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Tigers In Lead For Jose Valverde

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4:21pm: In a chat today, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says he's been told the Cardinals are "not actively involved" on Valverde.

12:53pm: The Tigers are believed to have the biggest offer out to free agent reliever Jose Valverde, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The sides are not close to a deal, however.  Morosi adds that the Cubs are not interested, but the Cardinals "could emerge as a suitor."  Just depends on if they want to put most of their $6-7MM in one basket, I'd say.  Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that Valverde has offers from the Tigers, Cardinals, and one other team.

Last night on Twitter, Jim Bowden had this to say:

[Tigers GM] Dave Dombrowski told me tonight they are focusing on the back end of the bullpen and did not deny an offer to Valverde and a willingness to lose their #1 pick.

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith ran through the draft picks that would be at stake in a post Sunday.  The Tigers would surrender the #19 overall pick to the Astros, while the Cardinals would have to part with #25.  Ben noted that the Red Sox have not been connected to Valverde but they'd only have to give up the #107 overall pick.

Heyman On Mauer, Pujols, Damon, Washburn

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3:59pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves have not made an offer to Damon, contrary to Heyman's suggestion below.

12:49pm: Jon Heyman's latest column for SI.com leads with thoughts on contract talks for two superstars, Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols.  Heyman says Mauer has been slow to engage with the Twins only because he's giving them a chance to put the 2010 team together first.  Heyman believes Mauer is "thinking about a contract for at least seven years and more than $20MM, though he isn't going to press the $30MM issue that could conceivably come into focus if he goes the free-agent route."  On the other hand, Heyman says Pujols is "surely seeking" $30MM a year.  On to Heyman's other rumors…

  • Heyman believes the Braves and Giants made offers to Johnny Damon.  It's not clear if the Giants' offer for Damon is still on the table given their Aubrey Huff agreement.
  • Jarrod Washburn rejected a $5MM offer from the Twins; the Mets and Royals are other suitors.
  • The Mariners have considered Ryan Garko.  An outfielder would make more sense.
  • The Rangers are looking for a "low-cost starting pitcher."
  • The Orioles are "still in play" for first baseman Adam LaRoche.  Currently it's difficult to name another LaRoche suitor.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Holliday, Yankees

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Some Saturday links…

  • Red Sox GM Theo Epstein expanded a bit on his "bridge year" comment from the Winter Meetings, writes Dan Duggan of The Boston Herald.
  • FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Players' Union calculates the present day value of Matt Holliday's deal at $113.6MM, or $16.2MM per year. The Cardinals, however, see the present day value as lower because they use a different discount rate. ESPN's Buster Olney has a breakdown of the award based incentives.
  • Chad Jennings of The Journal News has some more utility player candidates for the Yankees.
  • Tommy Rancel at DRaysBay wonders if Franklin Gutierrez's contract extension could be used as a blueprint for a potential B.J. Upton extension.

Cardinals Have $6-7MM Left To Spend

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Now that Matt Holliday's mega-contract is all but official, the Cardinals have approximately $6-7MM left in their budget according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. The team must now figure out how to allocate those funds, because they still have to address third base and the back of the rotation, plus the bullpen and bench.

"It's a great question and one that I don't know the answer to today," (GM John) Mozeliak said on Thursday when asked what comes next. "[Assistant GM John] Abbamondi, myself, Jeff [Luhnow, scouting director and farm director] and the group will sit down tomorrow. I'll then also get with Tony [La Russa, manager] over the weekend and we'll kind of prioritize what we think, if we had a bullet to use, what would we use it on. Once we get to that point, then we'll look at what's out there and how to use that resource if it's there. We may stand pat. But we'll see." 

As Leach points out, the Cardinals do have in-house options at third (David Freese) and the fifth starter's spot (Jaime Garcia, Mitchell Boggs, Blake Hawksworth), though the bench – particularly a lefty hitter – is an area the team will have to go outside of the organization to upgrade. 

We've seen names like Miguel Tejada, Joe Crede, and Felipe Lopez mentioned as possible fits for the Cardinals in recent weeks.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bay, Holliday, Front Offices

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On this date nine years ago, the A's, Royals, and Devil Rays pulled off a three-team trade that included seven big leaguers. Oakland acquired Johnny Damon, Mark Ellis, and the late Cory Lidle while Kansas City received Angel Berroa, A.J. Hinch, and Roberto Hernandez. Tampa Bay picked up just Ben Grieve. Even though Berroa went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, Billy Beane's club walked away as the clear winner of this blockbuster.

Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere as Spring Training inches closer…

  • Fenway Nation thinks the Red Sox made a mistake by not re-signing Jason Bay, and wants to see the club atone for it by trading for Adrian Gonzalez.
  • Simon On Sports interviewed a blogger from each team about their squad's offseason.
  • At Home Plate says the Cardinals overpaid for Matt Holliday not because he isn't worth the money, but because no one else was bidding for his services.
  • Athletics Nation graded the front offices of the last decade.
  • U.S.S. Mariner calls Franklin Gutierrez's contract extension a major bargain, and notes it's similarities to the deal Mike Cameron signed with Seattle a decade ago.
  • DRays Bay wonders if the Rays could use Alfredo Amezaga.
  • Phillies Nation takes a look at some of the cheaper free agent pitching options that could entice the two-time defending NL Champs.
  • Twins Overlook examines the progression of Delmon Young since arriving in Minnesota.
  • River Ave. Blues ranked the $100MM contracts given to position players.
  • More Hardball has some New Year's resolutions for various people and teams in the game.

