Reds Rumors: Baldelli, Rivera, Burrell
11:46pm: Amusing story from Joe McDonald:
A group of Cincinnati Reds personnel, including manager Dusty Baker, were playing roulette Tuesday night. A member of the contingent yelled "Put it on No. 5 for Rocco Baldelli" and now it appears the Reds are having talks with his agent.
McDonald adds that the Red Sox have apparently stepped back with their interest in Baldelli. Buster Olney wrote on Monday that he’d be shocked if Boston didn’t sign Baldelli.
9:24pm: According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds talked to the agents for Rocco Baldelli and Juan Rivera (the agents initiated). Pat Burrell‘s agents also want to meet. Fay says the Reds have at least $10MM to spend.
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon adds that Moises Alou‘s agent contacted Walt Jocketty, but the Reds aren’t interested. Nor are they interested in Garrett Anderson. Sheldon adds that there’s been "no real activity towards reviving the Jermaine Dye deal."
Baldelli A Fit For Red Sox?
We’ve all heard the Rocco Baldelli-Red Sox rumors. Today Ed Price says the Sox are wary of Baldelli in that they’ll need their fourth outfielder to be able to play the outfield for significant stretches.
Price adds that the Red Sox still hope to trade Julio Lugo and replace him with a utility infielder.
Odds and Ends: Shelton, Laird, Baldelli
Links for Monday – Winter Meetings, Day 1.
- Check out the minor league signings for the week at Baseball America. Hey, Jerome Williams to the A’s! Also, Chris Shelton signed with the Mariners.
- Funny quote from Scott Boras: "There can be a lot of late-night meetings where you’re in a room and people are falling asleep. And you’ll have some late-night GMs who want you to drink. I’ll allow them to do it, but I won’t do it. I do have some interesting things written on napkins over the years."
- Dave Cameron likes the Tigers’ acquisition of Gerald Laird.
- Buster Olney talked to some agents who believe "the stated concern about the economy is providing a nice cover for Major League Baseball to roll back salaries." Another note from Olney, he’d be "shocked" if Rocco Baldelli doesn’t sign with Boston.
- Tony Massarotti makes five recommendations for the Red Sox.
- David Murphy asks ten questions about the Phillies.
Red Sox Rumors: Sabathia, Youkilis, Tazawa
Red Sox rumors and links abound this morning.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Red Sox will meet with C.C. Sabathia within the next few days. It’s unknown whether they have serious interest.
- Olney adds that the Sox hope to sign Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester long-term, in the wake of the Dustin Pedroia deal. Peter Gammons suggested a deal for Youkilis could get done quickly.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says GM Theo Epstein has prioritized catching. Epstein suggested more catchers may be available in trade than people think.
- Benjamin says the Red Sox also want to add a right-handed hitting outfielder who can play center (such as Rocco Baldelli) and a corner infielder. Trade talks with the Tigers for Julio Lugo have broken down.
- Epstein indicated to Benjamin that certain free agent pitchers will "dominate for years to come," and that’s the type he’s interested in. He also said an eight-to-ten year deal for a free agent is unlikely, but Benjamin says not to rule out Mark Teixeira.
- Epstein said at a press conference yesterday that the team’s Junichi Tazawa signing was made possible in part by the Daisuke Matsuzaka signing a few years back. Dice-K and Hideki Okajima could be reasons Tazawa turned down more money from the Rangers. Tazawa may begin his career in Double A.
- The Boston Herald’s Sean McAdam looks at the controversy caused by the Tazawa deal.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Burrell, Manny
6:16pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves are not interested in Dunn because they seek a right-handed bat. Does that rule out Raul Ibanez as well?
1:51pm: The latest from Ken Rosenthal:
- The Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Phillies are pursuing free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.
- Now that Adam Dunn wasn’t offered arbitration, the market is starting to take shape. The Braves, Mariners, and Nationals are interested, and the Dodgers and Angels consider him a fallback option. How about Dunn and Russell Branyan in the same lineup? Rosenthal considers the Yankees another possibility.
- Teams considering Pat Burrell, who was also not offered arb: the Mariners, Angels, and Giants.
- Rosenthal considers the Giants a darkhorse for C.C. Sabathia. Tim Brown says the Giants may be closing in on Edgar Renteria; Rosenthal has the Dodgers and Cardinals as other suitors.
- The Brewers will need to increase their offer to Sabathia to six years to have a shot.
- Rosenthal believes Jason Varitek will accept his offer of arbitration. He also wonders if Orlando Cabrera could accept. He expects Ben Sheets to decline (I made an error on this eariler).
- Rosenthal ponders the chances of Manny Ramirez accepting the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration. Buster Olney says three GMs wondered the same. I was under the impression Manny declining arbitration was a condition of his trade.
- The Cardinals want to add a young starter with upside. They also may go after a closer like Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood if prices drop.
- Rosenthal believes the Reds could discuss a two-year deal with David Weathers.
