Xavier Nady Rumors
Nationals Sign Xavier Nady
9:22am: Nady's contract doesn't have any outs and the veteran will start the season with Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
8:49am: The Nationals have signed Xavier Nady to a minor league deal, a source tells Amanda Comak of the Washington Times (via Twitter). Nady will only attend minor league camp this spring and won't be involved with the Nats' major league camp.
Adding Nady to the minor league mix gives the Nationals additional insurance in the wake of injuries to Mike Morse and Adam LaRoche. The 33-year-old appeared in 82 games for the Diamondbacks last season and hit .248/.287/.359 with four homers.
The veteran was linked to the Giants over the winter as both clubs were said to have interest in a minor league deal. For his career, Nady owns a .275/.328/.438 slashline across ten seasons.
Bay Area Notes: Nady, Lincecum, Manny, Jackson
Moneyball received six Academy Award nominations on Tuesday, joining Pride Of The Yankees and Field Of Dreams as the only baseball-centric movies to ever be nominated for the prestigious Best Picture Oscar. While I'm not sure if I'd call Moneyball one of the very best films of the year, it's definitely a well-made, entertaining movie, as outlined in my review from last September.
Here are some non-cinematic notes from both the Athletics and the Giants in this roundup of Bay Area news...
- Xavier Nady and the Giants share a mutual interest on a minor league contract, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 33-year-old Nady hit .248/.287/.359 in 223 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks last season.
- Also from Schulman, he outlines the Giants' several shortstop/utility infield options for next season, which include Brandon Crawford, Emmanuel Burriss, Mike Fontenot and the newly-signed Ryan Theriot. Schulman also notes that Fontenot's $1.05MM contract with the team is non-guaranteed and that Burriss is out of options.
- Tim Lincecum's two-year, $40.5MM extension with the Giants was finalized today after the right-hander passed his physical.
- Manny Ramirez is "essentially a no-risk option" for the Athletics, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. A's managing partner Lew Wolff said yesterday that he would open to the possibility of his team signing the controversial Ramirez.
- From that same piece, Slusser notes the A's still have interest in bringing back Conor Jackson, despite the fact that the club just signed Jonny Gomes. Jackson played in Oakland from June 2010 to August 2011 before being dealt to the Red Sox for right-hander Jason Rice.
D'Backs DFA Roque Mercedes, Release Rusty Ryal
The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Roque Mercedes for assignment and released Rusty Ryal to create roster space for Henry Blanco and Xavier Nady, whose deals the team officially announced.
Mercedes, who turned 24 in September, spent the 2010 season at Double-A Mobile. He pitched 53 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and posted 7.5 K/9 with 4.0 BB/9.
Ryal, 27, appeared in 104 games for the D'Backs this year, playing first, third and left. He batted .261/.308/.348 in 222 plate appearances, but his career minor league line (.287/.346/.475) is more impressive.
Odds & Ends: Nady, Rangers, Felix, Gregg
Eight years ago today, the Twins released David Ortiz. He has since hit 291 regular season homers and 12 more in the playoffs, all for the Red Sox. Here are today's links...
- The D'Backs chose Xavier Nady over Austin Kearns, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). Arizona agreed to a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Nady last night.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com that he would welcome Vladimir Guerrero back under the right circumstances, but isn't sure when he'll have the team's DH situation resolved.
- The Rangers signed Japanese outfielder Hirotoshi Onaka, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (on Twitter). He was not selected in the NPB draft.
- The Yankees called the Mariners about Felix Hernandez and heard that he is absolutely not available, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
- Russell Martin needs knee surgery, but the Yankees don't consider the injury serious, so they signed him anyway, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).
- The Orioles continue to negotiate with Kevin Gregg, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
Diamondbacks Agree To Deal With Xavier Nady
The Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.75MM with Xavier Nady. He can earn another $1MM in incentives. The first baseman/outfielder is a Scott Boras client and was in Phoenix for a physical on Wednesday.
Nady, 32, hit .256/.306/.353 with six homers in 347 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2010. He missed almost all of 2009 after having his second Tommy John surgery. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers had Nady with the Padres, continuing a theme that has seen him target (or acquire) many of his former players this winter, including Henry Blanco, Sean Burroughs, and Geoff Blum.
