Jays Rumors

Some new Jays stuff to check out.

• The Jays' president Jim Godfrey is serious about bringing in a top Canadian player. Jason Bay, Erik Bedard, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, and Eric Gagne are available.
• The Jays are in on the Eric Bedard, almost sweepstakes. That rumor has been going on since May. JP Riccardi is trying to be aggressive and creative this offseason. There may be some kind of crazt dealing.
• Some kind of a deal that would send AJ Burnett to the Orioles is an option, but doesn't make sense for the O's, and Burnett probably isn't too keen on playing there.
• The Orioles want Alex Rios and Dustin McGowen for Bedard. Riccardi could try to puch Shaun marcum and Adam Lind, but may require something else. The O's could look at Travis Snyder.
• The Giants have said that the Jays could have Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain for Alex Rios.
• The Giants also could have moderate interest in Troy Glaus and Adam Lind.

Cubs OF

The Cubs are looking for a left handed hitting outfielder. The Cubs are taking a serious look at Kosuke Fukudome, and may consider Raul Ibanez as a fall back option. The Cubs are planning on making a serious offer to Fukudome. The Mariners aren't shopping Ibanez right now, but definitly could trade him if the price is right. Matt Murton should definitly get the deal done. The Cubs aren't very big on Murton.

Mariners and Rockies Interested in Marcus Giles

2B Marcus Giles was horrible this year, and his $4M option was declined by the Padres. It's known that the Mariners aren't tpp huge on Jose Lopez, and the Rockies lost Kaz Matsui to the Astros. Giles made $3.75M this past season, and isn't likely to get more than that for '08.

Dukes Going to Washington

The Rays have shipped of troubled OF Elijah Dukes to the Nationals for pitcher Glenn Gibson. A trade had been in the works for a little while now. The Nationals now have great depth at outfield. The Rays get a 20 year old lefty pitching prospect in Gibson. Not a surprising move, even though the Rays recently sent of OF Delmon Young to Minneasota. The Rays have had interest in Geoff Jenkins.

Today's Santana Rumors

As always, today's trade rumors for Santana. Not too much new in the world of Johan.

• A report had Santana demanding to be traded to the Yankees or Red Sox, that rumor was false.
• The Mariners aren't in the running for Santana anymore.
• The Twins aren't worried about the Yankees deadline, and are in no rush to trade him.

Haren's Price is High

The Athletics are believed to be open to offers for ace Dan Haren. Although, the asking price is massive. The A's want two of Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain from the Yankees. That's steep. It doesn't look like Santana;s asking price will include two blue chip prospects. It's rumored that if the Angels land Miguel Cabrera, the A's will have a firesale. That should mean that Dan Haren will be traded, along with Huston Street, Dan Johnson, Mark Kotsay, Rich Harden and possibly Joe Blanton.

Marlins Want to Keep Willis

The Marlins have decided that they don't want to trade pitcher Dantrelle Willis. Willis has gotten some interest, but the Marlins want to hold on to him. The price is believed to be two solid prospects. The Marlins say that the would trade him if they were "blown away" by an offer. I could see the Mariners, Mets, and D'Backs interested, depending on how the Johan Santana deal goes down.

Crawford Not Available

Now that Delmon Young has been traded, the Rays will not be looking to moce Carl Crawford. The interest level should be pretty high if he was made available. The Cubs had interest, but are now looking for a left handed outfielder. Kosuke Fukudome is believed to be the biggest target. Other options would be Raul Ibanez, Ryan Church, Milton Bradley, Randy Winn, Gary Matthews Jr., Luke Scott, Geoff Jenkins, David Dellucci, and Shawn Green.

More Santana Rumors

What would we do without a daily dose of Santana rumors?

• It's rumored that the Red Sox will include Jacoby Ellsbury in their offer. But not Jon Lester. It's a one of the other thing. Ellsbury and Bucholz sounds pretty good to me.
• The Yankees will not put in Alan Horne, Austin Jackson, Dellin Betances, Ian Kennedy, or Jose Tabata. Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera are still in the deal.
• The Yankees deadline for the Twins to decide on their offer is Monday, but isn't been taken seriously.
• Santana has told the Twins that he wont waive his no trade clause once the season has started. It's now or never for the Twins. What they can get from the Yankees and Red Sox is way better than the two draft picks that they would get.

Padres Close to Extending Peavy

A while ago, I mentioned that the Padres wanted to extend Jake Peavy. Now, the talks are getting serious. Peavy gets $6.5M in '08, and $11M in '09. It's believed that Peavy's extension will cover 2010-11, worth around $17M. He'd be takeing a serious home town discount. He'd easily get atleast $20M as a free agent.

Astros Sign Matsui

The Astros have signed SS/2B Kaz Matsui to a three year deal worth $16.5M. Matsui could easily become the biggest free agent bust in 2008. He only hit .256 away from Coors field last season. Tadihito Iguchi is probably the best free agent 2B now. The Rockies are looking at other free agents to fill the void that Matsui has left. Mark Loretta, Iguchi, and Marcus Giles are options.

More on Cabrera and the Angels

More info has come in on the Angels offer for Miguel Cabrera. The Angels aren't too happy with the Marlins' recent demands, but are leaving the door open to negotiate. The Angels' offer is Jeff Mathis, Howie Kendrick, Ervin Santana/Nick Adenhart, and one other prospect. The Angels want both Santana and Adenhart. The Angels don't want to give up both pitchers. I'd agree too that that is too high of a price to pay.

