Official MLB Offseason Thread

Some smaller signings per rotoworld:

Cubs agreed to terms with RHP Chad Gaudin on a one-year, $2 million contract.
You can be sure there were more than a few teams hoping Gaudin would be non-tendered, and it likely would have happened if he didn't agree to a contract today. He did struggle after joining the Cubs in the Rich Harden deal last season, but that's because he was hurt. He was a fine reliever for the A's in the first half, and he can start if needed.

Neal Cotts-R-Cubs Dec. 12 - 7:04 pm et
Cubs agreed to terms with LHP Neal Cotts on a one-year, $1.1 million contract.
It was a surprise when the Cubs didn't non-tender Cotts last season, instead opting to give him $800,000. He didn't make the team out of spring training, but he did stick after being called up on May 29 and had a 4.29 ERA in 35 2/3 innings over the rest of the season. He'll probably be treated as a lefty specialist again next season, even though lefties and righties have hit him almost equally well over the course of his career.

Ramon Santiago-SS-Tigers Dec. 12 - 7:02 pm et
Tigers agreed to terms with shortstop Ramon Santiago on a one-year, $825,000 contract.
Santiago was a far better player than Adam Everett last season, and it'd only be fair to give him a chance to compete for the starting job in 2009. The plan is for Everett to be the regular shortstop initially, but the arrangement may not last.

 

Maybe Im just dumb but I really like Burnett. I think he is a legit #2 who has handled the AL east well. He presents a risk but he also presents a reward.

 

Per Metsblog, Mets have dealt Blowenweis. Looks like a straight salary dump which is fine

The Mets have traded Scott Schoeneweis to the D’Backs for RHP Conor Robertson.

The 27–year-old Robertson was 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA in nine games with Arizona this past season.

Robertson is 29-13 with a 2.82 ERA in 217 career-minor league games, during which he struck out 382 batters in 305 innings.

 

Burnett has a ton of talent and great stuff, his problem is just motivation and the fact that people question his toughness as he doesn't pitch unless he feels 100%. He could have been an ace but his head isn't screw on right and never took the next step.

 

Among the non-tendered players:
Ty wigginton
Daniel Cabrera (read the blurb below and you will understand why this is a horrendously stupid move by Baltimore)
Joe Nelson (only the Marlins would non-tender a player over 150k!)

Orioles non-tendered RHP Daniel Cabrera.
The Orioles have every right to be frustrated with Cabrera, but this is still a terribly stupid move. The team currently has one pitcher on its roster who pitched at least 80 innings and had an ERA under 6.00 last season (Jeremy Guthrie). One. Cabrera still has upside aplenty, and he has soaked up 380 innings the last two seasons for a team that certainly didn't have any better alternatives. It was worth paying him $4 million to see what was in store for 2009.

 

I love watching the Yankees make panic moves after missing the postseason for the first time in forever.

Let's see, 7 years for a guy who is reportedly tipping the scales at 311 lbs...in a contract year! That should be a fine long term investment. Obviously the Yankees missed seeing a pitcher whose gut is so big that the outfielders run laps around him for exercise. (They haven't had that since David Wells left.)

Then 5 years for a pitcher who's exceeded 30 starts exactly twice in 10 MLB seasons. Burnett will be 32 next year, and it seems unlikely to me that he's suddenly going to discover how to stay healthy or pitch through discomfort.

Ah, it's wonderful to have good old-fashioned Steinbrenner impulsiveness back in our lives.

 

I heard on WFAN today that the Yankees next move is buying the Marlins & Royals and using their players as back ups.

Seriously though, if for some reason the Yankees don't make the playoffs it is going to be pretty surreal. You'd have to imagine everyone would be fired and the quotes from Hank would just be priceless.

 

Be careful what you wish for. The Yankees may end up dealing Matsui off to San Fransisco and signing Ramirez to return to his hometown. That would be pretty tough to beat. If the Rays sign Jason Giambi as rumored then it's going to be a slug-fest in the AL East.

