Winter Meetings In Review: American League

By Zach Links [December 6, 2012 at 11:55pm CST]

We covered the National League earlier, now it's time to go over the American League's activity at the winter meetings..

Angels:

The Angels are prepared to move on from Zack Greinke and have cast a wide net in their search for another starter. Edwin Jackson and Anibal Sanchez were among some of the names connected to the Halos, who also saw Dan Haren sign elsewhere.
The Angels agreed to terms with righty Joe Blanton on a two-year, $15MM deal.
Lefty Sean Burnett signed a two-year, $8MM deal with an option for a third year.

Astros:

The Astros landed starter Alex White and minor leaguer Alex Gillingham in exchange for Wilton Lopez.
Teams called the Astros on Bud Norris.
Houston has been in touch with Lance Berkman.

Athletics:

Blue Jays:

Indians:

The Indians discussed a multi-team trade that would send Justin Upton to the Rangers.
Stephen Drew is a possibility if they deal Asdrubal Cabrera. They want four prospects in exchange for the shortstop.
The Tribe met with Mark Reynolds and are in pursuit of Kevin Youkilis.

Mariners:

The M's are making a serious run at Josh Hamilton and are discussing a three-year deal with an average annual value of $20-$25MM.
Jason Bay agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal. He can earn another $2MM in incentives.
Seattle is very interested in Dee Gordon of the Dodgers.
The Mariners were linked to a number of free agents including third baseman Kevin Youkilis and outfielder Raul Ibanez.
An extension for Felix Hernandez is unlikely.

Orioles:

The O's found their leftfielder in Nate McLouth. They offered Nate Schierholtz before inking McLouth to a one-year pact.
Baltimore signed Adam Russell to a minor league deal.
The O's would like to retain Mark Reynolds but there's tons of competition for him.

Rangers:

The Rangers are pursuing Zack Greinke and Josh Hamilton but they're not going to sign both. It would appear that Greinke is their priority at the moment.
The Rangers signed Joakim Soria to be their set-up man behind Joe Nathan. Soria gets a two-year, $8MM deal with a club option for 2015.
The Phillies and Rangers are getting closer to a deal involving Michael Young and are waiting on Young to waive his no-trade clause.
The Rangers worked hard on a multi-team deal that would have them landing Justin Upton, but it hasn't gone down yet.
Teams are contacting the Rangers about Derek Holland.
Texas signed reliever Evan Meek, starter Randy Wells, first baseman Brandon Allen, and starter Jake Brigham to minor league deals.

Rays:

The Rays got themselves a shortstop when they traded infield prospect Derek Dietrich to the Marlins for Yunel Escobar.
The Rays signed first baseman James Loney to a one-year deal.
They avoided arb with Sean Rodriguez.
The Rays still have a surplus of starting pitching and a trade is increasingly likely. The Nats are among the teams that like James Shields.
They discussed Danny Espinosa and Mike Morse with Washington as well, but those talks didn't amount to a trade.
Tampa Bay has interest in the Braves' Juan Francisco.

Red Sox:

Boston made the first big splash at the meetings when they inked Mike Napoli to a three-year, $39MM pact.
Shane Victorino signed a three-year, $39MM deal with Boston. Victorino had a .255/.321/.383 line for the Dodgers and Phillies last year.
The Red Sox agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Koji Uehara.

Royals:

The Royals want a frontline starter but are looking at Jair Jurrjens and other backup options if they miss out. KC made a two-year, $26MM offer to Ryan Dempster but he turned them down.
Kansas City is open to moving Billy Butler or Wil Myers for the right deal.

Tigers: