Hot Stove Rumors Thread

[Mogriffjr]

I would want my club to think rationally. Sure as a kid growing up you want the franchise player to stay home but knowing what we know now about the value of players and how it is skewed towards veterans, you have to be savvier about these extensions. You can't survive if you give out bad contracts, or have too much payroll tied up in one guy. Locking up Jose Reyes for his age 29-35 seasons should not be a priority for a team that is at least two or three years from competing.

Warner nailed it.

If the Mets wanted to trade Reyes or felt like he is not part of their plans then trade him during the season. But the message you send there is you are rebuilding and you are spitting in the face of the fans. After the negativity from the Madoff situation, from trading K-Rod and Beltran, dealing Reyes, who has become "the Mets" would be a severe blow to the Mets pockets the next few years.

Not to knock David Wright but Reyes will give the Met fans some hope that he can be the cornerstone for the franchise moving forward. Reyes has been dynamic and the face the Mets need. What they are doing now is they are being careful of what they can offer. I think at this point with how thingss have been going, the Mets can give Reyes the best offer...unless someone comes out of left field, I just don't see that at this time but all of that can change (see Werth last year).

 

[ThomasTomasz]

HOUSTON (AP)—Former Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade was hardly surprised that he was fired along with team president Tal Smith in the first major changes by new owner Jim Crane.

Wade was, however, disappointed that he won’t be with the club to see what will come of the many prospects he brought into the organization.

“I do think the work we have done with regard to the depth in the system will be saluted in due time,” he said Monday. “It takes time. We had a lot of work to do when we first got here.”

Wade, hired in September 2007, met with Crane and other executives last Tuesday and was told Wednesday he wouldn’t be retained.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoOjqm0L7vQU_VVbDVAgAMYRvLYF?slug=ap-astros-wadefired

It is somewhat surprising that Wade was fired now- I thought the new owner would at least give Wade a year and take some time to evaluate the state of the team. Though not acquiring very many impact prospects in those firesale deals definitely hurt Wade and I can see why they want to move on now.

 

[Chrispy]

The Pittsburgh Pirates and blooming star centerfielder Andrew McCutchen have yet to agree on a multi-year deal, and ESPN Insider's Keith Law is hearing that the 25-year is not untouchable, though the Pirates would have to be blown away by a trade offer.

McCutchen had a strong 2011, his third solid season in a row, and is a fine defender and baserunner. Although he's not arbitration eligible for the first time until next winter, he could get pricey in years ahead, hence the idea of a long-term solution.

Law offers more on the situation, including what it might take to get the Bucs to consider moving their best player:
Keith Law
Pirates should pay McCutchen
"I'd ask for multiple 0-2 guys [players not yet eligible for arbitration] or prospects who profiled as impact players, and very few clubs could put that kind of package together. If McCutchen just wants Justin Upton money (six years, $51.25 million), I'd give it to him rather than trade him and see him become a superstar in 2012 for someone else."

Stupid, the Pirates need to lock him up.

I would :jizz: if the Yanks nabbed him.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

What is crazy is that McCutcheon is just starting to tap his potential- he's just 25 and is going to improve again this coming season. The Pirates would be stupid to not sign him to an extension. You've got to keep your own players, and Upton money would be a smart bet with McCutcheon.

 

[NAHSTE]

CUTCH NOT UNTOUCHABLE? :rofl:

Jurrjens, Bourn and JJ Hoover for Cutch. :shifty:

Do it Pittsburgh. You need that ACE to ANCHOR YOUR BALL CLUB.

 

[Chrispy]

Gardner, Montero, Eduardo Nunez and Manny Banuelos

:troll:

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Gardner, Montero, Eduardo Nunez and Manny Banuelos

:troll:

Pirates would be all over that, if they were serious about trading him.

 

[NAHSTE]

Yeah that's actually pretty good value for McCutchen. They'll probably end up waiting and taking an offer way shittier than that 18 months from now.

 

[Goober]

Jonathan Broxton to the Royals for 4-5 million (depends on games pitched).

