Preston Wilson Re-Signs With Cards
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Preston Wilson has re-signed with the Cardinals. Seems similar to the Matt Murton/Cliff Floyd situation, where Chris Duncan will still be the main guy in left but he’ll lose some PT.
RotoWorld reports that the deal is for $1MM with another $500,000 possible in incentives.
Buehrle Expected To Leave White Sox
At SoxFest yesterday, there was an amusing back-and-forth between Kenny Williams and Mark Buehrle. While they were in the same room, they exchanged barbs through reporters.
Buehrle feels Williams said directly that the southpaw would not be back with the Sox in ’08. It seems that Williams alluded to that in a more roundabout way, however. Bottom line: both parties seem to agree that Buehrle will price himself out of the White Sox’s range.
The lefty needs a major bounce-back season to snag the huge deal he seemed in line for before 2006. He posted a 6.44 ERA in the second half of ’06. He’ll probably give the Cardinals a decent hometown discount and eventually work something out with Walt Jocketty. Still, would he take less than five years and $60MM?
The Cardinals could easily be Buehrle’s third team, as Williams might want to exchange Buehrle for some nice prospects before 2007 ends. A lot will depend on the development of young pitchers and the team’s place in the standings.
Jeff Weaver Info
Viva El Birdos has some inside info concerning free agent Jeff Weaver. Larry writes that Scott Boras plans to hold out for 4/40, but Weaver really wants to return to St. Louis and is getting antsy.
The Mariners or Dodgers could still make a play for Weaver as well. The Dodgers would really be stacked in the rotation, but maybe it would be to complement a trade.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentions this morning that the Cards have a two-year offer out to Weaver and expect a decision on that this week. Joe Strauss adds the Mets to the list of other possible suitors.
Cards Still In On Weaver
UPDATE: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says negotiations have "intensified" between Weaver and the Cards. Walt Jocketty indicated that Weaver is the only possible addition to the rotation at this point. His limit for Weaver is two years.
With Carpenter, Wells, Reyes, Wainwright, Thompson, Mulder, and Franklin, I think the Cardinals can cobble together a respectable rotation in the NL Central this year. However, Walt Jocketty said today that he’s still in conversations with Jeff Weaver‘s people.
On one hand, the Boras group drives a hard bargain. On the other, St. Louis may be the best place for Weaver to get his career back on track. My guess? Jocketty probably wants him for something like two years and $16 million.
Viva El Birdos On Mulder
Viva El Birdos has an interesting take on the Mark Mulder signing, and I can’t really argue with it. I’ll leave you with Larry’s concluding quote; read his post on rotator cuff surgery survivors. Says Larry:
"To my eye, it’s 50-50 that Ryan Franklin outperforms Mark Mulder in 2007."
Mulder Signs With Cardinals
UPDATE: It’s confirmed – Mulder will return to the Cardinals for a guaranteed contract of two years and $13MM. Incentives can kick in to make it a three-year, $45MM pact if Mulder makes 30 starts in each of the next two seasons. It’s a longshot but it could be done if he returns right in the beginning of May. He had shoulder surgery in September of 2006.
Adam Wainwright might be able to remain in the bullpen as a result of the signing.
UPDATE: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has once source saying Mulder has signed with the Cards. He’s trying to confirm it with more sources.
Mark Mulder could decide tonight between the Cardinals, Indians, and Rangers. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cards have offered two years and potentially $18MM. The lefty probably won’t be ready to pitch until July, but he is looking at two guaranteed years from any of the three clubs.
The Dallas Morning News agrees that a decision is likely today. The three teams have made similar offers. If that’s the case, I don’t know why Mulder would choose to pitch in Texas or even the American League. The Rangers could snag one of Tomo Ohka, Mark Redman, Tony Armas Jr., Steve Trachsel, or Bruce Chen instead. The Rangers could use one more guy so as not to have to go with both Robinson Tejeda and John Koronka.
Post-Dispatch Cardinals Update
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently spoke to Cards GM Walt Jocketty, and has an article full of updates.
The Cardinals are still trying to bring back Mark Mulder and/or Jeff Weaver, but aren’t interested in other free agent pitchers. Jeff Suppan would have to offer a discount, which is unlikely. The Cards have a two-year offer out to Mulder. Weaver might wait out both Zito and Suppan before signing. Outside options like Brian Lawrence and Tomo Ohka might be out of the picture.
It also appears that Jocketty doesn’t have any trades on the horizon despite their earlier interest in Carl Pavano. Right now, the rotation appears to be Carpenter, Wells, Reyes, Wainwright, and Looper.
The Cards will bring back Rick Ankiel on a minor league deal. Preston Wilson hopes to return as well.
Mulder Narrows Choices?
According to Kat O’Brien of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "indications are that Mark Mulder is deciding between the Rangers and his previous team, the St. Louis Cardinals, on a two-year deal." Interestingly, the article includes a life-size picture of Mulder’s head.
As far as Mulder’s ERA goes, I don’t think Texas would be a wise choice. Not only is it a tough ballpark, but John Dewan’s recent team defense rankings put the Rangers’ middle infield 23rd in the Majors in 2006. His rankings indicate that the Mets would be a much better choice for a groundball pitcher.
Jon Lieber Action
You know it’s a rough year for pitching when Jon Lieber is a hot commodity. I kid – he’s not that bad. Liebs turns 37 next April, and figures to be the most expendable of Philly’s six starters. He’ll make $7.5MM in 2007.
Home runs and hits got the best of Lieber last year, though his command remained elite. He had a 4.93 ERA overall, but can probably pitch at his second half level (4.53).
The Pirates wanted to bring him back, perhaps hoping they could right the wrong of trading him to the Cubs for Brant Brown. However, John Perrotto tells us that interest has cooled because the Phillies asked for Salomon Torres. Seems like a fair deal to me.
Joe Strauss wrote last week that the Cards could pursue Lieber, just as they did at the trading deadline. For all of Walt Jocketty’s posturing, the team needs one starter. Not sure if any talks are going on here.
A week ago, the Phils had a deal in place to send Lieber to Milwaukee for Kevin Mench and Derrick Turnbow. However, talks dried up two days later. Jim Salisbury threw Texas’s hat into the ring in the same article. The Rangers were another team trying to trade for him in July.
Speaking of last July, the Mets wanted in at that point too.
Cardinals Talking To Tomo Ohka
According to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are talking to free agent hurler Tomo Ohka.
Ohka is slowly but surely being elevated to God-like status as the market thins. The Jason Marquis contract really inflated the lower end of the pitching market.
You can read my full profile of Ohka here.