CC Sabathia
Rumors

John Lackey is the only top of the rotation starter available in free agency, but that does not mean he'll be the only ace-level pitcher to change teams this off season.  As teams like the Blue Jays and Braves enter rebuilding phases, big names pitchers like Roy Halladay and Javier Vazquez could are viable trade options.  But, which teams would be interested and able to acquire top pitching talent?  Buster Olney of espn.com evaluates:

Milwaukee Brewers

CC Sabathia is an exhibt of both why the Brewers could be looking for a big name pitcher and why they can't afford to get one.  On one had, it was just a year ago that they offered Sabathia $100M in free agency, perhaps enough to land Lackey.  On the other hand, in order to acquire Sabathia, they seriously depleted their farm system and that makes taking a run at Halladay and Vazquez difficult. 

Texas Rangers

Back in July when Roy Halladay rumors were dominating the headlines, the Rangers were one of the most logical choices for Halladay to be traded to, but financial concerns killed any chance of the move going through.  The Rangers have alleviated their financil difficulty (for now, anyway) and still have a wealth of prospects to trade for Halladay or Vazquez.  Olney mentions that there have been rumors of the Braves and Rangers discussing a deal for Vazquez already.  Even if the Rangers do not want to part with their young talent, Lackey could still be an option for a team that seems to be a pitcher away.

Los Angeles Angels

Whether the Angels resign Lackey or not, they will still be below last year's payroll because of the likely departure of a number of free agents, even after the recent Bobby Abreu  resiging.  Talks between the Angels and Lackey seem to be mild at best, but perhaps the Angels are positioned to make an offer for Halladay.  The Blue Jays are known to be looking for middle infield talent and the Angels have plenty.  Any money not spent on Lackey could be used to sign Halladay to a long-term extension. 

Los Angeles Dodgers

The impending divorce of team owners Frank and Jaime McCourt could change everything, but assuming that the finances of the divorce are not worked out this off-season, the Dodgers could really use another pitcher (as evidenced by how much they struggled in the post-season).  The challenge is, can they acquire someone like Halladay or Vazquez without moving Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp who are untouchable.

Will Javier Vazquez be a Brave in 2010?

In a move that is not surprising at all, the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to pick up Cliff Lee's $9M option for the 2010 season, espn.com is reporting.  Lee was acquired by the Phillies from the Cleveland Indians on July 29th and posted a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts while going 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA during the post season.

Since winning the Cy Young in 2007, Lee has been one of baseball's best pitchers.  He went 22-8 with a 2.54 ERA for the Indians in 2008 and finished 2009 with a 14-13 record and a 3.22 ERA combined over 22 starts with the Indians and 12 starts with the Phillies.

On the open market, Lee might have been able to command a CC Sabathia-like contract of $161M over seven seasons.

Cliff Lee will return to Philadelphia in 2010

A bunch of links to pass along about tonight's draft.  We'll sort them by team and in draft order.

• If the Mariners surprise everyone and pass on Dustin Ackley, the Padres have the money available to take him with the #3 pick writes Chris Jenkins of The San Diego Union-Tribune.  If Ackley is gone, as expected, Donovan Tate appears to be the front runner.
• Carroll Rogers of The Atlanta Journal Constitution notes that the Braves could continue their trend of drafting local talent with either Zach Wheeler or Donovan Tate, if he's available.  Alex White and Mike Minor are other options for the Braves with the seventh pick.
• Troy Renek of The Denver Post suggests that the Rockies do not play it safe with this draft.
• The Royals hope to find a shortstop in the draft, writes Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star.
• The Rangers will continue their draft modus operandi of drafting the best available player with each pick writes Jeff Wilson of The Dallas Morning News.  Jason Churchill approves.
• The Indians have not hit on a first round draft pick since CC Sabathia in 1998, so they are feeling pressure to get their pick this year, #15, right writes Dennis Manoloff of The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• With a plethora of picks in tonights draft, including #16 and #17, the Diamondbacks have employed a "hybrid" approach to scouting according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.  It is an 'all hands on deck' approach where scouts are watching all levels of player (high school, college, latin, international) and even major league personel are getting involved in the amateur scouting.
• Tom D'Angelo of The Palm Beach Post writes that the Marlins are looking to improve their amateur pitching in tonight's draft.
• The Astros had a successful draft (so far) in 2008 and hope to replicate those efforts tonight reports Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle.
• The Twins seem to be eschewing Churchill's suggestion of not drafting for need and are hoping to find pitching and middle infield help in tonight's draft.
• In an effort to improve their bullpen this year, the Angels might look to take Billy Bullock or Drew Storen with one of their first picks (#24 and #25) writes Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times.
• Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that he Brewers pick #26 tonight, the lowest they've selected sin 1983.
• Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein recalls the years when not as much attention was given to the amateur draft.
• The Rays believe they'll get some talent they like with the 30th pick according to Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times.

