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Random Rumors: Glavine, Cordero, Percival

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Let’s kick things off today with one of those posts packed with random rumors.

  • Tom Glavine’s agent Gregg Clifton meets with Braves’ GM Frank Wren this afternoon.  They’ll talk money.  Wren is expected to offer $8-10MM for ’08 plus a mutual option for ’09.  Glavine isn’t a lock for the Braves – three other teams are interested.  The pool includes the Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Cardinals and Astros.
  • Reds beat writer John Fay recently suggested the Reds might have a payroll around $75MM, giving them only $6MM to spend.  But now Fay is saying he thinks the Reds might go past $75MM.  He believes the Reds will strike quickly with a focus on relief help – maybe even Francisco Cordero.  The Brewers made an offer to Cordero Monday, and the Astros and Royals ar expected to be in the mix as well.
  • Previously it was noted that eight teams were in on Troy Percival, four of which were considering him at closer.  Now we’re up to ten clubs, and the Rays are having serious talks with his agent.  The Astros may also be in the mix.

Odds and Ends: Hot Stove Hysteria

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Anyone else ready for the Winter Meetings?  It’s going to be a crazy four days.  I’ll be blogging all of it nonstop.  Here are some links to consider in the meantime.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Cabrera, Haren, Barrett

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Rumor guru Ken Rosenthal checks in with a new column this afternoon.

  • The White Sox are legitimately in the mix for Miguel Cabrera, but many stars would have to align for it to get done.  Suitors with better prospects would have to balk, and the Sox would have to part with Josh Fields and Gio Gonzalez.  Kenny Williams might even have to cash Jon Garland in and turn around and flip that prospect in a Cabrera deal.  Regardless, it’s clear that Williams is once again thinking big.
  • Let’s face it: the Twins aren’t retaining free agents Torii Hunter or Carlos Silva.  You gotta know when to fold ’em – maybe it’s best to punt 2008 and trade both Johan Santana and Joe Nathan now.  Rosenthal says that philosophy is gaining some steam in the organization.  Both Santana and Nathan are only under contract for one year, but both are signed well below market prices.  That means that any mildly competitive team could entertain the notion of acquiring one of them for a big boost.  Baseball Prospectus values Santana at $25MM and 8.1 wins next year (he earns $13.25MM).  They put Nathan at $15MM and 6 wins (he earns $6MM).
  • The A’s are another team that could take one step back in order to take two steps forward.  Billy Beane has Joe Blanton and Dan Haren, two solid young pitchers each under team control for three seasons.  That’s a big advantage over the other frontline names who might be available.  Santana and A.J. Burnett have one year.  Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard have two.  Haren for three years is huge.  Blanton is under team control but Haren is actually under contract.
  • The Rays have gotten in touch with Michael Barrett’s people.  Will Barrett’s Type A status become an issue?  Only if the Padres dare offer him arbitration.  If I had to guess I’d say they won’t offer, but it’s a close call.  Troy E. Renck recently mentioned Barrett has drawn interest from six clubs, perhaps including the Rockies and Marlins.  I’m sure the Rockies would not give up their #25 overall pick to the Padres just to sign Barrett.  The Marlins’ sixth overall pick next year is protected. 

Rays Interested In Mahay

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According to Marc Topkin, the Rays have interest in southpaw reliever Ron Mahay (hat tip DRays Bay).  The 36 year-old had a well-timed solid season in 2007.  J.C. Romero’s three year, $12MM deal might have moved the bar a little for middle relievers.  If Romero gets that, then maybe Mahay gets three years, $15MM.  I would think that closing experience would be a prerequisite for an AAV higher than $5MM.

Aside from the Rays, the Rockies and Royals are known to be interested in Mahay.

Twins Willing To Trade Garza

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Terry Ryan hung on to his fine corral of young pitchers, and it’s hard to find fault with that.  However, new GM Bill Smith is open to dealing one of them for a high impact young hitter.

Specifically, Joe Christensen says the Twins are willing to move 24 year-old Matt Garza, who posted a 3.69 ERA this year.  The price would be huge – the names the Twins have in mind are Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, and Carlos Gomez.  Upton, a favorite of theirs, seems like the least available of the three.  Marc Topkin agrees that a Young-Garza rumor has been floating around.

If the Twins want to make a lesser deal, teams have also been asking about Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker.  But those two aren’t chopped liver, and Rocco Baldelli doesn’t seem like enough.  The Padres want in on the young pitchers, but aren’t willing to give up third baseman Chase Headley. 

