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Robinson Cano

Kinsler Talking Long-Term Deal

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2:17pm:The Rangers signed Kinsler for near the minimum for ’08, which doesn’t really affect the long-term discussions.

10:40am:According to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Rangers have made little progress on a long-term deal with second baseman Ian Kinsler.  Jon Daniels was positive about it, however.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News does see progress – he spoke to Kinsler and learned that talks for a five-year pact are ongoing.  A sixth-year option could be included as well.

Kinsler has two years of service time, so a five-year deal would buy out one year of free agency.  Grant believes a five-year deal for Kinsler would be for less than the $30MM Robinson Cano received.  Kinsler, 25, has a career line of .274/.351/.447 in 250 games.  The average AL second baseman hit .284/.339/.416 last year.  Kinsler’s probably not among the top ten defensively at his position, if you go by the Fielding Bible awards.

Yanks Ink Cano Through Arb Years

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UPDATE, 1-28-08 at 9:25pm: Peter Abraham has Cano’s contract particulars.  The deal could be worth $57MM over six years, at the high end.

UPDATE, 1-25-08 at 5:06pm: Jon Heyman has the probable contract details.  Cano gets $28MM over his arbitration years.  He then has a 2012 option for $13MM and a 2013 option for $15MM.

FROM 1-24-08 at 12:54pm:

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Yankees are close to a four-year deal with second baseman Robinson Cano. Since he’s a Super Two, this will cover all of his arbitration years. Rosenthal also says that the deal will include a club option or two, allowing the Yankees to buy out some of Cano’s free agency. The deal looks to be worth $30 million.

Rob Neyer recently said that if he was picking a second baseman for the next five years, he’d take Cano. We at River Ave. Blues totally agree. His defense has improved every year that he’s been in the majors, and save for a horrific slump from mid-April through May, Cano was an absolute monster at the dish last year.

This is odd protocol for the Yankees, who tend to let their arbitration guys go year-to-year. They didn’t even sign Derek Jeter before he was ready for free agency — and they actually lost an arbitration hearing to him prior to the 1999 season. Of course, he more than made up for it with his 10-year, $189 million contract.

-Joe

Odds and Ends: Cano, Colon, Lowry

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Here are some links I’ve rounded up this morning.

  • In theory, Robinson Cano would be open to a long-term deal. River Ave. Blues recently took a look at how historically good Cano has been so far, and suggest the Yankees lowballed him with their arbitration submission.
  • Baseball Prospectus’ Derek Jacques saw Bartolo Colon pitch in the Dominican League Finals, and lends his evaluation.  Colon was not impressive, but not terrible.  It doesn’t seem like he will get the two-year deal he wants.
  • The Brewers will bring Abraham Nunez to camp.  Versatile, but a drain on offense.
  • Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox aren’t done yet.  The Joe Crede situation should linger into spring.  Gonzales also mentions that the Giants are "listening to offers for Noah Lowry."
  • A factual look at whether Omar Minaya really stockpiles Latin American players.
  • The Astros can’t settle their gaps with Mark Loretta or Jose Valverde, and Ed Wade expects the team to go to its first arbitration hearings in over a decade.  Wade has set a deadline of this afternoon and will go to hearings otherwise.  Loretta asking for $4.9MM seems particularly off.
  • Matthew Cerrone takes an educated guess on the current Johan Santana situation.
  • Some interesting quotes from XM Radio from Michael Cuddyer and Scott Boras, separately.

Mailbag: Lopez, Colon, Cano

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Let’s dig into the MLBTR mailbag once again.  You could ask a question by emailing mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.

What moves would you like to see the Rockies make to improve their starting rotation? – Sean

The Rockies seem to have decent rotation depth – Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Jason Hirsh, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, Taylor Buchholz, even Kip Wells and Mark Redman.  I would like to see Dan O’Dowd toss an injury-recovering free agent into the mix.  The one I like is Rodrigo Lopez.  He was quietly very solid for a half-season in Colorado this year.  He had surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in August but there’s no timetable quite yet.  Adding a wrinkle is that Scott Boras represents him.

