Torii Hunter To Texas Musings
The Rangers are the early favorite to sign 32 year-old center fielder Torii Hunter for several reasons.
First off, Hunter and his family live just 47 miles away from The Ballpark In Arlington. Sometimes the whole hometown team thing is overrated when predicting where free agents will land, but Hunter has basically said that the Rangers have an advantage and it’s what his family wants.
Second, the Rangers have vacancy. Brad Wilkerson will be gone and Kenny Lofton already is. Sammy Sosa could assume a lesser role or none at all. The Rangers do have some interesting internal candidates for center field in Marlon Byrd and David Murphy, but they might be better suited as fourth outfielders.
Third, the Rangers can probably afford Hunter even with his bare minimum 5/75 demand. My back of the napkin math has the net change to payroll as about $13MM off the books. There are small gains for Millwood, Padilla, Blalock, Catalanotto, and arbitration-eligible guys, but good money off the books for Teixeira, Gagne, Wilkerson, Lofton, and Sosa. The Rangers have held at a $68MM Opening Day payroll for the last two seasons but Tom Hicks has had it up past $100MM before.
So with Hunter the Rangers could have a $70MM payroll (or less if they backload his contract). But it gets better: if Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract, the Rangers gain $8.1MM in ’08, $7.1MM in ’09, and $6.1MM in ’10. It’s certainly easier to envision Hunter in a Rangers uniform if A-Rod opts out.
Rangers To Shop Vicente Padilla?
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News asks whether Vicente Padilla‘s start today against the Twins will be his last as a Ranger. He highlights Padilla’s inability to go deep into games as well as his questionable behavior off the field. He also notes that Padilla’s beaning and subsequent brawl with Nick Swisher and the A’s didn’t sit well with teammates:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Hank Blalock missed the Rangers’ next game with soreness incurred from being at the bottom of the pile trying to break up the fight, a fight which Padilla crawled away from after the benches cleared.
Grant suggests the Rangers try to swap Padilla and his remaining two years, $24.75MM for a bad contract like Jose Contreras or Carl Pavano or even just cut him and pay the money.
To all this I say: the Rangers knew what they were getting into. Here’s what we knew about Padilla before the Rangers signed him in December of last year: headhunter, injury and conditioning problems, alcohol issues, doesn’t speak to the media. If any of those things bothered the Rangers they shouldn’t have locked him up for 3/33. These things didn’t just surface for the first time this year. Note that I am not dogging him for not speaking to the media – he may just be self-conscious having begun English lessons in 2000.
I thought Padilla was a relative bargain at three years guaranteed instead of four. Just one year into the deal, he’s being viewed as a burden by Texas. One interesting note: Padilla came up as a closer; maybe some team would like to try him in that role if the Rangers eat some salary. It could keep him healthy.
Failed Trades
Let’s take a look at some deals that almost happened yesterday.
Kyle Farnsworth for Bob Wickman. This would’ve been fun, reunions with former teams for both players. However, the Braves wanted the Yankees to pick up all of Farnsworth’s salary, apparently. Brian Cashman didn’t want to make him go away that badly, and Wickman would probably be a nonfactor back in the AL.
Mariners acquire Mark Loretta. Eh. Let’s not overstate the abilities of Loretta. It sounds like Tim Purpura wanted some kind of legitimate prospect for him.
Rockies send Jeff Baker and others to Tampa Bay for Dan Wheeler. We can’t really evaluate this one without knowing who else would’ve been involved. And the Rays don’t really have a place to play Baker; they’re already squeezed finding playing time for Jonny Gomes. If Rocco Baldelli ever gets healthy they’ll really have a pickle. I mentioned in a recent interview at D-Rays Bay – Wheeler would probably be one of the ten best relievers available if he was a free agent after the season. The Rays can pump up his value and get a promising young pitcher next year, as the Royals did with Octavio Dotel.
