Braves Sign Kenshin Kawakami
2:47pm: Says Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown, the contract is a three-year deal.
1:43pm: David O’Brien says, "Deal is done, pending physical." Kenshin Kawakami is an Atlanta Brave.
SATURDAY, 11:34am: In the comments section of his own post, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes:
I really think the Braves have reached an agreement with Kawakami. And not because a Japanese paper reported it.
In the body of the article, he writes that an announcement by Kawakami’s people "could come at any time."
7:45pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman that the Braves may have already lured Kawakami. The report says "multiple Major League sources" are confirming tonight that a deal is near completion and that this rate, Kawakami could take a physical on Monday. The report also details that the Braves are readying their first offer for Derek Lowe, which they plan to make next week. More from Bowman here.
FRIDAY, 5:00pm: This link is gaining in popularity. It says the Braves are close to a deal with Kenshin Kawakami, but there’s still a chance he could sign elsewhere. I do think the Braves may end up signing him but I still feel this report may be jumping the gun.
Brewers Won’t Sign “Big-Bucks” Starter
In a preview of his Sunday column, Tom Haudricourt reports the Brewers aren’t likely to sign a big ticket free agent starting pitcher this offseason.
As an indication of just how unlikely that signing might be, Haudricourt has a quote from Doug Melvin; says the Brewers GM, "I haven’t even talked to Scott Boras."
At the very least, that quote would appear to explicitly eliminate Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez from the Brewers’ shopping list.
Nationals Showing Interest In Nady, Swisher
Bill Ladson of MLB.com says the Nationals are calling the Yankees about Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher. Nationals GM Jim Bowden’s alleged interest in these reportedly available outfielders should not surprise anyone.
Ladson says Nady has been a Washington target since last summer, as a potential stabilizing force at first base. The Nationals have indeed been frustrated with Nick Johnson‘s lack of durability. Now Swisher is reportedly a possibility for the first base job, while Nady is seen as an upgrade in right field.
Also, confirming what many had suspected, Ladson notes that free agents Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson "have exceeded the team’s price range."
Fay, Jocketty Discuss Reds: Baldelli, Abreu, Nady, Swisher
Once again, John Fay and Walt Jocketty have discussed some Reds offseason activity.
- The Reds were very much in on Rocco Baldelli, and were offering about the same money as the Red Sox. In the end, it appears Baldelli made his choice based on geography. Of course, the Red Sox do have the better team, albeit in a much more difficult division.
- At first, Fay interpreted this to mean the Reds now have $7.5MM available to spend; however, when asked, Jocketty said that might not be true.
- Fay suggests Bobby Abreu might fill some team needs. According to Jocketty, "He’s still looking for a big contract," and thus, Jocketty says he’s "not sure he’s a fit."
- Fay holds to the theory that the Reds and Yankees could match up well, with Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher being mentioned specifically.
D’Backs Rotation Plans
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the D’Backs plan on going after many free agent starters in hopes that one of them will sign at an affordable rate. Arizona appears to have $4-5MM to spend on an arm.
The club has traditionally avoided incentive-based deals because they bring financial uncertainty, but Piecoro sees "indications the team might be willing to relax its policy." Piecoro names Ben Sheets, Pedro Martinez and Jason Jennings as possible fits for the club, but those pitchers are considered health risks, so incentive-based deals could work for them.
To Sheets’s credit, he did make 31 starts last year, so he’s likely to get much stronger offers than the other two.
Odds And Ends: Johnson, Bloomquist, Smoltz
Links for Saturday:
- We knew Dan Johnson was heading to Japan, but now it’s official. He’ll play for the Yokohama BayStars and earn $1.5MM in 2009.
- Rob Neyer writes that the Willie Bloomquist signing caps an offseason that’s cost the Royals a lot and left them with very little top talent.
- Losing John Smoltz hasn’t been easy for the Braves.
- MLB.com’s Tom Singer takes a look at some of the remaining free agent pitchers.
- Buster Olney creates a team of the remaining free agents and it doesn’t look bad. He also has a fun idea for teams who want to sign a Type A free agent without losing their top pick.
- Jim Johnson seems likely to start the season in the bullpen for Baltimore.
- Peter Schmuck writes that at a low enough price it would make sense for the O’s to gamble on some pitchers to fill out the rotation.
- Larry LaRue wonders whether the Mariners will hold onto Jamie Burke; Burke does too.
Pirates Rumors: Pearce, Swisher, Nady
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette turned up a few more Pirates rumors:
- Though the Pirates would like to sign a right-handed power-hitting outfielder, GM Neal Huntington says Steve Pearce is a "viable option."
- It doesn’t look like the talks between the Yankees and Pirates about Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher are going to amount to anything.
- The Pirates would like to add a major league starter, but they are more likely to strengthen pitching in the upper levels of the minor leagues.
Dodgers Rumors: Wolf, Garland, Looper
Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News has a variety of Dodgers rumors for us:
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he would like to add "a starter, a reliever or both" as well as a versatile bench player.
- Jackson writes that the club’s believed to have refined its search for a starter to three pitchers: Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Braden Looper. Yahoo’s Tim Brown wrote that the Dodgers had interest in these three earlier in the week.
- The Dodgers are also believed to be looking at Juan Cruz, a Type A free agent. Signing Cruz would require giving up a draft pick, so Jackson says he’s less likely to join the Dodgers. Ken Rosenthal suggested the Dodgers had interest earlier in the week.
- The club could bring Nomar Garciaparra back, but he has another suitor now that the Phillies are also interested.
Rangers Sign Nathan Haynes
Here’s a signing from a couple days ago. Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers have signed Nathan Haynes to a minor league contract.
Haynes played with the Rays last year and with the Angels in 2007. He’s played all three outfield positions in the majors, but his OPS is .565 in limited playing time.
Williams Shoots Down Dye Rumor
In an e-mail to Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune, White Sox GM Kenny Williams denied that there’s anything to yesterday’s rumor that the White Sox are talking with the Rangers about a deal that would send Michael Young to Chicago in exchange for Jermaine Dye and Aaron Poreda.
Williams wrote that he "would not waste time" debunking the rumor, implying that there’s nothing to it.
He also denied interest in former Sox starter Jon Garland, who’s now a free agent.