Baseball Notebook : Hot Stove League Roundup
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by Niteowl049
Yankees, Red Sox Battle to Sign Santana
The Yankees and Red Sox are pulling out all stops to acquire Johan Santana as it is now reported the Red Sox are willing to give up Jacoby Ellsbury as part of a deal to get Santana into a Red Sox uniform. Recently the Yankees have changed Phillip Hughes from being an untouchable to being part of a Santana trade. Yankees need Santana a lot more than the Red Sox with the uncertainty of their starting staff with no decision yet on whether Andy Pettitte will retire this winter. It is looking more and more like Santana will wind up with the Yankees or Red Sox because neither team wants him to sign with the other so will include more good players in a trade hoping the Twins will agree to a trade. The beneficiary of the struggle to acquire Santana between the Yankees and the Red Sox is that the Twins might get a starting pitcher and a regular position player in return. With the winter meetings starting today we may see a deal go down this week. If Red Sox lose Ellsbury in a trade they will still be left with a center field problem since Coco Crisp seems to not be included in the Red Sox plans as the regular centerfielder in 2008. Whether a deal is made should be known as early as today since Hank Steinbrenner wants a yes or no answer from the Twins today. If Yankees fall out of contention for Santana the Red Sox may be more likely to not offer Ellsbury as part of a trade package since the Yankees won't get Santana anyway.
Dodgers Interested in Andruw Jones
The Dodgers are reportedly interested in signing Andruw Jones but not to a five year contract like he wants but even a shorter contract could work to his advantage if he has a more productive season and could demand more money. His 2007 season was not the kind of season a free agent would want before going on the market. In 2007 his .222 average was the lowest average of any Braves regular player. His 26 home runs were 15 less than his 41 in 2006 and 25 less than his 51 in 2005. He had not hit this few home runs since 1999 when he hit 26 that year. His .222 batting average was his lowest in any season in which he batted at least 400 times. His .311 on base percentage was his lowest since his rookie season. The .413 slugging average was the lowest of his major league career. Last season he hit a home run every 22.5 times at bat while in 2005 when he hit 51 home runs he homered every 11.5 at bats. Jones would be a huge upgrade over Juan Pierre in centerfield for the Dodgers. Pierre is pretty much a two tool player with his speed and hitting for average while Jones would be a four tool player since he doesn't steal bases like he did earlier in his career. Pierre probably would move to left if Jones is signed to a contract. The Dodgers have to decide whether to pay a lot of money for Jones and hope he doesn't continue his fadeout in Los Angeles or to let some of their young outfielders play everyday at a much lower cost.
Rowand Offered Arbitration
Aaron Rowand has been offered arbitration by the Phillies and I think the Phillies should make every effort to sign him before going to arbitration hearing. Rowand had his second best batting average with a .309 average and had career highs in home runs with 27, runs batted in with 89, total bases with 315, extra base hits with 72, doubles with 45. His 189 hits were 33 more than his previous high. Rowand excelled on defense also committing only two errors in 402 chances. The only negative for Rowand was that after the 17th of September he had only one home run and two RBI's but in his defense he hit seven home runs and drove in 16 runs in August a month that Chase Utley played only four games so he picked up his game while Utley was out of action.
