Mariners Targeting Gregg Zaun
Gregg Zaun was offered arbitration by Tampa Bay today, but the free agent catcher has at least one serious suitor in the Seattle Mariners. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports report that the M's are looking to sign Zaun as a veteran platoon mate for prospect Adam Moore. Rob Johnson, the only other catcher on the Seattle 40-man roster since Kenji Johjima's opt-out, is coming off of surgeries to both hips and may not be ready for Spring Training.
Both Moore and Johnson are right-handed batters, so the switch-hitting Zaun would provide Seattle with a lefty bat for a platoon situation; Zaun had an .801 OPS against right-handed pitching last season. Should Zaun and Moore end up in a platoon, Zaun would find himself sharing time with a highly-regarded prospect for the second consecutive year. He began 2009 in Baltimore in a platoon with Matt Wieters.
Earlier today, we learned that Zaun expects to sign by the end of the week.
Rays Acquire Kelly Shoppach
7:40pm: Topkin (via Twitter) reports that pitcher Jeff Bennett was designated for assignment to open up a spot for Shoppach on the 40-man roster. Bennett posted a 9.95 ERA in 11 relief appearances with Tampa Bay last season.
1:42pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times tweets that the Rays have acquired Shoppach for a player to be named later. The deal has been confirmed by an Indians press release, which notes that the PTBNL must be named by December 20th.
1:33pm: The Rays are closing in on a deal with the Indians for catcher Kelly Shoppach, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. Shoppach was a non-tender candidate for the Tribe after earning $1.95MM and slipping to .214/.335/.399 offensively. If the Rays do acquire Shoppach, you have to wonder if they'll non-tender Dioner Navarro.
Shoppach, 30 in April, would make for an interesting pickup for the Rays given his .261/.348/.517 line from '08.
Angels Offer Arb To Only Figgins, Lackey
Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that the Angels offered arbitration to just two of their ranked free agents — Type As Chone Figgins and John Lackey. Los Angeles' other Type A free agent, veteran reliever Darren Oliver, as well as Type B Vladimir Guerrero and unranked free agents Kelvim Escobar and Robb Quinlan did not receive offers from the club.
Though L.A. could have received two draft picks as compensation for Oliver had he turned down arbitration and signed with another club, there's also a chance that teams would be scared off by the prospect of losing a draft pick in order to sign a 39-year-old setup man. The Angels didn't want to run the risk of Oliver accepting the offer and possibly earning a healthy raise given his career-best 2.71 ERA and 8 K/9 in 2009.
Cards Offer Arb To Holliday, Pineiro, DeRosa, Decline On Glaus
The official St. Louis Cardinals Twitter feed breaks the news that Matt Holliday, Joel Pineiro and Mark DeRosa are all being offered arbitration by the Cardinals. Holliday is a Type A free agent, while Pineiro and DeRosa are Type Bs. The only ranked free agent not mentioned was Troy Glaus (a Type B), but MLB.com's Matthew Leach (via Twitter) reported that St. Louis didn't make an offer to the veteran third baseman.
The moves were expected, given that Holliday is arguably the jewel of this winter's free agent class and at least four clubs are seriously pursuing DeRosa.
Diamondbacks Decline Arb On Free Agents
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert tweets that Arizona will not be offering arbitration to free agents Doug Davis, Scott Schoeneweis or Chad Tracy. Davis (a Type B) is the only ranked free agent of the trio. Gilbert blogged yesterday that the D-Backs were likely to pass on making Davis an offer since the team didn't want to risk bringing him back in 2010 at a higher salary.
Mariners Offer Arb To Beltre, But Not To Bedard
The Mariners made an arbitration offer to Type B free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, but not Type B free agent pitcher Erik Bedard. 710 ESPN Seattle's Shannon Drayer (via Twitter) reported the Beltre offer, while Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reported the Bedard news.
MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicted that Beltre wouldn't receive an arbitration offer, but Baker's piece analyzes the move and calls it a calculated risk since Baker believes Beltre is likely to turn it down in search of a better deal elsewhere.
Red Sox To Offer Arb To Bay, Wagner
8:58 PM CST: The Red Sox just sent a press release officially announcing the arbitration offers.
7:22 PM CST: Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe confirms (via Twitter) that the offers to Bay and Wagner have been made.
6:09 PM CST: Red Sox president Larry Lucchino told The Providence Journal's Dan Barbarisi that the club will be offering arbitration to Type A free agents Billy Wagner and Jason Bay. Lucchino said the offers would be officially sent out by tonight's 11:59 PM deadline, if they hadn't been sent already.
Neither move is a surprise, given that Boston stands to recoup as many as four extra draft picks should both players sign with other teams.
Athletics Offer Arbitration To Duchscherer
MLB.com's Mychael Urban reports that Oakland offered arbitration to its one ranked free agent, pitcher Justin Duchscherer. The right-hander is a Type B free agent, so with the offer, Oakland will earn a sandwich pick in next year's draft if Duchscherer declines arbitration and signs with another team.
As Urban notes, Duchscherer is highly likely to decline the Athletics' offer and instead sign a short-term, incentive-laden contract to prove that he is both physically and mentally recovered after missing the 2009 season with clinical depression and a variety of injuries.
Mets Do Not Offer Arb To Any Free Agents
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (via Twitter) reports that, as, expected, the Mets will not offer arbitration to any of their remaining free agents — Carlos Delgado, Gary Sheffield, Fernando Tatis, or Elmer Dessens. Delgado and Tatis are Type B free agents, while Sheffield and Dessens are unranked.
Hubbuch also tweets that New York is interested in re-signing Delgado to a one-year deal to keep first base occupied while prospect Ike Davis continues to develop.
Red Sox Interested In Rich Harden
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports are reporting that Boston is "serious about pursuing" free agent starter Rich Harden. The Canadian right-hander had been rumored to be a target of the Red Sox given — as Rosenthal and Morosi note — the club's recent strategy of signing proven pitchers with health issues to short-term deals in an attempt to find a bargain. Unlike Boston's signings last season (John Smoltz and Brad Penny), Harden has proven that he can pitch well in the American League, which makes him particularly attractive to the BoSox.
Harden is a Type B free agent who was not offered arbitration by his previous team, the Cubs, earlier today. Rosenthal and Morosi were told by a source that Boston has yet to formally offer Harden a contract.