Royals Considering Orlando Hudson
ESPN.com’s Buster Olney heard the Royals are looking for ways to fit Orlando Hudson into their budget. Olney calls this a "terrific idea" that would likely give the Royals a "greatly improved lineup and a better defense."
Earlier in the week, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reported the Royals’ interest in signing a free agent before the season begins. Hudson would cost the Royals their second-round pick.
Odds And Ends: Griffey, Varitek, Giants
A few links for Saturday morning…
- Russell Branyan wants Ken Griffey Jr. to join him in Seattle according to this AP story found in the Globe and Mail.
- If Griffey ends up in Seattle, Cameron Smith of the Washington Post says it’s nothing but a marketing ploy.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times likes the depth the Bobby Abreu addition gives the Angels.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants could make a trade in Spring Training if teams are looking to dump salary. Brian Sabean says he’s keeping his eye on teams who may need to free up money.
- Alex Speier of WEEI in Boston heard from Jason Varitek about his contract negotiations this offseason. Varitek says he never doubted that he would stay in Boston.
- This doesn’t have to do with rumors, but it’s a good read: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan shares anecdotes from 20 years of Spring Training.
Dodgers Put Bullpen Search On Hold
Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that the Dodgers have put their search for a lefty reliever on hold because talks aren’t progressing with Will Ohman, Dennys Reyes and Jamey Wright.
The Dodgers have added some lower tier arms and for now GM Ned Colletti says he’s happy to let pitchers such as Carmen Cali, Stephen Randolph and Scott Strickland compete with Jeff Weaver and others.
Tigers Could Make Trade
Lynn Henning of the Detroit News expects the Tigers to make a trade before the regular season, "perhaps a big one." Henning writes that the team could trade away starting pitching if Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis are healthy. Henning also mentions Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn as possible trade candidates.
Willis and Robertson each have considerable negative trade value, as they’ll both make at least $7MM in 2009 and 2010. Unless the Tigers are willing to pay most of that, they’d have to trade one of their other starters: Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Armando Galarraga, Edwin Jackson or Zach Miner. Trading one of those starters would leave the Tigers with a thin rotation.
The Tigers don’t have a starting spot for Thames if Gary Sheffield stays healthy.
Mets To Sign Livan Hernandez
According to Christian Red of the New York Daily News, the Mets have agreed to sign Livan Hernandez to a minor league deal worth $1MM plus incentives. Hernandez can earn another $1MM in performance bonuses according to Red’s source.
Red points out that this signing is "another indicator that free agent Pedro Martinez will likely wear another uniform this season." Regis Courtemanche of MetsBlog writes that Omar Minaya said this morning the Mets’ rotation is set without Pedro, but Newsday’s David Lennon doesn’t rule out a Pedro return.
Yankees Sign Brett Tomko
The New York Yankees have signed pitcher Brett Tomko to a minor-league deal, Tyler Kepner of The New York Times reports.
Tomko, 36 in April, went 2-7 with a 6.30 ERA for the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres in 2008. The right-hander made 10 starts and appeared 12 times in relief.
Ken Griffey Jr. Rumors: Friday
6:15pm: New Seattle Mariners first baseman Russell Branyan thinks Griffey wants to return to his first organization. Branyan said he visited with Griffey in January at his home in Orlando, Fla.
“He told me he’d love to come back here. … I asked him if we were going to be teammates again. He seemed very open to it,” Branyan said.
4:52pm: MLB.com’s Jim Street says dialogue continued today, but there’s no agreement yet. Griffey’s agent Brian Goldberg said he’s "keeping the information to a minimum with Junior while he’s playing in the Pro-Am tournament."
9:32am: According to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, the Mariners and Ken Griffey Jr. "are moving toward finalization of a one-year, incentive-laden contract." At a golf tournament yesterday, Griffey did not seem to have much knowledge of the talks.
Geoff Baker offers thoughts on the expected Griffey signing over at his blog. Keith Law on ESPN Radio recently offered this thought: "This isn’t a baseball move, this is a marketing move."
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Friday
Ken Gurnick of MLB.com spoke with Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and manager Joe Torre about the Manny Ramirez saga.
