Manny Is Dodgers’ First Choice
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who said Manny Ramirez is the team’s first choice. Colletti hasn’t heard from Manny’s agent Scott Boras since Mark Teixeira signed a week ago. As reported yesterday, the Dodgers have interest in Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu as backup plans. Pat Burrell and Garret Anderson are not on the team’s radar.
Shaikin reiterates Marty Noble’s story from yesterday – talks to unload Andruw Jones on the Mets fizzled a while ago.
Orioles Discuss Ivan Rodriguez
The Baltimore Orioles have held conversations with agent Scott Boras about free-agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, according to Baltimore Sun writer Peter Schmuck.
Schmuck doubts Rodriguez will sign with the Orioles, but, in part, it would hinge on him understanding that he’d need to take a seat when prospect Matt Wieters becomes ready to play at the major-league level.
Mets Target Lowe, Perez
Now that Mark Teixeira has found a home in New York, the Mets would like to talk with two other Scott Boras clients about following suit, Ben Shpigel of the New York Times reports. The Mets are interested in Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez, in that order, and believe that the market may be shaping up to allow them to obtain their first choice. Nothing is imminent for the Mets at this time.
With the Yankees (almost) definitely out of the picture, and the Red Sox seemingly focused more on hitting, the Mets are optimistic that they can get Lowe for considerably less than the five-year $90MM deal he was rumored to be looking for initially. If for some reason this doesn’t work out, the enigmatic Perez would be their next choice, Shpigel says.
Lowe, 35, had a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings for the Dodgers in 2008. Perez, 27, had a 4.22 ERA in 194 innings for the Mets.
Odds and Ends: Boras, Wigginton, Burrell
Tuesday linkage…
- Changed my mind on the chat…we will not be holding it at 2pm today. The time/day of the chat is TBD.
- Here’s a list of the largest contracts in baseball history. You can see why Scott Boras would want Teixeira to reach $190MM.
- Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times notes that aside from Felipe Lopez, all of Boras’ free agent clients are unsigned.
- Peter Abraham explains the Yankees’ large luxury tax.
- The Reds have yet to open talks with Aaron Miles, Ty Wigginton, and Pat Burrell. Talks are ongoing with Jerry Hairston Jr. and Willy Taveras, though Walt Jocketty is not making much progress with Rocco Baldelli.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Hunsicker, Burrell
Links for Monday…
- According to the Newberg Report mailing list and CBSSports.com, the Rangers re-signed pitcher Doug Mathis to a minor league deal.
- Joe Nelson‘s been popular since being non-tendered – he’s heard from "at least 12-14 teams." Ruben Amaro Jr. said today the Phillies inquired on "20 or so" non-tendered players.
- Adam Everett‘s deal with the Tigers is official – $1MM plus incentives.
- MLB.com’s Barry Bloom spoke to Padres owner John Moores.
- Richard Justice doesn’t think Drayton McLane would ask Ed Wade to trade Roy Oswalt, but he could see Oswalt requesting a trade.
- Dave Sheinin says nothing has happened with Mark Teixeira since the Winter Meetings ended, and it’s no coincidence that we haven’t heard much about offers from the Red Sox or Yankees. Michael Silverman says Boston’s eventual offer to Tex will easily be a record for this ownership group. He guesses eight years in the $145-175MM range, noting that the Red Sox do not like to have players signed beyond age 36.
- Buster Olney says the Orioles and Nationals bidding on Tex is "nothing less than lunacy."
- Gerry Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at Jonathan Sanchez.
- George King says Kenny Lofton attempted to dissuade C.C. Sabathia from signing with the Yankees.
- Ken Davidoff says it seems that the Yankees will avoid Scott Boras this offseason.
- Steve Serby did a Q&A with Omar Minaya, learning details of Minaya’s Winter Meetings dealings.
- Pat Burrell says he never received a formal offer from the Phillies. His replacement, Raul Ibanez, will receive three years and $31.5MM.
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Thursday
9:56:
2:38pm: Tim Brown and Gordon Edes talked to involved execs (not with the Angels) who believe the Boras camp is "using the media to ratchet up the price beyond what any team had actually offered."
Brown and Edes say the Angels were told the Red Sox and Nationals offered eight years at about $20MM per. The Angels don’t want to do an eighth year, so they’ll look into trades for Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and possibly Adrian Beltre. Raul Ibanez is the top free agent backup plan.
Brown and Edes believe Boras could insist on an opt-out clause in a deal with the Nationals.
8:59am: Mike DiGiovanna says the Angels "are believed to be willing to offer at least seven years for something in the $160-million range" for Tex.
8:51am: Jon Heyman says the Yankees have re-entered the Teixeira sweepstakes.
2:40am: Summing up the reported offers made to Mark Teixeira:
- Orioles: seven years, $140-150MM
- Nationals: eight years, $160MM
- Angels: reluctant to exceed seven years; no offer yet? (Boras implied there was)
- Red Sox: making progress; no offer yet? (Boras implied there was?)
By the way, Joe Haggerty transcribed the full Scott Boras talk from yesterday at his site.
Boras Speaks
Scott Boras held court with the media in Las Vegas this evening. Here’s the full transcript. Amy Nelson described the scene.
- He has contract offers for Mark Teixeira from every team with interest. It’s possible that Tex could reach an agreement by the end of the Meetings, but it’s certainly possible he doesn’t. Boras defended the idea of Tex signing with a losing team based on Tigers signings he brokered a few years back.
- The Red Sox offered Jason Varitek a contract.
- Boras on Ned Colletti’s comment that he hadn’t heard back since their offer to Manny Ramirez: "I think you’d have to revisit that with Ned Colletti, that information is inaccurate."
Cardinals Reliever Rumors
5:57pm: K-Rod’s agent Paul Kinzer said the Cardinals did not offer his client a similar contract.
9:08am: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals made a bid for Francisco Rodriguez in the neighborhood of the Mets’ successful three-year, $37MM bid. The search continues. Strauss says the Cards plan to explore trades before escalating talks with Brian Fuentes. Potential trade targets: J.J. Putz, Matt Capps, and Jon Rauch. Talks for Jose Valverde "stalled abruptly earlier in the week." The trade bait will probably be on of the Cardinals’ outfielders.
Strauss adds that GM John Mozeliak met with Scott Boras yesterday, possibly to discuss Oliver Perez.
Odds and Ends: Laird, Mitsui, Snyder
Links for Tuesday…
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald describes a casino alert regarding potential inside information due to the Winter Meetings.
- ESPN’s Keith Law isn’t thrilled with the Tigers’ acquisition of Gerald Laird.
- Michael S. Schmidt gives a peek at the Boras Book for Greg Maddux. One client for which exaggeration is unnecessary.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker says the Seibu Lions will post 35 year-old lefty reliever Koji Mitsui. Another southpaw option to consider; he’s not expected to cost much.
- Newman also says the Orioles may offer two-year, $10MM contracts to both Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D’Backs have had brief, preliminary talks on an extension for Chris Snyder and they’ll resume soon.
Nationals Serious About Teixeira
11:31pm: Adam Dunn is also thought to be a Nationals target. Ken Davidoff says his agent, Greg Genske, met with the Nats today.
10:07pm: Dave Sheinin of The Washington Post says that no matter what the impression is around baseball, the Nationals believe they’re legitimate suitors for Mark Teixeira. Nats owner Ted Lerner met with Scott Boras last week, and they’re "mulling a significant offer to Teixeira."