Michael Barrett Rumors

Blue Jays Sign Michael Barrett

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Blue Jays signed catcher Michael Barrett to a minor league deal. Barrett, 32, accepted the Padres' offer of arbitration in December of '07. He injured his elbow in April and broke his nose in July, resulting in a second consecutive lost season.   Continue Reading

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Marlins' Catcher Hunt Includes I-Rod

Miami Herald columnist Barry Jackson writes that the Florida Marlins are discussing free-agent catchers like Michael Barrett, Henry Blanco and Ivan Rodriguez. Rodriguez would have to accept a salary close to the league minimum for the Marlins to consider him as a serious option, according to Jackson.   Continue Reading

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Oswalt Willing To Restructure Contract

FRIDAY: You may have missed this story amid the Winter Meetings chaos. Read the article below, and then check out Richard Justice's take. WEDNESDAY: According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Astros ace Roy Oswalt is willing to restructure his contract and backload money to free up team resources to acquire another starter. Oswalt has a guaranteed $47MM left on his contract over the next three years. The cash-strapped Astros considered Ty Wigginton a non-tender candidate at one point, but trade interest is strong (the deadline is Friday). Wigginton may be too pricey for the D'Backs though. At the least, they'd...   Continue Reading

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Three Teams Interested In Barrett

9:16pm: The Blue Jays admitted to sitting down with Barrett, while the Astros downplayed the rumor. 6:18pm: According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, free agent catcher Michael Barrett is drawing interest from the Orioles, Astros, Blue Jays, and Marlins.   Continue Reading

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Orioles Rumors: Garland, Izturis, Ohman

8:07pm: Jerry Crasnick says Michael Barrett and Gregg Zaun could be options for the Orioles to help transition Matt Wieters to the bigs. 8:03pm: Andy MacPhail spoke of good progress toward signing a shortstop, presumably Izturis. 4:59pm: A small Garland update from Kubatko. 2:34pm: Roch Kubatko believes the Orioles are down to Izturis for shorstop, and two years $6.5MM would get it done. 8:50am: A few stray Orioles rumors from Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun: The O's had recent talks with Jon Garland's agent. They'll meet with the agents for Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami this week. Negotiations for...   Continue Reading

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Catcher Michael Barrett Now Free Agent

The San Diego Padres have announced that Michael Barrett has opted for free agency after clearing waivers. As an eleven-year MLB veteran, Barrett has the right to decline being optioned to the minors and has instead decided to hit the open market. During a 2008 season that saw him hit the DL twice, limiting him to only 107 plate appearances, the 31-year old had a poor .202/.274/.298 line. These numbers are a far cry from what he had done as a Cub between 2004-2006, during which he had an OPS of at least .824. While getting out of San Diego...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Teixeira, Liriano, Garcia, Willingham

Ken Rosenthal has a new hot stove article up. Rosenthal leads with some Mark Teixeira-Angels speculation, but admits the Braves aren't considering trading him and the Angels are content with their team. The Halos' .706 team OPS ranks 12th in the AL; something should be done. All kinds of Mariners turmoil. They could look to acquire a center fielder given the move back to right for Ichiro. Releases of Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro could be on the agenda. And chemistry problems abound, with Ichiro and Kenji Johjima at the center. The Ms might consider Chris Antonetti and David Forst...   Continue Reading

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Padres Interested In Damian Miller

THURSDAY, 9:51am: The Padres (and Giants) didn't claim Quintero; he passed through waivers and is headed to Triple A. WEDNESDAY, 11:43am: The Padres aren't quite sure how long Michael Barrett's elbow injury will knock him out. He won't need Tommy John surgery, but he could miss anywhere from the minimum to two months. Kevin Towers contacted free agent Damian Miller as a possible backup to be used later this month. Miller wasn't able to find a job this winter. For now, the Padres will use the light-hitting Colt Morton behind Josh Bard. One reader suggested Humberto Quintero, who was designated...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez

Time to round up today's linkage. Susan Slusser believes Rich Harden and Joe Blanton will both be traded this season. She sees the Yankees and Mets as suitors for Harden, though he's already having a start pushed back. Jim Caple recently made his case for the Mariners to sign Barry Bonds; his logic is sound. Our Brian Bannister Q&A got a mention in the KC Star. Nice! RotoAuthority has the fantasy take on K-Rod's ailing ankles. Pure speculation, but Ken Rosenthal thinks Ramon Hernandez would be a good fit for the Reds. Not sure if the Reds were looking at...   Continue Reading

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Padres Rumors: Stewart, Barrett

MLB.com's Corey Brock quotes Kevin Towers as saying a free agent signing is unlikely, which implies that Shannon Stewart is not on the radar. Towers still may add an outfielder via trade. The idea of the Padres and Mariners being interested in Stewart was misconstrued a bit. Jerry Crasnick said Towers "might be tempted to look at a free agent" and that the Mariners "seem like a potential fit." My summary of his article said the Mariners and Padres were possibilities. I should've been more clear that Crasnick was speculating on those two clubs rather than reporting specific interest -...   Continue Reading

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