A year ago, it was the Yankees who began the winter with their pockets full of cash, ready to spend on the best free agents, and after locking up CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, they went on to win the World Series. This winter, the team most flush with money is the Seattle Mariners -- they've cleared tens of millions of dollars from their payroll since the beginning of the 2009 season.
The Mariners already have signed Chone Figgins to add to an excellent core of defense and pitching, and if Seattle wanted to land Jason Bay, the Mariners probably have the wherewithal to make that happen. But the Mariners believe that right-handed power hitters probably aren't a great fit in their park, that Bay isn't a perfect match for their defense-minded philosophy, and that while they are hopeful that No. 1 pick Dustin Ackley might make a shift to second base, they will resist assuming that this is going to happen and will keep their left-field option open for him.
The Mariners have the money to make a big push for John Lackey, but again, it will not be a headlong, blank-check kind of pursuit, because Seattle knows that the Lackey deal would set up the foundation for negotiations that ultimately are more important to the franchise -- the Felix Hernandez contract talks. If the Mariners go out and aggressively spend on Lackey, at $16 million a year or north of that, Hernandez's representative would ask, naturally, for a lot more. It's the same quandary that the St. Louis Cardinals have in their talks with Matt Holliday: If they give Holliday $22 million or $23 million, in two years Albert Pujols would be looking for A-Rod kind of money.
So the Mariners' interest in Lackey is serious, but expected to be measured, as well, against what is best for the team down the road.
Adrian Beltre's decision to turn down arbitration freed up money for the Mariners. The agent for King Felix says there is no stress in the early talks, Larry Stone writes. A market is developing for Bay, writes Nick Cafardo.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Braves now have a budget problem on their hands after Rafael Soriano accepted their offer of arbitration. They had hoped that Soriano would turn down arbitration so that they would be set up for draft picks, but as it stands, Soriano took a bite out of the money that they intended to spend on some hitters. It figures that Soriano will ask for a trade now, but the Braves might have difficulty moving him without eating a sizable chunk of his salary. Braves GM Frank Wren told reporters that this development would not alter their team-building for 2010; it probably just complicates it.
There are already indications that Soriano will ask for a trade, which would require his approval if it were to happen before June 15.
2. The Cardinals have agreed to terms with Brad Penny, and GM John Mozeliak says this won't end his team's pursuit of Matt Holliday. It's hard to see how Holliday could fit into a budget of under $100 million unless he is willing to play for $7 million or $8 million less than what teams say his asking price is.
3. The Angels are taking a serious look at Jason Bay and Hideki Matsui, writes Mike DiGiovanna.
4. The Tigers, Diamondbacks and Yankees discussed a possible three-way deal that would've concluded with Curtis Granderson's going to the Yankees, but two of the teams couldn't reach an agreement. Heard this: The only way the threads of this would be picked up would be if one of the teams that disagreed with the proposal does a dramatic turnaround from its stance of Monday.
5. Heard this: As of 7 p.m. on Monday night, the Giants were not close to completing a deal for Dan Uggla, who is going to be moved, one way or the other, because of the steep salary he will make through arbitration next season.
6. Heard this: Coco Crisp is generating some serious interest from about a half-dozen teams, some of whom would probably be willing to pay him at the $3 million to $4 million level for 2010.
7. The Indians are using these winter meetings to explore trade opportunities involving Kerry Wood, writes Paul Hoynes.
8. The Brewers are closing in on a three-year deal for Randy Wolf, writes Tom Haudricourt.
9. Red Sox prospect Casey Kelly has decided to focus on pitching, writes Amalie Benjamin.
10. Carl Pavano is going back to the Twins, writes La Velle Neal.
11. The Cubs remain confident that they can trade Milton Bradley, writes Paul Sullivan.
12. The Mets continue to try to move Luis Castillo in a trade, writes Ben Shpigel. The Mets are desperate for a No. 2 starter, writes John Harper.
13. Heard this: With the Brian Bruney trade, the Yankees set themselves up with the No. 1 pick in the Rule 5 draft, and they already know who they are going to take.
14. Our colleague Jayson Stark reported that the Phillies are taking offers for Joe Blanton, which makes you wonder if they are quietly trying to clear salary space for a possible run at Roy Halladay.
