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Today’s red-hot Mariner rumor
There isn’t one. Slow period for baseball news, yup.
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60 Responses to “Today’s red-hot Mariner rumor”
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Due to the lack of news, what are you thought on the Manny rumors?? what would it take and how much would boston have to eat???
What? Are the Marlins out of players?
Lee Sinins agrees. His daily “Around-the-Majors” e-mail report was titled “A boring day with nothing happening”
Toronto signed BJ Ryan over the weekend. That’s something. I wonder if that means they’re out of the Burnett race. They need hitting, too – they can’t blow all their money on pitching.
w/r/t Manny: this has been discussed to death o’er there.
I’m waiting to say anything about Ryan until the actual contract deals are released. The rumored numbers are so high they warrant skepticism.
What about Millwood, have teams strated throwing out offers?? Mariners??
I haven’t heard that anyone’s made offers to Millwood yet. The Indians may be the only team with any kind of contract sent to him at all, and then only because that’s where he was last year. It’s a semi-standard Boras thing: Boras tells everyone that his client will only accept $x for y years, and then teams ask if they might join the waltz to win the free agent’s hand, and Boras says yes or no, and then they all dance around for a while until some team is so charmed they give in to the dowry demands.
Wouldnt it be funny if we we’re still talking about who Millwood and Burnett will sign with in…….March?
On another note, here is a little ditty:
*****According to two industry sources, the Orioles have offered veteran Anaheim Angels right-hander Paul Byrd, who went 12-11 last season with a 3.74 ERA, a two-year deal with an option for a third season. The deal, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, is believed to be worth between $10 million and $13 million.
– Baltimore Sun*******
That seems cheap to me given the predicted market…
Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but at what price does Giles become an interesting option?
The Union Tribune reported that Giles is likely not coming back, as the Padres declined his agent’s latest proposal of 3 years/$30 million.
At a price slightly below that, (say 3/$27 mil) should the Mariners be interested? It seems that Giles’ preference for the west coast would make signing him real possibility….
Also, that Ryan deal is an insane amount of $$$ for a closer (if the figures are accurate).
I am shocked that a NY/Chicago/Boston writer has not written some bizarre Ichiro! rumor.
“Ichiro demands trade after Hargrove, who was house sitting for Ichiro!, overfed the fish in his Koi pond.”
Loiaza to sign with Oakland…
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5117882
I wonder how things will materialize for the rotation in Seattle this off-season…
I think it’s a great time for a “Minor League pitching stats compilation update” post from Dave! What else does he need? I’m happy to help!
I like that signing (if it happens) by Beane. I think Esteban will fit in well in Oakland. It is particularly bad news because I was hoping the M’s would be in on the Esteban bidding.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/transactions/trans.html
I don’t know if that passes the newsworthiness test but this article says that the Padres signed Jorge Campillo and Miguel Ojeda. Also reported at Mariner Minors.
Rosenthal seems to have pretty good sources, so the Loiaza news is probably true. Typical smart move by Mr. Beane.
BTW, Rosenthal’s final sentence just kills me.
“If Loiaza can return to the form that saw him go 21-9 for the White Sox in 2003  and assuming the A’s keep Zito  he would help give Oakland a potentially effective 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.”
I guess Ken forgot about Rich Harden which is odd since he is the best pitcher on the West Coast, at least until Felix proves it for a full season.
For that matter, Danny Haren might be a better pitcher than Zito or Loiaza.
That’s a surprising signing for Oakland in terms of dollars, but it makes sense. (I’m surprised they aren’t going for someone like Kevin Brown, actually- a million plus incentives for a guy who might bounce back is a decent idea if you have a stable rotation in spots 1-4 and decent minor league depth).
And if Baltimore ggets Byrd for that…I think that’s actually a better deal than Loaiza’s for the Orioles. Byrd has some injury history, but he’s been a surprisingly effective pitcher the last few years when healthy. He was a guy I liked as a potential signee (though not as much as Loaiza).