 

These reliever contracts are the biggest waste of money by far.

 

My point exactly. I'll be banging on the walls if we lose Teixeira because we signed F'in Fuentes. Are you kidding me?

I know we've made a nice offer to Teixeira but if need be we have the financial ability to top the 8 year deal.

 

Matsui has a full no trade clause in his contract, so there's no way he'd waive it to play for SF. That rumor is been out there since last year and didn't make any sense then and doesn't now especially since he's coming off of knee surgery and has been a subpar OFer before it.

If Giambi goes to TB I don't think it would change much in the AL East race. I mean how many more wins would Giambi equal? 1 or 2 maybe if that? It's not like TB would be getting Mark Teixeira.

 

For everyone that wants a salary cap in baseball, turn your attention to this signing. Why on earth would a team like KC waste 9.25 million for a reliever? Seriously, why? People are all up in arms when a team a big market team like NY, Boston or LA gives someone a huge deal but don't have a problem when a small market team wastes almost 10 million.

Obviously small market teams are at a disadvantage because of the money so you'd think they'd be smart about how they spend it but nope. It's moves like these that hurt the teams. People don't bring up the fact that Minnesota signed Livan Hernandez last year to a 4 or 5 million dollar deal and even though he sucked they kept him in their rotation (thus keeping Liriano in the minors for about a month when he was clearly ready to return) and probably cost them a shot at the playoffs like year. Instead of these dumb signings, why not use that 9 million for scouting, player development and putting money into the draft? Especially when these teams, like Pittsburgh, who get high draft picks pass on the good players because they can't afford them because they waste money signing overpriced veterans who won't help.

Ok I'm done with my rant, but seriously that is a terrible signing by KC.

 

If he felt unwelcome Matsui could choose to move to San Fransisco where he may find the fairly large Japanese minority (it's not huge) to his liking. It's not like the Yankees need to drop payroll to sign Ramirez if they choose to. They can do it be sure and trot out Matsui out in left field, Cameron out in CF, and Nady in RF with Posada splitting time behind the plate and Swisher at 1B. As for Damon he's in his last year. One of those guys could certainly be traded out. Giambi is nearly the equivalent of Jason Bay at the plate (.895 versus .876), to say it's irrelevant is pretty silly. 1-2 games even could decide that division.

Without Teixeira Boston will have its hands full with the Yankees and Rays. They'll probably still get a playoff spot and end up at least second, but if the Yankees add Ramirez there's a good chance they take the division.

 

Last year Giambi was nearly equivalent to Bay in terms of OBP, OPS, HRs and RBIs the rest isn't comparable as obviously Bay has more value both at the plate and on the field. Giambi is also going to be 38 next year and if he were to sign with TB would be their DH, where his numbers aren't nearly as good as when he plays in the field. And having seen Giambi play the past few years I can say that if TB signs him it would almost be irrelevant because he's not the one that will make or break them and the market for him is extremely small. He'll help them sure because he gets on base a lot and hits HRs but other than that he's pretty useless.

It all comes down to pitching, right now you'd have to say the Yankees are favorites for the AL East but both Boston and TB are far from done making moves (ditto for the Yankees). I don't think Teixeira is a need/most have for Boston, more of a luxury. And even with Tex, the Sox will have their hands full with NY and TB.

 

I actually would have said you guys were the favorites.

How's the feeling about Teixeira in Boston. Is it likely that the Sox throw out an 8/170-175 to beat the Angels likely offer of 8/165-170 (apparently they've surpassed the National's offer)?

 

It's weird. Tough to really tell because the front office doesn't say anything ever about anything. They've never even came out and said they made an offer or want Teixeira. The Sox have a lot of money off the books, around 50 to 60 million or so, so they have the money to spend but the front office usually doesn't like giving up long term deals for big money. Since 2003 the longest deal they made was J.D. Drew's contract ofr 5 years, 70 million.

