Baseball's off-season is in full swing less than a week after the completion of the World Series. Players are opting out of their contracts and filing for free agency. Clubs are not picking up players' options and are busy shuffling their 40-man rosters. The rumor mill is buzzing as the GM's discuss a variety of topics in Dana Point, California from arbitration to the economics of the game to setting the table for future trades this winter.
Here is the latest from the mill on Jake Peavy and Ryan Dempster....
Jake Peavy
Scott Miller from CBS Sportsline joined Charley Steiner during the Baseball Beat on Tuesday afternoon and discussed the latest concerning Jake Peavy. Miller told Steiner that he was told the Cubs have offered Felix Pie, Ronny Cedeno and Rich Hill to the Padres for Peavy. His report on CBS Sportsline.com mentioned the same three names with 'among others' added to the end of the sentence. Steiner called those three players (Hill, Cedeno and Pie) 'spare parts for the Cubs'. Towers and Jim Hendry played golf on Sunday, but Towers spent most of his time looking for his ball according to Scott Miller.
Barry Axelrod on XM Radio
Jake Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, joined Holden Kushner on XM Radio Tuesday afternoon and discussed the latest news surrounding his client. Axelrod told Kushner there is a lot of interest from around the league about acquiring his client and that the Padres approached him about being traded this off-season. Peavy does have a full no-trade clause in his contract until the completion of the 2009 season. Next winter, Peavy's no trade clause drops to only 14 teams he can block a deal with. Holden went on to ask Axelrod about the destinations on Peavy's list.
Axelrod reiterated throughout the interview that Peavy preferred to stay in San Diego and that the Padres presented Peavy with the idea of him being traded. Apparently the Padres' organization is anticipating a long haul back to contention and they wanted to give Peavy a way to play for a winning team....as well as cut payroll.
Axelrod confirmed Peavy would prefer to stay in the National League and has not discussed a possible destination with the Padres, much less approved one....Axelrod used the word 'strongly' to describe Peavy's desire to stay in the Senior Circuit. The Padres asked for a list of teams he would approve a trade to in order not to waste either Peavy's or another organization's time.
Axelrod confirmed the list included the Cubs, Dodgers, Braves, Astros and Cardinals and that he and Peavy have not had a discussion about a team in the American League. Axelrod said that they have not talked about the Yankees or the Angels but did confirm that Peavy was asked about being traded to one team and Axelrod said Peavy told the Padres 'no'.... Rumors on Tuesday suggested that team was the Red Sox, but Axelrod would not elaborate and told Kushner that he and Peavy agreed not to discuss the teams that Peavy rejects during this process. Kushner confirmed the statement from Axelrod and he reiterated that the Padres have only asked about one team and they have given a response about only one team.
Axelrod said it was conjecture in reference to the rumors concerning the Yankees and the Angels being added to Peavy's list on Monday.
Jake Peavy would prefer to stay with the Padres and specifically on the West Coast. Kushner asked Axelrod about Atlanta and he said there would be a little edge for Peavy because he is from Alabama. Axelrod said Peavy and his family decided to make San Diego their home last year when Peavy agreed to the contract extension and that San Diego will remain Peavy's home....regardless of where Peavy is playing next season and beyond.
Axelrod described Peavy as a very competitive person that losing does not sit well with. Peavy and Axelrod have been very happy with the great communication from the Padres to this point in the process. Peavy did not see this coming and Axelrod said it 'stung' a little but that Peavy realizes that baseball is a business.
Finally, Holden Kushner asked Barry Axelrod about being the agent for Padres' GM Kevin Towers. Axelrod said he was not Towers' agent now but was his agent when he was a player. Axelrod feels he and Towers do a good job of separating business from their personal relationship.
Ryan Dempster
A report from Ken Rosenthal over the weekend indicated that Ryan Dempster is going to test the market and "does not intend to sign with the Cubs before their exclusive negotiating period with him expires on November 13th." Rumors have suggested the Cubs interest in Jake Peavy could increase if Ryan Dempster signs with another organization. Dempster does not appear close to resigning with the Cubs as of this writing.
