Scutaro Open To Staying In Toronto
Marco Scutaro figures to be a popular target this offseason (his agent says teams have expressed interest in him at three infield positions), but Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com say that he's willing to stay in Toronto.
"He definitely hasn't closed the door on Toronto at all," (agent Peter) Greenberg said.
The Jays offered Scutaro a contract extension during the season, then did so again after the season, but Scutaro wants to explore the open market according to the duo from Fox.
The 34-year-old enjoyed a career year in 2009 by hitting .282/.379/.409 in 680 plate appearances. Scutaro is a Type-A free agent, so a team would have to forfeit a high draft pick to sign him.
Astros Not Ready To Close The Door On Tejada
The Astros may only have enough payroll to make minor additions, but MLB.com's Brian McTaggart notes that the team isn't ready to close the door on a Miguel Tejada return.
"Everybody is aware Miggy is a free agent and that's a 199 hits and guy who did a really super job for us and two-time All-Star [with the Astros]," (GM Ed) Wade said. "We're not prepared to close any doors with Miggy."
If Tejada were to return to the club, McTaggart notes that it would likely be as a third baseman. The 35-year-old former AL MVP hit .313/.340/.455 in 2009, though just .283/.313/.395 away from Minute Maid Park.
Yankees Rumors: Mitre, Payroll, Lackey, Sheets
1:13pm: Marc Carig of The Newark Star Ledger reports that the Yanks have declined Sergio Mitre's 2010 option. Mitre remains under team control and is arbitration eligible.
12:43pm: George A. King III of The NY Post has some Yankee rumbings for us today, so let's round 'em up…
- GM Brian Cashman said he's received calls from various agents, but hasn't returned them yet because he has to "wait to see about payroll." The team's pro scout meetings begin tomorrow, and after that Cashman will "take the ideas and estimated money to the Steinbrenner family."
- King says that John Lackey's representatives have contacted the Yankees. An agent (not Lackey's) thinks righty can land a deal similar to Barry Zito's seven year, $126MM contract.
- An industry source says "Everybody seems to be in a wait-and-see mode and that plays into how the Yankees have been working. Take Jason Bay, they can wait around like they did with Mark Teixeira last winter."
- Regarding Ben Sheets, Cashman said they'll "go through the scouting reports and see where the market is. After we decide what it is, that will determine if we have less or more (interest)."
- Sheets' agent, Casey Close, says that more than half-a-dozen teams have called to tell him to "keep them in the loop."
Greinke Wins AL Cy Young Award
Unsurprisingly, and certainly not undeservedly, Royals' righthander Zack Greinke was named the American League Cy Young Award winner today. Greinke was the clear favorite for the award, though you could have certainly made cases for some other AL hurlers. Do any of MLBTR's readers disagree with the selection?
Greinke's 2009 season wasn't just good, it was off-the-charts good. He posted a 2.16 ERA in 229.1 innings, striking out 242 batters and walking just 51 in the process. If you're a believer in WAR, Greinke's total of 9.4 was by far the most in baseball this year, and the most by a pitcher since Randy Johnson put up 9.9 WAR back in 2004.
Odds & Ends: Phillies, Hendrickson, Sheets, Brewers, Hinske
A few links to start the day…
- Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Phillies will prioritze defensive versatility over power when filling Matt Stairs' roster spot, though Stairs, Miguel Cairo, and Paul Bako are welcome to come to Spring Training on minor league deals.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com has an update on the Orioles' negotations with Mark Hendrickson. Last month we learned that Hendrickson hoped to re-sign quickly.
- ESPN's Keith Law wrote about players coming off injury, and notes that Ben Sheets is worth gambling on, considering his upside.
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com say that despite the Brewers' logjam on the infield, a trade will probably not happen "unless some club offers the pitching equivalent of (Mat) Gamel."
- David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News takes a look at the Phillies' pitching staff to see which free agents may or may not fit.
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs wrote about free agent (and good luck charm) Eric Hinske, while his blogmate Dave Cameron took a look at some interesting minor league free agents.
- Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan took the time to speak with Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com about several of the team's 2009 draft picks.
- Buddy Carlyle has joined the Nippon Ham Fighters, according to Kyodo News.
- Not only do players truly hit the open market on Friday, but teams must also set their 40-man rosters for next month's Rule 5 Draft that day as well. Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes about a player the Braves may choose to protect, while Erik Hahmann of DRays Bay looks back at Tampa Bay's history in the Rule 5.
