Padres Rumors

Odds and Ends: Pudge, Ohman, Manny

By Tim Dierkes | November 3, 2008 at 11:47am CDT

Rounding up linkage for Monday…

The Jays claimed two players off waivers: shortstop Angel Sanchez and pitcher Kelvin Jimenez.
The Cubs and Nationals swapped minor leaguers. The Cubs sent pitcher Matt Avery to the Nats for another pitcher named Ryan Buchter.
Good stuff from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick – he surveyed 15 front-office people on the top stories of the offseason.
One of a million conversations taking place at the GM meetings: Brian Cashman chatting with Walt Jocketty.
Tony Massarotti’s top five lies told during free agency.
Ken Davidoff names his top ten GMs.
Joe Posnanski on the Mike Jacobs–Leo Nunez trade.
River Ave. Blues explains why the Yankees should offer arbitration to Ivan Rodriguez.
The official list of the 191 players eligible for free agency.
The Braves hope to re-sign free agents Will Ohman, Greg Norton, and John Smoltz. The Smoltz situation may not be resolved until January.
Tracy Ringolsby lists needs for every team.
The Tigers signed an independent league lefty named Kris Regas to a minor league deal.
John Shea says the Giants and A’s will consider the big-name free agent sluggers this winter.
Padres GM Kevin Towers doesn’t see Manny Ramirez signing until Christmas time. He sees the New York and L.A. teams as suitors.
Joe Sheehan proposes five radical offseason moves.
The Cubs signed a couple of Korean players: catcher/outfielder Jae-hoon Ha and pitcher Soo-min Jung.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy, Burnett, Sabathia

By Tim Dierkes | November 3, 2008 at 8:31am CDT

Let’s take a look at the latest column from Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports.

Don’t look for a Jake Peavy trade this week at the GM meetings, as the Padres haven’t found a match with Peavy’s five preferred teams.
A.J. Burnett’s agent should announce his client’s decision to opt out today. Rosenthal notes Burnett’s preference to sign near his Maryland home, with the Yankees and Red Sox as the most realistic possibilities.
Rosenthal believes the Brewers offered C.C. Sabathia $100MM over five years (rather than four). The Brewers can say they tried, but no one expects Sabathia to settle so far below his market value. Also, the Brewers will decide today on Mike Cameron’s $10MM option.
The Phillies’ areas of uncertainty: GM, left field, fifth starter.

Padres To Explore Peavy Deals With Cubs, Dodgers

By Tim Dierkes | October 31, 2008 at 8:52am CDT

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Padres intend to explore a possible Jake Peavy trade with the Cubs and Dodgers at next week’s GM meetings. Apparently Padres GM Kevin Towers would like to exhaust his possibilities with Peavy’s five preferred NL clubs before engaging others.

Rosenthal notes that the Cubs do not have the quality young pitching the Padres crave. They still have interest in Peavy, especially if they fail to re-sign Ryan Dempster.

The Dodgers aren’t keen on giving up Clayton Kershaw or James McDonald. Rosenthal believes the Dodgers have enough in-house pitching depth to buy out Brad Penny’s 2009 option.

If Towers moves on to negotiate with the Yankees, Peavy will complicate matters by demanding his contract be supplemented.

Odds and Ends: Yankees, Lowe, D’Backs

By Tim Dierkes | October 30, 2008 at 12:13pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Peter Abraham takes a look at the Yankees’ first base options. The Royals could match up on a trade, if the Yanks are willing to try an unproven player.
A pair of free agent bargains from Dave Cameron: Randy Johnson and Derek Lowe. What kind of salary will Lowe command?
Free agent reliever Will Ohman hopes to remain in Atlanta.
Braves GM Frank Wren has already talked to every team about his needs in left field and the rotation.
Nick Piecoro looks at the D’Backs’ offseason needs. Will there be room in the budget to make the necessary improvements?
The A’s have five days to decide on Alan Embree’s $3MM option, according to Susan Slusser. Embree profiles as a Type B free agent.
The Padres have ten days to decide between Brian Giles’ $9MM option and his $3MM buyout. It’s an easy call to exercise the option.

Dodgers Rumors: Manny, Furcal, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | October 30, 2008 at 9:36am CDT

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti talked to the media yesterday; here’s the latest.

Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News believes Colletti will pursue a competent backup catcher to allow more rest for Russell Martin. A decision is due on Gary Bennett’s $900K option within seven days.
So far this offseason, Colletti and Scott Boras have exchanged two voicemails. They’ll meet in person to discuss Manny Ramirez and other Boras clients (Derek Lowe, Greg Maddux, Andruw Jones, maybe Joe Crede) at next week’s GM meetings. Colletti will not put the other team needs on hold to deal with Manny.
Colletti has had preliminary talks with the agents for Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, and Nomar Garciaparra, while Jeff Kent is expected to retire.
Colletti intends to acquire a top of the line starting pitcher, but Jake Peavy is unlikely (the Dodgers would have to pay extra due to the same-division factor). Free agents Lowe and C.C. Sabathia may be considered. The Dodgers have seven days to decide on Brad Penny’s $9.25MM option versus the $2MM buyout.
The Dodgers would love to have Takashi Saito back, but the situation with his elbow injury is unclear.
Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones have expressed a desire to be traded through the media, but not formally to the Dodgers.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Teixeira, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | October 30, 2008 at 9:00am CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column yesterday; let’s take a look.

