Jerome Williams Rumors

Angels, Jerome Williams Avoid Arbitration

The Angels avoided arbitration with right-hander Jerome Williams, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. The Full Circle Sports Management client agreed to a one-year deal worth $2MM. 

Williams had a projected salary of $1.9MM for 2013 after posting a 4.58 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over the course of the 2012 season. The 30-year-old veteran has spent the past two seasons with the Angels after struggling to earn a spot on a big league roster since after the 2007 campaign. 

The Angels have four remaining arbitration eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows: Kevin Jepsen, Jason Vargas, Tommy Hanson and Alberto Callaspo. 

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SoCal Links: Walden, Angels, Fujikawa, Field, Kuroda

The Angels finalized their contract with Ryan Madson today, but here's some more out of Southern California...

• In the wake of the Madson signing, the Angels are letting teams know Jordan Walden is "very available" according to ESPN's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). The 25-year-old right-hander pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 39 innings this year.
• Angels GM Jerry Dipoto would not say whether he was still pursuing Japanese free agent reliever Kyuji Fujikawa, reports Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
• The Angels will tender contracts to all four arbitration-eligible players according to DiGiovanna (on Twitter). Kendrys Morales, Alberto Callaspo, Jerome Williams, and Kevin Jepsen represent the team's class of arb-eligibles.
• The Angels have claimed shortstop Thomas Field off waivers from the Twins, the team announced. The 25-year-old has hit .260/.315/.260 in 54 plate appearances with the Rockies over the last two years.
• The Padres offered Hiroki Kuroda a one-year deal worth $17-18MM, reports George A. King III of The New York Post. The right-hander instead took a one-year, $15MM deal to return to the Yankees.
• Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports hears Brian Wilson's first choice (aside from the Giants) would be to pitch for the Dodgers next year (Twitter links). Wilson lives in Los Angeles during the offseason and will likely be non-tendered later this week.

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Players To Avoid Arbitration

Tonight is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. Many teams will agree to terms with players before the deadline and we'll keep track of them here:

• The Orioles have agreed to terms with Dana Eveland on a one-year, $750K deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned.
• The Giants have agreed to terms with Mike Fontenot on a one-year deal for 2012, avoiding arbitration, MLBTR has learned. It's a $1.05MM deal, according to the Associated Press.
• The Red Sox announced that they re-signed Matt Albers. He'll earn $1.075MM, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
• The Padres agreed to terms with Chris Denorfia on a one-year deal, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link). The deal is worth $1.165MM, according to Ronald Blum of the AP
  The Pirates agreed to terms with Jason Grilli on a one-year, $1.1MM deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned.
• The Rockies agreed to terms with Kevin Slowey on a one-year deal, the team announced (on Twitter). Slowey obtains $2.75MM from the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). MLBTR had projected a $2.7MM salary.
• The Blue Jays agreed to sign Jeff Mathis to one-year deal that guarantees the backstop $1.5MM in 2012, MLBTR has learned. The Blue Jays have since confirmed the move.
• The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with Jesse Litsch (one-year, $975K) and Dustin McGowan (one-year, $600K) according to a team press release.
• The Dodgers have signed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a two-year deal.
• The A's announced that they agreed to terms with Landon Powell, Daric Barton and Adam Rosales on one-year deals for 2012. The A's aren't non-tendering any arbitration eligible players this offseason. Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group hears Barton will earn $1.1MM in 2012 (Twitter link). Rosales will earn $600K and Powell will earn $620K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
• The Marlins signed Donnie Murphy to a contract for 2012, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). He'll earn $560K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
• The Brewers announced that they signed George Kottaras to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. He'll earn $700K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
• The Astros avoided arbitration with Humberto Quintero, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to the team. MLBTR had projected a $1.2MM salary for Quintero.
• The Angels agreed to terms with right-hander Jerome Williams on a one-year deal, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter). Williams agreed to sign for $820K with $120K in incentives, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
• Skip Schumaker is nearing a two-year deal with the Cardinals.

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International Notes: Williams, Perez, Dessens, Urias

The Winter Leagues are the place to be for contract-hunting veterans and plenty of others with an MLB job in hand. Even Wilson Ramos still wants to play. Links are in Spanish...

• Jerome Williams, who provided a late-season boost in six starts for the Angels, is continuing to make a strong case for his spot the 2012 rotation with a dominant winter in Venezuela. In six starts for the Magallanes Navegantes, Williams is 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA, reports Luis Gonzales at El Universal. After four offseasons without a Major League deal, Williams is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter at age 29.
• Oliver Perez is technically a free agent, but the 30-year-old lefty told Fernando Ballesteros at Puro Beisbol, "I would say that I still belong to Washington, though anything could happen." Perez spent 2011 at the Nationals' Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg and will spend the winter pitching for the Culiacán Tomateros in the Mexican Pacific League. Fellow MLB free agents Vicente Padilla and Rodrigo Lopez also recently reported to the MPL looking for an offseason showcase, reports Ballesteros.
• In the same piece, Ballesteros notes that 41-year-old reliever Elmer Dessens doesn't want to go undergo another surgery on his pitching arm, and that "it is only a question of time before he officially says goodbye to the diamond." Dessens was reported to have signed a minor league contract with the Giants last February, positioning him to become the first Mexican pitcher to play in the majors into his forties, but the deal fell through and he sat out the season.
• Also in the piece, Ballesteros adds that the Pirates recently offered 200K to 15-year-old Mexican pitching prospect Julio Cesar Urias, but Urias’ parents rejected the offer. According to Ballesteros, the young lefty is currently being wooed by several MLB teams, the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican league, and the Gonzalez Sports Academy, which is co-owned by Adrian Gonzalez and his brothers Edgar and David.

