Dejan Kovacevic says the Bucs fell "just short" of getting free agent reliever Luis Vizcaino. That may mean the Rockies, the other team pursuing him, reached an agreement. We’ll have to see if the Rockies beat writers check in soon. Vizcaino had been looking for a three or four-year deal.
Archives for December 2007
Rangers Signing Fukumori
UPDATE, 12-13-07 at 10:20am: Rosenthal confirms this signing; it kind of flew under the radar. Pretty cheap at $1.5MM per year.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 1:57pm: My Japanese-speaking friend says that this article indicates Fukumori signed with Texas for two years and $3MM. The $1.5MM salary is about twice what he made in ’07. Fukumori also had offers from the Pirates and Rays.
FROM 12-12-07 at 9:08am:
According to Evan Grant, the Rangers are "on the verge" of signing Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. It would be a two-year deal.
As many as 10 teams were said to be interested in Fukumori, including the Yankees, Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox. Ken Davidoff recently spoke to a scout who described Fukumori as "not bad."
Reds Rumors: Bedard, Prior
A break from your regularly scheduled steroid talk. John Fay checks in on the Reds’ pursuit of starting pitching.
- Fay says the Reds are still hopeful about getting Erik Bedard, and puts their chances at 50/50. The Orioles still want Jay Bruce, and the Reds are still resisting.
- Fay notes Dusty Baker told folks at the Meetings that he’d like to have Mark Prior. Whether Prior would like to be under his watch again is the question. As a 22 year-old in 2003, Prior ranked third in baseball in Pitcher Abuse Points per start.
Best Of The Non-Tenders
Here’s MLB.com’s official list of all the players who were non-tendered. These players are all free agents now. Any interesting names?
Josh Towers can at least eat innings for someone. He’ll be 31 in February. His control is incredible, but in turn he’s very hittable. Throw him in a big NL park with a strong defense, he could post a sub-4.00 ERA.
Mark Prior, just 27, is one of the more intriguing names out there. He was drafted by the Yankees in ’98 but went to college instead. Back in August, he was talking about being ready for Opening Day following April shoulder surgery. However he was supposed to be thinking about throwing around late October and I haven’t heard anything about that. Four league months might from him might be the best case scenario. But he could be solid in 2009 if the shoulder is truly repaired.
Kiko Calero turns 33 in January. He was lousy in ’07, but he had shoulder problems for much of the year and expects to be healthy for Spring Training. He was a solid reliever from 2003-06. 32 year-old Matt Wise isn’t dominant but you could do worse for your sixth inning guy.
Akinori Otsuka turns 36 in January. Last we heard, he was throwing pain-free. If his elbow looks good upon review, he could be a nice late-inning addition hopefully on a one-year deal.
Emil Brown will be 33 years old soon. He never found his groove in ’07 and may never again. But he had over 1,000 ABs of an OPS over .800 from 2005-06 and deserves a shot.
Kevin Mench, 30 in January, still owns lefties. With the right platoon partner, say, Shawn Green, they could do some damage.
Adam Everett, 31 in February, may be the only somewhat viable free agent shortstop now. His .299 career OBP is ghastly, but he’s among the best defensive shortstops in the game.
Miguel Olivo and Johnny Estrada are the two viable free agent catching options. Both have shown the ability to be above average hitters for their position. Olivo gunned down 33% of attempted thieves, but Estrada was the worst in the game at 13%. Olivo, however, cannot get on base to save his life.
Morgan Ensberg, 32, hit 36 home runs in 2005. He’s had injuries and plain ineffectiveness since, but he’s worthy of consideration in a weak third base market. Another former Astro, Jason Lane, turns 31 soon. He can play all three outfield positions and socked 26 HR in ’05. Maybe there was something in Houston’s water that year.
The Mitchell Report Is Coming
The big story of today will undoubtedly be the Mitchell Report this afternoon. Dozens of current and former players are expected to be named, and they won’t all be scrubs.
As you know, the focus of MLBTR is trades and free agent signings, hot stove stuff. I don’t consider steroid rumors a big part of it. So I’ll probably cover a little of it, focusing how the current hot stove landscape may be altered.
I did receive one tip on this topic – my guy says the Yankees are in for a bad day (but Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are not in the report).
Rockies Sign Kip Wells
According to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, the Rockies signed Kip Wells to a one-year deal worth around $3MM.
Wells could start or relieve for the Rox, depending on how Franklin Morales looks early on. I was talking to a friend from STATS, Inc. who saw a lot of parallels between the Kipper and Joel Pineiro a year ago.
Today’s Non-tenders: Towers, Prior, Everett, Durbin
Tim’s out for the night, so we’ve got a fresh post started for the non-tenders. MLB.com has a running list as well.
