Chad Durbin Rumors

Odds & Ends: Morse, Pettitte, Miller, Durbin

Links for Wednesday, four years after the Giants signed Barry Zito to a seven-year, $126MM deal...

• Michael Morse, who broke out with 15 homers in limited playing time last year, could be pushed into a platoon role if the Nationals sign a first baseman, as Ben Goessling of MASNSports explains.
• Yankees president Randy Levine said to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News what lots of Yankee fans are thinking: the club needs Andy Pettitte in 2011. Meanwhile, Mark Teixeira says the left-hander is leaning toward retirement.
• In the same piece, Levine acknowledges that the Yankees discussed Manny Ramirez, but downplayed the team's interest.
• Mark Rodgers, the agent for Andrew Miller, told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that the lefty received big league offers from at least three teams, including the Rangers and Giants, before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
• The Phillies could fill Chad Durbin's role internally with someone younger, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Odds & Ends: Iwakuma, Heisey, White Sox, Feliciano

One year ago today, the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks finalized the trade that sent Curtis Granderson to New York, Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to Arizona and Max Scherzer and Austin Jackson to Detroit. As we await this year's answer to that 2009 blockbuster, here are some links to enjoy...

• Phil Coke, who was also in that trade, is set to move to the Tigers' rotation, but Detroit isn't desperate for left-handed relief help. Daniel Schlereth, yet another product of the trade, could be a cog in the Tigers' 'pen, so they're showing limited interest in free agents like J.C. Romero and Ron Mahay, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.
• The agent for Hisashi Iwakuma, Don Nomura, told the Associated Press (via ESPN) that the A's showed no respect for his client in their recent negotiations. The agent is clearly frustrated by what he perceives to be a lack of sincerity from Oakland.
• The D'Backs have some interest in outfielder Chris Heisey, but have yet to approach the Reds about him, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
• The Phillies are still interested in a potential deal with Chad Durbin, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• White Sox GM Kenny Williams tells Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that his team is "about tapped out" in terms of payroll flexibility (Twitter link).
• The Indians officially announced their minor league deal with Paul Phillips today.
• The Yankees met with Pedro Feliciano's representatives today, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).

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Phillies To Offer Werth Arbitration, Not Durbin

The Phillies will offer arbitration to Jayson Werth, but not to Chad Durbin, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. There's no reason not to offer Werth arbitraiton. The Type A free agent will turn down the Phillies' offer in search of a multi-year deal, so Philadelphia stands to pick up two top picks for losing him.

The Phillies are interested in bringing Durbin, a Type B free agent, back, but they're reluctant to give him a significant raise. The right-hander earned $2.125MM in 2010 and would likely have earned more in 2011 through the arbitration process. If Durbin had turned down an offer of arbitration to sign elsewhere, the Phillies could have obtained a supplementary round pick in next year's draft.

Click here to vote on which Type A free agents will be offered arbitration and here to vote on which Type B free agents will be offered arbitration.

 

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Odds & Ends: Westbrook, De La Rosa, Papelbon

Links on a busy Tuesday as the first day of the GM Meetings wraps up...

• Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says (via Twitter) the Indians "kicked the tires" on Jake Westbrook, but never formally offered him a contract before he re-signed with the Cardinals.
• FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the market for Jorge de la Rosa won't take shape until Cliff Lee signs. He's a fallback option for several teams.
• Former Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate is in talks to join the Hiroshima Carp according to MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko.
• ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Giants are currently in on just two players: Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe. 
• Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro offered a lot of "no comments" when asked about the team's interest in retaining Chad Durbin.
• SI.com's Jon Heyman says (via Twitter) the trade market for Jonathan Papelbon is "very weak," but the Red Sox are willing to pay part of what will surely be a sizable 2011 salary.
• SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that the Yankees will bid at least three years to keep Derek Jeter (Twitter link). Owner Hal Steinbrenner added that "things are going well."
• Chad Jennings of The Journal News has a quote from Yanks GM Brian Cashman: “I’ve got a small player move that I’m working on that might get done at some point this week ... But it’s small.”
• Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Yanks are still waiting to hear whether Mariano Rivera wants a one or two-year deal.
• Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Athletics are not moving Conor Jackson, though he remains a non-tender candidate. 
• Twins GM Bill Smith said it's "not at all" a question when asked if the team would tender Matt Capps a contract, according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
• John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer says that Reds GM Walt Jocketty has talked to Arthur Rhodes' agent and plans to do the same with Miguel Cairo's, but he has yet to talk to any other free agents.
• SI.com's Tom Verducci lists players available on the "secondary market" that could have a big impact, starting with Jack Cust.
• Roy Halladay's Cy Young Award netted him $250K in bonus money, tweets Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The bonus was negotiated into his original contract with Toronto.
• In the wake of Justin Upton being made available, FanGraphs' Dave Cameron examines his trade value.

