—Plenty of Tigers’ rumblings, including that they are ready to trade outfielder Matt Joyce to the Rays for right-hander Edwin Jackson. They also have made an aggressive bid on free-agent lefty reliever Joe Beimel, kicked the tires on rehabbing John Smoltz as a free agent, and been trying to find a taker for designated hitter Gary Sheffield, with the Rangers showing at least lukewarm interest.
—Free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett has narrowed his choices to the Braves and Yankees.
—The Rockies are interested in reliever Luis Ayala as a free agent.
—The Reds are pursuing a number of free-agent outfielders, including Pat Burrell, Juan Rivera, and Rocco Baldelli.
Wednesday, 5:20 p.m.
—Mark Teixeira has offers from the Orioles, Red Sox, Angels, and Nationals on the free-agent market. There are indications that the Nationals may be offering eight years and $180 million, which could blow even the Red Sox out of the water. The Angels are leaning toward offering free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez a two-year contract worth $50 million if they lose out on Teixeira.
—The Brewers are going to Plan B to beef up their rotation after left-hander CC Sabathia left to sign with the Yankees as a free agent. The Brewers are interested in a pair of Rangers right-handers, Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla.
—The Padres and Dodgers are both considering signing free agent Omar Vizquel to play shortstop.
—The Giants have considered making a bid on free-agent pitcher Brad Penny.
—Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida is drawing trade interest from the Mariners, Rangers, and Pirates, but no deal appears imminent.
—The Cubs have interest in free-agent catcher Paul Bako to back up Geovany Soto, as their attempt to re-sign Henry Blanco has hit a snag.
—The Athletics would like to sign right-hander Kevin Correia, who was released by the Giants earlier in the offseason.
Wednesday, 3:25 p.m.
—Now that left-hander CC Sabathia is in the fold, the Yankees are coming hard after right-hander A.J. Burnett on the free-agent market and are willing to do whatever it takes to outbid the Braves. The Yankees also remained interested in re-signing left-hander Andy Pettitte and signing right-handers Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets. No, Joe Girardi is not going with an eight-man rotation in 2009, but the Yankees are commited to retooling their starting staff after missing the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.
Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.:
—The Braves have stepped up their offer to free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett, guaranteeing a fifth year on a contract that would be worth at least $80 million.
—The Jake Peavy trade is still in a holding pattern as the Cubs look for someone to take right-hander Jason Marquis, who is owed $9.875 next season, off their hands.
—Free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez is reportedly seeking a five-year contract, and no team is willing to go that long.
—Left-hander Randy Johnson prefers to stay on the West Coast, and the free agent is likely to land with the Giants, Athletics, Dodgers, or Angels.
—The Blue Jays and the Twins are among the teams that have inquired about Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett, but a trade is unlikely. The Blue Jays also have interest in Astros third baseman Ty Wigginton.
—The Cardinals and Mets have inquired about trading for Pirates closer Matt Capps. Meanwhile, Pirates backup catcher Ronny Paulino is becoming a popular figure as the Marlins have interest in him, joining the Red Sox and Orioles.
—The Diamondbacks have become late bidders for free-agent lefty reliever Arthur Lee Rhodes.
is it just me, or is anyone else wondering why there are such different interest levels for sheets and burnett? assuming sheets is healthy, which is the word on the street, it should be about even at least, if not more interest in ben.
its not like burnett makes 30 starts a year either, only in contract years. and sheets is a better pitcher when healthy. i'm confused.
i would much rather seen the braves sign sheets than burnett, and they could probably do it for less
It's all about 'what have you done lately'; these teams know they can get away with offering Sheets less because of the perception of him AT THE MOMENT. Burnett, though, is fresh off a fully-healthy season and is clearly capitalizing on such.
As talented as burnett is, the history is just too much to overlook when guaranteeing 5 years. Weren't the offers on Sheets something like 2 years for 24? That's a bargain compared to that offer to burnett. Sheets will be the steal of this offseason.
Why don't the O's just eat Jason Marquis' contract? Its only one year, if they get lucky he might have a fluke decent year and end up as a Type B free agent (unlikely but still possible). Even with that contract and arbitration their opening day payroll would still probably be less than $80 million. Plus if they were to take on the whole contract by themselves they could command a better prospect(s) in the peavy trade.
John- assuming you mean why don't the O's eat Marquis' contract by trading for him in the Cubs' deal, it's because they don't have to. The Cubs have already said they would eat almost half of his salary...guessing the O's (and everyone else) are trying to milk the Cubs for as much as they can get. Doesn't help that Marquis has a reputation as a bit of a pain in the ass...
From 2001 forward (Sheets first year in the majors), Sheets has started 221 games (1,428 innings) to 191 for Burnett (1,251 innings). The main difference is that Burnett only made 4 starts in 2003.
They're very comparable in almost every category. Sheets allows less walks and more HR's, but the HR's were primarily in his first 4 years. Hard to see a lot of difference in them, statistically.
Pitchers will get hurt and miss games. As to when that happens, they don't have any control over it.
Sheets had an injury in 2008 that shut him down for the year. Burnett hasn't had a serious injury since he was with the Marlins. It's all about proximity of injury.
Sheets's injury isn't considered so serious, and he was shut down for October--after nearly an entire year staying in the rotation. Both Sheets and Burnett missed significant time in 2007 and 2006. Though Sheets has definitely missed more starts than Burnett over that time span, and I can't say I disagree with you too much, you can't discount the injuries that Burnett suffered after 2005 if you're going to hold Sheets's elbow tear against him at the very end of last season.
To get off the Sheets-Burnett topic, will someone please tell Cardinals GM John Mozeliak that he doesn't need to pursue a closer via free agency or trade? The Cards have been grooming Chris Perez for the role for a while now, and he showed at the end of last year that he's ready. Add in that he'll make the league minimum, and it seems so obvious.
13 comments have been left for this post.
is it just me, or is anyone else wondering why there are such different interest levels for sheets and burnett? assuming sheets is healthy, which is the word on the street, it should be about even at least, if not more interest in ben.
its not like burnett makes 30 starts a year either, only in contract years. and sheets is a better pitcher when healthy. i'm confused.
i would much rather seen the braves sign sheets than burnett, and they could probably do it for less