Red Sox Interested In Brad Wilkerson
Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald was able to confirm our rumor from yesterday, that the Red Sox have some interest in Brad Wilkerson. Bradford says Wilkerson, a Boras client, is looking for three years and $21MM. I don’t think the Sox would go anywhere near that price.
The same source told me on Friday that the Yankees, A’s, and Mariners have expressed interest in Wilkerson as well. Wilkerson, 30, hit .234/.319/.467 for the Rangers last year in 119 games (doing most of his damage at home). In his career he has played all three outfield positions plus first base.
Mariners Hesitant To Part With Jones For Bedard?
Jason Churchill has an update on his right-hand sidebar. He now believes that the holdup in the Mariners-Orioles Erik Bedard discussions is Adam Jones. Churchill’s source thinks the Mariners aren’t sure about giving him up. Waffling on Jones would seem to jive with the Mariners’ recent move of pulling him from winter ball for just a few days.
Maybe the Mariners have been reading blogs again.
Odds and Ends: Hendrickson, Soria, Sherrill
Here’s today’s random collection of links.
- The Marlins signed Mark Hendrickson as the veteran leadership guy for ’08, at a cost of $1.5MM. He was knocked around in 15 starts for the Dodgers in ’07 but was solid in the pen. The Marlins will put him in the rotation, perhaps to tutor fellow southpaws Andrew Miller and Scott Olsen.
- Craig Brown would like to see the Royals use Joakim Soria as a starter.
- There is a theory that the Mariners’ signing of Arthur Rhodes will allow them to trade George Sherrill in an Erik Bedard deal. Seems a half-baked theory, wherever it originated. I don’t think Sherrill is holding this deal up.
- An argument for the Nate Robertson extension from Danny Knobler, and one against from J.C. Bradbury. Also, Peter Abraham thinks Chien Ming-Wang‘s agent will use Robertson as a comparable.
- The White Sox are still considering Bartolo Colon, according to ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine.
- Pat Burrell would love to re-sign with the Phillies after this season. Pat, by the way, doesn’t have a computer and owes his second half success to "more hits."
- Phil Hughes has a computer, and even a new blog. Not much going on over there yet though.
Latest On Bedard/Mariners Talks
John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer jumps into the Erik Bedard fray with some new info. Connecting a few dots – I’m speculating here – it seems possible that the Mets could move to the forefront on Bedard as the Mariners fade. If the Mets pony up Fernando Martinez and some decent pitching depth, maybe Andy MacPhail would go for it.
- Hickey says that with Adam Jones returning to action in Venezuela, "the Mariners have may given up on acquiring Bedard."
- Nonetheless, according to Hickey, the Orioles "appear to be looking at" the Mariners’ Chris Tillman and Carlos Triunfel.
- The Orioles originally wanted Brandon Morrow, but that seems unlikely. Hickey adds that Jeff Clement "may be off the table for the moment, too." Clement didn’t seem to make a ton of sense for Baltimore anyway.
Kubatko’s Latest: Jones, Dotel, Barajas
Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun has a blog update with plenty of new hot stove info.
- Adam Jones never left Venezuela, and has been cleared to play in tonight’s winter league game. Does this means something changed in the Erik Bedard talks? We can only speculate.
- The Orioles have been talking to the agents for free agents Octavio Dotel and Rod Barajas. The Dotel talks were recent. However, Kubatko says "late inning relief isn’t a top priority." Maybe Andy MacPhail just wants to see if he can get Dotel on a nice one-year deal for $6MM or so.
- MacPhail told Kubatko, "We haven’t closed any doors" in response to a question about supposedly dead talks with the Cubs. Nothing seems imminent but perhaps the two sides are still discussing Brian Roberts after all.
Jonathan Mayo Discusses Bruce For Bedard
You’ve probably heard of Jonathan Mayo. He’s a prominent writer on MLB.com, focusing on the minor leagues more recently. Mayo recently wrote a book called Facing Clemens, which "puts you right in the batter’s box against the Rocket Man." Mayo finished the book before the steroid allegations surfaced, but it sounds like an interesting read regardless.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that if you click the above Amazon link and buy the book, I’ll get 46 cents. Hopefully Mayo gets a better cut than that from his publisher!
