Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. Let's take a look.
The Mariners would like to move Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn or Miguel Batista to free up some money to go after free agents, but moving them would be difficult.
One possibility was that the Mariners would swap Washburn for Hideki Matsui with the Yankees, but Matsui is set to make $3M more in 2009, so the deal fell apart.
The Twins would like to move Delmon Young. The Twins showed interest in Washburn last year, but it's not clear whether the two players could form the basis for a larger deal that would be necessary to accomodate the swap.
The Yankees are not interested in Juan Cruz.
If the Yankees do trade Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher it will likely be to improve their bullpen.
Brian Shouse is high on the Rays wish list.
Rich Hill to the Orioles would likely take only a low level prospect to complete with the Cubs.
Tony Masserotti of the Boston Globe is reporting that Jason Varitek and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a contract. The deal will pay Varitek $5M in 2009 with a club option at $5M for 2010 and a player option for $3M for 2010. If the player option is exercised, there are incentive clauses in the contract which could push the value of the 2010 compensation to $5M.
Pitcher Josh Fogg is leaning towards signing with the Rockies. There is also word that the Rockies have passed on Braden Looper.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republicexamines the decision by the Diamondbacks to sign Jon Garland over Randy Johnson.
The Mariners appear interested in Bobby Abreu, but would probably have to make some changes to afford him. There is also word here on the Mariners signing of Mike Sweeney.
Masserotti also believes that Varitek should accept the Red Sox offer. Varitek has allegedly threatened to sit out 2009 or retire instead of taking the deal.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated has a new column with plenty of rumors:
There are whispers that Omar Minaya will bring Pedro Martinez back to New York.
The Phillies still have $3M left to spend for 2009. It's not a lot of money, even in this economy, but Heyman suggests that Moises Alou could be an option for that amount.
As mentioned yesterday, Rich Aurilla and Nomar Garciaparra are both on the Phillies radar though Aurilla may return to San Francisco.
Ivan Rodriguez may make the most sense to play in Florida, but only if the Marlins are willing to open up their checkbook.
The only thing that seems guaranteed upon inspection of Milton Bradley's contract is that it is for two years and $20M. It may ultimately work out to $30M over three years, but there are complex incentives to get there.
Though the Yankees have been shopping Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady, there has been more interest in Swisher. However, it seems like the Yankees are now likely to take both players into spring training.
Jeff Moorad is likely to have his bid to buy the Padres accepted. Moorad is expected to keep Kevin Towers in place if he becomes the owner.
Let's take a look at the latest Oliver Perez rumors:
There are rumors here that the Rangers and Brewers are interested in Perez.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentineldisputes the Perez-Brewers rumor saying that Brewers general manager Doug Melvin believes Perez's contract demands are too high and giving up a draft pick is another steep price to pay.
The Mets still remain the favorites according to Jon Heyman. The Mets offer appears in excess of $30M over three years.
The Boston Red Sox have made an offer to Jason Varitek to resign captain and team catcher for $5M for 2009 and a $5M club option for 2010 or a $3M player option for 2010. Varitek has until Saturday to make a decision. Tony Masserotti of the Boston Globe is now reporting that the contract was initially offered next week and that Varitek has the option of taking the deal as constructed or accepting simply a $5M contract for 2009.
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. Let's take a look:
Rosenthal suggests that a two year contract with a third year player option that has a no trade clause in it for the first two years of the contract might be enough to get Manny Ramirez to resign with the Dodgers.
Ramirez does not appear to be a good fit in San Francisco, however, because the ballpark is difficult and the supporting cast around Manny doesn't justify spending the money to get him.
It seems like the remaining free agents will likely go with one year contracts so that they can hopefully improve their status by the 2010 free agent period. Adam Dunn is a prime candidate for this tactic.
Freddy Garcia's asking price - $1.5M base salary with $6.5M in incentives - was too expensive for the White Sox.
Oliver Perez is not a good fit for the White Sox, Rosenthal believes, because he is a fly ball pitcher in a ground ball park.
The Phillies are considering a number of right handed hitters to replace the departing Pat Burrell and Rosenthal thinks that Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilla fit the best.
Rosenthal does not believe that the Angels will do much to change their roster before spring training.
Zack Greinke'snewly signed contract has limited no trade protection for 2009 and 2010 and nothing once his salary escalates to $13.5M in 2011 and beyond.
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