Odds And Ends: Anderson, Griffey, Varitek
Links for Saturday…
- According to Bill Dwyre of the LA Times Garret Anderson has no ill will towards the Angels.
- Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times thinks the Mariners need to sign Ken Griffey Jr. He adds that the Mariners may be "warming to the idea."
- The Kyodo News reports that the Blue Jays have finalized Ken Takahashi‘s contract.
- According to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe, Jason Varitek passed his physical.
- Jay Jaffe, Kevin Goldstein and Christina Kahrl of BP fill in the remaining holes on National League teams.
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com writes that players should "go the extra mile" to please fans in the weakened economy, as they did in 1995 after the strike.
Boras Pushing Anderson, Pudge To M’s
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s John Hickey spoke recently with agent Scott Boras, who pushed Garret Anderson and Ivan Rodriguez as good fits for the Mariners.
”Garret knows the division’s pitching,” Boras said. ”He hits the West well, he’s good for young hitters to be around and it’s a good fit.” Anderson seems to make sense for the M’s, but Pudge isn’t exactly a perfect fit. The club already has catchers Jeff Clement, Kenji Johjima and Rob Johnson on the 40-man roster.
Mariners Sign Tyler Johnson
One of the seven free agent lefty relievers was plucked off the market today, as the Mariners signed Tyler Johnson to a minor league deal according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Johnson, 27, was non-tendered by the Cards in December. He missed the entire ’08 season with shoulder problems. He held lefties to a .224/.307/.418 line in 2007.
Griffey Wants $5-6MM?
According to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, free agent outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. is "believed to be looking for a one-year deal in the $5 million to $6 million base salary range, would pay for himself with the boost in attendance he would provide." I’m skeptical on both fronts – that Griffey expects that kind of base salary and that he’d drive that much extra revenue. UPDATE: Just realized that ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick had this same info in his January 27th article.
Griffey seems to be the Mariners’ backup plan, as they’re currently trying to move money to pay for Bobby Abreu or perhaps Garret Anderson (the Twins have "lost their appetite" for Jarrod Washburn trade, says Joe Christensen). Trading for an outfielder is another viable option for Seattle, and if it’s for an affordable player they might not have to unload salary. Griffey’s agent Brian Goldberg admitted that his client is the fallback option for several teams.
Griffey is open to playing anywhere, but his friend Harold Reynolds said, "I know he’d love to be back [in Seattle]." Reynolds added: "I think they need to do it. He’s such an icon to the game of baseball. He’s going to play one more year, maybe two at the most. He needs to retire as a Mariner. He’s still got something left. I think he’d be fantastic for that team."
Twins Showing Interest In Jarrod Washburn
TUESDAY, 7:37pm: Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that the Twins have "lost their appetite for a Jarrod Washburn trade." It probably had something to do with his $10.35MM ’09 salary.
MONDAY, 8:49pm: According to John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intellegencer, the Twins have "some interest" in dealing for left-hander Jarrod Washburn.
Hickey writes that the Mariners and Twins discussed a deal last week that would have sent Washburn and catcher Jeff Clement to Minnesota for 23-year-old outfielder Delmon Young. It’s not known whether that particular deal fell through, but it’s likely. The pieces just don’t seem to fit. Washburn, 34, went 5-14 last season with a 4.69 ERA and the Twins already have a young, All-Star catcher.
The M’s are trying to dump some cash in order to make a play for one of the remaining free agent outfielders and would accomplish the feat if they can move Washburn, who’s set to rake in $10.35MM this year. They’ve shown interest in Bobby Abreu, Garret Anderson and Ken Griffey Jr. so far this offseason.
Mariners Still Trying To Ink Josh Fields
According to John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Mariners have reopened talks with Scott Boras, the agent for 2008 first-round draft pick Josh Fields.
Boras demanded a $2MM signing bonus last June when the M’s took the Georgia right-hander 20th overall. The organization balked at the figure and the two sides dropped communication for several months.
"We’ve had a few discussions now,” Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik said Tuesday. ”We’re keeping the status quo… I like Scott Boras. I realize he’s a professional, and my discussions with him have always been pleasant going back 15 years now.”
The Mariners are obviously hoping to sign Fields before spring training gets underway on February 13.
Mariners Hot Stove Update: Griffey, Abreu, Anderson
Mariners president Chuck Armstrong spoke to a few hundred Portland-area business leaders on Thursday and addressed a few questions on some potential moves that his team might make. Andy Giegerich covered the event for the Portland Business Journal.
- Armstrong met with a representative for free agent Ken Griffey Jr. on Wednesday, but nothing came out of the discussion.
- The M’s are also looking at free agent outfielders Bobby Abreu and Garret Anderson. They could become serious suitors as contract numbers continue to fall, especially if the demand for those guys remains low.
Orioles Close To Deal With Cubs For Hill
9:41pm: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has more on the Orioles trading for Cubs pitcher Rich Hill.
The deal would be for a player to be named later, Zrebiec writes, and it could be announced as early as Monday.
Hill will be reunited with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and bullpen coach Alan Dunn, who worked with him in the Cubs’ organization, Zrebiec notes.
Hill is out of options, so he’ll have to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster or they could lose him. … Hill will be given an opportunity to win a spot in the rotation, which currently has three vacancies behind Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara.
6:12pm: Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun believes the Baltimore Orioles will complete a trade for Cubs left-handed pitcher Rich Hill by Tuesday — if the Orioles will do the deal at all.
Schmuck writes that now other organizations are aware that Hill could be made available, additional teams — including the Royals and Mariners — could make an offer.
Orioles general manager Andy MacPhail might be waiting to see if he can sign free agent right-handed pitcher Braden Looper, Schmuck adds.
They might be willing to acquire both pitchers, but there is the small matter of moving players off the 40-man roster to make room, so maybe Andy is just going to take one or the other.
Hill, 29 in March, is 18-17 in 57 starts with a 4.37 ERA during a short four-season career. He spend much of 2008 in Triple-A.
Looper, 34, went 12-14 in 33 starts with a 4.16 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals last season.
Perrotto’s Latest: Position Battles, Roberts, Pudge
John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday column is up over at Baseball Prospectus. This week, he takes a look at some of the position battles teams will face entering Spring Training. And, as always, there’s some interesting items in his Rumors & Rumblings section. Let’s take a look:
- Some of the more interesting position battles mentioned: 1B/DH/RF in Oakland (Daric Barton, Jack Cust, Jason Giambi, Aaron Cunningham, and Travis Buck all in the mix), Tampa’s closer if Troy Percival gets hurt or falters (Dan Wheeler, J.P. Howell, Grant Balfour), and the White Sox rotation behind John Danks, Mark Buerhle, and Gavin Floyd (Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Bartolo Colon, Jeff Marquez).
- Brian Roberts still wants a four-year deal before Spring Training starts up, or he’ll cut off negotiations. Does Roberts make more sense as a cornerstone in Baltimore or as a trade chip?
- Perrotto feels Tom Glavine will inevitably re-sign with the Braves.
- The White Sox have minor interest in signing Ivan Rodriguez as a backup for A.J. Pierzynski. I’m sure Pudge would prefer a starting gig, but at this point, it’s tough to be picky.
- We’ve heard a lot about the Orioles having interest in Rich Hill lately, but Perrotto reminds us that the Mariners are interested in the 28-year-old lefty as well.
Abreu Still Waiting
Tyler Kepner of The New York Times reports that Bobby Abreu‘s former general manager Ed Wade believes that Abreu could still be an impact player this coming season:
"He’s still an All-Star-caliber player,” said Wade, now the general manager of the Houston Astros. “He’s probably not the guy that stirs the drink, but if you have the ability to add Bobby Abreu to your lineup and your clubhouse, it’s going to make all the players around him better.”
Abreu, 34, who made about $16MM with the Yankees in 2008, hit .296/.371/.471 in 684 plate appearances last season.
The Mariners, Giants, Dodgers, Reds and Braves could still get in on Abreu. Though Abreu had originally sought three-year contract, agent Peter Greenberg has confirmed that the slugger would be open to a one-year deal.