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

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Damon, Boras, Padres

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Some links for Friday…

  • Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com reports that the Red Sox considered dealing Jason Varitek and Shea Hillenbrand for Adrian Beltre and Paul LoDuca before the 2003 season.
  • The Twins invited Mike Maroth and 13 other non-roster players to Spring Training, according to a team press release.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter) that the Tigers have no intention of adding a DH.
  • Giants GM Brian Sabean told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that the team is focusing on adding an outfielder, not a catcher or a starter. Sabean, who would prefer to add a left-handed hitter, did not confirm or deny interest in Johnny Damon.
  • Scott Boras would let Adrian Beltre baby-sit his kids, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
  • Boras says he approached the Red Sox about the idea of signing Adrian Beltre to a "pillow contract," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Boras likes that Beltre will likely attract lots of attention in Boston.
  • Boras tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's starting to have "a lot of conversation" about Rick Ankiel. He also suggests Joe Crede could be a fit for the Cards.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times tweets that the Franklin Gutierrez extension should become official today.
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Hideki Matsui's one-year $6MM deal with the Angels set the market for other DH-types like Vladimir Guerrero.
  • As MLB.com's Corey Brock notes (via Twitter), the Royals' pending deal with Scott Podsednik could influence the offers the Padres make to Jerry Hairston Jr. and Randy Winn.
  • The Nippon Ham Fighters acquired former Blue Jay reliever Brian Wolfe, according to the Kyodo News.
  • Carlos Delgado hit a homer in the Puerto Rican Winter League yesterday, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
  • Jason Giambi is open to returning to the Rockies if he doesn't find a DH job, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
  • The St. Louis Post-Dispatch totals up the Cardinals' payroll and finds that the club has $7.4MM to spend on four players – an outfielder, an infielder, a reliever and a starter.

Olney On Holliday, Valverde, Cust, Branyan

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney argues that baseball writers shouldn't decide who makes it into the Hall of Fame. After explaining why he'd prefer to see the Hall of Fame appoint its own panel, Olney turns up some rumors from around the league. Here they are:

  • One MLB official says the Matt Holliday deal may end up as "one of the worst deals in major league history" because the Cardinals were apparently bidding against themselves.
  • Olney hears from negotiators who believe the Cards should have lowered their offer considerably once the Mets signed Jason Bay.
  • Jose Valverde is asking for $8MM per season and wants to be a closer. As Olney points out, the Pirates and Marlins are not likely to match Valverde's asking price unless he lowers it. The Tigers have been cost-conscious this offseason, but they could use an accomplished reliever.
  • Olney says it's clear that Billy Beane and the A's value Jack Cust "in a way that many other teams do not."
  • Executives around the league are concerned about Russell Branyan's back. The 34-year-old slugged 31 homers last year, though he didn't play after August.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Cardinals, Delgado

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Some more links for the evening…

Orioles Notes: Mora, Tejada, Atkins, Hill

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A pair of former Oriole bats are still looking for somewhere to sign, and Baltimore has shown no interest in bringing back either Melvin Mora or Aubrey Huff, according to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Here are some more Baltimore-centric tidbits from their piece:

  • The O's may not be interested in Mora, but we heard earlier in the week that a few other clubs are. Mora confirms that several teams have been in touch with his agent, including the Rockies, Cardinals, and Angels.
  • The Orioles are still looking to add a corner infielder. Although they've had discussions with Miguel Tejada's representation, "a reunion remains unlikely."
  • The club would prefer to play Garrett Atkins at first base, rather than at third. The greater number of affordable first basemen left on the market, however, may force their hand.
  • A handful of teams, including Baltimore, have extended minor league contract offers to Rich Hill, but the lefty has yet to make a decision.

Matt Holliday Signs With Cardinals

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Matt Holliday has officially signed what will surely be the biggest contract of the 2009-10 offseason. It's a seven-year, $120MM deal with a full no-trade clause. Holliday's vesting option for 2017 would be worth $17MM if he finishes in the top-10 in MVP voting in 2016; if the option doesn't vest, the Cards will owe Holliday a $1MM buyout. 

ESPN's Buster Olney wrote Monday that the two sides were close to a possible seven-year deal and SI.com's Jon Heyman first reported that the Cardinals and Holliday had agreed to a deal. Heyman (via Twitter) and Matthew Leach of MLB.com delivered the specifics later. 

Holliday, who will keep getting paid under this contract until he's 49, will be 36 in the last guaranteed year of the deal. By comparison, Jason Bay will be 34 in the last year of his deal, one that guarantees him $54MM less than the one Holliday signed.

Holliday falls short of the $18MM average salary he reportedly sought, but this contract is a huge win for Boras given the lack of competition. Click here to check out others' reactions to the deal.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

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