Yankees Notes: Vazquez, Granderson, Reed Johnson
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com provides an interesting bit of trivia in his latest article: Javier Vazquez became the first player the Yankees traded for twice since Jeff Nelson. Here are Hoch's other Yankees-related updates, via GM Brian Cashman:
- Vazquez's second half in 2004, when he posted a 6.92 ERA after the All-Star break for the Yankees, was viewed as an aberration, rather than any sort of concern.
- Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, among others, will compete for the fifth rotation spot. The loser(s) of that competition will end up either in the bullpen or Triple-A to start the year.
- The Yankees' budget was "once in a lifetime" last winter, so a surprise mega-deal like the Mark Teixeira signing a year ago is unlikely. Cashman's quote: "Any speculation about some high-end player who has big ability and dollars attached on a large scale would be inappropriate."
- Hoch speculates that, while Johnny Damon is probably too expensive, Mark DeRosa and Jermaine Dye could still be left field possibilities. Last we heard on DeRosa, he was leaning toward accepting an offer from San Francisco.
- Despite Curtis Granderson hitting 30 homers in 2009 and shifting to a smaller park, Cashman doesn't expect the center fielder to hit more than 20-30 long balls in 2010, pointing out that power is just one of Granderson's many strengths.
One more piece of Yankees news courtesy of Joel Sherman of the New York Post: Sherman hears that the Yankees are having regular discussions with Reed Johnson's representation. It's hard to imagine Johnson being the missing final piece for the Yanks' outfield, after all the names we've seen pop up, but he would fit in well with the team's current group of primarily left-handed bats. The 33-year-old has hit .313/.378/.463 in his career against lefties.
Mark DeRosa Leaning Toward Giants
THURSDAY, 12:17pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that DeRosa seems to be leaning toward accepting the Giants' offer, though no deal is in place yet.
WEDNESDAY, 1:30pm: The San Francisco Giants have offered Mark DeRosa a two-year deal worth $12MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).
Heyman wonders if DeRosa, a New Jersey product who has previously played in Atlanta, is hoping for the Yankees, Mets, and Braves to enter the mix more aggressively. We heard earlier this week that the Braves and Yankees are both interested in DeRosa, though Atlanta's agreement with Troy Glaus would create one less opening in their lineup for DeRosa.
As for the Yankees, there has been some speculation that they only have about $4MM to spend on a left fielder. Given the Giants' offer of $6MM per season, DeRosa may be a little out of the Yanks' price range, but certainly the club has a history of working around apparent payroll restrictions.
Giants Closing In On Juan Uribe
Juan Uribe is close to returning to the San Francisco Giants, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The potential deal would be for one year, with a team option for 2011.
Uribe enjoyed one of the better seasons of his career in 2009 with the Giants, before hitting the open market this offseason. The 30-year-old hit .289/.329/.495, belting 16 homers in 432 plate appearances.
We haven't heard an update connecting Uribe and the Giants for some time. A couple weeks back, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported that Uribe could revisit a one-year offer the Giants had made, but that the veteran infielder was looking for an everyday job elsewhere. Rosenthal notes that San Francisco is still hoping to add a regular corner infielder, which would likely relegate Uribe to the "super-utility" role he excelled in last year.
Pirates Talking To Dotel, Gregg
The Pirates have had conversations with free agent relievers Octavio Dotel and Kevin Gregg, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Earlier tonight, Kovacevic shot down a report that Dotel was offered a deal in the vicinity of $3MM. According to a team source, the club has had conversations with the reliever, but has yet to make an offer. Last year for the White Sox, Dotel posted a 3.32 ERA and 10.8 K/9 in 62 appearances.
Meanwhile, Gregg posted a 4.72 ERA and 9.3 K/9 in 72 games for the Cubs in 2009. The 31-year-old was the team's closer until mid-season, when the mantle was given to Carlos Marmol.
Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday
10:48pm: The Red Sox might also be looking into extending an offer to free agent Matt Holliday, reports Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald. However, Silverman notes that signing Bay, let alone the more expensive Holliday, would be difficult.
7:31pm: The Mets have not heard from Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, in the last couple of days, a team official tells Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. The same official says not to expect the club to ink Bay or Bengie Molina before Christmas.
In other Mets news, Carlos Delgado's delay in returning to baseball via the Puerto Rican winter league is apparently a result of issues related to the hip surgery he had last summer.
6:48pm: Boston has had internal discussions about extending their organizational budget to potentially allow for another offer to be made to Jason Bay, a team source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI. The discussed proposal would be in the vicinity of the four-year, $60MM deal originally pitched to the slugger.
It was widely thought that the signings of John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron spelled the end of Bay's tenure with the Red Sox as the club is now teetering on the edge of the $170MM luxury tax threshold.
