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Boras Demands For Alvarez, Hosmer Leaked?

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Kiley McDaniel reports rumors of Scott Boras’ asking price for ’08 draftees Pedro Alvarez and Eric Hosmer.  He’s hearing a $9.5MM big league deal for Alvarez and a $7MM bonus for Hosmer – steep demands.

Hosmer, a high school first baseman, has been compared to Casey Kotchman by Baseball America.  He’s a top ten pick.  Alvarez, one of the top talents in the draft, plays third base for Vanderbilt but may end up at first.  He figures to go within the first four picks (Rays, Pirates, Royals, Orioles) for sure.

By the way, the Reds have the seventh pick, and BA’s Jim Callis thinks they’ll go for a pitcher.  He names Shooter Hunt, Tanner Scheppers, and Tim Melville as the main candidates.

Boras Won’t Make First Move For Varitek Extension

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe quotes Scott Boras as saying that the Red Sox would have to come to him about an extension for Jason Varitek.  Boras and Varitek are open to a deal, but I guess they don’t want to sound desperate and give up their leverage.   

Tek turns 36 in April; the Red Sox are going to want to minimize their risk.  They could roll the dice in hopes of signing him after the season, as they did with Mike Lowell and Curt Schilling.  It can be tough to measure the value of a catcher, but Baseball Prospectus has Varitek worth $4.6MM in ’09 and dropping off significantly after that. 

Stark’s Latest: Patterson, Lohse, Lofton, Clemens

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Finally, new info regarding some of the remaining free agents.  Jayson Stark has the scoop.

  • Seems there’s a chance Corey Patterson takes a cheap deal to return to Baltimore.  He could be relegated to fourth outfielder duty in that case.  Stark says the Marlins have discussed Patterson internally, but aren’t sure if they could afford the Boras client.  Patterson would be a nice stopgap for Cameron Maybin, who’d be well-served with some time in Triple A.  Ken Rosenthal also mentioned the Florida possibility.
  • One of the most surprising free agents at this point is Kyle Lohse.  Stark shoots down the notion of Lohse signing with the Met or Phillies on a one-year deal.  Rosenthal tossed out the Cards and O’s as slight possibilities.  It’s tough to be impressed with Boras’ work with Patterson and Lohse this year.  Stark’s colleague Buster Olney even speaks of rumors that Lohse could ditch Boras. 
  • Kenny Lofton wants a Major League deal, and the offers so far have been minor league (including one from the Reds).  I don’t find this an unreasonable demand on Lofton’s part; he’s still a useful player.  He’s OK with starting the season late and coming in as a mercenary when a spot opens up.
  • Stark talked to a friend of Drayton McLane who believes the Astros’ owner could roll the dice on Roger Clemens at the right price.

Manny Switches To Boras

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This should be interesting.  Just in time for his contract year, Manny Ramirez has ditched agents Scott Parker and Greg Genske in favor of Scott Boras.  As Jon Heyman notes, this is not necessarily a bad thing for Boston since they’re on fine terms with Boras.  Manny recently spoke to the press about his $20MM option after the season, but didn’t really add new information.

There will be a lot of Boston media chatter about Manny’s situation this year, and now plenty of Boras Hall of Fame type rhetoric as well.   But really, it’s a very simple situation.  The Red Sox don’t have to make a decision until after the season, and they don’t owe it to Ramirez to do so.  If his new workout regime helps him stay healthy for 140+ games, the Sox will probably exercise the option.  They’ll certainly have other options, but Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, and Bobby Abreu won’t sign for one year.

Odds and Ends: Roberts, Garcia, Crede

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Today’s assortment of links.

Orioles Discuss Lohse, Villone, Chacon

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Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are looking at various one or two-year stopgap free agents.

  • According to Scott Boras, he and Andy MacPhail have discussed six or seven of his clients.  Among them are Kyle Lohse, Ron Villone, and Corey Patterson.  Lohse would probably not sign for two years, I’m guessing.  Or in the American League.  Who else might they have discussed?  Jeff Weaver?  Anyway, it’s nice to see the Orioles getting along with Boras!
  • Zrebiec notes that the O’s have had "preliminary talks" with the agents for Shawn Chacon and Steve Trachsel.  Looks like MacPhail just wants some warm bodies for the back end of the rotation.  Chacon seems to prefer to the Pirates, and a return to Pittsburgh looks "increasingly logical."
  • Zbrebiec says Rod Barajas seems to be headed elsewhere despite "significant discussions" with Baltimore.