Brewers send Tony Gwynn Jr., Zach Jackson, and another minor league for Eric Gagne. This could’ve been the difference-maker that Scott Linebrink ain’t in a tight NL Central race. But it doesn’t seem like Doug Melvin got a chance to counter the Red Sox offer, so you can’t really fault him.
Red Sox send Wily Mo Pena and Craig Hansen to White Sox for Jermaine Dye. Well, there has to be some statistical way to evaluate whether this pair beats two draft picks. You’d have to know the attrition rates of first/second rounders, and get some scouts on Pena and Hansen to see if they can ever reach their potential. If I was the Kenny Williams I probably would’ve made the deal. I think Pena gets docked in value from where he was two years ago, but still has pretty much the same upside if you manage him right. Who knows, maybe Williams will go after Pena again this winter.
Braves Announce Teixeira Deal
The Rangers received even more than anticipated for first baseman Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay. We knew they were getting Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, and Matt Harrison. But there’s now a fifth prospect going to Texas: southpaw Beau Jones.
Jones throws in the low 90s with a sharp curveball; he’s been compared to Kyle Davies. The 21 year-old Jones was recently promoted to High A Myrtle Beach.
Meanwhile, Dan Lewis of Armchair GM weighs in on John Schuerholz’s many dealings.
Rangers Offered $140MM To Teixeira
The Rangers made a legitimate offer to first baseman Mark Teixeira before trading him. Apparently they offered him an eight-year, $140MM package. That’s an average annual value of $17.5MM. A little light, but not a bad starting point.
But since the deal covered the 2008 season and Teixeira would’ve gotten around $14MM regardless, it was really a seven-year, $126MM offer – same as Barry Zito‘s contract. $18MM a year for Teixeira sounds reasonable, but who knows how it will seem a year from now? He might be a $22MM player at that point. Teixeira will, of course, hit the open market after the 2008 season.
Red Sox Acquire Eric Gagne
UPDATE: According to NESN’s Tom Caron, Gagne has agreed to come to Boston and will serve as the setup man.
UPDATE: Third player going to Texas, according to Buster Olney. That would be 17 year-old five-tool outfielder Engel Beltre.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox are the winner of the Eric Gagne sweepstakes pending Gagne’s consent and a review of medical records. Rosenthal says Gagne might share the closer role with Jonathan Papelbon; it would not be shocking to see Papelbon become the setup man for the rest of the year. That would be a hell of a 1-2 punch regardless and a huge asset for the playoffs.
Rosenthal says Kason Gabbard is one of the two players going to Texas in the deal. Jayson Stark thinks David Murphy is the other player, but it’s far from confirmed. The Red Sox still need to talk to Gagne and Scott Boras.
Tim Brown’s Latest: Cordero, Quentin
UPDATE: You can throw Conor Jackson into the mix along with Quentin.
Yahoo’s Tim Brown has some new rumors and info:
- Plan B if the Red Sox can’t get Eric Gagne: Washington’s Chad Cordero. It seems Wily Mo Pena would be a part of that, but I imagine Jim Bowden would want a top prospect as well.
- The Diamondbacks are shopping Carlos Quentin for a starting pitcher; the Indians and Nationals have interest. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Indians are willing to deal Cliff Lee, so maybe there’s a match there. And keep in mind that former Diamondbacks Director of Scouting Mike Rizzo now works as the Nationals’ Assistant GM and VP of Baseball Operations. Rizzo still has a lot of Arizona connections, and he definitely loves Quentin.
- Interestingly, Will Carroll indicates that Justin Upton may be on the verge of a callup.
Latest On Eric Gagne: Brewers Jump In, Red Sox Leading
Deadline day! I’ll be with you nonstop until the trading is done. Eric Gagne is the big name to watch, unless things heat up with Adam Dunn and Jermaine Dye.
- UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal mentioned in his recent column that the Brewers are one of the 12 teams that can acquire Gagne without his permission. So to review: the Yankees, Mets, Angels, Brewers, and eight other unknown teams can acquire Gagne without his permission. He’d need to consent to trades to the Tigers, Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, and 13 other unknown clubs.
- UPDATE: Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe is hearing that the Rangers may prefer to hold onto Gagne and try to sign him to an extension.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin called up Jon Daniels to see what it would take to add Eric Gagne to his bullpen. We don’t know whether Gagne must consent to a trade to Milwaukee, but I’d guess he does have veto power with them. Francisco Cordero leads all of baseball in saves, so would Gagne set up for him? Melvin would have to pay up both in prospects and salary. The Brewers have some pretty good chips like Manny Parra, Carlos Villanueva, and even Rickie Weeks (could he move to center field?) Tom Haudricourt says the Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox are also in on Gagne.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman pegs the latter three as the suitors, with Boston in the lead even though Gagne would need to approve a trade there. The Red Sox will try to find a deal that doesn’t involve Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester. The Yankees won’t give up Joba or Hughes for Gagne, but maybe they’ll crack on Ian Kennedy. The Mets won’t trade Carlos Gomez for him.
- The Boston Herald says the Red Sox made a substantial offer for Gagne, which certainly did not include Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, or Justin Masterson. Jeff Horrigan talked to one GM who said Boston’s offer was the best.
- The New York Daily News has the Cubs in on Gagne as well. Mark Feinsand says the Yankees turned down a weekend proposal from the Rangers that included Alan Horne for Gagne. Feinsand says Kennedy is not up for discussion but guys like Tyler Clippard, Matt DeSalvo, Jeff Marquez, Chase Wright, and Scott Proctor are available. The Yankees have their eye on Al Reyes as a backup plan but the Rays don’t want to trade him within the division. Feinsand believes the Red Sox would do David Murphy and Kason Gabbard for Gagne. Of course they would.
- The New York Post talked to a scout who believes there’s a 75% chance Gagne is dealt today. The Indians and Tigers appear to be out of the mix. Scott Boras remarked yesterday that Gagne only wants to go where he can close. But it’s not entirely up to Gagne now is it, Scott?
- Newsday confirms the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Brewers as the finalists for Gagne. Kat O’Brien adds Dan Wheeler as another name the Yanks will consider if they don’t get Gagne. The Yanks could relent and give up Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner to get Gagne.
Healey’s Latest: Wilkerson, Marte
Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey has a new post up with some good trade rumors:
- The Mets are talking to the Rangers about Brad Wilkerson, not Eric Gagne. This makes sense, as Wilkerson has hit lefties well this year and can play right field.
- The Mets are also talking to the Reds; could’ve been about Ken Griffey Jr. or David Weathers. From what we’ve heard, though, Weathers is not available. And would Junior approve a trade to the Mets? He vetoed a trade there once before.
- The Pirates want Alan Horne from the Yankees for Damaso Marte. Given that Brian Cashman didn’t seem to want to give him up for Gagne, I don’t see this happening.
- The Orioles are shopping Chad Bradford, but the Yankees aren’t allowed in the store.
The Market For Eric Gagne
Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog has the latest regarding Texas closer Eric Gagne. It seems the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Indians, Mariners, and Dodgers may all be in on him depending on who you listen to. We’ve heard the Tigers in on him previously but not so much anymore. We’ve heard the Diamondbacks and Cubs connected to Gagne in the past but not as much lately.
There still seems to be some confusion about which teams Gagne can be dealt to without his consent. To review what’s been published:
Gagne can be traded to the Yankees, Mets, Angels, and nine other clubs without his consent.
If Gagne is to be traded to the Tigers, Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, or thirteen other unknown clubs, he must consent. That means additional concessions on the part of the acquiring team.
So, we don’t know where the Mariners, Dodgers, Cubs, or Diamondbacks fall. But I don’t know why the Yankees would have to worry about Gagne missing his incentives if they acquire him. Being on the first list is a big plus for the Yanks.