might make a play for Konerko, but Kenny Williams denied any trade discussions.
By Tim Dierkes | at
SI.com’s Jon Heyman gives his take on the White Sox-Giants Joe Crede trade talks:
The White Sox apparently haven’t been enamored by what the Giants have to offer for third baseman Joe Crede. A Giants person conceded, "We badly need bats,” but they aren’t to the point where they’ll give up any of their better pitchers to get them. One possibility could be hard-throwing reliever Jonathan Sanchez, though it appears now that Crede may not be traded until closer to this summer’s deadline.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams has previously said that Josh Fields will play third base in 2008, whether in the Majors or at Triple A. He doesn’t have much left to learn there, however. Ken Rosenthal explored a scenario that would allow the Sox to play both Crede and Fields at the corners – a trade of Paul Konerko before the veteran’s 10 and 5 no-trade rights kick in.
There is no reason that the Giants should feel motivated to include the promising Sanchez to acquire one year of Crede. The 25 year-old southpaw has a "sneaky fastball and plus change-up," according to Baseball America. He’s whiffed more than a batter per inning in his 92-inning big league career.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up; let’s take a look.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has been named Rumor Royalty for the Angels; he is the best source of Halos hot stove buzz. He was kind enough to answer three questions for MLBTR.
MLBTR: What do you make of the Paul Konerko rumors? Do you think the Angels and Sox have had post-Meetings discussions about him, despite Kenny Williams’ claim otherwise?
DiGiovanna: I had heard the White Sox and Angels might be up to something four or five days before that report came out. I made several calls looking into the matter, as did my counterpart from the Chicago Tribune, White Sox beat writer Mark Gonzales, and after two or three days, we determined that there had been exploratory conversations between the teams during the winter meetings but nothing substantive since. Neither of us decided to write anything on it. Then a report was published claiming the Angels and White Sox were discussing a deal that would send Howie Kendrick and Ervin Santana to Chicago for Konerko. I was very skeptical about it because the Angels would not trade Kendrick straight up for Konerko, let alone Kendrick AND Ervin Santana. Then that afternoon, Kenny Williams shot down the rumor forcefully, saying on the record that there had been no talks with the Angels since the winter meetings and that he hasn’t discussed Konerko. I know GMs don’t always tell the whole truth, but when a GM knocks down a rumor so forcefully, I tend to believe him.
I know Angels Manager Mike Scioscia likes Konerko a lot, but Konerko will be 32 this season, he’s got three years and some $30 million left on his contract, and I don’t think his power projects as well outside of U.S. Cellular Field, a known hitter’s haven. The Angels might get almost as much production, though without as many homers, from first baseman Casey Kotchman for a lot less money over the next three years.
MLBTR: Will the Angels will make a push to sign Francisco Rodriguez to an extension during the season? What kind of dollars and years would you expect?
DiGiovanna: New GM Tony Reagins does not seem at all motivated to secure Rodriguez to a long-term deal, and since the two sides were unable to come to terms on a 2008 contract before exchanging arbitration figures last week—Rodriguez wants $12.5 million; the Angels offered $10 million—that’s an indication that they are still far apart on a multiyear deal. Rodriguez believes he is one of the top closers in the game and thinks he should be paid like one, so I would not be surprised if he is seeking a deal similar to the three-year, $45-million contract Mariano Rivera signed this winter. The Angels like Rodriguez and would love to lock him up for a few years, but I don’t think they want to pay him $15 million a year. I think Rodriguez will become a free agent after the season, the Angels will move Scot Shields into the closer role and, if there is still no spot for him in the rotation, convert Ervin Santana to a set-up man.
MLBTR: Is Ervin Santana the odd man out as far as the Angels’ six starters? Do you expect him to be with the organization on Opening Day?
DiGiovanna: Barring injury to any of the other starters, yes, I think Santana will be the odd man out unless he has a phenomenal spring training and Joe Saunders struggles. John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Jon Garland and Jered Weaver are rotation locks, so Saunders and Santana will battle for the fifth spot. But in talking to Angels scouts and front-office executives, I get the sense they think Saunders—now that Bartolo Colon is out of the picture—has earned a big league spot, that he has done all he can in the minor leagues, and that another demotion to triple-A Salt Lake would be detrimental to the left-hander. They also like having at least one left-hander in their rotation.