Why don’t the White Sox go after Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon or something like that? – Tim

Two clubs that have seen Colon’s medical reports and/or price tag have already backed off (Astros, Rangers).  The Cardinals, Nationals, and Mets may have lingering interest, but we don’t have great information here.  How healthy is he?  Would he take a one-year deal?  On December 4th, Bill Ladson suggested he was not open to one year.  Anyway, I like the idea of Colon returning to the White Sox in theory, and they’ve got the money and need, but it’s hard for an outsider to say whether this is a good investment.

I read a piece last night that noted the Yankees have pulled Robinson Cano from winter ball. Do you think there is a chance that the Yanks are holding him up while he is doing well (Cano was hitting .389 in 9 games) and considering a revised offer that would include him in a Santana deal? – Steve

While there is a chance, this doesn’t seem likely to me.  I’ve always read that Phil Hughes was the one Yankee the Twins had to have in a Santana deal, and including Cano would probably mean he’s out.  Plus Cano has two years of service time, so he’s more expensive than Hughes. 

Odds and Ends: Villarreal, Cano, Rowand

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Alright let’s round ’em up.

  • This was one I was going to pass on posting, but it’s pretty dead right now.  The Astros signed newly acquired reliever Oscar Villarreal to a two-year deal.  He was already under team control through 2008.  The MLB.com article adds that Ed Wade’s interest in Livan Hernandez and Bartolo Colon is low, and talks with Jon Lieber pretty much died.
  • The Yankees pulled Robinson Cano out of Winter Ball.  The word is that he doesn’t want to aggravate a calf injury.  You could read into it and speculate he’s a part of trade talks.  Seems like a stretch though.  I believe the Yanks also pulled Melky Cabrera from Winter Ball; we know he’s in trade talks.
  • R.J. Anderson’s book about the Devil Rays and Chuck LaMar is now available for free download.
  • J.C. Bradbury says the Aaron Rowand signing is the best free agent signing of the offseason.  Personally, I don’t hate it.  I don’t like it too much either though.

Red Sox Leading For Santana?

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UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 10:30pm: The Yankees’ offer stands at Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and maybe Jose Tabata.  Phil Hughes is a big upgrade over Kennedy, and the Twins are insisting on him.  Meanwhile the Red Sox are still pushing Coco Crisp while the Twins are holding out for Jacoby Ellsbury.  If one of the teams cracks on Hughes or Ellsbury this thing might get done.

UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 8pm: Despite what Jon Heyman said, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo seems to think the Red Sox are still in the lead for Santana.  It would be the package named below by Olney.  Nothing is done yet, as Santana’s agent hasn’t been approached about an extension.  Meanwhile Cafardo indicates that the Yankees may part with Robinson Cano after all.  One other note: Peter Gammons suggests that the Sox would have to redo Josh Beckett’s reasonable deal if they acquire Santana and give him $20MM+.

UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 2:50pm: Buster Olney suggests the same package as Walters from the Red Sox, except with Michael Bowden rather than Masterson.  However the fourth player is still undetermined.  He also notes that the Yankees are simultaneously talking to the Twins.

UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 1pm: The Boston Herald has a bit more.  Basically the Red Sox are only willing to include one of Ellsbury/Buchholz/Lester, while the Twins want two from that group. 

FROM 11-29-07 at 8:30am:

Shooter Charley Walters is back with a new column of rumors and whatnot.  Remember, Walters was the one saying the Garza for Delmon rumor wouldn’t die.

  • Despite the exclusion of Jacoby Ellsbury, Walters says the Red Sox have the lead in the Johan Santana sweepstakes.  The package would be Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, Jon Lester, and Justin Masterson.  Not a bad haul.  I was thinking Lowrie might become a target of the Twins.
  • The following clubs are interested in Carlos Silva: Tigers, Mets, Phillies, and Royals.  None of those teams are new.
  • The amount of cash each club is getting this year for online media properties like MLB.com sites:  $25MM.  And don’t forget the Twins get about $20MM in revenue sharing.  Maybe that’s why they have interest in Aaron Rowand.

