Giants Will Listen To Proposals Involving Sanchez
Now that the San Francisco Giants have lefty veteran Randy Johnson locked up, they are willing to listen to offers involving Jonathan Sanchez. Chris Haft of MLB.com asked Giants general manager Brian Sabean about the possibility after signing Johnson.
From Haft:
“We’re going to have to be open-minded,” Sabean said, although he repeated that he wouldn’t obtain a player who’s eligible for free agency after 2009.
The Giants have been listed as one of the teams who might be a good trade partner with the New York Yankees for a corner outfielder, in particular Xavier Nady, but he doesn’t meet Sabean’s requirement regarding free agency. Nady’s contract ends after the ’09 season.
Odds And Ends: Otsuka, Orioles, Johnson
I’ll keep this updated as more comes in, but for now these are your Saturday links…
- Patrick Newman found that Akinori Otsuka will work out in front of reps from all MLB teams next month. Apparently Padres GM Kevin Towers is interested if Otsuka’s healthy.
- Roch Kubatko knows there’s pitching talent coming from the minors, but he doesn’t love the current Orioles rotation and expects them to add two more starters.
- The difference between 69 and 72 in 2009 wins isn’t worth much to the Orioles, Peter Schmuck writes.
- The Red Sox move on after missing out on Mark Teixeira.
- Eric Wedge doesn’t seem bothered by the Yankees’ big acquisitions.
- Vernon Wells knows how hard it will be to compete now that former-teammate A.J. Burnett‘s in pinstripes along with a couple other big names.
- Keith Law says the Randy Johnson signing moves the Giants "toward 2009 respectability, if not outright contention."
- Vlae Kershner doesn’t like the possibility of Garret Anderson on the A’s.
- Bleed Cubbie Blue argues that Adam Dunn‘s patience-power combination would work well for the Cubs. Last week Dunn said he thinks so too.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi revealed his favorite meal and dream date in a Q&A with the Sporting News.
Giants Sign Randy Johnson
The Giants have signed Randy Johnson to a one year deal, the team announced in a press release. Andrew Baggarly and Ken Rosenthal were both right on this one.
MLB.com’s Chris Haft heard from a baseball source that the deal guarantees the Big Unit $8MM in 2009 and includes performance bonuses that could reach $2.5MM and award bonuses that could reach another $2.5MM. The AP agrees.
Johnson joins fellow-Cy Young Award winners Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito in a San Francisco rotation that also includes Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez. It’s hard not to like the signing for the Giants; R.J. Anderson considers it a steal.
Correia, Padres Reach Minor-League Deal
Kevin Correia will compete for a starting job with the San Diego Padres, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.
Correia, a righty, was previously with the San Francisco Giants. He agreed to terms on a minor-league contact with an invitation to spring training. If he makes the 25-man roster, Correia could earn $750,000, according to his agent. Krasovic notes that Correia is from San Diego.
Trading Partners For The Yankees
Reports are all over the place about the Yankees being too stocked with corner outfielders. The four names that continue to surface are Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon. Here’s a list of stories about potential trading partners:
-
Joel Sherman of the N.Y. Post thinks the Angels, Rays, Rangers and A’s could be possibilities, but he reminds us that there still are a number of similar-style hitters on the free agent market.
-
MLB.com writer Chris Haft thinks the San Francisco Giants could be a good suitor for Xavier Nady, who grew up in the Bay area.
Brewers Not Close To Looper Deal
5:41pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed interest in Looper but denied that they’re close to a deal. Melvin would not say whether the Brewers made an offer, but suggested Looper and the Brewers’ other targets want multiyear deals.
10:28am: In the "Etc." section of his Sunday update, Nick Cafardo has some updated information on a few free agents, as well as some potential trades.
- Updating a key part of the back-of-the-rotation market, Cafardo says Braden Looper is "close to signing with the Brewers."
- The Diamondbacks and Red Sox may soon revisit the possibility of an Eric Byrnes trade. Such a deal would likely be made more enticing for the Sox if Miguel Montero were somehow included.
- The Red Sox would really rather not move Clay Buchholz for a catcher, even if that catcher were Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden of the Texas Rangers. However, Daniel Bard may be in play for a potential deal with Texas.
- The Reds, Indians, Pirates and Giants are all in the mix for Ty Wigginton. Back on Dec. 18, we had a Wigginton update in an Odds and Ends post that said the player was not interested in returning to Pittsburgh.
Other topics of note (found on page 5 of Cafardo’s article) include the Tampa Bay Rays’ plan for a DH upgrade, as well as some notes on Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Teixeira, Giants, Braves, Bradley, Pirates
On this date 17 years ago, the Blue Jays signed 40-year old future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to a one-year, $2.3MM contract. The signing was a good one as Winfield helped the Jays to their first title in 1992. That year he hit .290-26-108 with a .377 OBP and 137 OPS+, including what would prove to be the series-winning two-run double in the top of the 11th of game 6 of the World Series. Did I mention he was 40? With this year’s crop of free agents playing euchre as they patiently wait for Mark Teixeira to make up his mind, let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Sully Baseball is not worried about the Red Sox possibly losing out on Mark Teixeira feeling the money may be better spent on pitching.
- The Bottom Line wonders if the Red Sox are better off waiting a year and going after Matt Holliday to replace Jason Bay.
- El Lefty Malo projects the Giants offense for next season and shows that one more big bat would give them a league-average offense.
- Braves Blast laments the Braves inability to land a starting pitcher so far this off-season and wonders what options are left.
- The Launching Pad does not see any of the remaining free agent pitchers as an upgrade for the Braves over what is already on the roster.
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse is aggravated by the lack of big moves from the Cubs and while they would like Milton Bradley as a Cub, they think it is unlikely.
- Baseball Handyman offers grades for the free agent signings to date, with only the Francisco Rodriguez contract earning an ‘A’.
- The ‘Burgh Blues takes a look at the Pirates inability to find pitchers that can find the strike zone.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Cameron, Abreu, Treanor
Links for Thursday night…
- Brian Cashman phoned Doug Melvin to explain that he hadn’t called earlier because the Yanks have "a lot of things going on." The Brewers GM said he’s "probably going to hang on to" Mike Cameron.
- Ozzie Guillen spoke with Bobby Abreu and said "interest exists" from the White Sox perspective.
- GM Dave Dombrowski was part of the reason Matt Treanor chose the Tigers.
- T.R. Sullivan continues to track interest in Ben Sheets, and doesn’t see the Yankees being very aggressive on that front.
- Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell don’t deserve raises if you ask Rob Neyer, but he knows they’re likely to get them.
- Kerry Wood sounds happy to be in Cleveland and has "no desire to ever start again."
- The other top reliever to be introduced today, J.J. Putz, said he expected to become a Tiger.
Giants Trying To Sign Big Unit
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle a member of the Giants organization confirmed that they are working hard to sign Randy Johnson to a one-year contract.
Schulman hears that “Johnson is biding his time” and waiting for the market to develop, but it became apparent last week that Johnson and the Giants have mutual interest.
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.