Odds and Ends: Kendrick, Uggla, Haren
Another random collection of rumorage…
- The Braves have "many millions more" to spend on players this winter. One emailer suggested that maybe the Braves will offer arbitration to Andruw Jones and he’ll accept.
- Corey Patterson and the Nationals have mutual interest. Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan considers him a possible bargain, noting that he is only 28.
- We figured the Padres and Matt Clement had mutual interest. Now it’s official. Clement wants a one-year deal with incentives.
- Tracy Ringolsby confirms that Yorvit Torrealba wants a three-year deal. He says the Rockies are at two years, $7MM, the Marlins are in the same range, and the Mets are at two years, $9MM. UPDATE: The Denver Post says Torrealba will have a decision Thursday.
- Interesting Miguel Cabrera stuff from the L.A. Times. Howie Kendrick is not considered untouchable, but the Marlins might have to include Dan Uggla. Basically if the Marlins are to get four players back, they’ll have to add Uggla or Dontrelle Willis to the deal.
- Our friends at Gotham Baseball say if the Mets were to acquire Dan Haren, the package would start with Billy Beane favorite John Maine. Mark Healey figures Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman would have to go also.
- Ken Rosenthal thinks a one-year, $8MM offer from Atlanta would be enough to secure Tom Glavine.
- The D’Backs’ main trading chip is outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. It appears that the team explored what they could get for Conor Jackson and decided to keep him.
Random Rumors: Glavine, Cordero, Percival
Let’s kick things off today with one of those posts packed with random rumors.
- Tom Glavine‘s agent Gregg Clifton meets with Braves’ GM Frank Wren this afternoon. They’ll talk money. Wren is expected to offer $8-10MM for ’08 plus a mutual option for ’09. Glavine isn’t a lock for the Braves – three other teams are interested. The pool includes the Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Cardinals and Astros.
- Reds beat writer John Fay recently suggested the Reds might have a payroll around $75MM, giving them only $6MM to spend. But now Fay is saying he thinks the Reds might go past $75MM. He believes the Reds will strike quickly with a focus on relief help – maybe even Francisco Cordero. The Brewers made an offer to Cordero Monday, and the Astros and Royals ar expected to be in the mix as well.
- Previously it was noted that eight teams were in on Troy Percival, four of which were considering him at closer. Now we’re up to ten clubs, and the Rays are having serious talks with his agent. The Astros may also be in the mix.
Molony’s Latest: Glavine, Fukudome, Percival
MLB.com’s Jim Molony has a new column up with some solid info.
- Molony says Tom Glavine will wait about a week and then announce he’ll pitch for the Braves in ’08. It would probably be for $8-9MM for ’08 with a mutual option for ’09.
- Molony suggests that the Phillies might go after Kosuke Fukudome, or lesser options like Brad Wilkerson or Trot Nixon.
- Eight teams are after Troy Percival, four of which consider him an option at closer. The Tigers aren’t involved as of yet. Maybe the Cubs are in the mix? Also a reader just emailed me to tell me that 790 The Sports Animal in Houston says the Astros are in on Percival.
Mets Rumors: A-Rod, Kim, Silva, Kuroda
Plenty of new hot stove talk involving the Mets. Let’s get into it.
- First off, there’s the fact that Omar Minaya met with Scott Boras yesterday. Minaya says he talked to Boras about all the players he represents. Besides Mr. Rodriguez, Eric Gagne, Byung-Hyun Kim, Kenny Rogers, and Kyle Lohse may be considerations for the Mets. Indeed, there is some buzz that the Mets could bring Kim in to compete for a rotation spot.
- So what about A-Rod? He’d cost the Mets a ton of money, plus the #22 overall pick in the 2008 draft. It sounds like the Mets may hear Boras out as a courtesy, and even put in an offer they feel is reasonable. That number might fall far short of what it will take, as did theirs for Daisuke Matsuzaka and Barry Zito a year ago. That said, Mets insiders aren’t afraid of the full retail price of Rodriguez.
- The top priority remains pitching. Carlos Silva, Tom Glavine, Hiroki Kuroda, and A.J. Burnett are on the radar. On the relief side, Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch could again be in the mix. The Nats’ are said to have their eye on Carlos Gomez and Mike Pelfrey. Gomez is a hot topic these days – the Twins want him too, and could offer up Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, or Scott Baker.