Yankees May Require Cano For Santana

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How about Ken Davidoff this winter?  The Newsday reporter has been digging up some great hot stove rumors so far.  Today, he has some new info about Johan Santana.

While Santana isn’t up for bidding quite yet, he should be soon after the Twins make their token offer.  The Yankees will certainly be in on him.  Davidoff says a package of Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and a prospect wouldn’t cut it, even though those players are very valuable.  The Twins are one of few teams that actually feel good about their pitching, so the focus is on acquiring a star position player.  With that in mind, they’d demand Robinson Cano from the Yankees.  Cano is more expensive than a Hughes or Cabrera, but the Twins would free up $13MM by dealing Santana.  Plus you have to think Cano would be better for public relations/damage control.

Random speculation on players the Twins might covet for Santana: Josh Hamilton, Chris Young of Arizona, Jacoby Ellsbury, Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, or Garrett Atkins.

In contrast to all of this, Ken Rosenthal speculates that the Twins would want "elite pitching" in return for Santana.

Cashman Tells Cano The Score, Playfully

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Robinson Cano said publicly a few days ago that he did not want to play third base.  As I noted at the time, it’s not really up to him.  If he wants to get paid, he’ll play where the Yankees want him to.  Another thought is that taking Cano out of the 3B mix could hurt the Yankees’ negotiating position slightly.  Brian Cashman would rather have teams and agents think he’s fully willing to move Cano to third or use Wilson Betemit.    It does ring a bit hollow, kind of like when Cashman was saying they’d use Bubba Crosby as the team’s center fielder a few years back.

Anyway, Cashman "playfully" informed Cano today that third base was indeed an option for him.  He made a point to appear lighthearted here, perhaps to avoid public conflict if he does move Cano.  I actually like the idea if the Yanks can make a reasonable deal for Orlando Hudson. 

Cano Not Interested In 3B

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A few days ago, I wrote a post outlining the Yankees’ options for third base, piggybacking on Peter Abraham’s.  One logical scenario he mentioned was to move Robinson Cano to third base and just acquire a second baseman (Orlando Hudson would’ve been nice).

One problem with this option: Cano is not on board.  He said yesterday that he did not want to move back to his old position.  Of course, it’s not his decision and if he wants to get paid he’ll do what the Yankees tell him to do.  We saw this situation play out most recently with Alfonso Soriano, who didn’t want to play outfield for the Nationals.  Still, you’d rather have the player in agreement with the team.

Multiple articles came out today about the Yankees’ third base options, though there wasn’t much we hadn’t already considered in posts or comments here. 

Mark Gonzales mentioned Joe Crede, as did many others.  But Gonzales also threw Josh Fields’ name into the mix.  That doesn’t seem likely but you never do.  Seems like the Yanks would go with Betemit rather than trade for Fields.  I like the Crede match, but you have to wonder if the Yanks will take a pass on Boras clients this winter.

The New York Times named Mike Lowell, but most expect him to stay in Boston.  They also name Crede, as well as Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera.

Dan Graziano threw in a few fresh names – Brandon Inge, Chone Figgins, and even Derek Jeter.

Santana for Melky, Hughes, and Prospect?

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Tim recently posted about the Yanks inquiries into the Twins organization for Johan Santana.  Peter Abraham shares what he’s heard of the rumors for the lefty ace.

Melky Cabrera would give Minnesota a center fielder to replace Torii Hunter if he bolts. The Yankees could then offer the Twins Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy along with a second prospect.

If Melky and Kennedy plus a prospect can land Santana, I can’t see why the Yankees wouldn’t do that, even if only for the opportunity to get a leg up on signing baseball’s best pitcher to a long term deal.  But I would assume it would take a lot more.  Lots of names are being tossed around along with Philip Hughes, particularly Robinson Cano, names that are most likely the premium the Twins would demand and perhaps a deal-breaker for the Yankees.

Posted by Nat Boyle

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