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Kuroda Wants Four Years

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 6:28pm: Tony Jackson dug up some info on this situation.  He says the Mariners’ three-year offer worth $30-33MM is tops so far, despite other reports.  He doesn’t believe the Mariners are at 4/44.  The Ms and Dodgers, as expected, are the leaders for Kuroda.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:55pm: First Heyman suggested 3/45 for Kuroda.  Now Jeff Passan is saying 5/50!  Passan throws the Giants into the mix for him, which is a new one. 

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:29pm: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News confirms that the Dodgers have an offer out to Kuroda, probably in the 3/30 range.  He says that the Ms are reportedly already at four years and more than $40MM.

FROM 12-4-07 at 1:26pm:

Previous reports floating about had the Mariners offering four years, $44MM to Hiroki Kuroda.  Not so, according to MLB.com’s Jim Street.  Street says the Mariners, Dodgers, and D’Backs have all made offers in the three-year, $30MM range.  None of the three clubs wants to go to four years on soon-to-be 33 year-old pitcher with no MLB experience.

Kuroda may make his decision early next week, after his agents meet with the interested parties.

Street adds that the Ms plan to meet with the Orioles today to discuss Erik Bedard possibilities.  Also, he mentions the rumor that the Mariners inquired on Ben Sheets.  Maybe it was both the Dodgers and Mariners.

Odds and Ends: Jose Lopez, Green, Silva, Fukumori

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Let’s round a few more rumors up, because they just don’t stop coming.

  • Says Jim Molony: no less than 10 teams have expressed interest in Carlos Silva.  Weak – 11 have expressed interest in Bedard, loser.
  • Other guys in the 10 interested teams club – Livan Hernandez and Kazuo Fukumori.  At least, that’s where their agents would like everyone to think.
  • The Padres can only afford one of Mike Cameron and Kosuke Fukudome.  They think Fukudome can play an adequate center.  Kevin Towers is still in talks with Cameron.
  • The Mariners are shopping Jose Lopez, who Jeff Passan names as a possible non-tender.  However Lopez already is already all tendered up through 2010 on a long-term pact.  So to ditch him the Ms would have to trade him or else cut him and eat the money, Russ Ortiz style.
  • Passan suggests the Rays might prefer to go with Shawn Green for their right field vacancy, as Geoff Jenkins and Brad Wilkerson want multiyear deals.  The Giants also like Green, for some reason.  Nick Cafardo suggests Trot Nixon could be the guy behind the guy for the Rays.

Giants Rumors: Lincecum, Tejada, Sexson

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Andrew Baggarly gives his take on the Giants hot stove buzz.

  • One Reds official think the Giants almost have to trade Tim Lincecum to build an offensive core.  It seems the Mariners and Reds in particular are pushing for Lincecum.  The Ms could offer Adam Jones; the Reds have Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Josh Hamilton.  The Mariners could’ve had Lincecum with the fifth overall pick in 2006, but opted for Brandon Morrow instead.  The Reds could’ve had him too but went for Drew Stubbs.
  • The Giants and Orioles discussed Miguel Tejada, and the O’s like players such as Jonathan Sanchez, Brad Hennessey, Fred Lewis, and Guillermo Rodriguez.  Outside of Sanchez those guys don’t seem like what the Orioles would ask for to me.  No deal is close.
  • Baggarly talks of the rumored Richie Sexson for Ray Durham or Rich Aurilia swap, though Larry LaRue says it’s bogus.
  • The one team inquiring on Bengie Molina was the Mets, and that was before they got Brian Schneider.

ESPN’s Latest: Lamb, Bedard, Tejada, Loretta

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ESPN’s Amy Nelson and Buster Olney recently checked in with a few new rumors.

  • The Red Sox checked in on Mike Lamb – they’re looking for a corner infield backup.  Lamb had good numbers in ’07 so he may prefer to look for a starting job.  Meanwhile, Evan Grant says the Rangers are in the lead for Lamb.  They’d give him that starting gig.
  • The Orioles apparently have four teams already offering impressive packages for Erik Bedard.
  • The Dodgers and O’s talked Miguel Tejada last night but they couldn’t find a match.
  • The Mariners like Mark Loretta as a backup and challenger to Jose Lopez; they may offer around $2MM.