Nady signed a one-year contract worth $3.3MM guaranteed (he did earn another $1.05MM in incentives) coming off his injury, and I predicted that he would have to settle for a similar deal when I previewed his free agent stock back in September.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic originally reported that the two sides were close to an agreement. SI.com's Jon Heyman confirmed the agreement and added details, as did Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (all four Twitter links).
Diamondbacks Close To Deal With Xavier Nady
The Diamondbacks are closing in on a deal with Xavier Nady, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. The first baseman/outfielder was in Phoenix for a physical on Wednesday.
Nady, 32, hit .256/.306/.353 with six homers in 347 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2010. He missed almost all of 2009 after having his second Tommy John surgery. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers had Nady with the Padres, continuing a theme that has seen him target (or acquire) many of his former players this winter, including Henry Blanco, Sean Burroughs, and Geoff Blum.
Nady signed a one-year contract worth $3.3MM guaranteed (he did earn another $1.05MM in incentives) coming off his injury, and I predicted that he would have to settle for a similar deal when I previewed his free agent stock back in September.
The post was originally published on December 15th.
Diamondbacks Interested In Kearns, Hawpe
The Diamondbacks have varying levels of interest in Austin Kearns, Brad Hawpe, Xavier Nady, and Jorge Cantu, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The team's interest in Nady and Cantu has been reported previously.
The D'Backs have added Melvin Mora and Geoff Blum to replace Mark Reynolds at third base, but they've still got openings at first base and left field. The team took a shot on Paul Konerko and is said to have interest in Derrek Lee as another first base possibility.
Six Teams Interested In Derrek Lee
The Orioles, Athletics, Blue Jays, Padres, Nationals, and Diamondbacks have all expressed interest in free agent first baseman Derrek Lee according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (via Twitter). We've heard that Lee wouldn't mind playing for Arizona, and the interest from the O's and A's is nothing new. Heyman reiterated the D'Backs interest in Xavier Nady as well.
Lee, 35, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb after the season. He's expressed a desire to join a playoff club for 2011, but calling any of those six teams a contender would be generous. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers was the Padres GM when Lee broke in with the team in 1997, and the running theme of the offseason has been Towers bringing some of his former players to Arizona. Nady obviously fits the bill as well.
I examined Lee's free agent stock back in October.
Odds & Ends: Young, Francis, Twins, Fielder, Nady
A handful of links to start the final day of the Winter Meetings....
- The Mets prefer Chris Young to Jeff Francis, and are still trying to sign one of the two veteran starters, says Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, both pitchers are looking for upwards of $4MM for 2011, which is more than the Mets are willing to pay.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Twins are seeking front-end rotation help, such as Carl Pavano. They're also considering moving arms from their back-end surplus, such as Kevin Slowey.
- The amount of money being spent on free agents this offseason might be making it more obvious to the Brewers that they have little chance of retaining Prince Fielder past next year. As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports writes, that could make Milwaukee more inclined to deal Fielder sooner rather than later.
- The Diamondbacks are talking to Xavier Nady, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports initially linked the D'Backs to Nady on Tuesday.
- With Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia under contract, the Red Sox are still pursuing another catcher, according to GordonEdes of ESPNBoston.
- Astros GM Ed Wade says he doesn't intend to acquire a left fielder, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. If the Astros added an outfielder, it would move Carlos Lee to first base and leave Brett Wallace out of the picture, and the club wants to give Wallace a chance to earn the first base job.
Diamondbacks Notes: Reynolds, Blanco, Nady
Some D-Backs news from Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic..
- The Diamondbacks were discussing a Mark Reynolds swap with the Blue Jays as recently as prior to Thursday night's arbitration deadline. However, the Orioles have been the most aggressive of any suitor and Piecoro says they seem to be the most likely landing spot for the third baseman.
- Arizona is in the market for a backup catcher and free agent Henry Blanco is at or near the top of their list. The 39-year-old hit just .215/.271/.300 in 144 plate appearances for the Mets last season.
- Piecoro writes that Xavier Nady would fit the mold for the D-Backs as they look for a right-handed hitter off of the bench that can play left field and first base. Nady suffered a down year with the Cubs in 2010 and should come cheap. The veteran earned $3.3MM off of his one-year deal with Chicago.
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