No Agreement Yet For Moyer
12:01pm: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News says everyone expects the Phils to re-sign Moyer. He says not to read into the Lowe/Burnett inquiries; the team has inquired on more than 25 free agents. MLB.com’s Ken Mandel names six of them: Doug Brocail, Russ Springer, Raul Ibanez, Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Nick Punto.
10:16am: According to Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies are still talking to free agent pitcher Jamie Moyer but don’t have an agreement yet. Moyer apparently wants a multiyear deal. The Phils recently contacted Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett to hedge their bets.
Cafardo’s Latest: Teixeira, Ramirez, Baldelli, Furcal
The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo has a new article up with a few Red Sox rumors, and one for Oakland:
- Cafardo thinks Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez will not change jerseys this offseason because, while their teams might struggle to afford them, they can’t afford to lose them. Teixeira is the protection and future replacement for Vladimir Guerrero that they have been seeking for a long time. He doesn’t rule out the Yankees however.
- Rocco Baldelli could be Coco Crisp‘s replacement as Boston’s fourth outfielder. Cafardo says Baldelli met with the Red Sox last week.
- He continues to hit on the Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis or Nate Robertson deal, but now suggests Theo Epstein may also eat some of Lugo’s salary and deal him elsewhere.
- The A’s are looking closely at Rafael Furcal.
Odds and Ends: Wade, Crisp, Holliday
Links for Thursday…
- New commenters are signing up every day as MLB Trade Rumors grows. Before commenting, be sure to read our policy. If you ever see someone violating the policy just send me an email and I’ll take care of it.
- If you receive an email from noreply@mlbrumors.com talking about some kind of newsletter, that has nothing to do with me or MLB Trade Rumors. We have a daily email of our latest posts, and that comes from dierkes@gmail.com.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wonders if Kerry Wood might accept an offer of arbitration from the Cubs.
- Hal Steinbrenner officially took over control of the Yankees from George.
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire takes a look at Jeremy Affeldt‘s motivations in signing early with the Giants.
- Check out recent fan chats with Astros GM Ed Wade and agent Scott Boras. Wade still hopes to sign Randy Wolf and Doug Brocail and doesn’t seem keen on trading Jose Valverde. Some fans didn’t seem to realize that just holding payroll steady will pose problems for the Astros.
- Joe Posnanski discusses the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp.
- Nick Cafardo wonders if the Crisp trade sets up other moves for the Red Sox. They’ll explore signing Rocco Baldelli, according to Amalie Benjamin.
- Sox Machine reflects on Nick Swisher‘s time with the White Sox.
- A’s owner Lew Wolff would prefer to keep Matt Holliday all year.
- Tom Haudricourt wonders if the Brewers will pursue David DeJesus if they trade Mike Cameron.
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone lists which teams have been connected to the top free agent starting pitchers.
- Chad Finn wonders if the Red Sox are considering trading David Ortiz.
- Alan Schwarz has a nice article on Junichi Tazawa.
Crisp-Ramirez Trade Reactions
The Red Sox traded center fielder Coco Crisp to the Royals for reliever Ramon Ramirez today; tip of the cap to Brian McRae for the scoop. Let’s round up the reactions and consequences.
- MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel says Royals GM Dayton Moore will now attempt to rebuild his bullpen, perhaps by trading an outfielder or first baseman. Kaegel says "word from Chicago downplays the Cubs’ reputed interest" in Mark Teahen.
- MLB.com’s Ian Browne says Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will bring in a fourth outfielder to replace Crisp. Browne suggests free agents Gabe Kapler or Rocco Baldelli.
- Ken Davidoff says the Sox now have the flexibility to move Justin Masterson into the rotation, reducing the leverage of the agents for Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett.
- Craig Brown of Royals Authority expects the Royals to trade Teahen now.
- Dave Cameron gives the slight edge to the Royals in the trade.
- According to ESPN’s Peter Gammons, the Reds were also part of the "surprisingly small market for Crisp."
- Matt Porter of the Boston Globe profiles Ramirez.
- ESPN’s Keith Law says both teams may be disappointed, and 2008 may have been Ramirez’s career year.
Odds & Ends: Padres, Baldelli, Hillenbrand
Some linkage for your Sunday afternoon reading pleasure…
- Buster Olney takes a look at the dark time that’s ahead for the Padres, likening it to the state the franchise was in when John Moores took over back in 1994.
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal talked to Rocco Baldelli about his amazing comeback this season, and the next step in his career.
- We already saw the main portion of this article from Nick Cafardo talked about today, but it’s worth highlighting that Cafardo sat down to talk with Shea Hillenbrand, who would like to make a comeback and feels he can still play. Hillenbrand says he’s learned a lot and hit .340 playing Independent Ball in 2008. He could be an interesting low-risk, high-reward player for a team in need of a DH or corner infielder. Cafardo also points out that for all of the talk about needing closers, George Sherrill is quietly available.