Odds and Ends: Cliff Lee, Edwin Jackson

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You know the drill…

  • Nick Piecoro checks in on his blog.  Apparently the D’Backs discussed swapping Carlos Quentin for Cliff Lee before sending him to Chicago.  As much as he might’ve liked to it seems like Josh Byrnes couldn’t get a starter for Quentin.
  • Geoff Baker links the Mariners to Lee,  Ben Sheets, Mark Prior, and Edwin Jackson based on yesterday’s buzz.  The Sheets one has since been questioned, since the Dodgers were identified as the West Coast team that inquired.  Prior could be part of a Raul Ibanez trade, but the Cubs are first focusing on Fukudome.  As for Jackson, the Rays would want more than just Ben Broussard.
  • John Fay believes the Reds will have to part with Jay Bruce or Homer Bailey to get a frontline starter.

Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Tejada, Edmonds

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:38am: Tom Haudricourt confirms that the Brewers will have access to Rolen’s medical records.  That the Brewers will take a look indicates they are probably serious about Rolen.

FROM 12-4-07 at 12:14am:

Joe Strauss has a new one in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, presumably for the Tuesday morning edition.

  • The Cards have already met twice with the Brewers to talk about Scott Rolen.  They’re providing medical information to the Brewers, and appear flexible on the amount of salary they need to cover.  Teams interested in Rolen can speak directly to the third baseman’s doctor and surgeon.  Strauss confirms the Rangers and Giants as two other interested parties.
  • The Rolen deal may hinge on Miguel Cabrera being traded first.  The Cards poked their head in but wouldn’t part with Colby Rasmus.
  • The Cards are likely to create a third base vacancy, so they’ve been talking to the Orioles about Miguel Tejada. 
  • As you know, the Cards met with the Padres to discuss Jim Edmonds.  The Friars also have their eye on Anthony Reyes.  Maybe the Cards can pry Kevin Kouzmanoff loose?
  • Aside from the aforementioned Brewers, Orioles, and Padres, John Mozeliak also met with the Mariners today.

Odds and Ends: Guillen, Patterson, Clark, Andruw

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Let’s keep things rolling along with a morning Odds and Ends collection.

  • U.S.S. Mariner is not amused with the Ms’ decision not to offer arbitration to Jose Guillen.
  • Andruw Jones hasn’t been getting much player, and his camp initiated contact with the Royals yesterday. The mutual interest may have been what pushed Guillen to sign.
  • With the David Riske to Milwaukee signing not official, the Orioles apparently had talks with his agent yesterday.  He’ll be too pricey for them, anyway.  By the way, the Cubs checked in on Brian Roberts, but nothing is really stirring right now on that front.
  • Corey Patterson seems a little down, as he’s no one’s first choice in center field.  The Orioles are apparently moving on.  Patterson wouldn’t say whether he’d take a one-year deal.  As a Scott Boras client, I imagine he won’t.
  • Summing up the Rockies’ external second base candidates: Chris Burke, Marcus Giles, and Mark Loretta. The agents for both Giles and Loretta have contacted the Rockies, and Loretta would play there at a discount.
  • Evan Grant has his Rangers column up, but we already hit upon most of the points yesterday (he was the source then, too).  One new note is that the Rangers don’t want to give Tony Clark anything more than one year plus an option, while Clark wants a two-year deal.  The Rays, Dodgers, and Twins are said to like Clark.

