White Sox, J.J. Putz Agree To Terms
The White Sox reached a one-year, $3MM deal with reliever J.J. Putz, tweets MLB.com's Noah Coslov. AOL FanHouse's Ed Price tweets that Putz can earn another $3MM in incentives for games finished. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets of another $250K in incentives for appearances. A Bobby Jenks trade might be good for Putz's wallet.
Putz was scheduled to throw for teams today; he had also drawn interest from the Cubs, Nationals, Pirates, Tigers, D'Backs, and Phillies. The righty, 33 in February, tallied only 29.3 innings this year for the Mets due to elbow issues. He was dominant for the Mariners in '06 and '07.
On a related note, MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports that Sox reliever D.J. Carrasco could be non-tendered tomorrow. Carrasco, 33 in April, posted a 3.76 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 in 93.3 innings this year. His peripheral stats weren't much different from Brandon Lyon's.
Red Sox Will Tender Contract To Kotchman
On July 22nd, the Red Sox made a surprising acquisition in first baseman Adam LaRoche. Odder still, they shipped LaRoche to the Braves eleven days later for Casey Kotchman. Perhaps the Sox simply felt two potential seasons of Kotchman had more value than one potential supplemental pick gained if they offered arbitration to LaRoche and he signed elsewhere.
We learned today that the Red Sox will not cut the arbitration-eligible Kotchman loose on Saturday, as WEEI's Alex Speier says they fully intend to tender him a contract. Kotchman probably won't sign for much more than $3MM for 2010. The Sox seem intent on moving Mike Lowell, so Kotchman would be the default starter at first base (with Kevin Youkilis moving to third) unless Adrian Beltre or another corner infielder is acquired.
Speier relays a suggestion from Red Sox GM Theo Epstein that the Red Sox have one non-tender candidate for Saturday. Speier believes it to be outfielder Brian Anderson, who made our list. Other outfielders who, in our estimation, might be non-tendered tomorrow: Jack Cust, Jonny Gomes, Gabe Gross, Ryan Langerhans, Jeremy Reed, and Cory Sullivan.
Rafael Soriano-Jesse Chavez Swap Made Official
The Rays made their deal for Braves reliever Rafael Soriano official today, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. He says the Rays came to terms on a one-year, $7.25MM deal with Soriano, who was acquired from Atlanta for reliever Jesse Chavez. A reminder on how this all played out:
On December 1st, the Braves made arbitration offers to Type A free agent relievers Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, expecting both to decline. The Braves moved quickly to sign Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito in the days following, making it clear that Soriano and Gonzalez would have lesser roles if they returned. Gonzalez, a Scott Boras client, declined arbitration. But after his agent talked to teams all day Monday at the Winter Meetings, Soriano decided the best move was to accept arbitration (otherwise, he would've cost his signing team a draft pick). The Braves held talks with the Orioles, Astros, and Rays at the Meetings, eventually shipping Soriano to Tampa Bay for Chavez. So the Braves hoped to get two draft picks for the loss of Soriano, but instead received five years of Chavez.
And from the Rays' point of view…back in November, a few days before they had to decide between second baseman Akinori Iwamura's $4.85MM option and a $550K buyout, they traded him to the Pirates for Chavez. It was a solid move, Chavez being under team control through 2014. Still, he wasn't a guy to whom they'd hand over the ninth inning. The Rays were expected to add a few bargain free agents to compete for the closer job, with owner Stuart Sternberg saying on December 6th, "There is no $7 million closer showing up." Maybe Sternberg was being literal, as the Rays sent Chavez to the Braves and now have a $7.25 million closer.
Torrealba, Rockies $400K Apart
The Rockies are just $400K apart on a new contract with catcher Yorvit Torrealba, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Torrealba wants to match Ivan Rodriguez's deal (two years, $6MM) while the Rockies are at two years and $5.6MM.
With the Royals apparently focused on Jason Kendall, Torrealba's other options are the Mets and Giants. The Mets have an offer out to Bengie Molina, but Renck notes that Torrealba is "scheduled to travel to New York next week to resolve his pending grievance" with them. He says the Giants like Torrealba on a one-year deal, and also made an inquiry on Detroit's Gerald Laird.
Royals Sign Bruce Chen, Vance Wilson, Four Others
According to a press release from the Royals, they've signed six players to minor league deals: pitchers Bruce Chen, Adam Bostick, Devon Lowery, and Francisco Rosario, as well as first baseman Ernesto Mejia and catcher Vance Wilson.
Chen, 32, posted a 5.78 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 in 62.3 innings for the Royals this year. Wilson, 37 in March, hit .270/.342/.461 in 229 Double A plate appearances this year. He seems all the way back from Tommy John surgery and might warrant another look as an MLB backup.
Join The MLBTR Forums
It's been a week, and already over 1,100 people have joined the MLBTR Forums. Sign up now – we have active discussions on trades, free agents, the amateur draft, all 30 teams, and more!
Rockies, Iannetta Agree To Three-Year Deal
FRIDAY, 10:08am: Renck says Iannetta's three-year deal is worth $8.3MM, with a $5MM club option for his first free agent year (2013).
THURSDAY, 3:23pm: Renck says Iannetta and the Rockies have agreed on a three-year deal worth more than $8MM. The deal includes an option for Iannetta's first free agent year, 2013. By comparison, Chris Snyder will earn $9.6MM for his arbitration years and Ryan Doumit will get $10.7MM.
1:00pm: The Rockies are close to signing catcher Chris Iannetta to a three-year deal, writes Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The contract would buy out all three of Iannetta's arbitration years. Renck says the Rockies' initial offer was around $6.8MM. He also notes that the team's budget has room for both Iannetta and Yorvit Torrealba.
Iannetta, 27 in April, slumped slightly to .228/.344/.460 in 350 plate appearances this year (still very good for a catcher). He logged 763.6 innings behind the dish, throwing out 26% of attempted thieves.
Giants Talks For Uggla Getting Warmer?
Yesterday, asked about the Marlins' Dan Uggla by Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, Giants GM Brian Sabean spoke more generally:
I'll make a blanket statement: We're not in any trade discussions that are close to happening as compared to the free agents.
Things may have changed slightly – Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that the Giants' talks for Uggla have gotten warmer, though no agreement has been reached on names. He notes that it'd likely be Freddy Sanchez, not Uggla, switching to third base in the event of a deal. MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets of a "general feeling" that Uggla will wind up a Giant, but no deals are expected until after tomorrow's deadline.
The non-tender deadline is tomorrow at 11pm CST. The Marlins have been a lock to tender Uggla a contract all along, but the team's baseball operations president Larry Beinfest told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that teams will probably want to gauge the non-tender landscape before trade talks pick back up. Garrett Atkins figures to be the main name joining the free agent third baseman class, with Jose Bautista not out of the question.
Jason Bay Rumors: Friday
As you know, the Mets topped Boston's Jason Bay bid by $5MM by offering four years and $65MM yesterday. John Tomase of the Boston Herald provides some insight into Bay's asking price: he says Bay's agent countered the Boston offer with six years at $16-18MM annually. So, between $96-108MM. It's been speculated by one official that the team offering Bay five years will get him.
Giants Sign Tony Pena Jr.
The Giants signed Tony Pena Jr. to a minor league deal worth $650K in the Majors, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Pena, 29 in March, logged over 2,000 innings in his Royals career as a shortstop, but is now trying pitching. He tossed 19.3 solid minor league innings this year, and is currently working in the Dominican Winter League.