- Speaking of Morosi and O'Brien, make sure you follow both guys on Twitter!,
DeWitt On Matt Holliday, Trades
Cardinals' chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. was a guest on Bernie Miklasz's 101 ESPN radio show today, and spoke about free agent Matt Holliday (among other topics). Let's round the discussion up…
- The team still plans to make a serious push to retain Holliday, but DeWitt admitted that if a big-market club decides to go all out to sign him, they probably "don't have a chance."
- The Cardinals haven't made an offer during the 15-day exclusive-right window simply because Scott Boras has made it clear he's taking Holliday on the open market.
- DeWitt doesn't regret trading three prospects for Holliday, including 2008 first round pick Brett Wallace, because the goal was winning in 2009.
- He also acknowledges that trading for Holliday and Mark DeRosa thinned out the team's farm system, but he believes the club still has prospects that will draw interest from other clubs.
- If the Cardinals fail to re-sign Holliday, DeWitt said they would use the money set aside for him to improve other areas of the roster, depending on the player(s) and if it makes sense.
Mets Intrigued By Pineiro
According to a team insider, the Mets are "particularly intrigued" by free agent righty Joel Pineiro, says Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News. The Mets are rumored to be looking to add an innings eater to their rotation, and Pineiro would fit that bill.
The 31-year-old led the big leagues with a 1.14 BB/9 this year, the lowest in four years by a pitcher who threw at least 200 innings according to Rubin. Pineiro's 60.5% ground ball rate also led the majors. He just finished up a two-year extension with St. Louis that paid him $7.5MM in 2009, though FanGraphs valued his performance at $21.5MM.
Takahashi Eyeing The Major Leagues
According to Bobbie Dittmeier of MLB.com, Japanese lefthander Hisanori Takahashi declared free agency on Tuesday, and said he wants to try his luck in the Major Leagues.
"I decided I wanted to try out for the Majors three days ago," Takahashi said, according to sponichi.co.jp. "If I didn't have confidence in myself, I wouldn't have made the decision. I want to go to a team that needs me. I'd be extremely happy if I'm used as a starter."
"It's a dream I have," Takahashi said. "And I'd like to attain that dream. Seeing (Koji) Uehara in the Majors, that made me want to go to the Majors even more. I want to return to the days of being a rookie and take on this new challenge."
A former teammate of Uehara and Hideki Matsui, the 34-year-old Takahashi had a 2.94 ERA in 25 games last year, striking out 126 in 144 innings. He has spent his entire career with the Yomiuri Giants, and owns a career 3.70 ERA with 7.25 K/9.
Reliever Ryota Igarashi has already made it known that he plans to pursue a career in the big leagues next year.
Angels Focused Lackey & Figgins, Not Holliday
Yesterday we heard that the Angels were interested in free agent outfielder Matt Holliday, but GM Tony Reagins spoke to Mike DiGiovanna of The LA Times and shot down that rumor.
"He's a talented player," Reagins said of Holliday, who hit .313 with 24 home runs and 109 runs batted in for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals in 2009 and could command a deal in excess of $100 million. "But our focus is not on him right now."
Instead, the team is focused on re-signing John Lackey and Chone Figgins, according to DiGiovanna. Reagins indicated that he knows "where both of them stand," though he acknowledged that they have earned the right to "see what their value is."
DiGiovanna adds that the team has had discussions with Darren Oliver and Vladimir Guerrero, and that he doesn't expect the team's payroll (about $114MM last year) to be reduced "significantly."
Discussion: Sabean And The Giants
Some of the moves we can expect from San Francisco came into focus with Chris Haft's terrific interview with Giants' GM Brian Sabean for MLB.com. Among the tidbits:
- The Giants are unwilling to offer Bengie Molina more than a one-year contract, though they will offer him arbitration.
- Brad Penny's current contract demands are "out of reach at this point."
- Juan Uribe, who hopes to earn something similar to his $4.75MM deal from 2008, won't get close to that from the Giants.
- Still, this doesn't mean the Giants won't be spending money this winter. Haft writes, "Sabean said that he envisions the Giants filling their personnel needs through free agency rather than trades."
The full piece, including Sabean's take on why he dislikes trades, is worth checking out. And now that you know what Sabean won't do, what do you think he should do?