November 2006
Possible Rumor Mill Outages
I just wanted to take a quick second to let you know The Rumor Mill might be a bit stale for a couple of days. We’ve got a pretty wicked storm taking aim at a city that doesn’t deal with winter weather well. The weathermen are calling for up to an inch of ice, and up to 10 inches of snow. Needless to say that could cause some serious power problems. I’ll try to keep the site updated as much as possible but I just wanted to let all Rumor Mill readers know what’s going on in case I lose my internet connection.
For now, I’ll leave you with another installment of "Wouldya." Rumor hungry Yankee fans have been feasting on rumors that the Yankees are once again pursuing a trade for Florida’s Dontrelle Willis. The package the Yank’s are supposedly dangling consists of Melky Cabrera and Humberto Sanchez. So the question is…
If you were the Florida Marlins, Wouldya trade Dontrelle Willis for Melky Cabrera and Humberto Sanchez?
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Rumor: Cubs Make Offer to Schmidt… Maybe
Yesterday, the rumors were swirling that the Chicago Cubs had made a 3 year $45 million offer to free agent pitcher Jason Schmidt. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the offer, attributing their information only to "one source". SI.com even picked up on the rumor which then in turn spurred several other sources, including the Chicago Sun Times, to carry the rumor.
However, today, the Cubs are denying that they’ve made the offer. Sure, they’re interested, they say, but no, they didn’t make the offer. The Daily Herald put it like this: "Despite a flurry of national reports Tuesday, Cubs
insiders vehemently deny they’ve offered free-agent pitcher Jason
Schmidt a three-year, $45 million deal. [But...] That doesn’t mean the Cubs aren’t interested in Schmidt or that they won’t make an offer."
Great…Well I’m glad we could clear that up.
You’re free to draw any conclusions you want out of all this mess, I’m just tellin ya what I’ve read. My gut feeling is that the Cubs probably did make some type of offer, they just don’t want to tip their hand. But with the way the Cubs have been throwing money around this offseason, I have no trouble believing the earlier rumor.
Rumor: Yankees Win Igawa Bidding
The New York Yankees have apparently won the bidding for the right to negotiate with a high profile Japanese pitcher… it’s just not THAT Japanese pitcher. ESPN.com is reporting that an MLB source has confirmed the New York Yankees have won the rights to negotiate with left handed pitcher Kei Igawa. The winning bid is reportedly $25 million, or roughly half the price the Boston Red Sox paid to negotiate with the high profile Daisuke Matsuzaka. They also likely won’t have the same problem signing Igawa that the Red Sox are having with Matsuzaka. Igawa’s agent, Arn Tellem, also represents Yankees outfielder, Hideki Matsui.
The 27 year old Igawa went 14-9 last year with a 2.97 ERA and is projected to fill the last open spot in the Yankees rotation behind Wang, Mussina, Johnson, and Pavano.
Update: Cardinals Get Busy
The defending champion St. Louis Cardinals have been relatively quiet compared to their National League Central rivals. Both the Astros and Cubs have signed players to $100 million contracts and so far, the Cardinals’ biggest move of the offseason was re-signing Jim Edmonds. But hey, why do in a couple of weeks what you can do in a day?
The Cardinals agreed to deals with 4, that’s right, 4 free agents today. The headliner of the group is second basemen Adam Kennedy, a former St. Louis draft pick. Kennedy reportedly signed a three year deal worth a total of $10 million. One of the most interesting aspects of this deal is that Kennedy reportedly turned down offers for more money from at least two other clubs, one of which is believed to be the Toronto Blue Jays. By signing with the Cardinals, Kennedy not only returns to the club that drafted him, he will also be rejoining former teammate David Eckstein in the middle of the Cardinals infield.
Cardinals GM, Walt Jockety also addressed another need today by signing pitcher Kip Wells to a one year, $4 million contract. The Cardinals entered the offseason with 4 of their 5 starting pitchers as free agents, however, team management insisted they wouldn’t get caught up in the crazy free agent spending that has been rampant this winter. With the signing of Wells, it would appear they are sticking to their guns. Wells is a 7 year veteran and had been a popular Cardinal target of trade rumors during previous years, but St. Louis never pulled the trigger. Last year wells started only 9 games due to injury and posted an unatractive ERA over 6. But, Wells is also the prototypical pitcher that Cardinal pitching coach, Dave Duncan, has made a career out of. Pitchers such as Chris Carpenter, Woody Williams, Daryl Kyle, and this year Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver have all revived their faltering careers under Duncan’s watchful eye.
As if those two moves weren’t enough, the Cardinals also singed a pair of very familiar free agent catchers. Gary Bennett, the Cardinals’ backup catcher last year, re-signed for one year at $900,000 and former Cardinal starting catcher Eli Marrero signed a minor league deal with the team.
Update: Blue Jays Re-Sign Zaun
The Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly re-signed free agent catcher, Gregg Zaun. It had been previously reported that Rod Barajas had signed with the Blue Jays, however, that deal fell through and Toronto turned to a familiar face. Zaun’s deal is said to be a two year deal worth $7.25 million with incentives and an option for a third year. Zaun hit .272 last year with the Blue Jays in limited duty.
Update: Angels Trade With White Sox Picking Up Players
Just a quick update on one of our earlier rumors… The LA Times is reporting that the Angels and White Sox are indeed discussing a trade that would send Crede to LA and Chone Figgins to Chicago, however, those are not the only players involved. According to the Times, White Sox veteran pitcher Freddy Garcia, and Angels prized pitching prospect, Ervin Santana would also be included in the deal.