Colletti said he speaks regularly with Ramirez’ agent, Scott Boras, about bringing the free agent outfielder back.
“There’s been some progress made, but obviously not enough to consummate a deal,” said Colletti. “We’re both clear on why we stand where we stand. Three months ago, it was guesswork more than anything else.”
Torre spoke directly with Ramirez on Tuesday. “He was his usual upbeat self,” Torre said. “I’ve told him a number of times to do what’s best for his family. He’s admitted he was comfortable playing in L.A. It comes down to satisfying both parties. You like to believe there’s a lot of romance, but he’s looking for length.”
Gurnick believes the Dodgers are ready to wait indefinitely for Ramirez. After all, they didn’t have him last season until July 31.
Ramirez, 37 in May, hit .332/.430/.601 for the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers in 2008.
Arb Hearings Postponed For Aybar, Santana
According to the AP, arbitration hearings for Willy Aybar and Ervin Santana were postponed until next week. 11 other players also have pending hearings.
Who Had The Scoop?
Given the number of journalists in competition these days, as well as the instantaneous nature of breaking news, it is very difficult to scoop a major baseball story. Let’s tip our cap to the journalists who were the first to report this winter’s biggest deals. I won’t list them here, but in many cases one person scooped the agreement and a second person had the terms. Many of these are open to interpretation due to the language used.
Free agents
- Mark Teixeira: Jon Heyman of SI.com
- C.C. Sabathia: Joel Sherman of the New York Post
- A.J. Burnett: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN
- Derek Lowe: David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Ryan Dempster: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Francisco Rodriguez: Joel Sherman of the New York Post
- Oliver Perez: Jon Heyman of SI.com
- Raul Ibanez: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Milton Bradley: Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio
- Rafael Furcal: Tim Brown of Yahoo (difficult to determine)
- Kenshin Kawakami: David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Kerry Wood: Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com (difficult to determine)
- Adam Dunn: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post
- Edgar Renteria: Tim Brown of Yahoo (difficult to determine)
- Casey Blake: Jayson Stark of ESPN
- Brian Fuentes: Buster Olney of ESPN
- Pat Burrell: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Jamie Moyer: Howard Eskin of WIP 610 Radio
- Juan Rivera: Tim Brown of Yahoo
- Damaso Marte: Impacto Deportivo (journalist unknown)
- Koji Uehara: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun
- Randy Johnson: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Jon Garland: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic
- Trevor Hoffman: Barry Bloom and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com
- Andy Pettitte: Jon Heyman of SI.com
- John Smoltz: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe
- Jason Giambi: Buster Olney of ESPN
- Bobby Abreu: Jon Heyman of SI.com
- Brad Penny: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Jason Varitek: Jon Heyman of SI.com
- Randy Wolf: Tim Brown of Yahoo
- Nick Punto: Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
- Kyle Farnsworth: Steve Phillips of ESPN
- Dayan Viciedo: Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune
- Junichi Tazawa: Sponichi (journalist unknown)
Extensions
- Ryan Howard: Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer
- Prince Fielder: Tom Verducci of SI
- Cole Hamels: Joel Sherman of the New York Post
- Nick Markakis: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun
- Dustin Pedroia: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Kevin Youkilis: Peter Gammons of ESPN
- Paul Maholm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Jayson Werth: John R. Finger of CSN Philadelphia
- Ryan Madson: Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer
- Ryan Doumit: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN
- Chris Snyder: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic
Trades
- Matt Holliday: Jon Heyman of SI.com
- J.J. Putz: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (difficult to determine)
- Javier Vazquez: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Jason Marquis: Steve Phillips of ESPN
- Mark DeRosa: Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio
- Edwin Jackson: Ed Price of FOX Sports
- Ramon Hernandez: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (difficult to determine)
- Gerald Laird: Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press
- Khalil Greene: Joel Sherman of the New York Post
- Coco Crisp: Brian McRae of Sports Radio 810
- Kevin Gregg: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports
- Nick Swisher: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN
- Scott Olsen: Peter Gammons of ESPN
- Mike Jacobs: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star