The Braves have contacted Ryan Dempster's agent according to a report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. David O'Brien also reported that the Cubs made an offer to Dempster believed to be worth 3 years and $36 million dollars. O'Brien stated the feeling is that Dempster will resign with the Cubs but he wants to make sure "he's not taking a far lesser deal."
Kerry Wood
Ken Rosenthal pointed out on Tuesday that if the Cubs lose Kerry Wood to free agency they could replace him with Carlos Marmol as the team's closer. With Marmol pitching in the 9th inning, Jeff Samardzija or Kevin Hart could be used in Marmol's setup role....or they could go out and find a replacement for Marmol.
Site Info/Update
It is been a little over a week since the launch of the new design of the CCO. Everything has gone pretty well, with the exception of the way the site is appearing on Internet Explorer 6. We are working on these problems and will hopefully have them corrected in the next few days....please remain patient with us, we are working on the bugs.
Also, for those of you that have not signed up for an account, please take the time to do so. Once you have an account you can write your own blogs in our Community Blog section. For those of you that have not visited that part of the site, you can click on this link or access the Community Blog through the navigation bar at the top of the site. After your account has been approved, your comments will post as soon as you hit submit at the bottom of the comment form....just remember to 'Sign In' first. We are going to add a 'comment only function' soon but the concentration right now is fixing the bugs that exist on IE 6.
From the Inbox
Evan over at MVN Outsider sent the CCO a link to his GM series focused on the Chicago Cubs. If you have a chance, take a look and let Evan know your thoughts. He brings up several interesting solutions to the Cubs off-season needs....
MVN.com - Outsider - Being the GM: 2009 Chicago Cubs
Well, that's the latest from the mill and I'm sticking to it!
Subscribe
If D accepts 3 and $36 mil, he really does love the Cubs, IMO. I wish the Cubs would hint at what the budget looks like for next year--to give our offers some perspective. The only hint I've seen is Sullivan's comment implying that JH doesn't have much room.
SI's John Heyman says that Bradley is expecting 4 years at $10 mil +. If he gets 3 and $8 mil from someone, I fear he will "play down" to what he perceives is his contract slight. I'd rather have the less validated Seth Smith for a lefty bat and versatile OF.
I guess we can only wait for Peavy related comments from the Pads and Cubs but my guess is that Hill and Pie won't cut it with the Pads. They would likely prefer Marshall, Ceda and Guzman along with Cedeno.
I'll be looking for Hill in the winter leagues, but some of our guys are doing well. In the AFL, our catcher convert, Clevenger, is 4th in hitting at .375, SS Barney is 5th at .370, 2B Spears is 8th at .347 and RHP Caridad has a 3.75 ERA and an impressive 3 W/ 13 SO in 12 IP (10 H).
In the Ven. League, Guzman is 1-0, 1.13 ERA, 2W--8 SO in 8 IP. My guess is that he will be good for us this year as a long reliever or a starter.
I know there's a possibility we get neither but Hendry has to be licking his chops at the thought of the rotation being:
Zambrano
Peavy
Harden
Dempster
Lilly
On paper that's the best rotation you're going to find. Obviously the odds of them staying healthy all year aren't good but that rotation in the playoffs would be tough to beat.
If we can bring Peavy in without giving up any key major league players, it would be a great addition.
Jimk, I agree that Guzman will be avaluable member of the staff this year. If Wood leaves and Marmol becomes our closer, I could even see Guzman as a solid 8th inning guy.
Question ... will the Cubs offer arbitration to Howry? I think he is a Type A free agent so if we offer him arbitration and he signs elsewhere, we'd get high draft picks as compensation.
David, I d not think they will offer Howry arbitration. The draft pick would be great but if he accepts, they are stuck.
Good point on Guzman.