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West Notes: Kuroda, Lopez, Sanchez, Harden, Angels

Here are some notes from both divisions out west...

• Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda shrugged off speculation from the Japanese media that he'll return to Japan to pitch a farewell season with Hiroshima in 2012, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.  Kuroda put the odds of him pitching in MLB or going home next season at 50-50.
• Expect lots of teams to talk with the agent of Giants reliever Javier Lopez, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney.  The 34-year-old has postseason experience and teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, Brewers, and Cardinals have been after a good matchup lefty this year.
• Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez expect to be ready for opening day but manager Bruce Bochy and GM Brian Sabean already have discussed the importance of covering themselves with other options at the position, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. 
• Rich Harden would like to return to the Athletics and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says that’s something that could happen.  The injury-prone veteran would likely sign for an inexpensive one-year deal.
• With his strong work down the stretch, Jerome Williams has become the leading in-house candidate to assume one of the spots behind Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana in the Angels' 2012 rotation, writes Lyle Spencer of MLB.com.

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Minor Moves: Carter, Ramirez, Dopirak, Redding

The latest minor moves...

• Baseball America's Matt Eddy posted a comprehensive list of recent minor league transactions, including a swarm of draft pick signings and undrafted free agent pickups from the last week.
• The Rays released Chris Carter according to the Triple-A International League transactions page. The 28-year-old hit .270/.309/.460 with ten homers in 233 plate appearances.
• The Astros released catcher Max Ramirez and first baseman/DH Brian Dopirak, tweets Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  The Astros had signed Ramirez in May after he'd been released by the Cubs.  Dopirak was added in December.  Both players had OBPs under .290 in their brief Triple-A stints.
• The Phillies signed righty Tim Redding to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.  The 33-year-old posted a 6.59 ERA in 13 starts for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate this year.
• The Angels inked righty Jerome Williams for their Triple-A rotation, tweeted his agency Full Circle Sports Management.  The 29-year-old was drafted 39th overall by the Giants back in '99, one pick after the Rangers grabbed Colby Lewis.  Williams hasn't pitched in the bigs since '07.

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Odds and Ends: Shelton, Laird, Baldelli

Links for Monday - Winter Meetings, Day 1.

• Check out the minor league signings for the week at Baseball America.  Hey, Jerome Williams to the A's!  Also, Chris Shelton signed with the Mariners.
• Funny quote from Scott Boras: "There can be a lot of late-night meetings where you're in a room and people are falling asleep.  And you'll have some late-night GMs who want you to drink. I'll allow them to do it, but I won't do it. I do have some interesting things written on napkins over the years."
• Dave Cameron likes the Tigers' acquisition of Gerald Laird.
• Buster Olney talked to some agents who believe "the stated concern about the economy is providing a nice cover for Major League Baseball to roll back salaries."  Another note from Olney, he'd be "shocked" if Rocco Baldelli doesn't sign with Boston.
• Tony Massarotti makes five recommendations for the Red Sox.
• David Murphy asks ten questions about the Phillies.

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Odds and Ends: Bonds, Davis, Chulk, Ichiro

Time for some random linkage.

• I'll be on XM Radio today at about 5pm CST - channels 176-189 with Mike Ferrin.
• The Dodgers signed Jerome Williams - remember him?
• Viva El Birdos runs through starting pitchers who might be on the Cardinals' radar.
• Sam Mellinger of the KC Star takes a look at Dayton Moore's trade record.  Meanwhile, Joe Posnanski explains why the Royals should sign Barry Bonds.
• Ken Rosenthal doesn't want to let Ed Wade off the hook in the Shawn Chacon dustup.
• Red Reporter thinks the Reds are winning the Edinson Volquez-Josh Hamilton swap.
• Rangers first base prospect Chris Davis is getting the call.
• Russell Branyan has been training his eyes.
• "Unsubstantiated report" - the Phillies might have interest in recently-designated reliever Vinnie Chulk.
• Mariners beat writer Geoff Baker expects the team to shop Ichiro.
• Buster Olney sees the Rays as a sleeper in the C.C. Sabathia derby.
• Omar Minaya defends the Luis Castillo signing.

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Odds and Ends: Jerome Williams, Linden, Lo Duca

Below you'll find the day's random rumors and links.

• Remember Jerome Williams?  He's begging the Giants or any other team to give him a shot, "even if it means in A-ball" according to John Shea.  The 26 year-old Hawaiin couldn't find any success last year with Washington.  He started out pretty strong with the Giants back in 2003-04.
• Todd Linden can get out of his minor league deal with Oakland if offered a deal in Japan, which is a possibility.
• Paul Lo Duca has choice words for the Mets, rejecting the notion that they were ever interested or that he demanded three years.
• The Astros still have Mark Loretta on the radar.
• The Brewers don't seem to have any trades in the works.
• He deems it "pure speculation," but Buster Olney wonders whether the Angels should call the A's about Joe Blanton.
• Support for my contention that RBI Baseball is better than today's baseball video games.

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Nationals Sign Jerome Williams, Brandon Claussen

The AP is reporting that the Nats inked Jerome Williams and Brandon Claussen today for their rotation. Along with Tim Redding and John Patterson, they'll give the Nationals some semblance of a rotation.

Williams, 25, lost the Cubs' fourth starter job to Sean Marshall with a lousy spring in 2005.  He got a couple of starts in April but was sent to Triple A by month's end.  The A's claimed him off waivers in September but didn't use him.  The righty has strong groundball tendencies and a 4.03 career ERA.

Claussen, a southpaw, turns 28 in May.  The Yanks traded him to the Reds for Aaron Boone back in '03.  Claussen had a solid 2005, making 29 starts with a 4.21 ERA. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in August of '06 and won't be ready for the start of the '07 season. 

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