As mentioned earlier, Crede would give the Angels the power they’ve been looking for and Figgins would provide the Sox the speed and versatility they crave. However, as a few readers pointed out, the deal seemed to favor the Angels a bit. Enter Santana and Garcia. Freddy Garcia is a proven veteran pitcher who has won 44 games over the past 3 years. Santana is a 23 year old pitcher who’s won 28 games in his first two major league seasons. Also worth noting is the fact that the Chicago Tribune reported today that the Crede/Figgins deal was "scoffed at" by White Sox GM, Ken Williams. However, the Tribune also reported that an extension for Crede would not be forthcoming which does little to squelch the trade rumors. Whether the addition of Santana "evens" out the trade or makes it more appealing to Williams and the Sox or not, it most certainly makes things more interesting.
Rumor: Pair of Pitchers Sign
A pair of so called "second tier" free agent pitchers reportedly agreed to terms, further depleting this year’s free agent crop. And, in keeping with this offseason’s spending trend, each pitcher was richly rewarded for simply being a free agent pitcher. Randy Wolf has come to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers, signing a one year deal worth $8 million. Apparently that’s exactly what $8 million will get you these days as earlier in the day, Adam Eaton signed a 3 year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies reportedly worth $24 million. Both pitchers were only able to pitch in 12 games last year due to injury and both compiled ERA’s over 5.00.
I realize that teams have more money than ever to spend on free agents this year. I also realize the free agent class is relatively thin this year. However, I simply can’t figure out why these pitchers are worth $8 million a year. Keep in mind that $8 million is more than the previous two NL Cy Young Award winners (Brandon Webb and Chris Carpenter) made last year… COMBINED! Wolf’s deal makes quite a bit more sense to me as the Dodgers limited their risk by shortening the length of the deal. If Wolf stays healthy, LA has an option they can pick up to retain the pitcher. However, if Eaton does not remain healthy, the Phillies will be paying $8 million a year for the next three years just for a pitcher who has been plagued by injuries the past two seasons. I haven’t even brought up the fact that these guys both have ERA’s over 5!
Now, I usually try to stay away from the commentary and analysis of signings and deals (mostly so I don’t end up being wrong) but I simply cannot remain silent on this one. Of course other teams were interested in both Wolf and Eaton, but I doubt many were willing to pay either pitcher $8 million a year, and even fewer will live to regret losing out on the Eaton and Wolf sweepstakes. I’m no GM, not to mention a professional scout, but I’m willing to bet the Minor Leagues are filled with pitchers who could pitch 100-150 innings a year with a 5.00 ERA. I’m also no accountant either but I guarantee you they’d be a heck of a lot cheaper. Also, Eaton will join a Phillies rotation that will most likely look like this: Brett Myers (missed time last year due to injury and beating his wife), Jon Lieber (36 year old making $7.5 million with an ERA of 4.93 last year… practically a bargain!), Jamie Moyer (44 year old pitcher, not named Clemens), Cole Hamels (a ******** 23 games of major league experience), and of course Eaton whom we’ve already discussed. If that’s not a recipe for success, I don’t know what is. Besides, the Phillies are in perfect position to take some chances like this. I mean it’s not like they already have a mediocre player with an enormous contract that they’d love to trade but can’t…
Trade Report: Brewers and Diamondbacks Swap Six
Just finishing up some odds and ends from last weekend (which I spent half of eating, the other half sleeping) so firgive me if this is old news to you. On Saturday, the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks put the finishing touches on the biggest trade thus far this offseason.
MLB.com is reporting that "Milwaukee received former All-Star catcher Johnny Estrada, right-handed
starter Claudio Vargas and right-handed reliever Greg Aquino for steady
left-handed starter Doug Davis and a pair of prospects, lefty Dana
Eveland and outfielder David Krynzel." Estrada batted .302 last year for the D’backs, Vargas went 12-10 with a 4.83 ERA, and Aquino compiled a 4.47 ERA in 42 relief appearances. On the flip side, Davis pitched 200 innings going 11-11 with a 4.91 ERA, Eveland had a rough strech with an ERA above 8 in 5 starts and 9 appearances, and Krynzel spent the year in the minors.
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Update: Orioles Breath Sigh of Relief
The Baltimore Orioles’ overhaul of their bullpen is apparently continuing. When you consider the fact that the Orioles’ pen had the second worst ERA in all of baseball last year, it’s easy to see their motivation. After signing the left handed Jamie Walker last week, the Orioles have reportedly reached terms with former closer Danys Baez.
Baez was an All Star closer in 2005 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays piling up 41 saves with a 2.86 ERA. However, the reliever struggled a bit last year splitting time between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. Baez’s season came to an abrupt halt when he had an emergency appendectomy, leaving him with a combined record of 5-6 and an ERA of 4.53. Despite Baez’s previous success as a closer, reports out of Baltimore say that the newly acquired reliever will step into a setup role for current O’s closer, Chris Ray.
Update: Astros Make Lee Newest $100 Million Man
The Houston Astros finally have their man, but he certainly didn’t come cheap. By signing Carlos Lee to a six year, $100 million contract, the Astros completed their top offseason priority. Lee hit .300 last year with 37 home runs and 116 RBI splitting the season between the Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers.
It would appear Soriano’s signing cost the Astros an extra $24 million as Lee had previously been rumored to be looking for a five year deal worth roughly $75 million. However, once Soriano signed, the Philadelphia Phillies as well as Baltimore Orioles, and perhaps the San Francisco Giants entered the running for Lee’s services driving the price for the All Star slugger up to the rarefied air of $100 million.
The Lee signing makes the second National League Central team to sign a $100 million player so far this offseason… I’m sure division rivals, namely the St. Louis Cardinals aren’t feeling any extra pressure or anything… I mean it’s not like they’re the defending champs or anything…
Also: The Astros also finalized their deal with free agent pitcher Woody
Williams. The deal is reportedly a two year deal worth $12.5 million
with a club option for a third year.
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