Latest Braves Rumors: Glavine, DeJesus, Dotel
Here’s a look at the recent dealings and rumors surrounding the Braves.
- Frank Wren publicly admitted that the Braves would like to add Tom Glavine to their rotation for 2008. They’re hoping for a hometown discount, which he may be amenable to based on this report. At the minimum, the Braves will have competition from the Nationals, Cardinals, Astros, and possibly the Mets.
- Wren also stated that the Braves will look outside the organization for their center fielder. David O’Brien (linked above) indicates that the Braves won’t make offers to Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand, or Mike Cameron due to the size of the likely commitments. Since Cameron would seemingly only take two years, it’s surprising the Braves will pass. O’Brien says David DeJesus is a reasonable option even though he’s signed for three years, since he’s cheap and trade-able. A Coco Crisp acquisition would use similar logic.
- Unless he comes at a discount, it sounds like the Braves will pass on Todd Jones. Jones had expressed interest in pitching for his hometown team, but Wren stated yesterday that he will not pursue a free agent closer. There had been speculation yesterday that the Braves were interested in Japanese closer Masahide Kobayashi. They could still add him as a set-up man.
- Though the Braves declined his $5.5MM option, Octavio Dotel could still be in the picture. Most likely, he’ll seek more money and the opportunity to close elsewhere. It was a mutual option so Dotel would’ve declined it on his end anyway.
Nats Like Andruw, Livan, Jennings, Colon, Glavine
UPDATE, EVENING OF 11-6-07: MLB.com’s Bill Ladson has some more good Nationals information. His source says that both Livan Hernandez and Tom Glavine are interested in the club, but they only have the budget for one of them. Glavine makes more sense. Ladson also mentions that Bowden has his eye on Rocco Baldelli, and idea I like. I can’t really think of a great match for a trade though.
FROM MORNING OF 11-6-07:
According to the Washington Post, Nationals president Stan Kasten recently met with Andruw Jones at the center fielder’s home in Atlanta. Kasten, of course, was formerly president of the Braves.
Kasten’s contact with Jones is described as "extremely preliminary." That makes sense, since technically the two parties are not allowed to talk dollars and cents. But come on – it’s not like Andruw’s house is bugged by MLB. The Nationals’ open-minded pledge has already led them to contact Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand as well.
Barry Svrluga also reports that the Nats have touched base with three starters: Livan Hernandez, Jason Jennings, and Bartolo Colon. The team’s desire to get a veteran starter on a one-year deal probably rules out a return of Livan. But Jennings or Colon could definitely work. I imagine Livan is going to wait until Carlos Silva signs before inking a contract.
Odds and Ends: Glavine, Kent, Kuroda
Picking up some rumors and tidbits that haven’t been otherwise posted during this busy day…
- An Atlanta TV station states that Tom Glavine would take a lot less money to play for the Braves. Also, the Astros have reportedly been in touch with him.
- Joe Torre senses that Jeff Kent will return in 2008. The Dodgers certainly hope so; he led the team with 20 home runs in ’07.
- Trey Hillman took a parting shot at Japanese reporters (hat tip to JapanBall).
- Reliever Masafumi Hirai might come over to MLB. I’ll have to learn more about him.
- Hiroki Kuroda prefers to play on the West Coast because he doesn’t like cold weather. Hmmm, Chicago might not work for him. Kuroda has declared free agency, and the Mariners are interested. There is word here that the Rangers have scouted him as well.
- The Braves are interested in Masahide Kobayashi to close, while the Mariners like him as a middle reliever (link in Japanese).
- There will be no Mike Lowell + A-Rod combo in Boston.
- Luis Gonzalez would like to return to the Tigers, while the team is interested in Cliff Floyd and Shannon Stewart for left field. Ben Broussard may also be on the radar.
- The Rangers also like Broussard, and they’ve contacted Mike Lamb as well regarding their first base vacancy. Lamb could play third if they trade Hank Blalock. Jon Daniels also has Kerry Wood in his sights.
- The Rockies like Shawn Chacon, but only as a reliever.
- Derrick Goold breaks down the options for the Cardinals at shortstop.