Edmonds Would Waive His No Trade Clause

Veteran St. Louis OF Jim Edmonds has said that he will waive his no trade rights, if the Cardinals decide to trade him. Edmonds has had a lot of injury troubles in his career, and might not get much interest. The Cardinals are known to be interested in starting pitching. I don't know hoe much Edmonds could get the Cards. He has $8M owed to him for '08. If the Cards eat some some of his salary, there could be more interest.

Pirates Want to Dump Nady

The Pirates are looking to get rid of OF/1B Xavier Nady. Nady isn't bad for an outfielder. His .278/.330/.476 line from last season isn't too bad. His .800 OPS will get some teams interested in him. The Bucs are in trade talks with the Indians invloving Jason Bay, and unless they can get a decent outfielder in return, then they night want to keep him for another year. Nady is a Scott Boras client, and is eligable for arbitration.

Santana Rumors

This is becoming a daily feature here. Today's new rumors involving Twins' starter Johan Santana.

• The Yankees will include Phil Hughes in their offer. It's believed to now ne Hughes, Melky Cabrera and another prospect. Shortstop Alberto Gonzalez and starter Alan Horne have been discussed. Austin Jackson has also some up too. The Yankees will be giving up quite a bit for Santana.
• The Red Sox have been off and on with Santana. It's known that the Sox don't want to trade Jacoby Ellsbury, but Coco Crisp is available. The Sov would part with one of Jon Lester and Clay Bucholz. The Sox are trying to push Crisp at the Twins, but likely won't settle for Crisp and one of the pitchers.

So who's offer is better here? It looks like the Yankees, but the Red Sox throwing in Ellsbury is suppossed to shift the lead to the Red Sox. But will it? Hughes has been ranked higher than Lester and Bucholz, but we can basically cancel each other out. Cabrera and Crisp probably are on the same line. The Yankees also have the extra prospect thrown in. It looks more like the Yankees, but the Red Sox could be givin gup two blue chips.

Why is Migeal Cabrera getting far more than Santana? The Marlins can get three or four rock-solid prospects from the Angels who are major league ready, and the Twins would be lucky to get two top prospects.

Padres Sign Randy Wolf

The Padres have reached an agreement on a one year contract with P Randy Wolf worth $8M. Wolf will need to pass a physical first. Wolf has battled injuries in the last couple years. He had Tommy John in 2005, and hasn't really returned since. He has struggled since the surgery. He pitched for the Dodgers last season.

Red Sox Sign Timlin?

It's believed that the Boston Red Sox have signed veteran reliever to a one year contract worth $3M. Timlin was unsure about if he would play again. Timlin was likely brought back to be a veteran presence in the bullpen.

Yankees and Lorreta

The Yankees have been rumored to be close with free agent infielder Mark Loretta, but they're not. The Yanks have talked with Loretta a while back, but nothing that is believed to be serious. The Yankees could use Loretta at first or depth. The Rockies could use Loretta after losing Kaz Matsui to the Astros for three years.

Kuroda Coming to MLB

Japanese pitcher Huroki Kuroda has decided to play in North America next season. He wants three years, and probably around $10M per. Many teams have shown interest in Kuroda, the Mariners have shown strong interest and have a four year offer to Kuroda.

Arbitration Tidbits

Tonights deadline for teams to offer arbitration to eligable players was 9PM EST. It has nwo passed, and we should learn over the next few days of who has been offered. If a player is offered arbitration and the player declines, the team can recieve compensation for him if he is a Type A or B free agent. Otherwise, the team will get nothing. If a player is not offered arbitration, than the team can't recieve compensation draft picks. If arby is accepted vy the player, then there will be a hearing, and a contract will be decieded by an arbitrator.

Angels and Marlins Have More Problems

The Marlins and Angels have been talking Miguel Cabrera for some time now. The Marlins have had high demands for Cabrera, but the Angels are saying that they are too high. In the deal for sure, well not officially for sure but most likely to be are Jeff Mathis and Howie Kendrick. The Angels are fine with that. The Angels also would throw in one of Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Nick Adenhart. Here's the catch, the Marlins want two of the pitchers, the Angels only want to put in one. Any one of these three pitchers with Mathis and Kendrick would be a nice haul. The Marlins mau have to settle for Mathis, Kendrick, Santana/Saunders/Adenhart and Reggie Willits. That's a crazy haul for the Marlins.

Catching Up

Life has it's twists and turns, and has kept me away from my computer for the last couple days. I've looked over the last couple days, and will sum up the main points here, hopefully getting myself caught up.

• The Mets traded OF Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider. To me this is a steal for the Nats. Milledge was a prized prospect in the Mets' system. Church is probably an underrated outfielder, but isn't as good as Milledge should be in '08. Schneider was probably the reason for the trade. The Mets get a solid defensive catcher. Now, finding a platoon partner will be on the list. The Mets could have got more for Milledge, I think.
• The Tigers signed Kenny Rogers to a one year deal worth $8M.
• Troy Percival was signed by the Rays to a two year deal worth $8M.
• The Cardinals signed INF Cesar Izturis to a one year deal worth $2.85M.