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Odds & Ends: Figgins, Holliday, Padres

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Some links to read through on Ryan Howard's 30th birthday…

  • The White Sox would like to add a true leadoff man and are open to bringing back Jim Thome, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
  • MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says the Phillies aren't considered serious contenders for free agent Chone Figgins.
  • MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports that the Marlins may spend on a corner outfielder, a second baseman or a third baseman if they free up some payroll by trading Dan Uggla. Jamey Carroll is one of the many free agents the Marlins would consider.
  • The Brewers are open to bringing Craig Counsell back, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says tension is rising between players and owners.
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock wonders if the Padres could bring Mike Cameron back.
  • Padres fixture Brian Giles won't return in 2010, though he hopes to keep playing.  
  • MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that the Cardinals will likely add a veteran bat if they don't re-sign Matt Holliday. However, the Cards say they're still hoping to sign Holliday, according to FOX Sports.
  • Leach expects the Cards to sign a pitcher to a one or two year deal to be the club's fourth starter.
  • As MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo points out, some of the best free agent signings are the ones that get the least attention.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun says there's a good chance the O's sign Pedro Feliz.

Odds & Ends: Yanks, Boras, Greinke, Cards

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A few more items for Wednesday evening…

  • Chad Jennings of The Journal News thinks the Yankees ought to at least call Toronto about right-handed ace Roy Halladay.  "I have no idea what the asking price might be," writes Jennings, "but Halladay is better than [John] Lackey and he’ll surely cost fewer prospects than Felix Hernandez."
  • As noted by the Boston Globe's Nick Carfado, MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said Wednesday the revenue sharing figures thrown out by agent Scott Boras during last week's GM meetings "have no basis in reality" and that Boras is living in a "fantasy land."
  • According to Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker, right-hander Ryota Igarashi and left-hander Hisanori Takahashi filed for international free agency on Wednesday.
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star expects Zack Greinke to move on once his contract with the Royals is through.  "The good news is that the team has Greinke under contract three more years," writes Mellinger.  "The bad news is they have a lot of improving to do in that time."
  • Joe Strauss and Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took to the radio Wednesday afternoon with a few opinions on the Cardinals' offseason plans.  Both feel Matt Holliday is only an average defender and that the Cardinals could be looking to add starting pitching via trade this offseason.

Cardinals: Bay Not A Priority

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Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has some interesting information concerning the Cardinals and their winter moves.

Matt Holliday is still tops on the agenda, of course, but though many observers figured Jason Bay would be Plan 1A, St. Louis GM John Mozeliak said that wasn't the case.

"We'll see how the market develops," Mozeliak told Strauss. "Is (Jason Bay) a possibility? Sure. But right now it's fair to say he's not one of our top priorities."

According to Strauss, a greater reliance on defensive metrics has redefined St. Louis' interest in Bay, who is a far worse defensive player than Holliday by nearly any statistical measure. Therefore, it isn't a surprise that the Cardinals are reluctant to top the four years and $64MM Strauss says is likely a starting point for bidding on Bay.

In addition to free agent options, the Cardinals retain interest in both Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham of the Nationals.

On the pitching side, Mozeliak has stayed in touch with the agent for John Smoltz, but Strauss says there are other options St. Louis will pursue first.

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Smoltz, Indians

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Some news and notes from around the majors….

  • It was previously reported that eight teams were interested in veteran utilityman Mark DeRosa.  According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, you can add the Mets, Braves and Twins to the list, as well as DeRosa's most recent team, the Cardinals.  With so many interested parties, DeRosa's agent Keith Grunewald believes his client should have no problem getting his desired multi-year contract.
  • In that same article, Hernandez notes that the Dodgers talked to Grunewald about both DeRosa and another of the agent's clients, pitcher John Smoltz.  The Dodgers were previously cited as one of seven clubs looking at Smoltz, with Los Angeles being one of the teams looking at the veteran right-hander as a starter.
  • Speaking of Smoltz, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (via Twitter) says the Astros aren't interested in the future Hall-of-Famer.
  • Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com breaks down what Cleveland might do with the back-end of their 40-man roster and with some of their top minor-league prospects.
  • Tracy Ringolsby, in a response to a reader's e-mail, doesn't believe the Rockies will pursue a free-agent infielder given the team's satisfaction with Ian Stewart and Clint Barmes.  Ringolsby also thinks that the return of Jeff Francis from injury will preclude Colorado from chasing a free-agent starter.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak all but confirmed that Troy Glaus won't be back in St. Louis next season, says MLB.com's Matthew Leach.  Leach also notes that Mozeliak was non-committal about Jason LaRue returning as the Cards' backup catcher in 2010.

Several Teams Interested In Smoltz

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Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that several teams have expressed interest in free agent righty John Smoltz, who is open to starting or relieving. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Mets, Mariners, Astros, Rangers, and Orioles are the among the teams interested in the future Hall of Famer, and some teams inquired about him as a closer.

The 42-year-old Smoltz put up a 4.26 ERA in seven starts with St. Louis after his eight start cameo with Boston. His fastball generally sat in the low-90's, though he did strike out 73 batters in 78 total innings. 

