Nick Johnson
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 first basemen who 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 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 middle relievers
Free agent closers

Rich Aurilia, 38, Giants - 09:$1M
Hank Blalock, 29, Rangers - 04:$0.5M, 05:$0.8M; 06:$3M, 07:$4.75M, 08:$5.95M, 09:$6M club option ($0.25M buyout)
Russell Branyan, 34, Mariners - 09:$1.4M
Miquel Cairo, 36, Phillies - 09:$500K
Frank Catalanotto, 36, Brewers - 07:$3.5M, 08:$4M, 09:$4M, 10:$5M club option ($2M buyout)
Tony Clark, 38, Diamondbacks - 09: $800K
Carlos Delgado, 38, Mets - 05:$4M, 06:$13.5M, 07:$14.5M, 08:$16M, 09:$16M vesting option or $12M club option ($4M buyout) (Type B)
Nomar Garciaparra, 36, Athletics - 09:$1M
Ross Gload, 34, Marlins - 08:$1.3M, 09:$1.9M, 10:$2.6M club option
Eric Hinske, 32, Yankees - 06:$1.5M
Nick Johnson, 31, Marlins, 08: $4.25M 09: $5M (Type B)
Adam LaRoche, 30, Braves - 09:$7.5M (Type B)
Doug Mientkiewicz, 36, Dodgers - 09:$550K
Kevin Millar, 38, Blue Jays - 09:$850K
Chad Tracy, 30, Diamondbacks - 07:$2.75M, 08:$3.75M, 09:$4.75M, 10:$7M club option ($1M buyout)
Daryle Ward, 35, Nationals - 09:minor league contract
Dimitri Young, 36, Nationals - 08:$5M, 09:$5M, 10:$6M option (may vest based on plate appearances)

A bunch of links to pass along today

• Tom Glavine will not pitch again in 2009. Makes you wonder if he'll ever pitch again.
• Magglio Ordonez was benched by the Tigers yesterday, an indication that they may be looking to end their relationship with the slugger.
• The Diamondbacks season took two more blows last night - Brandon Webb suffered a set back and Chris Young was injured - and Arizona might have to be sellers at the trade deadline.
• Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns and Christian Guzman will likely be available from the Nationals.
• The Phillies remain interested in Brad Penny of the Red Sox.
• Chone Figgins' play recently likely means that his price this off season is increasing. I'm not so sure that's true. If the economy does not rebound by Nov/Dec, there may be far less of a market for him than originally thought. He'll certainly get a raise from the $5.775M he's making in 2009.

Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports put together a posting yesterday with a number of different trade scenarios.

• The Nationals have been shopping Nick Johnson to both the Mets and Red Sox recently. Word last week was that the Red Sox rejected overtures of a Johnson for Manny Delcarmen deal and Edes reports that the Sox were unwilling to part with Michael Bowden as well.
• While nothing much has been discussed between the two teams, the Nationals are reportedly interested in Jon Niese, Mike Antonini, Eddie Kunz and Bobby Parnell.
• The Red Sox are also reportedly interested in Jeff Francoeur.
• Edes suggests both Jose Valverde from the Astros and Mark DeRosa from the Indians for the Rays. DeRosa would replace the recently injured Akinori Iwamura. The Astros figure to ask for Wade Davis in return for Valverde from the Rays.
• Buster Olney from espn.com mentioned earlier today that the Phillies are interested in Brad Penny. Edes says that we can add the Brewers, Royals and Twins to the list.
• Similarly, Olney suggested that Jack Wilson could be a fit for the Red Sox and Edes suggestes Jhonny Peralta as well.

Peter Gammons of espn.com broke down the early trade market in his latest column.

• The Nationals will likely try to move Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns and are looking for bullpen help.
• Nick Johnson for Manny Delcarmen was floated between the Nats and Red Sox, but Boston wants to wait and watch David Ortiz's progression.
• Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee are not available according to Indians general manager Mark Shapiro, though he did field one inquiry about Martinez which he quickly declined.
• With Jhonny Peralta moving to third base, that opens up the possibility to trade Mark DeRosa Shapiro conceded.
• The Cardinals tried to entice the Red Sox with Khalil Greene, but Boston wasn't interested.
• The As and Padres face dilemmas when it comes to trading their superstars, Matt Holliday and Jake Peavy, respectively. Holliday is a rent-a-player and Peavy's huge contract makes him difficult to trade. But, more than anything, Gammons cites the differences in the Rangers trading Mark Teixeira with 1.5 years left vs. when the Braves traded him with just 3 months left. The haul brought in by the Rangers was significantly greater. If the As and Padres wait too long, they may not get much at all.

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.