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Rosenthal’s Latest: A-Rod, Posada, Cameron

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Ken Rosenthal is back with a column loaded with rumory goodness.  Rosenthal’s column is like a drug.

  • Rosenthal doesn’t think the Red Sox will just ignore the availability of Alex Rodriguez, especially if someone lures Mike Lowell away with a five-year offer.  Rosenthal suggests a shorter term of five-years, $150MM with option years and opt-outs so that A-Rod could have one more payday as he theoretically approaches Hank Aaron’s record.
  • Jorge Posada will receive a "monster offer" from the Mets.  While the Mets can’t move him to DH down the road, they can put him at first base.  I’ve been saying 4/56, but 5/70 isn’t out of the question apparently.  Posada wants a four-year deal, and won’t sign with the Yanks without fielding other offers first.  Apparently the Marlins and Blue Jays are also in on him.
  • The Nationals may be kicking the tires on big names Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, but Jim Bowden is also a big Mike Cameron fan.  The Nats do seem a reasonable fit.
  • The Cubs are also in on Cameron, in addition to Kosuke Fukudome.  Rosenthal suggests the Cubs could put Felix Pie in left if they get Cameron.
  • Scott Boras client Kyle Lohse is looking for 4-5 years, $10-11MM annually.  No surprise there.
  • The Royals are looking to add a starter and a reliever, and maybe a closer if they decide to put Joakim Soria in the rotation.

Odds and Ends: Fukudome, Burrell, Furcal, Rolen

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Two of my favorite local blogs have good hot stove posts for us today as part of Odds and Ends.

Nats Make Contact With Hunter, Rowand

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For what it’s worth, the Nationals recently made contact with the agents for center fielders Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand.  This really doesn’t mean much – I imagine such "initial contact" phone calls are happening all over the place but we only hear about a few of them.

It’s known that Hunter is interested in playing for Washington, because of the African American community and Dmitri Young’s presence.  Rowand has also been mentioned before.  The Nats have been connected to Coco Crisp and Andruw Jones as well.  And on the pitching side they’ve been linked to Tom Glavine.  Jim Bowden has pledged to sign one veteran starter on a one-year deal.

I admit that this approach should engage Nationals fans this offseason, even if they don’t make a big signing.  Is this really the right time to make a four or five-year commitment to a center fielder?  It seems better to wait until more young talent develops and then make a strike.    

Odds and Ends: Hunter, A-Rod, Bedard

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Sunday morning minor rumor collection…

  • There’s always some skepticism from readers regarding Charley Walters rumors.  Nonetheless I’ll report that he names the Nationals, White Sox, Braves, Yankees, and Dodgers as teams that will bid for Torii Hunter.  I don’t see the Braves getting involved at $15MM per.  And are the Dodgers ready to move Juan Pierre to left field already?  The other clubs named seem reasonable.
  • As expected, the Cardinals interviewed Chris Antonetti for their open GM position.  No doubt it’s an attractive position but you have to wonder what kind of autonomy he’d have with Tony La Russa around.
  • Larry LaRue makes the case for the Mariners tendering a contract to Horacio Ramirez.  He also notes that Jose Guillen is as good as gone and the Ms won’t consider A-Rod.
  • Speaking of that guy, Bill Price suggests the Mets should sign him and move David Wright to first base.  Carlos Delgado I suppose would be a very expensive pinch-hitter in 2008. 
  • Nick Cafardo expects the Orioles to shop Miguel Tejada this winter, which would surprise no one.  But he’s also hearing that Erik Bedard could be available.  Trades of either might be unpopular with the fanbase.  The trade market for starters could be hopping if Johan Santana, Bedard, and C.C. Sabathia are made available.
  • Joel Sherman says Koji Uehara is a free agent, but we have heard differently.  Anyway, the success of Hideki Okajima may create a minor bidding war for Hitoki Iwase.

Glavine Interested In Cards?

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Sounds like Tom Glavine is considering more options than just the Mets, Braves, and retirement.

According to Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Glavine has interest in finishing his career as a Cardinal.  While he might not be the "ace" the team is looking for, he might be the next best thing.

We also noted earlier this month that the Washington Nationals might be in the mix.

All that said, the Braves are probably still the favorite for Glavine.  David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently expressed near certainty that the Braves would sign him.

Nats Considering Coco Crisp?

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The Washington Post has a couple paragraphs on the possiblity of the Nationals trading for Coco Crisp.  Crisp may be deemed expendable by Theo Epstein this winter because of the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury.

