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Rockies Inquire On Justin Upton, Gavin Floyd

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The Rockies have contacted the Diamondbacks and White Sox to inquire on Justin Upton and Gavin Floyd, respectively, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Both teams are said to be listening to offers for their respective players.

We've rounded up the rest of today's Upton rumors here, with the latest from Jayson Stark indicating that Arizona seems "genuinely open" to moving their young outfielder. According to a team official that spoke to Renck, the D'Backs would be open to dealing Upton within the division, if the return was significant enough.

Meanwhile, we heard today that the White Sox would be willing to discuss trading Floyd, and Renck says the Sox have asked the Rockies about Ian Stewart. Colorado doesn't currently have a third baseman who could replace Stewart, but as Renck reported earlier, the club has interest in a handful of players who could handle the hot corner.

Despite their interest in potential trade candidates, the Rockies may still use free agency to fill their holes, as owner Dick Monfort admits: "We are really (reluctant) about giving up young players (in trades)." According to Renck, the Rockies also have interest in Scott Kazmir and "continue to monitor" the Victor Martinez situation.

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Yankees, Angels, Loux

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Wednesday night links, as Daniel Hudson attempts to keep his NL ERA under 2.00….

Largest Contracts By Service Time

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When Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo signed his five year, $30.1MM extension earlier today, it marked the largest contract ever signed by a pitcher with less than three years of service time.

Let's look at the richest contracts by service time, in terms of guaranteed money…

Less Than One Year
Position Player: Ryan Braun. Eight years, $45MM
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Four years, $9.5MM.

One To Two Years
Position Player: Chris Young. Five years, $28MM.
Pitcher: Fausto Carmona. Four years, $15MM.

Two To Three Years
Position Player: Hanley Ramirez. Six years, $70MM.
Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo.  Five years, $30.1MM.

Three To Four Years
Position Player: Albert Pujols. Seven years, $100MM. 
Pitcher: Scott Kazmir. Three years, $28.5MM.

Four To Five Years
Position Player: Miguel Cabrera. Eight years, $152.3MM.
Pitcher: Justin Verlander. Five years, $80MM.

Five To Six Years
Position Player: Derek Jeter. Ten years, $189MM.
Pitcher: Jake Peavy. Three years, $52MM. 

Six-plus Years
Position Player: Alex Rodriguez. Ten years, $275MM.
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Seven years, $171MM.

Some thoughts…

  • The most regrettable deals were signed very early in the player's career, Young and Carmona. Might be a lesson in using up those pre-arbitration years before taking the plunge.
  • The largest contract signed by a position player with less than one year of service time after Braun's deal is Evan Longoria's, which will pay him just $17.5MM over six years. Is Braun overpaid, or is Longoria underpaid? I think the answer is clear.
  • Sabathia's four year, $9.5MM deal nearly tripled Roy Halladay's three year, $3.7MM deal with Toronto, which was the previous record for a pitcher with less an a year of service time.
  • One only of the above contracts has expired.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rolen, Sweeney, Twins

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On this date in 1990, the Tigers signed free agent Cecil Fielder after he hit 38 homers as a member of the Hanshin Tigers the year before. Fielder went on to lead the league with 130 HR and 389 RBI over the next three years, landing a five-year, $36MM contract that made him the then-second-highest paid player in baseball history behind Barry Bonds. Believe it or not, Prince is already more than halfway to his father's career total of 319 homers despite having fewer than half as many plate appearances.

Let's see what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

  • The Phrontiersman goes back in time to see how things would have played out for the Phillies if Scott Rolen signed a contract extension and was never traded away.
  • DRays Bay wonders if Matt Sweeney could take over first base for the Rays if Carlos Pena leaves as a free agent after 2010. Sweeney was acquired in the Scott Kazmir trade.
  • Fack Youk compares Vladimir Guerrero to Hideki Matsui to Nick Johnson, the three biggest DH signings of the offseason.
  • Lookout Landing says the Mariners did just fine to acquire Casey Kotchman, even though Adam LaRoche agreed to a relatively cheap deal yesterday.
  • Meanwhile, Jorge Says No! thinks the Mets may have made a mistake by not signing LaRoche.
  • Nick's Twins Blog wonders if Michael Cuddyer or Joe Nathan could be expendable as Minnesota's estimated payroll will approach nine-figures in 2011.
  • AdamAdkins.net thinks the Tigers will regret signing Jose Valverde.
  • Pinstripes Published takes a look at the market for Johnny Damon, or lack thereof.
  • TurnTwo looks at all the movement going on with the Giants' defensive alignment.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Angels Notes: Guerrero, Lackey, Oliver

