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Archives for November 2008

Boras Comments On Garret Anderson

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Agent Scott Boras spoke about his new client Garret Anderson recently to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Boras says Anderson wants to play every day, and could handle the outfield regularly for an NL club.  He also said Anderson is four years away from 3,000 hits, a reasonable suggestion assuming he’s healthy and effective through his age 37-40 seasons.  Rob Neyer says is this is highly unlikely.  Jerry Crasnick spoke to an NL exec who believes Anderson has two or three years left.

Anderson was "a little surprised and disappointed" the Angels didn’t pick up his $11MM option, but he’s leaving the door open.

Looking Beyond Varitek

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According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox.  Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys.  Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available.  It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.

On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox.  He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving.  Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.

Pettitte Considering Dodgers

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WEDNESDAY: Newsday’s Ken Davidoff talked to a Dodgers official who said it’s unlikely they will sign Pettitte.

TUESDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal, free agent lefty Andy Pettitte spoke to Joe Torre multiple times about the possibility of signing with the Dodgers.  Rosenthal notes that Pettitte has a history of leaving when he doesn’t feel wanted, and the Yankees are taking a laid-back approach toward him this winter.  Still, the Yankees remain Pettitte’s first choice.  Rosenthal does not see Pettitte returning to Houston. 

Rafael Furcal Rumors: Tuesday

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10:30pm: Ken Rosenthal reports that Furcal, his wife, and his agent Paul Kinzer met with the A’s in Oakland today.  He received the full tour.  They may discuss financial terms tomorrow.  The Giants and a mystery team are also said to be in the mix.  However, MLB.com’s Chris Haft learned that Kinzer hasn’t spoken with the Giants in two days.

2:56pm: I exchanged emails with Yancen Pujols, sports editor at the El Caribe newspaper.  He reminded me that the author of their article, Rafael Fellito Ortiz, quoted Furcal himself regarding offers from the A’s and Mets.  So the unanswered question here is why Furcal said these things.

9:23am: Let’s sort out the facts involving free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal.

  • Reports about Furcal from yesterday from El Caribe and Impacto Deportivo have been dismissed.  There has been no four-year, $48MM offer from the A’s, no four-year, $52MM offer from the Braves, and no interest from the Mets.  MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves wouldn’t be in a position to make an offer unless they dealt Yunel Escobar or Kelly Johnson first.
  • Three teams have made offers for Furcal, at least one of them for four years according to Dylan Hernandez.  The A’s and Giants seem to be in the lead, while the Dodgers are slipping out of the picture.  Hernandez says they’re "reluctant to even match the three-year, $39 million contract he completed this year." 
  • Susan Slusser expects negotiations for Furcal to drag into December.
  • The third team making an offer seems to be the "surprise team."  That team is not the Mets, and probably not the Dodgers, Reds, or Braves.  Brown wondered if it could be the Cubs, Orioles, or Cardinals.

Mets Rumors: K-Rod, Dye, Vazquez

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6:22pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Minaya has reached out to K-Rod and Fuentes.  He says the Mets prefer free agency to trading. 

We also have a rumor from Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  He says the Mets offered Aaron Heilman to the Rockies for Street shortly after Colorado acquired him.  The Rox wanted the Mets to add Pedro Feliciano, and the Mets refused.  MetsBlog has more insight into the team’s plans.

1:33pm: Rounding up today’s Mets rumors…

  • On Friday, David Lennon of Newsday said the Mets had received Francisco Rodriguez’s medical records.  He also had Omar Minaya saying the club’s doctors were looking it over.  However, Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post writes today that the Mets did not receive the records until yesterday afternoon.  According to Hubbuch, the Mets told Paul Kinzer they’ll get back to him after Thanksgiving regarding K-Rod.
  • Hubbuch names five other Mets targets: Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Trevor Hoffman, J.J. Putz, and Huston Street.
  • Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News talked to Minaya, who said the Mets have not made offers to any free agents yet.
  • In case you missed it, Ken Rosenthal had several Mets nuggets in today’s column.  He said the Mets balked at Chicago’s asking price for Jermaine Dye, and aren’t enamored with Javier Vazquez.  Rosenthal believes the Rays’ Andy Sonnanstine "represents a more desirable target" for the Mets.
  • SI.com’s Jon Heyman rattles off a list of the Mets’ free agent targets, which does not include Manny Ramirez.

Orioles Rumors: Burnett, Markakis, Japan

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3:08pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Online gives thoughts on the Orioles and Mark Teixeira and Burnett.  Kubatko believes there’s no chance the O’s offer five years to Burnett, and even four would be a stretch.  He’d have to be willing to take a discount to come to Baltimore.  As for Tex, will he be willing to play for a team that may not be competitive in the first few years of his deal?

8:32am: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun talked to A.J. Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker, who said his client has narrowed his list from twelve to about six teams.  The Orioles remain in the mix after Andy MacPhail had a "nice conversation" with Braunecker on Friday.

It’s speculated that the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Braves are the other five clubs.  In his comments, Braunecker didn’t seem dead set on a five-year deal.

In other Orioles news, Nick Markakis’ agent had "active talks" with MacPhail about a contract extension.  Markakis is entering his three arbitration years.

Finally, Steve Melewski of MASN Online says the O’s have shown interest in four Japanese free agents: Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami, Junichi Tazawa, and catcher Ryoji Aikawa.  Tazawa seems close to signing with the Red Sox.  Uehara might be a more affordable alternative to Burnett.

Cubs Rumors: Teahen, Edmonds, Marquis

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Earlier today I spoke with a source familiar with the Cubs’ thinking, and dug up enough info for a fresh post.

  • While Mark Teahen is a player of interest for the Cubs, they certainly won’t be trading Mike Fontenot and Sean Marshall for him.  The Cubs don’t consider Teahen the middle of the order bat they require.
  • Royals outfielder David DeJesus also interests the Cubs, but the source has the impression Dayton Moore would have to be overwhelmed to trade him.  There seems a good chance DeJesus stays put this winter.
  • The Cubs aren’t keen on bringing Jim Edmonds back for 2009.
  • There are no perfect fits for the right field vacancy, and the Cubs are willing to sacrifice some defense to add that middle of the order lefthanded hitter.
  • The Cubs are hoping a market forms for Jason Marquis, and are willing to eat salary "within reason."  They would be content with Marquis as their fifth starter if nothing surfaces.  I couldn’t get any specifics, but the Cubs do feel that they have reasonable options to clear payroll other than trading Marquis.
  • Teams around baseball are wary of certain Type A/B free agents accepting offers of arbitration.  Expect the Cubs to figure out where Kerry Wood stands before deciding whether to offer.

Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Griffey, Greinke

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Links for Tuesday…

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