Brandon Lyon
Rumors

Though John Lackey, Jason Bay and Matt Holliday will dominate the headlines and the dollars this off season, Buster Olney of espn.com breaks down the next tier of free agents who are sure to get plenty of calls when free agency begins on Friday.

Brandon Lyon: Though there are a lot of closers available via free agency, Lyon may be willing to take a set up role and is only a Type B free agent. The Phillies, Angles, Mets and Yankees are all likely to be interested

Mark DeRosa: As a player who can play multiple positions his flexibility is a good fit for the Phillies. His bat is a good fit for any team.

Jermaine Dye: His age, 35, precludes him from being able to command a long term deal, but an AL team might be able to snag a good DH for a short and small contract.

Miguel Tejada: Though he might not be able to play shortstop anymore and would require a move to third base, his 313/340/455 splits are still attractive. Philly and Oakland could be good fits.

Miguel Tejada hopes to get plenty of offers this off season

Nick Johnson: Defense and power are very suspect for Johnson, but his OBP (an absurd .477 in 35 games last year for the Marlins) is still attractive. Offense starved teams like Oakland or San Francisco could be interested.

Coco Crisp: He's unlikely to be an everyday outfield, but his defense and speed are still tremendous and he could be a good platoon outfielder.

JJ Putz: A big market team like the Red Sox (think Billy Wagner), Yankees or Angels might be willing to give Putz a one-year deal despite coming off of injury.

Placido Polanco: His 45 extra base hits along with solid defense at second base will certainly attract suitors.

Rafael Betancourt: If the Rockies offer him arbitration, he becomes a Type A free agent and interest will be minimal. If they don't, look out.

Olney notes at the end of his piece that the rational behind Betancourt also applies to relievers Wagner, Jose Valverde, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano.

Below is a list of middle relievers that are eligible for free agency for the 2010 season, their age, current team, current contract and whether the player falls into a Type A or Type B free agent compensation status.

Free agent catchers
Free agent first basemen
Free agent second basemen
Free agent third basemen
Free agent shortstops
Free agent left fielders
Free agent center fielders
Free agent right fielders
Free agent starting pitchers
Free agent closers