I sincerely hope this doesn’t leave us with guys like Washburn and Morris…
What, no Ryan Howard rumors today?
I’m disappointed.
Well if anyone feels like discussing the Jays signing BJ Ryan for five-years, $47 million contract. The Jays just raised the bar for relievers…wow! This goes against Ricciardi’s “Moneyball” methodology.
Note:
* Ryan is now the 2nd highest paid closer in baseball.
* This makes the Guardado signing look good for the Mariners.
* Toronto’s primary needs are a starting pitcher and a heavy hitter or two.
* Odd stat that Ryan led the Orioles last year in K’s with 122. It was the first time a reliever led the Orioles in strikeouts and the first time in the majors that a reliever led his team since Duane Ward of the Blue Jays in 1991.
Manager J.P. Ricciardi hopes it will send a signal to other free agents that his team has the resources to lure top talent.
Looks like they are still targeting AJ Burnett and now Brian Giles.
The club now has committed $42.325 million plus Ryan’s 2006 salary to 11 players for next season.
After spending about $50 million on payroll the last three seasons, the Blue Jays will spend at least $160 million during the next two seasons.
There are rumours out of T.O. that the Jays are trying to get Kevin Mench for M.Batista (ex crappy closer, still a crappy starter)
I find it odd that the A’s would spend that much on a starter, given they already have Zito/Harden/Blanton/Haren with Saarloos and Kennedy hanging around. Plus whatever AAA guys Peter Gammons is in love with at the moment. The A’s need a lefty reliever and a DH more than a starter.
I’d like to see the A’s ship Zito to the Jays to get them to back off Burnett (maybe).
Does the Orioles interest in Byrd take them out of the Burnett chase as well? Since they already have Bedard/Lopez/Cabrera/Chen, I would think they’d be more worried about finding a 1B, LF, and DH.
I do have a post in the works about Ryan/Wagner/etc.
And w/r/t this: “This goes against Ricciardi’s “Moneyball†methodology.”
Ricciardi’s proven that he’s not really a huge Beane disciple in the way he’s been painted. Many of his player moves make statheads want to tear their hair out. Toronto’s a weird duck, I don’t know how I’d describe their philosophy.
Don’t forget Joe Blanton, the man who actually deserved the RoY.
Ranked by 2005 VORP:
44.3 – Blanton
42.1 – Loaiza
41.8 – Zito
40.8 – Harden
39.5 – Haren
That’s a pretty sweet rotation.
Hmmmmm….no sniff of the M’s in either Byrd’s or Loaiza’s camps….what arms are the M’s actually trying to get? I’m decidely perplexed since they should be knocking on EVERYONE’S door….
Well I think the difference is that Ricciardi has shied away from signing the big name “closer” using a bunch of guys last year that for the most part were productive. I really thought they might go with Frasor this year. No doubt Ryan was great last year, but it me wonder if they can get the parts that they need now to compete in the East.
I think J.P. still thinks Moneyball, but with constant pressure to spend and the Mr.Rogers upping the payroll, J.P. doesnt have to be as thrifty. I just wish the money were allocated to a LF and a starter.
At a price slightly below that, (say 3/$27 mil) should the Mariners be interested? It seems that Giles’ preference for the west coast would make signing him real possibility…
If you figure the M’s have 20-25 million to spend, and that Johjima takes up 6 million, and Giles would be another 9 (unless you backload his deal, which just kicks the salary can down the road some more), that leaves you with 5-10 million to:
- resign Moyer
- add any free agent pitching
- fill out the roster
And that’s ASSUMING you kick Meche and Franklin to the side of the road (reduce money accordingly if you bring them back).
Basically, we’d end up with Moyer and this year’s versions of Aaron Sele/Jose Lima/Kirk Saarloos/Dan Reichert/etc. as our pitching signings- veterans trying to make a comeback or AAAA pitchers hoping that this is the year they get to have a career year on BABIP like Ryan Franklin or Elmer Dessens did a few years back. You might have a case for letting someone like Kevin Brown or whoever you dumpster dive for be a #5, but expecting him to stay in a rotation all year?
