Passan’s Latest: Myers, Fowler, Asdrubal, McCarthy
The Royals have been shopping top prospect Wil Myers but only in exchange for starting pitching, reports Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. Earlier this week, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reported that Kansas City was known to be at least listening to offers for Myers and top position players like Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer. The only untouchable Royals appear to be Alcides Escobar and Salvador Perez due to their team-friendly contracts — "executives consider [Perez's deal] the best in the game," Passan writes.
The Royals have discussed trades with the Rays, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Athletics, Passan reports. While Myers would be of interest to any team, he is of particular value to low-payroll teams like the Rays and A's given that Gordon and Butler have large contracts and Moustakas/Hosmer are Scott Boras clients.
Here are some more items from Passan…
- The Rockies' asking price for Dexter Fowler is "absurd," one rival executive tells Passan. It appears to be a buyers' market for center fielders right now, though another executive warns that "it will shake out" as the offseason progresses.
- The Indians are shopping Asdrubal Cabrera, though "not at Black Friday prices," an executive says. Cabrera is one of a few shortstops on the trade market, along with the Astros' Jed Lowrie and the Marlins' Yunel Escobar.
- Teams are more worried about Brandon McCarthy's history of arm injuries than with his season-ending brain surgery. If McCarthy's medicals are clear, however, a team executive thinks the right-hander will get a multiyear contract.
- Anibal Sanchez's demands for a six-year, $90MM contract are "crazy, and he's probably going to get it," an executive tells Passan.
GMs Talk Starting Pitching Depth
Every team needs starting pitching depth, but few teams have enough of it. Given the expected cost of free agent pitching, the few clubs with starters to spare will be popular in offseason trade talks. Yet the general managers of these pitching-rich teams must be careful, since depth can diminish quickly if injuries strike and players disappoint on the field.
So, earlier this month at the GM Meetings, I asked three general managers of teams with considerable young pitching to explain how they weigh the possibility of trades against the reality that you can never have enough pitching. Here are their thoughts:
Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman
Internal starting rotation options: David Price, James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, Chris Archer, Alex Cobb
“The one thing that we’re very wary of is waking up one day and not being able to fill out a rotation in the American League East that can have a chance to pitch 170-220 innings [per starter].”
Braves GM Frank Wren
Internal starting rotation options: Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor, Tim Hudson, Randall Delgado, Brandon Beachy, Kris Medlen, Paul Maholm, Jair Jurrjens, Julio Teheran
“We feel like our rotation is one of our strengths. In our rotation and our bullpen we’re basically returning everyone and we have some dynamic young pitchers that are one verge of being a part of our rotation or on our club, so we do have depth.
“I always cringe when people say you have too much pitching because you never have enough pitching. But you also have to look at your club honestly and say ‘where do we have pieces that we can deal from.’ I think our pitching will enable us to fill some of our needs if we want to move one or so of those guys. It’s something we’re open to; it’s not something we’re absolutely going to do.”
Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik
Internal starting rotation options: Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas, Hisashi Iwakuma, Erasmo Ramirez, Blake Beavan, Hector Noesi, Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton
“You have to keep your options open. At this stage [on November 7th] people are feeling each other out, people are lining their ducks up in a row. All 30 clubs are doing this and everybody has their Christmas list if you will.”
The White Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, Reds and Mets are among the other teams that could consider trading starting pitchers to address other needs in the months ahead.
Stark’s Latest: Halladay, Hamilton, Rays, Dickey
In his latest blog post, ESPN's Jayson Stark points out that just five teams have $100MM+ committed to their 2013 payroll right now: the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, Tigers, and Blue Jays. None of those teams appear to be done this offseason either. Here's the rest of Stark's rumors…
- The Phillies have kicked around the idea of a contract extension for Roy Halladay, though GM Ruben Amaro said that "a lot has to do with how he feels and how he performs. So that's a decision and a conversation that would probably have to go into the spring, and maybe into the season."
- The two sides actually had preliminary talks about a new contract that would raise Halladay's annual salary north of $24MM and keep him with the Phillies beyond next season. Talks were shelved when the right-hander's shoulder began to act up, however.
