Rival executives and agents say that Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro is being very aggressive in pursuit of a center fielder and plans to work quickly, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd). Amaro knows Michael Bourn well, but agent Scott Boras likes to wait and let the market percolate. The Phillies may make B.J. Upton their plan B if they can't land Bourn. The club has been doing a lot of background work on Upton, asking questions about his personality and whether he would be a good fit in that market. Here's more out of the NL East..
- The Braves sensed that David Ross might land a lucrative two-year deal elsewhere and have been checking out other backup catchers on the open market in recent weeks, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The Red Sox came to terms on a two-year, $6.2MM deal with Ross earlier today.
- Nationals reliever Sean Burnett has a case for a three-year deal in the mold of Scott Downs, but some at the GM meetings have wondered aloud if he may be in line for a four-year pact, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith.
- Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr is widely viewed as the top candidate to take over for manager Davey Johnson after 2013, but Knorr believes that Johnson could have a change of heart and choose to manage beyond next season, writes Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. Yesterday, Johnson and the Nats agreed to a one-year deal that will turn the skipper into a consultant in 2014.
Absolutely no way Sean Burnett should get more than a 2-year deal, at least from the Nationals. Now that they are a post-season team, quality relievers are much easier to find. It’s those kind of players that are affordable and easy to find.
I’ve always liked Burnett but not at three or four years.
If I am the Nationals, I am signing him to a 3-4 year deal
No reliever deserves more than a 3 year deal. Even 3 is pushing it with Burnett. Relievers are so volatile.
you are correct. that was a typo. should have said 2-3 years
Of the two lefties the Nats just lost I’d much rather they bring back Gonzalez than Burnett. Not as well rounded, but I like him better as the lefty specialist.
Man, Braves need money, they couldn’t pay David Ross 3 mill per year knowing full well he is worth it, and they really need him with B-Mac being injured.
Now Kelly Shoppach is the best option and that’s disappointing.
3 million a year is a lot for a back up catcher that will play in at most 40 games for a 90/95 million dollar team
Right now the Red Sox are in that $90-95M range, will go higher if they make some bigger signings.
I think hes talking about the Braves. Thats their budget. Now compare that to the Sox whose payroll in 2012 was around 175MM. They can easily afford a 3MM backup catcher.
At most 40 games? He’s averaged 57 games per season since he joined the Braves, and now McCann is having less and less games per season with more injuries, which gives the backup catcher more and more games to play in.
apparently it wasn’t the money that was the issue, it was the 2nd year
Tell all your friends to go to games.
Braves have money, they are owned by media giant Time Warner, they are just really cheap.
No, they are really smart with their money.
Braves payroll sits from 90-95MM (maybe a bit more or less) from year to year. Its not that they are being very smart with money, but rather benefitting from an excellent player development system.
they’re real smart but 95 million is too little considering they have a bunch of arb eligible player who are about to get expensive, they need to bump payroll up to at least 100 million
False. If your logic worked, the two summers I worked at Walmart would have been a lot more lucrative. Just because the Braves’ owner has money doesn’t mean the Braves have money. That being said, the Braves should be able to afford one decent free agent this year given they’ve got Chipper, Lowe, and probably Jurrjens coming off the books.
Braves are owned by Liberty Media, not Time Warner. Liberty Media holds on to the Braves for a tax write-off and are very stingy with the purse strings.
Since when is $90 million-plus (ATL’s reported 2013 budget) “stingy” (ranking 15th out of 30 MLB teams in 2012)? SD and TB would love to have that.
I thought Ross could have gotten a bit more than that given the atrocious market for catchers this winter.
Braves are not owned by Time Warner anymore and have not been in a few years its Liberty Media group that only cares about profit. The Braves are profitable so they will own them until they are no longer profitable. Boston offered him more at bats DH and time behind the plate Braves can’t match that.
Also, our TV contract is trash. Other teams (Rangers & Angels, for instance) are able to spend more due to the revenue they’ll receive.
I don’t know if there is a Braves fan out there that enjoys Liberty Media. They barely care at all. Here is the message from them from the special program commemorating Bobby Cox’s retirement…oh, wait. There isn’t one!! There’s one from Ted Turner though…
Liberty Media is a corporation. Ted Turner is a (very wealthy) person. I’m sure Liberty Media gave Cox a nice gift certificate to Barnes & Noble (which they own) and the best package on Sirius radio (which they also own) and called it a day.
I love Bobby, but with all due respect, he didn’t win them anything since they gained ownership of the Braves in 2007. Not even a division. If you ask me, if you’re spending my $85 million a year and not giving me a division title, you’re not deserving a $100 gift certificate to B&N.
Ross will be more than a back-up catcher so he gets a raise and probably some more ABs. Salty has been criticized for his pitch calling, Ross is known for a being really good behind the plate. Salts splits vs lefties are terrible. Ross will either platoon or be assigned to catch certain pitchers. Cant blame the guy. Last legit chance to make some money since he is 35. Braves could have paid him around the same but he couldn’t wait around to see what the Braves would do. Although Ross is well liked and a fan favorite, Braves certainly have more pressing issues right now.
I like Bourn and all but I don’t see a long term contract with him ending well.