Dodgers Notes: DeWitt, Halladay, Young Players
Some Dodgers notes from Ken Gurnick of MLB.com's latest mailbag…
- The club is uneasy about Blake DeWitt as their everyday second baseman because of his lackluster defense. If DeWitt's offense were on par with the likes of Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, Jamey Carroll would likely be slotted on the bench rather than split time with the 24-year-old.
- The Dodgers made an earnest attempt to land Roy Halladay prior to the blockbuster deal that shipped him to Philadelphia. According to sources, the Blue Jays would have preferred L.A. as a trading partner, but of course, it wasn't really up to them. Ultimately, it didn't matter how much the Dodgers could give Toronto or potentially give Doc in an extension, the Phillies were at the top of his list.
- One reader asked why the Dodgers don't lock up their young core players in long-term contracts rather than go to arbitration with them. Gurnick says that it is often a risky proposition and references the regression of Russell Martin as an example. Had the Dodgers given him a hefty four or five-year deal after his back-to-back All-Star seasons, they would have likely regretted it after his slide the past two seasons.
Odds & Ends: Rangers, Lackey, Yankees
Another round of Wednesday links:
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Justin Duchscherer is leaning towards an NL team, although he is not sure which one.
- Now that free agent Matt Capps appears to be leaning towards the Nationals, the Rockies are looking into other hurlers on the open market. A major league source tells Thomas Harding of MLB.com that the club is negotiating with free agent Tim Redding. The Rockies flirted with signing him last winter before he signed with the Mets, where he posted a 5.10 ERA in 30 games, including 17 starts.
- The group selected to purchase the Rangers could be in financial trouble, says Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports.
- Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com thinks that Mark DeRosa could become more valuable to suitors after Matt Holliday and Jason Bay sign, with few other big bats available.
- The Javier Vazquez trade can't be properly evaluated until the Braves spend all of the $8MM they saved in the deal, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Still, Rosenthal points out that the Braves should be concerned about the health histories of their free agent signings so far.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe relays some details of John Lackey's contract with Boston, including an interesting conditional option: If an old elbow injury forces Lackey to miss significant time over the course of his contract, he'd have to play for the league minimum in 2015.
- Mark Carig of the Star-Ledger passes on this quote from Yankees GM Brian Cashman, regarding the team's outfield opening: "It won't be a big name situation. I can promise you that."
- Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik says that the two recent trades involving the Mariners and Blue Jays were "complete, separate entities," according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
Mets Reach Agreement With R.A. Dickey
WEDNESDAY, 7:41pm: The two sides have reached an agreement on a minor league deal, a source familiar with the negotiations tells the Associated Press.
If added to the major league roster, Dickey would get a one-year contract worth $600K and have the chance to earn $150K more in performance bonuses.
TUESDAY, 2:12pm: The Mets are nearing a minor league agreement with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. Dickey, 35, posted a 4.62 ERA, 5.9 K/9, and 4.2 BB/9 in 64.3 innings for the Twins this year. He tossed another 33.3 mediocre innings at Triple A.
Diamondbacks Rumors: Johnson, Winn, Valverde
Some D-Backs tidbits courtesy of Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic..
- The club is still waiting to hear back from Kelly Johnson on the offer they made to him last week – believed to be for about $2MM. Johnson's people told the D-Backs that he has better offers out there, but if all things were equal he'd prefer to play for them.
- Arizona continues to be interested in free agent Randy Winn, but it seems as though Winn is looking to be a starter. While the Diamondbacks can't guarantee him that, Piecoro says that he would likely get a fair amount of at-bats with them.
- The D-Backs remain interested in bringing back Jose Valverde, but at their price. A "scenario the Diamondbacks would consider" would be to offer him a one-year deal at a lower base salary than he is seeking (perhaps in the $5MM range) with a promise not to offer him arbitration after 2010. This way, Valverde could hit the open market unencumbered by draft pick compensation. Piecoro notes that he has "no idea" if Valverde would agree to that.
- While they don't feel as though adding a starting pitcher is a neccessity, Arizona will monitor righty Jose Contreras. The 38-year-old posted a 4.92 ERA with 7.2 K/9 for the White Sox and Rockies last season.
Phillies Agree To Terms With A Reliever?
5:46pm: Todd Zolecki of MLB.com says that Baez is "a good bet" to be the mystery pitcher.
3:26pm: The Philadelphia Phillies have an agreement in place with a relief pitcher, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com — we just don't know yet who the pitcher is. Salisbury's source says that the agreement with the mystery player is pending a physical, which will occur in the first week of the new year.
With Fernando Rodney and the Angels having agreed to terms, the two likeliest candidates for the Phillies' bullpen appear to be Danys Baez and Mike MacDougal. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark linked Philadelphia to Baez earlier, and another of Salisbury's sources confirms that the team's focus has been on the right-hander lately. We also heard earlier today from Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who said that the Phillies had been in touch with MacDougal. Scott Lauber of the News Journal mentions some other possibilities, but agrees that Baez and MacDougal look like the top two relief targets for Philadelphia.