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Padres May Learn Today About Fukudome Offer

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Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune has a new column up, chock full of Padres rumors.  Let’s discuss.

  • The Padres have a three-year offer out to Kosuke Fukudome that may make him the highest paid Padre ever, aside from Jake Peavy.  Kevin Towers expects to get an answer today from Fukudome’s agent, Joe Urbon.  Urbon basically said that geography would only come into play if offers from competing teams were similar.  Towers admitted he sees the Cubs as the lead horse in this race.
  • San Diego has a strong need for an outfielder or two, especially now that Milton Bradley went to the Rangers for an extra million bucks.  There was some sentiment from Bradley that the Padres were glad they were outbid, maybe even planned it that way.  It would seem more clever if they’d offered Bradley arbitration, though. 
  • Mike Cameron, Geoff Jenkins, and Jason Bay remain on Towers’ radar as alternatives to Fukudome.  Krasovic recently suggested the Reds could jump in on Cameron if they trade Josh Hamilton.

Odds And Ends: Fassero, Hansen, Petco

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Couple of player-related items to share, though they’re not really rumors. Anyway:

–Joe

Odds and Ends: Fukudome, Mahay, Santana

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Rounding up some odds and ends for you…

  • I’d read that Akinori Otsuka recommended the Padres to Kosuke Fukudome, kind of glossed over the fact.  But Jamey Newberg has is rightly disappointed in the Rangers reliever.  After all, the Rangers have Fukudome in their sights, and Otsuka plays for the Rangers.
  • A good source tells me the Yankees believe they are in the lead for Ron Mahay, and think it can be done this upcoming week.  If it’s true that Mahay has narrowed his choices to the Yanks and Royals, and the Royals have little interest, this makes sense.
  • MetsBlog reports that Johan Santana prefers to pitch for the Mets.  He likes the idea of moving to the NL.

Yanks Interested In Kazuo Fukumori

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31 year-old Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori is drawing plenty of interest – 10 teams have inquired, if you believe his agent.  A new interested party has been revealed – the Yankees.  They met with Alan Nero on Wednesday.  Fukumori wants a two-year deal.

Ken Davidoff’s article says the Padres and Rays are also in the mix.  The Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox are others who have been connected.  The Rockies will pass on Fukumori because of concerns over his elbow.  East Windup Chronicle profiled Fukumori here.  A scout Davidoff talked to saw him as a sixth or seventh inning guy; he didn’t seem thrilled.

Rangers Like Patterson, Ethier, Hamilton, Fukudome

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According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers are targeting various young outfielders.

  • Corey Patterson, 28, is a free agent and Scott Boras client.  He’s looking for multiple years while the Rangers only want to give one.  His talent might tantalize somebody, though he hit just .269/.304/.386 this year.  He’s shown in the past that he can hit like a league average CF and play plus defense, so he could be a bargain.  Patterson reversed his platoon split this year, hitting lefties pretty well.  He’s an Atlanta native; maybe the Braves would be a match.
  • Andre Ethier, 26 in April, is expendable now that the Dodgers have four outfielders.  His career line of .295/.357/.464 is solid, though that is average for an AL right fielder.  The Dodgers may opt to move Juan Pierre instead, if they can find a taker.  The Dodgers previously had interest in Rangers reliever Joaquin Benoit, according to Sullivan.  The Rangers would have competition from the Rays on Ethier.
  • Josh Hamilton, 27 in May, could be moved by the Reds for a starting pitcher.  Hamilton was incredible in 300 ABs for the Reds this year in his MLB debut, despite several years off and only 89 ABs above A ball.  That’s #1 pick talent.  He dealt with wrist, hamstring, and stomach problems this year however.  Sullivan says the Reds would want Edinson Volquez for him; there was talk of sending him to Florida for Dontrelle Willis previously.
  • Kosuke Fukudome, 31 in April, hasn’t decided yet whether to play in MLB.  Even limited by an elbow issue he hit .294/.443/.520 in Japan.
  • Milton Bradley, 30 in April, needs more time to decide on the Padres’ $4MM offer.  Coming off knee surgery, he might be interested in the Rangers’ open DH job.  Bradley is injury-prone, but he hit .306/.402/.545 in 209 ABs this year.
  • Others who have been mentioned: Coco Crisp, Rocco Baldelli, Jim Edmonds, and Juan Pierre.

Barrett Accepts Arbitration

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Catcher Michael Barrett has accepted the Padres’ offer for arbitration, taking him off the free agent market.  He should end up on a reasonable one year, $5MMish deal, and the Padres will explore trade options.

Ken Rosenthal names the Rays and Pirates as interested parties.  Barrett is a lot more attractive to those clubs now that they don’t have to surrender draft picks to get him.  Rosenthal says a mid-level prospect would do the trick.  At one point this winter the Marlins were said to have interest; Barrett would be their highest-paid player.

Odds and Ends: Sabathia, Loretta, Patterson

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You know the drill, here’s a roundup of some rumor nuggets.  I’ll update the  post continuously throughout the day.

Cubs Willing To Pay $12-15MM Per Year For Fukudome?

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UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 7:39pm: Sandy Alderson was on 1090 AM XX Sports Radio tonight. He said the Padres gave Fukudome one of the top two or three offers the team ever proposed.  An answer from Fukudome is expected tonight or tomorrow.

FROM 12-6-07 at 2:23pm:

According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, it "sounds like the Cubs might go as high as $12-15MM per year" for outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. He adds that Fukudome would have to be willing to take less money to play on the West Coast if he is to become a Padre.  Many players have before, so don’t go buying those Fukudome Cubs jerseys just yet.

Krasovic also has a note on Andruw Jones.  Apparently the only other concrete offer outside of the Dodgers was a two-year, $22MM one from the Royals.

ESPN’s Latest: Barrett, Ensberg, Mahay

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Who said the Meetings are over?  ESPN’s Peter Gammons, Buster Olney, and Jerry Crasnick are still running down rumors.

  • The Rays want Michael Barrett, according to Gammons.
  • Looks like Kevin Mench will be non-tendered.
  • Crasnick says the Marlins may go after Morgan Ensberg, who is also likely to be non-tendered.  The Phillies aren’t much interested in him.
  • Gammons says Ron Mahay is down to the Yanks or Royals.
  • He also says the Padres’ Milton Bradley signing won’t get in the way of their Kosuke Fukudome pursuit.
  • Olney backs up the rumor about the Giants’ interest in Hideki Matsui.

Padres Near Deal With Milton Bradley

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UPDAT, 12-6-07 at 12:11pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock says the deal is worth $3.5-4MM.

FROM 12-6-07 at 11:24am:

According to MLB.com’s Jim Molony, the Padres are nearing a one-year deal with outfielder Milton Bradley.  Bradley is expected to be ready to play in April; hopefully he can stay healthy and give the Padres 400-500 good ABs.  Bradley recently lost 15 pounds in an effort to reduce his injury risk.

Does this take the Padres out of the Kosuke Fukudome sweepstakes?  Probably not – the Padres won’t sign both Fukudome and Mike Cameron, but Bradley probably came cheaply.

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