Stop by and help us determine who’s getting fleeced!

ESPN is reporting that the Houston Astros will be signing second baseman Kaz Matsui to a 3 year deal, worth somewhere between $15-17 million. We had this story here on Mlb Fleece Factor on November 19th.

It appears Matsui has cashed in on a strong post season with Colorado. His numbers away from Coors field were down right horrible in 2007, however, as he hit only .249 with a .304 OBP. He is serviceable at second base defensively, at best. This signing has “fleece” written all over it.

In only 4 short days, the best time of the baseball offseason begins.  Yes, that’s right, the Winter Meetings.  On Monday, December 3rd, the meetings will kick-off in Nashville, Tenn.

There are so many huge names being thrown around in the trade market, and this will surely dominate the talks among GM’s.  Some of the bigger stories to follow:

• #1 will be the availability of Twins ace Johan Santana – Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Dodgers will be the most likely destinations.
• The possible trade of Miguel Cabrera to the Angels or Dodgers – the team that gets him or Johan will likely be out of the other race
• Mets will be looking for an ace pitcher – Bedard, Haren and Blanton remain the most likely prospects; Pelfry/Humber/Gomez are bargaining chips
• D-Backs will also be in the market for another ace to slot behind Brandon Webb – they appear to be in on the Haren/Blanton sweepstakes as well; Carlos Quentin and Carlos Gonzalez look like the trade bait here
• The possible trade of Miguel Tejada – we probably won’t see this until after (if) Cabrera gets traded
• Phils are also looking for pitching depth – Hiroki Kuroda looks like their main target
• Cubs are looking to upgrade their offense – main target will be Japanese OF Fukudome, who would improve their much-needed OBP; they will also likely fleece themselves on Kaz Matsui
• Detroit will look to upgrade their bullpen – Dotel? 

Man, I absolutely live for this time of year!  I hope you all are as excited as I am?!  We will keep you abreast of all the rumors, trades and signings. 

According to Rotoworld.com, Jorge Posada has stated that he thinks Yankees’ starting pitcher Andy Pettitte is leaning towards retirement.  Apparently Posada has been talking with the lefy starter at least once a week since the season ended. 

Pettitte would be leaving $16 milllion on the table if he decided to call it quits.  Now I know that Andy isn’t driven by money like most pro athletes, but still, that’s an awfully lot of *guaranteed* cash to walk away from.  And he has already stated that his only options are coming back to the Yanks next season, or retirement.  He will not be pitching for his hometown Astros again.  We shall see where this story goes…

It is believed that David Riske will be the Brewers new closer next season, with Turnbow likely pitching the 8th inning and Mota the 7th.  My guess is that he will get a 3-year deal for around $14M or so. 

• Boston currently has the best offer on the table, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  The offer would send Coco Crisp and lefty Jon Lester to Minnesota along with prospects Jed Lowrie (SS,2B), and Justin Masterson (RHP).   If the Red Sox could land Santana without giving up Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury, it would be huge fleece for the World Champions.
• The New York Post is reporting that the Twins are looking for a package of “well beyond” Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera from the Yankees.   This is surprising, as I think Hughes has more potential than anyone in the Red Sox current offer, including Jon Lester.  I also think Cabrera is already better than Crisp.  Maybe the Yankees haven’t technically made that offer, though.
• According to NBC’s Rotoworld, “A source with knowledge of the Twins’ position told the Los Angeles Daily News that the club is asking the Dodgers for a package of three or four players from a pool of six: Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Andy LaRoche, Jonathan Broxton and Andre Ethier in Johan Santana discussions.”  Getting 3 of those players would be a huge fleece for Minnesota.   Two of them would be more than adequate.

The St. Petersburg Times brings us the model for the proposed $450 million, open-air stadium, complete with a sail and everything.  A sail! ha  Anyway, the stadium would be on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg, and would seat 34,000 fans.  It seems there will be a large mast in the outfield as well, which would pull “sails” over the stands.  This will hopefully keep the fans cooler in that sometimes unbearable Florida heat. 

Rays officials claim that the new stadium would not cost taxpayers any new money, and that if it runs over the $450M budget, then the team would take on all additional costs.  The hope is that this new stadium will get approval, and be set to open in the 2012 season. 

Courtesy of Ken Rosenthal, we learn that the New York Mets are desperately trying to acquire a top notch starting pitcher but are falling short because they simply don’t have the chips to acquire one.

Sensing that they have little shot at Twins ace Johan Santana unless they include star shortstop Jose Reyes in a deal, Rosenthal reports the Mets are taking a “preemptive” strike at Oakland A’s starters Dan Haren and Joe Blanton by offering falling prospects Lastings Milledge (OF) and Aaaron Heilman (SP), among others.  (By the way, can we stop calling Heilman a prospect?  He’s almost 30.  He’s a setup guy, plain and simple).

A’s general manager Billy Beane appears to be scoffing at such a blatant fleece attempt, even though he tried to acquire both players for Barry Zito in the summer of 2006.   Both of the prospects mentioned – as well as other Met prospects like Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber – have seen their trade value plummet in the last few years.  At the same time, the A’s have seen their need for outfield help like Milledge diminish with the emergence of Nick Swisher and Travis Buck.

Rosenthal even reports that’s one A’s source mentioned the Mets made an offer for Dan Haren that “seemed more suitable for Blanton,” suggesting the Mets are out to fleece. 