15. Heard this: The Red Sox do not have serious interest in Rich Harden.
16. The O's are eyeing Erik Bedard and Kevin Millwood, writes Jeff Zrebiec.
17. The Tigers are having a whole lot of conversations about Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson, writes Lynn Henning.
18. The Nationals traded for Brian Bruney and later signed Pudge Rodriguez to a two-year deal, Ben Goessling writes.
19. As expected, Rafael Betancourt accepted salary arbitration.
20. The Nationals are not interested in trading Josh Willingham, says manager Jim Riggleman -- unless it's for the right return. The Giants are among the interested teams.
21. Alex Anthopoulos is not talking much about his Roy Halladay talks, writes Richard Griffin.
22. Jose Valverde turned down the Astros' offer of arbitration.
23. Julio Borbon will be a starter for the Rangers in 2010, as the center fielder, writes Evan Grant. The Rangers are trying to boost their bullpen, writes Jeff Wilson.
24. The Rays spent the day refuting bogus rumors, writes Marc Topkin.
25. The Yankees are looking at pitching and left field, Tyler Kepner writes.
26. The Dodgers' payroll is not likely to decrease, says Ned Colletti.
27. The Phillies are trying to add pitching while pinching pennies. They are done with Brett Myers, writes Paul Hagen.
28. The Pirates are in trade talks over some of their arbitration-eligible guys, and have threatened to non-tender Matt Capps.
29. Ryne Sandberg is a threat to lame-duck Lou Piniella, writes Chris De Luca.
30. Reds GM Walt Jocketty says he likes his club.
31. Justin Duchscherer opted for free agency.
32. The Royals are looking at some second-line options at catcher.
33. The Padres will make baseball decisions, says Jeff Moorad.
Notables
• Doug Harvey and Whitey Herzog were elected to the Hall of Fame, Tyler Kepner writes. Like a lot of folks, I don't understand why Marvin Miller is not in the Hall; he had a dramatic impact on the sport. Herzog had some advice for Mark McGwire and Tony La Russa.
• Maybe the teams' clubhouse honchos are inspired by the philosophy of the Marriotts or the Westins or one of the other hotel chains, but the folks who oversee the management of the clubhouse for the 30 teams met to discuss standardizing what is available for all visiting teams. In other words, if the Florida Marlins travel to Washington, they'll have the same equipment and same food that is available to them if they were in Pittsburgh. And there is a concerted effort on the part of all teams to get junk food out of the clubhouses and to have nutritionist-approved fare available to players. It's just another sign that baseball is viewed by the people who run it, at all levels, as a serious business, and the players are regarded as the machines that must be properly maintained and operated.
• Mark Simon of ESPN Research had a statistical perspective on the Penny signing. A number of pitchers have signed one-year deals in the $7-8 million range since 2004. Here's how they fared:
'08 Jon Garland -- Diamondbacks -- 11-13, 4.01 ERA (Diamondbacks/Dodgers)
'08 Randy Johnson -- Giants -- 8-6, 4.88 ERA
'07 Kenny Rogers -- Tigers -- 9-13, 5.70 ERA
'07 Tom Glavine -- Braves -- 2-4, 5.54 ERA
'06 Randy Wolf -- Dodgers -- 9-6, 4.73 ERA
'04 Kevin Millwood -- Indians -- 9-11, 2.86 ERA
'04 Al Leiter -- Marlins -- 7-12, 6.13 ERA (Marlins/Yankees)
Other stuff
• Lou Piniella says Milton Bradley would thrive in the low-pressure environment of Tampa Bay.
• Ozzie Guillen says he wasn't drinking with Miguel Cabrera.
• It's Dennis Mannion who is running the Dodgers' baseball operations, and not Ned Colletti, writes T.J. Simers.
• The Tigers must do whatever it takes to keep Justin Verlander, writes Michael Rosenberg.
• The Pirates are banking on a youth plan for their success, writes Dejan Kovacevic.
• Richard Justice has some advice for Ed Wade -- pitching, pitching and more pitching.
• Hideki Matsui might be a fit for the White Sox.
• Billy Wagner talked shop with David O'Brien.
• Fredi Gonzalez went deer hunting with Bobby Cox.
• The Marlins' next second baseman won't have the same home run pop as Dan Uggla, writes Clark Spencer.
• A doctor cited in the Mitchell Report wound up getting sentenced to six months of home confinement, writes Michael O'Keeffe.