Heyman’s Latest: Yankees
Jon Heyman chimes in with a few notes on the Yankees…
- Heyman confirms that the Yankees are accepting trade offers for Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher.
- The Yankees have "no way to trade" Hideki Matsui, noting that he is coming off a knee surgery and has a full no-trade clause.
- Heyman also says the Yankees will not trade Johnny Damon saying the team needs him to leadoff and play center field.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Reds Rumors: Swisher, Nady, Baldelli
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has a few notes from Walt Jocketty…
- Jocketty has talked with Brian Cashman of the Yankees "a lot" and that the Yankees are looking to move either Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady.
- The Reds remain interested in Rocco Baldelli, but "probably not" Ty Wigginton, noting that the Reds plan on keeping Edwin Encarnacion.
- The Reds did not sign Jerry Hairston Jr to be the everyday shortstop, noting that Alex Gonzalez is progressing well from his injury.
C. Trent Rosecrans of AM1530 also spoke with Jocketty and has these notes to add…
- Jocketty says the Reds are not being handcuffed by the economy.
- Jocketty said that he had spoken with the Yankees "a couple of weeks ago" but not recently.
- Jocketty spoke with Baldelli’s agent today speculating that Baldelli may prefer to stay in the American League.
- Jocketty would be fine going to camp with the group in place but that the Reds are still looking to upgrade the bench, preferably adding a player with some power.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Aurilia, Sweeney, Nady
Still more Tuesday links…
- The Giants and Rich Aurilia maintain mutual interest, though the Giants want to address the offense first.
- Mike Sweeney hopes to play this year, says MLB.com. Said Sweeney, "I want baseball to shut the door on me while I’m kicking and screaming." The Royals have not expressed interest.
- Much is being made of Mark Teixeira and his wife choosing the Yankees on December 12th.
- According to ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand, the Mets have a face-to-face meeting scheduled with Scott Boras to discuss Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe (hat tip to MetsBlog).
- John Fay guesses the Reds "have at least explored trading for Xavier Nady."
- Paul DePodesta on the Padres’ recent non-roster signings.
- Aging corner-type veterans aren’t doing well, according to Keith Law, Dave Cameron, and Tom Verducci.
Nationals Rumors: Wolf, Dunn, Hudson
Rounding up Nationals rumors…
- According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals are interested in free agent lefty starter Randy Wolf. The Mets and Dodgers are also known to be in on him, while we haven’t heard much about the Brewers, Cardinals, or Orioles lately.
- The Washington Post’s Chico Harlan says the Nats want to acquire players who will still be in their primes in 2010 or 2011. Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson make sense, at the right price.
- The Nationals aren’t interested in Xavier Nady and don’t believe they "have a legitimate shot at trading for Nick Swisher."
- Odalis Perez remains under consideration, but isn’t a priority.
Odds and Ends: Saito, Teixeira, LaRoche
More Tuesday links…
- Over at RotoAuthority, David Chase examines more of the optimistic Spring Training reports of ’08. Particularly interesting: did pitchers follow up on their intention to use a new pitch?
- The Marlins’ Scott Proctor signing is official. Also, Chan Ho Park with the Phillies.
- Carl Pohlad’s three sons will take over for their father.
- McCovey Chronicles trade idea: Randy Winn for Xavier Nady.
- Add Randy Choate to the minor league deals for the Rays.
- Economist J.C. Bradbury says "the economic downturn cannot explain the magnitude of Pat Burrell‘s discount." He believes teams are exaggerating the recession effect.
- Keith Law says the risk in giving Milton Bradley a three-year deal "seems excessive" but notes that Bradley is an excellent hitter and above-average defender.
- Patrick Newman learned that Takashi Saito received almost ten offers last month, including proposals from the Cardinals and Red Sox. Newman also has new reports of various minor league-level Japanese players who want to join MLB organizations.
- Tony Massarotti has all kinds of questions about Boston’s failure to sign Mark Teixeira. Craig Calcaterra offers analysis on the team’s Boras relationship. Check out stuff from today’s Yankees press conference here and here.
- Sox Machine on how Jim Thome staying healthy messed up Ken Williams’ plans.
- Dejan Kovacevic says Adam LaRoche would like to stay in Pittsburgh past ’09, but the team is not considering an extension.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Swisher, Nady, Kapler, Zaun
The latest from Ken Rosenthal.
- A recent Ned Colletti-Scott Boras conversation about Manny Ramirez didn’t result in progress. Boras still has his sights on at least $100MM over four years. Rosenthal adds that Manny is "cool to the idea of playing in San Francisco."
- Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady are drawing "significant interest." Rosenthal speculates that the Giants, Braves, or Pirates would make sense.
- The door is not closed with the Yankees and Andy Pettitte. Pettitte recently rejected the Yanks’ one-year, $10MM offer.
- Some Mets people prefer Oliver Perez to Derek Lowe. The Braves have yet to speak to Boras about Lowe, while the Brewers and Phillies have financial concerns about fitting him in.
