“Rumor” Post, 12/18

by ~ December 18th, 2008 at 1:28 pm

The hot stove probably won’t pick up until after New Year’s, but here is some speculation to bounce around.

Oliver Perez

Jon Heyman:

The Mets and Boras seem far apart to start on free-agent pitcher Oliver Perez, so their chances to retain him appear remote for now. The Brewers, Dodgers, Reds and perhaps Mariners are seen as potential suitors for the talented but inconsistent young left-hander.

I don’t see any possible fit at the moment.

Derrick Turnbow

Turnbow is another former Milwaukee Brewer that GM Jack Zduriencik is very familiar with, having plucked him off waivers from the Anaheim Angels in 2004.  Turnbow has been dominate at times, including a great 1 1/2 year stretch between 2005 and 2006, but has been downright awful most of the time since then, and has battled with injuries as well.  He’s currently recovering from a slight labrum tear in his throwing shoulder.  You can review his stats here.

Turnbow is being courted by at least five teams, according to Dejan Kovacevic, one of which is in a large market and has offered a major league deal.

Could Seattle be that large market team?  Neither New York team is known for taking on reclamation projects.  The Angels and Red Sox don’t have much of a need.  The Dodgers could use relief help, but are probably looking for a better guarantee.  I wouldn’t expect the Chicago teams to have much interest either.

When Zduriencik gave Russell Branyan a guaranteed contract earlier this offseason, he showed that he’s willing to give Major League contracts to guys that he knows, when most other teams would only offer minor league deals.  I think it is very possible that the Mariners are involved with Turnbow, and could be the team offering a Major League deal.  That said, the Tigers and Phillies have been involved, and both of those clubs would be conisdered large market teams.

I don’t really have an opinion on Turnbow either way.  I’d be all for bringin him in on a minor league deal, but as long as the major league deal is cheap and incentive based, then I’ll be fine with it.  Low risk.

Again, Seattle hasn’t been connected to Turnbow by any report, but it makes sense that they might be.

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  • ernier

    Just say no to Oliver Perez. He’ll be too expensive for someone as inconsistent as he’s been throughout his career. Plus he’s a Type A free agent so it would cost us a draft pick.

    In response to the New Shortstop post. I too would like to see Yuni moved, but I don’t think this is our number 1 priority. We need to find a power hitting lefty for LF or DH and sort out our starting pitching. I like Hu from the Dodgers and maybe we can get him in a deal that includes Rob Johnson and Washburn.

  • The Kid

    I like the idea of Turnbow, Oli not so much just for the fact of the money and draft pick. He could be dominant as well, strikeout pitcher which is always good. Just wanted some thoughts on the following:
    Ben Sheets- could be worth the risk and give us a real threat for the rotation.
    Ken Griffey- Return as part time OF, otherwise DH?
    Adam Dunn and J.J. Hardy: I read on this website when we talked about these guys, could be suitable fits, just wondered about any updates on there situations
    Mark Prior, Nick Punto, Bobby Abreu, Ryan Ludwick- any chance at all for any of these guys?

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Perez – Don’t think too hard about this one. I’m not really sure why Heyman would throw the M’s into the mix. I think I’ll send him an email and see what’s up.

    Sheets – Seattle looked into him early in the offseason, and obviously Jack Z is familiar with him. Obviously we have some bodies to move first, but if he’s still available towards the end of the offseason look for Seattle to pounce.

    Griffey – I think Griffey is our last option if we miss out on the rest of the available DHs.

    Dunn & Abreu – Not much is happening with these two. The weak fielding LF/1B/DH market is waiting on what happens with Mark Teixeira.

    Hardy – The Brewers don’t look like they’re willing to move him any more, and Melvin looks reluctant to do any trades in general. We don’t have the pieces, anyway.

    Prior & Punto – Off the market. Punto signed with the Twinkies and I believe Prior re-signed with the Padres, though I’m not positive about that one.

    Ludwick – Probably don’t have the trade pieces, especially with Putz gone.

  • ernier

    Jon – thanks so much for continuing to update your blog with the different information you’ve been posting. Some of it’s minor stuff, but it’s still interesting to see what’s going on with the M’s. It’s driving me crazy right now with it being so slow in the baseball world.

  • BoiseM

    Turnbow…”slight labrum tear in his throwing shoulder”… How many guys ever really come back from labrum tears?

    Thanks for keeping the rumor mill rolling.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    ^Not many. A lot of the time they’re unofficial career-enders. That said, it all really depends on how “slight” the tear is in Turnbow’s shoulder.

    He’s throwing though, and teams don’t seem too discouraged after looking through his medical records, so perhaps he’ll be fine.

  • The Kid

    Thanks Jon, great work, Go M’s!

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Dustin Shires

    Earlier somebody said that Perez wouldn’t be worth losing the pick, but Sheets is a Type A also. So the same risk applies. Perez is inconsistent as hell, so losing the pick wouldn’t be worth that. Sheets is made of glass, so why risk that?