Anyway, I asked Mayo a handful of questions for publication on MLBTR.
MLBTR: If you were Wayne Krivsky, would you trade Jay Bruce for Erik Bedard straight up? What players would you compare Bruce to? How does Bruce compare to Adam Jones?
Mayo: In a word, no. I wouldn’t trade Bruce for Bedard straight up. Frankly, and maybe I’m a little prospect-slanted, there’s not much I would trade Jay Bruce for. Not only is the guy going to be one of the game’s great hitters, he’s an outstanding individual who’ll represent the organization extremely well. I know that’s not the be-all, end-all, but Bruce is going to be a true ambassador for the game. He’s going to hit for average, get on base, hit for a ton of power, play good OF (eventually RF, but fine in CF for now), throw runners out, maybe even steal a few bases. It’s hard to come up with a good comparable, but I’ll go with Larry Walker. Maybe not quite as much speed, but it’s pretty close.
Jones is more of a prototypical five-tooler, who won’t hit for as much power right away. I think Bruce has more power potential than Jones, while Jones is likely a bit faster and will stay in CF.
Erik Bedard Rumors
Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider dug up "a few fresh nuggets" regarding the Erik Bedard trade discussions.
- The Mariners reportedly offered Adam Jones, Jeff Clement, and George Sherrill for Bedard. Seems the Orioles want Brandon Morrow or Carlos Triunfel instead of Clement. One source of Churchill’s believes the Mariners would be more inclined to buckle and surrender Morrow than Triunfel. It’s even possible that the Orioles gave the Mariners a "final counteroffer" including one of the two and will move on if it’s rejected.
- Many Mariners fans believe Bedard is not even worth Jones straight up, so imagine how they’ll feel if the Orioles extract significantly more.
- The Orioles still want Jay Bruce from Cincinnati; otherwise they would ask for a ridiculous package of pretty much everyone else worth discussing in the Reds’ farm system.
Odds and Ends: Inge, Snell, Jones
Some early Monday odds and ends to get things rolling…
- D-Town Baseball takes a closer look at the idea of Brandon Inge catching this year, something Dave Dombrowski would recommend to him.
- According to Marc Topkin, the Rays have increased payroll more than they promised (from $24MM in ’07 past $40MM this year.)
- Speaking of ’08 payrolls, the Detroit Free Press projects the Tigers at nearly $134MM.
- We’ve got a good discussion at RotoAuthority going regarding my Top 76 Fantasy Baseball Outfielders.
- The Pirates rejected Ian Snell‘s idea of a contract extension. He’s under team control for four more seasons, so they’re in no hurry.
- Some quotes from Adam Jones regarding being pulled from winter league ball.
Odds and Ends: Adam Jones, Weaver, Jocketty
You know how it works…random rumors and links to clear out my inbox.
- Adam Jones left winter ball early, perhaps as a prelude to a trade.
- The Cardinals’ interest in Jeff Weaver is "at best, tepid" according to Derrick Goold. However, Goold thinks they should bring him back.
- Walt Jocketty said on XM Radio: "I don’t want to be a GM again." I guess that settles that, Wayne Krivsky can rest easy.
- This is kind of funny. Mark Teahen on meeting Jose Guillen: "For the most part he didn’t rub me the wrong way – he seemed like a good guy." Hmmm….for the most part?
Odds and Ends: Reitsma, Affeldt
Some late night odds and ends to digest…
- The Mariners re-signed Chris Reitsma; he hopes to be ready for Spring Training following August elbow surgery (not Tommy John, of course). Reitsma hopes to return to his groundballing, healthy form of 2005. On a related note, Bleeding Blue and Teal speculates that the Mariners could target Jeremy Affeldt if they trade George Sherrill. At one point Affeldt was said to be seeking five years. His agent has already pitched him to the Mariners as a possible starter.
- Eduardo Encina reports that the Rays seek a superutility player and lefty reliever, and would prefer to get both via trade. Affeldt could be a possibility here as well.
- East Windup Chronicle analyzes Japanese stadiums.