There’s also word in Christensen’s article that the Twins haven’t heard back from Torii Hunter and Carlos Silva regarding their weak offers.  A more legitimate effort will be made to re-sign Johan Santana.

Hitoki Iwase, Carlos Silva On Cubs’ Wish List

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According to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs’ plans this winter involve a heavy focus on Japan.  As you already know, they’re all over Kosuke Fukudome, Hiroki Kuroda, and Kaz Matsui.

Another name to add to the list: lefty closer Hitoki Iwase.  The Cubs have reportedly heavily scouted Iwase and Kuroda.  The Cubs’ closer situation is wide open, with Ryan Dempster moving to the starting rotation.

De Luca also reports that the Cubs will inquire on head of the class free agent starter Carlos Silva.  Silva shares an agent with Carlos Zambrano.  No one expects Silva to come cheaper than four years, $40MM.  The Cubs showed last year that they were willing to invest that kind of money in starting pitching.  Their efforts may be bolstered by their success in importing Ted Lilly from the AL. 

Also, a possible trade could be developing with the Rays.  Tampa Bay is looking to add a shortstop, but the free agent crop is already down to just David Eckstein, Cesar Izturis, and the wild card Alexei Ramirez.  Eckstein isn’t the defensive-minded the guy the Rays covet, and he’d be too expensive anyway.  Marc Topkin names four possible trade targets for the Rays: Erick Aybar, Ronny Cedeno, Chin-Ling Hu, and Brent Lillibridge.  The Cubs are known to have interest in Carl Crawford.  The two parties might have a starting point in Cedeno, but quality pitching like Rich Hill and/or Carlos Marmol would have to be added to the package.    

Rays Shopping Baldelli?

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According to Marc Lancaster, Rays’ executive VP Andrew Friedman don’t have any players who are 100% untouchable.  It’s just that a team would have to offer a package the Rays consider superior to Delmon Young, Scott Kazmir, or Carl Crawford.  Not likely.  (Though there is informed speculation that the Twins inquired on Young recently).

One Ray who might come at a more reasonable price is Rocco Baldelli.  The guy just can’t stay healthy; Rays doctors are running all sorts of tests on him to figure it out.  There’s no time like the present to buy low on the potential All-Star.  Aside from the aforementioned Nationals (how about for Chad Cordero or Jon Rauch?), the Twins are rumored to be interested.  The Twins have the young hurlers the Rays crave.  In my opinion, a Baldelli/Boof Bonser swap might be fair.  Hey, remember when the Rays were going to get Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Yunel Escobar, and Kyle Davies for Baldelli?  Damn.

The Rays continue to seek a defensive-minded shortstop and bullpen help, Lancaster says. Cesar Izturis and Kazuo Fukumori might be two free agents who fit the bill.

Nats Like Andruw, Livan, Jennings, Colon, Glavine

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UPDATE, EVENING OF 11-6-07:  MLB.com’s Bill Ladson has some more good Nationals information.  His source says that both Livan Hernandez and Tom Glavine are interested in the club, but they only have the budget for one of them.  Glavine makes more sense.  Ladson also mentions that Bowden has his eye on Rocco Baldelli, and idea I like.  I can’t really think of a great match for a trade though.   

FROM MORNING OF 11-6-07:

According to the Washington Post, Nationals president Stan Kasten recently met with Andruw Jones at the center fielder’s home in Atlanta.  Kasten, of course, was formerly president of the Braves.

Kasten’s contact with Jones is described as "extremely preliminary."  That makes sense, since technically the two parties are not allowed to talk dollars and cents.  But come on – it’s not like Andruw’s house is bugged by MLB.  The Nationals’ open-minded pledge has already led them to contact Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand as well.

Barry Svrluga also reports that the Nats have touched base with three starters: Livan Hernandez, Jason Jennings, and Bartolo Colon.  The team’s desire to get a veteran starter on a one-year deal probably rules out a return of Livan.  But Jennings or Colon could definitely work.  I imagine Livan is going to wait until Carlos Silva signs before inking a contract.

Profiling More Japanese Pitchers

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You may have enjoyed a recent MLBTR post called Ranking Japanese Pitchers, written by Aaron and Jackson of East Windup Chronicle.  Now they’re back with summaries on four more Japanese pitchers who may come over to MLB for the 2008 season.  Kazuo Fukumori, Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, Yasuhiko Yabuta, and Yukinaga Maeda were pegged by Nikkan Sports as MLB possibilities.  Summaries from Aaron and Jackson follow.