Luis Ayala, 32, Marlins - 09:$1.3M
Danys Baez, 32, Orioles - 07:$4M, 08:$4.5M, 09:$5.5M
Joe Beimel, 32, Rockies - 09:$2M (Type B)
Joaquin Benoit, 32, Rangers - 08:$2M, 09:$3.5M
Rafael Betancourt, 35, Rockies - 08:$2.05M, 09:$3.35M, 10:$5.4M club option (Type A)
Chad Bradford, 35, Rays - 07:$3M, 08:$3.5M, 09:$3.5M
Doug Brocail, 43, Astros - 09:$2.5M (Type B)
Kiko Calero, 35, Marlins - 09:$500K (Type B)
Buddy Carlyle, 32, Braves - 09:$425K
Chad Cordero, 28, Mariners - 09:$750K
Elmer Dessens, 38, Mets - 09:$600K
R.A. Dickey, 35, Twins - 09:$525K
Brendan Donnelly, 38, Marlins - 09:$950K
Octavio Dotel, 36, White Sox - 08:$5M, 09:$6M (Type A)
Alan Embree, 40, Rockies - 09:$2M
Kelvim Escobar, 33, Angels - 07:$8.5M, 08:$9M, 09:$9.5M
Scott Eyre, 38, Phillies - 09:$2M (Type B)
Eric Gagne, 34, Brewers - 09:minor league contract
Geoff Geary, 33, Astros - 09:$1.7M
Dan Giese, 33, Athletics - 09:$422K
Edgar Gonzalez, 27, Padres - 09:$407K
Tom Gordon, 42, Diamondbacks - 09:$500K
John Grabow, 31, Cubs - 09:$2.3M (Type A)
Jason Grilli, 33, Rangers - 09:$800K
Eddie Guardado, 39, Rangers - 09:$1M
LaTroy Hawkins, 37, Astros - 09:$3.5M (Type A)
Mark Hendrickson, 36, Orioles - 09:$1.5M
Matt Herges, 40, Rockies - 09:minor league contract
Bobby Howry, 36, Giants - 09:$2.75M (Type B)
Jason Isringhausen, 37, Rays - 09:$750K
Masa Kobayashi, 36, Indians - 08:$3M, 09:$3M
Shane Loux, 30, Angels - 09:$405K
Brandon Lyon, 30, Tigers - 09:$4.25M (Type B)
Ron Mahay, 39, Twins - 08:$4M, 09:$4M
Gary Majewski, 30, Phillies - 09:minor league contract
Guillermo Mota, 36, Dodgers - 09:$2.35M (Type B)
Joe Nelson, 35, Rays - 09:$1.3M
Will Ohman, 31, Dodgers - 09:$1.35M (Type B)
Darren Oliver, 39, Angles - 09:$3.665M (Type A)
Chan Ho Park, 37, Phillies - 09:$2.5M (Type B)
Tony Pena Jr., 29, Royals - 09:$425K
Joel Peralta, 34, Rockies - 09:$640K
Troy Percival, 40, Rays - 08:$4M, 09:$4.445M
Scott Proctor, 33, Marlins - 09:$750K
JJ Putz, 33, Mets - 07:$2.2M, 08:$3.4M, 09:$5M
Horacio Ramirez, 30, Nationals - 09:$1.8M
Juan Rincon, 31, Rockies - 09:$750K
Glendon Rusch, 35, Rockies - 09:$750K
Takashi Saito, 40, Red Sox - 09:$4M, 10:$4M club option
Duaner Sanchez, 30, Padres - 09:$1.6875M
Scott Schoeneweis, 36, Diamondbacks - 07:$3.6M, 08:$3.6M, 09:$3.6M
Rudy Seanez, 41, Angels - 09:minor league contract
Brian Shouse, 41, Rays - 09:$1.55M (Type B)
Justin Speier, 36, Angels - 07:$3.75M, 08:$4.25M, 09:$4.75M
Russ Springer, 41, Rays - 09:$3.3M (Type B)
Ken Takahashi, 41, Mets - 09:minor league contract
Jack Taschner, 32, Phillies - 09:$835K
Julian Tavarez, 37, Nationals - 09:$500K
Ron Villone, 40, Nationals - 09:minor league contract
Luis Vizcaino, 35, Indians - 08:$3.5M, 09:$3.5M
Jamie Walker, 38, Orioles - 07:$3M, 08:$4.5M, 09:$4.5M
David Weathers, 40, Brewers - 09:$3.5M (Type B)
Jamey Wright, 35, Royals - 09:$800K
Yasuhiko Yabuta, 37, Royals - 08:$2.5M, 09:$3M
Tyler Yates, 32, Pirates - 09:$1.3M

Back in October, we posted the 2009 MLB Draft Order. Baseball America has since updated the draft order to include the free agent compensation changes.

1) Nationals (59-102)
2) Mariners (61-101)
3) Padres (63-99)
4) Pirates (67-95)
5) Orioles (68-93)
6) Giants (72-90)
7) Braves (72-90)
8) Reds (74-88)
9) Tigers (74-88)
10) Nationals (compensation for failure to sign 2008 first round selection, Aaron Crow)
11) Rockies (74-88)
12) Royals (75-87)
13) Athletics (75-86)
14) Rangers (79-83)
15) Indians (81-81)
16) Diamondbacks (82-80)
17) Diamondbacks (compensation from Dodgers for Orlando Hudson)
18) Marlins (84-77)
19) Cardinals (86-76)
20) Blue Jays (86-76)
21) Astros (86-75)
22) Twins (88-75)
23) White Sox (89-74)
24) Angels (compensation from Mets for Francisco Rodriguez)
25) Angels (compensation from Yankees for Mark Teixeira).
26) Brewers (90-72)
27) Mariners (compensation from Phillies for Raul Ibanez)
28) Red Sox (95-67)
29) Yankees (compensation for failure to sign 2008 first round selection, Gerrit Cole)
30) Rays (97-65)
31) Cubs (97-64)
32) Rockies (compensation from Angels for Brian Fuentes)

When teams finish with the same record, the tiebreaker (and higher pick) goes to the club with the worst record the previous year.

