Giants Make Offer To Kim
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants offered a minor league deal to free agent Byung-Hyun Kim. Schulman’s source believes Kim is holding out for a big league deal. Gutsy move, for a guy who posted a 6.08 ERA last year.
The following hurlers had to settle for minor league deals: Tony Armas Jr., Kris Benson, Brendan Donnelly, Jorge Julio, Rudy Seanez, and Steve Trachsel. It’s hard to see where Kim is coming from, if the Schulman report is accurate. You’d think Kim would just be anxious to get to camp and start working. In his defense, he is 29 and whiffed 107 in 118.1 innings last year.
Giants Make Offer To Kim
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants offered a minor league deal to free agent Byung-Hyun Kim. Schulman’s source believes Kim is holding out for a big league deal. Gutsy move, for a guy who posted a 6.08 ERA last year.
The following hurlers had to settle for minor league deals: Tony Armas Jr., Kris Benson, Brendan Donnelly, Jorge Julio, Rudy Seanez, and Steve Trachsel. It’s hard to see where Kim is coming from, if the Schulman report is accurate. You’d think Kim would just be anxious to get to camp and start working. In his defense, he is 29 and whiffed 107 in 118.1 innings last year.
Lowry Failing To Draw Interest
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News discusses the Noah Lowry situation. On the surface, a 27 year-old lefty who won 14 games with a sub-4.00 ERA would seem to be a hot commodity. However, Baggarly says teams were scared off by Lowry’s ugly 1.0 K/BB ratio and August elbow tenderness. Lowry’s on the hook for $2.25MM in ’08 and $4.25MM in ’09, with a 2010 club option for $6.25MM.
Baggarly notes that the Giants "remain active in trade talks." Given that it’s 2008 and not 1988, Brian Sabean isn’t going to fleece any GM based on Lowry’s win total or ERA. I’m starting to think that a trade for Joe Crede straight up might be fair, after all.
Morgan Ensberg Signs With Yankees
According to a source, the Yankees have signed Morgan Ensberg. They’ll use him at first base (and maybe off the bench). It’s a minor league deal. Jerry Crasnick confirms it, noting that the Rays and Giants expressed interest.
Ensberg, 32, hit .231/.320/.404 for the Astros and Padres in ’07. He earned $4.35MM, and the Padres non-tendered him in December. The Astros had designated him for assignment in July after acquiring Ty Wigginton. Ensberg has not been the same since seriously bruising his shoulder in June of ’06.
Pedro Feliz Signs With Phillies
UPDATE, 1-28-08 at 8:47pm: Feliz gets a guaranteed $8.5MM over two years. With a third year option and incentives, the deal could reach $15MM over three. Feliz left the Giants with some bad blood, turning down what may have been a better offer. We all know Feliz has his flaws, but he is what he is. I agree that the Phils improved themselves here, and I’m not sure if I saw a better alternative.
FROM 1-28-08 at 3:06pm:
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Phillies have signed third baseman Pedro Feliz to a two-year deal (pending a physical).
Feliz, 33 in April, has a career line of .252/.288/.433. The average NL third baseman hit .280/.348/.456 in ’07, so Feliz is definitely subpar offensively. On the flip side, the Fielding Bible’s panel of experts ranked him the best defensive third baseman in baseball for 2007. Sum it up and you have a player worth roughly three wins above replacement, an improvement over what the Phillies had. Kyle Kendrick may be most appreciative of Feliz’s defense, as he is the staff’s lead groundballer.
Feliz was a Type B free agent, so the Giants get a sandwich pick for their loss.
Giants Considering Ensberg, Crede
We learned earlier today that Pedro Feliz rejected the Giants two-year offer. The team plans to look internally for a solution at third base. Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News comes in with the possible leading candidate: Kevin Frandsen.
He hasn’t manned the hot corner regularly since college, but his performance in just under 300 plate appearances last year has earned him a legitimate shot at the starting gig. He played third base for 55 innings last year. Most of his time was spent at second base, which figures to be occupied by Ray Durham in 2008.
Frandsen is a better option than Feliz, but the Giants still might bring in veteran competition in the form of Morgan Ensberg or Joe Crede. Baggarly’s club source said there’s a "good chance" of acquiring Crede if his back is healthy this spring. Noah Lowry would be too much; Brad Hennessey maybe?
Joe would like to remind you, just this once, that he writes for River Ave. Blues, a Peter Gammons-approved Yanks blog. Tim also contributed to this post.
Odds and Ends: Foulke, Ordonez, Feliz, Phillips
All sorts of odds and ends to discuss this morning.
- I will be appearing on Rutgers Student Radio this morning at 8:40am CST. You can go here and click the "listen" link to hear it live.