    Dunn – If the market is waiting on Teixeira, why don’t we sign him now? Makes sense. Once Teixeira takes his money, teams (I believe) will get desperate and overpay for him. Why not sign him now to something that is “below market value”?

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Well, you said it. Dunn can make more if he waits. Therefor, he won’t sign now unless he is blown away.

  • Kevin F

    “Griffey – I think Griffey is our last option if we miss out on the rest of the available DHs. ”

    I’ve heard through a source that has, more than once, shared information that has come true. And that little bird has informed me that the Mariners are indeed, very quietly, talking with Jr.

    From what I hear… it’s almost strictly a PR move. Which leads me to believe this has more to do with Armstrong and not Zduriencik.

    For once… I hope he’s wrong.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    It’s no secret that Seattle has talked with Griffey’s people. It’s also no secret that Armstrong really wants Griffey back.

    That said, Armstrong and Lincoln have strongly stated that IF Griffey comes back to Seattle, it’ll be 100% Zduriencik’s decision, not theirs.

    I have the feeling that if Armstrong was going to go over Z’s head, Griffey would already be in Seattle colors.

    I’m not saying that Z won’t sign Griffey, but I have a hard time believing he’d sign him while there are still better options on the board. Once Dunn, Abreu and Bradley are officially signed with other teams, a Griffey signing might be imminent.

    All said, Griffey may not be chomping at the bit to get back to Seattle, anyway. He’s said he’d like to retire here, but he’s probably slobbering over the open Rays DH/COF spot.

  • Kevin F

    “That said, Armstrong and Lincoln have strongly stated that IF Griffey comes back to Seattle, it’ll be 100% Zduriencik’s decision, not theirs. ”

    That’s good news. If true it shows that maybe A&L are actually going to give Zduriencik the opportunity to build this team the way he thinks is right. It will also be nice to know that the mistakes of the future are all on the GM and not the FO… like the Kenji signing under Bavasi.

    You’re probably right about the Rays opening too. Closer to home… and a quality team. I think I’d rather play for the Rays too.

  • http://myspace.com/tr1ckz pmbaseball7

    Didn’t Mark Lowe come back from a torn labrum? That is actually a phenomenal feat to be able to still throw 95 after that type of injury.
    I agree that Griffey would have to be the M’s last resort as a LF DH sign. I would be so happy if he did come back to Seattle, it would bring in a ton of fans even if we weren’t winning. If Abreu and Dunn are available of course go after one of them first. Griffey doesn’t exactly fit into the M’s future plans so either we sign him this year or maybe in the next 2, but after that it is doubtful the M’s would sign him.

  • lamlor

    It was my understanding that the M’s would not lose a pick if they signed any free agent regardless of the free agents ranking. I think it was either the bottom 14 or 15 teasm in the league are not subject to losing a pick if they signed a free agent. This was inserted by the league to ehlp the lower teams out and to encourage them to sign free agents w/o being punished by losing a pick.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Hey lamlor, welcome to the site.

    If Seattle were to sign a Type-A free agent, their first round pick is indeed protected (as well as the other top 15 picks). Instead, they would lose a high second round pick, and that is what people are referring to. It’s not as bad, but still not worth it for certain players.

  • lamlor

    Jon- Thanks for the clarification. I heard it on Baseball Tonight and they didn’t go into enough detail regarding this.

    I would not give up a second round pick either especially after the Putz trade. That was a clear message that we are building towards 2010 so giving up drafts picks would only go against that.

    I have followed the M’s since their 2nd season and I am only now finding this great site (I realize the site hasn’t been around as long). I try to read all I can on them (we just moved in July about 15 minutes from the Peoria ballpark) and I really think they are taking the right approach.

    I wrote on the PI site in spring training that instead of trading for Bedard we should actually go the other direction and trade all/most of our veterans and build for 2009. It was obvious to me that we were nowhere near 1 pitcher away from contending with the Angels. Sacrifice a year a rebuild. I guess I was a year off.

    You can’t correct your problems if you are not aware you have any. Bavasi wasn’t aware (or he was wishful thinking in order to keep his job), but I am glad to see Z is aware and he is making the right choices.

    I was at all the playoff games in 1995 and I want to feel that energy again. I was able to go to a couple of Cubs games this year at Wrigley in August against the Mets and the Phillies and there is nothing like it in the world for a sports fan. Every M’s fan should go East and experience it once and then they will know what they are really missing. All I keep reading is how most of our fans would be happy just to see Jr. return and that is sad. Nothing against Jr., but competing again would be my first and only wish. Jr. would be a great subplot.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    For what it’s worth…

    I sent this to Jon Heyman:

    How are you connecting Oliver Perez to the Seattle Mariners? Is this just blind speculation, or is there something to it? Perez seems like the last guy in the world Seattle would pursue right now.

    He responded with:

    slightly more than blind speculation. probably not a great chance, tho. thanks, jon

    So there you have it.