Dodgers Make No Arb Offers To Free Agents
The Dodgers aren't offering arbitration to any of their free agents, team spokesman Josh Rawitch told Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. They've got Type As with Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf, and Type Bs with Guillermo Mota, Jon Garland, Ronnie Belliard, Vicente Padilla, and Will Ohman.
Wolf in particular seemed a lock to receive an offer. It's difficult to understand why the Dodgers chose not to; Jon Weisman of Dodgers Thoughts is depressed. Oddly enough, Wolf has avoided an arb offer for two years running despite being worthy both times. Surely he's not complaining; he's now more attractive to other teams. Ditto for Hudson.
Red Sox Ask Pedroia About Playing Shortstop
3:09pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe learned from a team exec that the Red Sox will exhaust their free agent and trade options before turning to Pedroia at shortstop.
10:13am: The Red Sox asked Dustin Pedroia if he'd be able to play shortstop, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons. Pedroia's thoughts:
"They've put it out there and I've told them I'm all for it. I can do it. I can't wait for Tito [Terry Francona] to call me and ask, 'Can you do it?' I can do it. I really want to do it."
Right now it appears that the Red Sox are just considering the switch for Pedroia. As Gammons notes, shifting Pedroia would create flexibility, allowing the Sox to pass on Marco Scutaro and pursue Orlando Hudson or even Brandon Phillips.
As you know, other offseason considerations for the Red Sox include trading Mike Lowell and acquiring a third baseman, signing Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, and a possible Roy Halladay trade. Gammons downplays the idea of Boston acquiring Doc, saying the chances of them trading Clay Buchholz or Casey Kelly are minimal at best.
Arbitration Offer Rumors
We'll round up the days arbitration offer-related rumors in this post, so refresh it often. Our predictions can be found here. Once the decisions actually start coming in tonight, there will be one post for each of the 26 teams that have ranked free agents.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark believes neither Chan Ho Park (B) nor Scott Eyre (B) will get an offer from the Phillies, and that's backed up by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. (speaking to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki).
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees "almost certainly will not offer arbitration" to Johnny Damon (A), Hideki Matsui (neither), and Andy Pettitte (B). Sherman does not mention Xavier Nady (B), but we're guessing he won't get an offer. Newsday's Ken Davidoff believes Pettitte will get an offer (the lefty didn't last year).
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says the Brewers are "leaning against extending arbitration offers to any of their five compensation-eligible free agents, including Felipe Lopez." GM Doug Melvin explained that the Brewers would have a logjam if Lopez (B) accepted. Yesterday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel said he expected the Brewers to offer arbitration to Lopez because the second baseman would probably turn it down. The team's other Type B free agents: Braden Looper, David Weathers, Jason Kendall, and Mike Cameron.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals will offer arbitration to Matt Holliday (A) but not Troy Glaus (B). Type Bs Mark DeRosa and Joel Pineiro are less certain, but DeRosa's agent assumes an offer is coming.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox will offer arbitration to Type As Jason Bay and Billy Wagner.
Pirates, Royals Interested In Jamey Wright
The Pirates are interested in free agent reliever Jamey Wright, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Dutton notes that the Royals remain interested in re-signing him.
Wright, 35 later this month, soaked up 79 bullpen innings with a 4.33 ERA this year. His walk rate was ugly, but unlikely most free agent relievers he posted a strong groundball rate (59.1%). Wright earned $1.4MM for his efforts.
Astros Offer Arb To Valverde, Not Tejada, Hawkins, Brocail
The Astros offered arbitration only to Jose Valverde (A) and not Miguel Tejada (A), LaTroy Hawkins (A), or Doug Brocail (B), according to the team's Senior Director of Digital Media Alyson Footer.
Interesting relief choices; I'd predicted no arbitration offers to Valverde or Hawkins. That said, an offer to Valverde always made sense. He does not seem likely to accept arbitration and take a one-year deal. The Astros are known to have an offer on the table to Hawkins, so maybe they didn't want to complicate the picture by offering arbitration.
You might consider Valverde the loser here and Hawkins the winner, as Valverde will now come with a draft pick cost attached.
Roy Halladay Sets Deadline For Trade
2:39pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports talked to Halladay's other agent Greg Landry, who suggested the pitcher will not rule out any teams or contractual scenarios. Landry said each situation will be looked at on its own merits.
7:50am: Roy Halladay "will not approve any proposed deal after he reports to spring training," ESPN's Buster Olney learned from his representatives. The goal is to avoid a media frenzy during the season. So, the option of waiting until the trade deadline is out. Given the uncertain nature of draft pick compensation, I'd say Halladay is now highly likely to be traded during the offseason.
One of Doc's agents, Jeff Berry, wouldn't say whether his client will require a contract extension upon a trade. Berry explained:
"Obviously, there are recent contract markers for a pitcher of this magnitude. That being said, each potential trade situation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with a critical factor being the legitimate opportunity for Roy to pursue multiple World Series championships."
A source of Olney's believes Halladay would accept a deal to the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, or Angels. You have to think the field isn't limited to those four clubs though.
Cubs Do Not Offer Arb To Gregg, Harden
The Cubs did not offer arbitration to free agents Kevin Gregg (A), Rich Harden (B), Reed Johnson (neither), and Chad Fox (neither), tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Dave Kaplan had written the same earlier today.
The Harden decision is worth questioning…was he really not worth risking a one-year deal on? In the Cubs' defense, as Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald writes, the team has more info on Harden than anyone.
Phillies Eyeing John Smoltz
The Phillies have kicked the tires on free agent pitcher John Smoltz, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark. Smoltz could be a fit as a starter or late-inning reliever, assuming he gets past his dislike of Citizens Bank Park. Smoltz, 43 in May, pitched well for the Cardinals last year, posting 40 strikeouts and nine walks in 38 innings. His strikeout-walk numbers for Boston were strong as well, though he had problems with hits and home runs.
Stark, by the way, believes the Phillies will not offer arbitration to either of their Type B free agent relievers, Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre.
Red Sox Interested In Adam Everett, Adam Kennedy
1:53pm: Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox also expressed preliminary interest in infielder Adam Kennedy. Kennedy, 34 in January, hit .289/.348/.410 in 586 plate appearances for the A's while playing mostly second and third base.
12:16pm: The Red Sox called to express preliminary interest in free agent shortstop Adam Everett, according to WEEI's Alex Speier. Everett would be a defensive-minded signing, while the Dustin Pedroia idea would be more offensive-minded. Marco Scutaro is the most prominent free agent choice, while Miguel Tejada's name has come up as well.
Are there any reasonable options for the Red Sox on the trade market? Probably not, unless they can pluck someone from the Angels.
Royals Do Not Offer Arbitration To Miguel Olivo
The Royals are not offering arbitration to free agent catcher Miguel Olivo (B), tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Royals already bought out Olivo's $3.3MM mutual option for 2010; they're going in a different direction behind the plate. They will not receive a draft pick when Olivo signs elsewhere.