Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Lowe, Everett
Time to discuss Ken Rosenthal’s latest…
- Mark Teixeira is likely to sign before Manny Ramirez. The Nationals and Orioles are in the mix, but the Angels and Red Sox are more likely destinations.
- One GM predicted Raul Ibanez will receive a three-year deal worth $8-12MM per year. Not exactly going out on a limb there. ESPN’s Jayson Stark named a dozen teams that have expressed interest.
- Rosenthal says the Mets are more likely to sign Brian Fuentes or Francisco Rodriguez than to acquire a closer via trade. Doesn’t exactly fit with Stark’s statement that J.J. Putz would go to the top of the Mets’ list if available.
- Scott Boras emphatically disputed the notion that he wants a Barry Zito-like contract for Derek Lowe.
- Rosenthal wonders if Adam Everett would make sense for the Tigers.
Odds and Ends: Wade, Crisp, Holliday
Links for Thursday…
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- 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.
Odds and Ends: Tazawa, Boras, Cuban
Links for Tuesday…
- Scouts from the Tigers and Indians visited Junichi Tazawa yesterday.
- This week’s chat has been pushed to Wednesday at 2pm CST.
- I chatted with The Baseball Opinion on November 10th.
- Patrick Newman compares Kenshin Kawakami and Hiroki Kuroda.
- Jesse Spector talks to D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes.
- Ken Davidoff explains the semantics games often played by agents, GMs, and journalists.
- Peter Abraham makes free agent predictions.
- Chat with Scott Boras at USA Today on Wednesday at 10am CST. You can submit questions in advance.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Mark Cuban’s bid for the Cubs wasn’t high enough, anyway.
Odds and Ends: Burrell, Atkins, Ohmura
Links for Monday…
- Even after signing LaTroy Hawkins, the Astros would like to re-sign Doug Brocail. They already chose a $250K buyout over his $3.25MM option. Further complicating matters, Brocail is a Type A free agent.
- The Royals signed pitcher Brandon Duckworth and then outrighted him to Triple A.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan ranks all the free agents, from C.C. Sabathia at #1 to Vance Wilson at #183.
- The Giants seem likely to hit the free agent market for a reliever.
- Pat Burrell hasn’t heard from the Phillies yet.
- John Brattain battles Scott Boras on his Manny Ramirez claims.
- Aaron Gleeman suggests the Twins would be better off platooning Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris at third base than acquiring Garrett Atkins.
- Joe Posnanski continues to find the Royals’ Mike Jacobs acquisition baffling. Jacobs seems to be aiming for a .320 OBP.
- Free agent pitcher Kenshin Kawakami still hasn’t decided whether to jump over to MLB.
- Outfielder Saburo Ohmura seems to have changed his mind – he’s likely to remain in Japan.
Boras Speaks
Scott Boras held court today; here are a few tidbits from various outlets.
- Boras says things with Alex Rodriguez are fine; they have a good relationship.
- Boras spoke of a very aggressive market for Mark Teixeira.
- Larry Stone has more hyperbolic quotes from Boras, in reference to several other clients.
Odds and Ends: El Duque, Tazawa, Ausmus
Links for Tuesday. Be sure to check back on Odds and Ends posts, as I update them throughout the day with minor links.
- The Jays may no longer have A.J. Burnett under contract, but they continued their claiming frenzy by adding pitcher Les Walrond.
- The A’s re-hired Jason Giambi‘s strength coach. Does it mean anything?
- The Cardinals remain intrigued by the idea of bringing Edgar Renteria back.
- The Dodgers bought out catcher Gary Bennett for $50K; he’s a free agent now.
- Mike Cameron thinks C.C. Sabathia has a good chance of re-signing with the Brewers. He says Sabathia could be a pioneer by taking less money to stay.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown says Orlando Hernandez is working out and intends to play next year. He did not pitch in the Majors at all this year due to foot injuries.
- Dylan Hernandez chatted with Scott Boras last week.
- The New York Daily News discusses Baseball Prospectus’ Nate Silver, whose political website is immensely popular.
- Patrick Newman points out that Junichi Tazawa will not be the first Japanese amateur to sign with an MLB team.
- Buster Olney says Brad Ausmus wants to play in 2009 if it’s close to his San Diego home. The Dodgers could be one possibility.