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.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Boras, Murton, Marquis, Clark

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Ken Rosenthal is here to hopefully rescue what’s been a slow day for rumors.

  • Rosenthal points out that it seems Scott Boras has been more flexible with his clients’ contracts this year, perhaps even as the result of his "failures" with Alex Rodriguez and Kenny Rogers.  A new, gentler Boras?  Wait til Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, and Prince Fielder reach free agency.
  • The Padres are targeting Matt Murton for left field, a notion that gels with Kevin Towers’ stated quest to acquire a corner outfielder via trade.  Plus, Towers gets along well with Cubs GM Jim Hendry.  Not sure how the teams would match up, unless things expand to include Khalil Greene.  The Cubs would have to be sure they don’t need Murton for other deals or because of other deals.
  • Rosenthal agrees with the recent rumor that the Orioles will decide whether to trade Erik Bedard and Brian Roberts by month’s end.  He notes that Cubs starter Jason Marquis actually does have trade value, and could be part of a package for Roberts.  Other teams are interested in him too – go figure.  Innings are innings I guess.  Marquis, 29, is owed $16.25MM over the 2008-09 seasons.
  • An MLBTR commenter questioned the other day why Troy Tulowitzki’s deal was said to top Grady Sizemore’s as the record holder for a player with less than two years service time.  The commenter wondered why Brian McCann wasn’t part of the discussion – he signed for more than Sizemore ($26.8MM) in March of ’07 with about a season and a half under his belt.  Anyone know why McCann’s name doesn’t come up in this discussion?
  • One of Rosenthal’s sources believes progress has been made on a long-term pact with Holliday, and the recent two-year deal is a positive sign.
  • Teams inquiring on Tony Clark: Mariners, Giants, and Red Sox.  Clark has been mentioned as a Giants target before.

Rockies Not Making Progress With Holliday

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Rockies star left fielder and Scott Boras client Matt Holliday is set to reach free agency after the 2009 season.  Team owner Dick Monfort weighed in on the situation:

I don’t know if we will be able to sign him.  It could always happen during the year, I guess, but that’s a distraction and we can’t have that. The chance of him becoming a free agent increases with each year that passes.

Boras’ thoughts on the topic:

Matt is happy in Colorado.  If they want to offer a one-year contract, that’s fine. If they want to offer him a franchise contract, like they have done in the past, we would review it at that time.

My guess is that the four-year, $60MM proposal the Rockies considered wouldn’t be seen as a "franchise offer" by Boras.  With the info we have now it looks like Holliday will get a free agent deal exceeding $100MM following the ’09 season.

One other Rockies note from Renck’s column – it sounds like the Rox might wait another year before seriously thinking about a long-term deal for Troy Tulowitzki.

Odds and Ends: Hillenbrand, Tsao, Uehara

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Here are some random bits and pieces to hold us over until front offices re-open…

  • Shea Hillenbrand has only received one inquiry this winter – from the Giants.  He probably won’t be earning $6MM again.  Hillenbrand posted a .599 OPS in 267 ABs for the Angels and Dodgers this year.  I thought perhaps that was one of the worst performances of the decade for guys with 250+ ABs.  However it’s only the 49th worst since 2000.  Homer Bush’s 2000 takes the cake – a .524 OPS for the Blue Jays in 297 ABs.
  • The Royals inked Chin-Hui Tsao to a minor-league deal.  Tsao was once considered the Rockies’ best prospect, but he’s been decimated by injuries.  Makes sense for the Royals to throw him a bone though.
  • Koji Uehara re-signed with the Yomiuri Giants for 400 million yen – about $3.57MM.  He’ll turn 33 in April.  A hamstring injury knocked Uehara out of the ’07 season’s first month, denying him free agency this winter.  Now he needs to be active for just eight days to be eligible after the season.  The Giants used him in relief in ’07, perhaps to spite him.  Read more about that and his repertoire in my Q&A with Mike Plugh on Uehara.   
  • John Fay runs down the Reds’ veteran free agent starter options.
  • A-Rod still won’t return Scott Boras’ calls.
  • Jason Churchill names some intriguing, possibly available young hurlers who may be on Seattle’s radar: Scott Olsen, Noah Lowry, Daniel Cabrera, Edwin Jackson, Chris Capuano, Ian Snell, and Anthony Reyes.
  • Nothing is cooking with Brandon Inge, and the Tigers won’t be bringing Sean Casey back.
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