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MLB.com's Lyle Spencer answered a pile of fans' questions about the Angels' free agents, possible new signings and trade options.  Here are some of the highlights…

  • Spencer "has his doubts" that Los Angeles will re-sign any of its big three free agents (Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey).  He thinks the other three AL West teams would be smart to sign Guerrero given that the outfielder is "a prideful man who would have something to prove to his former employer." 
  • If the Angels do dip into the free-agent market, it would be for a starting pitcher.  Spencer lists Randy Wolf and former Angel Jon Garland as possible targets, and also says the Halos could wait until midseason to pick up another arm a la their trade for Scott Kazmir last season.
  • The Angels would "love to keep" free agent reliever Darren Oliver.  Spencer thinks Oliver's Type A status will give L.A. the edge in re-signing him since other teams won't want to give up a first-round draft pick for a 38-year-old setup man.
  • Spencer would re-sign Kelvim Escobar to "an incentives-laden contract" because he thinks the right-hander could have a big season if healthy.
  • Utilityman Robb Quinlan will likely not be back in Anaheim, and seems to be a better fit in the National League.
  • Spencer shoots down two suggested trades that would send Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, respectively, to Los Angeles.  He doesn't think San Diego will move Gonzalez for attendance reasons, and thinks Tampa Bay might ask for too much in return for Crawford.
  • However, a fan-suggested trade of Brandon Wood for Jeremy Guthrie might be mutually beneficial for both the Halos and Orioles.  Spencer also calls a proposed Milton Bradley-for-Gary Matthews Jr. swap "an intriguing suggestion," but notes that Matthews still provides more benefit to Los Angeles than Bradley would.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Pitching, Rays, Padres, DeRosa

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Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has for us in his latest Full Count video…

  • The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look very enticing, but the trade market could be intriguing. Toronto will almost certainly field offers for Roy Halladay again, the Cubs could trade Carlos Zambrano, and the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez if they decide to keep Tim Hudson.
  • The Astros might finally be ready to move ace Roy Oswalt. While he does have a full no-trade clause, Oswalt has told the club in the past that he'd be willing to consider moves to St. Louis, both Chicago teams, Texas, and Atlanta.
  • Tampa Bay moved Scott Kazmir when his value was high, so perhaps it's unlikely they'd move B.J. Upton when his value is low. Regardless, many teams covet the elder Upton brother because at his best he's a righty slugger with superior defense in center field. In his place, the Rays could go in-house with Fernando Perez or Desmond Jennings.
  • Keep in mind that if Tampa were to trade an outfielder, they might prefer to deal Carl Crawford. Upton is three years away from free agency; Crawford just one.
  • The Padres' recent surge has GM Kevin Towers thinking the team could be a surprise contender next year. The question is this: how low will the team's payroll go? The subtraction of Brian Giles would leave the payroll in the mid-$30MM range, but there are some that believe the team will move either Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell and get down into the mid-$20MM range. Ownership has yet to give the front office a firm payroll number for 2010.
  • The Cardinals want to re-sign Mark DeRosa, but his offseason wrist surgery changes the equation. DeRosa is fully expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training, but he'll come with some risk. If he was fully healthy, he would be nearly as coveted as Chone Figgins, but supply and demand will work in DeRosa's favor because there are very few quality third baseman available. Plus, he can also play a ton of other positions.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Scott Kazmir

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On this date 34 years ago, Rod Barajas was born. Barajas has played 11 seasons with four different franchises, hitting .241/.286/.411. This year, he is in the final year of a two-year deal that pays him $2.5MM this season. With less than a month remaining in the season, many others will see their contracts expire and look forward to free agency. Let's take a look at what is being written in the blogosphere…