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Odds & Ends: Royals, Pena, Alderson, De La Rosa

Happy 133rd birthday to Archie "Moonlight" Graham.  Arguably baseball's most famous one-game player (Eddie Gaedel also has a great case for this distinction), Moonlight Graham's only taste of the majors was one half-inning as a defensive replacement for the 1905 New York Giants.  That half-inning grew into immortality thanks to his characterization in W.P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe and its film adaptation Field Of Dreams.  Graham, who passed away in 1965, went on to become a doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota following his brief playing career.

Onto some news items...

• Dayton Moore tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the David DeJesus trade won't deepen the Royals' interest in the free agent market.  “It’s not cost effective at this time for us to be real aggressive with major-league free agents,” Moore said.
• Even if Aubrey Huff re-signs with the Giants, CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban thinks the team should look into signing Carlos Pena.
  
• Fanhouse's Tom Krasovic looks at the pros and cons of Sandy Alderson's tenure as CEO of the Padres and what Mets fans might expect from their new general manager.
• Add the Brewers, Pirates and Rangers to the list of teams believed to be interested in Jorge de la Rosa, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  We know that list already includes the Nationals, Rockies and Yankees.
• If San Francisco really has soured on Pablo Sandoval due to the Panda's conditioning issues, Fangraphs' Matt Klassen thinks other teams should be contacting the Giants about a buy-low trade.  
• During the season, an American League executive told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that Adam Dunn will stay in the NL since he genuinely wants to keep playing in the field.  However, this executive predicted "Dunn will consider AL teams at least long enough to try to use them as leverage."
• The Mets will interview Jose Oquendo about the manager's job on Monday, tweets ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin.
• Chad Durbin is receiving interest from teams as both a bullpen and rotation option, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.  Durbin has made 75 starts in his career, but none since 2007.
• Most of the free agent catching crop will wait until "the lead domino" (Victor Martinez) signs before they look at joining new teams, says Newsday's Ken Davidoff.  (Twitter link)
• Chris Coghlan will move to third base next year, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.  You can tentatively cross the Marlins off the list of teams exploring the free agent market for help at the hot corner, though it's possible Coghlan could be needed to play second if Florida trades Dan Uggla.

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Phillies Face Multiple Decisions In Offseason

With their 2010 season officially in the books, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki examined the Phillies' decisions regarding both free agency and arbitration this offseason. Here are some highlights:

• The Phillies and Jayson Werth will both say they have interest in working something out, and while that's probably true, Zolecki agrees with the common belief that Werth will be playing elsewhere in 2011. The Phillies already have $145MM committed to 16 players in 2011, and Werth's probable $15MM+ salary will be too much to add on.
• J.C. Romero's option will probably be declined due to the left-hander's injury problems and control issues (7.1 BB/9 the past two seasons).
• Jose Contreras could be this season's Chan Ho Park. Both pitched well out of the Philadelphia bullpen, but in doing so significantly raised their stock. Contreras could be in line for more money than Philadelphia wants to offer. Zolecki does note that Contreras' best friend and fellow Cuban, Danys Baez, is under contract for 2011, so that may help sway Contreras.
• Chad Durbin is 50-50 on whether or not he'd take less money than he could get on the open market to stay with the Phils. As Zolecki points out, this could be Durbin's only chance to secure a decent multiyear deal.
• Jamie Moyer, Mike Sweeney, and Greg Dobbs are all unlikely to be brought back.
• Ben Francisco will almost certainly be tendered a contract, and could platoon with Domonic Brown. Kyle Kendrick is due a raise and could be non-tendered and then re-signed at a more affordable price.