Crisp hit .268/.330/.382 this year; the solid power from his Cleveland days has not returned.  We can write ’06 off due to wrist injuries but Crisp’s offense this year was disappointing.  The 28 year-old at least played some fine center field defense.  He earns $4.75MM in ’08, $5.75MM in ’09, and has an $8MM option with a $500K buyout for ’10.  The reasonable contract and possibility for a resurgence might catch Jim Bowden’s eye.  The Nats went with Nook Logan, Ryan Church, and others this year and received a .255/.321/.382 line.  Just tossing a name out there – if Nick Johnson is healthy, is that a possible match for Boston? 

The Nationals have been linked to the big-name free agent CFs as well – Andruw Jones, Aaron Rowand, and Torii Hunter.

Hunter Interested In Nationals, Braves

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MLB.com’s Bill Ladson had an exclusive conversation with Torii Hunter tonight.  Nicely done Bill!

Ladson learned that Hunter is interested in playing for the Nationals or Braves because of the large African American populations in D.C. and Atlanta.  Hunter would like to be a leader in the community.  This is an interesting factor to consider when trying to guess Hunter’s next destination.  Detroit, Baltimore, St. Louis, and Cleveland have large African American populations as well.  However, the Tigers and Indians don’t need a center fielder.

Another reason Hunter likes the Nats is the presence of his buddy Dmitri Young.  Dmitri is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Also consider that Hunter said he’s thought about playing for his hometown Rangers "a lot a bit."  And the Twins might still make a reasonable four-year offer.  But remember that Hunter has expressed a "burning curiosity" to explore the open market.  He’s certainly keeping his options open – it’s definitely too early to call this one.  A wrinkle for the Braves besides the money would be losing the 18th overall pick next June to the Twins.

Braves Notes: Hampton, Lowry, Andruw

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Mike Hampton makes $15MM next year, and the Braves aren’t getting any relief from the Rockies or Marlins.  However, it turns out the Braves actually spread around those payments so that they’d pay out about $8MM to Hampton in each year of the deal.

This is confirmed by Bill Shanks of Scout.com, for starters.  Shanks notes that the Braves owe $8.25MM to Hampton next year because of amortization.  I’ve heard that David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said something similar in the comments of one of his blog posts, but it’s been buried somewhere.  Bottom line, the Braves have $7MM more than we thought they did.  A $95MM payroll would give Atlanta some wiggle room to add a starter.

It’s not a stretch to add Tom Glavine, with this new information.  However, O’Brien thinks the Braves need more.  While Dan Haren or Joe Blanton may be out of reach, Noah Lowry seems a more realistic target.  The point is to find a decent young controllable arm.

O’Brien’s also got some early interested parties in Andruw Jones: the Dodgers, Rangers, Giants, White Sox, Nationals, Phillies, and Mets.  Seems like the idea of moving Beltran to right field has been discussed within the Mets organization.  The Dodgers, I imagine, would shift Juan Pierre to left field. 

Glavine Declines $13MM Option

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As had been talked about, 41 year-old lefty Tom Glavine declined his $13MM player option for 2008.  He snags a $3MM buyout in the process.  This decision doesn’t seem to be about money; he just wants more time to decide between the Mets, Braves, and retirement.  Actually, we might be able to count the previous Nationals speculation as a little more than that – Glavine’s agent revealed today that they won’t be ruled out.

MLB.com’s Marty Noble suggests that the Mets would be pleased to have Glavine return, but will move on and acquire another starter if he doesn’t.  I’ve said this before but I wonder if the Mets will eventually be connected to Curt Schilling.

More On Tom Glavine

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Let’s catch up on what’s been going on with Tom Glavine.

  • SI.com’s Jack Wilkinson quotes Glavine as saying he’ll "most likely" decline his $9MM player option for 2008.  This is confusing, because as far as I can tell Glavine’s player option reached $13MM when he hit 200 innings.  While I can see Glavine passing on $9MM, $13MM would be hard to top on the open market.
  • Also, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick suggests (Insider required) that Glavine’s close relationship with Nationals president Stan Kasten could compel Washington to sign him to a one-year deal to anchor the young staff.  This seems like informed speculation to me, if that makes sense.
  • My own thought: it would be nice to see Glavine take around $5MM to pitch for the Braves one last time.  Seems that discounts these days ain’t what they used to be.  Besides Tim Wakefield, I can’t think of a guy who basically flipped off the Player’s Union to stay where he wanted to.
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