It looks like the Mets will have to include their top prospect, outfielder Carlos Gomez, in any deal.  But even then, their offers may be more “lamb” than lion.  Happy Fleecing, Omar.

Courtesy of Bob Dutton at The Kansas City Star, the Royals have signed Japanese relief pitcher Yasuhiko Yabuta to a $6 million, two-year pact.  The contract includes a club option for a 3rd season.

Yabuta, 34, has pitched in Japan’s Pacific League for the last 12 years.  Last season, he posted a 4-6 record with a 2.73 ERA in 58 appearances.  He did also have a career-high 38 holds, a trendy stat nowadays for middle relievers.  Hey, the need something to hang their hat on during contract negotiations too (closers have saves). 

The Royals will now seek a power-hitting OF and a SP with the remainder of the offseason.  As noted here earlier at Fleece Factor, FA outfielder Jose Guillen became a top target once Torii Hunter signed with the Angels.  In the starting pitching department, the Royals preference seems to be signing Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who is 103-89 with a 3.69 ERA in 11 seasons.

The Tigers, of course, are in need of relief help due to the freak injury to Joel Zumaya who will miss at least the first half of the season.  But Hawkins? Sure, he did post a respectable 3.42 ERA in Colorado last season, but the 34 year old is not what he once was back in the day for Minnesota.  He has lost his ability to miss bats, striking out only 56 batters in the 116 innings he has pitched the last two years.  (Compare that to his best years – 2002 and 2003 with the Twins – when he struck out 138 batters in 157 innings).  Plus, his last stint in the American League was a disaster, as he posted a 4.48 ERA in 2006 for the Orioles.   A multi-year deal for Hawkins has “fleece” written all over it.

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies could announce the signings of catcher Yorvit Torrealba and relief pitcher Matt Herges as soon as Thursday.  Both players played solid roles in getting the Rockies to their 1st World Series apperance in franchise history, where they were ultimately swept by the Boston Red Sox. 

Torrealba hit .255 last season, with 8 HR’s and 47 RBI in 113 games for the Rox.  He was however battling a shoulder injury, and his defensive numbers also suffered because of it.  Matt Herges was a wonderful surprise for the Rockies, posting a 5-1 record with a 2.96 ERA in 35 appearances.  He also boasted a sensational .198 BAA for the season and a remarkable 0.89 WHIP after the All-Star break! 

Yorvit Torrealba has had quite an odd offseason so far.  He was all but signed to a multi-year deal with the New York Mets about a week ago, when it seems that Omar Minaya had a change of heart in the final hours.  The logical move for Torrealba after that was to return back to the Rockies.  Assuming he gets a 3-4 year deal from the Rox, it all turned out alllllriiight for him in the end.  The rumor is however that the Rockies will give him a 2-year deal at around $7M, with a 3rd year option.  Herges may call for a 2-year deal to get it done. 

Also mentioned in the article, the Rox are interested in bringing back RP LaTroy Hawkins as well.  2B is still a postion of need this offseason.  Maybe they play star prospect Ian Stewart there?

This one comes courtesy of Buster Olney. Troy Percival, who had a nice year last season with St.Louis (1.80 ERA in 40 IP), is working on a deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. As Buster Olney reports, one should expect the D-Rays would be promising Percival the closer’s role next season. Terms to a possible deal are not yet available.

Percival has 324 career saves, and will be 39 years old in August of 2008.

The Devil Rays have been active today, as they have also been rumored to be on the verge of acquiring SP Matt Garza (among others) for OF Delmon Young.

Update: According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees are offering Percival the setup role in front of Mariano Rivera, and the Brewers are looking to possibly put Percival in the closer’s role, on a short-term deal. 

Update: Percival and the Devil Rays have inched closer on a multi-year contract (expected to be a 2 year deal).

Piecoro points out that a primary D’Backs need is a starter to slot in behind ace Brandon Webb.   And although the club has plenty of young stars to acquire Johan Santana, Erik Bedard or Dan Haren, they most likely will not trade away Justin Upton, Chris Young, Mark Reynolds or Stephen Drew as they continue to build up a solid foundation that can compete in the present.

Enter a Dontrelle Willis – a second tier pitcher available via trade this winter.   Piecoro speculates the D’Backs could eventually engage the Marlins by using outfielders Carlos Quentin and/or Carlos Gonzalez.  It seems a logical fit to me, although given the trade demands for pitchers this year, I’d imagine it would take more to land Willis even though he is coming off a down year.

The Diamondbacks have also been rumored to be in on a possible Haren or Blanton trade as well.

According to WFAN 660 AM, the Mets have acquired Brian Stokes from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations.

Last year, Stokes was 2-7 in 59 appearances with a 7.07 ERA.

The Star Tribune is reporting that the Twins are close to acquiring Delmon Young for Matt Garza. These two seem to be the principles in the deal, although, the deal is rumored to include 6 players.

The rest of the deal breaks down as follows: Jason Bartlett and Juan Rincon (steroid cheat) to the Rays and SS Brendan Harris and OF Jason Pridie to the Twins.

I like the Rays side of this deal. They have an abundance of OF talent and lack the SP to go along with their offense. In this deal, they get a #2-type SP, a legit set-up man and a very good defensive SS with some offensive spunk. They get rid of the headache that was Young in the process.

Update: It’s official. Tampa Bay gets SP Matt Garza, INF Brendan Harris, and OF Jason Pridie. Headed to Minnesota are OF Delmon Young, SS Jason Bartlett RP Eduardo Morlan.