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From ESPN: Notable non-tender candidates (2011 salary) Carlos Gomez, CF -- Milwaukee Brewers ($1.5 million)
He will be the next big signing out of Japan, and it appears that the Cubs, Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers, Nationals, and Mariners will be among the bidders. Two sources familiar with Japanese baseball think the posting fee for Darvish will be nowhere near the $51 million the Sox put up for Daisuke Matsuzaka. “I think we may never see something that high again,’’ said one source. “But one could expect a posting fee in the high $20 millions.’’ Another source said, “He’s going to be a legitimate No. 3 starter because he has the rare combination of being a hard thrower with command. The command is the big thing with Japanese pitchers, and I think that’s what separates him from someone like Daisuke Matsuzaka.’’
Hope tonight soured people on Jackson. Just not a fan.
He's just ... Average. Basically, he's the right-handed brother version of Lannan
Edwin Jackson won't be much coveted as a free agentC.J. Wilson is nearly three years older, throws about 4 mph slower and is almost but not quite as durable.In this postseason, neither has sparkled. Wilson is 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA in four starts; Jackson 1-0 with a 5.84 heading into his fourth start on Sunday night.Overall, Jackson is 60-60 with a 4.46 ERA in his career; Wilson 43-35 with a 3.60.Based on age, Jackson would rate an edge on the free-agent market. Based on their career ERAs, Wilson would seem to be favored.Well, the edge goes to Wilson "and it's not even close," a scout says.The differences: Command and consistency. Jackson is lacking in both.While Wilson ranks among AL walks leaders in his two seasons as a starter, he's a control artist compared to Jackson. From start to start, Jackson's ability to put the ball where he wants varies as much as the time he takes between pitches (Sometimes he's slow, other times he's very slow).He's good enough to throw a no-hitter but he needed 149 pitches to do so, thanks in large part to eight walks. Since he debuted on his 20th birthday, Jackson has pitched for the Dodgers, Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, White Sox and Cardinals."There's a reason he's been with so many teams," the scout says. "He's good enough for teams to want but not good enough for teams to keep. They get frustrated with him."Control is not the only issue. So is Jackson's stuff. While he throws hard, he throws mostly four-seam fastballs that lack the movement of a two-seamer like Wilson's.Jackson likely will be making his last start for the Cardinals at Rangers Ballpark in Game 4. With five starters under contract for 2012, the club has no room for Jackson. He hopes to last longer than the two innings he went in Game 6 of the N.L.C.S. last Sunday."I was kind of tentative," he said at a news conference on Saturday. "Definitely I'll come out being aggressive from the first pitch. If it doesn't go the way I planned it, I'll definitely be giving 110 percent effort. Hopefully it goes well."His free-agent case could use a boost.
Matt Kemp, +8.7 WAR, 27 years oldMike Napoli, +5.9 WAR, 30 years oldHowie Kendrick, +5.8 WAR, 28 years oldCole Hamels, +4.9 WAR, 28 years oldBrandon McCarthy, +4.7 WAR, 28 years oldMiguel Montero, +4.3 WAR, 28 years oldMelky Cabrera, +4.2 WAR, 27 years oldMichael Bourn, +4.2 WAR, 29 years oldB.J. Upton, +4.1 WAR, 27 years oldErick Aybar, +4.0 WAR, 28 years oldAnibal Sanchez, +3.8 WAR, 28 years oldJohn Danks, +3.2 WAR, 27 years oldThat list doesn’t even include Shaun Marcum, Carlos Quentin, Delmon Young, Jeremy Guthrie, Francisco Liriano, or Jonathan Sanchez, all of whom are also 5+ year arbitration eligibles, but are probably going to end up just going year to year due to some questions about their performances in 2011. It also doesn’t include a few other arbitration-eligible guys who could be in line for some serious money this winter; Jacoby Ellsbury (a 4+ service time guy who could hit the jackpot coming off his monster 2011 season), Tim Lincecum (a 4+ service time guy who is likely to break all arbitration records) and Clayton Kershaw (a 3+ service time guy who also could parlay his fantastic year into a big contract if he wants). When you add in potential extension talks for guys whose current contracts expire in time to make them free agents next winter – Zack Greinke, Josh Hamilton, Yadier Molina, and Shane Victorino are all in that boat – you quickly find a very crowded pool of players who would normally be in line for a long term contract. When teams start looking at the free agents beyond the big five, they’re going to start seeing pretty compelling reasons not to give out deals that stretch too far into the future. Unfortunately for those free agents, these teams have other options this winter. Unlike last year, where it was essentially free agency or do nothing, teams this year will be able to turn to the trade market and find a near-endless supply of quality players who may be pricing themselves out of their current teams plans, and would be available as either one-year rentals or players who teams could acquire and then extend in lieu of signing a mid-tier free agent.
The Rangers almost surely would be out of the C.J. Wilson bidding if it reaches five years and $75MM, hears Heyman. A Rangers person tells Heyman Wilson hasn't actually named an exact asking price. The lefty is looking forward to free agency and noted to Heyman that he doesn't have a wife, a child, or a dog, implying the decision will be entirely his. The Nationals, Marlins, and Royals are likely to pursue Wilson, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Morosi tweeted that the Phillies have declined the options on Lidge & Oswalt.
I'd take Oswalt for two over Wilson for five or six any day
Kemp would look pretty good in DC.
