Oakland Athletics Rumors

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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Adam Kennedy Hopes To Stay With A's

Infielder Adam Kennedy would like to remain with the Athletics in 2010, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interest is mutual; his agent has had "very positive" talks with the A's. Kennedy, 34 in January, hit .289/.348/.410 in 586 plate appearances this year, playing second and third base. According to UZR/150, Kennedy's defense this year did not approach the performance from his heyday. The Cardinals released Kennedy in February, eating most of the $4MM owed to him. The Rays signed him to a minor league deal and traded him to Oakland for a player to be...   Continue Reading

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Aroldis Chapman Review

With all the information swirling around about free agent lefty Aroldis Chapman, I thought a summary would be helpful. Chapman has been declared a free agent and can sign at any time, though a deal is unlikely before the conclusion of the World Series. One GM told Yahoo's Tim Brown in July, "I'm sure all 30 teams will be interested to some degree." Nonetheless, let's look at specific suitors. Red Sox: They've been a top suitor from the start. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says Chapman was scheduled to throw a bullpen at Fenway today but it was cancelled due...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Astros, Athletics, Blue Jays

With baseball dark until Wednesday, let MLBTradeRumors.com light the way for you... Rob Neyer has a must-read piece about the Astros refusing to give Manny Acta a three-year contract offer. As Neyer writes, "If you think it's silly to give a manager a three-year contract but don't mind throwing $100 million of your ill-gotten gains at Carlos Lee, you probably need to have your head examined (though of course something similar might be said of half the owners in the majors)." MLB.com A's beat reporter Mychael Urban explains why Oakland dealt Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera- but kept...   Continue Reading

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Strong Interest In Aroldis Chapman

SUNDAY, 12:35pm: As suggested by Lennon earlier, Chapman's price tag is too high for the Mets. Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that the Mets were told Chapman wants up to $60MM to sign. SATURDAY, 7:23pm: John Stockstill - the Orioles' director of international scouting - has confirmed that the club will meet with Chapman and his agent next week in New York, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.com. In a piece yesterday, Kubatko wrote that he doesn't think Baltimore will end up signing the 21-year-old. SATURDAY, 2:38pm: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Duchscherer, Dodgers, Phillies

A few more links to peruse as MLB officials sift through rainy forecasts in NYC... According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland GM Billy Beane has touched base with free agent right-hander Justin Duchscherer. It's not yet clear, however, whether the A's will try to retain him. MLBTR profiled the "Duke of Hurl" about a month ago. Diamond Leung passes along a nice anecdote involving Dodgers assistant GM Kim Ng and Justin Orenduff, the club's 2004 first-round pick. Orenduff was designated for assignment last year to clear roster space for Manny Ramirez and then retired in March...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Johjima, Rockies, Kikuchi

Links for Tuesday... Chat today, 2pm CST. The Hanshin Tigers are interested in Kenji Johjima, according to Kyodo News. The Rockies are expected to re-sign GM Dan O'Dowd and manager Jim Tracy this week, according to Patrick Saunders and Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says the Dodgers "are mindful that [signing Yusei Kikuchi] could harm the club's long-standing ties in Japan." Kikuchi told Kyodo News that interviewing with 12 NPB and eight MLB clubs made his decision even more difficult. NPB Tracker has more. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says Brad...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Bucs, Duchscherer, Astros

A fresh batch of links for Saturday afternoon... Perry Hill left his post as Pirates first base coach Saturday and, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, expressed unhappiness with the team's aggressive trading on his way out. The Pirates got rid of three-fourths of their infield (Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche) during the year. According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's have not touched base with soon-to-be free agent Justin Duchscherer since the end of the season. GM Billy Beane plans to engage in some kind of discussions with the right-hander and his agent "soon."...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: McCourts, Strasburg, Cotts

Some tidbits from around baseball as we enjoy Game One of the ALCS... Bill Shaikin and Harriet Ryan of the L.A. Times have some ominous news for Dodgers fans surrounding the separation of Frank and Jamie McCourt: his attorneys claim he is the sole owner of the Dodgers, while her lawyers say the team's ownership is split 50-50 between the soon-to-be ex-couple. On the night of Stephen Strasburg's professional debut in the Arizona Fall League, Jack Magruder of the Washington Times notes that Strasburg won't pitch much in the AFL. Reliever Neal Cotts doesn't know if the Cubs will non-tender...   Continue Reading

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Offseason Outlook: Oakland Athletics

Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Athletics. Their likely commitments for 2010: C - Kurt Suzuki - $410K C - Landon Powell - $400K 1B - Daric Barton - $410K 2B - Mark Ellis - $5.5MM SS - Cliff Pennington - $400K 3B - Eric Chavez - $12MM IF - Gregorio Petit - $405K LF - Scott Hairston - $1.25MM+ CF - Rajai Davis - $410K RF - Ryan Sweeney - $410K OF - Travis Buck - $410K DH - Jack Cust - $2.8MM+ IF/OF - Eric Patterson - $405K SP - Dallas Braden - $410K SP -...   Continue Reading

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