Fair value for Broxton. High risk, high reward. Hopefully Brewer's don't decide to give that much to a reliever.

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

According to Mike Lynch of WCVB-TV in Boston, the Red Sox and Bobby Valentine have reached a "verbal agreement" to become the team's next manager.
We haven't heard anything official from the team, so take this report with a grain of salt for now. The Red Sox continue to say that Gene Lamont is still a candidate for the job and we likely won't hear otherwise until they are ready to make an announcement.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

:jonesy:

Bobby V was not Cherrington's choice for manager, and the story seems that his choice was Sveum, and Henry and Lucchino wanted Valentine. Considering Valentine's history with co-existing with his GM, this match may not turn out well if he wasn't Cherrington's choice.

 

[kyhadley]

:jonesy:

Bobby V was not Cherrington's choice for manager, and the story seems that his choice was Sveum, and Henry and Lucchino wanted Valentine. Considering Valentine's history with co-existing with his GM, this match may not turn out well if he wasn't Cherrington's choice.

I don't understand where people are getting this from.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7248252/ben-cherington-seemingly-overruled-dale-sveum

Also, a friend of mine who follows Red Sox baseball pointed out that Lucchino's last "guy" for manager that he hired was Grady Little. Needless to say, this article brings up some good points. It may be looking into things too much, but where there is smoke, there is fire.

 

[kyhadley]

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7248252/ben-cherington-seemingly-overruled-dale-sveum

Also, a friend of mine who follows Red Sox baseball pointed out that Lucchino's last "guy" for manager that he hired was Grady Little. Needless to say, this article brings up some good points. It may be looking into things too much, but where there is smoke, there is fire.

I don't know, I feel like that's reading pretty far into it, I'm not seeing much smoke here. I think there's too much going on behind the scenes to make that conclusion. I'm not anticipating much of a problem, but we'll see I guess.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

It's been their pursuit of Jose Reyes, Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle and C.J. Wilson that has generated the most buzz, but the Miami Marlins also are making a serious run at free-agent closer Heath Bell, sources told ESPN.com.

With the future of their incumbent closer, Juan Oviedo (aka Leo Nunez), a major question due to an identity-discrepancy issue, the Marlins have been quietly aggressive in their pursuit of Bell since the day the free-agent negotiating period began four weeks ago.

Bell, a 34-year-old right-hander, is coming off a 43-save season with the San Diego Padres that made him the only closer in baseball who has saved 40 or more games in each of the past three seasons.

The Padres remain interested in re-signing Bell. And teams in the market for a closer say the Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays also have shown interest.

Although Bell's strikeout rate declined from 11.1 per nine innings in 2010 to 7.3 this year, his average fastball velocity (94 mph), WHIP (1.15), ERA (2.44) and opponents' batting average (.223) were all in line with his previous performance.

Bell, who made $7.5 million this season, is believed to be seeking a three-year deal.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7302467/florida-marlins-making-run-heath-bell-sources-say

Is there anyone who the Marlins aren't in on? I am very surprised that they haven't spent any money until now, and it's a shame.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox haven't made a long-term contract offer to starter John Danks recently because they were rebuffed after multiple attempts not that long ago, a source told ESPNChicago.com Thursday.

The stalemate has increased the possibility that Danks could be traded, but indications are that the White Sox have not lost faith that a deal could be worked out with their left-hander.

With the possibility that Mark Buehrle will sign elsewhere and the sense that Danks is being aimed toward free agency next winter (he has one more year of arbitration remaining), the White Sox are keen on establishing some roster certainty moving forward.

General manager Kenny Williams said that some of his players have drawn considerable interest from other clubs, and Danks is believed to be high on that list.

Danks could get between $7 million and $8 million on a one-year deal through arbitration this offseason. With Buehrle about to make up to $14 million a season on the free-agent market, a pitcher with Danks' ability and experience at half the price would be considered a steal.

Because it's not a deep free-agent class for starting pitching this offseason, Danks could wind up pulling in an impressive package of players in a trade, including a starting pitcher with tons of upside. By trading Carlos Quentin to free up right field for Dayan Viciedo, the White Sox could land another haul of impressive young talent.

