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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Varitek, Burnett, Teixeira

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Let’s take a look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…

  • River Ave. Blues debates Ben Sheets versus A.J. Burnett and wonders if Sheets will be the better bargain in the end.
  • Detroit Tiger Thoughts shows that Jason Varitek is not a good fit with the Tigers, even in a platoon situation.
  • Fire Brand of the American League lays down several reasons why the Red Sox should avoid signing Teixeira.
  • Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? sees no downside to the Pirates’ signing of Indian imports Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh.
  • The ’Burgh Blues feels Eric Hinske is an economical fit for the Bucs.
  • Amazin’ Avenue does not see Raul Ibanez as an upgrade for the Mets, suggesting he may not be any better than Fernando Tatis.
  • The Baseball Opinion breaks down what the acquisition of Tyler Lumsden means for the Royals and Astros.
  • Batter’s Box takes a look a recent J.P. Ricciardi quote and the current state of the economy and wonders if the Jays are going to reduce their payroll.
  • Royals Review lists the ten best free agent signings in Royals history, topped by David Cone. Amazingly, four of the signings occurred in the last five seasons.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Blue Jays, Dodgers, Dunn

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Happy Thanksgiving!  Here are some links to snack on before the big meal.

Orioles Rumors: Burnett, Markakis, Japan

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3:08pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online gives thoughts on the Orioles and Mark Teixeira and Burnett.  Kubatko believes there’s no chance the O’s offer five years to Burnett, and even four would be a stretch.  He’d have to be willing to take a discount to come to Baltimore.  As for Tex, will he be willing to play for a team that may not be competitive in the first few years of his deal?

8:32am: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun talked to A.J. Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker, who said his client has narrowed his list from twelve to about six teams.  The Orioles remain in the mix after Andy MacPhail had a "nice conversation" with Braunecker on Friday.

It’s speculated that the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Braves are the other five clubs.  In his comments, Braunecker didn’t seem dead set on a five-year deal.

In other Orioles news, Nick Markakis’ agent had "active talks" with MacPhail about a contract extension.  Markakis is entering his three arbitration years.

Finally, Steve Melewski of MASN Online says the O’s have shown interest in four Japanese free agents: Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami, Junichi Tazawa, and catcher Ryoji Aikawa.  Tazawa seems close to signing with the Red Sox.  Uehara might be a more affordable alternative to Burnett.

Odds and Ends: Halladay, Lopez, Glavine

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Links for Monday…

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Saturday

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According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Yankees won’t offer A.J. Burnett a five-year contract.

Ken Davidoff writes that Burnett’s agent, Darek Brauneker, is confident that his client will sign a five-year deal somewhere.

McCarron talked to a source who said that “the Yankees are not ready to go five years.” The source also said that the Red Sox are more interested in Mark Teixeira and Derek Lowe than Burnett.

The Blue Jays are still talking with Burnett, but they haven’t yet offered him a deal.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Furcal, Burnett, Halladay

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up this evening.

  • The A’s and Giants remain the top suitors for Rafael Furcal, and the team that’s willing to give him four guaranteed years may win the bidding.  The Dodgers, Braves, and Cubs are also in the mix.
  • Rosenthal talked to a source with knowledge of the Blue Jays’ thinking, and that person can’t imagine them giving A.J. Burnett five years.  Rosenthal says to forget the idea of a Roy Halladay trade, unless they attempt and fail to sign him to an extension.  And if Burnett is signed, a Halladay extension would be next on the docket.
  • Luis Gonzalez wants to play next year.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Friday

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4:14pm: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says that while the Red Sox have reviewed Burnett’s medical records, they’re still in the early stages of negotiations.

2:32pm: Robert MacLeod of The Globe and Mail has more from Ricciardi on the five-year idea:

"I’m not going to commit to a five-year deal.  There’s some things we could do to maybe make it a five-year deal but that would have to be based on a lot of different things."

9:22am: The Blue Jays haven’t made an offer yet to free agent starter A.J. Burnett, and GM J.P. Ricciardi doesn’t expect to win the bidding by offering the most money.  However, the Jays may separate themselves by being willing to offer Burnett the five-year contract he craves. Ricciardi didn’t say he would go that far, but the concept does not scare him.  He’ll wait to make his offer until after other teams submit their bids.

