Rosenthal On Melky, Matthews, Pedro, Ohman
As usual, good stuff from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal says the Yankees are open to moving Melky Cabrera, and opines that the White Sox would be a perfect fit. Trading Cabrera would open up the Yankees' outfield picture for sure, but leave them shakier in center with Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher. Rosenthal also says the White Sox have expressed some interest in a deal to acquire Gary Matthews Jr., assuming the Angels pay "the vast majority of the $33MM remaining on the final three years of his contract."
- Pedro Martinez reached out to the Royals before they signed Sidney Ponson, but KC couldn't afford him. Would Pedro have been a better signing than Horacio Ramirez and Willie Bloomquist? Martinez's friends are telling him his $5MM asking price is unrealistic. Rosenthal says that if Pedro drops it down to $1-2MM, he can probably get the Dodgers and other teams involved.
- The Marlins are looking for relief help. They like Will Ohman but not his $2MM asking price.
- The A's thought they were close to a $1.7MM deal for Joe Beimel before he went to the Nats for $300K more.
- Catcher Ronny Paulino, acquired by the Phillies from the Pirates in December, is available. Rosenthal considers the Marlins a possible fit.
Rosenthal On White Sox, Pedro, Baker
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The White Sox are still trying to figure out their center field situation, but they are not involved on pricey veterans such as Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.
- Fantasy alert: Rosenthal names David Aardsma as the likely leader for the Mariners closer job, with Chad Cordero and Brandon Morrow lingering.
- The Dodgers "continue to balk at Pedro Martinez's $5MM asking price."
- Rockies utility man Jeff Baker, who is out of options, is drawing interest from the Phillies, Astros, and Pirates. Rosenthal suggests recently-demoted Kyle Kendrick as a possible target for Colorado, assuming the Phils can move Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs to clear a spot. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Yankees are unlikely to acquire Baker.
- The Blue Jays have been scouting shortstops Chin-Lung Hu, Juan Castro, and others in hopes of finding someone they can stash at Triple A for insurance.
- Was Willy Taveras a bad move for the Reds? Rosenthal says rival executives think so.
Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg
Links for Monday…
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions, including the Dodgers' signing of J.D Durbin.
- Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says Rays Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez, a reliever, has been returned to the White Sox.
- Yahoo's David Brown talked to Carlos Pena about many topics, including his agent Scott Boras.
- According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Padres received pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal. The other player the Padres received, the now-injured Mark Worrell, was also a minor league closer. Given the state of the Padres' pen, Gregerson could reach the Majors this year. UPDATE: Here is Paul DePodesta's take on Gregerson.
- MLB.com's Ken Gurnick noted yesterday that the Dodgers cut pitcher Shawn Estes, and he's yet to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment. UPDATE: Estes will head to the minors and attempt to reinvent himself as a lefthanded specialist.
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald quizzed Hanley Ramirez about Boston's attempt to reacquire him in November.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders about Frank Catalanotto's future. Useful player, but the Rangers would have to eat most of his $6MM to move him.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post talked to Nationals president Stan Kasten about the six-year, $50MM Stephen Strasburg rumor. We all know how Boras works…if he wants $25MM for Strasburg, he starts at $50MM.
- South Side Sox and Sox Machine comment on the Gavin Floyd extension, as well as the offers to John Danks and Carlos Quentin.
- Talking to David Lennon of Newsday, Tom Glavine responded to Pedro Martinez's distaste for signing a "Glavine-like" contract.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun spoke to Aubrey Huff, who "doesn't even understand the concept of a contract push."
- Ivan Rodriguez explained to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez why he didn't sign with the Marlins.
Freddy Garcia Not In Mix For Fifth Starter Job
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post suggests Freddy Garcia is no longer in the mix for the Mets' fifth starter job, which Livan Hernandez has all but locked up with the demotion of Jon Niese today. Hubbuch says general manager Omar Minaya didn't even mention Garcia when discussing the No. 5 starter job.
Garcia is on a non-roster deal, but Hubbuch told me he said on the first day of camp he's not willing to pitch in the minors. So the situation should come to a head soon.
Hubbuch adds that GM Omar Minaya "once again specifically ruled out signing Pedro Martinez."
