Rockies Shopping Holliday, Atkins, Taveras
9:11pm: According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves are not interested in Taveras after all.
10:47am: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post and Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News, the Rockies are shopping Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, and Willy Taveras.
Holliday, a Scott Boras client, is set to earn $13.5MM in 2009 before reaching free agency. Ringolsby says the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Mets, and Phillies have shown interest. Renck has the Cardinals as a lurker. The Nats may also be interested. The Rockies will target young pitching in return.
Atkins is under team control for 2009 and 2010. Ringolsby has the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Mets, Phillies, White Sox, and Twins as interested parties. Renck sees the Indians as another possibility.
Taveras is also under team control through 2010. Ringolsby says the Royals, Yankees, White Sox, and Braves are in on him, while Renck adds the Nationals.
White Sox Looking To Trade Vazquez?
The latest on the White Sox…
- GM Ken Williams wants a younger, more athletic club, but still expects to compete in 2009. Players such as Chris Getz, Josh Fields, Jayson Nix, Jerry Owens, Brian Anderson, and Clayton Richard could play prominent roles on next year’s team. Sox Machine offers their take on Williams’ comments.
- Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times lists Brian Roberts, Coco Crisp, Chone Figgins, and Orlando Hudson as potential Sox targets. Williams didn’t talk much about his wish list yesterday, suggesting that last year’s openness hindered his progress. If the Sox sign Hudson, they’ll give their #24 pick in next year’s draft to the D’Backs.
- Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times says trading starter Javier Vazquez is Williams’ top offseason priority. Cowley believes Williams could look for an infielder in return. Vazquez will earn $23MM over the next two seasons, and has a limited no-trade clause to block trades to NL and AL West teams.
- Also in Cowley’s article – free agent catcher Toby Hall seems likely to re-sign.
What’s Next For Ken Griffey Jr.?
According to Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald, Ken Griffey Jr. said he wants to play three more seasons. Junior is a free agent now, and the White Sox will probably not re-sign him. Though Griffey is a Type B free agent, the Sox probably won’t risk offering him arbitration.
Could Griffey finish his career back with the Mariners? It’s not known if interest is mutual, as Ms GM Jack Zduriencik would not comment. Griffey, 39, hit .249/.353/.424 in 575 plate appearances this year. Larry LaRue offers commentary on the Griffey idea in a blog post.
White Sox Decline Options On Griffey, Hall
According to a press release, the White Sox have officially declined their options on Ken Griffey Jr. and Toby Hall for 2009.
The Sox chose Griffey’s $4MM buyout over his $16MM option (they’ll split the buyout with the Reds). For Hall, they chose a $150K buyout over his $2.25MM option. Hall may still be re-signed.
Reds Will Consider Mulder
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer spoke to Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently. A few nuggets from the conversation:
- The Reds will "at least explore" signing free agent lefty Mark Mulder. Jocketty, of course, has a history with Mulder from the Cardinals. Mulder recently told MLB.com’s Mychael Urban he won’t consider signing until he’s healthy and throwing well.
- Jocketty has spoken to the agents for free agents David Weathers, Mike Lincoln, Jeremy Affeldt, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Javier Valentin. Weathers doesn’t seem interested in taking a discount, while Valentin said last month he’d love to return.
- The Reds aren’t interested in signing Ken Griffey Jr. The White Sox are expected to pass as well, but Mark Gonzales believes he could be considered in a lesser role if healthy. At any rate, the two teams will split Junior’s $4MM buyout.
Odds and Ends: Myers, Crede, Giants
Links for Wednesday…
- The Brewers snagged infielder Casey McGehee off waivers from the Cubs. The Crew also designated Joe Dillon for assignment.
- The Reds signed 16 year-old lefty Ismael Guillon out of Venezuela.
- MLB.com’s Marty Noble discusses the Mets and impending free agents Oliver Perez and Pedro Martinez. The Mets will entertain re-signing Perez at their price, but they’ll let Pedro leave. Any guesses on where he pitches next year?
- Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues would like the Yankees to sign free agent outfielder Juan Rivera. Brian Cashman traded Rivera, Randy Choate, and Nick Johnson to the Expos for Javier Vazquez back in 2003.
