Red Sox To Sign Tazawa?
8:41pm: Several Japanese sources report the Red Sox are set to sign Tazawa as early as December 1st, according to Newman. It seems that Boston did not have the top offer, but Tazawa likes their development plan.
MONDAY, 10:40am: Newman passes along another report that says the Rangers were the fourth team to make an offer to Tazawa, and their offer was the largest. Jon Daniels won’t confirm or deny it. Jim Allen recently wrote a scouting report on Tazawa for ESPN.com:
He has good command of his fastball and slurve, but he lacks velocity, stamina and the ability to keep the ball down. At 22, Tazawa is unlikely to throw much harder than he does now; his fastball barely tops 90 mph when he is rested, and he struggled to hit 88 mph at the end of last season.
SUNDAY, 10:35pm: Newman has more on Boston’s offer to Tazawa, via Sponichi. Another report from Nikkan Sports says Tazawa has already decided on the Red Sox.
2:01pm: Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker is reporting that Red Sox vice president of international scouting, Craig Shipley, had formal negotiations with Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa, which resulted in a $6MM contract offer. No word yet on whether or not it’s a Major League deal.
Current reports state that both the Red Sox, Braves, and Mariners have offered contracts to the 22-year-old right-hander.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Monday
6:20pm: Impacto Deportivo says the surprise team is the Braves, possibly offering four years and $52MM. It’d be wise to treat the report with caution until it is confirmed by another source.
6:09pm: The Reds had a brief conversation with Kinzer about Furcal, but it probably isn’t going anywhere.
3:58pm: ESPN’s Enrique Rojas says Furcal traveled to the West Coast today, where he could sign with the Giants or A’s. However, a third team remains involved.
1:36pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer. Kinzer called the El Caribe report "bogus." Apparently there has been no four-year, $48MM offer from Oakland nor are the Mets interested. And Furcal doesn’t want to move to second base anyway.
The A’s and Giants are leading the charge for Furcal, with a "surprise team" also in the mix.
12:26pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman does not believe the Mets made an offer to Furcal.
12:11pm: Susan Slusser’s A’s source calls the below report "untrue," but it’s unclear to what degree.
8:40am: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times passes along a report from El Caribe, a newspaper in the Dominican Republic. In the report, Rafael-Fellito Ortiz talked to free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. Furcal says he has a four-year, $48MM deal on the table from the A’s (with another $2MM in incentives). Surprisingly, he also has an offer from the Mets, who would use him as a second baseman. Ortiz believes Furcal might sign soon.
Giants-Renteria Rumor False
6:00pm: Additional denials have come in via Andrew Baggarly and Derrick Goold. Baggarly says Renteria is the Giants’ fallback for Furcal. He notes that the Tigers would’ve loved to see Renteria sign today, as they’re unlikely to offer him arbitration. Goold learned that Meister will double back with the Cardinals before Renteria signs elsewhere.
5:02pm: Via an email from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Renteria’s agent Barry Meister says the report of Renteria signing is not true. Renteria is at home in Colombia; nothing is close.
3:59pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle talked to a Giants source who said the below report is not true. Schulman admits the Giants may be splitting hairs, as they might deny a deal if only formalities remain.
Rafael Furcal‘s agent Paul Kinzer says he’s still talking to the Giants, which would seem to indicate a Renteria deal isn’t close.
2:45pm: According to Sweeny Murti of WFAN, the Giants signed shortstop Edgar Renteria to a two-year, $18MM contract. We’ll update the post with more details and confirmation as it becomes available. If the report is accurate, the Tigers tentatively get the Giants’ second-round pick without worrying about whether to offer Renteria arbitration.
Renteria, 33, hit .270/.317/.382 in 547 plate appearances for the Tigers this year. Defensively, he made nine fewer plays than the average shortstop. Will a move back to the NL rejuvenate his career?
D’Backs Rumors: Easley, Loretta, Vazquez
5:54pm: The D’Backs offered Vazquez a one-year deal with a club option for 2010, according to his agent. Vazquez has a better offer from another club, and awaits a counteroffer from Arizona. He wants a multiyear deal.