Supplemental First-Round Picks
33. Mariners (compensation for loss of Raul Ibanez)
34. Rockies (compensation for loss of Brian Fuentes)
35. Diamondbacks (compensation for loss of Orlando Hudson)
36. Dodgers (compensation for loss of Derek Lowe)
37. Blue Jays (compensation for loss of AJ Burnett)
38. White Sox (compensation for loss of Orlando Cabrera)
39. Brewers (compensation for loss of CC Sabathia)
40. Angels (compensation for loss of Mark Teixeira)
41. Diamondbacks (compensation for loss of Juan Cruz)
42. Angels (compensation for loss of Francisco Rodriguez)
43. Reds (compensation for loss of Jeremy Affeldt)
44. Rangers (compensation for loss of Milton Bradley)
45. Diamondbacks (compensation for loss of Brandon Lyon)
46. Twins (compensation for loss of Dennys Reyes)
47. Brewers (compensation for loss of Brian Shouse)
48. Angels (compensation for loss of Jon Garland)
49. Pirates (for failure to sign 2008 second-rounder Tanner Scheppers)

Second-Round Changes
56. Dodgers (compensation from Braves for Derek Lowe)
60. Diamondbacks (compensation from Royals for Juan Cruz)
61. White Sox (compensation from Athletics for Orlando Cabrera)
73. Brewers (compensation from Yankees for CC Sabathia)
76. Yankees (for failure to sign 2008 second-rounder Scott Bittle)

Third-Round Changes
104. Blue Jays (compensation from Yankees for AJ Burnett)

Supplemental Third-Round Picks
111. Astros (for failure to sign 2008 third-rounder Chase Davidson)

Buster Olney of espn.com has a new column and a new post up.  Let's take a look:

• The Brewers will consider Trevor Hoffman, Brandon Lyon and Braden Looper to fill their open closer's role via free agency.  If they do not sign a free agent, look for Carlos Villanueva to be the team's closer this spring.
• Brewers general manager Doug Melvin confirmed that trade talks between Milwaukee and New York over a possible Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera trade are likely dead.
• The Dodgers are no longer interested in Derek Lowe even though his price tag continues to drop.  They are considering Hoffman, however.
• Orlando Cabrera figures to be impacted the most by Rafael Furcal spurning the Braves for the Dodgers.  OC looked headed to LA if Furcal stayed with the Braves, but now OC has fewer suitors, if any.  Miguel Tejada continues to pop up as a more reasonable alternative to Cabrera.
• Olney reports that the Mets are still trying to find someone to take Luis Castillo.  Good luck.

The deadline to offer a free agent arbitration is tonight at 11pm CST (1pm EST). Here's a list of players who are eligible for arbitration, their team's decisions and any commentary.

• Trevor Hoffman was not offered arbitration by the Padres.
• The Angels have offered arbitration to Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Jon Garland and Darren Oliver.
• Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Casey Blake were offered arbitration by the Dodgers. Joe Beimel, Brad Penny, Jeff Kent and Greg Maddux were not.
• Brian Fuentes has been offered arbitration by the Rockies.
• The Blue Jays offered arbitration to AJ Burnett but not Greg Zaun.
• The Royals offered arbitration to Mark Grudzielanek.
• Russ Springer, Braden Looper and Jason Isringhausen have not been offered arbitration by the Cardinals.
• The Yankees did not offer arbitration to Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu or Mike Mussina.
• Dennys Reyes has been offered arbitration by the Tigers. The Tigers also declined to offer arbitration to Edgar Renteria.
• The Brewers offered arbitration to CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets and Brian Shouse.
• The Mariners have offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez.
• John Smoltz was not offered arbitration by the Braves.
• The Mets have offered arbitration to Oliver Perez, but Luis Ayala and Moises Alou did not receive offers.
• The Red Sox have offered arbitration to Jason Varitek and Paul Byrd.
• Kerry Wood and Bob Howry were not offered arbitration by the Cubs.
• The As have declined to offer arbitration to Alan Embree and Frank Thomas. 
• As Ken Rosenthal suggested yesterday, the Diamondbacks did not offer arbitration to Adam Dunn.  They did, however, offer arbitration to Juan Cruz, Brandon Lyon and Orlando Hudson.
• The Rangers offered arbitration to Milton Bradley.

