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Ian Snell, Jason Bay On Mariners’ Radar?

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UPDATE, 1-5-08 at 10:29am: Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider says talks between the Pirates and Mariners for Bay and Snell "never went past the introductory stages" – the Bucs’ demands are not reasonable.

FROM 1-3-08 at 11:51pm:

Jake at Bucco Blog has been hearing a lot of buzz lately about the Mariners’ interest in Pirates’ righty Ian Snell.  The 26 year-old posted a 3.76 ERA in 208 innings in 2007.  He was an ace in the first half (2.93 ERA).

Snell seems somewhat comparable to Matt Garza, though he’s a bit older and has an extra year of service time.  So maybe acquiring him doesn’t require a Delmon Young-caliber player, but something close.  If Neal Huntington can get Adam Jones for him straight up, I think he should pull the trigger.   

Latest Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 1-2-08 at 10:45pm: Nothing new with Boston’s pursuit of Santana; Nick Cafardo says the Sox still have two different offers on the table for the Twins.  Cafardo notes that Santana’s agent quoted the starting bid around seven years, $140MM – and the Red Sox are fine with that. 

UPDATE, 1-2-08 at 4:19pm: LEN3 adds that the Mariners are not in the running for Johan.  Coupled with the info below it seems to be between the Mets and Red Sox currently.

FROM 1-2-08 at 1:21pm:

Peter Abraham had a note this morning about Johan Santana.  He says "there are no indications the Yankees will suddenly get back into the mix for Santana."  Abraham notes that the main issue for the Yanks remains the massive extension they’d have to give Santana.

Back on December 28th Joel Sherman said the Yanks had "become more entrenched in their unwillingness to pay the price both in prospects and dollars."  He noted that they were reluctant to hand over Phil Hughes or $130MM to Johan.

On the 27th, Jayson Stark said the Yankees last offer was Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and an undetermined fourth player, but the proposal was off the table.  Stark believed that Hank Steinbrenner could still decide to re-engage the Santana talks though.

Mailbag: Nioka, Crede, Snell

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Let’s dig through the ol’ mailbag once again.  Feel free to shoot an email to mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.

Do you have any news regarding Japanese shortstop Tomohiro Nioka? Is he a free agent and are any teams pursuing him? – Bob

It seems that Nioka turned out to be ineligible for free agency.  We’ll have to keep an eye out for him next year.

What’s up with Joe Crede? Will the ChiSox be looking to deal him this summer if they are struggling? And if so, you have to believe the Phillies would be top contenders for him. – Dan

I’m almost certain Crede will be dealt, I’m just not sure when.  Maybe after a week or two of proving his health in Spring Training?  Josh Fields needs his reps at third base, so I’d be surprised if the Sox started the season with Crede at the hot corner.  The Phillies seem like the perfect fit, especially since Kenny Williams and Pat Gillick have gotten together for many deals.

Have you heard anything about a package of Snell and Bay from Pittsburgh to the M’s for some prospects? – Aaron

Jake at Bucco Blog heard this rumor just a few days ago.  Both of them going to Seattle would represent a whole lot of talent.  Seems that it would require Adam Jones and then some.  Might make more sense for the Mariners to target just Snell, since they’re in fine shape in the outfield.

Ranger Rumors: Botts, Otsuka, Padilla

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Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News recently did a Q&A, and there were some interesting hot stove-related tidbits to consider.

  • Grant believes one of Nelson Cruz or Jason Botts will depart before Opening Day.  Botts is out of options, so he may be more likely to go.  While acknowledging that he is a 27 year-old DH, Botts’ recent Major League Equivalencies say he may be able to post an .800 OPS in the bigs.
  • Grant answers a question about Akinori Otsuka and his "scary" elbow.  He says Otsuka probably can’t pitch through the pain and if he did his ligament would be at risk of tearing anyway.  That’s why Otsuka is a free agent (not because he recommended San Diego to Kosuke Fukudome). The Padres and Phillies have been linked to Otsuka, while the White Sox passed on him.
  • Grant notes that the Mariners had mild interest in Vicente Padilla but that may be gone with their Carlos Silva signing.  Since Padilla’s value is at a low point it may make sense to hope he has a solid first half and deal him then.

