Reds Interested Carroll, Lowry
Reds GM Walt Jocketty confirmed his interest in free agent infielder Jamey Carroll and left-handed starter Noah Lowry with MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
While Jocketty said that the organization has not discussed Carroll "at length," he acknowledged that he admires his hard-nosed play.
Carroll would be slotted into shortstop, where defensive-minded Paul Janish plays. However, Jocketty insisted that he is not looking to squeeze Janish out of the picture, as both he and manager Dusty Baker value his glove. In 82 games this season, the light-hitting 27-year-old turned in a UZR/150 of 24.6 while posting .211/.296/.305 at the plate.
Carroll, on the other hand, hit .276/.355/.340 in 2009 for the Indians. However, it is worth noting that he has not played shortstop with any semblance of regularity since 2005, when he played 241 innings at the position for the Nationals (with a subpar -6.7 UZR/150).
Meanwhile, Jocketty says that Lowry could work as the Reds' fifth starter, provided that he is healthy. The former first round pick of the Giants recorded a 3.92 ERA in 2007, but walked as many batters as he struck out.
Four Teams Interested In Pudge?
3:32pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says not to expect any interest in Rodriguez from the Rays.
11:56am: Yesterday we heard that the Royals were interested in free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, and today SI.com's Jon Heyman adds the Rangers, Giants, and Rays to the mix.
Texas could be looking to bring Pudge back for depth after Jarrod Saltalamacchia left winter ball with a shoulder injury, while the Giants and Royals are looking to replace the departed Bengie Molina and Miguel Olivo, respectively. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, currently has both Kelly Shoppach and Dioner Navarro under contract, however both are prime non-tender candidates if the Rays don't like price tags.
The 38-year-old catcher hit .249/.280/.384 last year, and is a Type-B free agent. If he signs elsewhere, the Rangers will receive a supplemental first round draft pick, somewhere around 50th overall.
Astros Sign Ryan Sadowski
Ryan Sadowski, who made his major league debut with the Giants in June, has signed with the Houston Astros, writes Theo Fightmaster of the Marin Independent Journal.
The 27-year-old righty was called up for the first time after spending six years in the minors. Sadowski recorded a rather pedestrian ERA of 4.45 in six late-season starts. More notably, the "Big Sadowski" recorded 16.2 scoreless innings to start his big league career.
Miguel Sano Officially Signs With Twins
Dominican shortstop Miguel Sano, long suspected of having an age discrepancy on his records, has been formally granted his U.S. work visa, completing his deal with the Twins, writes Enrique Rojas of ESPN.
The embattled 16-year-old agreed to terms with Minnesota in September, but the deal – which included a $3.15MM signing bonus – wasn't official until the laminate on his visa dried. Interestingly, Rojas refers to the youngster by the surname "Sano" in his article, rather than his father's last name "Jean", which we had heard he would now go by.
Yankees Seek Starter On Open Market
The Yankees are interested in free agent hurlers John Lackey, Rich Harden, Joel Pineiro, and maybe Randy Wolf, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Although major league sources indicate that the the team is looking into landing Roy Halladay and their first priority continues to be re-signing Andy Pettitte, the Yanks will pursue alternatives on the open market. Brian Cashman & Co. are also expected to ink "at least one" free agent reliever, but will focus on starters first.
Rosenthal and Morosi surmise that Wolf and Pineiro are not high on the Yankees' list as the former is a lifelong National League pitcher and the latter was coming off of a five-year slide coming into '09. The report also notes that injury-prone Harden has caught the eye of the Red Sox and Mariners.
Almost a month ago, Tim picked the Bombers as the team most likely to land Lackey, the top starter of this free agent class. Do you agree with that assessment? Should the Yankees pursue less stable, but more economical options in Wolf, Pineiro, and Harden? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Odds & Ends: Holliday, Phillies, Marquis, Navarro
Some Saturday morning links…
- Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post Dispatch says the Cardinals blew it by telling the fans and media that they'd make an aggressive attempt to re-sign Matt Holliday. How could they have blown it when there's still a chance he could come back?
- Both David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News and Scott Lauber of The News Journal looked at the Phillies' long-term payroll now that Placido Polanco is on board for the next three years.
- The Mets are among the teams on Jason Marquis' wish list, writes Ben Shpigel of The NY Times, and the team has reciprocated that interest. Shpigel adds that the Mets are trying to find a "sturdy starter" from a group that includes Marquis, Joel Pineiro, and Randy Wolf.
- The Rays have a week to decide whether they'll tender a contract to Dioner Navarro, and executive vice president Andrew Friedman "indicated this week he might need every hour until that deadline to make a decision," according to Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune.
- In a highly recommended feature by Tim Sullivan of The San Diego Union Tribune, former Padres' GM Kevin Towers indicated that he'd like to learn more about the AL, saying "I’d like to see how they do business, how you put an American League team together."
- Lynn Henning of The Detroit News says that the Tigers got nothing in return for Placido Polanco, but they could have if he hadn't played so well in the second half.
