I’m going short this week since my wife is due to have our first child any time now; she was due Sunday and has been having contractions since early Monday morning. This may be the last column for a short while.
We’ll start with more Chuckles:
Who are the Mariners going to try to bring in to attempt to solidify the rotation? They’ve got a pretty good line-up and King Felix, but they need another arm.
The Mariners have had their name linked to most of the top pitchers available. They really want Dontrelle Willis, but the Marlins will be reluctant to trade him. They’ll also inquire about Johan Santana, but won’t have the package the Twins will want. On the free agent front, they’ll talk to the top guys from Japan and Carlos Silva; after that, there isn’t a lot to choose from. I could see them taking a chance on a Jon Lieber or Matt Clement type of player – someone coming back from injury that will take a 1-year deal to re-establish themselves.
The Reds picked up Dunn’s option, but I still think he’s getting traded, where do you think he’ll play next year? (I work every through my Twins fan mind, and I’ve come up with Dunn, Encarnacion, Bailey, and a Minor Leaguer for Santana and a minor leaguer(Buscher, Macri, Moses))
Dunn is the face of the franchise at this point – I don’t see him being moved now. They’ll wait until the trade deadline when his value will be at the highest. I don’t think either side of a Reds/Twins deal would be eager to do this one. The Reds won’t compete this year, so a rental of Johan would be a waste of 5 years Bailey. Also, I don’t think the Twins would want 1 year of Dunn when they’ll be able to rape someone’s minor league system; Dunn also makes too much money.
Any chance Florida trades Miggy Cab or Willis?
Cabrera is definitely on the way out; my guess is the Dodgers since they have the most to offer. The Yankees, Mets, and Angels will make a run at him, but the Dodgers have the best MLB ready prospects that they are willing to deal; the Yanks have said they aren’t moving Hughes or Joba, the Angels would have to include Howie Kendrick, and the Mets don’t have a lot that interests the Marlins and they are in the same division. They have also said they are planning on holding onto Dontrelle at this point, since pitching is a weak spot. I also think they believe he will rebound; they can get more for him if he looks impressive early in the season.
Transactions
This has all happened since my last post.
Filed for Free Agency (deadline was Monday):
Craig Biggio (HOU), Royce Clayton (BOS), Jeff Conine (NYM), Jamey Wright (TEX).
Options Declined, now Free Agents:
Jose Guillen (SEA), Andy Pettitte (NYY).
Designated for Assignment:
Dennis Dove (STL), Joe Nelson (KC).
Released:
John-Ford Griffin (TOR).
Removed from 60-day DL:
Roman Colon (KC), Ryan Doumit (PIT), Chris Duffy (PIT), Tony Giarratano (DET), Angel Guzman (CHC), Luke Hudson (KC), Josh Johnson (FLA), Randy Johnson (ARI), Joe Nelson (KC), Henry Owens (FLA), Mark Prior (CHC), Angel Sanchez (KC), Ryan Shealy (KC), Vance Wilson (DET).
Traded:
The Cubs trade Craig Monroe to the Twins for a PTBNL.
The Cubs trade Jacque Jones and cash to the Tigers for Omar Infante.
The Astros trade Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary, and Mike Costanzo.
Signed:
The Tigers re-sign Todd Jones.
The Yankees re-sign Jorge Posada for 4 years, $52 mil.
The Tigers re-sign Ramon Santiago to avoid arbitration.
The Phillies re-sign JC Romero for 3 years.
The Dodgers sign Chan Ho Park to a minor league contract.
The Giants re-sign Omar Vizquel for 1 year.
The White Sox re-sign Juan Uribe for 1 year.
Refused Minor League Assignment:
Royce Clayton (BOS), Chin-Hui Tsao (LAD).
Retired:
Craig Biggio (HOU).
I didn’t like the Lidge traded; maybe it’s because I’m a Cardinals fan, but 1 year of Lidge and a back up infielder cost them their future third baseman, future centerfielder/lead off hitter, and an experience bullpen arm. Houston has a true center fielder, lead off hitter, 2009 third baseman, and another durable arm in the pen. Of course they now need a closer, but they have been in contact with Francisco Cordero. Now if they can get someone to protect Lance Berkman, they could take the weak division.
I’m working on a free agent tracker that I’ll keep updated throughout the off-season. Hopefully I’ll have that for you next time.
