Odds and Ends: Maddux, Beltre, Cordero
Links for Monday…
- RotoAuthority discusses possible lineup position changes for star players.
- Baseball America has the latest minor league transactions.
- Greg Maddux has joined the Padres as a Spring Training instructor, says MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News learned that Adrian Beltre enjoys hitting in AT&T Park and would be excited to play for the Giants. Baggarly wonders if the Giants could attempt to acquire Beltre this summer. The third baseman and Scott Boras client will be a free agent after the season.
- Shawn Estes, currently in camp with the Dodgers, will retire if he can’t make a Major League roster according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.
- A Mets official told Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News that the team is unlikely to sign free agent reliever Chad Cordero.
- Jake Peavy talked more about the failed attempts to trade him during the winter (Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reporting).
- The Mariners added catcher Jason Phillips on a minor league deal, according to Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune.
No Long Term Talks With Giants, Lincecum
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says there are no immediate plans to discuss a long-term contract with Tim Lincecum. Schulman says a team executive said this morning that a deal does remain a possibility before Lincecum becomes arbitration eligible. Schulman writes,
"Many such long-term contracts are signed this time of year in lieu of one-year deals that teams can impose on players with less than three years of service time. The signing period for these deals is March 2-11. Noah Lowry and Matt Cain both signed four-year contracts to buy out some of their arbitration years."
Lincecum is eligible for free agency after the 2013 season and is open to signing a one-year deal and revisiting contract talks. Schulman reminds us that if he signed a deal, he would earn less but it would be guaranteed money instead of non-guaranteed through arbitration.
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News adds that neither side seems concerned and that Lincecum would be receptive to a multi-year contract, according to his agent. Baggarly writes,
"The Giants shortly will begin negotiating salaries for their ‘zero-to-three’ players. They must agree to terms with them before March 11, at which point they must renew the contract of any unsigned players — and unilaterally assign any salary they please above the league minimum ($400,000). A renewal isn’t usually a happy prospect. The Giants couldn’t recall the last time they had to renew a player and Evans didn’t expect that to happen with Lincecum, who made $405,000 last year. The two sides are certain to exchange ideas on a multiyear contract. Where it goes from there is anyone’s guess."
Latest On Joe Crede
11:59pm: Neal spoke to Boras, who had this to say regarding the timing of a possible Crede contract:
"I anticipate, the way things are going right now, that you might have a solution on where Joe is going. I can’t say a definite amount of time, but I think it’s a shorter than longer amount of time."
5:41pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News heard that the Giants don’t expect to sign Joe Crede. The club believes he’ll wind up with the Twins instead.
And for those of you scoffing about the low-budget Twins outbidding the Giants for a player, just remember this: The more the Giants spend now, the less wiggle room they’ll have at midseason — when they expect much better values to be had, writes Baggarly.
La Velle E. Neal III wrote Friday that the Twins face a substantial gap in contract talks with Crede. He’s still demanding $7MM guaranteed, plus nearly $4MM in incentives. Keep in mind that he’s a Scott Boras client.
Is Lowry Trade Bait?
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports from Spring Training about the fifth starter in San Francisco–and potential moves surrounding the competition.
Baggarly cites GM Brian Sabean as having said that the fifth starter job belongs to Jonathan Sanchez. That leaves Noah Lowry without a spot in the San Francisco rotation. Will he be traded soon?
While that is an option, Baggarly also notes that Lowry has an option remaining, meaning he could pitch at AAA Fresno for a time. Lowry could begin asking for a trade from there, but with the way his contract is set up, such a move seems unlikely at this time.
Odds And Ends: Griffey, Varitek, Giants
A few links for Saturday morning…
- Russell Branyan wants Ken Griffey Jr. to join him in Seattle according to this AP story found in the Globe and Mail.
- If Griffey ends up in Seattle, Cameron Smith of the Washington Post says it’s nothing but a marketing ploy.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times likes the depth the Bobby Abreu addition gives the Angels.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants could make a trade in Spring Training if teams are looking to dump salary. Brian Sabean says he’s keeping his eye on teams who may need to free up money.
- Alex Speier of WEEI in Boston heard from Jason Varitek about his contract negotiations this offseason. Varitek says he never doubted that he would stay in Boston.
