Padres Eyeing Vizquel, Eckstein, Grudz
Tom Krasovic talked to Padres GM Kevin Towers, who is looking for help in the middle infield via the free agent market. Three players on the radar: Omar Vizquel, David Eckstein, and Mark Grudzielanek. Towers is looking for bargains. San Diego might be a tough sell for Grudzielanek, who left Kansas City to sign with a team with a better chance of reaching the World Series.
Daniel Cabrera Suitors
According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus, the Pirates top the list of suitors for Daniel Cabrera. He says the Brewers, Padres, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Nationals are also interested.
We learned yesterday that the Blue Jays are interested but haven’t made an offer yet. Cabrera’s agent has heard from about half the teams in baseball, and one even offered a multiyear deal.
Orioles Interested In Redding, Looper, Kawakami
9:55pm: Peter Schmuck agrees – Pavano is not on Baltimore’s radar. Instead, they like Redding, Braden Looper, and Kenshin Kawakami. He says they’ve extended an offer to Kawakami. Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker learned of two new Kawakami suitors today via a Sponichi report: the Twins and Giants. Interesting to see the Twins linked; signing Kawakami could give them the depth to make a trade.
3:07pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Orioles’ main focus is Redding rather than Pavano.
1:36pm: According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Orioles have been talking to agent Tom O’Connell, who represents free agent starters Tim Redding and Carl Pavano. Crasnick notes that the Padres have no interest in either pitcher. The Orioles are looking into tons of mid-rotation types.
Redding has drawn interest from the Mets and Rockies since being non-tendered Friday. Pavano has been linked to the Blue Jays, Marlins, and Red Sox.
Peavy Trade Unlikely This Winter
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune has a quote from Padres CEO Sandy Alderson regarding Jake Peavy:
"It’s likely Jake will be with us Opening Day. We said from the very beginning in connection with both of those possibilities that we would not make a trade unless it made baseball sense. We are no longer actively pursuing any trade for Jake, which is not to say someone won’t approach us."
Scioscia Asked Francona About Manny
Newsday’s Ken Davidoff passes along a report from The Sports Lodge radio show. According to Davidoff:
The skipper [Mike Scioscia] disputed the idea that he wouldn’t want Manny Ramirez on his team, and he said that the Angels have reached out to Red Sox manager Terry Francona to get a feel for what it’s like to have Manny on your team. I wonder how that conversation went?
Ken Rosenthal has quotes from Scioscia. Scott Boras is going to have to play a few teams off each other if he’s going to get three guaranteed years for Ramirez.
Davidoff also has a quote from Scioscia suggesting Jake Peavy "would be a good fit" for the Angels (and vice versa). Meanwhile, SI.com’s Jon Heyman explains why the Angels are still players for Mark Teixeira.
Braves Not Interested In Lowe, Peavy?
According to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, the Braves aren’t interested in available starters Jake Peavy and Derek Lowe. The market for Lowe seems to be shrinking, as Scott Boras sticks to demands for four or five years at $16.5MM per (similar to A.J. Burnett‘s deal). Knobler says there’s still bad blood between the Braves and Padres over the Peavy talks.
It sounds like the Braves have turned to Kenshin Kawakami to complement their Javier Vazquez acquistion.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Hunsicker, Burrell
Links for Monday…
- According to the Newberg Report mailing list and CBSSports.com, the Rangers re-signed pitcher Doug Mathis to a minor league deal.
- Joe Nelson‘s been popular since being non-tendered – he’s heard from "at least 12-14 teams." Ruben Amaro Jr. said today the Phillies inquired on "20 or so" non-tendered players.
- Adam Everett‘s deal with the Tigers is official – $1MM plus incentives.
- MLB.com’s Barry Bloom spoke to Padres owner John Moores.
- Richard Justice doesn’t think Drayton McLane would ask Ed Wade to trade Roy Oswalt, but he could see Oswalt requesting a trade.
- Dave Sheinin says nothing has happened with Mark Teixeira since the Winter Meetings ended, and it’s no coincidence that we haven’t heard much about offers from the Red Sox or Yankees. Michael Silverman says Boston’s eventual offer to Tex will easily be a record for this ownership group. He guesses eight years in the $145-175MM range, noting that the Red Sox do not like to have players signed beyond age 36.
- Buster Olney says the Orioles and Nationals bidding on Tex is "nothing less than lunacy."
- Gerry Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at Jonathan Sanchez.
- George King says Kenny Lofton attempted to dissuade C.C. Sabathia from signing with the Yankees.
- Ken Davidoff says it seems that the Yankees will avoid Scott Boras this offseason.
- Steve Serby did a Q&A with Omar Minaya, learning details of Minaya’s Winter Meetings dealings.
- Pat Burrell says he never received a formal offer from the Phillies. His replacement, Raul Ibanez, will receive three years and $31.5MM.
Why The Braves-Peavy Trade Fell Apart
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune had an article yesterday involving a couple of failed Padres trades.
Krasovic says the Padres and Braves were discussing a 4-for-1 Jake Peavy deal in November. Yunel Escobar and Gorkys Hernadez were agreed upon. The conflict came as the Padres wanted Charlie Morton over Jo-Jo Reyes as well as Jeff Locke or Tyler Flowers over Blaine Boyer. To me that gap looks pretty sizeable, so maybe the trade was never close. At this point it seems like the Braves could end up with Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami as their rotation upgrades. They’ve reportedly made Escobar unavailable, leading Dan Hayes of the North County Times to suggest the Braves would have to remove Tommy Hanson‘s apparent "untouchable" tag to get Peavy. Everything I’ve read about Hanson has said the Braves are adamant about keeping him.
Krasovic also says the Giants made a run at shortstop Khalil Greene before he was dealt to the Cardinals.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Saturday
Jake Peavy‘s agent Barry Axelrod explains his client’s preferences:
"Jake has a strong preference to stay in the National League. If Jake’s ever going to accept anything to the American League – and I don’t want this to be taken wrong – I can safely say that it’s going to be the Yankees or Red Sox or maybe the Angels. Those teams are going to be in contention and are going to spend money. If there were circumstances where he would be asked to go to the AL, kicking and screaming, those are the three places."
Also, Padres GM Kevin Towers revealed in a radio interview that the Angels asked about a Peavy-Adrian Gonzalez package deal, but the Padres don’t want to trade Gonzalez. As a baseball fan, I like it when Towers reveals things like this. It must be incredibly frustrating for rival GMs though.
Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Max Ramirez, Lowell
Links for Friday…
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon lost some dough.
- The Red Sox expressed interest in Kenshin Kawakami yesterday. Michael Silverman says Kawakami is expected to choose a team and sign in January (the Orioles are also interested).
- John Perrotto says the Marlins like Max Ramirez and are willing to trade pitching prospect Ryan Tucker.
- Bernie Williams will play winter ball in preparation for the World Baseball Classic.
- Paul Sullivan says Cubs manager Lou Piniella was upset at the thought of losing Mark DeRosa.
- Rany Jazayerli weighs in on the Royals’ signing of Kyle Farnsworth. Joe Posnanski talks about Farnsworth and many other topics.
- Andrew Baggarly says the Giants are not interested in Mike Lowell.
- Bob Elliott says the Blue Jays had an agreement to pay the Braves to take Everth Cabrera seventh in the Rule 5 draft, but the Padres picked him third.