Yanks Interested In Kazuo Fukumori
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
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
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
You know the drill, here’s a roundup of some rumor nuggets. I’ll update the post continuously throughout the day.
- Corey Patterson wants a multiyear deal, which probably isn’t something the Rangers want to do.
- The Indians met with C.C. Sabathia‘s agent on Thursday, but have yet to submit an extension proposal. That will happen this month, most likely.
- Check out how excited Pirates Rule 5 pick Evan Meek was. Pretty cool.
- The Astros expect Mark Loretta to accept their offer of arbitration. The deadline is midnight tonight for players to decide. Despite what Ed Wade says I doubt they really want a $4MM utility player.
- David Wells, Jon Lieber, and Brett Tomko are the types of names the Reds are considering. Tomko came up a Red but went to Seattle in the Griffey deal. Boomer is also a former Red.
- The Padres signed Shawn Estes, but it sounds like they’ve only made an offer to Milton Bradley.
- Andy MacPhail didn’t say no when asked whether he had interest in Eric Gagne and Octavio Dotel. Didn’t say yes, either.
Cubs Willing To Pay $12-15MM Per Year For Fukudome?
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
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
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.
Phillies Rumors: Iguchi, Inge, Silva, Ensberg
Sounds like there’s a whole lot of ‘nothin’ going on with the Phillies.
- As you know, the Phils are out on Hiroki Kuroda.
- Yesterday the Phillies made an offer and a second improved offer to Tadahito Iguchi. Iguchi is looking for a three-year deal for around the $16.5MM Kaz Matsui received.
- Todd Zolecki says the Phils have "kicked around" Brandon Inge‘s name; he’s definitely available. The general sentiment is that the Tigers would have to eat some of the $19.1MM owed to Inge over the next three seasons. Plus, the Phillies already tried the defense-first idea at third base.
- Talks with Mike Cameron went nowhere, as the Phillies didn’t want to consider a multiyear deal. Aaron Rowand is also a long shot. Not a very exciting Meetings for Phillies fans.
- Scott Lauber checks in this morning and says Carlos Silva would like to return to the Phillies. The interest isn’t mutual, however, if Silva continues to ask for four or five years.
- Lauber suggests Morgan Ensberg is a strong non-tender candidate and someone the Phils should look at.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Haren
Ken Rosenthal checks in with the latest buzz.
- The Astros might be "on the verge of a major deal." Rosenthal notes the availability of Chris Burke and Luke Scott plus the team’s interest in Damaso Marte. He also says some clubs are after Houston’s young pitching. Ed Wade spoke of two-way, three-way, and even four-way discussions before he hit the hay last night, but nothing seemed imminent.
- Rosenthal says the Padres might have a better chance of re-signing Milton Bradley than Mike Cameron. He also implies that the Friars could reach a one-year agreement with Michael Barrett and then shop him.
- Despite Hank’s proclamations, Rosenthal says the Yanks are "lurking" on Dan Haren. Sounds creepy.
Dodgers Sign Andruw Jones
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 7:42am: Make that $36.2MM, plus a no-trade clause. I wonder why it was done with the huge $12.2MM bonus. Meanwhile, Tom Krasovic said the Padres never got around to bidding on Jones despite the talk of a one-year, $17MM offer.
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 1:14am: The salary structure to Jones’ deal is interesting: $9MM in ’08, $15MM in ’09, and a $12MM signing bonus. That setup could make Jones much more tradeable if the need arises.
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 12:23am: Tony Jackson has a hunch that the Dodgers will now trade Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier in a package for a frontline starter.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:50pm: The Dodgers have reached an agreement with Jones – two years, $36MM. Despite all the posturing from Scott Boras, the Dodgers got Andruw for a reasonable rate and term. Nice move by Ned Colletti.
FROM 12-5-07 at 11:12pm:
Ned Colletti and Andruw Jones haven’t reached common ground, but they did make progress today. It sounds like Colletti may be warming to the idea of three years. No deal is expected before the end of the Meetings, though.
While the Royals have well-documented interest in Jones, former teammates indicate he prefers the NL. In regards to his poor 2007, the article suggests a secret elbow injury may have contributed.