10:20am: Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune says the D’Backs offered a one-year contract to Vazquez, but he seeks a multiyear deal.
10:08am: According to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, the Diamondbacks have talked to the representatives for free agent infielders Damion Easley and Mark Loretta recently. They’ve already offered a contract to Ramon Vazquez; Easley or Loretta could form a platoon with him.
Easley hit .297/.366/.459 against lefties the past three seasons, while Loretta batted .300/.383/.424. Easley earned $950K last year. Loretta accepted the Astros’ arbitration offer but lost his case and was paid $2.75MM.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says Arizona’s conservative offseason agenda could leave them little margin for error in 2009.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has the latest on the Jake Peavy trade talks, after talking to Padres GM Kevin Towers.
Towers seems to think the Cubs are a more likely suitor for Peavy than the Braves. The Cubs have obstacles – their ownership/financial situation is in flux, and they’ll need a third team to get the Padres the players they want. But Towers hasn’t spoken to the Braves in weeks, and they may object to Peavy’s desire for a full no-trade clause.
Pirates Sign Patel, Singh
5:14pm: It’s official – the Pirates signed Patel and Singh.
3:39pm: Pirates GM Neal Huntington would not confirm the report when speaking to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch, but said the Pirates are very interested in signing the two pitchers.
1:30pm: Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report from Yahoo! Japan: the Pirates signed Indian pitchers Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh to minor league deals. Patel and Singh were finalists in the Million Dollar Arm contest in India.
Odds and Ends: Halladay, Lopez, Glavine
Links for Monday…
- The Cardinals still don’t have a deal with Trever Miller.
- Is a multiyear deal coming soon for Jamie Moyer? Ken Mandel’s source says it’s been delayed only because of scheduling conflicts.
- The D’Backs released infielder Jamie D’Antona, who is headed to Japan.
- J.P. Ricciardi says trading Roy Halladay hasn’t even crossed his mind. Dan Graziano wrote last Wednesday that some continued to insist the Jays would explore trading their ace.
- River Ave. Blues considers Ben Sheets a better investment than A.J. Burnett for the Yankees.
- Jim Allen profiled the five Japanese players who plan to come over to MLB. He’s not high on Junichi Tazawa, Ken Takahashi, or Ryoji Aikawa.
- I never mentioned this, but the Braves released Rodrigo Lopez earlier this month (thanks to Jeff at Cot’s for the link).
- Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune talked to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen about various hot stove issues.
- Murray Chass talked to Tom Glavine about his future. Chass’ blog is an oddity – a veteran journalist writing and researching newspaper-style articles for his personal site.
- Joel Sherman believes the Angels are the Yankees’ biggest threat for C.C. Sabathia. Ken Davidoff agrees.
- In another article, Davidoff summarizes the situations of the ten big-name players.
- Ken Rosenthal talked to an agent who says the market is moving slowly right now.
- Viva El Birdos assesses the trade value of Ryan Ludwick.
- South Side Sox offers more thoughts on Dayan Viciedo.
Astros Acquire Lumsden
According to MLB.com’s Jim Molony, the Astros acquired lefty pitching prospect Tyler Lumsden from the Royals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Royals had designated him for assignment a few days ago; he was knocked around at Triple A this year. Baseball America liked his stuff coming into the season, but noted his poor command.
Rockies Have Not Contacted Ohman
3:51pm: Today has been all about corrections. The latest: Ohman’s agent says the Rockies have not called.
9:04am: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies are one of about ten teams pursuing free agent lefty Will Ohman. Ohman currently has an offer on the table from the Braves. The Rockies would also like to re-sign Glendon Rusch.
Yanks Have Not Set Deadline For C.C.
SI.com’s Jon Heyman talked to someone familiar with the Yankees’ thinking, and he says the Yankees have not set a deadline on their six-year, $140MM offer to C.C. Sabathia. Hank Steinbrenner said the offer wouldn’t be there forever, but that doesn’t mean it will be pulled anytime soon.