- Stark hears that Josh Hamilton is no longer on the Phillies' list, and Amaro said they "haven't been given a real budget. I know it's not unlimited, but that's not usually how we work."
- Teams continue to check in with the Rays about their starting pitchers, and the asking price for James Shields is in the neighborhood of the five-player package Tampa received for Matt Garza two winters ago.
- Those same clubs don't believe the Mets have really put R.A. Dickey on the trade market yet.
- Rumors swirl that Zack Greinke is seeking a six-year contract, but his agent Casey Close has yet to ask for specific offers.
- Scott Rolen has told the Reds he may play next season, but he isn't ready to make a final decision tweets Stark. The team wants him back in some role.
Rays Sign Joel Peralta
The Rays announced that they have re-signed reliever Joel Peralta to a two-year contract. The deal guarantees the 36-year-old $6MM and includes a series of club options covering the 2015-17 seasons. Agent Mark Gilling represents the right-hander, who will be welcomed back to Tampa Bay.
“We love Joel’s competitiveness and the impact he has on the younger pitchers in our bullpen,” executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in a team statement.
Peralta appeared in 76 games for the Rays this past season. He posted a 3.63 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 67 innings, setting career highs in strikeouts (84) and strikeout rate.
Peralta ranked 38th on MLBTR's list of top 50 free agents. At the end of the season he expressed interest in re-signing with Tampa Bay if possible. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported the news, adding that the 2015 option was valued at $2.5MM.
Rays, Phillies, Astros, Red Sox Interested In Berkman
The Rays, Astros, Phillies and Red Sox are all in "tire-kicking" mode on Lance Berkman, tweets Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle (hat tip: Alex Speier of WEEI.com).
Until this point, the Astros are the only team that has been largely connected to Berkman this offseason. Astros owner Jim Crane had a "get-acquainted" meeting with Berkman recently, and Big Puma expressed interest in returning to Houston where his career began. In that interview, Berkman said he wanted to be paid like a Major League three-hole hitter, though he'd take a bit of a discount for the Astros.
The Phillies presumably have visions of Berkman seeing some time on the field as a first baseman or outfielder. The same could be said for the Red Sox, who recently re-signed David Ortiz to a two-year contract. The Rays and Astros could both elect to use Berkman as their primary DH, with no concrete incumbent in place for either organization.
Berkman hit .259/.381/.444 in 97 plate appearances for the Cardinals in 2012 but was hobbled by a pair of knee surgeries. He's a career .296/.409/.544 hitter with 360 homers between the Astros, Yankees and Cardinals.
Silverman’s Latest: Greinke, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald that he was unsure if he'd be able to acquire Miguel Cabrera (and Dontrelle Willis) in 2007. “A lot of clubs were involved and I didn’t think it was going to work for us for where we were financially,” said Dombrowski. “Once we sat down with the Marlins, it took us just a day to work out that deal. It happened very fast.”
Here are Silverman's rumors…
- The Dodgers are the favorite to sign Zack Greinke according to an insider. Both the Angels and Rangers are said to be "on the outside looking in."
- The Royals are listening to offers for Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and even Wil Myers. The Rays, meanwhile, are listening on James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson.
- Despite their pending blockbuster, keep an eye on the Blue Jays and the pitching market. Silverman suggests that Anibal Sanchez and Edwin Jackson could be in play for Toronto.
- The Blue Jays are shopping their three catchers (John Buck, J.P. Arencibia, and Travis d'Arnaud) but are leaning towards Arencibia or d'Arnaud.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Royals, Butler, Myers, Rays, Astros
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that Royals GM Dayton Moore is "feeling the heat," in the sense that many want the team to use their prospect base to acquire veterans who can help them win now like the Blue Jays did with their recent blockbuster. Here's more from Rosenthal on Kansas City…
- Even after acquiring Ervin Santana, the Royals can still fit a free agent like Jeremy Guthrie into their payroll on a back-loaded, multiyear contract.
