Astros Re-Sign Jason Michaels
5:09pm: A "slight update" from Alyson Footer (via Twitter) – the deal includes a club option for 2011.
4:39pm: The Astros re-signed outfielder Jason Michaels to a one-year deal worth $800K, tweets Alyson Footer. Michaels, 34 in May, hit .237/.322/.430 in 152 plate appearances while playing all three outfield positions. He gets a $50K raise over last year.
Brewers To Re-Sign Claudio Vargas
Claudio Vargas will be returning to the Brewers, GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. We learned from McCalvy last week that the Brewers view Vargas as a reliever. In 30.3 relief innings for Milwaukee this year Vargas posted a 1.78 ERA, 5.9 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9.
Odds & Ends: Glaus, Carroll, Capps, Fossum
Links to kick off the work week….
- Free agent Troy Glaus prefers a full-time infield corner job over a DH role, and has made his medical records available to all 30 teams reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has Randy Wolf's contract details, courtesy of the AP.
- ESPN's Keith Law provides his take on recent non-tenders Capps, Wang, Ryan Langerhans, Gabe Gross, and Kelly Johnson.
- Jamey Carroll is deciding between multiple two-year offers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He notes that the Angels, Dodgers, and A's have shown interest. Perhaps today's Craig Counsell signing will lead to a deal for Carroll.
- Chien-Ming Wang might not sign for months, his agent Alan Nero told ESPN's Buster Olney. Speaking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan said Wang would interest him.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington explained to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday that Kovacevic's December 8th report of a non-tender threat caused Matt Capps to lose all trade value. As if the possibility couldn't have crossed the minds of Capps' suitors otherwise. But note that Huntington took issue with the leak itself rather than Kovacevic printing it.
- The Blue Jays announced on their official Twitter page that they've agreed to terms with Jose Bautista ($2.4MM) and Dustin McGowan ($500K). McGowan gets a raise of about $80K after missing all of '09 with a shoulder injury. Bautista will receive no raise. Perhaps the Jays had told him that they'd only tender him if he took the same salary.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff explains that "the whole notion of an 'offer' is overblown," mainly a publicity move.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times wrote about the emergence of Twitter in baseball coverage, and I contributed a few thoughts.
- The Hanshin Tigers inked lefty Casey Fossum to a one-year deal worth $600K, reports Kyodo News. Fossum, 32 in January, pitched at Triple A for three organizations this year, compiling a 3.55 ERA in 129.3 innings.
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman reports that pitcher Colby Lewis will return to MLB after a couple of very effective years starting in Japan.
Pirates, Cards, Astros Interested In Kelly Johnson
Earlier today we learned that the Diamondbacks have interest in free agent second baseman Kelly Johnson, and now we're able to add three more clubs to the list of suitors. MLBTR learned from an industry source that the Pirates, Cardinals, and Astros have interest in Johnson.
It seems possible that Johnson might have to settle for a super-utility job, in that clubs are hoping he'll bounce back both offensively and defensively. He's still a decent gamble for a few million, and if he signs a one-year deal he'll be arbitration-eligible after the 2010 season.
D’Backs Rumors: Kelly Johnson, Randy Winn
The latest on the D'Backs from Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic…
- The D'Backs are interested in free agent second baseman Kelly Johnson. Piecoro says signing Johnson could prompt the team to trade Augie Ojeda, who recently agreed to a $850K contract.
- Piecoro is "hearing Randy Winn's name as a possibility" for Arizona. The 35-year-old hit just .262/.318/.353 for the Giants this year, but continued to excel defensively at the outfield corners. In November, Winn's agent Craig Landis said his client is looking for an everyday job.
- Piecoro says the D'Backs are likely to sell righty Tony Barnette's rights to the Yakult Swallows.
- Piecoro writes of indications the D'Backs are not interested in Chien-Ming Wang, as they'd prefer not to bring in another health risk.
Brewers Re-Sign Craig Counsell
2:05pm: Haudricourt tweets that Counsell will receive $2.1MM plus a possible $500K in incentives for games played.
12:38pm: The Brewers re-signed Craig Counsell, tweets Tyler Barnes, the team's VP of Communications. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that it's a one-year pact worth "a bit more than $2MM." A new deal had been expected. Counsell is coming off a fine season in which he hit .285/.357/.408 for the Brewers and played second base, third base, and shortstop.
Mariners Sign Eliezer Alfonzo
The Mariners signed catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Venezuelan journalist Efrain Zavarce. Alfonzo, 31 in February, hit .175/.197/.254 in 117 plate appearances for the Padres this year, catching 255 innings. He hit .309/.339/.569 in 219 Triple A PAs, however.
Neal Huntington – GM Trade History
We've got a new entry in the GM Trade History series, courtesy of Jesse Behr of The 'Burgh Blues. Click here to download an Excel spreadsheet of Neal Huntington's work for the Pirates.
Odds & Ends: Wang, Yankees, White Sox
Some Sunday links…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that three AL teams and three NL teams have shown interest in Chien-Ming Wang. However, the Dodgers are not one of those teams "yet." Rosenthal notes that Wang is a favorite of Joe Torre and his staff.
- In his running blog, Rosenthal says that Kevin Youkilis' versatility gives the Red Sox a number of options this winter. Boston could sign Adrian Beltre to play third or, for a much lower price, Nick Johnson to play first.
- Regardless of where Wang signs, we can safely assume that it will not be for a split contract. The Yankees made the 29-year-old a minor-league offer that would become a major-league deal once his shoulder was healthy. Wang's agent demanded guaranteed money, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.
- Earlier today, Buster Olney mentioned the Yanks as a possible destination for free agent outfielder Brian Giles. Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger hears that the club is just doing its "due diligence" by checking in on the soon-to-be 39-year-old.
- The White Sox have signed Freddie Bynum and T.J. Bohn to minor league deals, according to the FutureSox twitter page.
- Kevin Correia's agent Barry Axelrod told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the Brewers and Rays both showed interested in trading for his client. While GM Jed Hoyer gave him no guarantees that the one-year deal won't be a sign-and-trade, Axelrod is confident that the 29-year-old will pitch for San Diego in 2010.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke to Mike Rivera, who was non-tendered by the Brewers yesterday. Rivera says he was caught off guard by the decision but was told by GM Doug Melvin that the organization might reach out to him again at some point.
Reds Notes: Gomes, Nix, Amezaga
Some Reds notes courtesy of John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who spoke to GM Walt Jocketty…
- Jocketty says the club is "open" to bringing back recently non-tendered Jonny Gomes. Talking to Gomes last night, Jocketty told the outfielder that they would like to "make it work," but didn't want to be locked in by arbitration.
- The GM continues to chat with Laynce Nix's agent and says something is "pretty close" to getting done. Nix elected free agency after being outrighted by the Reds in November.
- Fay mentioned the name of Alfredo Amezaga, who was non-tendered by the Marlins last night. While Jocketty noted that he is a good athlete, he mentioned that he has trouble staying healthy.