Update: HOLLIDAY A CARD 7yr/120 million, p178

[Eephus Speed]

Mo's been our GM for only 2 years and he's already traded for a star player. It's just that the star player (Holliday) chose to go to free agency.

[robbotis]

Did I hear Cusamano correctly? KFNS is saying it appears done? 5 years $89 million w/ some options. Holliday's a Bird?

[Jocephus]

Did I hear Cusamano correctly? KFNS is saying it appears done? 5 years $89 million w/ some options. Holliday's a Bird?

is he at the airport?

[Jocephus]

from olney's blog (from mlbtraderumors)

Olney guesses that Matt Holliday will ultimately sign for five years and $82.5-85MM, with options and/or incentives that could "dress it up as a deal that could be worth over $100MM."

[Radbird]

From Bernie:

Does Scott Boras Have a Plan B?

1. Does Scott Boras Have an Escape Route? Now that LF Jason Bay has agreed to terms with the NY Mets (pending physical exam), I don’t see a landing spot for Matt Holliday. With Bay heading to the Mets, the Cardinals don’t have to worry about the Mets making a late, panicky move to overpay Holliday in an effort to appease an increasingly agitated fan base and win kudos from the NY baseball media. As ESPN’s Buster Olney has written, it’s believed that the Cardinals offered Holliday a five-year deal for around $80 million. Boras turned it down. Boston came in with a five-year, $82.5 million offer, and Boras rejected it. The Red Sox moved on, investing the money in starting pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron.

So where does Boras go now? We’ve heard a lot of talk this offseason about various “Plan B” alternatives for the Cardinals and their GM, John Mozeliak. But at least up to this point, Mozeliak’s read on the free-agent market for Holliday has been pretty much spot on. And so now we’ll see if Boras has a Plan B. Unless another mystery team unexpectedly emerges to entice Holliday, I’m not sure what the Boras options are. Sure, he can try and squeeze more money out of the Cardinals in an effort to top Bay’s annual average of $16.5 million a year. But unless another team is bidding against the Cardinals, why would Mozeliak bid against himself by raising the payout to Holliday? Unless there is a dramatic development that saves the tricky Boras here, it seems as if we are nearing the end game. Unless Boras is Jack Bauer, I’m not seeing how he spins out of this one without getting a deal done with St. Louis.

2. Well, Are There Any Mystery Teams? Who could bail Boras out? Well, we’re always wary of the NY Yankees, because they have the money to spend. It’s just a matter of being willing to spend it. But the Yankees have been steadfast and adamant in stressing their lack of interest in Holliday. The Yankees have Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to re-sign after 2010, and they want to hold back some funds just in case Joe Mauer becomes a free agent and leaves Minnesota after next season.

And do the Yankees really need to invest, long-term, in a LF? Here’s a good analysis from Dave Cameron at FanGraphs.com; he explains why it makes little sense for the Yankees to go after Holliday.

And Rob Neyer endorses that view over at ESPN.com.

And they’re right. I went back and checked the LF spot for previous Yankee World Series championships of the era. And the Yanks went with a time share, as is the plan for this season. In 1996, LF was handled by Gerald Williams, Tim Raines, Ruben Sierra and Darryl Strawberry. In 1998, LF was manned by Chad Curtis, Raines, Ricky Ledee. In 2000, LF was the habitat of Ledee, Shane Spencer, David Justice, Luis Polonia and Ryan Thompson.

Recent history tells us that the Yankees — who have so much talent elsewhere on the roster — don’t need a big-ticket contract in left field.

OK, any lurkers out there? The Red Sox say they have little payroll space for 2010. OK, so do the Red Sox reconsider and float the idea of a backloaded contract that would pay Holliday a low salary in 2010, and much larger salaries as the deal evolves in subsequent season? Do the Los Angeles Angels reconsider their no-Boras policy? Does Baltimore do something stupid?

Or does Boras decide to think about pitching a short-term contract to interested teams in a gamble that the market will be better in a year or two? You can’t rule anything out with Boras. But all signs, for now, still point to St. Louis.

[Eephus Speed]

Recent history tells us that the Yankees — who have so much talent elsewhere on the roster — don’t need a big-ticket contract in left field.

It is because they have so much talent elsewhere on the roster. Not because going cheap in LF has worked for them in the past.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Did I hear Cusamano correctly? KFNS is saying it appears done? 5 years $89 million w/ some options. Holliday's a Bird?

I just choked reading this. Are you serious?

[Faceman]

here comes to push to 200 pages.

[sighyoung]

I'm losing track here. I've already had to remember where I was when Mo made his take-it-or-leave-it offer, where I was when Boston topped that offer, where I was when Holliday rejected Boston's offer, where I was when the Yankees possibly entered the fray with a deal with Atlanta, where I was when the Yankees reiterated a lack of interest, where I was when the Mets became interested, where I was when the Mets closed in on Bay, and now where I was when Cusamano started another rumor?

[Leroy]

Your forgetting when the Hakkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters generous offer of a billion yen per over 15 years and all the takoyaki he can eat.

Or did I dream that?