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Durbin Hopes To Return To Phillies

Chad Durbin told Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he “definitely” wants to re-sign in Philadelphia when he hits free agency this offseason. The Phillies seem to want the right-hander back, too. Manager Charlie Manuel says Durbin has “done a tremendous job” and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says the 32-year-old has “done everything” expected of him. But the Phillies have already committed over $140MM to next year’s payroll, so Durbin realizes he may not be back.

"It'll be something that's tough," Durbin said. "If somebody is offering two or three years, it'll be hard to say no to that to take a one-year deal where you really want to be."

Amaro says the Phillies have not yet discussed the possibility of signing Durbin, who now earns $2.125MM, to a multi-year deal. Durbin has averaged 60 appearances per season from 2008-10 in Manuel’s bullpen. His 3.63 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 over that three-year span are respectable, but not irreplaceable. 

As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes showed last month, the Phillies have handed out more years than necessary before, so perhaps Durbin will get to stay in Philadelphia on a multi-year deal as well. If not, other teams will show interest on the open market. Durbin now ranks as a Type B free agent, so he won’t cost other clubs a draft pick, but the Phillies will get one if they lose Durbin after offering arbitration.

 

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday

More 2010 salary agreements are expected in advance of Tuesday's noon deadline for exchanging arbitration figures.

• Chad Durbin has avoided salary arbitration, agreeing to a $2.125MM contract with the Phillies, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.  This marks an increase over the $1.635MM he received by avoiding arbitration last year.
• The Rockies signed Ryan Spilborghs to a two-year deal worth $3.25MM, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  The 30-year-old, who was arb-eligible for the first time, could earn an additional $1.15MM in incentives over the course of the deal.
• Arizona agreed to terms with right-handed pitchers Chad Qualls and Aaron Heilman, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (via Twitter).  Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets that Heilman gets $2.15MM whereas Qualls will make $4.185MM in 2010.  This was the third arbitration-eligible year for both players.
• The Bombers avoided arbitration with their last two eligible players, Chad Gaudin and Boone Logan, according to Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog.  This was Gaudin's third arbitration-eligible year and Logan's very first.  Marc Carig of the Newark Star Ledger reports that Gaudin will make $2.95MM with incentives while Logan will make $590K.
• The Rangers agreed to terms with pitcher C.J. Wilson on a one-year deal worth $3.1MM, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  The deal represents a $1.25MM raise in base pay for the 29-year-old, who avoided his first potential arbitration hearing this time a year ago.
• The Reds agreed to terms with Jared Burton, their last arbitration-eligible player, reports John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer.  This was Burton's first flirtation with the arbitration process.
• The Marlins avoided arbitration with Anibal Sanchez and Renyel Pinto by signing each to one-year deals, according to the Marlins' official twitter page.  This is the first go-round in arbitration for both players.  Sanchez will earn $1.25MM with up to $100K in bonuses, reports Jon Paul Morosi (via Twitter).  Pinto will make $1.075 according to the Associated Press.
• Tony Pena and the White Sox have avoided arbitration, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal, tweets White Sox VP Scott Reifert.  Pena will earn $1.2MM, according to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).  This was the 28-year-old's first time being arbitration-eligible.
• Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla settled at $7.8MM, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.  It's a $2.45MM raise for the slugger, who was arb-eligible for the second time.  He remains a trade candidate. Uggla told Frisaro he was happy to avoid a hearing, even after winning last year. 
• The Brewers signed outfielder Jody Gerut for 2010, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  MLB.com's Adam McCalvy pegs the value at $2MM, a $225K raise.  This is Gerut's final arbitration year.
• Blue Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum, who missed '09 due to Tommy John surgery, signed for $850K tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  2010 is Marcum's first arbitration year.

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Overnight Links: Myers, Castillo, Verlander, Padres

As we gear up for another long night, here's some links to take a look at if you're still awake:

• Paul Hagen questions the Phillies' logic when refusing to look at bringing Brett Myers back. The Phils are looking for an inexpensive fifth starter candidate; Myers fits the bill and brings plenty of upside. Do they feel he's just not worth the trouble anymore?
• Ben Shpigel explains why, in spite of a resurgent season from Luis Castillo, and in spite of the Mets' feeling that his contract is better than that of Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Juan Pierre, and Gary Matthews Jr., they're still looking to move him.
• Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press feels the Tigers must do whatever it takes to keep Justin Verlander in Detroit for as long as possible. Rosenberg makes the interesting point that with one more dominant season, Verlander could put the Tigers in a similar position that Johan Santana put the Twins, though he concedes that Verlander's not as good. At least not yet.
• Corey Brock tells us that new Padres GM celebrated his 36th birthday by kicking off the Winter Meetings and fielding calls on about "half a dozen" of his players, including Heath Bell, who could be due as much as $5MM through arbitration. Still, Brock suggests the Padres would prefer to keep Bell.
• The Phillies payroll for 2010 will likely be around $140MM, says David Murphy. He also quotes Ruben Amaro Jr., implying that Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey will be tendered contracts.
• Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Indians could look to trade Kerry Wood during the Winter Meetings, but then discusses why it might be smarter to wait until midseason.
• MLB.com's Brian McTaggart feels that Jose Valverde's probable departure is probably for the best, given the economics of the situation. 
• Danny Knobler at CBS Sports explains why the Pirates would even bother showing interest in Juan Pierre, whom they were linked to last night.
• Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Sun-Times says White Sox GM Kenny Williams declined to comment on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, and implies that Hideki Matsui may not be a fit for the South Siders, even if Carlos Quentin moves to right field. Scott Podsednik, however, may still fit.
• Aaron Gleeman looks at what it means to the Twins to have Carl Pavano back for 2010. Gleeman says Pavano's a better fit than past veteran starters the Twins have tried, as well as a safer bet than signing Jarrod Washburn to multiple years.

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Twitter Rumors: Doumit, Mahay, Wolf, Jenkins

Collecting some tweets I couldn't quite turn into posts...

• Four unknown teams are in on Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, says Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
• The Nationals have interest in free agent catcher Brad Ausmus, says MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
• The Red Sox have interest in free agent lefty Ron Mahay, says Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The 38-year-old posted a 4.29 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 3.9 BB/9 in 50.3 innings for the Royals and Twins this year.  Two years ago he was quite a hot commodity on the free agent market.
• ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Brett Myers is seeking a two-year deal.  The Rangers and other teams are interested at one year.  Crasnick wrote a few days ago that the Astros are also interested, while Andrew Baggarly named the Giants as a suitor today.
• Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times shoots down Danny Knobler's rumor that the Pirates have interest in Juan Pierre.  Nonetheless, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets of interest from the Pirates, White Sox, and a third team.
• ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Yankees want to resolve the Andy Pettitte/Johnny Damon situations before moving on to Hideki Matsui and other starting pitcher options.
• White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune that the Sox are not in the market for a pure DH.
• The Brewers are making a "strong run" at Randy Wolf, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
• Ruben Amaro Jr.'s comment that "those are guys we will probably count on" implies relievers Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey will be tendered contracts by the Phillies (Andy Martino reporting).
• Crasnick says Geoff Jenkins wants to make a comeback in 2010 and has been working out at first base and outfield in hopes of landing a bench role.
• Crasnick says to expect the Cubs to tender a contract to Mike Fontenot on Saturday.
• Bill Shanks quoting Braves manager Bobby Cox: "clubs are knocking on the door for Kelly Johnson."  I imagine Johnson will be dealt by Saturday.
• ESPN's Gordon Edes says that while Red Sox owner John Henry is a big fan of Miguel Cabrera from their Marlins days, the Red Sox "don't have the Major League-ready position players Detroit wants in return."
• Crasnick expects Elmer Dessens to re-sign with the Mets, though the pitcher has talked to the Dodgers and Padres.
• Yahoo's Steve Henson says the Braves want to move Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez, but not Kenshin Kawakami.
• Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies will meet with Chan Ho Park's agent today "and attempt to resolve their differences over Park's value."  The Phils did not offer arbitration to Park, a Type B free agent.  Park craves another shot at starting, which won't happen in Philly.
• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Phillies like Brandon Lyon, but aren't "willing to pay the price for him."  Lyon is said to be seeking a multiyear deal.  He is expected to turn down the Tigers' offer of arbitration today.  The Yankees have been named as another suitor.
• Crasnick says the Astros "have very little money to spend, unless Drayton McLane suddenly has a change of heart."

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