Brian Fuentes has until this Sunday to accept or decline the Colorado Rockies' offer of arbitration. Fuentes could make $10M on a one-year deal if he accepts and wins his arbitration case, but does anyone seriously believe Fuentes would accept that at this point? Though Dan O'Dowd has said nothing would surprise him with the state of the economy, Fuentes accept arbitration would be a surprise to me. Given the comments Fuentes' agent has made over the last month, Fuentes would need to have a serious change of heart this week to take himself off the free agent market.
Of course, the Rockies will get two picks for Fuentes when he does sign somewhere else. But the Arizona Diamondbacks will receive five draft picks all together after offering arbitration to Type A free agents Juan Cruz and Orlando Hudson and Type B free agent Brandon Lyon. The total would have been seven had they offered Adam Dunn, a Type A free agent, arbitration.
The Los Angeles Dodgers offered arbitration to Type A free agents Manny Ramirez and Derek Lowe and Type B free agent Casey Blake. The Dodgers did not offer arbitration to Type B free agent Joe Beimel, whom the Rockies have interest in. The blog entry incorrectly states Beimel (and a few other Dodger free agents) to be Type A. Thomas Harding also incorrectly writes that Beimel would have cost the signing team a draft pick had he been offered arbitration. So, the Dodgers not offering arbitration to Beimel really doesn't work in favor of the Rockies or any other team since he was never going to cost a draft pick in the first place.
Larry Walker turned 42 yesterday. Texas Rangers fans think about what they would have lost had Walker not vetoed a trade to there in 2004.