After the demand for espn.com's Jayson Stark's most recent article, let's not delay and get to his next one:

• The list of available closers is long and can be broken down into tiers. Tier 1: Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman, Kerry Wood. Teir II: Jason Isringhausen, Brandon Lyon, Eric Gagne, Juan Cruz and Chad Cordero. Tier III (not really a tier, but those available via trade): JJ Putz, Bobby Jenks, George Sherrill, Huston Street, Jose Valverde and Matt Capps.
• The list of teams interested in closers, however, is short: Mets, Indians, Brewers, Rangers, Tigers and possibly the Cardinals.
• Many teams have filled their closer rolls already: Rockies: Manny Corpas, Marlins, Matt Lindstrom, Cubs: Carlos Marmol, Padres: Heath Bell.
• Jose Arredondo could wind up the closer to replace K-Rod in Los Angeles.
• Rumors are that the Mets will sign K-Rod to a four year deal around $50-$55M, but Stark doesn't think the years make sense for the Mets.
• However, if the Mariners would part with Putz, the Mets may consider trading for him rather than signing any free agent.
• JP Riccardi continued to quell rumors that the Blue Jays are interested in Manny Ramirez.
• While the Angeles remain an unlikely suitor for Jake Peavy, if the team signs Mark Teixeira, they won't have a lot of money left to sign a free agent pitcher and may wind up pursuing the trade route.
• Because of concerns about Russell Martin's health, the Dodgers inquired about how much it would take to sign Jason Varitek.
• There are at least a dozen teams interested in Raul Ibanez: Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers (pending Milton Bradley), Angels (pending Garrett Anderson), and Mariners.

News and notes from around baseball today:

• Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. called rumors that the Phillies would listen to offers for Jimmy Rollins false. 
• The Diamondbacks are rumored to be interested in Mark Loretta.
• Meanwhile, the Tigers are rumored to be considering Brandon Lyon.
• The Phillies have signed Scott Eyre.
• Jeff Passan ranks all of the free agents from #1 CC Sabathia to #138 Vance Wilson.
• The Giants are interested in middle relievers on the free agent market.
• Pat Burrell has not heard anything from the Phillies regarding a contract extension.
• Kenshin Kawakami is still deciding on whether to play in the MLB or not.

We'll keep this as a running feature on the right hand side of the page and try to add a few teams every day.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Orlando Hudson: $10M, Diamondbacks, Mets, White Sox, Indians, Angels, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Yankees
Adam Dunn: $15M, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Mets, Braves, Astros, Brewers, Giants
Randy Johnson: $10M, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Angels, Giants
Juan Cruz: $3M, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Tigers, Mets, Rangers, Indians, Rockies
Brandon Lyon: $4M, Diamondbacks, Tigers, Mets, Rangers, Indians, Cardinals, Rockies
David Eckstein: $4M, Diamondbacks, Indians, Mets, White Sox, Angels, Cardinals
Tony Clark: less than $1M

Let's take a look at Baseball Prospectus' John Perotto's latest:

• The Royals hope to sign a medium cost free agent for 2009 much they way they did with Gil Meche two years ago and Jose Guillen for 2008.  Rafael Furcal seems to be the player the Royals are most fixated on, confirming reports from earlier in the week. 
• Raul Ibanez would be a good fit with the Rays as their designated hitter for 2009.  No matter what happens, he's unlikely to return to Seattle.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks were hoping to move Brandon Lyon this off season and have Jon Rauch take over the closer duties in 2009.  However, Rauch has not been the same pitcher for the D'backs since coming over from Washington leading to concerns that he will not be able to handle the load in 2009 forcing the team to retain Lyon.  Maybe they could try to move Rauch?
• The Marlins have a stunning 18 arbitration cases to tend to during the 2009 off season and that likely means that someone is liable to be traded.  Kevin Gregg looks like a reasonable candidate. 
• Braves general manager Frank Wren traveled to Japan to scout Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami.  The Braves interest in these two Japanese pitchers is likely intertwined with what the team plans to do with John Smoltz in 2009. 

