Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Pujols, McLane
Links for Monday…
- Daniel Cabrera passed his physical for the Nationals.
- Tony Massarotti writes that the Red Sox had a shot at Mark Teixeira. The Scott Boras camp was proposing $176MM guaranteed for eight years with vesting options that could’ve brought the total to $220MM over ten years. Ultimately the Yankees beat Boston’s offer by $10MM, with no options and a full no-trade clause.
- Viva El Birdos looks at what the Teixeira contract means for Albert Pujols. Will Albert seek the largest contract in baseball history? The Cardinals have him through the 2011 season.
- RotoAuthority looks at the power/speed shortstop options for fantasy baseball leagues.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane is the second owner to publicly admit he wants a salary cap (Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said it right after the Teixeira signing). Interesting take on the salary cap by Dan Symborski at Baseball Think Factory.
- The best of Big League Stew’s Answer Man series.
Olney’s Latest: Lowe, Castillo, Hudson
Buster Olney focuses his new column on reluctant-to-spend teams and how they’ve changed the market. He turns up some interesting rumors…
- The Rays and A’s are in a "bidding war" of sorts over the likes of Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu. Both teams are willing to spend, but neither wants to go first since prices are higher now with both teams interested than they will be once the first team signs a player.
- The Mets are in a great position since the Cards and Brewers aren’t likely to compete for Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf. This means they can wait, knowing that bargains will likely surface.
- The Mets have "quietly continued to gauge" the Luis Castillo market and are interested in moving him and some of his salary.
- If they find a taker, they could pursue Orlando Hudson.
- As Joel Sherman predicted, the Nationals are now courting O-Dog.
- Olney asks whether aging stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Pedro Martinez will choose to play for the offers they’re likely to get.
- Brad Penny may soon decide where he wants to pitch next year. He’s weighing "an overture from the Cardinals" against other options.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Dickey, Takahashi
Links for Friday…
- In the aftermath of the Yankees’ spending, Joe Posnanski reminds us that two thirds of MLB teams have won the World Series in the last 30 years.
- UmpBump doesn’t like the idea of a salary cap.
- FanGraphs now shows a hitter’s wins over replacement level, as well as the player’s dollar value. You don’t need to be a stathead to enjoy this. For example, here’s the Carlos Pena page. Scroll to the bottom. Value Wins shows he was worth 6.0 wins over replacement level in 2007. That made him worth $24.6MM, but he earned just $800K.
- If you are a stathead, you’ll like this 1981 SI article on Bill James.
- A look at the only five players who should be considered within the first five picks of a fantasy baseball draft next year.
- Mark Teixeira leftovers…Murray Chass says Tex and his wife didn’t want to live in Boston, while Kat O’Brien details the hard stance the Yankees took with Scott Boras. The Nationals did everything they could to sign Teixeira, but he wanted to win now.
- ESPN’s Keith Law explains why the draft pick compensation system is broken. Brewers GM Doug Melvin had interesting comments on this in a recent Buster Olney blog.
- The New York Times Company is trying to sell its stake in the Red Sox.
- La Velle E. Neal III tries to figure out the Twins’ signing of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker takes a closer look at lefty reliever Ken Takahashi.
Teixeira Had Higher Offer From Nationals
Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com is reporting that the Washington Nationals offered about $5MM more to first baseman Mark Teixeira than the New York Yankees did, even though Teixeira struck a deal with the Yankees on Tuesday.
Kubatko adds that the Nationals would have gone even higher, but they were never given a chance to compete with the Yankees’ offer. He guesses that it wasn’t all about the money after all.
Kubatko also writes that the Baltimore Orioles are still looking to add another bat to the lineup, possibly a first baseman, outfielder or designated hitter.
Nationals Sign Five
7:05pm: Chico Harlan mentions three more minor league signings for the Nats: catcher Gustavo Molina, pitcher Gustavo Chacin, and infielder Jose Castillo.
Chacin, 28, won 13 games as a rookie in ’05. After that he dealt with elbow and shoulder injuries but at least got his own cologne. Castillo, 28 in March, hit .246/.292/.376 in 455 plate appearances for the Giants and Astros this year.
2:54pm: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Nationals signed Corey Patterson and Jorge Sosa to minor league deals. Patterson gets $800K, while Sosa gets $850K.
Patterson, 29, was awful this year with a .205/.238/.344 line in 392 plate appearances. He was above average defensively though. The Nationals were an odd choice for him given their crowded outfield.
Sosa, 32 in April, pitched in the Astros, Mariners, and Mets organizations this year. His claim to fame was his flukey 2.55 ERA in ’05 for the Braves.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Burrell, Dunn
Ken Rosenthal filed a new column earlier today.
- The Angels are lukewarm on Manny Ramirez, and for now are talking about filling their lineup with internal candidates.
- Kevin Towers says that if the Jake Peavy sweepstakes heats back up, "nobody is going to know it." Rosenthal discusses the chances of the Angels or Cubs.
- Mark Teixeira is "almost certain" to get an escape clause in his deal.
- The Cubs are confident about signing Milton Bradley, but the Rays, Yankees, and Nationals are interested too.
