Odds and Ends: Roberts, Ohman, Kotsay, Eyre
Rumor roundup…
- ESPN’s Buster Olney implies that another website backdates timestamps in an attempt to fake scoops. I was following the Mark Teixeira rumors like a hawk; I gave the scoop to ESPN’s Jayson Stark with an assist to MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer.
- Joe Christensen says Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is not available.
- MLB.com’s Mark Bowman guesses Will Ohman will land with the Cardinals. He also puts the odds of a Mark Kotsay deal at 50%.
- With Mark Teixeira out of the picture, Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes doesn’t expect to make any more trades.
- Will Carroll says the Dodgers had a "passing discussion" with the Cubs about Scott Eyre and Ronny Cedeno.
- Nothing cooking with the Royals.
- Talked to Eddie Bajek, who is working on reverse-engineering the Elias formula. He has A.J. Burnett on the Type A/Type B borderline. Ivan Rodriguez and Edgar Renteria should both be Type As.
Stark’s Latest: Eyre, Sherrill
ESPN’s Jayson Stark has been burning up the phone lines today. New blog posts can be found here and here.
- Brian Fuentes and Damaso Marte are off the market, but lefty relievers remain plentiful. The Cubs would like to move Scott Eyre, perhaps to an AL club like the Rays, Red Sox, or Tigers. Eyre is in the last year of a three-year contract and can block trades to ten clubs.
- The Orioles would like to pry a young shortstop loose if they are to trade George Sherrill. Erick Aybar, Maicer Izturis, and Jason Donald are names of interest, but the Angels and Phillies aren’t biting.
Odds and Ends: Happ, Igawa, Hawkins, Lowe
Rounding up rumors and links from the weekend…
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mariners are asking the Mets for Jon Niese for Raul Ibanez. Not likely.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Braves would require Conor Jackson from the D’Backs in a Mark Teixeira deal, but Arizona is not biting.
- Another quick hit from Olney: the White Sox are surveying the relief market in the wake of Scott Linebrink‘s shoulder injury.
- Several readers have written in about Phillies’ lefty J.A. Happ being pulled early from a Triple A start (2.2 scoreless innings) with no sign of injury. Something to keep an eye on, as the Phillies hunt for a lefty reliever on the trade market. UPDATE: Happ may be getting the call to replace Adam Eaton.
- Even on the DL, Phil Hughes has been in high demand.
- The White Sox let Esteban Loaiza go.
- No team claimed Kei Igawa off waivers. Also, the Yankees designated LaTroy Hawkins for assignment.
- Ned Colletti on the possibility of trading Derek Lowe: "No."
- Jim Bowden and Chad Cordero patched things up, making a re-signing possible this winter.
- The emergence of Jeff Samardzija this weekend may make Scott Eyre or Jon Lieber expendable.
- At least 20 teams have called about one of the Rangers’ catchers.
- Jamey Newberg wrote a few days ago that most likely the only way Kevin Millwood can lock in his $12MM for 2010 will be to pitch 180 innings next year.
Odds and Ends: Jenkins, Piazza, Kuroda
Random rumors for this evening…
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Rays have contacted Geoff Jenkins‘ agent. They’re eyeing him to replace Delmon Young in right field.
- Cubs lefty Scott Eyre exercised his $3.8MM player option for 2008.
- Terrmel Sledge never quite caught on in the U.S., so he’s headed to Japan. I thought he was a sleeper entering 2007 as he’d posted a .985 OPS in Triple A in ’06.
- The Yorvit Torrealba deal is official at two years and $7.25MM with a $4MM mutual option for 2010. Mutual options never get exercised by both sides so that doesn’t mean much. Michael Barrett and Paul Lo Duca are the two remaining free agent starting catchers.
- It’s true, Mike Piazza does have some interest from a Japanese team. But he also has three MLB teams interested, and he’s much more likely to stay in the U.S.
- Could Yasuhiko Yabuta lead the Royals to sign Hiroki Kuroda? It’s a possibility. The D’Backs are after him as well; Nick Piecoro has some in-depth info about Kuroda.
Jeff Passan’s Most Overpaid Team
Here’s an interesting article from the Yahoo columnist that includes his selections for most overpaid players so far this year. Some of the blurbs are downright painful, like the reminder that Jason Kendall is earning more than $13M for this year’s "production."
I bring it up because overpaid players are so often a source of trade rumors on a thin market. After all, do you think it would take much to pry Kendall away from the A’s? Shea Hillenbrand away from the Angels? It seems that clubs falling in the standings with money to burn (Yankees, anyone?) can always take on more salary, making deals like last year’s Bobby Abreu acquisition, which cost little more than money.
The All-Overpaid team doesn’t have a lot of candidates for that sort of deal, because many of the players are already playing for one of the rich teams, or–in Kendall’s case–aren’t going to be coveted by anybody. But there are a few candidates. The most notable is Scott Rolen. I would be surprised if he were traded, but if Walt Jocketty found a GM more optimistic about Rolen’s decline years than he is, the Cards could certain use the payroll flexibility.
The other names that pop out are relievers Armando Benitez and Scott Eyre. Benitez was rumored in some salary-dump swaps in the offseason, and if he strings together a couple more poor outings, he could end up out of the 9th inning. If that’s the case, he could end up a poor man’s (well…maybe "poor" isn’t the best way to put it) version of 2006 Francisco Cordero. Eyre doesn’t offer the same potential, but the further he sinks into Lou Piniella’s doghouse, the more likely he’ll have a chance to return to form in a new uniform.
By Jeff Sackmann
Brew Crew Ball
Scott Eyre Signs With Cubs
As has been reported in many places, the Cubs inked Scott Eyre today to a two-year deal with an option for the third year. It’s one of the first free agent signings, and Eyre will certainly solidify the Cubs’ pen.
If you think $3MM+ per year is a little much for a lefty reliever with a 4.52 career ERA, you’re probably right. The Cubs are paying a premium for the safer choice by signing the 33 year-old. The deal still looks to be better than the three year pact Hendry gave to Mike Remlinger. Eyre should have at least one or two solid years for the Cubs.
Hendry’s initial moves this offseason were summed up nicely by Bleed Cubbie Blue commenter zambranofan:
"Hendry has been filling the roster with players who fit typical roles…and overpaying slightly for them. $3M a year for a LOOGY? $2.5M a year for a backup middle infielder? $3M a year for a sixth starter and swing man?"
It’s the quick fix approach to building a contender, and it should be an active offseason for the North Siders. This will be a significantly different team in 2006.
Thanks to Ben K.