Alex Gordon Rumors
Quick Hits: Yankees, Royals, Orioles, Hochevar
MLBTR would like to wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas. Here's tonight's look around baseball..
- Yankees catcher Austin Romine could make an impact this season following the departure of Russell Martin, writes MLB.com's Bernie Pleskoff. Martin signed a two-year, $17MM deal with the Pirates in November. The Yankees still could make a play for a starting catcher, but as it stands, they'll head into spring training with Romine, Chris Stewart, and Francisco Cervelli.
- Royals left fielder Alex Gordon appreciates the moves that General Manager Dayton Moore has made in order to win in the short-term, writes Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star. “To be honest, it seems like we’ve been sitting on prospects the last six years...It’s given them that option to be able to do that and go get a guy like James Shields and some of the other guys they’ve picked up. Yeah, it’s a risk-reward, but it’s something that you sometimes need to pull off," said the soon-to-be 29-year-old. Gordon is signed through the next three seasons with a player option in 2016.
- Some have theorized that the Orioles won't be able to bank on the good fortune that they enjoyed last season in 2013, but Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com notes that the club has plenty of setbacks to overcome. The O's roadblocks led them to go through 52 players in the regular season and 178 roster moves in total.
- While many Royals fans would like to see them dump Luke Hochevar and Jeff Francoeur, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter) doesn't see either player being given away for nothing. Either player could be traded, but Kansas City will want something of consequence in return. The Royals reportedly called the Rockies about Hochevar earlier this month, but nothing materialized from those talks.
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looked ahead to the biggest storylines of 2013. The Blue Jays now find themselves at center stage after acquiring R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, and others this offseason. The Dodgers will also feel immense pressure to win as they'll claim the highest payroll in baseball in 2013.
- Left-hander Scott Kazmir is grateful for another shot at the major leagues, writes Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. The soon-to-be 29-year-old inked a minor league deal with the Indians late last week. Kazmir last pitched at an All-Star level in 2008, when he posted a 3.49 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.
NL East Notes: Santana, Braves, Reed Johnson
Here are a few Wednesday morning NL East updates out of Nashville:
- The Mets would be open to eating a portion of the money remaining on Johan Santana's deal in a trade, but so far the team hasn't received any inquiries, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- The Braves are seeking a pair of bench players, one right-handed hitter and one lefty, says David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Reed Johnson appears to be the team's top target as a righty bat, though he's still exploring his options, according to GM Frank Wren: "We’ve expressed an interest in bringing him back. He’s expressed an interest in coming back. But we’re just not there yet."
- Atlanta also continues to explore trades for impact bats, according to O'Brien, who says the Braves are believed to have inquired on Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Dexter Fowler, and Shin-Soo Choo, among others.
- Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com looks into the remaining items on the Nationals' offseason to-do list.
Royals, Mets Discussed R.A. Dickey
The Royals have talked to the Mets about R.A. Dickey as they continue to search for a top-of-the-rotation starter, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reported this week that the Royals have had discussions about trading Wil Myers for Jon Lester or James Shields.
The Royals aren’t looking to trade Myers and have no interest in moving Salvador Perez, Heyman writes. Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are close to untouchable and the Royals aren’t inclined to trading Alcides Escobar, either. Instead, the Royals would prefer to send the Mets younger prospects in a deal for Dickey.
If the Royals were to acquire Dickey, the 2012 NL Cy Young winner, he’d join Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana and others in Kansas City.
"Our rotation is going to better, but we're still looking for the opportunity to improve on what we've done,'' Royals GM Dayton Moore told Heyman.
The Royals seem interested in trading Luke Hochevar and Bruce Chen. Doing so might free up salary for Moore, who now has up to $6MM to spend, according to Heyman.
The Mets have explored the possibility of a contract extension with Dickey, who will earn $5MM in 2013 before hitting free agency. If they trade the knuckleballer, they’d prefer a catcher and outfield help.
Silverman's Latest: Greinke, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald that he was unsure if he'd be able to acquire Miguel Cabrera (and Dontrelle Willis) in 2007. “A lot of clubs were involved and I didn’t think it was going to work for us for where we were financially,” said Dombrowski. “Once we sat down with the Marlins, it took us just a day to work out that deal. It happened very fast.”
Here are Silverman's rumors...
- The Dodgers are the favorite to sign Zack Greinke according to an insider. Both the Angels and Rangers are said to be "on the outside looking in."
- The Royals are listening to offers for Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and even Wil Myers. The Rays, meanwhile, are listening on James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson.
- Despite their pending blockbuster, keep an eye on the Blue Jays and the pitching market. Silverman suggests that Anibal Sanchez and Edwin Jackson could be in play for Toronto.
- The Blue Jays are shopping their three catchers (John Buck, J.P. Arencibia, and Travis d'Arnaud) but are leaning towards Arencibia or d'Arnaud.
Royals, Alex Gordon Agree To Extension
6:10pm: The deal is worth $37.5MM over four years with a player option for 2016 at $12.5MM, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Gordon will earn $6MM for 2012, $9MM for 2013, $10MM for 2014, and $12.5MM for 2015, Dutton tweets.
5:40pm: The Royals announced that they have reached a contract extension with leftfielder Alex Gordon. The contract includes four guaranteed years through the 2015 season with a player option for 2016. The Excel Sports Management client would have been eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
Its been a busy spring for General Manager Dayton Moore who signed off on a five-year, $7MM extension for Salvador Perez and a new deal for Alcides Escobar who could earn up to $21.75MM through 2017. Eric Hosmer could also be an extension candidate but earlier this week the first baseman said that he is in no rush to sign a multi-year deal.
Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed but Gordon could potentially hold the richest deal in club history. To date, the largest deal in Kansas City's history has been $55MM, the amount given to both Gil Meche and Mike Sweeney.
Gordon, 28, hit .303/.376/.502 with 23 homers in 690 plate appearances in 2011. Last season marked Gordon's first as a full-time outfielder.
Quick Hits: Guerrero, Lee, Gordon, Giolito
The Yankees signed Orlando Hernandez to a four-year, $6.6MM contract on this date 14 years ago. El Duque posted a 3.96 ERA in six seasons with New York and also made a number of memorable postseason starts as the Yankees won three consecutive World Series titles. Hernandez expressed interest in making a comeback as recently as last year, before officially retiring in August. Here are today's links...
- Agent Fern Cuza told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Vladimir Guerrero “still wants to play.” Guerrero is waiting the right opportunity and has a strong preference for contenders (Twitter links).
- Free agent first baseman Derrek Lee is open to the right opportunity and doesn’t plan to officially retire, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
- Negotiations between the Royals and Alex Gordon are in their early stages, but are expected to pick up later this spring, according to Rosenthal. Gordon will almost certainly look to sign for more than $55MM, the current Royals record, Rosenthal writes.
- It’s too early to predict which team will select high school right-hander Lucas Giolito, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). Giolito sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow yesterday.
Quick Hits: Royals, Heyward, Diamondbacks
On this date 25 years ago Andre Dawson signed a one-year, $650K contract with the Cubs. Owners were colluding against players at the time, and Dawson had even offered the Cubs a blank check earlier that winter. Dawson would go on to win the 1987 NL MVP, though the Cubs finished last in the NL East that year. Here are today's links...
- The Royals have been grinding through negotiations with Alex Gordon and it won’t be surprising if they complete an extension with the outfielder, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes.
- Jason Heyward and Travis Snider are among the former top prospects who struggled in 2011, but still have potential, ESPN.com's Keith Law writes.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic identifies the Blue Jays, Angels, Padres or Red Sox as teams with catching depth that could match up with the Diamondbacks on possible trades. However, there doesn't seem to be any real chance of the Diamondbacks acquiring Nick Hundley or Yasmani Grandal from the Padres any time soon.
Extension Updates: Garza, Kennedy, Gordon, Hamilton
The Cardinals and Yadier Molina are closing in on a five-year deal in the $70-75MM range. Here are more updates on extension talks around the league...
- The Cubs will sit down and discuss a deal with Matt Garza, GM Jed Hoyer told David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. "We're hoping to get something worked out, but you never know and we'll keep it private when we do," Hoyer said. Garza also expressed enthusiasm about an extension, a possibility I discussed during the offseason.
- Ian Kennedy is open to a possible extension with the Diamondbacks, Steve Gilbert of MLB.comreports. The pre-arbitration eligible right-hander said agent Scott Boras hasn't discussed a deal with the team, as far as he knows.
- Asdrubal Cabrera said he doesn't want to jump from team to team and hopes to finish his career in Cleveland, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports. The Indians have discussed an extension with Cabrera, who is set to earn $4.55MM in 2012.
- When the Royals announced major contractual news yesterday, many assumed Alex Gordon had signed an extension. The outfielder says there's "nothing new" on that front, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The extension went to catcher Salvador Perez, in case you missed it.
- Texas assistant GM Thad Levine joined Mike Ferrin and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio and said the Rangers and Josh Hamilton have a different idea of what a long-term deal would mean (via Bowden on Twitter).
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News wonders if a five-year, $65MM extension might make sense for the Phillies and Shane Victorino right now. The outfielder is scheduled to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs examines the Molina deal and decides that the Cardinals' decision looks better upon close examination. Cameron explains that Molina is a premium player, even though he's not signing at a bargain rate by any stretch.
Royals To Make Major Announcement
The Royals will make a major announcement concerning the contract status of one of their players in 40 minutes, the team announced. GM Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost will attend the press conference.
Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer are among the extension candidates on the Royals' roster. Yahoo's Jeff Passan hears the deal isn't for Gordon (Twitter links). Yahoo's Tim Brown hears no Hosmer deal is imminent (Twitter link). Roy Oswalt is not signing with the Royals today, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (Twitter link).
Central Links: Gordon, Molina, Astros, Braun
Seven years ago today, the Cubs traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Tigers for Scott Moore, Roberto Novoa, and Bo Flowers. Farnsworth spent half-a-season in Detroit before being traded to the Braves at the deadline. Here's the latest on baseball's two central divisions...
- Alex Gordon told Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star that he and his agent wanted to work out a one-year deal for 2012 before discussing a longer contract (Twitter link). He also confirmed that the Royals have offered him a long-term deal. Gordon avoided arbitration with a one-year pact earlier today.
- "I love the city. I love the fans, I love the park. But it's out of my hands," said Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when asked about a new contract (Twitter links). "Whatever they like to do is how it is ... They let Albert [Pujols] go. It's business for the team, too. It's out of my hands." Molina can become a free agent after the season.
- "We're very active in terms of looking at transactions that are happening out there," said Astros GM Jeff Luhnow to Examiner.com's Stephen Goff. "Right now, most of the free agents have signed. Roy Oswalt is probably the last guy out there. We've got our fingers in everything. Are we actively looking to move a player or sign somebody at this point? No. We have got 61 guys coming to camp. From that group of 61, we believe we can get a real good 25-man roster to start the season."
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that the arbitrator in Ryan Braun's case won't be limited to the usual 25-day window, so a decision isn't necessarily expected by this Sunday. The Brewers slugger is appealing his failed banned substance test.
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