Rangers, Astros Eyeing Brett Myers
The Rangers and Astros have interest in free agent righty Brett Myers, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Myers, 29, posted a 4.84 ERA in 70.6 innings this year, working around hip surgery. We learned last month that the Phillies won't be re-signing Myers, who is open to starting or relieving in 2010.
For the Astros, using Myers in the rotation would probably mean bumping Felipe Paulino. The Astros' rotation actually isn't too bad, but added depth would be nice. The Astros could use back-end bullpen help as well, with the statuses of Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins up in the air.
Crasnick names Myers and J.J. Putz as pitchers on the Rangers' radar; they're apparently hoping to sign a pitcher to an incentive-based deal. The Rangers have good rotation depth, so Myers might fit better in the bullpen.
23 Free Agents Offered Arbitration
23 free agents were offered arbitration this year, one fewer than last year. If you're not sure what offering arbitration means, click here to read our free agent arbitration primer.
The following players were offered arbitration today, and now have until December 7th to decide whether to accept:
Type A (10 players)
Chone Figgins
John Lackey
Jose Valverde
Marco Scutaro
Mike Gonzalez
Rafael Soriano
Matt Holliday
Billy Wagner
Jason Bay
Rafael Betancourt
Type B (13 players)
Justin Duchscherer
Rod Barajas
Joel Pineiro
Mark DeRosa
Adrian Beltre
Ivan Rodriguez
Marlon Byrd
Brian Shouse
Gregg Zaun
Jason Marquis
Brandon Lyon
Fernando Rodney
Carl Pavano
Regarding my predictions made yesterday, I guessed wrong on 12 of the 70 players. I was particularly surprised by Randy Wolf, Brian Shouse, and Jason Marquis. Which decisions surprised you?
All 70 of the arbitration decisions are noted in our 2010 MLB free agents list, which is constantly updated.
Giants Do Not Offer Arb To Any Free Agents
The Giants did not offer arbitration to any of their free agents – Type A catcher Bengie Molina and Type Bs Bob Howry, Randy Johnson, and Randy Winn. It's a mixed result for Molina – he's more attractive to other teams (the Mets, for example) now that he will not cost a draft pick, but if he'd been offered and accepted arbitration he probably would've maximized his 2010 salary.
Rays Offer Arb To Zaun And Shouse, Not Springer
10:31pm: Topkin tweets that the Rays declined to offer arbitration to Springer.
6:53pm: Tampa Bay has made arbitration offers to two of its three Type B free agents, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Topkin tweets that catcher Gregg Zaun and reliever Brian Shouse were given offers, while no decision has yet been made about pitcher Russ Springer. Topkin notes that "it appears unlikely" the Rays will make an offer to the veteran right-hander.
The offers to Zaun and Shouse come as a bit of a surprise, though both players had decent years. Shouse's innings were limited due to an elbow strain, but he continued to shut down lefties.
Yankees Interested In Brandon Lyon
The Yankees have expressed interest in free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The writers note that the Yankees "likely will express interest in all of the top available late-inning relievers, if they haven't already." The duo says the Yankees have to sort through many different rotation scenarios before deciding whether to sign relievers.
Lyon, a Type B free agent, was offered arbitration by the Tigers today. They'll get a supplemental draft pick if Lyon signs elsewhere. The righty's goal is to ink a multiyear deal coming off a season in which he posted a 2.86 ERA in 78.6 innings.
Odds & Ends: Crawford, Hernandez, Tigers
Some news tidbits that aren't arbitration-related on this busy day in the majors…
- Rays general manager and executive VP Andrew Friedman told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that the team has no plans to deal Carl Crawford, and said that the "mutual goal" of both Crawford and the Rays was to work out a long-term contract.
- From Topkin's same post, he notes that Tampa Bay won't go after an established free agent closer this winter but relief pitching is still the club's top need.
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi use the Marlins' negotiations with Josh Johnson as a springboard to speculate about how much it would cost Seattle to sign Felix Hernandez to an extension.
- CBS Sports' Danny Knobler discusses how the Tigers aren't acting very desperate for a team that's allegedly having a fire sale.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson says that Ron Villone might be the only Nationals free agent who the team would want back in 2010.
- Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that if any free agents are curious about playing for the Yankees, Derek Jeter says they're welcome to call and ask him any questions they might have. Jeter could save himself some time by simply mailing every prospective free agent a picture of his hand wearing five World Series rings.
Orioles Do Not Offer Arbitration To Any Free Agents
Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles aren’t offering arbitration to any of their four free agents, the most notable of whom is Type B free agent Melvin Mora. The move comes as no surprise given that Mora made $8MM last season and Baltimore declined to pick up his option for 2010.
Phillies Decline To Offer Arb To Eyre, Park
Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets the unsurprising news that the Phillies have not offered arbitration to Type B free agents Scott Eyre and Chan Ho Park. Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. all but confirmed this news earlier today, but noted that the team was still open to re-signing both pitchers.
Rockies Notes: Crosby, Lowry, Hawkins
The Denver Post's Troy Renck recaps Colorado's arbitration moves and also fills us in on some of the club's possible free agent moves this winter….
- The Rockies have some interest in Bobby Crosby as a utilityman and as a right-handed option at third base if starter Ian Stewart continues to struggle against lefties (.178/.278/.386 against LHP in 2009).
- Noah Lowry, who became a free agent in October, may be brought to spring training on a minor-league contract. Lowry hasn't thrown a major league pitch since 2007 due to injuries, but was a solid starter (4.03 ERA) in four seasons in San Francisco. He has a 9.10 ERA in six career starts at Coors Field.
- Colorado is "expected to call" free agent reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who was a major part of the Rockies' bullpen during their run to the 2007 National League pennant. The club's interest in Hawkins will only increase if Rafael Betancourt turns down Colorado's arbitration offer and signs elsewhere. Hawkins should be more appealing also because he did not receive an arbitration offer from the Astros and therefore will not cost a draft pick.
Keep Track Of The Arbitration Offers
Having trouble keeping track of the arbitration offers? Our 2010 MLB free agents list is constantly updated with the latest and will be all night. Three teams' decisions remain; we'll sum it all up with a post at the end of the night.