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Perrotto’s Latest: Dye, Jenks, Werth, Madson

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THURSDAY: David Lennon of Newsday talked to a source who said there’s "nothing there" in regard to the rumor of a Dye and Jenks to the Mets blockbuster. Joel Sherman talked to a few Mets officials who called the rumor nonsense.  Sherman says Martinez is "all but untouchable."

WEDNESDAY: Let’s dig into the latest column from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus.

  • Perrotto speaks of whispers of a possible White Sox-Mets blockbuster.  The Mets would receive Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks and the White Sox would receive Fernando Martinez among others.
  • Regarding the Orioles’ possible involvement in a trade that would send Jake Peavy to the Cubs, Perrotto says Baltimore seeks Ronny Cedeno and Felix Pie from Chicago.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has spoken to outfielder Jayson Werth and setup man Ryan Madson about contract extensions.  Madson might be a tough one as he’s represented by Scott Boras (who recently compared him to Mariano Rivera).  Both players are under team control for one more season.
  • The Red Sox are considering free agents Willie Bloomquist, Jay Payton, and Mark Loretta as possible bench additions.  A return to Boston seems to be Payton’s preference.
  • Perrotto believes the only player seriously considering accepting arbitration is Darren Oliver.  Oliver’s already seen the Reds drop out of the mix due to the draft pick price.
  • Perrotto says the Tigers and Orioles are showing interest in Jack Wilson, while the Dodgers have backed off.

Giants Sign Renteria?

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11:24pm: Henry Schulman says Renteria took a physical for the Giants today and "a deal appears to be done."

9:26pm: Renteria’s (other?) agent Jeff Lane told MLB.com’s Chris Haft, "We’re very close to a deal."

7:51pm: Jon Paul Morosi also talked to Meister, who said the Giants are making "substantial progress" toward signing Renteria.  Henry Schulman gets the vibe the Giants might announce a deal with him tomorrow.

4:49pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Giants asked the Brewers about J.J. Hardy, but Milwaukee doesn’t want to move him. So Brian Sabean moved on to Cantu.

4:12pm: Brian Sabean told reporters he hopes to sign a free agent infielder later this week.

3:42pm: Jon Heyman chimes in; he also thinks a two-year deal could be completed soon.  Heyman says the Giants have yet to decide whether to target C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, or Manny Ramirez.  Are we seeing a shift back to the win-now plan in San Francisco?

1:53pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talked to Renteria’s agent Barry Meister, who said they’re "much, much closer" to a deal with the Giants but "nothing is done."  Crasnick’s source says it could be in the two-year, $18MM range.

12:58pm: According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, the Giants "believe they are closing in on signing shortstop Edgar Renteria."  Brown also says the Giants have discussed trading Jonathan Sanchez to the Marlins for Jorge Cantu.  That’d be a steal for the Marlins, who plucked Cantu off the scrap heap in January for a half-million bucks.

Brown adds that the Cubs remain in the mix for Jake Peavy, and they have two possible matches for a third team in the deal (the Orioles being one).

Stark’s Latest: Sabathia, Furcal, Peavy

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A few notes from Jayson Stark’s latest blog post…

  • Stark believes the possibility of C.C. Sabathia signing with the Giants is alive, and the Giants have talked to the pitcher’s agent.  Such a signing might compel Brian Sabean to remove Matt Cain’s "untouchable" tag, in Stark’s opinion.  Earlier today Ken Rosenthal suggested the Giants were a dark horse for C.C.  Also, Sabathia’s wife Amber prefers the Giants according to George King.
  • The Giants offered three years to Rafael Furcal.  He wants four, so they switched their attention to Edgar Renteria.  The Giants want a shorter-term deal so their own prospects can take over within a few years.
  • Stark notes that the recent Jake Peavy-Cubs rumors do not seem to be coming out of Chicago.  He suggests those talks may not be active, partially because the Cubs are in payroll limbo til their sale goes through.
  • The Twins and Dodgers have two year offers out to Casey Blake.  Whichever team blinks and adds a third year can get him.

Nationals Rumors: Dunn, Votto, Greinke

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ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talks about the Nationals in today’s column.  A few hot stove nuggets:

  • Crasnick talked to several agents and execs who just can’t see the Nationals ponying up $20MM+ per year for Mark Teixeira.
  • The Nats crave a lefthanded slugging first baseman, so Adam Dunn could fit the bill.  Crasnick talked to a couple of officials who suggested Dunn might have to settle in the three-year, $36MM range.  However, the Nationals may have to pay a premium to convince any prominent free agent to sign.
  • Crasnick says the Nationals have explored many interesting names: Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, James Loney, Joey Votto, and Zack Greinke.  They may not have the young talent to pull off that kind of deal though.
  • The Nats are "looking forward to the opportunity" to select Scott Boras client Stephen Strasburg in next June’s draft.

Tigers Interested In Laird

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According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers continue to have interest in Rangers catcher Gerald Laird.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News says the Tigers "seem to have the most ardent interest" in Laird, and a trade could save Texas nearly $3MM.  Grant believes the Reds are another possibility; would they trade Homer Bailey for him?  Laird, a Scott Boras client, is under team control for two more seasons.