Of course add to the fact that the Sox have Youkilis at 1st and Lowell at 3rd, it's not like they're needing to fill a hole. Plus they have probably a top 20 prospect in Double A in Lars Anderson who's a 1st baseman with huge power and a good all around stick that's probably ready by the middle of 2010. So who knows. It's a crap shoot to be honest with you I have no idea. On Wednesday I thought the Sox were going to sign Tex but right now I think both the Angels and Yankees are right with them.

 

Teixiera is a good player but I would not cough up $200 million for him. It will interesting to see where Manny and Lowe end up.

 

I know very well about Lars Anderson. I'm very impressed with his numbers versus his age, plate patience etc. He's a mini-Teixeira in waiting without the gold glove defense.

Point being, I know Red Sox fans say that they want to get Teixeira to assist Ortiz and then have Lars Anderson replace Ortiz but I just can't see an idol like player in Boston like Ortiz being thrown out. It just wouldn't be good for team image. Personally I see Lowell (or at least I'm hoping in order to give the Angels a good shot at taking you guys down) staying at 3B until he's gone. Then Youkilis will be moved to 3B with Anderson also there. Ortiz will stay a Red Sox for the rest of his career (still has a good five years left I'd say as a DH).

Nothing would make me happier than seeing some of baseball's best teams stay the same more or less for years on end, intensifying rivalries again.

 

Teixeira is probably about the 9th-10th best hitter in baseball and with Guerrero behind him a little bit better than that even (7th-8th). He's overall in the top 15 or so players in the game as he's a first basemen. He may be a great one but having a SS like A-Rod (or formerly a SS) is that much more impressive.

It is an overpriced contract, but I see Teixeira as a very consistent player until his contract is done. For stability, it may be worth it. Also he fits just that well in the Angel lineup that the Halos want him back so badly. After that they hope to land Jake Peavy and take the division again with WS hopes once more.

Last I heard (today) was that the Red Sox didn't want to go over seven years for Teixeira. If the Angels give a no-trade clause and raise their offer a bit more it could do it for them. One way I'd try to do this is to convince GMJ that he won't play next year and then pay maybe 3/5ths of his contract. Out of the remaining 33m, the Angels would pay say 23m. For 3m a year GMJ, healthy, is worth it. That 10m could be used theoretically to represent about 14m or so over the ten year contract based on inflation and wherever the Angels feel like adding in that bonus.

So say the Angels offered 8/165, they could offer 8/172 with a NTC comfortably.

What makes very little sense to me is the speculation that the bidding could hit 8/180 or so since if that were the case why not just guarantee the contract to be a 10/200? Heck if a team was picky wouldn't 10/192 or so do it? At age 37-38 or so Teixeira will be similar to Giambi except with better defense (health willing off course). Giambi stands to make about 6-7m or so and would make 10-11m if he could play a lick of defense.

 

If the Sox FO doesn't think Ortiz could help and if they can get someone better, they will. After all they let Pedro walk and traded Manny & Nomar and all three of those players were as popular and as good as Ortiz. It will be interesting to see what they do.

 

First of all regarding the KC thing, this from a GM who gave Gil meche 5/55 and Jose Guillen 3/36. Obviously thinking is not his strong point, or at least in Fa its not.

Regarding Minny, they arent a small market team, its just Carl Pohlad is a cheap bastard. Hes got as much money as any owner and just refuses to put the payroll above 65m or so. But the Mineapolis/St. Paul market is actually one of the 7 biggest in the league so the ability to draw is there if he would put a more consistent product out. In Liriano's case specifically his agent actually filed a grievance because they felt he was being kept down in the minors to keep his MLB service time down. They promoted him back up out of fear he would be proven right. I saw an article back in August or thereabouts where he was quoted as such.