- Brett Myers never wants to pitch in Boston again.
- Two more free agent bargains from Dave Cameron: Joe Crede and Dave Ross. Crede would be a solid one-year signing for the Dodgers or Twins.
- South Side Sox doesn’t see the White Sox adding much else for second base. There goes my Ray Durham idea.
- El Lefty Malo examines the latest Giants rumors.
- J.C. Bradbury provides values for Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, and Garret Anderson.
White Sox Sign Jayson Nix
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the White Sox signed second baseman Jayson Nix. Nix, 26, hit .303/.373/.591 in Triple A this year. The Sox are uncertain about their starter at second base next year, and this is a nice low-risk pickup.
Heyman’s Latest: Sabathia, Holliday, Griffey
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a look.
- "The prevailing opinion around baseball" is that C.C. Sabathia will sign with the Yankees, and C.C.’s friend Jimmy Rollins agrees.
- Matt Holliday "definitely intrigues" the Yankees. But they’d have to give up a lot to get him for one year, and they seem full at the outfield corners.
- Heyman, perhaps sensing a divide that does not exist, says Pat Gillick has relied on scouts rather than stats to make his decisions. Heyman also speaks of "a new hesitancy on the part of some to go for another young Ivy League stat man" at the general manager position.
- Heyman echoes the commonly held sentiment that the White Sox will not re-sign Ken Griffey Jr.
- The Mets are prioritizing catcher, bullpen, rotation, and outfield over second base. They’ve talked about Giants backstop Bengie Molina, owed $6MM in the last year of his deal.
- Heyman believes Boston’s chances of trading Mike Lowell are "practically nil" due to his hip surgery. His sources won’t rule out a run at Mark Teixeira though. In other Boston buzz, Heyman sees Coco Crisp on the trading block and a two-year offer for Jason Varitek.
White Sox Offseason Possibilities
I did a White Sox Offseason Outlook earlier this month, rattling off available speedy players and also suggesting a Bobby Jenks trade be explored. Today, Chicago Tribune beat writer Mark Gonzales offers his take on the Sox.
Gonzales sees Juan Uribe and Toby Hall as two players the White Sox hope to re-sign, with Hall at a lower salary than his $2.25MM option. Orlando Cabrera, Ken Griffey Jr., and Joe Crede will be gone. Cabrera is good for two draft picks if the Sox offer arbitration and he signs elsewhere.
Gonzales wonders if a Paul Konerko for Chone Figgins trade could take shape, but only if the White Sox add players. Konerko is owed $24MM for 2009-10, with full no-trade rights. Figgins should earn $5MM+ in ’09 before he hits free agency for the first time. It may be hard to get the Angels interested – Figgins fits their club, and they’ll try to re-sign Mark Teixeira. Kendry Morales may be the backup plan at first.
Gonzales sees the Rockies as another potential trade partner for Sox GM Ken Williams, naming Garrett Atkins and Willy Taveras as potential matches. Taveras may be had for a song, but Atkins should require young pitching.
A few free agents to consider: Orlando Hudson, Dennys Reyes, and Alex Cora.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Sunday
As we await an offer from the Dodgers to Manny Ramirez, the notion is often floated that a six year contract for Manny is better suited for an American League team. There he can spend the latter half of his deal, presumably the final years of his career, transitioning to DH.
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune reports that Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi confirmed that he has interest in Manny Ramirez. Rogers quotes Ricciardi: "I’ve always liked him," Ricciardi told the Toronto Sun. "But obviously getting him and liking him are two different things." We’ve heard this before here.
Rogers goes on to explain that if Manny is going to wind up on a team in Chicago, it would first require a trade. The Cubs will need to deal Alfonso Soriano, as we discussed last week, and the White Sox would need to trade Paul Konerko or Jermaine Dye for either team to be able to afford Ramirez. The article mentions a bad history between White Sox Owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Scott Boras, but it does give credit to Ken Williams’ craftiness and Manny’s power potential as a righty in U.S. Cellular Field. Jim Thome and Manny hitting back-to-back would be imposing to say the least.