Olney: Young Starters On Trade Market
ESPN’s Buster Olney names three young starting pitchers who might be available this winter: Jake Peavy, Zack Greinke, Matt Cain, and Edwin Jackson.
Peavy is 27; his trade value is off the charts. He’s under contract for the next four seasons at a below-market $59MM total. In 2013, his $22MM club option could be seen as a discount as well – remember when A.J. Burnett at $11MM a year was crazy? The A’s received a six-prospect bounty for three years of Dan Haren; Peavy suitors will have to top that. Peavy will also need to be compensated to waive his no-trade clause.
Greinke would require a package of players rivaling return the Orioles received for Erik Bedard. Middle infield, catcher, and center field could be areas the Royals look to address.
It’d be three years of Cain, so put his price somewhere between Greinke and Peavy. Jackson is also under team control for three years, but he’d be the easiest to acquire of the four.
Odds And Ends: Mientkiewicz, Michaels, Greinke, Soria, Scheppers
Some links for Saturday lunch, I’ll add some more as the day progresses:
- The Mariners may sign the first woman general manager, Dodger’s assistant GM Kim Ng.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says the team will approach Doug Mientkiewicz and Jason Michaels about resigning with the club, but has yet to do so.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star ruffled some feathers by quoting a scout on the possibility of the Royals trading Joakim Soria and Zach Greinke. The discussion devolved into a debate on whether to move Soria to the rotation.
- A Tanner Scheppers sighting: The Pirates draft pick has signed with the St. Paul Saints of the Independent Northern League.
- Tigers’ owner Mike Ilitch hasn’t set (yet) a payroll limit for 2009. Along with the Mets, the Tigers had the second largest payroll behind the Yankees.
- Grant at the McCovey Chronicles opens up a can of worms: On trading Matt Cain.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here: alexo05 (at) umpbump [dot] com.
Odds and Ends: Patterson, Lowry, Alvarez
Today’s linkage…
- Brewers fans, act quickly to snag free tickets to tonight’s game courtesy of Eric Gagne. Nice gesture.
- Of course Ned Colletti wants to re-sign Manny Ramirez. It’s just a question of dollars and years. Does Manny get the rumored 4/100 he might desire?
- The Jays locked manager Cito Gaston up through 2010.
- Richard Griffin says the Blue Jays will be better for it if they lose A.J. Burnett. Meanwhile, River Ave. Blues is open to the idea of the Yankees signing him.
- No, Corey Patterson is not dating Dusty Baker’s daughter. And Baker says he wasn’t behind the signing, either.
- The Reds might not be in the market for a catcher this winter, if they go with Ryan Hanigan as the starter in ’09.
- The Mariners officially founded the 100/100 club.
- Peter Abraham sees the Yankees going with Brett Gardner as the center fielder in 2009. Peter Gammons is "convinced he is going to be an everyday center fielder."
- Sam Mellinger discusses a way to drastically shake up the Royals: trade both Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria for loads of young, cheap players. As he notes, the strategy could work out but might cause a fan revolt.
- Andrew Baggarly wonders if Noah Lowry‘s injury problems could prevent a Matt Cain trade. Also, Baggarly sees a non-tender in Kevin Correia‘s future.
- Frank Coonelly suggested Pedro Alvarez‘s new deal is comparable in value to the original. Scott Boras then jumped on the conference call to say it was a favorable change, and much different from the original. Additionally, Coonelly contacted Baseball America’s Jim Callis to dispute the idea of a premeditated plan to negotiate with Alvarez after the deadline.
- The Marlins will focus on improving their defense this winter.
Perrotto’s Latest: Royals, Ibanez, Rauch, Gregg
It’s Sunday, which means that John Perrotto has his Every Given Sunday column up over at Baseball Prospectus. Here’s the highlights…
- Royals GM Dayton Moore will likely make a big splash in the free agent market once again. Two years ago, he signed Gil Meche to a five-year, $55MM deal. Last year, he signed Jose Guillen to a three-year, $36MM contract. This year, his big target appears to be Rafael Furcal, which would allow the Royals to move Mike Aviles to second base. Moore is also believed to be willing to trade anyone on the team with the exceptions of Meche, Zack Greinke, and Joakim Soria.