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bucs, Jays, Pedro, Pudge, Phils, Twins
On this date 72 years ago, in what may have been the biggest trade in Negro League history, Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson were traded from the Pittsburgh Crawfords to the Homestead Grays for $25K and two players. Earlier this week, Pudge Rodriguez, one of the greatest catchers of this generation, became the latest big-name free agent to find a home. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Pirate Revolution takes a look at some players that could become available for the Pirates in the next two weeks as teams trim their rosters, including Jeff Niemann.
- The 2012 payroll commitments in the AL East do not sit well with Drunk Jays Fans.
- MLB Notebook attempts to calculate exactly how much teams should be willing to give Pedro Martinez.
- Jorge Says No! says the Astros and Pedro are a good match and the recent signing of Pudge is an indication that the Astros are going for it this season.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham says Pudge "fooled" the Astros into giving him $1.5MM.
- The Fightins try to dispel the myth that Raul Ibanez was a poor defensive addition to the Phillies.
- Twins Geek takes a look at the Twins incredible shrinking payroll.
- Fire Brand of the American League says the release of Josh Bard has much bigger implications for the Red Sox than might be evident on the surface.
- Sully Baseball takes a look at the Cleveland Indians all-time homegrown team versus their all-time acquired team.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Pedro Hopes For Return To Mets?
According to Newsday's Jim Baumbach a friend of Pedro Martinez's says the righty still hopes to sign a deal with the Mets, though the Dodgers also appeal to him. This afternoon Jon Heyman reported that the Mets have offered Pedro a deal worth $1-2MM, so it appears Pedro can return if he's willing to lower his asking price.
Baumbach adds that Pedro isn't selling the house he owns on the New York-Connecticut border in case he can work out a return to the Mets. Last Tuesday, his return seemed unlikely, but a lot changes in a week.
Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.
Heyman On Pedro, Pudge, Andruw
SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column.
- Heyman believes the Mets offered Pedro Martinez a $1-2MM base salary, but he's still looking for $5MM. Not happenin'. ESPN's Jayson Stark suggests Pedro is asking for $6-8MM.
- Heyman takes Astros GM Ed Wade to task for seemingly lying to MLB.com beat writer Alyson Footer about the team's pursuit of Ivan Rodriguez. The Pudge deal will be official once his physical is complete.
- Andruw Jones must decide by Friday whether to stay with the Rangers (presumably he'd head to Triple A if he does not opt out). In talking to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, Andruw said he doesn't know yet and needs to talk to Scott Boras.
Astros Not Close To Signing Pedro Martinez
10:56am: John Perrotto, the Baseball Prospectus writer who first ran the Pedro-to-the-Astros story, has issued a mea culpa:
Let’s get this straight right off the top: I was wrong, way wrong about Pedro Martinez being on the verge of signing as a free agent with the Astros.
WEDNESDAY, 9:17am: Oritz reports that third baseman Aaron Boone will leave the Astros to undergo open heart surgery. It's unclear when or if he'll ever play baseball again. This appears to be the only big announcement that the Astros had planned for this morning.
TUESDAY, 9:35pm: Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to Astros GM Ed Wade, who said the team has had "zero discussions" on the Pedro front. Martinez is not close to signing with the Astros. De Jesus Ortiz was also able to determine in talking to owner Drayton McLane that he is not selling the team or firing, hiring, or signing anyone. The press conference also has nothing to do with steroids. MLB.com's Alyson Footer also confirmed that the Astros are not close to an agreement with Pedro.
Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez spoke to Pedro and learned that the pitcher is down to two options (MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reporting). SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote Monday that the Mets and Dodgers seem to be the likely possibilities.
8:25pm: John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Astros are close to an agreement with Pedro Martinez.
6:34pm: According to MLB.com's Alyson Footer, the Astros scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning at 8:45am CST. Footer says the Astros confirmed it's not about Ivan Rodriguez. Any guesses?
Heyman On Pedro, Manny, Crede
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…
- Heyman sees the Pedro Martinez sweepstakes as between the Dodgers and Mets, but he might have to come down to the $2.5MM range. The Mets don’t seem thrilled with Tim Redding, who "came to camp with a sore shoulder and 20 pounds overweight."
- If Manny Ramirez opts out after the ’09 season, he’ll seek a three-year deal. Heyman suggests Manny may be better off staying in L.A. than signing with a New York team.
- Heyman spoke to one White Sox person who questioned Joe Crede‘s ability to play on the Minnesota turf.