AJ Burnett Rumors

The rumors of Mark Teixeira signing with the Yankees have been confirmed.  Now let's take a look at the various reports about how the deal went down:

• Bill Madden of the Los Angeles Times writes that Teixeira told him that he prefered New York over Boston and Los Angeles all along.  
• Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports gives a rundown of events that brought Teixeira to New York.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that the decision to sign Teixeira, along with their entire 2009 off season haul (CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett) was made with the poor 2010 free agent class in mind.  Sherman also points out that the team will now try to trade one of their outfielders: Nick Swisher, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady or Hideki Matsui.
• Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the contract does not include an opt-out clause as Sabathia's did.  He also notes that the Sox do not intend to go after Derek Lowe simply because they missed out on Teixeira.
• It appears as if the Red Sox final offer was eight year, $168M according to Joel Sherman.

cbssports.com's Danny Knobler is reporting today that the Braves are not interested in free agent pitcher Derek Lowe and remain quiet about any further negotiations with the Padres to acquire Jake Peavy.  Knobler notes that Lowe's agent, Scott Boras, continues to demand close to the $16.5M per year that AJ Burnett received from the Yankees and that is perhaps why the Braves and many teams are staying away.  While the Braves were close to a deal for Peavy close to a month ago, attempts at last minute changes by the Padres broke down negotiations and they remain closed. 

Jayson Stark of espn.com took a look at the players who did not sign during this week's winter meetings and what the rest of the off season has in store for them:

• Mark Teixeira: The rumored offers are plentiful: eight years, $160M from the Nationals; seven years, $140M from the Orioles; seven years, $160M from the Angels. Scott Boras clients always take the highest bid, but how will Tex be able to spin taking slightly more money from the lowly Nationals?
• Manny Ramirez: The prevailing wisdom is that Teixeira signs with Boston, a non-starter destination for Ramirez, and the Tex sweepstatkes losers bid on Ramirez. But the Angels haven't expressed interest, the Nationals don't need outfielders and Orioles owner Peter Angelos is unlikely to make a larger offer to Ramirez. What does it all mean? Wherever Ramirez plays, he won't have a home until at least February.
• Rafael Furcal: His agent alleges that the Royals, As, Blue Jays and Dodgers are all interested in Furcal and know that it will take anywhere from $27M to $40M to get a contract signed. However, most people think that the market and interest in Furcal is not quite the picture his agent is painting.
• AJ Burnett: The equation seems pretty simple: either take the money from the Yankees or decide to take a discount and play in Atlanta.
• Derek Lowe: Perhaps the market for Lowe is not as hot as once thought. It appears that neither the Phillies nor the Red Sox have made an offer yet. The Yankees could quickly drop out if Burnett and Andy Pettitte sign. The Mets may be interested, but only at a discount.
• Raul Ibanez: There appears to be serious interest from the Phillies, Angels and Mets.
• Milton Bradley: The Cubs and Rays are rumored to be the bidders for Bradley's bat.
• Adam Dunn: He's alleged to be the back up plan in Washington if Teixeira does not land in DC.
• Brian Fuentes: The market has significantly cooled with the Mets and Indians finding closers, but St. Louis still remains an option.
• Trevor Hoffman: There seems to be even less of a market for Hoffman who's receive nibbles, but nothing serious from the Dodgers, Tigers, Brewers and Rangers.

The Yankees are close to a deal that would send outfielder Mike Cameron to New York from the Brewers in exchange for Melky Cabrera and probably a pitcher yet to be determined according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman notes that the Brewers are expected to pay a portion of the $10M Cameron is owed for 2009 and the more the Brewers offer to pay, the higher quality the unnamed pitcher would be.

There are also rumors that the Yankees are entertaining the idea of including Bill Hall in the deal. Hall is due to make $15.7M over the next two years and the Brewers would likely have to pay part of Hall's contract as well to unload the utility player.

Sherman also notes within the same article that the Yankees have upped their offer to free agent pitcher AJ Burnett to five years and $80M.

Earlier we gave you Yahoo! Sports Tim Brown's winter meetings preview of the NL teams.  Now, let's look at the AL teams:

• The Red Sox are quite involved in talks for big free agent names like Mark Teixeira, Derek Lowe and AJ Burnett but perhaps the most interesting question is how they handle Jason Varitek or his replacement.
• There seems to be a hierarchy of the Yankees off season moves: 1) sign CC Sabathia 2) sign Teixeira 3) sign Lowe or Burnett 4) sign Manny Ramirez as the worst case scenario.
• The Blue Jays are out of the running for Burnett, but could still consider Brad Penny, Paul Byrd, Randy Johnson, Oliver Perez, Pedro Martinez and Ben Sheets are all possibilities. 
• The off season priority list for the Indians reads as 1) closer 2) closer and 3) closer.  Possibilities include: Trevor Hoffman, Jason Isringhausen, Huston Street or JJ Putz.
• Trading for Gerald Laird filled the Tigers hole at catcher, but they're still interested in a closer and could be a dark horse for Rafael Furcal or trade for Jack Wilson.
• Teixeira will dictate the Angels off season.  If he signs with the Angels, that's likely it.  If not, they'll take Francisco Rodriguez back for the right price or look at Sabathia. 
• As Jayson Stark told us a few weeks ago, the Rangers off season priorities are pitching, pitching and more pitching.  They'll look at Penny, Randy and Freddy Garcia.