- With Chone Figgins on the verge of going to Seattle, the Angels may finally give Brandon Wood a chance to play, writes Bill Shaikin of The LA Times.
- ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes says that if Terry Francona has his way, Mike Lowell won't be moving to first. Lowell said he wouldn't rule out a move across the diamond earlier this week.
- The Orioles have been downplaying the posssibility of any major moves during the Winter Meetings, according to The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck.
Latest On Roy Halladay
Last night we heard from former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi that Roy Halladay wants to be traded, adding that whenever you have a player of that magnitude, any decision to move him is one ownership makes. The Halladay talk figures to get hot and heavy during the Winter Meetings next week, so let's see what's being written about the situation right now…
- The Jays are looking for "top prospects at pitcher, shortstop and catcher in any deal," says Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune. He adds that the White Sox surely would have been in on Halladay if they didn't acquire Jake Peavy at the deadline.
- Anthony McCarron of The NY Daily News says the Yankees will "see what's there," referring to potential trade talks with Toronto.
- ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes says "it's starting to sound like [the Red Sox] have considerable qualms about the kind of money and players it will take to land" Doc.
- Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus says that a trade to the Angels will not happen because Halladay wants to train in Florida, and that's "absolute." The Halos train in Tempa, Arizona. If true, this demand would also eliminate the Cubs, Dodgers, and Rangers, all of whom train in Arizona and have been linked to Halladay at various times.
Cubs Interested In Cameron, Byrd
The Cubs have discussed bringing in free agent outfielder Mike Cameron according to Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times, however they must first unload Milton Bradley to see how much payroll that frees up.
Manager Lou Piniella, who knows Cameron from their days in Seattle, said he anticipates meeting with Cameron's agent during the Winter Meetings next week. They also have interest in Marlon Byrd, according to Wittenmyer.
Cubs centerfielders hit .260/.358/.417 in 2009, however their -16.7 UZR was third worst in baseball.
Odds & Ends: Kendall, Uggla, Reds, Pedro
You want links? Well we got 'em…
- Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that Jason Kendall was looking for $5MM to return to Milwaukee for another year. Yeah, good luck with that. No wonder why the Brewers went with Gregg Zaun.
- Dan Uggla doesn't have any control over whether the Marlins trade him or not, but if they do, he hopes it happens sooner rather than later, according to Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
- When asked about the hot stove, Reds' manager Dusty Baker said "there's not much of anything going on," reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald says that Pedro Martinez wants to pitch a full season in 2010, instead of going on the Roger Clemens plan (pitching in the second half only) again.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says that the D-Backs' perfect world Winter Meetings scenario "involves them acquiring a cost-effective starting pitcher in a trade and then using their remaining payroll flexibility to upgrade other areas of the club."
- According to WEEI.com's Alex Speier, Padres' GM Jed Hoyer said that given his (and new assistant Jason McLeod's) experience with the Red Sox, they have a “level of comfort” in any potential trade with them, moreso than with any other team.
- Re-signing Andy Pettitte is the Yankees' top priority, says George A. King III of The NY Post.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says as many as three teams are interested in Milton Bradley, and Cubs' GM Jim Hendry will spend next week trying to find the best match.
- Former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi said that Roy Halladay wants to be traded, according to The Canadian Press. Ricciardi added that a "lot of these decisions are out of the general manager's hands as far as what ownership perceives as fan reaction and what the perception of the club (is) and the direction that they are going. I think any time you have a player of this magnitude, that's really an ownership call."
- In addition to Justin Miller, the Dodgers also signed Prentice Redman to a minor league contract, according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert has the news of three players the Diamondbacks inked to minor league contracts: T.J. Beam, Drew Macias, and Carlos Corporan. All three received invites to Spring Training.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote about the five biggest plotlines going into the Winter Meetings next week, while Scott Miller of CBSSports.com has some pre-Winter Meetings chatter of his own.
- Got a problem with how FanGraphs puts a dollar amount on a player's performance? If so, Dave Cameron clarifies some things.
Yankees Cutting Payroll, Bidding On Halladay?
9:40pm: Olney says the team's 2010 payroll has been set somewhere between $190-200M, and as always, "it is not a hard ceiling."
3:45pm: A tweet from ESPN's Buster Olney:
Yankees finished org. meetings — they're cutting payroll. I'm not sure yet by how much, but during season, expectation was to $185 million.
According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Yankees began the 2009 season at about $201MM. My own rough estimate has the Yankees at about $170MM committed if Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, and Chien-Ming Wang are non-tendered. If they re-sign Andy Pettitte for $10MM, it might be tough to fit a top-end reliever and decent left fielder into a $185MM budget. So maybe it'll go a little higher but still fall under $200MM.
In other Yankees rumor-news, SI's Jon Heyman says the Yankees will bid on Roy Halladay. He reiterates that the Blue Jays want some combination of Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson, and Jesus Montero. Such an acquisition would make the payroll even tighter, but perhaps ownership would make an exception for Doc.