Moorad, Moores Reach Agreement On Padres Sale
According to the AP, Jeff Moorad’s group reached an agreement to buy the Padres from John Moores. The deal should close by Opening Day, and the article suggests Sandy Alderson could be out. The San Diego Union-Tribune has more details.
Odds and Ends: Wieters, Varitek, Ohman
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- RotoAuthority explains why Matt Wieters is a good fantasy pick even if he doesn’t debut with the Orioles til mid-May.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis has the updated ’09 June draft order.
- Cristian Guzman was wise to sign a two-year, $16MM extension when he did, his agent tells MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.
- An agreement to sell the Padres to Jeff Moorad could be done by mid-month, says Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Jason Varitek doesn’t need to worry about regaining Type A status, says Rob Bradford of WEEI.
- Nothing appears imminent with the Phillies and Will Ohman, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News writes.
Padres Eyeing Livan Hernandez, Cliff Floyd
Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune talked to Padres GM Kevin Towers, who said last week he’s interested in starter Livan Hernandez and outfielder Cliff Floyd. The Padres are no longer targeting a $40MM payroll, so it seems they can afford to add a million or two for these two free agents. The Padres have two open spots in the rotation.
Hernandez, 34 in February, posted a 6.05 ERA and 3.35 K/9 in 180 innings last year for the Twins and Rockies. He earned $5MM. Floyd, 36, hit .268/.349/.455 in 284 plate appearances for the Rays last year; he suffered a slightly torn labrum in the World Series. He earned $2.75MM and had an ’09 option for the same amount declined in November.
Center adds that the Padres had free agent pitchers Brian Lawrence, Steve Trachsel, and Scott Elarton work out at Petco Park recently but decided not to invite them to Spring Training (Ben mentioned this on Saturday; just a reminder). Trachsel was designated for assignment by the Orioles in June of last year and was thought to be considering retirement.
Odds And Ends: Hill, Dye, Hinske, Fogg
Links for Saturday…
- Cameron Smith of the Washington Post thinks the Orioles should pull the trigger on a possible Rich Hill deal immediately.
- MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports that Jermaine Dye remains "unfazed" by all the trade rumors that have involved him this winter.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Dye doesn’t expect to return to the White Sox after 2009.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Eric Hinske attracted lots of interest. Hinske said eight teams showed "good interest" in him.
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post likes the Josh Fogg signing because of his clubhouse presence and his price.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune heard that the Padres will not offer a contract to Brian Lawrence, Steve Trachsel or Scott Elarton (hat tip to Buster Olney).
- Olney heard that the Blue Jays are looking for bargains to stock up their minor league system.
Stark On Greinke, Manny, Dunn, Swisher
The latest from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…
- The Cubs’ ownership situation is not close to the finish line, which is one reason the team won’t be acquiring Jake Peavy anytime soon.
- One source of Stark’s suggested Zack Greinke nearly left his current agent John Courtright of SFX for Scott Boras, a whisper I’d heard as well. But now Greinke is happy with his contract and agent.
- Free agents such as Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez could reasonably wait until March to sign. Not a bad thing for this website!
- Adam Dunn would like Manny to sign earlier, as he’s waiting to see what the Dodgers (his preferred team) do. The Nationals have been Dunn’s most aggressive suitor, the Orioles have mild interest, and the Braves have backed off.
- Stark questions the idea of talks for Manny heating up lately, since the Mets, Yankees, and Angels are out and the Giants are only conditionally interested.
- When Alex Rodriguez was a free agent last winter, Joe Torre advised the Dodgers against signing him.
- The Phillies would like to move Geoff Jenkins for a right-handed hitting outfielder, but Jenkins is paid too much. Jay Payton and Emil Brown are not on the Phillies’ radar; they still like Nomar Garciaparra.
- The Yankees are apparently "softening to the idea of trading Nick Swisher," with the Braves the top suitor.
