Brewers Playing it a little Riske?

Per Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers are on the verge of signing free agent reliever David Riske to a multi-year deal.  Riske was only 1-4 last season with the Kansas City Royals, but did post a solid 2.45 ERA.  He also added 4 saves to his resume in 2007, bringing his career total to 20. 

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. 

Royals Start Shopping

 

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.

CBS Rumors and News: Rowand, Headley, Hunter, Wood

We mentioned the Peavy rumor, but CBS Sportstline also had some other good rumblings today:

• Sportsline expects the Phillies to be “aggressive” in trying to keep Aaron Rowand.  If true, this would be another lie by the Philly brass, who claimed to only be in on free agent pitchers this offseason, but was then exposed as offering Mike Lowell a 4 year, $50M deal. 
• The Pirates are making a serious run at Padres third base prospect Chase Headley (.330, 20, 78 for Double-A San Antonio), by offering outfielders Xavier Nady and Nate McClouth.  In my eyes, this would be a fleece for Pittsburgh.  I like McClouth, but San Diego should definitely be able to get a better package for Headley.
• Texas (6 years, $70M) and Kansas City (5 years, $75M) made serious runs at Torii Hunter before the centerfielder fleeced the Angels.   Hunter, however, wanted to play for a contender.  Allllllllriiiiiiiiight, Torii.  Just admit it….you took the highest bid.
• Kerry Wood had a two year offer from Milwaukee before he showed his loyalty and returned to the Cubs for a one year deal.

D-Backs Make Offer to Kuroda

According to AZCentral.com, the Arizona Diamondbacks have made a 3-year offer worth a reported $27 million to free agent Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda. Thanks to mlbtraderumors.com for the link.

The Seattle Mariners are still viewed as the favorite to land the coveted pitcher from Japan, but this offer, if true, serves as a bench mark for Kuroda. It is apparent he may receive $10 million per season, even though many scouts project him as a # 3 starter in the MLB.

If Kuroda should decide to accept an offer from Arizona, he could serve as an upgrade over FA starter Livan Hernandez. Or, he could be the second coming of Kei Igawa, the Japanese lefty who fleeced Brian Cashman and the NYY last winter to the tune of 5 years and $20 million (not to mention the $26 million posting fee, which does not count against the club’s payroll, but is still noteworthy).

The Kansas City Royals have been involved with Kuroda rumors as well.

Yabuta to Royals All But Done

KansasCity.com is reporting that all that stands in the way between the Royals and a two year deal worth a reported $5M-$6M with Japanese right handed reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta is Yabuta passing a physical. 

According to the site, an agreement is in place, and the reliever is expected to arrive in the US for the physical within days.   Click here for more on Yabuta.

Royals Shift Attention to Guillen

 

The Kansas City Royals’ pursuit of a power hitting outfielder continues, as their hopes of landing Torii Hunter were dashed when the center fielder signed a 5 year $90 million deal with the Angels. At the Kansas City Star, Bob Dutton has the scoop. The Royals’ have been in search of a hard-hitting right handed outfielder, and their apparent bid for Hunter (in the range of 5 years $70 million), fell well shy.   Despite being linked to Andruw Jones by SI’s John Heyman, the only other “true” option in this year’s free agent market might be Jose Guillen, 31. Guillen’s value has taken a hit with a recent steroid controvery surrounding the right fielder. Despite a possible suspension for a portion of 2008, the Royals may still turn to Guillen to provide some pop. This kind of controversy could bring down Guillen’s price, which could work in GM Dayton Moore’s favor.

In 2007, Guillen hit .290 with 23 HR and 99 RBI in 153 games for the Seattle Mariners.

Five offers for Torii Hunter

 

 According to the Chicago Sun Times, Torii Hunter has received offers from at least 5 teams with a possible 6th (Yankees) sitting on the fringe depending on what happens with Melky Cabrera.

Of the 5 offers, it is believed that all are for 5 years, except for Texas’ offer of 6 years. What a surprise…Tom Hicks is trying to make the market. The Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers are expected to be the front-runners, while the Los Angeles Dodgers offer could be sweetened if Miguel Cabrera goes elsewhere (LAA).

Hunter, 32, should get the grand prize this offseason (aside from A-Rod). In the end, you’d have to expect he gets a 5 year deal worth $75-80 million, unless he chooses Texas, where that number will likely be higher.

The other 2 “offers” are from Kansas City, who has been rumored to have a good amount of cash to spend, but lately have been linked to Andruw Jones more than Hunter. The last offer is likely from Washington. If Washington could land Hunter, it would be a huge boost to their franchise and could possibly be the start of more FA’s going to the capital city.

All in all, Hunter fits in well with all of these teams, and if the deal is around 5 years, I don’t think it is a bad move for any of these teams. I think he ends up in Chicago.

Heyman: Matt Holliday May be Traded Next Winter

Sports Illustrated’s John Heyman said on WFAN’s “Mike and the Mad Dog” this afternoon that Colorado outfielder Matt Holliday could very well be on the trading block as soon as next winter.  Recently, Holliday commented that the 4 year, $60M the Rockies offered him would not cut it.

Holliday is arbitration eligible for 2008 and 2009 and becomes a free agent before the 2010 season.  Heyman speculates that the Rockies will not be able to pony up the large dollars that it will take to sign Holliday long term and may be willing to move him in a mammoth deal after this season.   Heyman even hinted that had the Rockies not won the NL pennant, they may have put Holliday on the market this winter.

The best response to this was from Heyman’s interviewer, Chris Russo, who stated, “If you can’t sign Holliday, why even have a franchise?”  It’s true.  What is the state of baseball if a team based out of a large city like Denver with a beautiful ballpark like Coors Field is forced to trade it’s home grown superstar in his prime because of lack of resources?  If Colorado does move Holliday, it will be a shame.  The residents of the state of Colorado would be the ones wearing the fleeces.

