Mariners Rumors

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wallace, Chapman

By Mark Polishuk | December 30, 2009 at 9:45pm CDT

A few notes as we head into the final day of 2009….

ESPN.com's Insider news page passes on some Orlando Hudson-related speculation from Buster Olney on the Mike And Mike In The Morning radio show. Olney "wouldn't be surprised" if the Mariners got into the bidding for the veteran second baseman, adding that Hudson would "be a perfect fit in what they're doing" in Seattle.
Andrew Stoeten of the Drunk Jays Fans blog runs down some of the highlights of Keith Law's appearance on Toronto's FAN 590 station this afternoon. Law opined on the type of free agents the Blue Jays should sign, said the Jays should focus on scouting and noted that if Brett Wallace wasn't going to be used at third base, "you can probably play him opening day."
Chad Jennings of the LoHud.com Yankees blog says Aroldis Chapman "might be this winter’s most intriguing available player, period." He brought up Chapman with Yankees senior vice-president of baseball operations Mark Newman, who said the Cuban left-hander would start the year in Single-A or Double-A if he signed with New York. Newman was impressed by Chapman's workout session two weeks ago, but noted that Chapman is "not where (Stephen) Strasburg was."
Mike Lowell underwent surgery today to repair the injured right thumb that prevented him from being dealt to Texas. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports that Lowell had a 95-percent tear in his thumb's radial collateral ligament but is expected to be ready for spring training. This latest surgery will almost surely, as Newsday's Ken Davidoff surmised last week, put an end to the Lowell trade rumors unless Lowell proves himself to be healthy in Grapefruit League action.

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Gomes, Holliday, Bay

By Tim Dierkes | December 30, 2009 at 4:06pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times sees Adam LaRoche as the best free agent first base option for the Mariners. He likes the idea of acquiring the Orioles' Luke Scott as an alternative.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked to Reds assistant GM Bob Miller, who said Jonny Gomes wants to explore the market.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch can't see how Scott Boras will find a suitor for Matt Holliday aside from the Cardinals.
WEEI's Alex Speier looks back at the circumstances that resulted in Jason Bay being traded by Omar Minaya and Steve Phillips early in his career.
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro has a new Marlins mailbag up, in which he explains that Dan Uggla no longer appears to be a fit for the Giants.

Jason Bay Reactions

By Luke Adams 2 | December 29, 2009 at 7:15pm CDT

With an agreement in place between Jason Bay and the New York Mets, reactions to the deal are already starting to pour in….

Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that the Mets will regret signing Bay within a few years.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan feels that Bay's money would've been better spent on John Lackey.
ESPN.com's Keith Law says that Bay's defense will dictate whether the contract is a good one or not, and argues that the Mets will need to make a few more moves to contend.
It may have taken a while to get done, but "all's well that ends well," writes Rob Neyer of ESPN.com.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff is on board with the deal, and hopes the Mets continue to stay financially responsible for the rest of the winter. This means going "nowhere near" Joel Pineiro at his current asking price, and not guaranteeing Bengie Molina two years (Davidoff suggests that reports of an imminent two-year deal for Molina are inaccurate).
Scott Lauber of The News Journal looks at what the move means for the Phillies, both as a division rival and as a club that will have their own free agent outfielder (Jayson Werth) next year.
Articles from Ian Browne of MLB.com and Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune examine the signing from Boston's and Seattle's perspectives, respectively.
R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs explains why, even if it's heavily backloaded, the Mets' offer was more financially appealing than one the Red Sox made earlier.

Odds & Ends: Thome, Chapman, Mariners

By Tim Dierkes | December 29, 2009 at 12:54pm CDT

Links for Tuesday, as we wait for the hot stove to reignite…

MSG's Tina Cervasio tweeted that she saw Jim Thome at a Detroit area hotel, prompting ESPN's Jerry Crasnick to wonder (via Twitter) if there's a match with the Tigers.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. points out that Aroldis Chapman stands to lose millions of dollars due to taxes if he signs in 2010.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times looks at the Mariners' remaining trade bait.
ESPN's Buster Olney feels that Scott Boras' reputation "will remain cemented" no matter how the rest of the offseason plays out. Olney also notes that other agents, such as the Levinson brothers, moved quickly to get many of their top clients signed.
John Tomase of the Boston Herald has a few free agent relief names for the Red Sox to consider.

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Cabrera, Molina

By Tim Dierkes | December 28, 2009 at 5:39pm CDT

Links for Monday…

Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs gave his thoughts on the Orioles' "enviable outfield logjam." In his Offseason Outlook for the club, Tim suggested that Luke Scott could make sense as a trade candidate.
A week ago, we heard conflicting reports about whether or not the Yankees had talked to the Cubs about acquiring Carlos Zambrano. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports, via Twitter, that the Yankees "definitely" inquired, and speculates that Zambrano is "eminently available."
In a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David O'Brien suggested in passing that the Braves could potentially use Melky Cabrera as a trade chip. Heyman tweets that the Cubs would be very interested, if the Braves were to make Cabrera available.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Bengie Molina "might be willing to consider" a two-year deal. So far the Mets are at one year with an option.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik must retain at least one of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez long-term.
Derek Zumsteg of U.S.S. Mariner gives us a Milton Bradley chronology.
CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban tweets that he's heard a whisper connecting the Giants to free agent reliever Kiko Calero.
WEEI's Alex Speier examines the differences between the contracts of John Lackey and A.J. Burnett. In case you missed it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe revealed on Wednesday that Lackey must play for the league minimum in 2015 "if an old elbow injury forced him to miss significant time with surgery any time during the deal."
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says statheads and scouts are mostly in agreement these days, and Moneyball would be a very different book if Michael Lewis wrote it today.