These guys are the officials as of now:
- As expected, the Marlins non-tendered catcher Miguel Olivo. Johnny Estrada was another casualty; these two make up the market for starting catchers.
- The Blue Jays non-tendered Josh Towers, a surprising move. Some NL team could offer him two years and get league average work out of him.
- Mark Prior has been non-tendered. Honestly if I were the Cubs, I would’ve tossed the $3.5MM his way just to see.
- Aaron Miles is now a free agent.
- The A’s cut Kiko Calero loose.
- The Padres have non-tendered four: Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, and pitchers Jack Cassell and Ryan Ketchner. RotoWorld speculates that the latter two, not arbitration eligible, could be offered minor league deals.
- The Royals cut the cord on Emil Brown. He turns 33 soon; he hit an ugly .257/.300/.347 in 2007. Brown earned $3.45MM in ’07.
- The Tigers non-tendered Chad Durbin, toss him into the free agent pool. Guess those trade talks with the Bucs didn’t work out.
- The Twins have let go Jason Tyner.
- The Nats have cut bait with Nook Logan and LHP Michael O’Connor.
- The Dodgers wave goodbye to Mark Hendrickson.
- The White Sox have non-tendered Andy Gonzalez and LHP Heath Phillips. Joe Crede sticks with the Pale Hose for now.
- Adam Everett has lost his job with the Astros. It’d be kind of funny if the Orioles signed him.
- Per RotoWorld, the Angels have non-tendered Dallas McPherson. He’s full of potential, but he’s never come through. He’s only 27, though, so he could still catch on somewhere. Unless, RotoWorld notes, he has an agreement in place with the Angels.
- The Braves have non-tendered Willie Harris, though he had already been DFA’d.
–Joe and Tim
Rangers Acquire Broussard, Non-tender Otsuka
Quick note from Geoff Baker – the Mariners sent first baseman Ben Broussard to the Rangers for minor league infielder Tug Hulett. Makes sense; the Mariners clear $3.5MM+ from the payroll and actually get something in return. The Rangers get a cheap stopgap first baseman who won’t embarrass them.
We may never hear from Hulett again, but he’s better than the nothing the Mariners would’ve gotten for non-tendering Broussard.
The Rangers also non-tendered Akinori Otsuka. Last we’d heard he was throwing pain-free in October, but maybe the Rangers learned he needed Tommy John after all. (Hat tip to Rangerfans.com).
Dodgers In Lead For Hiroki Kuroda?
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 10:05pm: Still no clarity on the Kuroda situation. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick notes Japanese reports indicating Kuroda has signed with the Dodgers, but Ned Colletti is still awaiting word from his agent. Here’s Tony Jackson’s update; he says pretty much the same.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 1:40pm: Jerry Crasnick checks in, noting that Kuroda is visiting his California-based agent. They’ll go over the four offers they have in hand.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 8:56am: If the Diamondbacks are out of the running for Kuroda, they haven’t been informed of it. Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News wrote early today that Kuroda was on a flight to L.A. – either indicating he is doing his recruiting tour or he signed with the Dodgers. Jackson believes the latter is the case.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 8:21am: The Kyodo News, found via RotoWorld, reports that Kuroda has chosen the Dodgers and he informed his former team on Tuesday night. The signing could be announced today.
UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 11:18pm: Geoff Baker tells us all to calm down. Kuroda hasn’t made his decision yet, though the Dodgers and Mariners remain the frontrunners. Baker believes it might take several days to reach a conclusion.
UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 9:17pm: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News has some info. He says that Kuroda is strongly leaning towards the Dodgers and the decision is due soon. Jackson verifies that Kuroda has cancelled his U.S. trip and will choose between the Dodgers and Mariners. The presence of Takashi Saito may be a big point in the Dodgers’ favor. But this deal is not done yet.
FROM 12-11-07 at 8:10pm:
Just got a good tip that Hiroki Kuroda has chosen the Dodgers. At least, that’s the word out of Japan – Ned Colletti and Co. aren’t fessing up to anything yet. It definitely seems that the D’Backs are out of the mix. Kuroda apparently cancelled his U.S. tour and will make his decision from home. He may choose the Dodgers over the Ms despite L.A. offering a bit less.
Vizcaino Close With Bucs, Rox
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Luis Vizcaino is close to signing a multi-year deal with either the Pirates or the Rockies. The righty reliever rejected arbitration the Yankees offer of arbitration.
I’m not quite sure why the Pirates are looking to sign a middle reliever to a multi-year deal. He makes far more sense for the Rox, who figure to contend next year. They’re looking to replace LaTroy Hawkins, and could probably get similar production from The Viz.
After posting ERAs under 4.00 from 2004 through 2006, Vizcaino topped that threshold this year. While he was solid for three months of the season, he was absolutely atrocious for the other three.
–Joe