Odds and Ends: Hillenbrand, Tsao, Uehara

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Here are some random bits and pieces to hold us over until front offices re-open…

  • Shea Hillenbrand has only received one inquiry this winter – from the Giants.  He probably won’t be earning $6MM again.  Hillenbrand posted a .599 OPS in 267 ABs for the Angels and Dodgers this year.  I thought perhaps that was one of the worst performances of the decade for guys with 250+ ABs.  However it’s only the 49th worst since 2000.  Homer Bush’s 2000 takes the cake – a .524 OPS for the Blue Jays in 297 ABs.
  • The Royals inked Chin-Hui Tsao to a minor-league deal.  Tsao was once considered the Rockies’ best prospect, but he’s been decimated by injuries.  Makes sense for the Royals to throw him a bone though.
  • Koji Uehara re-signed with the Yomiuri Giants for 400 million yen – about $3.57MM.  He’ll turn 33 in April.  A hamstring injury knocked Uehara out of the ’07 season’s first month, denying him free agency this winter.  Now he needs to be active for just eight days to be eligible after the season.  The Giants used him in relief in ’07, perhaps to spite him.  Read more about that and his repertoire in my Q&A with Mike Plugh on Uehara.   
  • John Fay runs down the Reds’ veteran free agent starter options.
  • A-Rod still won’t return Scott Boras’ calls.
  • Jason Churchill names some intriguing, possibly available young hurlers who may be on Seattle’s radar: Scott Olsen, Noah Lowry, Daniel Cabrera, Edwin Jackson, Chris Capuano, Ian Snell, and Anthony Reyes.
  • Nothing is cooking with Brandon Inge, and the Tigers won’t be bringing Sean Casey back.

Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 10:59am: Jayson Stark’s sources speak of glacially moving Santana talks with the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Mariners that may drag out for several more weeks.

UPDATE, 12-28-07 at 11:00am: Joel Sherman’s sources name the Red Sox as the "strong favorite" to acquire Santana in the new year.  He sees the Yankees backing down and the Mets as lagging behind for lack of MLB-ready young players in their offer.  Also here’s a Jayson Stark Santana article I missed yesterday giving his take on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets.

UPDATE, 12-27-07 at 2:59pm: Charley Walters has some quotes from the Twins’ president.  He gives the impression that the Twins’ priority is still to sign Santana to an extension, for what it’s worth.  They’ll have to do better than four years and $80MM though.

FROM 12-26-07 at 10:50pm:

LEN3 checks in with the latest Johan Santana rumors this evening.

  • The Mets appear to be a solid contender, even without offering up Jose Reyes.  Neal ponders whether the Twins would prefer to send Santana to the NL so they can avoid him.  Matthew Cerrone has been saying this for some time, adding that Santana would prefer to come to the NL as well.
  • Interesting note – Neal says Kei Igawa’s name has surfaced in regards to the Yankees talks.  It wouldn’t materially change the deal though.
  • Neal says talks with the Red Sox are currently dormant. 

Mariners Offering Three Players For Bedard?

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On Monday, Phil Rogers wrote of the Mariners’ continuing pursuit of Baltimore’s Erik Bedard.  He says the Ms are shopping a package including Adam Jones, Jeff Clement, and Yung Chi Chen.  Rogers notes that the O’s would probably require Brandon Morrow.  This is the first time we’ve seen Chen’s name as part of a Bedard deal.  He doesn’t fall within Seattle’s top 14 prospects, according to Kevin Goldstein.

Our previous Bedard update came four days ago, with info supplied by Jeff Zrebiec and John Fay.  At that time Andy MacPhail said there was a "strong likelihood" that Bedard is the Orioles’ Opening Day starter in 2008.

Odds and Ends: A-Rod, Morrow, Cabrera

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The daily, and sometimes twice daily, odds n’ ends roundup…

Carlos Silva Signs With Mariners

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UPDATE, 12-20-07 at 3:18pm: The bar is raised higher than we thought – four years, $48MM according to Rosenthal.  This is the new price of a big league innings eater.  The Mariners remain interested in Erik Bedard and Johan Santana.

UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 7:03pm: MLB.com’s Jim Street is reporting via a source that the Silva deal is done.  He agrees with Rosenthal’s original figure of four years, $44MM.  Remember a year ago, when the Twins weren’t sure whether to exercise his $4MM option?

UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 3:08pm: John Hickey of the Seattle PI expects Silva to be introduced to Seattle on Thursday.

UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 11:11am: The AP is reporting that the Ms are "closing in on a deal" with Silva.

FROM 12-18-07 at 1:59pm:

A scoop from Ken Rosenthal – the Mariners are in "serious negotiations" with Carlos Silva for a deal worth at least four years, $44MM.  It appears that talks for Erik Bedard would not be affected by this signing. 

Rosenthal notes that $44MM or more would represent the bar for Silva’s tier of starters being moved slightly up.  That is to be expected; some have speculated it might take more like $12MM annually to get Silva.  Silva may not be anything special, but he’s shown the ability to eat American League innings.  Those guys don’t grow on trees.

By the way, Charley Walters says the Royals put out a three-year, $30MM offer to Silva.

The Mark Prior Derby

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Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day.  Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon.  Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.

  • Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
  • Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
  • White Sox – Named only by Stark.
  • Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
  • Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
  • Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
  • Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
  • Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
  • Giants – Named only by Stark
  • Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
  • Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
  • Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
  • Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
  • Indians – Named only by Crasnick

One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point.  The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.

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