Rosenthal says the "expectation in some baseball circles" is that the Brewers will offer a four-year, $100MM contract to C.C. Sabathia. However, between the Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers he could probably do significantly better.
Mark Teixeira should draw interest from the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels. Rosenthal adds that Mike Lowell does not have a no-trade clause (I believe I wrote earlier that he did).
The Padres and Braves are at an impasse in the Jake Peavy talks, with the Padres seeking five players. The Braves don’t want to surrender Tommy Hanson, as Tom Krasovic reported Saturday.
Scott Boras is reportedly pitching Jason Varitek as the Tigers’ next catcher.
Rosenthal suggests that Manny Ramirez’s defense may keep NL teams away.

Odds and Ends: Rivera, Floyd, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | October 28, 2008 at 12:18pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

The Red Sox added pitcher Virgil Vasquez while losing infielder Gil Velazquez.
Dave Cameron has another free agent bargain: Juan Rivera.
The Astros made their first Taiwanese signing: 22 year-old righty reliever Chia-Jen Lo.
Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi hopes to try MLB eventually (but not in 2009).
Viva El Birdos figures the Cardinals will check in on Kenshin Kawakami.
Bud Selig has praise for Padres owner John Moores.
Rays Index passes along a report that Cliff Floyd’s injury could end his career. This could open up some free agent possibilities.
River Ave. Blues says the latest Jake Peavy news is the nail in the coffin for the Yankees.
MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince is not a big fan of the rumors.

Cubs Offseason Targets

By Tim Dierkes | October 28, 2008 at 9:12am CDT

Recently I wrote a Cubs Offseason Outlook, where many reasonable acquisition targets were discussed. If the Cubs re-sign Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood, they’ll be limited by payroll unless the salaries of Jason Marquis ($9.875MM) or Derrek Lee ($13MM) are moved.

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune names his possible Cubs targets: Brian Roberts, Adam Dunn, Jeremy Hermida, Mike Jacobs, Rafael Furcal, Jake Peavy, and Brian Fuentes. Some fun names in there, many of which could only be added if payroll space is created. Dunn would be an interesting choice for a regular right fielder, while Jacobs would represent a downgrade at first base.

The Cubs aren’t likely to add Peavy, especially if they re-sign Dempster. If you’d like to take the speculation to the next level nonetheless, Barry Rozner has ideas at the Daily Herald. With any trade scenario, it is always important to put yourself in the shoes of the other team and ask if it is truly the best deal for them.

Free Agent Situation For Peavy?

By Tim Dierkes | October 28, 2008 at 8:38am CDT

Interesting article from Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune last night. Krasovic talked to Jake Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod. Given Peavy’s full no-trade clause and below-market contract, Axelrod thinks it’s fair to compare this to a free agent situation. If trade talks stretch into the offseason, C.C. Sabathia’s new deal could come into play.

First things first, Peavy will need to be granted full no-trade powers upon any trade. But if he considers a trade outside of his five preferred teams, Sabathia’s salary will be relevant. Axelrod is implying that Peavy could accept a trade outside of his comfort zone, for the right price:

"If it is someplace where Jake is being asked to make massive change and someplace he may not really want to go, it may take more enticement to get him to agree."

Maybe this brings teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets into play. But if Peavy requires $20MM+ per year and a package of top prospects, he loses much of his appeal.

I imagine Axelrod’s goal is still to get Peavy to one of his five teams. But each scenario is flawed in some way, and Peavy might have to stay put unless he expands his options or three-team deals emerge. Axelrod’s comments may also serve to motivate a team like the Braves to try to get something done before open season on free agents begins.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Sunday

By Nat Boyle | October 26, 2008 at 11:55am CDT

Jake Peavy, on the block:

According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune, the Braves have told the Padres they will not deal Tommy Hanson in a package for Jake Peavy. This despite heavy scouting of Hanson by the Padres in recent days. MLBTR touched on this topic on Friday, but it seems the Braves are standing pat that even Peavy won’t loosen their grip on their prospects. If the Padres are putting something together with the Braves, it’s not likely to be structured around Hanson, or Jair Jurrjens, Jason Heyward and Julio Teheran for that matter. As MLBTR noted before, it could all be speculation from rival GMs.
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune brings us information from Baseball America: Peavy would waive his no trade clause to play for the Cubs. While Rogers notes there’s not much of a fit he suggests a package that includes a swap of Adrian Gonzalez and Derrek Lee. Intriguing, but far fetched.

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