Mike Sweeney Rumors

Branyan Rejects Mariners' Offer

WEDNESDAY, 12:06pm: The Mariners' initial offer to Branyan included a second-year option, the first baseman told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times. Branyan remains optimistic about re-signing, but he wants two guaranteed years for the first time in his career. TUESDAY, 4:53pm: MLB.com's Jim Street reports that Branyan rejected the team's offer. He'd rather test the free agent market than settle for something less than a two-year deal. Branyan, who hit 31 homers this year, says he would like to return to Seattle. He wants to sign a multi-year deal, however. Street says Wilson appears to have rejected the Mariners'...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Crosby, Gonzalez, Mariners

More items from a busy opening day of baseball's hot stove season... Consider it a formality, but John Lackey, Matt Holliday, and Jason Bay were among the 79 players filing for free agency today according to MLB.com's Tom Singer. Free agent Bobby Crosby told MLB.com's Mychael Urban that he doesn't expect to be back in Oakland next season. Alex Gonzalez has yet to hear from the Red Sox in regards to whether or not they will exercise his $6MM option for next season, says The Boston Herald's Michael Silverman. Jim Street of MLB.com breaks down Seattle's free agents, noting that...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Wedge, Sweeney

Some more links for the morning... Multiple major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that many Blue Jays are fed up with manager Cito Gaston and don't want him to return. One source says it's "nearly a mutiny" in the clubhouse. Eric Wedge wants to manage again at some point, according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Marlins prospect Mike Stanton still projects as a middle-of-the-order 40 homer threat, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. gets high marks from his predecessors, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Former Phillies GMs Ed Wade and Pat Gillick...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Sweeney, Padres, Saito

Some links for the morning... We already knew Mike Sweeney would consider signing with the Mariners and Angels after the season. Now MLB.com's Jim Street adds the Padres to Sweeney's list of preferred clubs. Like GM Kevin Towers, Padres CEO Jeff Moorad expects the team to be "competitive" next year, according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports that Takashi Saito will make $500k when he appears in his next game. Even more incentives kick in if he continues picking up appearances throughout the season's final month. Pirates GM Neal Huntington tells...   Continue Reading

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Mike Sweeney Hopes To Play In 2010

Designated hitter Mike Sweeney hopes to play again in 2010, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. He'll have to postpone microfracture knee surgery to do so. The 36 year-old is hitting .277/.335/.441 in 236 plate appearances, his best power display since '05. He's on a $500K minor league deal signed in January. Sweeney told Baker he decided to play next year after receiving support from his wife. His two choices are the Mariners and the Angels.   Continue Reading

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Mariners Sign Mike Sweeney

According to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, the Mariners signed Mike Sweeney to a minor league contract. Sweeney, 35, hit .286/.331/.397 in 136 plate appearances for the A's in '08 while missing time with knee problems. No harm in giving him a look.   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Aurilia, Sweeney, Nady

Still more Tuesday links... The Giants and Rich Aurilia maintain mutual interest, though the Giants want to address the offense first. Mike Sweeney hopes to play this year, says MLB.com. Said Sweeney, "I want baseball to shut the door on me while I'm kicking and screaming." The Royals have not expressed interest. Much is being made of Mark Teixeira and his wife choosing the Yankees on December 12th. According to ESPN Radio's Andrew Marchand, the Mets have a face-to-face meeting scheduled with Scott Boras to discuss Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe (hat tip to MetsBlog). John Fay guesses the Reds...   Continue Reading

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Week in Review: 9/7 - 9/13

Just a few weeks left in the regular season, but plenty of news here on MLBTR still. Let's look back at the past week: The Mets received terrible news when they learned that their All-Star closer, Billy Wagner, will need Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2009. Wagner does not expect to return to the Mets, and apparently the Mets have already told him his 2010 option will not be exercised. The Mets seem likely to be in the Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes mix. On that note, Fuentes will probably not return to Colorado next season. I'm taking...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Ellis, Patterson, Sweeney

Rounding up today's links... Willie Bloomquist may have played his last game with the Mariners. The Rays feel they can be consistent contenders with a new stadium, as they could raise their payroll to the $80MM range. Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire takes a look at the free agent market. Athletics Nation notes the price on second baseman Mark Ellis has dropped. MLB.com's Mark Bowman explains the Braves' working agreement with the Hanshin Tigers. The Tigers don't have any of the big name free agents, but Frank Wren could still consider adding Koji Uehara or Kenshin Kawakami to his rotation....   Continue Reading

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A's Release Mike Sweeney

According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's released DH/good guy Mike Sweeney today. He signed a $500K deal in February, and played pretty well in April. However, the A's signed Frank Thomas and Sweeney went down for eventual knee surgery in May. He tried to come back last week, but probably needs to go under the knife again.   Continue Reading

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