So far we've seen comparisons of the 1994 and 1995 drafts and the 1996 draft and the 1997 draft. Today, let's take a look at the 1998 draft vs. the 1999 draft.

1998 Draft

No 1 Pick: Pat Burrell hit 251 HRs over eleven healthy season for the Phillies. Very respectable.

Best Pick, 1st Round: CC Sabathia, #20 Cleveland Indians

Value Pick, Any Round: Matt Holliday, seventh round, #210 overall Colorado Rockies.

Notable Pick: Mark Teixeira was a ninth round pick by the Red Sox in 1998, but went to college and instead was selected #5 overall in 2001.

Best Team: In addition to Burrell, the Phillies drafted Jason Michaels and Ryan Madson. The As got Mark Mulder, Gerald Laird and Eric Byrnes. Houston snagged Brad Lidge and Morgan Ensberg while the Reds drafted BJ Ryan, Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns. Based on production alone, I think the As win.

Worst Pick, First Round: Ryan Mills, #6 Minnesota Twins. Mills was the only player in the Top 10 of this draft to fail to make the major leagues.

1999 Draft

No 1 Pick: Josh Hamilton has turned things around in Texas, but was a disaster for the club that actually drafted him, Tampa Bay.

Best Pick, 1st Round: Brian Roberts, #50 Orioles. Interesting that the best pick of the first round occurred with the 50th pick.

Value Pick, Any Round: Albert Pujols, 13th round, #402 overall, St. Louis Cardinals. This is arguably the best draft pick of all time considering the Hall of Fame numbers Pujols has put up so far. Jason Churchill puts it best: "Is there any chance that the 401 players ahead of him carry as much value into any given day of games -- combined?"

Notable Pick(s): Carl Crawford, second round, #52 overall, Tampa Bay

Best Team: The Rays had a phenomenal draft...by the simple standard of major league players: Hamilton, Crawford, Mike Fontenot and Seth McClung, though Hamilton and Fontenot didn't make the majors with the Rays. The Rangers also had an impressive draft with Aaron Harang, Hank Blalock, Kevin Mench and Noah Lowry, but, similarly, many of these players are no longer with the club.

Worst Pick, First Round: Josh Girdley, #6 Montreal Expos. Girdley never got beyond AA ball.

Jon Heyman of si.com has a new post up

• Heyman opines that the Padres could get more for Adrian Gonzalez right now than the Rangers did for Mark Teixeira did two years ago. That's quite a claim, but perhaps all in vain: Padres general manager Kevin Towers when asked about trading A-Gone, "Not at this point in time." The impetus for such a suggestion is to continue to rebuild a club that has already been decimated by ownerships mandate to lower payroll.
• Towers is, however, continuing to look for a home for Jake Peavy. However, Towers is still looking for a suitor. The Cubs do not seem very interested. The Dodgers would love him, but the Padres do not want to trade within the division. The Brewers might not have the young arms the Padres are looking for or the willingness to take on the $60M owed to Peavy.
• Apparently the Angels offer to CC Sabathia last winter was $141M which makes the Yankees $161M offer more reasonable.

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)

In the on going chess match between the Red Sox and Yankees, this may not be the response the Red Sox had in mind to the Yankees signing CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, but Boston added some depth to it's roster today with the signings of John Smoltz and Rocco Baldelli. Here's a run down of what we've seen so far today about the deals:

• Baldelli has signed a one year contract for $500K with a $1.75M roster bonus and up to $5.25M in performance bonuses.
• The Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, and Reds were also pursuing Baldelli.
• Smoltz has also will reportedly sign a one year contract, but for significantly more: $5M guaranteed with $5M in performance bonuses. Buster Olney of espn.com confirms the report.
• Espn.com's Rob Neyer feels like the signings represent a team flush with cash spending it on secondary players.
• Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Braves offer at $3M. Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports reports that the offer was $3M guaranteed, $2M roster bonus, $5M in incentives.

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.

3:00 PM: Joel Sherman provides the backstory to the CC Sabathia deal in this article.

2:52 PM: The deal is not reported to be seven years, $161M according to Tim Brown and Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports. Brown and Edes also report that the deal includes an opt-out clause for Sabathia after the 2011 season when he would be 31 years old. If Sabathia did opt out of his deal, the contract essentially becomes a three year, $69M deal for New York. According to Ken Rosenthal, a rival executive sees little upside for the Yankees in this opt-out clause.

10:51 AM: Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting that free agent pitcher CC Sabathia has signed with the Yankees. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has confirmed the signing and notes that the contract is for seven years and $160M. This is the fourth largest contract in baseball history.

Sabathia and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had spent the last three days ironing out a deal which was consummated last night when Cashman flew to Sabathia's San Francisco home.

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.