Jake Peavy: Early on last week, it looked as though the Braves were close to trading for Jake Peavy, but then word came out that the Braves chances of acquiring Peavy are pretty much dead. Now talks between the Padres and Yankees for Peavy are starting to heat up. My guess is that any trade for the Yankees to acquire Peavy would most likely have to include either Phil Hughes or Austin Jackson and possibly Ian Kennedy. The Yankees don't have much major league ready talent in their minor league system right now, so I can't imagine a deal between these two teams getting done without at least one of those three players being involved.
Nick Swisher: The Yankees acquired Nick Swisher from the Chicago White Sox for basically nothing: Wilson Betemit and minor league pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. Swisher will become a valuable asset for the Yankees because he can play both 1B and CF, which are two positions the Yankees have holes at right now. Swisher had a horrible season last year, but there is evidence that he was unlucky because he hit a high amount of line drives, which should have led to a higher batting average. I'm not sure why the White Sox gave up Nick Swisher for so little, but the word is that they will be making a lot more moves this offseason and we shouldn't judge the White Sox on this move alone. There is also word that the Yankees have cooled off their pursuit of Mark Teixeira now because of the acquisition of Swisher.
C.C. Sabathia: The Yankees have offered Sabathia a contract that has been reported to be 6 years, $140 million. Brewers GM Doug Melvin believes the Yankees are overbidding on Sabathia and can't seem to figure out why the Yankees just didn't offer Sabathia $110 million. Well, first let me help Mr. Melvin out a little bit. The Yankees deal is for 6 years instead of the 5 years the Brewers offered, so if the Yankees offered 6 years and $110 million that's actually less money per year than the Brewers offer. If the Yankees were going to offer the same amount of money per year to Sabathia as the Brewers then a 6 year, $120 million deal would be needed. So the Yankees are actually only bidding $20 million more for Sabathia which works out to only $3.3 million more a year than the Brewers. Now maybe the Yankees could have offered Sabathia a 6 years, $130 million contract, but my guess is that they wanted to offer him more than Johan Santana's 6 year, $137.5 million deal that he signed last season with the Mets, since they know Sabathia prefers to sign with an NL team. The Yankees are just trying to make it attractive as possible for Sabathia to sign with them. I probably would have waited to see what other teams had to offer, but an extra $3 million a year for the next 6 years isn't going to make much difference in the Yankees other offseason plans. They probably want to move quickly and get Sabathia to either accept or decliine as soon as possible, so they can work on their other issues.
Derek Lowe: Derek Lowe is one of the many pitchers who will be in hot demand once C.C. Sabathia signs. So far there has been word that the Red Sox have inquired about Lowe, who at 35 years old, might be a safer and cheaper option then A.J. Burnett and Ben Sheets. The Yankees, Blue Jays, and Braves are also known to have an interest in Lowe.
A.J. Burnett: The Blue Jays have offered Burnett a 4 year deal for $54 million and will wait and see if that will be enough to sign him. Burnett is probably going to have to wait until Sabathia is signed in order to see what teams will be interested in signing him and for how much. The Yankees and Braves definitely have an interest in signing Burnett, but not sure who else is going to be involved. Their were rumors that the Orioles would make a play on Burnett, but my guess would be that they would have to overpay for him to sign there.
Manny Ramirez: Scott Boras will now be taking serious offers for Manny Ramirez after he turned down the Dodgers offer of $45 million for 2 years, plus the option for a third year. Boras is still looking for 6 years from Manny, but other than possibly the Angels, it doesn't look like Manny is generating much interest right now. At this point, he will most likely end up back with the Dodgers, but I would imagine the Yankees or Mets might at least take a look at signing Manny.
New York Mets: The Mets are looking at several options for their closer next season. They will first try to sign either Brian Fuentes, Francisco Rodriguez, or the newly available Kerry Wood in free agency. However, the Mets are worried about K-Rod's decrease in velocity, so he might not be considered as strongly by the Mets as some think he will be. If they can't land any of those three, they may have to trade for some other available options: Bobby Jenks, J.J. Putz, and Huston Street.
Kevin Gregg: The Chicago Cubs made a curious move by trading for reliever Kevin Gregg, instead of re-signing Kerry Wood, who was excellent as their closer last season. Gregg was acquired for minor league pitcher Jose Ceda, who has a strong arm and could help the Marlins out in the bullpen. He has drawn comparisons to Lee Smith and Armando Benitez. Seems like the Marlins might have stolen one away from the Cubs, but the Marlins are one of the better teams at evaluating young talent so that is no surprise.
Other MLB News:
- The Nationals acquired Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Marlins. Scott Olsen is a starting pitcher who was decent last season with an 8-11 record and 4.20 ERA. Willingham can play 1B, OF, and C and hit .254 with 15 HR and 51 RBI last season. The Marlins received second baseman Emilio Bonifacio and two minor leaguers in the deal. Seems like the Marlins are looking to slash payroll again.
- The common belief is that Jason Giambi will end up back with the Oakland A's, but the Blue Jays also have an interest in Giambi. I still think Giambi should go to the A's though, because they might actually have a better chance to make the playoffs than the Blue Jays do.
- The Cubs and Dodgers are interested in signing Randy Johnson. Johnson is still looking to reach 300 wins and sits at 295 wins right now. Johnson was actually a solid pitcher last season even at the age of 44 years old going 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA.
- The Twins are attempting to sign 3B Casey Blake, who would be a solid addition to their team. Blake hit .274 with 21 HR and 81 RBI last season for the Indians and Dodgers.
- The Red Sox and Tigers are looking at a possible deal of Julio Lugo for either Dontrelle Willis or Nate Robertson. I think Robertson would be too much to give up for Lugo and the Tigers should try and get the Red Sox to take Willis back in the deal. I'm not sure why the Tigers are interested in Lugo in the first place. He is horrible in the field and hasn't really hit well the past few years.
- The Marlins are interested in free agent bust Carl Pavano, who used to pitch for them before he left to sign with the Yankees.
More: MLB & MLB Weekly
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