Tigers Offer Arb To Rodney, Lyon, Not Polanco
5:13pm: GM Dave Dombrowski told Beck that he would be "very surprised" if Rodney or Lyon accepts arbitration.
1:16pm: The Tigers offered arbitration to Type B free agent relievers Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon, but not Type A second baseman Placido Polanco, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. These decisions fit with our predictions from yesterday.
The Tigers most likely want to go in a cheaper direction at second base, and Polanco benefits because his new team will not have to surrender a draft pick. I am guessing they do not expect Rodney or Lyon to accept the arbitration offers, but wouldn't mind if either one does.
Brewers Do Not Offer Arb To Any Free Agents
The Brewers chose not to offer arbitration to any of their free agents, tweets Tom Hauricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The Brewers had five Type Bs in Braden Looper, David Weathers, Felipe Lopez, Jason Kendall, and Mike Cameron. A case could've been made for Lopez, but GM Doug Melvin said earlier that they didn't have a spot for him.
Rangers Offer Arb To Marlon Byrd, Ivan Rodriguez
The Rangers offered arbitration to Type B free agents Marlon Byrd and Ivan Rodriguez, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Byrd was a lock, but Pudge comes as a surprise given the Rangers' catching depth.
Phillies Rumors: Pitching, Park, Eyre
MLB.com's Todd Zolecki spoke to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. today; here's the latest.
- Amaro would like to add starting pitching depth, perhaps a player "who may not be on anybody's radar screen." He's looking for low-risk, high-reward (who isn't?) Amaro didn't deny Jayson Stark's John Smoltz rumor, but he downplayed it a bit.
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal says the Phils haven't ruled out re-signing Pedro Martinez, but Amaro hasn't had any recent discussions with Pedro's agent.
- Amaro said it's unlikely the Phillies will offer arbitration to Type B relievers Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre tonight. Amaro prefers the flexibility, but won't rule out re-signing them.
- Amaro would be willing to give up the team's #27 draft pick for the right Type A free agent. So, we can't rule out the various Type A relievers who were offered arbitration today (Jose Valverde, Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano, and Rafael Betancourt so far).
Braves Offer Arb To Soriano, Gonzalez, Not LaRoche, Anderson
The Braves' arbitration decisions are in, thanks to a tweet from David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constituation. They've offered arbitration to Type A relievers Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, but not to Type B first baseman Adam LaRoche or Type B outfielder Garret Anderson.
We predicted these correctly, but the LaRoche decision still gives pause. He hit a solid .278/.357/.487 on the season, but the Braves apparently did not want to be locked into a salary north of $7MM for 2010.
The price of Soriano and Gonzalez goes up for other teams; each will now cost a draft pick to sign.
Odds & Ends: Kuo, DeRosa, Dye, Blue Jays
With all the arbitration decisions flying around today, we haven't had time for an Odds & Ends until now.
- Diamond Leung tweeted last night that the Yankees "signed Taiwanese 18-year-old infielder Fu-Lin Kuo to six-figure bonus." Taiwan Baseball says Kuo received about $150K.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the Cardinals, Phillies, Mets, and Giants as suitors for Mark DeRosa. ESPN's Buster Olney heard that a few teams are concerned with DeRosa's range at third base.
- Fungoes shows us "when the hot stove is the hottest," graphically. Looks about right to me…peaks in December, stays hot in January.
- A.J. Burnett talked to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News about Roy Halladay potentially being traded.
- Juan Castro will take his physical Thursday according to Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer; if he passes, his one-year deal with the Phillies will be official.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about potential fits for Jermaine Dye, noting that the Yankees have discussed him internally. Crasnick says geography will not be a major factor for Dye.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweeted comments from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos regarding their search for a catcher. Anthopoulos is eyeing some potential non-tenders. Dioner Navarro and John Buck come to mind, with Kelly Shoppach going to the Rays.
- The market for Miguel Tejada should be decent now that he certainly will not cost a draft pick. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Cardinals, Phillies, Giants, Rangers, and Astros are interested. Rangers?
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers officially announced their minor league deal with John Halama today.
- Nick Green's agent Tom O'Connell tells Ken Davidoff of Newsday his client is drawing "significant interest" on Major League contracts.
Marlins Do Not Offer Arb To Calero, Nick Johnson
The Marlins did not offer arbitration to Type B free agents Kiko Calero and Nick Johnson, nor did they offer to Brendan Donnelly or Ross Gload, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
Calero merited consideration after posting a 10.4 K/9 and 1.95 ERA in 60 innings, but apparently the Marlins did not want to risk giving him a raise on this year's $500K salary. It's a similar story for Johnson, whose .426 OBP leads all free agents.
Yankees To Make No Arb Offers To Free Agents
The Yankees will not make any arbitration offers to their free agents, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That includes Johnny Damon (A), Andy Pettitte (B), Xavier Nady (B), and Hideki Matsui (neither). The Yanks didn't make any offers last year either.
We predicted these correctly, though one could make a case for Damon or Pettitte. The market for Damon should improve, now that he will not cost a draft pick. Talking to George King of the New York Post, Damon's agent Scott Boras kind of hinted that multiple teams have interest in his client.
Twins Offer Arb To Carl Pavano
The Twins offered arbitration to Type B free agent Carl Pavano, tweets La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The move was expected after Pavano tallied a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and 39 walks in 199.3 innings for the Indians and Twins this year. He earned $4.35MM in total.
Marlins Still Optimistic For Josh Johnson Extension?
3:19pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say Johnson would accept a four-year, $42MM extension, but the Marlins offered three years and $23MM. It seems to me that both the Marlins and Johnson's agent Matt Sosnick are using Zack Greinke's deal as a baseline. The writers note that Johnson and Felix Hernandez have some similarities, but Felix might require four years and $40-50MM to extend.
2:17pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Marlins are "telling other teams they still believe they'll wind up signing [Josh Johnson] to a long-term deal," despite reaching an apparent impasse in the talks last month. Furthermore, Stark talked to a source who spoke to a Marlins exec who says that the Fish offered three guaranteed years with an easy vesting option for a fourth. If that vesting option is the only real stumbling block, maybe the two sides can reach an agreement.