Red Sox Making Progress On Johan Santana

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:04am: Tim Brown checks in.  He confirms the Twins are checking Lester’s medical records.  He says the current deal on the table is Lester, Crisp, Masterson, and a minor leaguer.  A Red Sox official was said to be "cautiously optimistic."  If the current scenario is accurate, perhaps the Twins have finally bent on their demand for both Lester and Ellsbury.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:57am: Rosenthal notes that the Sox have roared back into the Santana derby, but says that as midnight passed the Yankees were still talking to the Twins.  Hmmm, maybe midnight eastern time because I think Cashman went to bed already.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:25am: Looks like things with the Red Sox are moving along – the Red Sox have given the Twins Lester’s medical records to review.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:15am: Unconfirmed report from the Boston Globe says the Red Sox were looking at Santana’s medical records, which could imply an agreement.  Or maybe they just wanted to check out his medical records.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:06am: Hank Steinbrenner expressed doubt that his team would get a Santana team done when talking to Kat O’Brien.  However, she spoke to him at 11:45pm CST on Monday, and we had two updates since then.  Anyway, discussions are not yet closed off.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:49am:  Bleeding over into Tuesday…Stark has an update that pretty much echoes Heyman.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:38am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman has the goods.  The Twins wanted a package of Hughes, Cabrera, Horne, and Jackson from the Yankees and they balked.  They’ve asked the Red Sox to create a new proposal with Lester in it.  Sounds like the Red Sox have the lead at the moment.  Heyman thinks the Twins will make a decision soon. 

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 11:09pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to a Boston official who believes the Yankees are "very close" to completing a Santana trade.  However a source of mine just indicated that the meeting ended in a standoff because the Twins continue to demand Ian Kennedy in the deal.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 10:16pm: Matthew Cerrone says the Twins have moved on from the Yankees and Red Sox, and are calling other teams to discuss Santana.  Tyler Kepner says the Yanks have interpreted the Twins’ nonresponse to their offer as a rejection.  And Jayson Stark thinks this thing is on life support. 

Peter Abraham, though, says the Yanks and Twins are meeting tonight (as we speak actually).  And the Red Sox aren’t putting out any deadline anyway.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 3:55pm: According to Kelly Thesier, the Twins are in no rush to trade Santana and aren’t worried about the Yankees’ deadline.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 1:57pm: Rosenthal says the Twins are considering filing tampering charges.  The Boston Globe has an update but nothing much new.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 12:14pm: Not that they were ever really in it, but MLB.com’s Jim Street says the Mariners are no longer in the running for Santana.

FROM 12-3-07 at 11:05am:

The previous Johan Santana thread is up to 287 comments, so let’s kick off a fresh one for the Winter Meetings.

La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Twins are not amused with Hank Steinbrenner’s public comments regarding their negotiations.  It’s not known if the Twins will pursue tampering charges.  Joe Christensen calls Hank’s comments "blatant tampering," but admits that he loves it as a reporter.

Interestingly, Neal debunks the notion that Santana has demanded he be traded to only the Yankees or Red Sox.  Neal says Santana has placed no limitations on where he ends up, as of yet.

Dodgers Inquire On Sheets?

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:38pm: Baker corrects himself – the Mariners talked to the Brewers, but not about Sheets.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:34pm: Here’s the deal.  Geoff Baker says the West Coast team inquiring on Sheets was the Mariners.  Tom Haudricourt seems positive it was the Dodgers though.  No offer was made; it was just an inquiry.  The Dodgers seemingly don’t need more injury risk though.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 6:35pm: Tom Haudricourt spoke to Doug Melvin and learned that he has not spoken to any East Coast team about Sheets.  However Haudricourt believes Melvin may have spoken to the Mariners about him.

FROM 12-3-07 at 12:07am:

Interesting stuff from Sean McAdam of The Providence Journal.  McAdam says the Red Sox are eyeing Dan Haren and Ben Sheets as alternatives to Johan Santana.

Haren, we knew about.  Sheets is an intriguing idea though.  Maybe the buzz on him will pick up this week.  Sheets will earn $11MM in 2008, tops among Brewers (Jeff Suppan’s deal gets scary in ’09).  Given Sheets’ injury history and expiring contract, the price for him might be fairly reasonable (say, A.J. Burnett territory).  Sheets had a full no-trade clause for ’07 and may only be traded to eight selected clubs in ’08.

Indians Have Mild Interest In Ibanez

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UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 10:11pm: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times has heard the Ibanez for Lee rumor as well.  The concern is that the Indians would be overpaying.

FROM 12-3-07 at 2:02pm:

We’ve got a few correspondents at the Winter Meetings in Nashville.  One source just checked in to mention that the Indians have a minor interest in Raul Ibanez, depending on the asking price.  A match could be found with Cliff Lee.

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