 

The Meche signing, amazingly, is working out. Meche was an all star in 2007 (and a deserving one, I might add), and pitched very well in 2008. At this point, 11M a year for the next three years no longer looks ridiculous. Meche is 30, has been as healthy as a horse for the last three years, and has a K/BB ratio that's trending in the right direction.

Now, there are PLENTY of moves you can trash Dayton Moore for (the Crisp trade, Guillen, Joey Gathright's presence on a major league roster), but not Meche.

Well, the Twins got what they deserved last year. By keeping Liriano in the minors, they kept him out of the rotation, and instead got 24 starts of Livan Hernandez, who posted a 5.48 ERA and failed in every conceivable way to miss bats (199 hits in 139 IP, and just 54 K in that time). It's hard to imagine that replacing him with Liriano wouldn't have led to at least an additional win or two...and thus put them in the playoffs instead of the White Sox. And, as an added bonus, it all but assured that Liriano will sign elsewhere when his 6 years of service time with the Twins are up.

This was a fine example by the Twins of being penny wise and dollar foolish.

 

Some new stuff, per rotoworld.

According to the New York Daily News, the Yankees and Brewers have discussed including Bill Hall in the Mike Cameron-for-Melky Cabrera swap.
However, the newspaper reports that "his inclusion would complicate things even further" because Hall is owed $6.8 million for 2009 and $8.4 million in 2010. If Hall remains in Milwaukee, he looks likely to compete with Mike Lamb for playing time at third base.
Source: New York Daily News

Chan Ho Park-R-Dodgers Dec. 15 - 10:29 am et
Chan Ho Park announced at a Monday press conference in Korea that he's agreed to terms with the Phillies on a one-year contract.
The Korea Times reports that the deal is worth $2.5 million in guaranteed money with another $2.5 million in potential incentives. Park made 49 of his 55 appearances last season out of the bullpen, but indicated that the Phillies will give him a chance to start.
Source: Korea Times

Randy Wolf-S-Astros Dec. 15 - 10:01 am et
According to the New York Daily News, Randy Wolf is a "strong possibility" for the Mets.
The newspaper reports that the Mets would like to re-sign Oliver Perez and have a strong interest in Derek Lowe, but may turn to Wolf as a lower-cost alternative.
Source: New York Daily News
Related: Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez

 

I'd love for a Dolphins win over the Jets and for the Yankees to sign Mark Texeira for Christmas.

 

Damnit. He was a good relief pitcher for us up until the last 2 weeks of September. Did well as an emergency starter and was good at striking out batters in middle innings. F the Fillies. Again.

 

According to SI.com's Jon Heyman's, "Andy "Pettitte's people apparently are telling folks he has a $36 million, three-year offer" from an unnamed team.
A rather odd line. Pettitte's "people" are the Hendricks brothers, unless Heyman is using the word to refer a group other than his agents, and they haven't gone public with much of anything regarding the Pettitte negotiations. This could be nothing more than an attempt to get the Yankees to boost their offer. Pettitte wants to stay in New York, and he hasn't gone looking for a multiyear deal since leaving Houston."

I suspect that this team is the Mets. I speculated it in the Mets thread a couple of days ago. They need an innings eating lefty and if Ollie Perez and Derek Lowe's prices have not dropped it would make sense for the Mets to pursue someone of Petitte's caliber and leadership qualities. Other possibilities in my opinion are the Nats (desperate to make a splash), Toronto (probably wants to replace Burnett's innings somehow), Baltimore (1 legit SP on their roster and Jeremy Guthrie isnt that good).

 

Wouldn't be surprised if it were the Yankees considering what they're spending right now.

 

Big false Mark Teixeira offer this morning of 8/200 turned out to be a hoax.

 

...in other news..The Yankees reportedly have offered a 3yr./30million dollar contract to Muntader al-Zaidi...a 29 yr old Right-handed "set-up" man...

 

He's been linked to the Dodgers but I'm hoping we aren't giving him that deal. I'd rather give Manny that length than Pettitte.

Speaking of gambling on what you don't know.