Inspired by Jon Heyman's recent analysis of the option decisions that will be required on some high profile players for 2009, we've decided to put together a list of every non-restricted 2009 free agent by team, what they're likely to command (annually), and potential suitors.

We'll keep this as a running feature on the right hand side of the page and try to add a few teams every day.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Orlando Hudson: $10M, Diamondbacks, Mets, White Sox, Indians, Angels, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Yankees
Adam Dunn: $15M, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Mets, Braves, Astros, Brewers, Giants
Randy Johnson: $10M, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Angels, Giants
Juan Cruz: $3M, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Tigers, Mets, Rangers, Indians, Rockies
Brandon Lyon: $4M, Diamondbacks, Tigers, Mets, Rangers, Indians, Cardinals, Rockies
David Eckstein: $4M, Diamondbacks, Indians, Mets, White Sox, Angels, Cardinals
Tony Clark: less than $1M

Chicago Cubs

Daryle Ward: less than $1M
Jim Edmonds: $4M, Cubs, Padres, Astros, Phillies, As, Blue Jays
Ryan Dempster: $12M, Cubs, Mets, Angels
Bobby Howry: $4M, Cubs, Tigers, Mets, Rangers, Rockies
Kerry Wood: $10M, Cubs, Mets, Rockies, Angels
Jon Lieber: $2M, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Angels, Rockies, Astros

St. Louis Cardinals

Felipe Lopez: less than $1M
Cesar Izturis: $3M, Cardinals
Braden Looper: $5M, Mets, Tigers
Mark Mulder (option not expected to be picked up, $11M for 2009): $5M, Mets, Tigers, Cardinals, Angels, Rockies, Rangers
Jason Isringhausen: $6M, Mets, Tigers, Cardinals, Angels, Rockies, Red Sox
Juan Encarnacion: $4M, Cardinals, Brewers, Blue Jays, Phillies
Russ Springer: $4M, Cardinals, Mets, Tigers
Jason LaRue: less than $1M
Ron Villone: less than $1M

Milwaukee Brewers

Ben Sheets: $15M Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, Mets, Cardinals, Rays
CC Sabathia: $20M Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, Dodgers
Eric Gagne: $2M Tigers, Mets, Rangers, Indians
Ray Durham: $4M Mets, Brewers
Mike Cameron (option not likely to be exercised): $5M Padres, Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals
Guillermo Mota: $3M Brewers, Mets, Tigers, Angels, Indians
Brian Shouse: $2M Brewers
Gabe Kapler: retirement
Russell Branyon: less than $1M
Derrick Turnbow: minor league contract

Atlanta Braves

Tom Glavine: $6M Braves, Tigers, Brewers, Mets

Toronto Blue Jays

AJ Burnett (likely to opt out of contract): $15M Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Blue Jays
Brad Wilkerson: $1M, Blue Jays, As
John McDonald: $3M, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Angels
John Parrish: minor-league contract
Kevin Mench: less than $1M

Oakland Athletics

Frank Thomas: $1M, As
Mark Ellis: $3M, As
Emil Brown: $4M, As, Yankees, Blue Jays, Philies, Braves, Cardinals, Diamondbacks
Mike Sweeney: less than $1M

Houston Astros

Randy Wolf: $4M, Astros, Tigers, Rangers, Rockies
LaTroy Hawkins: $2.5M, Red Sox, Tigers, Mets, Rockies
Mark Loretta: $2M, Astros
Brad Ausmus: $2M, Astros, Red Sox
Darin Erstad: $1M, Astros
Brian Moehler: less than $1M

Los Angeles Angels

Mark Teixeira: $18M, Angels, Yankees
Juan Rivera: $1M, Angels
Jon Garland: $14M, Angels, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Tigers, Rangers, Philies, Mets
Darren Oliver: $3M, Angels, Red Sox, Tigers, Mets
Francisco Rodriguez: $14M, Angels, Indians, Tigers, Cardinals, Dodgers, Mets