Kazuo Fukumori – Might have emerged as a top-flight closer on a better team, but best years may have been wasted playing for expansion Rakuten Golden Eagles. Still, saved 21 games and was an All-Star in ’06. ERA jumped nearly two runs in 2007, but still saved 17 and maintained a strikeout per inning ratio. Has a formidable slider that tails toward right handed batters. Could emerge as a nice sleeper considering the number of solid closers possibly headed to the U.S. Tampa Bay has been mentioned as being in hot pursuit.  [Note: the Red Sox may be in on him as well.]

Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi – Lefty signed with agent Scott Boras in 2003, but nothing came of it. Had an off year in ’04, but in ’05, his 14th as a pro, had a career year going 15-3 with a 2.99 ERA. Has seen a decline in past two years in ERA, Ks, and wins, while BB/9 has jumped. But despite age has only averaged 95.5 innings per season and could be serviceable as a long reliever/spot starter in a new league. Throws a javelin in the offseason to maintain body/arm balance.

Yasuhiko Yabuta – Yabuta, the right-handed set up man for the Chiba Lotte Marines, is probably best known for striking out A-Rod, Derrek Lee, and Johnny Damon in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.  The Chicago White Sox need a set-up man and are rumored to have a strong interest in Yabuta, who has racked up 86 holds and a sub 3.00 ERA over the last 3 years for the Marines despite not panning out as a starter. [Note: the Red Sox are said to have a working agreement with the Marines, also.]

Yukinaga Maeda – The 37 year old left-hander Maeda was given his release by the Yomiuri Giants recently and is planning on making his trip over to the majors.   Despite posting dreadful stats over the last several years (ERA’s of 4.65, 7.23, and 5.06 in 2005-2007) and a career W-L record of 78-110,  His ’07 season was marked by a series of call-ups and send-downs, and going on 38 years old, it’s hard to see this guy making a huge contribution. 

Given the dearth of quality left-handed pitching, a team in need of a left-handed relief specialist might take a gamble on Maeda based on his performance from 1998-2004, split between the Giants and Chunichi Dragons.  Then again lefties hit .318 against him in NPB, so I shudder to think what Ryan Howard will do to him given the chance. On that note, Hideki Okajima may soon become the hero for all mediocre Japanese pitchers who get signed to contracts based on the possibility of being the next Hideki Okajima.

Latest Mets Rumors: A-Rod, Silva, Blanton

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Plenty of action around the Mets lately; Omar Minaya has his work cut out for him.  Hat tip to MetsBlog for several of the links.

  • The sensational storyline here is that Minaya will meet with Scott Boras to discuss Alex Rodriguez.  However, Boras and Minaya might spend more time discussing Kyle Lohse and Eric Gagne than A-Rod – the Mets’ focus is pitching.
  • Newsday’s Ken Davidoff reminds us of past trade talks regarding Joe Blanton, Jose Contreras, and Jon Garland.  Those talks may be re-opened, though Davidoff notes that the White Sox aren’t enamored of Lastings Milledge.  Additionally, the Mets will meet with Carlos Silva’s people this week.
  • Buster Olney discusses the Mets’ pursuit for pitching today in his blog.  They need a horse, somebody who can chew up innings.  Aside from the aforementioned Silva and Blanton, Olney names Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren, Scott Kazmir, and Dontrelle Willis as possible targets (though Marc Lancaster considers the declaration of Kazmir’s availability to be "dubious at best."  Meanwhile one exec thinks the Rays would only make him available if "his arm is about to blow.")  Olney’s guess is that the Mets will acquire Blanton.  The Mets have some combination of Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber, Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, and Aaron Heilman to offer.  There are pros and cons to dealing each.
  • There are other concerns besides pitching: second base and catcher.  Besides the forthcoming monster offer to Jorge Posada, the Mets are considering Paul Lo Duca and Yorvit Torrealba as fallbacks.  Ramon Castro is looking for a two-year deal, and hopes it’s with the Mets.  However, the Rockies have their eye on him. 
  • Pedro Martinez expects to pitch beyond 2008.  Whether that will be for the Mets or someone else, who knows.
  • Marlon Anderson’s two-year deal will be announced today, according to Adam Rubin.  The Mets will pass on Jose Valentin and Brian Lawrence’s options.   

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