- Raul Ibanez isn’t likely to be back with the Mariners as a free agent next season. Perrotto feels that Ibanez is a good bet to become the Rays’ designated hitter for 2009.
- The Diamondbacks originally wanted to use Jon Rauch as their closer for 2009 and let Brandon Lyon leave through free agency. Rauch’s recent string of rough outings has them reconsidering that train of thought.
- The Marlins will try to trade Kevin Gregg this offseason, and will likely non-tender him if they don’t find match.
- The Braves are looking to add two starters for the 2009 campaign. General manager Frank Wren has traveled overseas to scout Japanese pitchers Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami already this year.
- The Nationals have a crowded situation at first base with both Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young under contract, but they’ll still be looking to improve at the position in the offseason.
Odds and Ends: Pettitte, Hampton, Tazawa, Blalock
Let’s round ’em up…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Andy Pettitte seems to want to play next year, but Peter Abraham believes he may have to take a pay cut.
- Gerry Fraley writes about the Rockies and Mike Hampton. It’s safe to rule out a return to Colorado for Hampton, who is currently auditioning for his next team.
- The Royals dismissed their scouting director Deric Ladnier, offering him another position in the organization. Craig Brown reflects on Ladnier’s tenure.
- More Royals linkage: Rany Jazayerli defends the Gil Meche signing and implores the team to lock up Zack Greinke this winter. Jazayerli would also like the team to pick up knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, recently designated for assignment by the White Sox.
- Patrick Newman continues to update us on Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa, who is coveted by several MLB teams. If Tazawa starts a trend, an interesting debate could follow. Newman also has a running list of Japanese free agents for this winter.
- Bobby Valentine may be clashing with his boss over in Japan.
- Will the Rangers cut Hank Blalock loose, or exercise his $6.2MM option? Blalock’s ability to play third base remains a question mark, but he will try to improve his arm strength this winter.
- Neither the Pirates nor Pedro Alvarez‘s people will be present at today’s hearing. ESPN’s Buster Olney says Alvarez can’t win – he’s either villified in Pittsburgh or forced into next year’s draft. In the latter case, Alvarez could lose money down the line.
Odds and Ends: Eaton, Tazawa, Royals, Jays
Today’s links…
- SI.com’s Tom Verducci ranks the five best midseason deals of the past 25 years.
- Peter Abraham thinks the Yankees should stick with Robinson Cano.
- Pat Gillick says there’s a slight chance the Phils acquire a reliever this month. He was not able to acquire Kyle Farnsworth in August.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan doesn’t put much stock in the rumor that Nolan Ryan will clean house in Texas.
- Phillies GM Pat Gillick admitted signing Adam Eaton was a mistake. Many MLBTR readers thought so when the signing was finalized in November of ’06.
- The Red Sox hope to sign a Japanese amateur pitcher named Junichi Tazawa, which may not go over well with Nippon Professional Baseball.
- Gil Meche, Joakim Soria, and Zack Greinke are pretty much off-limits. Most other Royals are fair game in trade discussions. GM Dayton Moore intends to make changes this winter, and may also dive back into the free agent market.
- The Blue Jays have $15MM to spend, with needs at shortstop, first base/DH, and catcher. GM J.P. Ricciardi would prefer to fill those holes internally. Shysterball wonders why Ricciardi is talking about next year.
- Michael Rosenberg says Ivan Rodriguez is all about the money.
Sherman’s Latest: Yankees’ Off-Season Plans
Earlier this week Hank Steinbrenner promised changes this off-season for the Yankees. Today Joel Sherman of the New York Post speculates on what those changes could look like…
- Sources tell Sherman that Steinbrenner wants to make CC Sabathia the highest paid pitcher ever.
- Sherman thinks Shane Victorino would be a nice fit for the Yankees in center field.