While the baseball winter meetings have already begun, Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports put together a nice preview of what each team will look to do in Las Vegas this week.  Let's start with the NL:

• New Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro is involved in negotiations with Jaime Moyer and is also interested in Derek Lowe and AJ Burnett.
• The Nationals have been rumored to involved in the Mark Teixeira bidding, but Adam Dunn seems like a more realistic target.
• The Jake Peavy trade rumors have dominated the headlines for the Cubs, but the team could also look at signing Raul Ibanez or Rafael Furcal or even trading for Brian Roberts.
• The Astros are willing to consider trading Jose Valverde to improve their starting pitching.
• After trading for Khalil Greene, the Cardinals are still looking for starting pitching.  The Cardinals could also look to acquire Huston Street if they feel Chris Perez is not the answer as their closer.
• The Reds have been rumored to be interested in Jermaine Dye, but they may also be considering Willy Tavarez from the Rockies.
• The Pirates are sellers at the winter meetings, looking to trade Jack Wilson, Adam LaRoche and Nate McLouth.
• Manny Ramirez and CC Sabathia remain on the back burner for the Dodgers and they try to resign Furcal at a bargain.
• The Rockies don't expect much interest in Garrett Atkins because the asking price is very high.

Buster Olney's latest post is packed with information. Here's some of the highlights:

• The market for Manny Ramirez appears very cool right now and Olney wonders if it is possible that Ramirez and Scott Boras will make the unlikely move of accepting the Dodgers arbitration offer.
• The Cubs appear interested in Adam Dunn but have concerns about whether he can play right field everyday.
• One possibility for Pat Burrell is an attractive one year deal from the Rays.
• The major parts of a Cubs-Padres Jake Peavy deal appear to be hammered out and Josh Vitters is the centerpiece of the Cubs offer. The teams just need to solve the smaller parts to hopefully complete the deal.
• Jose Valverde is a serious trade candidate for the Astros.
• It appears as if the Rockies got the most they could out of trading Matt Holliday back in November. The market appears far more flooded now than a month ago and the offers for Holliday might have been far less now.
• The Rockies are still optimistic that Brian Fuentes could return. That would mean Huston Street would likely be traded.
• In an effort to out flank the Yankees, the Braves may ask for an answer from AJ Burnett soon just incase the Yankees lose out on CC Sabathia and throw the leftover money at Burnett. The Braves would have no chance to outspend New York if Sabathia doesn't sign with the Yankees.
• Olney agrees that Rafael Furcal is likely to end up in Oakland.

Let's take a look at a few links regarding the AJ Burnett rumors today:

• Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Braves general manager Dave Wren confirmed that the team has made an offer to Burnett.  Reading between the lines, it seems as if the 5th year of the contract is an option and not guaranteed. 
• The Yankees are poised to make an offer soon, likely tomorrow.
• Blue Jays general manager JP Riccardi believes that they will lose Burnett.

Let's take a look at Ken Rosenthal's latest column:

• The As are considered the leading team to sign Rafael Furcal.
• Randy Johnson and Nick Johnson are two other veterans the As are looking to add.  Jason Giambi does not appear to be a preference.
• The Phillies reported offer to Derek Lowe seems to be a back up plan if the team can not bring back Jaime Moyer.  Interestingly, the Dodgers are considered to be interested in Moyer.
• Speaking of back up plans, the Yankees have expressed interest in Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf who would seem to be back up plans if the team can not sign CC Sabathia and/or AJ Burnett and/or Lowe.
• The Braves have left the possibility of five guaranteed years open for Burnett.
• The Braves alleged interest in Adam Dunn seems to be low at best.  Raul Ibanez is another option, but signing him will be expensive as well.  The team is more likely to try and trade Kelly Johnson for outfield help.
• It's just Rosenthal's speculation, but he believes that trade talks between the Yankees and Dodgers about a Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp trade will rekindle next week.
• The Cubs continue to speak frequently with the Padres about trying to get a deal for Jake Peavy done.  Previously reported rumors about the Orioles being the third team involved in trade talks have died down.
• The Royals might consider trying to sign Kyle Farnsworth.

Jayson Stark of espn.com gives us a lot of hot stove updates in his most recent post:

• The Braves are now the front runner to land AJ Burnett.
• It does not seem like another team has attempted to match the Yankees $140M offer to CC Sabathia who is expected to make a decision soon, possibly next week.
• The are rumors that the White Sox are looking at Jorge Cantu.
• The Phillies have been pursuing Derek Lowe, but it doesn't seem like they have a realistic shot of having him sign.
• Rafael Furcal's suitors seemed to have reduced to the Dodgers and As with possible interest from the Orioles.
• Ty Wigginton and Adrian Beltre are the likely back up plans for the Dodgers if they are unable to retain Furcal and Casey Blake.