- Keith Foulke threw for the majority of teams in baseball last week, topping out around 84. The D’Backs may make an offer. I don’t believe they have signed a free agent yet.
- The New York Times says Jose Canseco has apparently dragged Magglio Ordonez into the steroid mess, with the FBI getting involved on possible extortion. I have to admit, I am going to read Canseco’s new book. The first one was interesting but poorly written.
- The Giants’ two-year offer to Pedro Feliz was rejected, and they seem inclined to fill third base internally. Joe Crede is not out of the question though.
- Seems that the Reds might be talking about a long-term deal with Brandon Phillips.
- Rewriting history: the Padres almost acquired Mark McGwire in 1995. Speaking of Kevin Towers, here’s a quick look at his trading record. It’s good.
- Team payroll data for ’07 is out; it’s not terribly surprising.
Odds and Ends: Cano, Colon, Lowry
Here are some links I’ve rounded up this morning.
- In theory, Robinson Cano would be open to a long-term deal. River Ave. Blues recently took a look at how historically good Cano has been so far, and suggest the Yankees lowballed him with their arbitration submission.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Derek Jacques saw Bartolo Colon pitch in the Dominican League Finals, and lends his evaluation. Colon was not impressive, but not terrible. It doesn’t seem like he will get the two-year deal he wants.
- The Brewers will bring Abraham Nunez to camp. Versatile, but a drain on offense.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox aren’t done yet. The Joe Crede situation should linger into spring. Gonzales also mentions that the Giants are "listening to offers for Noah Lowry."
- A factual look at whether Omar Minaya really stockpiles Latin American players.
- The Astros can’t settle their gaps with Mark Loretta or Jose Valverde, and Ed Wade expects the team to go to its first arbitration hearings in over a decade. Wade has set a deadline of this afternoon and will go to hearings otherwise. Loretta asking for $4.9MM seems particularly off.
- Matthew Cerrone takes an educated guess on the current Johan Santana situation.
- Some interesting quotes from XM Radio from Michael Cuddyer and Scott Boras, separately.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Boras, Murton, Marquis, Clark
Ken Rosenthal is here to hopefully rescue what’s been a slow day for rumors.
- Rosenthal points out that it seems Scott Boras has been more flexible with his clients’ contracts this year, perhaps even as the result of his "failures" with Alex Rodriguez and Kenny Rogers. A new, gentler Boras? Wait til Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, and Prince Fielder reach free agency.
- The Padres are targeting Matt Murton for left field, a notion that gels with Kevin Towers’ stated quest to acquire a corner outfielder via trade. Plus, Towers gets along well with Cubs GM Jim Hendry. Not sure how the teams would match up, unless things expand to include Khalil Greene. The Cubs would have to be sure they don’t need Murton for other deals or because of other deals.
- Rosenthal agrees with the recent rumor that the Orioles will decide whether to trade Erik Bedard and Brian Roberts by month’s end. He notes that Cubs starter Jason Marquis actually does have trade value, and could be part of a package for Roberts. Other teams are interested in him too – go figure. Innings are innings I guess. Marquis, 29, is owed $16.25MM over the 2008-09 seasons.
- An MLBTR commenter questioned the other day why Troy Tulowitzki‘s deal was said to top Grady Sizemore‘s as the record holder for a player with less than two years service time. The commenter wondered why Brian McCann wasn’t part of the discussion – he signed for more than Sizemore ($26.8MM) in March of ’07 with about a season and a half under his belt. Anyone know why McCann’s name doesn’t come up in this discussion?
- One of Rosenthal’s sources believes progress has been made on a long-term pact with Holliday, and the recent two-year deal is a positive sign.
- Teams inquiring on Tony Clark: Mariners, Giants, and Red Sox. Clark has been mentioned as a Giants target before.
Perrotto’s Latest: Sabathia, Varitek, Crede, Villone
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus checks in with his usual Sunday column. He’s got some new hot stove material to consider.
- Perrotto says the Indians are holding firm at an offer of four years plus an option for C.C. Sabathia. As of a week ago, the Indians were said to have an offer on the table for him. I suggested that the Tribe might top out around four years, $72MM plus an option for 2013.
- Perrotto writes that "Boston is expected to sign catcher Jason Varitek to a two-year extension worth around $20 million." Varitek could retire after that.
- Perrotto suggests that Joe Crede is on the Giants’ radar if they don’t re-sign Pedro Feliz (hat tip South Side Sox). Crede seems like he’ll be involved in one of those late Spring Training deals, given the need to prove his health.
- The Yankees, Mets, and Pirates are interested in free agent lefty reliever Ron Villone.