Jaime Moyer Rumors

Buster Olney of espn.com gave us updates today about the various pitchers that are available and the teams going after them in his latest post.

The most obvious player is the Phillies who were looking for pitching at the start of the month when Chan Ho Park and Jaime Moyer were not pitching well.  Now that Brett Myers needs hip surgery (is this anecdotal, or are we seeing more hip surgeries recently?  Chase Utley, Mike Lowell, A-Rod and now Myers...) the Phillies border on desperate. 

Pedro Martinez doesn't seem to make much sense for Citizens Bank Ballpark and he'd like tax an already overworked bullpen with five and six inning starts. Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt are options, but both the Padres and Astros are expected to ask for significant compensation something the Phillies might not be able to afford.  Erik Bedard is another option, but the Mariners gave us so much (Adam Jones and Chris Tillman) they may try to ask for something similar in return which might not be worth it. 

That leaves the most logical option and the one that has been frequently mentioned already: Brad Penny of the Red Sox.  Boston is a good match for the Phillies because they're rumored to be interested in shortstop Jason Donald.  The Red Sox have been rumored to be interested in Jack Wilson as well becuase of the difficulty they've had at shortstop this year, but Donald may be more appealing.

Forty-six year old left hander Jaime Moyer has signed a two year agreement to remain in Philadelphia espn.com is reporting.  Larry LaRue of The News Tribune is reporting that the deal is for $16M total, though a yearly breakdown was not yet available.  Danny Knobler of cbssports.com notes that the Phillies have likely completed their off season shopping before the 2009 season. 

Moyer's signing comes shortly after the Phillies inked Chan Ho Park to a one year contract.

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 Taveras 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.

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.

Let's take a look at the news and notes from the league today:

• Some notes about the Trevor Hoffman situation.
• The Red Sox are rumored to have inquired about Derek Lowe.
• The Yankees have signed Damaso Marte to a three year contract for $12M with a $4M club option for 2012 with a $250K buyout.
• Jerry Hairston Jr. and David Weathers are expected to test the free agent market.
• Nationals general manager Jim Bowden has expressed today that they will not be involved in the Manny Ramirez bidding.
• Carl Pavano and the Marlins are interested in exploring a contract.
• Ken Davidoff evaluates the Yankees seemingly ever-changing organizational philosophy.
• Doug Brocail has received an offer from the Astros and his agent claims six teams, including the Red Sox, have asked about his services.
• The Astros have also made an offer to Randy Wolf.
• The Phillies are focused on resigning Jaime Moyer.
• Dan O'Dowd suggested that the Rockies are not necessarily looking to trade recently acquired Huston Street.

Buster Olney breaks down the free agency road that lies ahead for six less talked about free agents:

• Juan Cruz: Because of the lack of quality middle relievers available, Olney feels like Cruz will get a four year deal similar to what Scott Linebrink signed with the White Sox last winter.
• Bobby Abreu: The aging right fielder could likely earn $17-18M through arbitration with the Yankees and he loves playing in New York.  He'd also by a good fit for the Cubs.
• Adam Dunn: Olney suggests that there are conflicting views on how valuable Dunn's offensive prowess is and that makes the market muddy for the slugger.
• Kerry Wood: Wood has spent his entire career in Chicago, but because of his obvious injury history, which includes 2008, the Cubs may be hesitant to sign Wood to any long term deal.  The Mets would likely be interested if the Cubs do not retain Wood.
• Ben Sheets: While Sheets mid-season injury will likely scare away many bidders and a large long term contract, his injury appears to just be muscle related and not ligament damage and that will help his value.
• Jaime Moyer: It's difficult to see many teams offering a 46 year old player a multi-year deal, but his 2008 stats justify one.

Jim Salisbury takes a look at the Phillies 2009 payroll to try and evaluate what kind of players they will be in the 2009 free agent class.  Here are some highlights:

• The Phillies will likely approach about $100M in payroll with currently under contract players and retention of arbitration eligible players.  Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels are expected to see significant increases to their pay.
• Jaime Moyer seems likely to resign for approximately $8M-$10
• Pat Burrell is less certain as he is looking for a three year deal and the Phillies are hesitant to do that.
• If Burrell leaves, the Phillies are not likely to go after such big names like Manny Ramirez, Raul Ibanez, Matt Holliday or Milton Bradley.  Players such as Casey Blake or Juan Rivera seem more likely.

Not a lot out there from the world of opinions, but I'll cover what we've found

• Aaron Harang hopes for a change to the ballpark in Cincinnati to help out their pitchers. 
  
• Great Q&A with As owner Lewis Wolff.
• Even at 46-years young in 2009, the Phillies would bring Jaime Moyer back.  I'm sure the Yankees would take his 11-7 record and 3.54 ERA.
  
• More discussion about AJ Burnett.  This is going to be a fun off-season between whether Burnett opts out of his contract and if he does, who he signs with.