The dominoes are beginning to fall.
Cliff Lee went off the board late Monday night, making Carl Pavano the “best” starting pitcher left standing in the free agent market, for better or worse. The Brewers had interest in signing Pavano, but were reportedly reluctant to go beyond two years. Now that they have traded for Zack Greinke, we can cross them off the list.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com tweeted a short while ago that the Twins have regained a little bit of leverage as far as retaining the free agent right-hander, and that’s probably true, but other teams who wanted Greinke, such as the Nationals or Rangers, may have more of a sense of urgency with Pavano than they did yesterday. Not necessarily a bad thing for him.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe speculated this morning that signing Pavano would take $36 million over three years. The other comparable signings out there this winter include Ted Lilly, who received $33 million over three years from the Dodgers and Jorge De La Rosa, who is essentially guaranteed $32 million over three years with the Rockies. It’s not unreasonable to think that Pavano could pocket a few extra million for holding out, especially in an environment where teams have not been hesitant about spending.
