Chad Cordero Elects Free Agency
According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, Nationals reliever Chad Cordero was outrighted to Triple A today. He refused the assignment and is now a free agent. This comes as no surprise, as GM Jim Bowden admitted in July that he would non-tender Cordero.
Cordero, 26, had surgery in July to repair tears in his labrum and biceps tendon. He hopes to be ready for spring training.
Holliday Derby Begins
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have made it known to rival executives that left fielder Matt Holliday is available. Renck names the Red Sox, Phillies, Angels, Mets, Royals, and Nationals as potential suitors. I still find the oft-mentioned Red Sox idea to be far-fetched.
The Rockies would prefer to move corner infielder Garrett Atkins, however. The Angels, Twins, and Red Sox are cited as potential fits. However, other teams are surely aware of Atkins’ defensive struggles at third base and questionable hitting away from Coors Field. Renck says the Angels’ interest will depend on their ability to re-sign Mark Teixeira.
Starting pitching seems to be the Rockies’ target return for either player. They’d be giving up one year of Holliday and two of Atkins, plus the likely draft pick compensation.
Heyman’s Latest: Manny, Holliday, Peavy
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new rumor-packed article up.
- Heyman suggests the battle for the three elite free agents – Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and C.C. Sabathia – will mostly be fought by the New York and Los Angeles clubs. Heyman talked to one GM who believes the country’s economic situation will not affect the big names but could be bad for the lower-tier guys.
- Heyman’s potential Manny suitors: the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Phillies. The Phillies’ interest will depend on whether Pat Burrell stays. I’m not sure why the Orioles would be in the mix.
- The Rockies are "very likely" to trade Matt Holliday. The Rox would be willing to sign Holliday for five years and $100MM, but that won’t cut it. The team’s focus in a trade will be a young starter. Heyman echoes a Ken Rosenthal thought from a few months ago: surprising small-market teams may enter the Holliday bidding.
- Heyman has the Mets, Rangers, and Indians as teams looking at Brian Fuentes. The Mets are the favorite to sign him in the three-year, $36MM range.
- Jake Peavy has already turned down one American League team. Heyman believes hes particularly opposed to the Rangers and has mixed feelings about the Yankees. Peavy is reeling from the Padres’ decision to shop him.
- Heyman has unkind words for Luis Gonzalez, who may not be welcomed back to the D’Backs based on his "uneasy relationship" with Stephen Drew and Chris Young.
- Heyman does not think MLB has any evidence against Nationals GM Jim Bowden in the scout skimming scandal.
- Heyman gives Ruben Amaro a slight edge over Mike Arbuckle to replace Pat Gillick as Phillies GM.
- George W. Bush as baseball’s next commissioner? "Many have long believed" that Bush would like to be Bud Selig’s successor.
Odds and Ends: Bowden, Cain, Young
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today! 2pm CST.
- Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues looks at some under-the-radar free agents.
- MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy crunches the numbers and determines that it would be difficult to fit C.C. Sabathia into the Brewers’ payroll. I think they could retain Mike Cameron and sign Sabathia, but only if they’re willing to take payroll into the mid-$90MM range and forgo other improvements. Or, they could save $17-19MM by declining Cameron’s option and trading Fielder.
- Reds beat writer John Fay muses on the team’s offseason needs.
- Nationals GM Jim Bowden was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer this summer, but delayed surgery until after the season (a decision he regrets). He’s OK now and back to work.
- I get this question all the time: if the Yankees sign C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, do the Brewers or the Angels get the Yanks’ first-round pick? Baseball America’s Jim Callis explains that it’s determined by which player has the higher Elias rating. In this case it might be Tex by a hair, but the official rankings are not out yet.
- MLB.com’s Chris Haft heard the Twins covet Matt Cain and would be willing to trade Delmon Young for him. Haft does not believe the Giants would make the one-for-one swap.
- As of Monday night, the Mariners had not decided on their new GM. They are not supposed to make an announcement during the World Series, so today remains an option. It’s also been suggested they announce it tomorrow before the Series begins or get a waiver and do it on Friday (an off-day).
Odds and Ends: Pitt, Manny, White Sox
Links for Friday…
- The Red Sox claimed pitcher Dewon Day off waivers from the White Sox, and also designated pitcher Chris Smith for assignment.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ponders trading Colby Rasmus to get Jake Peavy and Khalil Greene.
- Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in the Moneyball movie? Beane hopes to add offense this winter.
- J.C. Bradbury estimates Manny Ramirez‘s value at $128MM over the next six years. I think Manny and Boras would happily accept such an offer.
- Dave Cameron laments the lack of respect for Ryan Langerhans.
- South Side Sox presents an offseason plan for the White Sox.
- Jacob Jackson at Athletics Nation predicts destinations for his top 12 free agents. My Top 50 will come out after the World Series. I disagree with a few of Jacob’s picks – Derek Lowe and Jason Giambi re-signing and the Cubs signing Adam Dunn.
- I attempted to find some over/undervalued starting pitchers for fantasy baseball over at RotoAuthority.
Cards Cut Phelps, Claim Manning
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals designated first baseman Josh Phelps for assignment today and claimed lefty reliever Charlie Manning off waivers from the Nationals.
Phelps, 30, has been with seven organizations. Things looked promising when he came up in 2002 and snagged some ROY votes with .924 OPS in a half-season. He hit 31 home runs in Triple A this year, but it was his fourth extended stint at the level.
Manning, 29, is also a minor league veteran. The Cards are his fourth organization; he debuted as a 29 year-old rookie with the Nationals this year. He did a pretty good job against lefties. With Ron Villone eligible for free agency, the Cards figured to add a few lefty relievers.