Olney’s Latest: Teixeira, Sabathia, Ramirez, Burnett
Buster Olney has some fun-to-read analysis of last night’s game, as well as some solid rumors for our consumption:
- The Yankees seem almost destined to sign Mark Teixeira this offseason, but while it’s been suggested that Teixeira is seeking upwards of 10 years, $200MM, the Yankees may be looking to offer half of that, or "a deal in the range of 6 years, $18-20MM a year." Good news for the Orioles who look to be the biggest competitor for the Yankees in pursuing both Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.
- The Yankees are gearing up to offer CC Sabathia "an offer that may dwarf those of other clubs, by a factor of 30 or 40 percent." Olney feels that may be a necessary surcharge to convince Sabathia to pitch in the Big Apple.
- An interesting note: a few months ago, the suggested numbers for a Manny Ramirez contract were 3 or 4 years and $45MM; however, Scott Boras is effectively "working to change the perception of what is an acceptable offer… trying to raise the bar in the minds of teams, so that in the end, somebody might give him 3 years, $60MM and feel like they’re getting a bargain." I’ll add that Manny has done a lot, if not more, to change this perception as well.
- Make of this what you will but Derek Jeter, whether intentional or not, contributed toward restoring Roger Clemens‘ image by standing beside him on the sidelines of the nationally televised Longhorns game yesterday. Olney notes, "I know a whole lot of image-conscious players who would not have done that." Clemens is still unsure whether he is officially retired or not.
Odds and Ends: Springer, Sheffield, Bonds
How about some weekend odds and ends?
- Free agent reliever Russ Springer intends to pitch next year, and he prefers the Cardinals. The Cards haven’t discussed a contract with him, though, and they might prefer their younger (and cheaper) righthanded relievers.
- Dave Cameron thinks Nate Robertson might be a sleeper, based on his peripheral stats. Boof Bonser is another pitcher whose ERA didn’t match up with his other numbers this year.
- Peter Woodfork apparently bowed out of the Mariners GM job competition after his interview. The Ms could decide between Tony LaCava, Jerry DiPoto, Kim Ng, and Jack Zduriencik by Tuesday.
- Scott Boras won a $550K decision against former client Gary Sheffield. Will Sheff make good on his February promise to say "ugly things" about Boras now?
- Phil Rogers speculates on Manny Ramirez in a Cubs uniform, but admits they’d have to somehow move Alfonso Soriano first. Small obstacle: $106MM owed to Soriano over the next six years, plus his full no-trade clause.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown says Barry Bonds could be awarded $100MM or more if the players union wins its collusion case. Bonds would like to play in 2009, but no one expects it.
Six Years For Manny?
5:45pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman also talked to Boras, and the word "iconic" was used. Uh-oh. Six years, $150MM? Heyman sees the Yankees, Mets, and Blue Jays as suitors aside from the Dodgers.
4:36pm: When the idea of a six-year contract for slugger Manny Ramirez first surfaced (from Manny himself), it was not considered a serious possibility. However, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman had a long conversation with Scott Boras, who strongly hinted that Manny legitimately deserves six years.
Boras points to Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, two iconic players paid to age 42. Boras brushed off the messy Boston exit, referring only to "internal issues that were a concern."
Here’s the thing about Boras: he says or strongly implies a lot of questionable things. Recent examples: 12 years for A-Rod, the Cardinals failing to win the division in ’07 because they didn’t sign Jeff Weaver, and Oliver Perez not being erratic. It’ll be a winter full of amusing Boras rhetoric, with Perez, Joe Crede, Eric Gagne, Felipe Lopez, Derek Lowe, Ivan Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Jason Varitek also eligible for free agency.
Odds and Ends: Beltran, Brewers, Padres
Links for Friday…
- The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants. Surprising to see the Giants let him go.
- Ted Berg at MetsBlog explains how a Carlos Beltran rumbling spun out of control.
- I recently did a Brewers Q&A with Bernie’s Crew.
- The Padres called yesterday’s report about John Moores selling his share of the team "highly speculative." Tim Sullivan considers the statement revealing, and notes that this is a bad time to sell.
- Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times chatted with Scott Boras.
- Mark Cuban mentions that the struggling economy is slowing down the sale of the Cubs.
- Terry Pluto believes the Indians should pursue Brian Roberts.
- David Brown at Yahoo profiles Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman.
- Freddy Garcia is headed to winter ball. The Tigers will have the first crack at signing him. Andruw Jones will also play winter ball; he seems to want a trade if he’s not a starter next year.
- Elbow surgery for Tom Gordon, which probably means the Phillies will buy out his ’09 option for $1MM.