The Toronto Sun’s Mike Rutsey says the Orioles, Braves, Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox have also expressed interest in Burnett.

Rafael Furcal Rumors: Thursday

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8:35pm: According to Jeff Passan, Furcal has been offered many three-year deals, but he wants a four-year contract. Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer confirmed that the Orioles, Braves, Giants, Cubs, Dodgers and A’s are interested, along with one unnamed "mystery" team.

1:30pm: MLB.com’s Mychael Urban talked to Kinzer, who said the A’s have examined Furcal’s medical records.  Urban also says the A’s expressed interest in Jason Giambi.

9:40am: Rounding up the recent Rafael Furcal links…

Stark’s Latest: Putz, Manny, Lackey, Ibanez

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Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

  • Stark does the math and finds 15 potentially available closers versus six clubs in the market for one.  Should result in a few bargains or teams holding on to their surpluses.
  • The Mets don’t seem willing to extend to four years for Francisco Rodriguez.  Stark says J.J. Putz would become the Mets’ top closer target if he’s made available.  MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone wrote a few days ago that the Mets are likely to trade for a reliever with closing experience before attempting to sign one.
  • J.P. Ricciardi quote: "We won’t be involved with Manny."  Ricciardi last month: "He’s on our radar, but maybe not on our radar like some people will report."
  • Despite reports to the contrary, Stark talked to a rival executive who says Jake Peavy made it "onto [the Angels’] radar pretty hard."  Stark speculates that Peavy could fit if the Halos sign Mark Teixeira.
  • It seems likely that the Angels will put out an offer to Teixeira with a deadline, and then either sign him or move on.
  • John Lackey’s been telling friends he expects to have an extension with the Angels by Opening Day.  Lackey indicated last month he’d wait to see the Halos’ offensive plans before re-signing.
  • Stark suspects the Players Union might be OK with C.C. Sabathia turning down a larger offer from the Yankees if he still signed for more than Johan Santana’s $23MM per year.  I don’t really see why Sabathia would worry about the union in any regard.
  • The Dodgers inquired on the asking price of Jason Varitek, with the idea of moving Russell Martin to third base in mind.  They balked at Scott Boras’ demand for Tek, however.
  • Curt Schilling is "more likely than ever" to attempt a late June or early July comeback.
  • Tons of teams have expressed some degree of interest in Raul Ibanez: the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels, and Mariners.  Some interesting new ones in there.
  • The Phillies never made a two-year, $21MM offer to Pat Burrell.  Will the Phils at least offer him arbitration?  The rumored offer was questionable from Day 1, as Paul Hagen said Burrell "reportedly turned down a two-year, $22MM offer" but didn’t reference a specific report.
  • Stark believes that the Brewers were not thrilled with the Yankees’ "overbid" for C.C. Sabathia, and therefore would prefer not to trade Mike Cameron to them.  Dan Graziano wrote yesterday about the Yanks’ conversations for Cameron.
  • Roy Oswalt wants the Astros to sign Ben Sheets, but the price tag may be too high.  Stark has the following names on their radar: Randy Wolf, Mike Hampton, Freddy Garcia, Paul Byrd, and maybe Pedro Martinez.  Is Drayton McLane willing to bring Andy Pettitte back?  GM Ed Wade seemed interested in his chat yesterday, saying, "We’ll have to see what develops down the road."

Latest On A.J. Burnett

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WEDNESDAY: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Burnett is only considering five-year offers; the Yankees haven’t committed to that yet.

TUESDAY: Kat O’Brien of Newsday has the latest on free agent starter A.J. Burnett.  She says the Red Sox have "significantly increased their involvement" on Burnett recently.  They’ll butt heads with the Yankees, who have yet to make a formal offer.  O’Brien shoots down George King’s recent suggestion of "perhaps" a five-year, $80MM offer from New York.  The initial offer will be four years at more than $13.5MM per. 

There’s talk that Ryan Dempster’s four-year, $52MM deal will raise the stakes for Burnett, but he figured to soar well beyond $13MM per year regardless.  The Dempster and Kyle Lohse deals could give Burnett’s agent justification in asking for five years though.  Aside from the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays, the Braves, Phillies, and Orioles are in the mix.  The Braves will have to be aggressive on Burnett and Derek Lowe, in case they aren’t able to acquire Jake Peavy.

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