Odds and Ends: Moore, Manny, Hudson
Reading material for Thursday…
- NBC San Diego reports that John Moores plans to sell his 49% of the Padres as part of his divorce settlement.
- Derrick Goold looks at the many teams that might consider Rafael Furcal, including the Cardinals. Imagine the kind of contract he’d be looking at if he’d been healthy all year.
- I did a Q&A with Sox and Pinstripes recently.
- According to Mariners president Chuck Armstrong, the new GM will have less power and a smaller payroll than Bill Bavasi. The list of candidates is down to ten.
- MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel talked to Royals GM Dayton Moore, who wants to add an offensive player (a hitter, not a guy who offends). Moore won’t be moving Joakim Soria to the rotation, though some in the organization support it. Also, MLB Interviews chatted Royals with Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post sees a parallel between Mike Mussina and Jimmy Key. Some Yankees officials expect Mussina to file for free agency to keep his options open.
- In another article, Sherman warns suitors that Manny Ramirez is a "con man."
- ESPN’s Buster Olney runs through possible destinations for Orlando Hudson, including the Mets, White Sox, Indians, and Angels.
- Anthony Marenna of DC Metroblog provides an offseason plan for the Nationals, while Jacob Jackson takes on the A’s at Athletics Nation.
Odds and Ends: Bonds, Crow, Odalis Perez
Links for Tuesday…
- Barry Bonds is enjoying his freedom.
- MLB.com has a list of all the potential free agents. The Dodgers lead with 14, while the Royals and Giants have only two.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin may get an extension soon.
- Rich Harden will have a shoulder exam soon, which will inform the Cubs’ decision on his $7MM option.
- MLB.com’s Matthew Leach sees the Cardinals letting starter Braden Looper leave, but attempting to re-sign infielder Felipe Lopez.
- The Kansas City Star’s Bill Reiter catches up with Aaron Crow, who is basically just chillin’ right now. MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel says the Royals like Crow, but he may not be around when they draft 12th in 2009.
- Ken Rosenthal agrees that the Rays owe their success to much more than just top draft picks.
- Pete McElroy notes that Odalis Perez would love to re-sign with the Nationals. Perez pitched 159.2 respectable innings but earned less than a million bucks.
- Eddie Bajek has his final Elias rankings for NL relievers. Type As: Ryan Dempster, Russ Springer, Juan Cruz, Doug Brocail, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, and Jason Isringhausen. Type Bs: Joe Beimel, Jeremy Affeldt, Brian Shouse, Bob Howry, David Weathers, Trevor Hoffman, Eric Gagne, and Brandon Lyon. If one of these players is offered arbitration, turns it down, and signs elsewhere, his old team gets one or two draft picks.
- MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin doesn’t see the need for the Orioles to sign Jeremy Guthrie to a long-term deal this winter.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Laird, Strasburg, Chipper
Let’s gather up today’s linkage.
- Andy Pettitte will probably pitch next year, but Mike Mussina remains an unknown.
- Reader Peter H. reminds us that the Brewers’ playoff berth means the Indians get to choose the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia deal.
- Ross Newhan finds it indisputable that the Dodgers and Angels have to re-sign Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at any cost. Manny generated an estimated $7.6MM in extra revenue for the Dodgers. T.J. Simers snagged all kinds of quotes from Manny in recent articles, including one about Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick dissing Manny in front of his teammates prior to the shoving incident.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News names some possible fits for Gerald Laird this winter – the Tigers, Brewers, Reds, and Red Sox.
- The Nationals will pick first in the 2009 draft. Will they go for Stephen Strasburg?
- Kerry Wood felt bad about his three-year, $32.5MM deal, and basically signed a blank check after the ’07 season.
- Ron Villone would like to return to the Cardinals rather than attempt to tie Mike Morgan‘s record of playing for 12 different teams.
- Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson for next Tigers pitching coach?
- Athletics Nation puts together a plan to compete in ’09 without sacrificing the future.
- Chipper Jones wants to retire a Brave. But if he doesn’t sign an extension beyond ’09 and the Braves want to trade him next summer, he’s got a short list of teams to which he’d accept a trade.
Olney’s Latest: Cardinals, Snell, Milledge, Maine, Fuentes
Buster Olney’s latest offering is packed full of links:
- Bernie Miklasz notes that the Cardinals have only three starting pitchers (Adam Wainwright, Todd Wellemeyer, and Joel Pineiro) locked up for next year (he’s not expecting Chris Carpenter to contribute in 2009), and no prospects waiting in the wings. His solution? Pry open owner Bill DeWitt’s wallet, "and please, no el cheapo deals for rehabbing pitchers, medically risky pitchers, broken-down pitchers."
- The Pirates have it a little bit tougher. According to pitching coach Jeff Andrews, it consists of Paul Maholm and "a blank sheet." Here’s one vote for adding Ian Snell, "on the verge of becoming the best right-handed pitcher to come from Delaware since World War I," according to DelwareBaseball.com, who sponsors his Baseball Reference page.
- According to GM Jim Bowden, the Nationals will explore ways to upgrade their defense for 2009, including the possibility of moving Lastings Milledge from center field back to a corner spot. Left fielder Elijah Dukes could move to center.
- Despite going through a difficult divorce, Padres’ owner John Moores is not planning on selling the team—which he bought because of his soon-to-be ex.
- The Mets seem to be rushing John Maine back from the DL in an attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive.
- Dave Krieger is amazed that the Rockies aren’t doing anything to try and keep free-agent closer Brian Fuentes.
Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and Umpbump.