- Trevor Hoffman has a West Coast preference (the Dodgers or maybe a Padres reconciliation) but interest with the Brewers is mutual. Other relievers on the Dodgers’ radar: Juan Cruz, Guillermo Mota, and Dennys Reyes.
- Brian Fuentes‘ agent had serious talks with the Yankees, but no offer was made. Fuentes would’ve been Mariano Rivera‘s set-up man and perhaps taken over upon his retirement.
- Rosenthal notes that MLB kicked in a small part of the $10MM owed to Sidney Ponson from their luxury tax pool, which is not uncommon.
- If they can afford it, the Rays would like to sign Gabe Kapler.
- The Orioles, Red Sox, and A’s are interested in Gregg Zaun.
- Perhaps because of the cool market for his services, Orlando Cabrera is willing to play second base. The Yankees did not have interest.
- That Gavin Floyd for Brian Roberts rumor "seemingly arose from internal discussions among Orioles officials."
Giants Will Listen To Proposals Involving Sanchez
Now that the San Francisco Giants have lefty veteran Randy Johnson locked up, they are willing to listen to offers involving Jonathan Sanchez. Chris Haft of MLB.com asked Giants general manager Brian Sabean about the possibility after signing Johnson.
From Haft:
“We’re going to have to be open-minded,” Sabean said, although he repeated that he wouldn’t obtain a player who’s eligible for free agency after 2009.
The Giants have been listed as one of the teams who might be a good trade partner with the New York Yankees for a corner outfielder, in particular Xavier Nady, but he doesn’t meet Sabean’s requirement regarding free agency. Nady’s contract ends after the ’09 season.
Yankees Outfield Surplus
According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News:
The Yankees are looking to move two from a group of outfielders of Xavier Nady, Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui. The Angels, Texas, Oakland and Atlanta are considered to have interest.
Joel Sherman has noted that the Braves attempted to acquire Swisher from the White Sox before the Yankees did. The Angels seem content with their outfield. Sherman and Ringolsby both seem to think the Yanks prefer to retain Johnny Damon.
Sherman cautioned that the "glut of hitters" remaining on the free agent market will make it more difficult for the Yankees to move one of their corner guys. From the emails I receive, Yankees fans would most like to see Matsui dealt. Perhaps he will be, but I believe his current trade value is negative. 34 years old, full no-trade clause, $13MM salary in ’09, September knee surgery and a questionable ability to play the outfield.
Trading Partners For The Yankees
Reports are all over the place about the Yankees being too stocked with corner outfielders. The four names that continue to surface are Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon. Here’s a list of stories about potential trading partners:
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Joel Sherman of the N.Y. Post thinks the Angels, Rays, Rangers and A’s could be possibilities, but he reminds us that there still are a number of similar-style hitters on the free agent market.
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MLB.com writer Chris Haft thinks the San Francisco Giants could be a good suitor for Xavier Nady, who grew up in the Bay area.
Mark Teixeira Signing Reactions
Here’s a quick look at some of the reactions to the Mark Teixeira signing. If you guys find any you find particularly remarkable, hit me up (josephp, Shift+2, riveraveblues dot com) and I’ll add it if it adds something. But for now:
- RotoAuthority has the fantasy analysis.
- Interesting angle from Joel Sherman – he says the team’s poor choice of passing on Carlos Beltran taught them to sign Teixeira now. He says they’d prefer to trade Hideki Matsui, among their outfield surplus. The Braves like Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio suggests a salary cap for the sport.
- Gordon Edes calls this a "staggering blow" to the Red Sox and Angels. I’m not sure I would go that far, at least in the case of the Angels. That could be my bias speaking, though.
- Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News notes the long-term implications of the deal. He wonders if Teixeira is really a $20 million player (or, rather, a $22.5 million player) and calls into question committing eight years to a position that serves as a transition for older players.
- Roch Kubatko got some quotes from Andy MacPhail. "We can’t devote that many resources to one player, no matter where he’s from," was the telling line. Roch wonders if the Orioles were even given a chance to counter the Yankees offer.
- Jeff Zrebiec backs up Roch. Boras didn’t give the Orioles a chance to counter. He instead informed MacPhail that Teixeira was going in another direction.
- Peter Abraham has learned a lesson from this. "This will also teach me not to believe anything Cashman says about living under a budget."
- Tony Massarotti isn’t pleased with how this turned out. "Instead, the Sox lost Teixeira for what amounted to about $10-$15 million over eight years, which is chump change for a franchise with an estimated value (including NESN and Fenway Park) or somewhere in the range of $1 billion." He notes also that the Sox had plenty of contracts coming off the books, much like the Yankees.
- Over on my home turf, Ben notes the obvious: "What this Teixeira signing indicates though is that a new generation of Steinbrenners is willing to spend what it takes to win just like George."
- Keith Law on the signing: "Signing three of the top four free agents on the market is a sign that they have excellent taste, even if they don’t seem to have a credit limit."