Mariners Sign Josh Bard, Chad Cordero

By Tim Dierkes | December 28, 2009 at 1:18pm CDT

The Mariners signed catcher Josh Bard and reliever Chad Cordero to minor league deals, according to a team press release.

Bard, 32 in March, hit .230/.293/.361 in 301 plate appearances for the Nationals this year, catching 630.6 innings. He battled a groin strain at times. Bard has flashed the ability to draw a walk in years past. Since Kenji Johjima left for Japan, the Mariners have an opportunity for a veteran catcher. Bard had also drawn interest from the Rockies.

Cordero, 28 in March, is attempting to recover from July '08 labrum surgery. He tossed 14.3 innings in the minors for the Ms this year after signing in March.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltre, Morrow

By Zachary Links | December 26, 2009 at 4:50pm CDT

Some Saturday afternoon links..

The Dodgers should have offered salary arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudsonto allow themselves the opportunity to receive draft picks, writes Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times. Weisman argues that the worst case scenario of being stuck with one or both players at a slightly inflated price for one season wouldn't have been so bad. It's hard to dispute this point as we have yet to see the Dodgers do much of anything this winter.
Not only are the Athletics talking to free agent Adrian Beltre, they may be the only serious bidder at the moment, according to an item on ESPN's MLB rumor page. The piece also notes that if Beltre's asking price - believed to be north of $10MM per season – drops into Oakland's price range, the Giants, Cardinals, and Tigers could get in the mix.
Seattle's poor decisions stunted the development of Brandon Morrow, writes Ryan Divish of The News Tribune. While he never had the same ceiling as Tim Lincecum, who was drafted five spots later in the 2006 draft, things could have worked out differently for Morrow if he were given adequate time to develop in the minors.
Shi Davidi of the Associated Presspraises new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and his plan to rebuild the franchise. Davidi writes that Anthopoulos has the support of ownership in a way that J.P. Ricciardi never did.
A few free agents left on the market might want to consider lowering their asking price, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Adam LaRoche seeking $30MM over three years might be the most wishful of the bunch.

Olney on Bay, Beltre, Holliday

By Zachary Links | December 26, 2009 at 10:18am CDT

ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the Yankees and Red Sox when they say that they have budget lines that they are not currently willing to cross. When the trade deadline rolls around, however, it will likely be a different story. Olney brings us his take on the teams who are still willing to spend this winter…

Since Jason Bay continues to sit on their offer, the Mets may soon give up on him and move on to less expensive free agents. Olney suggests that they ignore fans who are focused on big names and instead spend their money on players who can be had for short-term deals, such as Randy Winn and Orlando Hudson. The Mets "seem to have" something in the range of $15MM to $22MM in payroll flexibility.
The Mets are shopping for a catcher, left fielder, and starting pitcher. Joel Pineiro tops their list of desired starters.
Olney characterized the A's consideration of Adrian Beltre as "serious."
As the Cardinals continue to wait on Matt Holliday's answer, Olney wonders out loud if the club might look into signing Bay as a backup plan.
Rival executives sense that the M's have some money left to spend, but not a great deal. Seattle needs either a first baseman or second baseman plus help for the back end of their rotation.
Because of the mass of arbitration-eligible players on their roster, the Angels have limited payroll flexibility. This means that they could pursue Pineiro if they chose to, but are unlikely to factor into the bidding for Bay or Holliday.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matsui, Mariners, Callapso

By Mike Axisa | December 24, 2009 at 10:31pm CDT

On Christmas Day way back in 2001, Hideki Matsui became the highest paid player in Japanese baseball history, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $4.7MM with the Yomiuri Giants. In his seven-year (and counting) Major League Baseball career, Matsui has never earned less than $6MM annually.

Let's see what's being written around the blogosphere…

River Ave. Blues takes a look at the economic impact of Matsui leaving the World Champs for the Angels.
U.S.S. Mariner runs down some potential first base options for the Mariners, covering players available through trades, free agency, and those already in-house.
It's About The Money, Stupid! compares Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson to the two guys they're replacing, Johnny Damon and Matsui.
South Side Sox provides some thoughts on Kenny Williams' busy offseason.
Royals Authority says Kansas City needs an outfielder, and proposes a few deals centered around Alberto Callaspo.
Viva El Birdos has some concerns about signing Matt Holliday to a long-term contract.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Valverde, Phillies, Hanrahan

By Luke Adams 2 | December 24, 2009 at 2:05pm CDT

Just because it's Christmas Eve doesn't mean the hot stove is taking a holiday. Let's check out some links….

Washington's signing of Matt Capps takes one more option off the table for the Chicago Cubs, writes Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune.
Within today's blog entry, ESPN.com's Buster Olney notes that none of the remaining teams in need of a closer (Florida, Pittsburgh, and Detroit) have the payroll flexibility to spend $8-10MM on Jose Valverde. Valverde will probably have to settle for significantly less money than he is asking for, and could potentially even be forced into a setup role somewhere.
David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News breaks down the options for the Phillies' bullpen.
The longer Matt Holliday and Jason Bay remain unsigned, the more the rest of the league is asking the Red Sox and Yankees to swoop in, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Sam Borden at LoHud.com understands that logic, but is skeptical about the conclusion.
Amidst talk that the Pirates are engaged in discussions with Kevin Gregg and Octavio Dotel, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if Joel Hanrahan could be the answer as the team's closer.
If you want a full summary of the road to the Roy Halladay trade, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun has you covered. Elliott offers an extended look at the rumors that led to the deal, and the trade's aftermath. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times breaks down the most interesting piece of info from Elliott's account, involving Mariners prospect Michael Saunders.
Rob Neyer of ESPN.com isn't a big fan of the Angels' offseason so far, and questions whether the team even has room to make additional moves.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Mariners Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect