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Archives for November 2009

Red Sox Making Push For Halladay

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3:05pm: Not so fast, says John Tomase of The Boston Herald. He writes that a team source "made it clear today the Red Sox recognize that swinging any deal for Halladay will likely be a lengthy process." The Winter Meetings are just 11 days away.

Meanwhile, both Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com and Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston put their two cents in about a potential Halladay-to-Boston deal.

8:17am: The Boston Red Sox are aggressively pursuing Roy Halladay, hoping to get a trade worked out before the winter meetings, according to Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.

The Daily News report cites an unnamed source that claims the Sox are "putting on a full-court press" in the negotiations for Halladay. Since new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is willing to trade Toronto's ace within the division, the Red Sox and Yankees are considered frontrunners in the Halladay sweepstakes, with the Angels and Dodgers also in the mix. For either AL East powerhouse, acquiring the right-hander would not only bolster their rotation, but would keep him away from a division rival.

Feinsand and Madden suggest that the Sox would have to give up at least Clay Buchholz and Casey Kelly in order to get a deal done with the Jays.

Padres Claim Radhames Liz

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According to a team press release, the Padres have claimed righthander Radhames Liz off waivers from the Orioles. The 26-year-old appeared in two games for the O's in 2009, allowing eight hits and ten runs in just 1.1 innings. He made 17 starts for Baltimore in 2008, putting up a 6.72 ERA in 84.1 IP.

Prior to the 2008 season, Baseball America ranked Liz as the Orioles' number two prospect behind Matt Wieters.

White Sox Sign Andruw Jones

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The White Sox have signed outfielder Andruw Jones to a one year contract worth $500K, according to ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine. Jones could earn another $1MM in performance based incentives, and Levine mentions that the ChiSox are not looking at him as a starting outfielder, instead they were looking to solidify their bench.

The 32-year-old Jones hit .214/.323/.459 in 331 plate appearances for Texas last year, spending most of his time at DH. He also appeared in eight games at first base, plus 17 in the two corner outfield spots. FanGraphs values his 2009 peformance at $3.6MM, so this appears to be a nice little pickup considering the low base salary.

Yesterday we heard that Chicago was interested in Coco Crisp, though the Jones signing might quell that interest.

Phillies Targeting Adrian Beltre

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Major league and team sources have indicated that Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro is targeting free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, according to Randy Miller of The Bucks County Courier Times. However, Amaro apparently knows that money may be an issue, because Scott Boras is "believed to be after a four-year deal."

The Phillies are shopping around for someone to man the hot corner after turning down Pedro Feliz's option, and the 30-year-old Beltre seems like a natural fit given his excellent defense and solid bat, assuming his shoulder is healthy.

Odds & Ends: Lincecum, Gonzalez, Damon

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Let's check out some Wednesday morning links….

Shelley Duncan Elects Free Agency

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Shelley Duncan has elected to become a free agent after being outrighted by the New York Yankees, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

Duncan, 30, was drafted in the second round in 2001 by the Yankees, eventually seeing his first major-league action in 2007. He slugged seven homers in just 83 plate appearances that year, but has struggled in limited playing time since. In the last two seasons combined, Duncan has played in 34 games at OF/1B/DH, hitting .181/.250/.264 in 80 plate appearances.

Orioles Could Make Big-Money Offers

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In a conversation with MASN Sports' Steve Melewski, Baltimore Orioles president Andy MacPhail indicated that the team wouldn't rule out pursuing a top-tier free agent this offseason.

MacPhail pointed to the $140MM offer that the club made to Mark Teixeira last winter as an example of the Orioles' willingness to negotiate with the bigger names on the market: "To think we wouldn't go out there or that offer somehow is not genuine is absurd. It's over twice what was offered in the history of the franchise before.

"We have to be careful about who those (big dollar) players are. And I have to be responsible. Contracts of that magnitude, unless you are an extraordinarily wealthy club, can sink a franchise. You have to be judicious when you go out there. But we were out there a year ago."

MacPhail also confirmed that estimates putting the Orioles' current 2010 commitments (including raises to arbitration-eligible players) at about $45MM "are not terribly off the mark." Given that the team's payroll has been right around $67MM for the last two seasons, the Orioles could have $20MM+ to fill out their roster. Spreading that money out over a few inexpensive signings seems more likely, but MacPhail's comments suggest that the Orioles are keeping their options open.

Royals Sign Josh Rupe, Buck Coats

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The Kansas City Royals have signed a pair of players, pitcher Josh Rupe and outfielder Buck Coats, to minor league contracts, according to a press release.

Rupe, 27, pitched four times out of the bullpen for the Texas Rangers last season, posting a 15.43 ERA and allowing 17 baserunners in just 4.2 IP. The right-hander was a little more successful for the Rangers in 2008, recording a 5.14 ERA in 89.1 IP of mostly mop-up duty.

Coats spent all of 2009 with Las Vegas, the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .302/.361/.416. In 62 career big-league plate appearances, the 27-year-old has posted a .193/.242/.333 line.

Red Sox Search For Starting Pitching

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Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes today that adding starting pitching depth will be one of the main priorities for the Boston Red Sox this winter.

The team's current rotation has some question marks after Jon Lester and Josh Beckett. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield are coming off injuries in 2009, and Wakefield will turn 44 next summer. Clay Buchholz, meanwhile, has never pitched a full season in the majors.

Abraham thinks it's unlikely that the Red Sox pursue a top free agent arm like John Lackey or Randy Wolf, but believes they'll focus on the second tier of high-upside pitchers recovering from injuries. We heard yesterday that Boston has some interest in Kelvim Escobar. Abraham names a few other notable potential targets: Ben Sheets, Rich Harden, Erik Bedard, and Justin Duchscherer.

Of course, the Roy Halladay rumors continue to persist as well. In a separate piece, Abraham blogs that he feels Halladay would be worth the price for the Red Sox (the price, presumably, being Buchholz, Casey Kelly, and another prospect or two).

Jose Lopez Likely Staying Put In Seattle

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The Seattle Mariners appear ready to head into 2010 with Jose Lopez as their starting second baseman, according to Larry LaRue of The News Tribune.

The Mariners considered Lopez, who turned 26 yesterday, one of their few trade chips heading into the offseason, but they've received very little interest. Although Lopez is still young and provides power from second base (25 homers last season), his 2009 OBP was exactly in line with his subpar career rate of .303. LaRue also notes that "other teams have seen his lack of range and quickness in the field," though Fangraphs is more forgiving of Lopez's defense (+1.5 UZR/150).

With Lopez virtually "untradeable" and the team unlikely to acquire a better alternative, it looks like the 26-year-old will return to Seattle as their everyday second baseman next year.

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