However, I think Santana will not only be with the organization on opening day but on the big league roster. He has shown during his brief stints as a reliever that he can be very effective coming out of the bullpen, and he would be valuable as a swing man, a guy who could pitch long relief or spot start in case of injury. The Angels also may use this season to start grooming Santana into a short reliever.
By Tim Dierkes | at
UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 9:45am: This one isn’t dead quite yet. According to Buster Olney this morning:
Heard that while the Paul Konerko-Angels talks are not blistering hot now, there is a chance they will get hot sometime in the future.
UPDATE, 1-5-08 at 10:17pm: Kenny Williams said tonight that he hasn’t spoken to anyone with the Angels since the Winter Meetings, and that he hasn’t had trade talks about Konerko this winter. Nor has he been asked about his first baseman.
UPDATE, 1-5-08 at 10:33am: Doug Padilla of the Daily Breeze has a source confirming the talks described below.
FROM 1-4-08 at 7:41pm:
Just got a solid tip that the Angels and White Sox are discussing a possible Paul Konerko deal. No idea how serious these talks may be.
The Angels made an offer to Konerko in the winter of 2005-06, when he was a free agent. Konerko does have a limited no-trade clause to consider.
Some names being bandied about include Ervin Santana, Howie Kendrick, and Chone Figgins. Of course, all three would not be in the deal. The Sox also seek relief help. Moving Konerko would mean putting Nick Swisher at first base, while Figgins could be the leadoff hitter the Sox are after.
By Tim Dierkes | at
A few good reads that I didn’t know how to fit elsewhere.
By Tim Dierkes | at
I’m not sure of the Giants’ plan – are they rebuilding? Playing for 2008? Kind of rebuilding but trying to seem respectable?
At any rate, the Giants don’t have much going on at first and third base. I like the idea of going after a cheap under-30 third base upside play like Dallas McPherson. But I wouldn’t fill the spot with a vet just to fill it. As for first, I’ve said before I’d just toss Dan Ortmeier there for 550 ABs in lieu of adding some stopgap. But that’s just me; here’s the latest on Brian Sabean’s corner infield pursuits:
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Tigers anticipated this. Carlos Guillen’s okay with it. Despite signing Guillen in March to a 4 year deal for $48MM to begin next season, the shortstop is going to be moving across the diamond sooner than expected to play first base. The move is designed to protect his knees from the physical stresses of SS.
Tim argued that 4/48 was a bargain as long as he remained the Tigers’ shortstop. Unfortunately, it appears Manager Jim Leyland has had to talk him into moving to first, despite Guillen’s condition last week that the Tigers had to bring in a gold glove caliber replacement. However, Guillen now believes it’ll be better for the team and the longevity of his career.
Who then will be playing short for the Tigers in 2008? Omar Vizquel, David Eckstein, and Cesar Izturis are free agents that stick out. The Detroit Free Press notes there "could be other shortstops available in trade." Edgar Renteria seems to be a popular choice among MLBTR readers. Or will the Tigers make another attempt at Jack Wilson from Pittsburgh? Or would they stick with the in-house option of Ramon Santiago? The apparent good news is there are many options.
This also confirms the obvious: the Tigers have no plans to bring Sean Casey back.
Posted by: Nat Boyle
By Tim Dierkes | at
Here’s the latest on Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira as well as a new one involving Paul Konerko.
By Tim Dierkes | at
I was listening to ESPN Sports Radio 1000 today for a few minutes, and they happened to be interviewing Paul Konerko. Konerko seems to be a well-spoken, intelligent guy. One interesting fact that he mentioned was that the White Sox’s five-year, $60MM offer was the only offer he received from Chicago.
It had previously been reported that his agent Craig Landis received a four-year, $52MM offer around November 10th. Konerko called this offer "fiction."
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