- Rosenthal looks at possibilities for Pat Burrell, discussing the Rays, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds.
- The Brewers expressed interest in Adam Dunn as they were mulling a Mike Cameron trade (Corey Hart would’ve played center).
- Bobby Abreu "remains in touch with the Yankees." Surprisingly to hear, as the two sides reportedly had not spoken for quite a while.
- The Rangers would like to move some salary, with Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, and Hank Blalock the candidates.
- The Royals like Jerry Hairston Jr., but don’t have the money to sign him.
Teixeira Announcement Expected Today
1:32pm: Heyman now has the Yanks in "deep discussions" with Tex; he says they’ve stepped up their efforts in recent hours.
1:02pm: Jon Heyman says the Yankees are still in it – they’re "talking seriously with Teixeira’s people." He agrees that a decision could be made as soon as this afternoon.
12:42pm: Danny Knobler believes it’s down to the Nationals and Red Sox. His sources say Teixeira hasn’t decided yet but is expected to make up his mind today.
12:08pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the Nationals at nine years, $180MM and the Red Sox at eight years and around $170MM.
10:55am: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post talked to a Nationals spokesman who is not aware of any plans for an announcement today regarding Teixeira. WEEI’s Alex Speier notes that it is not a lock that Teixeira signs by Christmas.
10:28am: Buster Olney and Peter Gammons say Teixeira’s decision is "seemingly imminent." The journalists say the Orioles’ negotiations for Tex "appear dormant." They suggest the Yankees are lurking in case Boras offers Teixeira to them at a discount (or perhaps just to drive up the price for Boston).
10:20am: According to Thom Loverro of the Washington Times, "there will be an announcement today regarding the future of free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira." Loverro says there are strong indications the Red Sox will be the victor, though it’s unclear whether those indications are based on inside information.
We learned from Roch Kubatko yesterday evening that the Nationals upped their bid to $178-184MM over eight years (Jim Williams says $178-183MM).
Pirates Pursuing Rocco Baldelli
Pirates rumors from the tireless Dejan Kovacevic…
- Kovacevic says the Pirates are in pursuit of free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli. The Bucs are serious about him, having spoken to his agents several times. The Reds, Phillies, Red Sox, and Yankees are considered other suitors.
- The team’s interest in Ty Wigginton has dropped off.
- Doug Mientkiewicz remains on the radar, but no offer has been made.
- Nothing cooking on the Jack Wilson front; he’s likely to remain the Pirates’ shortstop.
- The Pirates offered slightly more than the $2.6MM Daniel Cabrera signed for with the Nationals. D-Cab wanted to remain in the area. The Pirates may choose not to pursue any other free agent starters.
- We knew extension talks with Nate McLouth had fizzled; turns out nothing is close with Paul Maholm either. Pirates president Frank Coonelly described the disconnect at Ryan Doumit‘s press conference.
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Monday
8:07pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says baseball people expect Teixeira to sign before Thursday. Rival execs see the Red Sox as the favorite. The Orioles and Nationals remain engaged; the Yankees are the wild card. Heyman says the Yanks would only want to spend slightly more than the $161MM they committed to C.C. Sabathia.
7:20pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online learned from multiple sources that the Nationals "have sweetened their proposal to Teixeira, offering him an eight-year deal worth $178-184MM." He’s been told they’re willing to go nine years and there’s been talk of ten.
9:02am: ESPN’s Buster Olney sums up the Mark Teixeira situation in his blog today. Olney says Teixeira’s "leverage has probably maxed out, and now only runs the risk of being diminished." The status of the involved teams:
- Angels: out of the running.
- Yankees: Olney says they initially made an offer that was markedly less than other teams, and have since withdrawn it.
- Orioles: Olney says they’re at seven years, $140MM (as opposed to the $140-150MM range we’ve seen reported). Offer has not been upgraded.
- Nationals: eight years, $160MM based on published reports. Olney is not sure whether the Nats have raised this offer but heard from confidants of "one high-ranking executive" that they have not. Olney’s Nationals sources expressed pessimism about their chances.
- Joe Posnanski: out of the bidding.
- Red Sox: Were willing to do $170-175MM when they flew out to meet Teixeira and Scott Boras; "might be nudged to $180MM." We know that the Red Sox did not pull their offer, but haven’t spoken to Boras since Thursday night.
- Olney wonders: will Boras shoot for $190MM with the intent of topping Derek Jeter‘s $189MM? If he tops it, Boras would secure the third-largest contract in MLB history for Teixeira (with his Alex Rodriguez deals taking the first two slots).
Odds and Ends: Napoli, Schilling, Bradley
Links for Monday, to be updated as more come in.
- RotoAuthority suggests Mike Napoli could be a top five catcher in fantasy baseball next year with enough playing time.
- Curt Schilling gives his thoughts on agents.
- Geoff Baker thinks Milton Bradley would be a good fit for the Mariners.
- River Ave. Blues likes Gabe Kapler for the Yankees.
- Nationals pitcher Collin Balester calls it – World Series sweep if they sign Mark Teixeira. Balester keeps a blog here, check it out.