Note: In this interview, Heyman also predicted that the Royals may be able to sign Andruw Jones to a 1 year deal, and that Johan Santana will be traded this off-season.

Japanese Royalty?

According to Marc Lancaster, the Devil Rays are in the mix for 34-year old Japanese relief pitcher Yasuhiko Yabuta.  Five teams seem to have expressed interest – Rays, Royals, Pirates, Indians and White Sox.  It’s also noted in the article that U.S. media reports have Yabuta close to signing with Kansas City. 

Yashuhiko Yabuta had a 2.73 ERA last season in Japan in 58 relief appearances with a 1.18 WHIP.  He can also makes some bats miss, notching 45 K’s in 62 2/3 innings.  Yabuta played for Japan on their champion World Baseball Classic team, as noted by Rotowire.com, and had strikeouts of A-Rod, Damon, and Derek Lee during his four appearances. 

Update: Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal notes that Yabuta is set to sign a 2-year deal with the Royals, with a player option for a 3rd season.  $$ was not disclosed. 

Quiet in the Emerald City?

 There has not been a ton of many rumors coming out of Seattle in recent days, but there has been a few murmurings. In the past week, it has been noted by John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the Mariners will be looking to upgrade their starting rotation this offseason.  Like most clubs, they are not at all enamored with signing guys like Kyle Loshe or Carlos Silva to multi-year deals at $10M+ a year.   And who can blame them?!  These two are gonna be handing some GM’s a beautiful warm fleece for the holidays!  However, the Mariners are interested in the 32-year old Japanese FA pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.  He only had a record of 103-89 in 11 seasons playing in Japan, but he has a long list of suitors in the States.  These include the Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies and Royals as well.  As noted in Hickey’s article, the M’s have a serious advantage, with Kuroda preferring the West Coast and because they have a Japanese catcher in Kenji Jojima.  They certainly has to make Kuroda feel all warm-and-fuzzy inside.  Kuroda is apparently seeking between $7-9M/year. 

It seems the Mariners may also focus on Bartolo Colon as a possible starter, maybe as a Plan B is the Kuroda signing falls through?  Colon has been oft-injured in the past few seasons, and will come at a discount.  Maybe the Mariners can get him cheaply on a 1-2 year deal, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. 

Other than pitching, the Mariners don’t seem to be pursuing many free agents or possible trades for position players.  They seem set on putting their star prospect Adam Jones in RF next season, with Ichiro of course in CF, Raul Ibanez in right, and Jose Vidro at DH. 

Fleece for Sale in the Bronx?

 

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees are the favorites to sign lefty reliever Ron Mahay, who almost everyone considers to be the best available lefty on the market.  Mahay finished last season with the Atlanta Braves, after being sent over in a trade from Texas.  The Yankees are sorely in need of a lefty for the pen, with no current ones on the roster for next season, and have a penchant for severely overpaying for bullpen help (see Kyle Farnsworth, and many others).  I see a definite fleece by Mahay and his agent in this one.  I could easily see the Yankees give him $4M per, even though he is 36 years old.  Ron Mahay was 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA in 2007.

Other teams that appear seriously interested include the Brewers, Royals, Astros and Phillies. 

Royals Close to Signing Reliever Yabuta

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Royals “are close to signing” Japanese right handed reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta.   Contract details are unconfirmed but speculated to be for two years with a possible third year option.   

In 63 innings last year for the Chiba Lotte Marines, Yabuta went 4-6 with 4 saves and a 2.73 era.  He struck out 45 batters.  I don’t really have a good scouting report so please comment if you’re more familiar with Yabuta.  New manager Trey Hillman, of course, is a former Japanese league manager and is probably playing a large role in the recruiting.

Other teams that appear to be interested are the White Sox, Indians, Rays and Pirates.  They are probably trying to follow Boston’s lead, who fleeced Hideki Okajima into a favorable deal last winter that worked out pretty well.

Nick Cafardo’s Sunday Rumors: Cabrera, Gagne, Crisp, Clement, Colon

One of my favorite Sunday morning reads is Nick Cafardo’s Boston Globe piece.  Here are the highlights from today:

• Cafardo sees Miguel Cabrera as a perfect fit for Boston, likening him to Manny Ramirez.  Cafardo believes, however, that the Red Sox will try to avoid the fleece from Florida, who allegedly is interested in both Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury.  He sees the Dodgers as the best match for Florida with it’s stable of top prospects (James Loney, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Clayton Kershaw, and Andy LaRoche), but quotes Dodgers special advisor Bill Lajoie as saying, “As far as giving away three or four regular players, I don’t believe you do that.”  Translated: ‘We also won’t get fleeced.’
• Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell confirms that the club has talked about opening the season with a 6 man rotation, seeming to indicate to me that there are no active plans to trade Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester.
• Interestingly, Cafardo points out that, “A National League playoff team gave its scouts a whopping $200 bonus for their good work. We will not embarrass them by identifying the team.”  Which team do you think this could be?  They should have just bought the poor scouts nice fleeces instead.
• As mentioned earlier on this site by my colleague, Mr. Fleece, Boston may be interested in Kerry Wood as a reliever.
• Eric Gagne wants to fleece someone into giving him a closer job.  Cafardo mentions Texas, Houston or possibly Detroit as potential landing spots.
• Minnesota is “very interested” in Coco Crisp.
• Possible one year bargains Matt Clement and Bartolo Colon are drawing some interest.   Clement is being sought by the Padres and Royals, while Colon may catch on with the Giants, Cubs, White Sox or Phillies.
• David Wells is interested in fleecing a team into a one year contract for 2008.  Good luck with that, Boomer.