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Pirates Kicking The Tires On Ankiel & Blalock

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The Pirates are believed to have already made contact with Scott Boras about two of his clients, free agents Rick Ankiel and Hank Blalock, according to Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The team's preference "is for a short-term contract aimed at allowing the player a chance at full-time duty to revive their careers."

With Andrew McCutchen in center and Lastings Milledge serving the default leftfielder, the idea is that late-bloomer Garrett Jones would play either first base or rightfield, depending on what the team does in the offseason. Kovacevic says that management's preference is for Jeff Clement to win the first base job, though bringing in Ankiel would put Jones at first, while bringing in Blalock would put Jones in right.

Kovacevic also adds that GM Neal Huntington has been cleared by team president Frank Coonelly to spend more, although no firm number was given. However, Huntington "expressed no urgency to do so, citing solely baseball reasons." The Pirates started 2009 with a $48.78MM payroll, and Tim had the team's projected 2010 obligation at less than half that in his Offseason Outlook, though that was prior to the Akinori Iwamura deal.  

Red Sox Express Interest In Scutaro, Escobar, And More

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Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox have kicked the tires on many free agents already, with Marco Scutaro and Kelvim Escobar the newest names.  Others include Rafael Soriano, Matt Holliday, Rick Ankiel, Adrian Beltre, John Lackey, Aroldis Chapman, Billy Wagner, Mike Gonzalez, Alex Gonzalez, and, of course, Jason Bay.  Silverman cautions that not all names connected to the Red Sox have "enduring news value."

Scutaro certainly makes sense for Boston; he's the best available shortstop, considering both the free agent and trade market.  We ranked Scutaro the eighth-best free agent overall, perhaps a reflection of a weaker market this year.  It'd be nice to see Scutaro sign with the Red Sox, as we'd get at least one of our 50 predictions right. 

Aside from committing a multiyear contract to Scutaro, the Sox might have to surrender their #29 pick in the June 2010 draft to the Blue Jays.  Looking at the Elias numbers, it is possible that the Jays get screwed out of a first-rounder again, as they did losing A.J. Burnett last year (of course, the Jays failed to sign James Paxton anyway).  If the Red Sox sign Scutaro and any of Soriano, Gonzalez, Holliday, or Lackey, the Braves, Cardinals, or Angels would get Boston's #29 pick instead and the Jays would get their second-rounder (assuming arbitration is offered to those players).

As Silverman notes, Escobar would fit right in with the John Smoltz/Brad Penny signings of last year.  Those two bombed, but here's the question – what kind of success rate should the Red Sox expect from these one-year pitcher gambles?  It is OK if one out of five works out?

Red Sox Express Interest In Four Boras Clients

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The Red Sox have expressed interest in four players – all Scott Boras clients – early in the hot stove season, according to Mike Silverman of The Boston Herald. Those four players would be Matt Holliday, Adrian Beltre, Mike Gonzalez, and Rick Ankiel.

Silverman notes that the Sox consider Holliday and alternative to Jason Bay, should they fail to re-sign him. Gonzalez could replace Billy Wagner, although Ankiel is somewhat redundant after the team acquired Jeremy Hermida earlier this month. Beltre could replace Mike Lowell at third, who Silverman says may "wind up being traded if the Red Sox go out and find a big-slugging first baseman," mentioning Adrian Gonzalez.

Mets Meet With Boras

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Mets GM Omar Minaya met with agent Scott Boras last night at the GM Meetings for 45 minutes, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman says Matt Holliday, Alex Cora, Jarrod Washburn, and Rick Ankiel were discussed.

Of course, the Mets' plans extend beyond Boras clients, and Sherman says Bengie Molina sits atop their list of catching targets.  The Mets made a play for Molina four years ago.  Another target might be Chone Figgins, as suggested by SI's Jon Heyman.

Sherman sums up the Mets' offseason situation:

The Mets' priority list in order is a slugging left fielder, a high-end starting pitcher and a regular catcher. But a Mets executive said that if the club cannot land a significant left fielder they could spend more on a starter such as free agent John Lackey. For now, the Mets more are contemplating a mid-rotation type starter such as Randy Wolf, Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis and Washburn.

In our recent Top 50 Free Agents list, we predicted the Mets will sign Holliday, Wolf, and Brad Penny.  All speculation at the time, and there hasn't been any actual connection to Penny so far.

Pirates Talk: Iwamura, Ankiel, Wilson

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As usual, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest on the Pirates…

  • The Akinori Iwamura addition does not necessarily mean more significant moves are coming.  The Pirates are comfortable with their internal options.
  • The Pirates intend to inquire on Rick Ankiel when free agency begins.  Moreso than Chris Bootcheck, perhaps this is a sign that the team is not letting bad blood linger with Scott Boras from the Pedro Alvarez situation.
  • Kovacevic says Ronny Cedeno is not a lock at shorstop, and there is at least some mutual interest in bringing Jack Wilson back.  First, the Mariners would have to buy out Wilson's $8.4MM club option.
  • In another article, Kovacevic discusses the team's out-of-character acquisition of Iwamura.  Kovacevic calls it Neal Huntington's "first major transaction prioritizing the present above the future," since Iwamura is under relatively pricey and under control for one season while Jesse Chavez is cheap and under team control through 2014.  Iwamura is now the Pirates' highest-paid player.  Huntington has interest in exploring an extension with him at some point.
  • On a related note, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs explains that "just because a team won’t be contending in 2010 doesn’t mean they should avoid investing in the 2010 product." 
  • An article at Beyond the Boxscore explains that the Pirates came out a winner on the Iwamura-Chavez deal, but the Rays had little leverage.

Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Rockies, Crede

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Links for Monday…

  • The Astros received permission to interview Red Sox first base coach Tim Bogar for their managerial job, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford.  Brad Mills and Manny Acta will also interview, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (via Twitter).  McTaggart adds Bob Melvin, Dave Clark, and Al Pedrique as other candidates, while Alyson Footer adds Ned Yost, Randy Ready, Phil Garner, and Pete Mackanin.
  • Nationals scouting director Dana Brown has been hired away by new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • Rockies owner Dick Monfort told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that the team's postseason appearance won't significantly affect payroll.  The Rockies have impending free agents in Jason Marquis, Yorvit Torrealba, Rafael Betancourt, and Joe Beimel (among others), and must also decide whether to tender Garrett Atkins a contract.  Torrealba and Betancourt have pricey club options.
  • Astros catcher J.R. Towles is a potential buy-low candidate for the Rays, says R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay.  Towles hit .276/.386/.455 in Triple A this year, but Jason Castro is the Astros' catcher of the future.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak hopes to take advantage of the exclusive negotiating period for his free agents, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  In a separate article, Joe Strauss of the P-D notes that Rick Ankiel pulled a fast one on the media.
  • Joe Crede is optimistic he'll have a quick recovery from his third back surgery, says MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  Merkin says the Boras client "spoke more in generalities than about a specific return to Minnesota."
  • Jack Morris almost signed with the Yankees in 1996, writes Jack Curry of the New York Times. 
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports speculates about the Red Sox trading closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Moyer, Griffey, Jays

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Another round of links, expertly prepared…

  • Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes the Reds might have interest in soon-to-be free agent outfielder Rick Ankiel.  The Pirates are also thought to have some level of interest in the former pitcher, who's hit 36 home runs in the past two years and boasts one of the best outfield arms in baseball.  (That's looking on the bright side of things, of course).
  • As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark notes, Jamie Moyer's season-ending groin injury locks in his 2010 salary at $8MM.  $6.5MM of that is base pay, and the other $1.5MM is available through performance-based incentives.
  • Ken Griffey Jr. side-stepped another retirement question when the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser spoke with him Wednesday. "It's not really up to me," he said. "Well, some of it is."  Stay tuned this offseason for more on Junior's future plans.
  • According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, the Blue Jays have laid off nearly two dozen employees from the business side of their organization.  Cost-cutting in the front office doesn't bode well for any kind of free agency exploits this winter.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Ankiel, V-Mart

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Another round of links as we head into the evening…

  • Nationals team president Stan Kasten told Bill Ladson of MLB.com Saturday that he feels his organization is headed in the right direction.  "I'm not happy about the season," said Kasten, "and it signifies a horrible year on the field, but it has not been a horrible year in terms of progress toward our goal."  The Nats are hoping to find a veteran arm on the free agent market this winter.
  • Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch believes super agent Scott Boras will be able to convince a GM to "wildly overpay" Rick Ankiel in a new contract this winter.  Boras is apparently trying to spin the outfielder as "a combination of Willie Mays,  Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio,[and] Duke Snider."
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman calls the Red Sox's acquisition of Victor Martinez "the best move any AL team made this summer."  V-Mart is batting .335/.403/.505 since arriving in Boston and has 102 RBI on the year.

Pirates Eyeing Rick Ankiel, Possibly John Grabow

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The Pirates have money to spend in free agency and a desire to be more aggressive than last year, GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Huntington admitted that former Pirates may be of interest, leading Kovacevic to speculate that lefty reliever John Grabow could be a target.  Kovacevic also learned that outfielder Rick Ankiel is on the Pirates' radar.

A few weeks ago, we discovered that the Pirates will have less than $30MM committed heading into 2010 after beginning this season with a $48.7MM payroll.

Grabow may re-sign with the Cubs before reaching free agency.  But if not, it's pointless for a team like the Pirates to spend even a few million on a walk-happy 32-year-old lefty reliever.  The situation would only be compounded if the Cubs offer arbitration to Grabow, who projects as a Type A free agent.

Kovacevic suggests Ankiel's "superb athleticism is a potentially fine fit for PNC Park's spacious left field," and I agree.  It's been a brutal year (.234/.286/.390), but Ankiel has suffered through groin and shoulder injuries.  He'd be intriguing on a one-year deal in the $3MM range.  Plus, such a signing would prove the Pirates can deal with Scott Boras despite last year's Pedro Alvarez drama (Chris Bootcheck's minor league deal notwithstanding).

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