DeWitt On Matt Holliday, Trades

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Cardinals' chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. was a guest on Bernie Miklasz's 101 ESPN radio show today, and spoke about free agent Matt Holliday (among other topics). Let's round the discussion up…

  • The team still plans to make a serious push to retain Holliday, but DeWitt admitted that if a big-market club decides to go all out to sign him, they probably "don't have a chance."
  • The Cardinals haven't made an offer during the 15-day exclusive-right window simply because Scott Boras has made it clear he's taking Holliday on the open market.
  • DeWitt doesn't regret trading three prospects for Holliday, including 2008 first round pick Brett Wallace, because the goal was winning in 2009.
  • He also acknowledges that trading for Holliday and Mark DeRosa thinned out the team's farm system, but he believes the club still has prospects that will draw interest from other clubs.
  • If the Cardinals fail to re-sign Holliday, DeWitt said they would use the money set aside for him to improve other areas of the roster, depending on the player(s) and if it makes sense.

Offseason Outlook: St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals are next in our Offseason Outlook series.  Their likely commitments for 2010:

C – Yadier Molina – $4.25MM
C – Matt Pagnozzi – $400K
1B – Albert Pujols – $16MM
2B – Skip Schumaker – $430K+
SS – Brendan Ryan – $405K
3B – David Freese – $400K
IF – Julio Lugo – $400K
IF – Tyler Greene – $400K
IF/OF – Joe Thurston – $475K
LF –
CF – Colby Rasmus – $400K
RF – Ryan Ludwick – $3.7MM+
OF – Allen Craig – $400K

SP – Chris Carpenter – $14.5MM
SP – Adam Wainwright – $4.65MM
SP – Kyle Lohse – $8.875MM
SP – Jaime Garcia – $400K
SP – Mitchell Boggs – $400K

RP – Ryan Franklin – $3.25MM
RP – Trever Miller – $2MM
RP – Dennys Reyes – $2MM
RP – Kyle McClellan – $410K
RP – Josh Kinney – $405K
RP – Jason Motte – $400K
RP – Blake Hawksworth – $400K

That comes to about $65MM before arbitration raises to Ludwick and Schumaker.  So we'll put the Cardinals around $70MM committed.  The Cardinals entered the season at $88.5MM, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts.  GM John Mozeliak could have close to $20MM to spend this winter.

Clearly the Cardinals' offseason hinges on Matt Holliday.  If Holliday is signed even to a backloaded contract, it seems that Mozeliak won't be able to do much with the third base and rotation needs.  Holliday figures to cost $16-20MM annually for at least five years.  Re-signing John Smoltz might allow for the best of both worlds – a chance at 150 innings of above-average pitching without breaking the bank.  Presumably Holliday and Smoltz could both be squeezed in.

Should Holliday sign elsewhere or the Cardinals decide to move on, there are plenty of free agents to suit their needs.  The Cards can move on to the next best thing in Jason Bay, and probably end up with more spending money for other players.  It will be difficult to entirely avoid Scott Boras this winter, because Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady might become options as Mozeliak moves down the left fielder list.

Also, Boras client Adrian Beltre is an intriguing third base option if the Cardinals prefer not to splurge on Chone Figgins.  Mark DeRosa and Miguel Tejada are a bit older but would be solid one-year choices.  Dan Uggla, Kevin Kouzmanoff,  Josh Willingham, and David DeJesus could be trade considerations at third and left.

If Holliday departs, the Cardinals can up the ante on the rotation and take a look at Randy Wolf or Joel Pineiro.  Mozeliak recently told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the club may consider a rotation upgrade if they don't ink Holliday, but signing John Lackey is unlikely.

Which route do you prefer for the Cardinals this winter – sign Holliday and tinker elsewhere, or spread the money around to three or more solid veterans?

Odds & Ends: Bellorin, Chapman, Cardinals

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Links for Friday…

Cardinals Talk: Holliday and Plan B

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Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has his finger on the pulse of the Cardinals…

  • GM John Mozeliak explained that his offer for Matt Holliday will be firm: "I think it's fair to say when we present an offer, that's pretty much going to be our position.  We're not really interested in becoming involved in a long, drawn-out back-and-forth."  As is typical of these situations, Mozeliak would like the situation to be resolved more quickly than Scott Boras typically works.
  • Where would the Holliday money go if the slugger signs elsewhere?  A veteran third baseman is one possibility, though the Cards haven't expressed interest in Chone Figgins.  Mark DeRosa could still fit at third base or even left field if Holliday leaves.
  • Strauss has Mozeliak saying earlier this week that the Holliday money could be allocated toward the rotation (but probably not for a John Lackey signing).

Cardinals Interested In Xavier Nady

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Cardinals GM John Mozeliak expressed interest in Xavier Nady and other Scott Boras clients, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Presumably Nady would be a low-rent option for left field.  Of course, that's not the lead of Strauss' article – the focus is Matt Holliday and the Cards' attempt to sign him.

Mozeliak met with Boras for an hour Tuesday, but did not make an offer for Holliday.  Boras then spoke to the media, disputing the notion that the Cardinals are a mid-market team:

"I don't know what a mid-market franchise is. That's like a midsize aircraft carrier.  They all have the potential to have an economic bomb. If you're drawing 3.3 million fans and you're averaging $50 a fan coming in, I just don't know that mid-market term. I'm trying to think if that's part of the laissez-faire system. I don't know."

Boras-speak is always hyperbolic, but he makes this point every year and there's something to it.  Baseball teams make a ton of money.  The players deserve a lot of it.

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