- The Mariners covet Billy Butler and would conceivably part with young, high-end pitching to acquire him. Butler is under contract through 2014 with a club option for 2015, though the Royals are unsure if they have enough offense to move him right now.
- The Rays like top prospect Wil Myers, though the Royals are conflicted about moving him even for a pitcher like Jeremy Hellickson or Matt Moore.
- The Astros could be another trade partner for Kansas City since the price to acquire Bud Norris or Lucas Harrell would be lower than it would be for Hellickson or Moore. The impact would be less too, however.
- Moore is under contract through 2014 and does not appear to be in danger of losing his job, says Rosenthal.
AL Links: Sanchez, Hunter, Yankees, Price, Red Sox
With Torii Hunter joining the club on a two-year deal, the Tigers will now focus on re-signing Anibal Sanchez according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. They're unlikely to pursue another big name pitcher if they can't bring the right-hander back, however. Here's the latest from the American League, starting with some more on Hunter…
- Hunter told teams he wasn't interested in talking to them unless things didn't work out with the Tigers, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- The Yankees saw Hunter as a good fit but never made him an offer, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (on Twitter). They don't have any offers out to position players at the moment and are focused on re-signing Hiroki Kuroda and Mariano Rivera.
- Hunter would have taken less than $26MM he received from Detroit to re-sign with the Angels, but a one-year contract was a non-starter at any price according to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
- Knobler listed the pros and cons of trading David Price just a few hours after the left-hander took home the Cy Young Award. Some people with the Rays even identified the Rangers as the ideal trade partner.
- The Red Sox won't alter their rebuilding plan in the wake of the Blue Jays-Marlins blockbuster, said GM Ben Cherington to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. "We know we have a plan this offseason and we're going to see how much we can execute it … We've started that and we'll continue to do that," said Cherington, who mentioned he found out about the blockbuster through MLBTR.
David Price & R.A. Dickey Win Cy Young Awards
Congratulations go out to David Price and R.A. Dickey, who were named the Cy Young Award winners in their respective leagues by the BBWAA tonight. Price very narrowly beat out reigning winner Justin Verlander while Dickey won by a wide margin over Clayton Kershaw. Here is the full voting for the AL and NL.
Price, 27, went 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA in 211 innings this year. He struck out 205 (8.7 K/9) and walked only 59 (2.5 BB/9). Price finished second in the 2010 Cy Young voting and is projected to earn $9.5MM through arbitration this winter, which would be a record for a second time eligible pitcher.
Dickey, 38, went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA in a league-high 233 2/3 innings this season. He also led the league with 230 strikeouts (8.9 K/9). The BBWAA says he's the first knuckleballer to win a Cy Young Award. The Mets and Dickey are currently in negotiations about a contract extension, and the price figures to have just gone up a bit.
Coincidentally, both Price and Dickey are represented by agent Bo McKinnis, as our Agency Tracker shows. Kershaw, Craig Kimbrel, Chris Sale, Jim Johnson, and Matt Harrison all received votes as well, which could impact their arbitration salaries in the future.
Sherman’s Latest: Soriano, Yankees, Moore, Rays, Bay
Of the nine players who received qualifying offers this offseason, Rafael Soriano is viewed within the game as having taken the biggest financial risk by declining according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post. Teams don't want to invest big in closers because of their volatility now more than ever, especially after year one of the Heath Bell contract. Here are the rest of Sherman's rumors…
- The Yankees are privately pleased that Soriano opted out of his $14MM salary for next season. They'll allocate those dollars elsewhere and could use a portion of it on a reliever to replace Soriano.
- The feeling at the GM Meetings was that the Rays are much more open to trading a starting pitcher for offense than they have been in the past. They would talk about James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, Jeff Niemann, and even Matt Moore in the right deal.
- In the wake of Jason Bay's departure from the Mets, Sherman points out that Tyler Colvin (.150 AVG in 2011) and Andruw Jones (.158 AVG in 2008) are two recent examples of outfielders who turned things around following dreadful seasons. Bay hit .158 this year.