- Some Yankees officials are toying with the idea of trading some of their young pitching if the Yankees do land Sabathia and another veteran such as AJ Burnett. Sherman thinks a player like Phil Hughes could be used to land a young center fielder or first baseman such as Joey Votto of the Reds.
- Sherman feels giving Mark Teixeira a 10-year deal would be a mistake.
- Sherman also wonders if Robinson Cano should be dangled this off-season in an attempt to land a starting pitcher like Zach Greinke, Chad Billingsley or Matt Cain.
- Sherman thinks the Yankees should offer Bobby Abreu arbitration in hopes of landing two draft picks, and says if Abreu accepts the arbitration it would not be a terrible thing, but would force somebody else to be moved.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Rangers Rumors: Laird, Greinke, Bonser, Masset
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has Rangers rumors for us today.
- Wilson sums up the suitors for catcher Gerald Laird: Yankees, Reds, Marlins, and Brewers. The Giants could also jump in if they trade Bengie Molina. Wilson heard that the Rangers are not shopping Laird, though.
- The Rangers inquired on three pitchers recently: Zack Greinke of the Royals, Boof Bonser of the Twins, and Nick Masset of the White Sox. Greinke would be near-impossible to pry loose, though Chris Davis would be an interesting offer.
Royals To Stand Pat
Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star doesn’t expect the Royals to move anyone before the deadline because all of their pieces are under contract beyond this season and/or integral to their plan to contend in the future.
The Royals 2-prospect pricetag is too steep for Jose Guillen who’s signed through 2010 and leads the team in HR and RBI. Gil Meche has a no-trade clause and even so, the Royals feel he’s a key piece to their future chances. Even though the team isn’t discussing any long term deals with him, Zack Greinke is under control through arbitration through 2010 and the Royals are in no rush there. David Dejesus‘ contract, at $14.3MM for the next 3 years, is too good to trade away. And Ron Mahay is under contract through next year and filling a void left by Jimmy Gobble who continues to get worse.
Mark Grudzielanek remains the only name the Royals could deal, but there doesn’t seem to be much demand. Writes Dutton,
"’It will probably have to be a need-based thing for somebody,’ a club official said. ‘Somebody loses a second baseman and really needs to go get one. Otherwise, I don’t see it happening.’"
Stark’s Latest: Burnett, Nady, Greinke, Burrell
FRIDAY: We have an update to Stark’s column – he is now saying that Burnett does have veto power over 15 teams.
THURSDAY: Let’s take a look at Jayson Stark’s latest over at ESPN.com.
- The Phillies and Yankees both made failed runs at CC Sabathia. The Phils wouldn’t include Carlos Carrasco or Lou Marson, while the Yanks insisted on a negotiating window. The Phils are looking at Erik Bedard and A.J. Burnett by default, while neither of those pitchers makes sense for the Yankees. The Yanks checked in on Aaron Harang, but that’s a moot point since he’s ailing.
- Despite the Dodgers’ run at Sabathia, they’re apparently not looking at other starters.
- Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that Burnett had veto power over 15 teams, but Stark’s source says it’s just a handful of teams. It’ll be tough to convince Burnett not to opt out of his contract after the season, unless he’s hurt.
- The Braves still haven’t made the buy/sell decision. If they buy, Xavier Nady is the top target. If they sell, Mark Teixeira is the best chip. Apparently Scott Boras is talking about $23MM per year for Tex this winter.
- The Giants are pretty clearly not trading Matt Cain.
- The Orioles, making a run at .500, don’t seem motivated to move George Sherrill or othe top veterans.
- The Brewers’ Plan B beyond Sabathia was Zack Greinke, rather than Rich Harden. Ken Rosenthal recently said the Royals were "decidedly uninterested in moving Greinke," however.
- Stark says it "wouldn’t be out of the question" for the Cubs to pursue a lefthanded starter like Randy Wolf, despite the Harden acquisition.
- Extension with the Phillies for Pat Burrell did not get very far.