2008-09 MLB Offseason Thread

Not one to start threads, but I thought that the FA period in baseball was deserving of a separate thread to avoid it getting lost/jumbled in the existing 2008 MLB thread. I know that this thread will probably be irrelevant until, oh, post-November 14th, but we can speculate, share rumors, etc., about what may happen during the FA period in baseball and then discuss actual signings when they happen.

Where will Teixeira, Sabathia, K-Rod, Burnett, etc., end up signing and for how much? Will Jake Peavy get traded?

And yes, I used a green arrow.

Might as well start off with one trade that happened under the radar: Marlins trade 1B Mike Jacobs to Royals for RP Leo Nunez.

Like the trade a lot from the Marlins' perspective. I don't understand why the Royals would give up a young reliever with the stuff that Nunez has. They have altered the back end of their bullpen now, for a 1B who has pop, but doesn't hit for a high average, K's a lot, and has a low OBP for a power guy.

Agreed on that Marlins trade...

Hot-Stove has become 'hot', for a lack of a better term, over the last few years and something that is followed with more analysis.

I'm really interested to see who lands Peavy.
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Originally Posted by RaiderInNY

Agreed on that Marlins trade...

Hot-Stove has become 'hot', for a lack of a better term, over the last few years and something that is followed with more analysis.

I'm really interested to see who lands Peavy.

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The Braves look like the frontrunners for Peavy. All we know is his "list" of teams he'd accept a trade too, which surprisingly, Boston is not one of them and the Yankees are. I don't know why, nor do I care. Just as long as the Sawx don't get him. I don't think the Yankees have a very realistic shot at Peavy though either.

I absolutely HATE the "whispers from friends" that say that Sabathia would prefer to play on the west coast because of his California roots. If that were true, I wish that him and his agent wouldn't waste the Yankees time and effort, although I know they have to keep the Yankees involved to max out his price to his future destination. Also, if he deep down doesn't wanna pitch for New York, I wouldn't want him here anyway. He probably couldn't handle it.

That said, I have no idea what direction the Yankees are headed. They'd love to nab Teixeira, but the Angels seem hell-bent on re-signing him, and I DO NOT WANT GIAMBI BACK EVEN FOR ONE YEAR. I would take dog **** at first before him again.

Dodgers make offer to Ramirez - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

Get Er done dodgers.

Giambi back to Oakland...woot...now wheres Tejada...n Huddy?

Looks like the Dodgers offered Manny a nice deal But my gut feeling tells me he won't take it. He's stubborn enough to believe a team will give him a 5 or 6 year deal.

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Originally Posted by trur8r

Looks like the Dodgers offered Manny a nice deal But my gut feeling tells me he won't take it. He's stubborn enough to believe a team will give him a 5 or 6 year deal.

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No, he is smart enough to wait, not sign now, get other teams involved and get a deal closer to what he is looking for.

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Originally Posted by trur8r

Looks like the Dodgers offered Manny a nice deal But my gut feeling tells me he won't take it. He's stubborn enough to believe a team will give him a 5 or 6 year deal.

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I think Manny will eventually re-sign with the Dodgers.

Nobody's giving him 5 years, let alone 6. If he's dumb enough to think that, he'll find out quickly that nobody will touch that length.

RINY is 100% right.

Gossip Heats Up For Angels, Dodgers

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The latest and juiciest Angels and Dodgers gossip just plucked from the grapevine:

•The Angels are expected to make a huge offer to free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira this week, before their exclusive negotiating window expires Thursday.

Speculation is it will be a six- or seven-year deal worth an average of $20 million a year, but I don't expect the Angels to allow agent Scott Boras to shop their offer around when other teams are allowed to submit bids.

Take-it-or-leave-it doesn't usually work with Boras, but the Angels want to proceed with their offseason roster tinkering as soon as possible.

•Don't know if it's true, but I received an e-mail from someone who sat near "friends" of Teixeira during the playoffs who were talking as if Teixeira's wife wasn't thrilled with living in Southern California.

Understandable. Took me a long time to get used to living in paradise, too. All kidding aside, a professional athlete never made a major decision based on what his wife thought, right? (Sorry, couldn't stop myself).

If Teixeira wants to go to the playoffs every year, he'll be back. If other things are more important ... well, the Baltimore Orioles (good crabcakes) and Washington Nationals (good theater district) are interested.