We’d score over 800 runs for sure with that offense (barring major injuries) and have the best offense in the division (yeah, I know, Texas- look at their numbers outside Arlington), unless Anaheim gets Manny, but I think there’d be enough 6-5, 8-6 losses to keep us from winning the division. I think we’d be better off concentrating on pitching, unless enough guys get knocked off the market so that concentrating on offense looks like a better option, or Giles is underpriced compared to the pitching we could buy for $9 million.
JP’s made some odd decisions. Making Batista a closer was a weird one. Signing Koskie was just dumb. Signing Hillenbrand was very strange.
Batista as closer made sense if the goal was to allow higher-leverage innings to go to Jason Frasor (check out his numbers in Dave’s post above) while keeping Batista busy protecting 3-run leads, but Batista had more value to the team as a starter or a long man.
#22– lack of rumors doesn’t always equate lack of conversation … fwiw, back at the GMs meetings: “According to various sources, the Mariners have already made preliminary inquiries to numerous players who fulfill their two main needs: starting pitchers and left-handed hitters, preferably with power.”
I think Giles is a viable option ONLY if we can’t land a premier free agent pitcher, Millwood or Burnett. Provided, of course, that the M’s actually spend less for a lesser pitcher, thus leaving a little extra money for runs on the plus side of the equation.
Yeah the Batista project did not pan out. Everytime I tuned into a game and the Jays were up….Enter Batista (steel drum theme music playing) and the man that instills no fear in ANY Major League player throws some pitches and the Jays are now losing. lol
Hillenbrand played well for the Jays last year, Koskie was alot of money, but Hinske was brutal at 3rd.(have fun trying to dump him)
Message boards on TSN.ca seem to indicate that signing BJ was a brilliant move by J.P. I won’t go that far, with that much money being thrown around.
There are rumours out of T.O. that the Jays are trying to get Kevin Mench for M.Batista (ex crappy closer, still a crappy starter).
I guess now that T.O.’s suspension was upheld he’s sniffing around for baseball rumors. But why would anyone believe a baseball rumor that started with him?
Well anyone living in Ontario would call it T.O. or The Big Smoke etc…or home of the 1-13 Raptors. lol
My apologizes for those in the US that may have thought that Owens was now trying to get his money through spreading baseball rumours!
haha
What? No “Griffey coming to Seattle” rumor story to cover a slow news period? I saw Bavasi saying something like they had $20 million to spend and after spending $6 million or so for Jojima (sorry for the old spelling), so he would have to see what he could do with the remainder. Is this the same kind of “o woe is me” public negotiating strategy that we used rather effectively last season? I hope everybody had a happy 81st-Day-Until-Pitchers-and-Catchers-Report Day on Thursday (Thanksgiving for the rest of the population).
Maybe I missed it, but I haven’t noticed any moves on the Mariners’40 man roster to make room for Johjima. Does anyone know if anything has happened in that regard? Seems like it might be time to say goodbye to Jamal Strong…
A poll on ESPN about B.J.Ryan signing with the Jays vs. overpaid etc.
Will Carroll at Baseball Prosoectus says the D-backs are looking for catching and are shopping Chad Tracy. That would seem to be a fit for the Mariners, although they’d have to give up more than Torrealba to get Tracy. I hope Bavasi’s working the phones on that one……
I know alot of people were on the Loaiza bandwagon…but his road splits would worry me tremendously………..he was absolutely abused by hitters on the road…..
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=3208
Plus, this just doesn’t make sense for a club like the A’s who are on a strict budget……
They already have…..
Harden
Zito
Haren
Blanton
in the rotation so they end up paying their #5 starter almost $7 million per season?
So….then even if you assume they are going to trade Zito…….it ends up being they signed a $7 million #4 starter.
Jason Kendall?
