Texas Rangers Rumors
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 20, 2009 at 9:24pm CST]
Some more links as the weekend begins... Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun notes that the Orioles didn't make any contract offers on the first day of free agency. The Brewers have signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Santo Aybar, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Baseball America rated Santo the 18th best Dominican prospect this year. Nick Green doesn't expect to back with the Red Sox, according to Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Marlins, Royals, Tigers and Reds are currently baseball's most active sellers. The Astros signed minor league free agent Jose Valdez, according to...
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By Tim Dierkes [November 20, 2009 at 1:36pm CST]
1:36pm: MLB.com's Carrie Muskat hears from a Cubs official that there's nothing to the rumored three way deal between the Cubs, Rangers and Mets. However, four to six teams are interested in Bradley to varying degrees. 10:58am: The latest Milton Bradley trade scenario comes courtesy of Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, who considers Bradley going to the Rangers, Kevin Millwood to the Mets, and Luis Castillo to the Cubs. We talked to a source familiar with the situation who said that this deal is not being discussed. Backing that up, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan talked to a Rangers official who...
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By Cork Gaines [November 20, 2009 at 12:00pm CST]
On this date two years ago, Mike Lowell re-signed with the Red Sox for three-years, $37.5MM. In this first two years of the deal, Lowell has taken in $25.5MM, and according to his WAR has been worth $19.9MM. In '10, Lowell will be 36 as he enters the final year of his deal. Today is the first day of free agency, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere... Howard Megdal and Chris Pummer of The Perpetual Post debate the Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe signings of a year ago. The Ghost of Moonlight Graham looks...
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By Luke Adams [November 19, 2009 at 8:25pm CST]
The Colorado Rockies will keep Garrett Atkins on their 40-man roster for now, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Not releasing Atkins yet will give the Rockies a few more weeks to attempt to trade him, before the non-tender date of December 12th (coincidentally, Atkins' 30th birthday). Renck mentions that interested teams, such as the Rangers and Orioles, have been reluctant to deal for the corner infielder, since the Rockies will almost certainly be forced to part ways with him anyway. Atkins is in his final year of arbitration, and made $7.05MM in 2009. After losing his starting...
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By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 19, 2009 at 2:18pm CST]
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark responds to some of Scott Boras' recent comments before providing some rumors in his latest Rumblings and Grumblings column: The Rays, Rangers and Jays appear to be the three likeliest landing spots for Milton Bradley. The Cubs say they don't want to eat much of the $21MM remaining on Bradley's contract, so a bad contract swap still seems possible. Stark hears that the Marlins were in serious trade talks with the Giants and Rangers about Dan Uggla. There's no indication that the Yankees are in on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday at this point. The Yanks figure...
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By Drew Silva [November 18, 2009 at 7:51pm CST]
According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, the possibility of free-agent outfielder Marlon Byrd returning to the Rangers is "growing dim." Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and Byrd's agent, Sam Levinson, spoke during the GM meetings in Chicago. But negotiations still haven't moved in a positive direction. "We've had a decent amount of conversation," Daniels told MLB.com. "I expect them to test the market. Based on what they're looking for...we're not in a position to do that right now. We expect them to talk to other clubs and see what's out there. We're going to be looking at alternatives." Byrd, 32, hit...
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By Mike Axisa [November 18, 2009 at 4:25pm CST]
Some afternoon linkage... The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt tweets that "it would be a huge upset if Mark Mulder doesn't try his comeback attempt in the Brewers' spring camp." Meanwhile, Brewers' GM Doug Melvin said the George Kottaras pickup was all about depth, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. NPB Tracker passes along a report that says the Yankees stand to lose at least $15MM in revenue if Hideki Matsui leaves as a free agent. The Tigers aren't one of the teams that have expressed interest in John Smoltz, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. Yesterday we learned that at least...
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By Mark Polishuk [November 17, 2009 at 10:24pm CST]
You could hardly think of two more dissimilar players than Omar Vizquel and Nick Johnson, but Evan Brunell of The Hardball Times took a look at where these two free agents may end up playing in 2010. First, Vizquel. Brunell thinks that Vizquel's desire to play for a higher-profile club than Texas may stem from the fact that playing for a big-market team may improve Vizquel's chances of being voted into the Hall of Fame when his career is over. There's also the fact that the 42-year-old shortstop would no doubt love to get another chance at a World Series...
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By Mike Axisa [November 17, 2009 at 4:04pm CST]
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that several teams have expressed interest in free agent righty John Smoltz, who is open to starting or relieving. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Mets, Mariners, Astros, Rangers, and Orioles are the among the teams interested in the future Hall of Famer, and some teams inquired about him as a closer. The 42-year-old Smoltz put up a 4.26 ERA in seven starts with St. Louis after his eight start cameo with Boston. His fastball generally sat in the low-90's, though he did strike out 73 batters in 78 total innings.
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By Tim Dierkes [November 16, 2009 at 3:08pm CST]
A batch of links to kick off the work week... Newly minted Royals Player of the Year Billy Butler has not held long-term extension talks with the team, MLBTR learned on a conference call today. Butler will not be arbitration-eligible until after the 2010 season. Desipio on the Cubs-Curtis Granderson idea: "In the end, this smells like a winter of Brian Roberts and Jake Peavy trade rumors. One that ends with us talking ourselves into how Marlon Byrd isn’t so bad after all." Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes it's a three-horse race for Matt Holliday: the Red Sox,...
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