Brad Ausmus Rumors

Dodgers "Long Shot" To Land Halladay

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers are a "long shot" to land Roy Halladay, while Los Angeles GM Ned Colletti indicated an unwillingness to add Chad Billingsley into any Halladay deal. It doesn't take much of a leap to think the former is a result of the latter. Colletti refused to discuss Halladay specifically, but said of his desire to improve the pitching staff, "We would like to improve our pitching, especially starting pitching. I don't believe we can subtract from it in order to improve it." The Dodgers have plenty of prospects for a...   Continue Reading

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Olney On Ausmus, Carroll, Prior, Penny

A few notes from ESPN's Buster Olney... Via Twitter, Olney's heard from other teams that the Reds would love to move closer Francisco Cordero. Of course, closers are plentiful and Cordero is set to earn $25MM over the next two years. I mentioned in our Reds Offseason Outlook that the team would have to eat half of that to make him mildly appealing. Similarly, the Indians would definitely listen on Kerry Wood, who is set to earn $20MM over the next two years. Olney believes other teams could join the Reds and Tigers in cost-cutting mode. He says the teams...   Continue Reading

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Ausmus, Dodgers Complete One-Year Deal

Veteran catcher Brad Ausmus and the Los Angeles Dodgers finalized a one-year, $1MM contract Monday, The Associated Press reports. The parties agreed to terms last week, and the three-time Gold Glove winner needed to take a physical. He can earn an additional $350,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. Ausmus, 40 in April, spent the past eight seasons with Houston, and he batted .218 with three home runs and 24 RBI in 81 games in 2008. He will back up catcher Russell Martin in Los Angeles. Ausmus lives in Del Mar, about 100 miles south of Los Angeles.   Continue Reading

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Dodgers To Sign Brad Ausmus

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers reached an agreement with catcher Brad Ausmus on a one-year, $1MM deal. The Padres will have to keep looking for a veteran backstop. Ausmus, 40 in April, hit .218/.303/.296 in 250 plate appearances for the Astros last year while throwing out 17.4% of attempted thieves. His value will lie in intangibles.   Continue Reading

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Padres Targeting Brad Ausmus

According to MLB.com's Corey Brock, Padres GM Kevin Towers has a veteran catcher as the final item on his offseason wish list. His good friend Brad Ausmus appears to be the target, with a resolution possible by week's end. Brock figures he could sign for less than a million bucks. The Padres traded for Ausmus back in '93 and sent him to the Tigers in the blockbuster deal of '96.   Continue Reading

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Cafardo's Latest: Manny, Dunn, Fielder

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has lots of rumors in his latest article: Apparently the Giants were willing to offer Manny Ramirez a four year deal in the form of a one year deal with three option years. No more details are known, except that the Giants remain interested in Manny. Brad Ausmus has had ongoing talks with the Padres and Dodgers, according to Cafardo's sources. The Red Sox aren't interested. The Angels, Giants and Mets are possible suitors for Xavier Nady. Cafardo's heard other clubs talking about the Red Sox and Rockies restarting the Todd Helton for Mike...   Continue Reading

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Padres Sign Chris Britton

We missed this one - apparently the Padres signed recently non-tendered reliever Chris Britton, according to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The big righty will compete for the seventh-inning role in 2009. What better place for a soft-tossing righty reliever to land than PETCO. Krasovic adds that the Padres and pitcher Kevin Correia have mutual interest. Also, while the Padres may consider Brad Ausmus, they have an eye on San Francisco catcher Eliezer Alfonzo. Alfonzo missed 50 games in 2008 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. UPDATE: The Padres signed Alfonzo to a minor league deal on...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Tazawa, Hoffman, Halladay

Links for Saturday... Junichi Tazawa is expected to announce early next week that he will sign with the Red Sox. He turned down offers from the Rangers, Mariners and Braves. The Padres recently offered to talk with Trevor Hoffman, but he hasn't responded. Tom Krasovic also has a Sandy Alderson quote that the Padres are "highly unlikely" to offer Hoffman arbitration. Robert MacLeod talked to Blue Jays insiders who believe trading ace Roy Halladay would send "the wrong signal" to fans since the Jays want to compete in 2009. Rob Neyer wonders how C.C. Sabathia's weight will affect his performance...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: El Duque, Tazawa, Ausmus

Links for Tuesday. Be sure to check back on Odds and Ends posts, as I update them throughout the day with minor links. The Jays may no longer have A.J. Burnett under contract, but they continued their claiming frenzy by adding pitcher Les Walrond. The A's re-hired Jason Giambi's strength coach. Does it mean anything? The Cardinals remain intrigued by the idea of bringing Edgar Renteria back. The Dodgers bought out catcher Gary Bennett for $50K; he's a free agent now. Mike Cameron thinks C.C. Sabathia has a good chance of re-signing with the Brewers. He says Sabathia could be...   Continue Reading

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Cafardo's Latest: Ausmus, Towles, Mariners, Giants, Sheffield, Salty

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a few items in his Sunday column... Cafardo says that the Red Sox, despite being in the market for a catcher, are not interested in Brad Ausmus. They did inquire with the Astros about J.R. Towles, who is currently in Triple A, but were told he is unavailable. One executive told Cafardo that the Mariners continue to demand other teams take entire contracts and give up prospects for players like Raul Ibanez, Jarrod Washburn and Adrian Beltre. In the cases of Ibanez and Beltre, that position is defensible. Cafardo interviewed Brian Sabean about...   Continue Reading

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