Some links for Friday…
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com reports that the Red Sox considered dealing Jason Varitek and Shea Hillenbrand for Adrian Beltre and Paul LoDuca before the 2003 season.
- The Twins invited Mike Maroth and 13 other non-roster players to Spring Training, according to a team press release.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter) that the Tigers have no intention of adding a DH.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that the team is focusing on adding an outfielder, not a catcher or a starter. Sabean, who would prefer to add a left-handed hitter, did not confirm or deny interest in Johnny Damon.
- Scott Boras would let Adrian Beltre baby-sit his kids, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
- Boras says he approached the Red Sox about the idea of signing Adrian Beltre to a "pillow contract," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Boras likes that Beltre will likely attract lots of attention in Boston.
- Boras tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's starting to have "a lot of conversation" about Rick Ankiel. He also suggests Joe Crede could be a fit for the Cards.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times tweets that the Franklin Gutierrez extension should become official today.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Hideki Matsui's one-year $6MM deal with the Angels set the market for other DH-types like Vladimir Guerrero.
- As MLB.com's Corey Brock notes (via Twitter), the Royals' pending deal with Scott Podsednik could influence the offers the Padres make to Jerry Hairston Jr. and Randy Winn.
- The Nippon Ham Fighters acquired former Blue Jay reliever Brian Wolfe, according to the Kyodo News.
- Carlos Delgado hit a homer in the Puerto Rican Winter League yesterday, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
- Jason Giambi is open to returning to the Rockies if he doesn't find a DH job, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch totals up the Cardinals' payroll and finds that the club has $7.4MM to spend on four players – an outfielder, an infielder, a reliever and a starter.
I just have to say that the Nippon Ham Fighters is the best name for a baseball team I’ve ever seen.
I hear of them all the time, but I still giggle like a school girl when I hear it.
Delgado pretty much a lock to sign with the Mets
I have had that impression since the end of the season. All this talk about how Delgado is doing in winter ball is cute and all, but the sense I got all along is that they would re-sign him if they heard he could tie his own shoes.
might as well let him platoon for the year…there not going anywhere this year anyway
Most likely they are not. Anyway, since power is a major concern (and Daniel Murphy is clearly not the answer there) who would you recommend he share a platoon with?
The Cards need to fill 4 spots with 7.4M lol! Forced to look at the bargain bin to be able to pull this off.
That Penny signing doesn’t seem so smart now.
I didn’t know anybody thought it was smart in the first place.
The Cardinals sure did.
the cardinals are great at doing that.. lol.. its going to be interesting though
he cardinals are the best at doing that lol.. it will be interesting though
A 4th OF, a backup IF, they had 4 solid rotation spots in Carp, Wainwright, Lohse, and Penny. A fifth starter is not necessary. There is 3 young arms ready to fill that spot. 7.4 million is more than enough to fill their needs.
We have to fill a 4th OF, backup IF, a 5th spot (not necessary with 3 young arms ready) and a 6th inning reliever? 7.4 million is plenty.
As far as the Cardinals go, if we Really do have 7.4 million left to spend, sign Felipe Lopez for 3.5mil, he’ll play 3rd base and give us a little flexibility on the infield, sign Smoltz for 3 mil and he can give us a veteran prescence in the bullpen as well as a good set up man and spot closer for when Franklin needs a day off. Outside of that, let Jaime Garcia be our 5th starter, rarely does a 5th starter give ANY team 10 wins or more, so if he only picks up 8-10 wins thats about all you can expect outta the 5 spot. And then let Craig or Stavinoha be our 4th outfielder. If we signed Lopez and Smoltz I would be thrilled with how the offseason went
i dont think smoltz signs for $3 mil. i think he is asking for last year’s salary of $5.5. i’d love to have him back, but i dont see it happening.
i like lopez plus another veteran bullpen arm like octavio dotel or kiko calero. lopez can fill in at 3b if freese does not perform and move to the outfield when someone needs a day off. i guess ludwick would be the back up CF. not ideal, but not the worst thing in the world. garcia/boggs/ or whatever AAAA body they can find will be the 5th starter. the bench is rounded out by craig/mather/gotay or whatever else they can find for the minimum.
Please. 7.4 is plenty for a fouth OF, backup IF, a 5th starter (not even necessary. Garcia, Boogs, or Walters will be 5th) and a cheap bullpen arm.
They actually need a starting 3B not a back up, so Tejada would make a little more sense or maybe Melvin Mora might be a cheaper option
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that why they signed Polanco?
Cards didnt sign Polanco, the Phils did.
What about Church for your 4th OFer. He could be had for cheap, is a defensive stud, has decent speed, and can hit a little.
Are you kidding? lol 3.5 million to Felipe Lopez to play 3rd, hes a .300+ switch hitter. 3 million to Smoltz to be our set up man. Our 5th starter will be Jaime Garcia from AAA, and our 4th outfielder will be Craig of Stavinoha from AAA, don’t be hatin on the Cardinals lol
Since when did the Cardinals need another outfielder? Find some league minimum guy for 4th OF.
And, why are the Cards in the market for a reliever? Seriously now.