The Yankees? Teixeira seems much too low-key for that atmosphere. Boston? Only if Kevin Youkilis moves to third base.

•From what I hear, Angels owner Arte Moreno already has decided against bringing back record-breaking closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Maybe that's why MLB.com reported this week the Angels were one of four teams – Mets, Rangers and Tigers the others – to have asked to look at the medical records of Nationals closer Chad Cordero, the former Cal State Fullerton star who had shoulder surgery in July but is expected to be ready for spring training.

•The Mets are still very interested in K-Rod, but not at the rumored cost of a five-year, $75 million contract. That's why they also have Colorado's Brian Fuentes and the Cubs' Kerry Wood on their wish list.

ESPN's Peter Gammons says the Mets will look elsewhere if Rodriguez wants more than $10-12 million a year for three years. And he turned down a similar Angels offer (three years, $34 million) last spring.

•There have been whispers the Angels also are interested in trading for Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins or Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday. If it's Atkins, Chone Figgins could move to left to replace Garret Anderson.

•A report in the Detroit Free Press listed Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez as a good trade fit for the Angels. Color me skeptical, because Ordonez is 34 and guaranteed $18 million next season, with vesting options for $18 million in 2010 and $15 million in 2011.

•If Manny Ramirez doesn't accept the Dodgers' reported two-year, $45 million contract offer – and we all know the odds of that, don't we? – the team will turn its attention to free-agent pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

At least Dodgers GM Ned Colletti used his temporarily exclusive negotiating rights to make "Manny Me" a lucrative offer, but not even a two-year, $55 million offer (matching Alex Rodriguez's record average salary) would have persuaded Manny and Boras to accept such a short-term deal.

The only way Manny returns to the Dodgers is if the market doesn't bear what Boras thought it would. And he's rarely wrong.

•By the way, there have been numerous published reports that Sabathia – he reportedly has been offered a five-year, $100 million contract to re-sign with the Brewers – wants to move his off-season residence to Southern California this winter.

That could help the Dodgers' cause, especially because Sabathia likes pitching – and batting – in the National League. Maybe the Angels will kick CC's tires, too.

•The Dodgers want free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal back, but a long-term contract is out of the question. The A's and Giants also are interested.

•The Twins are interested in Dodgers free-agent third baseman Casey Blake.•The New York Post reported Dodgers-Yankees trade talks, with second baseman Robinson Cano coming to LA and the Yankees interested in catcher Russell Martin or outfielder Matt Kemp. Sounds like East Coast fiction.

•Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jones, the bust of the year, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he'd like to finish career back in Atlanta. Colletti and Dodgers fans would be in favor of that -- immediately.

Ba-da-bing! From Jay Leno, noted late-night wise guy: "The economy is so bad, A-Rod is dating Madonna just to get the senior citizens' discount."

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Originally Posted by RaiderInNY

No, he is smart enough to wait, not sign now, get other teams involved and get a deal closer to what he is looking for.

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I agree he should wait. I just don't see any team offering him a 5 or 6 year deal. But you never know, the Yankees might pull the trigger.

BTW Ned Colletti don't go around acting like you tried HARD to bring Manny back. You and every other smart baseball person knows that the deal you offered him would get rejected.

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Originally Posted by trur8r

Gossip Heats Up For Angels, Dodgers

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Who the hell wrote that article?

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Originally Posted by Jigeneh

Who the hell wrote that article?

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Sports: Gossip heats up for Angels, Dodgers | dodgers, angels, million, year, offer - OCRegister.com

The good crab cakes and good theater district comments are a piss poor attempt at humor. Teixeira grew up in the northeast in Orioles territory, and his idol was Mattingly.

Another question, why the hell is he too low-key for New York, yet Boston, which is at least on par with NY when it comes to baseball pressure, would only require a Youkilis move (which is also wrong, because all indications were that if BOS pursued Teixeira, they would look to trade Lowell, which is unlikely). Youkilis' original position was 3B.

And Andy Pettitte's wife preferred Houston over New York at the time when Pettitte left as a FA after the '03 season, which heavily influenced his decision.

I believe that the Angels still have the best shot at Teixeira, just based on familiarity, but there is a very good possibility that he can end up on NYY/BAL, or less likely BOS.