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More On Aaron Miles

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Some interesting facts are mentioned in Derrick Goold’s article about Aaron Miles’ departure from St. Louis.

Apparently, the Cardinals were prepared to offer $4.3MM themselves – only $600,000 less than the Cubs. What drew Miles to Chicago, however, was a more sincere interest demonstrated by Cub management. As reported previously, the Cardinals waited until the last minute to give Miles their offer. Goold suggests that offer was delayed by dealings with Adam Kennedy.

Cardinals Have Flexible Payroll

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Bernie Miklasz passes along some quotes from Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. about the team’s offseason plans. DeWitt didn’t pin the Cards’ 2009 payroll down exactly, but he said it will be over $100MM. Whether the payroll’s slightly or considerably higher than that "depends on who is available or what the value is."

DeWitt said the organization would "consider" signing expensive players if they could make a big difference on the team.

Miklasz heard Tony La Russa’s thoughts on the St. Louis bullpen now that they missed out on Brian Fuentes. La Russa said Chris Carpenter could close next year, since he’s reluctant to expect 30 starts from Carp and he doesn’t think Chris Perez and Jason Motte are completely ready.

Odds and Ends: Miles, Bako, Sheets

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A couple of links for you bar-hopping kids with Blackberries.  Happy New Year’s Eve.  Be safe out there…

Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Pujols, McLane

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Links for Monday…

  • Daniel Cabrera passed his physical for the Nationals.
  • Tony Massarotti writes that the Red Sox had a shot at Mark Teixeira.  The Scott Boras camp was proposing $176MM guaranteed for eight years with vesting options that could’ve brought the total to $220MM over ten years.  Ultimately the Yankees beat Boston’s offer by $10MM, with no options and a full no-trade clause.
  • Viva El Birdos looks at what the Teixeira contract means for Albert Pujols.  Will Albert seek the largest contract in baseball history?  The Cardinals have him through the 2011 season.
  • RotoAuthority looks at the power/speed shortstop options for fantasy baseball leagues.
  • Astros owner Drayton McLane is the second owner to publicly admit he wants a salary cap (Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said it right after the Teixeira signing).  Interesting take on the salary cap by Dan Symborski at Baseball Think Factory.
  • The best of Big League Stew’s Answer Man series.

Cafardo’s Latest: Pettitte, Kotsay, Red Sox

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a number of items to cover in today’s Sunday paper:

  • While the Mets are front-runners in the Derek Lowe sweepstakes, the Red Sox have a lot of money to play with having lost out on Mark Teixeira and could make a strong play to outbid competition.
  • The Dodgers and Rangers are interested in Andy Pettitte if he doesn’t accept the Yankees reduced $10MM offer.
  • Don’t rule out a return to the Red Sox for Mark Kotsay as a fourth outfielder and added infield depth.
  • Cafardo reports a source close to the talks says Teixeira was "very concerned" with Mike Lowell’s fate should he sign with Boston, but that financial matters and the negotiations process removed that "awkward situation."
  • Jose Fernandez can play first and third base. He’s 34 and just completed seven years in Japan, hitting 20+ HR every year. He could be an interesting right handed-hitting option for teams looking to add depth to their infield and DH.
  • The Red Sox, Orioles, Braves, Reds, and Cardinals remain interested in Kenshin Kawakami.
  • Now that Teixeira is gone, Jim Bowden is not interested in Manny Ramirez. Perhaps Adam Dunn?
  • The Sox are still unwilling to deal Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Olney’s Latest: Lowe, Castillo, Hudson

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Buster Olney focuses his new column on reluctant-to-spend teams and how they’ve changed the market. He turns up some interesting rumors…

  • The Rays and A’s are in a "bidding war" of sorts over the likes of Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu. Both teams are willing to spend, but neither wants to go first since prices are higher now with both teams interested than they will be once the first team signs a player.
  • The Mets are in a great position since the Cards and Brewers aren’t likely to compete for Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf. This means they can wait, knowing that bargains will likely surface.
  • The Mets have "quietly continued to gauge" the Luis Castillo market and are interested in moving him and some of his salary.
  • If they find a taker, they could pursue Orlando Hudson.
  • As Joel Sherman predicted, the Nationals are now courting O-Dog.
  • Olney asks whether aging stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Pedro Martinez will choose to play for the offers they’re likely to get.
  • Brad Penny may soon decide where he wants to pitch next year. He’s weighing "an overture from the Cardinals" against other options.

Cardinals Payroll Developments

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Here’s a bit of "pure speculation" from Buster Olney: he wonders if the Cardinals have scaled back their payroll going forward.

Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III recently sounded reluctant to lower payroll, saying it would lead to a "spiral" he’d rather avoid.

The Cards have been patient on the free agent market so far, but the Mark Teixeira saga slowed everything down, so they could be more active soon. Now that they seem to have pulled their offer to Brian Fuentes, the Cardinals’ next steps will be telling.

Olney’s sources tell him that some teams have scaled back spending by as much as $20MM for next year and more may do the same as they project their revenues in the weakened economy.

Comparing Teixeira and Pujols

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Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took a minute to analyze the impact of the Mark Teixeira signing on the contract situation of another hard-hitting first baseman, Albert Pujols.

Pujols signed a seven-year, $100MM deal back in 2003.  At this point, as Goold states, "he’s been a bargain."  A very, very solid bargain.  Pujols, 28, could potentially become a free agent in 2011, two years from now, and has accomplished a few feats that Teixeira, also 28, has not.  El Hombre has two MVPs, won a World Series in 2006, and has a higher career batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage than Tex.

Goold describes Pujols’ free-agent value as simply "mind-boggling" and asks whether Albert will become baseball’s first "$30-million year man."

Cardinals Practice Patience

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Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the St. Louis Cardinals are taking a patient approach to the free agent market. Cardinals management is being cautious after making offers early in the offseason that didn’t receive much response.

That status stands for free agent closer Brian Fuentes, who had an offer from the Cardinals before the franchise pulled it. Goold notes that the Los Angeles Angels have become suitors for Fuentes.

Cards Turning Page On Fuentes?

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According to Frank Cusumano of Channel 5 in St. Louis, the Cardinals are "turning the page but not shutting the door" on Brian Fuentes after making an aggressive offer and apparently not hearing back.  It’s been suggested that Fuentes wants three years at more than $10MM per.  He’s seemingly waiting on Mark Teixeira to see if the Angels will have the available funds to sign him.

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