Williams gave indications at the general manager's meetings last month that the White Sox have a tentative plan to go toward youth in some areas, but had not yet committed to a direction for the offseason.

Call it a mini youth movement, though, because Paul Konerko isn't expected to be moved, and Adam Dunn and Alex Rios are just about impossible to move unless the White Sox eat a major portion of their contracts. A.J. Pierzynski is under contract for one more season and has the right to block a trade.

Williams has long valued pitching in both the draft and in trades, but other needs include second base and third base, in case Gordon Beckham and Brent Morel don't develop as planned.

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/stor...-chicago-white-sox-john-danks-talks-stalemate

This could very well be an interesting trade market at the winter meetings. The trading market is so much better for starting pitchers than free agency, and quite a few teams are expected to make noise via trade.

 

[moneyman255]

Quite a bit of Brewers rumors today.

According to Sanspo (Japenese site) the Brewers are going to put a bid in on SS Hiroyuki Nakajima. He has hit .300 with 20+ HR's in Japan the past 4 years and plays a very good SS.

The Brewers are also interested in IF Jerry Hairston Jr, and IF Alex Gonzalez.

The Brewers have also inquired on 3B Aramis Ramierz and I guess it's down to the Angels, Brewers, and one other team.

The Brewers have also told agent Scott Boras that they could potentially go up to 6 years, 120 million on Fielder. Olney said they are very much in the race for Fielder unless a team offers 170+ for 6 years.

 

[Chrispy]

Marlins Agree To Terms With Heath Bell

The Marlins have agreed to terms with free agent closer Heath Bell, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. The deal is worth $27MM over three years and it contains a vesting option for a fourth year worth $9MM. The contract is pending Bell passing a physical, which he will take tomorrow in Florida. Bell is represented by ACES.

Bell, 34, has been one of the top closers in baseball over the last three seasons, taking over from Trevor Hoffman as the Padres' stopper and recording a 2.36 ERA with 132 saves and 216 strikeouts in 202 1/3 innings. Bell did record a career-low 7.3 K/9 last season, however, so this deal (like any multiyear deal to a closer in his 30's) certainly carries some risk for Miami, especially since we don't know if their new stadium will be hitter- or pitcher-friendly.

The Padres had an interest in re-signing Bell but only to a two-year contract. Bell was a Type A free agent heading into the offseason, and under the old collective bargaining agreement, the Padres would've been entitled to a first-round compensation pick and the Marlins' second round pick (their first-rounder is protected). Under the new CBA, however, the Padres still get that first round compensation pick but the Marlins don't have to give up a draft pick for Bell. Instead, San Diego will receive the pick in the slot directly in front of the Marlins' second-round selection, so this means the Padres are slated to pick ninth overall in the second round. Miami retains its second round pick and just gets bumped down to the tenth selection of the second round.

Bell could be the first of several big signings by the Marlins, who have linked to such major free agents as Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle this offseason as the club looks to contend in its first season in its new stadium.

It was reported yesterday by Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that Bell was close to a deal with an unknown team. The Marlins were known to be Bell's most ardent suitors with the Blue Jays, Angels and Red Sox also mentioned as possible candidates. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports had the details on the amount of the vesting option (Twitter link).

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/12/marlins-agree-to-terms-with-heath-bell.html

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

So the Angels wanted Ryan Hanigan, but couldn't work anything out with the Reds, who would have resigned Ramon Hernandez had they traded Hanigan. Angels get Ianetta from the Rockies instead, and then the Rockies end up signing Hernandez, who the Reds were no longer interested in resigning once the Angles acquired Iannetta and the Hanigan trade went DOA.

Funny how that all works out and how the dominos fall into place. Had the Reds accepted a deal for Hanigan, Hanigan would have been an Angel, Hernandez would have likely come back to the Reds, and Iannetta would still be a Rockie.

 

[NAHSTE]

:lol: at signing a closer for $9 million a year, especially if your team is far from contention.