Morosi says the Tigers also like Miguel Montero of the D’Backs, but the teams don’t seem to match up well.  Another note – Morosi says the Tigers are not interested in Padres shortstop Khalil Greene.

Javier Vazquez Trade Reactions

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The word yesterday evening was that the Braves acquired starter Javier Vazquez and lefty reliever Boone Logan for Tyler Flowers, Brent Lillibridge, Jon Gilmore, and Santos Rodriguez (MLB.com’s Mark Bowman confirms the prospects).  Look for the trade to become official tommorrow.  Reactions to the deal:

  • South Side Sox expects a couple of accompanying moves: the trade of Jermaine Dye for a young starter and the signing of an affordable free agent outfielder.  They don’t see the White Sox benefitting from the Vazquez trade in 2009, but at least Ozzie cleared out his doghouse.
  • Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the Sox will still have power if Dye is dealt.  Gonzales also provides info on the prospects received for Vazquez.
  • Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the White Sox are also willing to trade Paul Konerko and Jim Thome.
  • Sox Machine provides a more in-depth look at the prospects.
  • From the Braves’ point of view, J.C. Bradbury sees this as a solid win-now move that won’t affect the ’09 team.
  • Ken Davidoff says the Braves will now have less of a need for Jake Peavy or A.J. Burnett.  I think, though, that they’ll still aggressively try to acquire one of the two.  Most of the rumored packages for Peavy didn’t involve the prospects sent to Chicago, with the possible exception of Flowers.
  • Dave Cameron notes Vazquez’s career-long underachievement.  This always baffled me when trying to do fantasy baseball projections based on component stats.

Reagins Debunks Sabathia Rumors

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MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer talked to Angels GM Tony Reagins, who said Mark Teixeira remains the team’s top priority (and they’re not concerned about his knee).  Reagins said there was nothing to reports of the Halos shifting their focus to C.C. Sabathia.  The Angels have also not made a play for Jake Peavy.

The original report on the Angels interest in Sabathia suggested Tex remained the priority, though Danny Knobler had said the Halos dropped their pursuit of Tex.

Braves Rumors: Hampton, Lowe, Burnett

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Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest on the Braves in a new blog post.

  • The Braves never intended Mike Hampton to be one of the two front-rotation starters they acquire this winter, so his rejection of their offer doesn’t affect their plans much.
  • O’Brien notes that he’s heard no indications that the Braves are actively pursuing Derek Lowe.  A.J. Burnett seems to be their top target, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jake Peavy talks revived at the Winter Meetings.
  • The Braves made trade inquiries on Roy Oswalt and Matt Cain and "haven’t received favorable replies in those pursuits."
  • Free agents Ben Sheets and Randy Johnson don’t seem to be on the radar due to concerns over their reliability.
  • The Braves continue to seek a power bat, with Ryan Ludwick and Jermaine Dye the two targets mentioned in recent weeks.

Japanese Links: Kawakami, Tazawa

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A few links today involving Japanese players…

  • Michael Silverman and Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald wrote yesterday that the Red Sox have scouted Kenshin Kawakami multiple times and he has interest in pitching for them.  Kawakami figures to receive multiple bids, assuming he commits to MLB first.
  • ESPN’s Keith Law says signing Junichi Tazawa was a "no-brainer" for the Red Sox.  Law figures Tazawa will start in Double A and could reach the Majors in ’09.
  • Aaron Shinsano of East Windup Chronicle respectfully disagrees; he doesn’t believe Tazawa is ready for Double A.  Shinsano suggests marketing played a part in the signing, as Tazawa is not a first-round talent.
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says Tazawa’s contract "does not seem right" and the Blue Jays are wise to stay out of the Japanese market.
  • Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker translates a Yahoo Japan article that indicates the Padres, White Sox, Indians, and Brewers will stay out of the Japanese free agent market.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday

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8:42pm: Towers gave Tom Krasovic a Peavy update.  Towers believes that the Braves’ unwillingness to grant Peavy a no-trade clause remains on obstacle in that potential match.  Plus, a Krasovic source wonders whether Peavy would even OK a trade to Atlanta.

Krasovic adds that the Cubs and Padres discussed a 5-for-1 deal, where the Orioles would be involved to route more pitching to San Diego.  However, Towers noted the Cubs’ current payroll concerns.

10:35am: Murray Chass snagged a good quote from Padres GM Kevin Towers regarding the Jake Peavy trade talks:

"I would say the Cubs are still in it.  Lou said they’re not in it, but their general manager says they’re in it. The Dodgers have bigger fish to fry. That’s not to say they might not circle back later in the winter. Our primary goal is to trade Peavy."

One Cubs source spoke of a "two-year window to win," according to Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune.  Chass quotes Towers as seeking established players back for Peavy, which is why the Cubs would need to get a third team involved.  Van Dyck says the Cubs hope to hang on to Mike Fontenot and Sean Marshall.

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