  • The Hardball Times says Scott Kazmir may be injury-prone moving forward, but he still has the arm to be an Ace.
  • Rays Revolutionary has no problem with trades that help the Rays budget, but are upset at the timing of the Kazmir deal.
  • The Rays Party looks at what the Kazmir deal means for the Rays now and down the road.
  • Jorge Says No! is not a fan of the timing of the Kazmir trade, but says the Rays got a good package, and in the end, it is Pat Burrell's fault.
  • The Bottom Linewonders why the Red Sox did not claim Kazmir and block his move to the Angels, a potential playoff opponent.
  • UmpBump says the Kazmir deal makes sense, but maybe the Rays should have waited until the off-season.
  • The Baseball Opinion likes the Kazmir deal for the Rays noting they dumped the salary and that there is likely more wrong with his arm than we know.
  • Around the Majors loves the Kazmir deal for the Rays, noting that Kazmir no longer has a fastball to live up to his reputation.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter

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More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column at ESPN.com…

  • One of Stark's sources says the Angels' acquisition of Scott Kazmir is not linked to John Lackey's future.  Lackey is said to have dropped his price from the C.C. Sabathia range ($161MM over seven years) to A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM over five years) due to his recent injury history.  The Angels will attempt to re-sign Lackey, but they have their limit.  Stark's suggestion that Lackey had a "Sabathia-esque" price tag in Spring Training runs counter to Mike DiGiovanna's report that the pitcher wanted Burnett money at that time.
  • Stark feels that the Rays' trade of Kazmir will help them allocate money toward retaining Carl Crawford and/or Carlos Pena.  Crawford's 2010 club option is worth between $10-11.5MM.  Pena is signed at $10.125MM for '10 and is represented by Scott Boras.  One positive: the slugging first baseman inked a below-market deal in January of '08.
  • Derek Jeter is not talking about his next contract, but Stark feels the Yankees will take care of him.  They may wait until after next season, when Jeter finishes his current deal.
  • Rockies manager Jim Tracy is familiar with Brad Penny, and his opinion might have caused the team to back off.  And the Yankees cooled Jon Garland because they didn't see him as a difference-maker in the AL East.
  • The Marlins were in on Mike Cameron, but the Brewers decided to keep their players and win as many games as possible.
  • The White Sox "wanted something good" for Jermaine Dye, according to one Stark source.  He would not have been as easy to pry away as Jim Thome and Jose Contreras were.
  • A couple of sources are skeptical that the Red Sox will shop closer Jonathan Papelbon this winter.
  • Stark notes that only two players – Ryan Franklin and David Eckstein – signed extensions in-season.  These days it makes more sense to talk during the exclusive negotiation period after the season.  Plus, there were many bargains to be had on the free agent market last offseason.

Odds And Ends: Royals, Kazmir, Hudson

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Some links for the morning…

  • Jeff Sackmann of the Hardball Times can imagine an excellent Royals team in 2012, but says there's no guarantee we'll see such a thing.
  • As MLB.com's Doug Miller shows, cheap, no-name closers can be just as effective as proven commodities.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the addition of Scott Kazmir should help the Angels reach the playoffs once again.
  • Tim Hudson and Dan Meyer were traded for each other in 2004. This week, Hudson pitched against Meyer's team for the first time, as MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports.
  • Jamey Newberg ranks Justin Smoak and Martin Perez ahead of the other Rangers minor leaguers in this week's prospects report for MLB.com.

Odds and Ends: Nomar, Astros, Kazmir

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A few links to get the evening started…

  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Phillies are still "mildly following" Nomar Garciaparra. Though Nomar would not be eligible to play in the postseason for Philadelphia, he might provide some depth down the stretch.
  • Astros owner Drayton McLane "has fired more managers, general managers and coaches the last five years than any other owner in baseball," according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Justice posits that the axe might drop on someone new during the Astros' off day tomorrow. 
  • The Tampa Tribune's Marc Lancaster talked to Rays owner Stuart Sternberg, who argued that the team's trade of Scott Kazmir was "not a salary dump" but "a reallocation of resources."
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