Cubs-Peavy: Nothing Cooking
6:23pm: I just spoke to a source familiar with the Cubs’ thinking. Hopefully I can further douse the flames of the Peavy-Cubs rumors – the Cubs aren’t planning to restart the Peavy talks, and none of their recent trades for pitching were related to Peavy. Keep in mind that the team’s ownership situation is far from resolved. – Tim Dierkes
5:58pm: MLB.com’s Barry Bloom heard from Cubs assistant GM Randy Bush that the Cubs have had "no talks about Jake Peavy since they were well-documented during the Winter Meetings." However, this doesn’t mean that talks won’t restart.
Bush said the Cubs could go into Spring Training without further changes, but sounds open to adding players if they come at the right price.
5:16pm: In an ESPN.com video Buster Olney says, "at some point you can expect the Cubs and Padres will again start talking about a Peavy deal" now that the Cubs have added pitching in trades.
Earlier in the winter, the Padres wanted more young arms than the Cubs could offer. Since then, the Cubs added pitching to the organization in the Mark DeRosa deal and created flexibility by trading for Aaron Heilman.
The Cubs could structure a deal for Peavy around prospect Josh Vitters and young pitching.
Cubs Rumors: Bako, Looper, Wolf, Uribe
Fresh off scooping the Cubs’ acquisition of Aaron Heilman, ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine has more info about the team’s plans.
- Levine says the Cubs will sign backup catcher Paul Bako to a one-year, $750K deal once they clear a spot on the 40-man roster. The 2-for-1 Heilman trade takes care of that.
- The Cubs are still looking at Braden Looper and Randy Wolf if they aren’t able to reignite the Jake Peavy talks.
- The Cubs have Juan Uribe on the radar as a bench bat and backup infielder.
Padres In Search Of Left-Handed Bat
Padres GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com’s Corey Brock Tuesday that his club is in search of a veteran left-handed hitter.
"We’re waiting around until the first week of February," Towers said. In other words, something could go down early next week. Brad Wilkerson, Luis Gonzalez, Daryle Ward, Mark Sweeney and Doug Mientkiewicz are among the left-handed vets still on the market. Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu are also unsigned, but they’re undoubtedly out of the Padres’ price range.
Benson Works Out In Front Of Nine Teams
Free agent right-hander Kris Benson worked out Saturday for nine teams and demonstrated that he should be ready to compete for a job in Spring Training, MLB.com reports.
Agent Gregg Clifton said the throwing session “went well, and he showed teams that he’s ahead of schedule in getting ready for the ’09 season.”
The article only lists the Rockies as being there, though it does note that nine teams were in attendance. This post lists the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Indians and Cardinals as teams that planned to attend.
Benson, 34, missed the 2007 season because of surgery on his right shoulder. He spent last season in the minors with the Phillies. He is 68-73 with a 4.34 ERA in 195 career starts.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday
Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com believes a Chicago Cubs sale could catalyze a trade between the Cubs and the San Diego Padres — a trade that would include 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy heading to the Cubs.
Bloom notes that neither team has re-engaged the topic, but sources suggested the move looks like a matter of when, not if, based on various developments.
As part of the deal, San Diego could get Garrett Olson, the starting pitcher the Cubs just obtained from the Orioles in a trade for left fielder Felix Pie. The Padres had “identified” Olson as a possible component when the teams extensively talked during the Winter Meetings.
Though it may seem improbable for the ownership situation to get cemented by Opening Day (April 5), Commissioner Bud Selig said that baseball would work expeditiously to get it done by then, Bloom wrote.
A Peavy trade would address a priority for the Padres to acquire promising young prospects in return for expensive veteran players, Bloom added.
Peavy is owed $11MM for 2009. He is owed another $52MM in a deal that runs through 2012 and includes a club option for 2013. The option is for $22MM with a $4MM buyout.
Last season, Peavy went 10-11 with 166 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA. He also spent time on the disabled list.