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Cristian Guzman To Wait On Contract Talks

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MLB.com’s Bill Ladson has some info on impending free agent shortstop Cristian Guzman.  Apparently there will be no extension talks with the Nationals until after the season, a decision made by both sides.  Ladson’s source indicates that Guzman might be willing to cut the Nats a break since he was injured for much of his current four-year deal.  That break might translate to a two-year contract.

We’ll see if Guzman still feels the same after the season.  In my Free Agent Stock Watch post on Guzman, I mentioned him as a cheaper alternative to Rafael Furcal.  Furcal is looking questionable, and Guzman should be popular.  Will he really forego a third year out of gratitude to the Nationals?

Gammons On Available Pitchers

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ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months.  We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.

Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood.  Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season.  Sowers and Duke are the kids.  Harden is the oft-injured ace.  Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.

Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios.  He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.

Odds and Ends: Pokey, Lowe, Boss

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Before you fire up the grill, check out these links.

Draft Roundup

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All kinds of draft links today. 

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braun, Holliday, Kouzmanoff, Greene, Sabean

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Let’s take a look at what is being said about some recent rumors, trades and signings in the Blogosphere…

  • Right Field Bleachers sees the signing of Ryan Braun and Corey Hart to long-term deals as a "must" for the Brewers.
  • Brewers Nation sees the Braun deal as evidence that Prince Fielder will not sign an extension even if the two situations are very different.
  • Oleanders and Morning Glories thinks that if Nats’ management was hoping to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a Troy Tulowitzki-type deal, Braun’s deal may have raised the bar.
  • Squawking Baseball sees the recent trend in giving long-term deals to young stars and wonders if the absence of top-level free agents in a few years will drive up free agency prices. If that happens, players may stop signing these extensions and the market will correct itself…The point is valid, but these players will still become free agents eventually. The difference is only that they will be free agents in their age 30 season (approximately) instead of their age 28 season. If there is a correction, it will only be minimal and would only last a year or two.
  • The Tribe Time Report explains why Matt Holliday would be a perfect fit for the Indians even if it is only for a season and a half.
  • Friar Forum does not seem surprised about the notion of the Padres selling off pieces sooner, rather than later. However, they would be surprised to see Kevin Kouzmanoff moved, noting that it is much more likely that the slew of free agents-to-be will be shipped to other clubs.
  • The Southpaw would love to see the Jays make a push for Khalil Greene, but their scenario is contingent on the Padres also dealing Kouzmanoff.
  • Sorry we missed this before, but in light of Brian Sabean’s recent comments, I felt it was worth noting that Bucs Dugout has been running a series of polls to determine the worst GM in baseball. The finals featured Sabean easily out-distancing his opponent, Ed Wade of the Astros.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Reyes, Colon, Indians, Nationals

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A few notes from the MLBiverse…

  • Anthony Reyes, who has been the object of much trade speculation, made his first start at AAA on Friday night. Reyes pitched 3+ scoreless innings with a strict pitch-count. The Cardinals appear to be reconverting Reyes into a starter in the hopes of increasing his value for potential trade partners.
  • Jim Bowden hinted that he may implement a full-fledged youth movement in the near future, noting that a number of top prospects are close to being ready. Specifically, he mentioned two outfielders which would likely mean that Bowden will seek to move Austin Kearns and/or Wily Mo Pena. Kearns is due $8MM next year and there is a $10MM option for 2010 ($1M buyout). Pena may be easier to move with only a $5MM team option for 2009.
  • Justice B. Hill suggests that the Indians are now paying the price for their inability to swing a deal this past offseason for another offensive weapon at one of the corner outfield spots or third base. The timing of the story was unfortunate as the Tribe laid a 12-spot on the Jays last night.
  • The Red Sox do not have a need for a starting pitcher at this point, but they may soon have one too many arms for the rotation if Bartolo Colon continues to progress. Colon allowed one run in three innings, touching 97 on the radar gun. The obvious move would be to move somebody to the bullpen, but if somebody does go down with an injury, Colon’s availability likely means that the Red Sox will not be in the market for an extra arm down the stretch.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

More Rosenthal’s Latest

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Slow day for rumors, and yet Ken Rosenthal gets two posts!  No surprise there.  This time from his nifty sidebar Notes of Importance:

  • With John Smoltz returning as the closer, the Braves will be exploring trades for a starter.  Rosenthal says Atlanta could afford to give up prospects but won’t overpay.  MLBTR covered this a couple days ago.
  • Doing his best Monty Python, Rosenthal looks on the bright of life and sees the Troy Tulowitzki injury as an opportunity for Clint Barmes to rebuild his trade value.  If he can produce anywhere near the level of his 80+ games in ’05 then Barmes could generate a lot of interest.  If not, then we’ll continue to mention venison whenever Barmes comes up in conversation.  I think Barmes has a lot of proving to do to be looked at favorably by scouts as he’d become a bit of a liability for the Rockies both in the field and at the plate.
  • At the moment, the Nationals are carrying three catchers: Paul Lo Duca, Johnny Estrada, and Wil Nieves.  Lo Duca is off the DL and returning to starting.  Estrada is making $1.25MM and could be released, suggest Rosenthal.  Nieves, however, signed with the Nats for less money over the Yankees in the offseason, hoping for a better opportunity.  If the Nats put him on waivers, the Yankees – who wanted to retain Nieves – may indeed claim him if they view him as a better option than Chad Moeller.

By Nat Boyle

Rosenthal’s Latest: Krivsky, Scherzer, Edwin Jackson

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up; let’s take a look.

  • Rosenthal gives a good refresher on July trade candidates; pretty much the names you’d expect.
  • Reasons for Wayne Krivsky’s firing are discussed.  By the way check out John Fay’s blog for some candid final comments from Krivsky.  One interesting note is that he had no extension talks with Adam Dunn.
  • The D’Backs could use Max Scherzer to strengthen their bullpen, or they could shop Chad Tracy for a reliever.
  • Rosenthal wonders whether the Nationals might consider the under-30 segment of the next free agent class.
  • Plenty of teams continue to express interest in the Rays’ Edwin Jackson.  Something has to give in their rotation when Scott Kazmir returns, but demoting Andy Sonnanstine to the pen would solve the logjam.

Odds and Ends: Crisp, King, Sweeney

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Here’s today’s linkage.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Cristian Guzman

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Time for the first edition of Free Agent Stock Watch.  Today we’ll look at the rising stock of 30 year-old Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman, who is eligible for free agency after the ’08 season.

Jim Bowden was heavily criticized for signing the switch-hitting Guzman to a four-year, $16.8MM deal in November of ’04.  He was considered an all-glove, no-hit player.  Guzman was awful for most of ’05, though poor eyesight was suggested as one explanation.

Guzman then missed all of ’06 with shoulder surgery.  The following season was cut short by hamstring and thumb problems.  But since ’07 he’s been a surprisingly respectable hitter in a half-season of ABs.  He may be the slightly more affordable alternative to Rafael Furcal and Orlando Cabrera next winter.  If Guzman stays healthy and somehow posts an .800 OPS (with 90+ runs scored) he could be in line for a three-year, $21MM deal.

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