Arthur Rhodes?
Now Loaiza?
It seems Billy Beane may be slipping just a bit lately.
my favorite of the day is that Omar still wants Manny and might give up Milledge and that at the Winter meetings “the Red Sox … will remind the so-far-unimpressed Mariners that Ramirez really likes them”
oh, and Raul Mondesi wants to play in the majors again.
Seattle to Manny: “You Like Me… You REALLY Like Me…”
pfffft. I think this is posturing, but hopefully BB will chase it down just to be sure…
#5– apparently the Ryan deal official
“Ryan’s deal includes a $10 million bonus split between the first two years of the contract. He’ll get $6 million of the bonus money in 2006 and the final $4 million in 2007 … base salary will be $2 million in 2006, rising to $5 million in 2007 and $10 million in the final three years of his deal. “
That Ryan deal is insane, and now that I see the details, it looks even worse. (I am picturing a Blue Jay with an Albatross around its neck…) This signing makes Guardado look like a bargain – to teams interested in trading for him…
From the mlb.com story:
Well of course it did. That (the 93rd Grey Cup) was an excellent game.
#20: It would be interesting to know how well J.P. Ricciardi and Keith Law work together … how philosophically aligned they continue to be (as opposed to when they first started working together).
The Grey Cup is the most underrated trophy in sports. The Grey Cup’s actual value exceeds its perceived value.
I expect Oakland will acquire it soon.
and somehow get a draft pick or two.
I’d be interested to know how well anyone works with Keith Law.
Be nice, Dave.
Or we’ll send the Edmonton Eskimos after you.
Trust me, that was me being nice. You don’t want to know what I really think.
Wagner, Mets agree to four-year, $43 million deal.
Closers are getting expensive these days.
the rumor is “4 years with 5th yr option that could bring the deal to a total of $50 million. That total amount is three million above the contract signed Monday by B.J. Ryan with Toronto.”
speaking of rumoring, KJR is playing a promo where Locke complains about Delgado to the Mets and Thome to Chi, and how hard it will be to work a deal when even former-GM Pat Gillick doesn’t want anything from the M’s farm system. um, I don’t recall hearing the Ms were all that interested in Thome… and wasn’t the rumor that the Phillies brought up the subject first at the GM meetings, and then blew it when they mentioned Felix?
Call me silly but the Loaiza signing bugs me…. with 20 mill of the 25 left to spend and only one arm in the rotation currently, I thought the M’s would be in the running for any decent arm that would go for around 6-8 mill a year….
Im wondering what rabbit Bavasi can pull out of his hat…
Creative trade? Big money on a big splash and then suffer with your #3-5 starters and cross your fingers Piniero studs up and Moyer defies age? Bigger than anticipated increase in payroll?
Id love:
Felix
Burnett
Millwood
Moyer
Pineiro
At 5 mill a year, Byrd looks awful good right now…. Trachsel at 2.5 mill looks good too…the mets are fishing for a catcher… how about packaging Yorvit to New York for the steady 4.15 ERA of a guy like Trachsel?
Id take:(especially if it also meant a guy like J. Jones could be added)
Felix
Byrd
Trachsel
Moyer
Pineiro
The Phillies blew several trade discussions involving Thome by asking for the world…
Their bargaining position was about as absurd as the M’s position concerning Meche/Franklin/Pineiro. Truth be told, gillick probably got better than he hoped for from the Sox.
I wonder how many times Gillick had to duck to keep the Pepsi from being poured on his head…
Yes thats right, we’ll give you an aging guy coming off of a serious injury whose future is questionable, who we dont want because we have a younger, cheaper guy already playing his position and who we still owe about 40 some million bucks.
In return, the least you can do is agree to take all of his salary, give us your three best prospects (preferably pitchers and preferably at high levels in your system), and also, we think it only fair that you give us a major leaguer too…..