Lopez had 1 good year…he’s more of a .285 is hitter in his career… So yeah 3-4MM sounds reasonable
Freese was annointed as the 3B awhile ago unless things have changed due to his DUI. He’ll provide the same if not better offense than Mora and a little less than Tejada at a fraction of the cost.
I have been talking and hoping the Padres acquire Jerry Hairston Jr, since before the off season. He could be a great fir for the Padres.
I wish the Yanks would either step up and sign Damon OR lock up one or both of Randy Winn and/or Jerry Hairston.
R Winn is a very solid ball player he could be a nice bench guys for the Yankees or the Padres.
I think some how the Yankees work it out with Damon, just a gut feeling..
Randy Winn wants AB’s.
And I want Jessica Biel…
Reed Johnson is also on the Yankees radar.
The Cardinals could use a backup third baseman but could use Allen Craig as their 4th OF/backup 3rd baseman. They don’t need a fifth starter – Jaimie Garcia or Mitchell Boggs should be allowed to win that spot. I don’t see them needing to crunch – and I don’t get the skepticism on the Penny signing either. He will have a fantastic year working with Duncan.
They need to sign Ryan Church to round out their lineup and they need to make sure Craig makes the team
That was the Phillies
That was the Phillies
Scott Boras would let Adrian Beltre baby-sit his kids, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
______________________________________________________________________
That’s just way too much information.
What Boras didn’t say that Mark Teixeira walks his dogs, Pudge Rodriguez does his cooking, Jarrod Washburn cleans his windows and Alex Rodriguez used to scrub his toilets.
Scott Boras would let Adrian Beltre baby-sit his kids, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
Wow, now that is some great reporting by Rob Bradford.
I am just waiting to see who got the Boras ass wiping job.
Why not sign Vlad to platoon in the outfield with Colby and Ludwick he can be had for around 5mm. A huge discount compared to his 15mm salary last season. The guy has hit .320 career and is a decent power threat. Not to mention he would be a killer DH in our interleague games. I also like Jon Garland I think he offers more than an older Jarrod Washburn. Garland was 8-11 last year in the NL but played the majority of that with the diamondbacks who were terrible he had a 3-2 record with the dodgers. Garland is also a former 18 game winner. infact he has two seasons with 18 wins and they were not so long ago. I say we try to sign both to 2yr 9mm contracts I know we would go over bugdet by around 2mm but who cares when your still spending 20mm less than the cubs and have a far superior team.
“Scott Boras would let Adrian Beltre baby-sit his kids, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. ”
Well, you know he’s gonna want $20MM per hour for 10 hours, with an ooption for an 11th hour at $23MM that vests if the kids get to bed by 9:00.
“Scott Boras would let Adrian Beltre baby-sit his kids, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.”
Does this take the cake as the most pitiful thing any agent has said to try to inflate their players value? It seems a new low even for Boras.
“Does this take the cake as the most pitiful thing any agent has said to try to inflate their players value?”
Well yeah, it DOES…until the next claim he makes!
:-/
Scott Boras has kids? He’s sharing his money with women and children?
This was my first thought, too.
Brian sabean do not acquire johnny ” no arm ” damon he hit 20+ hr in that bandbox yankee stadium. You think he can hit 20+hr in at&t park .Oh god i can see sabean over paying for damon.
I wonder if he’d say the same about Milton Bradley.
He might consider that if Bradley would pay him. Not the other way around. I wouldn’t let Bradley babysit a pet rock.
It has to be Damon, he’s the only lefthanded hitting outfielder worth signing right now. Although they could be looking at Ankiel and Church, which would be bad decisions.
Wait sabean is considering a lefty power hitter who isn’t Damon…..I got it! It must be Barry Bonds!!
YFS78,
Think the Yanks are still just playing the old waiting game on Boras still on casharoo, like Boston did with Beltre. To see which of either Damon, Nady, or Ankiel will blink 1st and drop their price to 5-7M and sign on the dotted line. IMO, either of those would be an explosive type player in any park and really? I’d prefer Ankiel over that spread.
Mike Maroth! Who says we need an ace?! All RIGHT!!
Heh, every time I hear of Maroth all I can remember is the 2003 Tigers starting staff that combined for 77 losses.
its a safe bet…would rather sign him he can platoon for a year (taking on 75% of the load)
the least boras could have done was leave beltre’s number. i can’t go out tonight til i find a babysitter.
Haha, that’s a horrible for a young 3B and catcher
How bout Ryan Church, Felipe Lopez, and John Smoltz for the Cards. You could squeaze those three in for about 8.5 mil
The Giants must not believe in there young players. Velez, Lewis, Torres, Bowker, Ish and Schierholtz all hit Left handed. Unfortunately none of them have a .355 OBP like Damon. He would be a nice leadoff hitter for the Giants. Personally if there going to bench the kids I’d just rather see LaRoache signed and hitting 4th behind Panda and keeping Derosa in LF.CF Rowand2B Sanchez3B Panda1B LaRoacheLF DeRosaSS UribeC PoseyRF SchierholtzorLF Damon2B Sanchez1B Panda3B DeRosaSS UribeCF RowandC PoseyRF Schierholtz
Who the hell would want Mike Maroth?
And Dombrowski’s right about not needing a DH.