- Don’t forget to make an entry in our Hot Stove Hysteria contest. The deadline is November 12th. If you feel the need to edit your entry, just post a new one. They’re time-stamped; your latest entry will be used. A new prize has been added: a fantasy draft kit from Big Dawg Baseball.
Odds and Ends: Lincecum, Wakefield, Schilling
More random rumors. You know you love it.
- Tracy Ringolsby has some hot stove musings. It’s a fairly sloppy article with one new tidbit: "Tim Lincecum can be had for a quality bat." Either Ringolsby is misinformed, or Brian Sabean has lost it. Lincecum has Cy Young potential.
- A couple of Red Sox mainstays will stay for ’08 – Tim Wakefield and Julian Tavarez. Wake was a no-brainer at his perpetual $4MM, while Tavarez was debatable at $3.85MM. Tavarez expected it to be declined, since the team left him off the World Series roster.
- The Ms will decide very soon whether to exercise Jose Guillen‘s $9MM option. Even if they do, Guillen then can decline it and forfeit a buyout. He most certainly will pass since he can get a two or three-year pact on the open market, mercurial nature and all.
- Re-signing Tony Clark is appearing more difficult than the D’Backs anticipated.
- Reliever Masahide Kobayashi filed for free agency and is interested in MLB offers. He’d prefer to close but it’s not a dealbreaker.
- The Cardinals contacted Curt Schilling today to express interest, apparently after hearing him on a St. Louis radio show. Schilling has a minor update on his blog. Also, he posted the recruiting letter the Red Sox sent to him in 2003.
- Scott Boras client Eric Gagne may return to the Rangers; there’s mutual interest according to Evan Grant.
- Buster Olney points out that Jorge Posada could finish his next contract as the Yankees’ DH, and would probably thrive in that role.
- Don Burke speculates that Tom Glavine might be interested in finishing his career in Boston.
Odds and Ends: Cabrera, Schilling, Stewart
Your daily collection of random rumors and links…
- MLB.com’s Free Agent Frenzy has begun. You can win Opening Day tickets by closely predicting where 15 free agents will land. A good strategic move would be to wait until deadline day, November 15th, before submitting. That way you’ll have more info (keep your browser right here for all the latest free agent info). By the way, my Top 50 Free Agents list should be ready around Monday.
- Fielding Bible has their 2007 awards (click the Winners tab). So much for those who say Andruw is slipping!
- Miguel Cabrera is available, according to Peter Gammons. Gammons thinks any package would have to begin with a top pitching prospect such as Phil Hughes, Clay Buchholz, or Clayton Kershaw.
- Sounds like the Rockies want to keep the 2007 club mostly intact by bringing back free agents (Kaz Matsui, Yorvit Torrealba, Matt Herges, LaTroy Hawkins). However Josh Fogg and Jeremy Affeldt may be allowed to leave.
- Though they’re on his list, it doesn’t sound like the D’Backs can afford Curt Schilling.
- The A’s are talking about re-signing Shannon Stewart, but I don’t see it. That would have to cost at least $3-4MM. Meanwhile, Mike Piazza might retire. Susan Slusser talks about how the A’s would receive compensation for Stewart and Piazza, both Type B free agents. But that’s only if they offer them arbitration, which is questionable.
- Comeback time! Matt Mantei is all surgically repaired and wants to get back into action. He feels great! He’d take a minor league contract and/or play for the minimum. Can’t wait til spring, when we can hear about all the guys who are in the best shape of their careers. The Tigers might need him with Joel Zumaya‘s new, odd injury.
- A couple of 40+ southpaws will pitch in ’08 – Tom Glavine and David Wells.
- The O’s will pass on Kris Benson at $7.5MM next year, no surprise. He had rotator cuff surgery last March.
- U.S.S. Mariner’s "reasonable" offseason plan.
Glavine Interested In Cards?
Sounds like Tom Glavine is considering more options than just the Mets, Braves, and retirement.
According to Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Glavine has interest in finishing his career as a Cardinal. While he might not be the "ace" the team is looking for, he might be the next best thing.
We also noted earlier this month that the Washington Nationals might be in the mix.
All that said, the Braves are probably still the favorite for Glavine. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently expressed near certainty that the Braves would sign him.