- This doesn’t have to do with rumors, but it’s a good read: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan shares anecdotes from 20 years of Spring Training.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Thursday
9:26pm: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick suggests that the "signings this week of Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn will be the trigger to bring the Dodgers and Ramirez toward a middle ground."
Gurnick also shares this quote from Giants president Larry Baer, implying that his club is sitting idle on the Manny front: "Nothing’s really changed from our perspective."
4:40pm: Ken Rosenthal offers thoughts on the Dodgers and Manny, as well as Hudson.
3:50pm: Not sure if this qualifies as news, but Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times learned that Ramirez cancelled a promotional appearance because he could sign a contract at any time.
8:48am: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has the latest on Manny Ramirez today. Talks continue with the Dodgers, but there’s nothing new to report.
Some had speculated that Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn were the Dodgers’ backup plan, but Ned Colletti and Scott Boras are both claiming the signings don’t affect the Manny negotiations.
How many teams are in on Ramirez? From Shaikin’s article:
Boras said the other day that he was negotiating with "several" teams for Ramirez. We asked him whether "several" could be defined as "more than two." He chuckled. "Two or more," he said.
Shaikin adds that Orlando Hudson "called the Dodgers, not the other way around." Signing Hudson would mean shuffling around Blake DeWitt and/or Casey Blake. Ken Davidoff of Newsday notes that the Dodgers have pretty much run out of ways to "reallocate their Manny resources."
Heyman On Manny, Pudge, Cabrera, Howard
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…
- Heyman says "most in the know seem to still believe [Dodgers owner Frank] McCourt will bend on Manny Ramirez and go to three years."
- The Nationals’ offer to Adam Dunn was on the table for weeks until he realized no team was going to beat or approach it. There were rumors months ago that Dunn sought a $100MM deal heading into free agency.
- The Astros and Marlins are looking at Ivan Rodriguez. There’s even an El Nuevo Dia report suggesting the Astros offered $2.5MM+ to Pudge, but that seems out of their price range to me. In today’s mailbag, MLB.com’s Alyson Footer opines that the Astros wouldn’t go to $3MM for a catcher.
- The A’s "want to spend no more than $5MM, and probably closer to $3MM" for Orlando Cabrera. He should take that if it’s offered.
- The Angels had been eyeing Joe Crede but may be done after signing Bobby Abreu. The Giants and Twins remain the likeliest suitors for Crede.
- The Phillies hoped to lock up Ryan Howard beyond his arbitration years, and Ruben Amaro Jr. disputed the notion that he is after Teixeira money.
Fallout From Abreu And Dunn Deals
Let’s look at the fallout from today’s big news. The Angels have reached an agreement with Bobby Abreu and the Nats have done the same with Adam Dunn, but, as many of our commenters have noted, other teams and players are affected by these deals. Here’s a breakdown:
- The Dodgers lose a lot of leverage in their negotiations with Manny Ramirez. Dunn was their preferred alternative to Manny, and Abreu was another possibility. Unless GM Ned Colletti wants to trade for a bat or sign a much lesser hitter, he may have to give in to Manny and offer three years or an enhanced one or two year deal.
- Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras must be smiling tonight. The two strongest suitors for Manny, the Dodgers and Giants, still need bats, but Manny’s the only top-notch outfielder left.
- The Braves lose leverage. They’ve considered trading for Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher, but with Dunn and Abreu off the board, and Manny out of reach, the Braves might have to give up more in a trade with the Yankees.
- The Yankees, in turn, benefit from these two deals because they can demand more from the Braves. Peter Abraham thinks the Yankees should hold onto Swisher and Nady.
- Garret Anderson and Ken Griffey Jr. are now the best remaining alternatives to Manny, so they could both benefit from today’s deals.
Sabean Can’t Imagine Trading Sanchez
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants GM Brian Sabean can’t imagine trading Jonathan Sanchez for a bat.
Sanchez is pencilled in as the Giants’ fifth starter, behind Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Randy Johnson and Barry Zito. Noah Lowry would have to pitch extremely well in Spring Training to take the job from Sanchez.
Giants, Ramon Ortiz Agree To Terms
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants signed right-hander Ramon Ortiz to a minor league contract.
Ortiz will be invited to spring training. The 35-year-old spent last season in Japan, going 4-7 with a 5.82 ERA in 17 starts. Schulman assumes that he’ll start the ’09 season with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Fresno and will only be brought up if the Giants need a spot starter.