You still there? Yhere seems to be something wrong with the phone line… Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Phone operator chimes in, ” A man is answering, he keeps hanging up,,,,he keeps hanging up”
#52 Make fun of Pat Gillick if you like, but I think he did pretty well getting Aaron Rowand (a stud defensive CF who hit 24 HR’s last year) for an aging slugger coming off not only an injury plagued season but a season when he played poorly when he was able to play. Even if the Phils did have to pay enough of Thome’s salary so that he cost Chicago just $7 mil a year…
No Mariner news (_ _)ZZZZZ. Anyway, maybe Bavasi has turned his sights on NPB, trying to convince clubs to post some pitchers. That would certainly solve the insane market in the U.S. and losing draft picks problem. In reality, I think the M’s FO is on vacation somewhere on a warm island where the waters are clear, and there is no cell tower or phone within milies. And that is why we are hearing nothing.
w/r/t B.J. Ryan and the Moneyball/non-Moneyball tendancies of the Blue Jays
Taking a look at SNLVAR and WXRL (for starters and relievers respectively) is kind of interesting. In terms of value, it seems like relief aces can be up there in the Loaiza/Beckett/Millwood area of value. Those three were around 5.2-5.7 SNLVAR, while the top relievers (in terms of value) were around 5.1-5.6 WXRL. (Those three were K-Rod, Brian Fuentes, and Mariano Rivera.) B.J. Ryan had 3.4 WXRL last year, but a relatively average leverage of 1.57.
If the Blue Jays figure they can use him in a somewhat non-traditional high leverage manner, and that he can stay healthy, B.J. Ryan could be as valuable as a Millwood or Burnett. His 4:1 K:BB ratios the last two seasons are good signs for the Blue Jays, anyway.
From MLB.com M’s site (about Ichiro): “A recent article in one of the local Seattle newspapers was translated into English (from Japanese) and apparently some of the translation was wrong.”
What!? A Seattle Paper getting their facts wrong!? This is unbelievable. How outragous!
Mariners need to sign Burnett or Millwood than take a chance on Kevin Brown
1. Burnett/Millwood
2. Hernandez
3. Moyer
4. Pineiro
5. Brown
Thats assuming Moyer re-signs I believe they have the money to do that considering Brown will pitch for basically nothing if he doesn’t pan out well plug some guys in there from AAA(Foppert) and see if one of them pan out get a LF… This team can compete next year…
#8- With Baltimore wait until we actually sign someone to worry, we have Angelos. Though Baltimore is rumored to be interested in Byrd, Millwood(though Boras/Angelos never go well), Ramon Hernandez, and Paul Konerko.
#18-Ryan only had 100 K’s last year with the O’s. It also looks like they’ll get Burnett too.
#19- The Orioles sadly will never be in the Burnett chase. It hurts to be a Orioles fan. It’s going to be a long year next year for me. No Ryan, No Starting Rotation, No Team, and Angelos is still here.
#23- I hate to tell you, but Moneyball doesn’t win many pennants in the AL East. You have to spend to win in the AL East. That the O’s problem, we don’t spend at all.
#28- Any move to get B.J. Ryan is a good move. Ryan has been in perfect health. He has been one of the major league’s best closers in his one year so far, and before that one of the best set-up men in baseball. A moneyball approach doesn’t win pennants in the AL East, it may elsewhere, but not in this division.
#35- There are reports that the Softbank Hawks are interested in Arthur Rhodes as a closer. The same team that signed Tony Batista to a 2yr/$15 millon deal. They might be able to take Rhodes off the A’s hands.
#36- Oh I can’t wait to see how long Mondesi last this year. Will he outlast last year? Tune in next year fans.
#53- Rowand didn’t hit 24 HR’s last year, he hit 13.
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=400023
#54- Label that one under not going to happen.
I know I’ve said this before, but isn’t it about that time of year when the FO starts bringing back washed up former Ms back to the fold so Finnegan can write another “Best shape of his life” puff piece? Which cheaply-signed former Ms who still live in the Seattle area are available?
#59- Olerud