Marlins Break Off Uggla Extension Talks; Tigers Interested
The Marlins have ceased negotiations with Dan Uggla about a long-term contract, the second baseman told The Associated Press. Uggla said he and his representatives still want to negotiate, but the club has broken off talks for the time being.
It's possible the Marlins are simply going back to the drawing board to create a new offer after Uggla turned down their four-year, $48MM proposal last weekend. Or, perhaps the club is taking time to once again look at its trade options with regards to the slugger. Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com report that the Tigers have contacted Florida about Uggla. Though Detroit's primary need is for a left-handed batter, the right-handed hitting Uggla provides a big upgrade over the Tigers' current second base options of Scott Sizemore and Will Rhymes.
Morosi and Rosenthal report the Tigers are "looking everywhere for a power bat." Detroit could revisit trying to acquire Adam Dunn after exploring a deal for him at the trade deadline, though the club's main offseason priority is Victor Martinez.
Yankees Notes: Pettitte, Rivera, Jeter, Crawford
A few notes about the Bronx Bombers' own free agents and a potential offseason target…
- Andy Pettitte told Matt Musil of KHOU.com that at the moment, he's leaning towards retirement. "Right now, I can tell you my heart's right here in Deer Park," Pettitte said. "If something happens and I play one more year that would be it. It would be one more year and that would be it." The southpaw also confirmed that if he does return in 2011, he would only pitch for the Yankees.
- Mariano Rivera and his representatives haven't indicated if the closer is looking for a one- or two-year deal from the Yankees, tweets FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
- Baseball as a whole is better served by having Derek Jeter remain a one-team star for his career, argues MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.
- Benjamin Kabak of the River Ave Blues blog doesn't think New York should acquire Carl Crawford "when they already have three of the top outfielders in the American League."
Beltre, Martinez Are Boston’s “First Choices”
Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez are two of this winter's most sought-after free agents, but don't discount the possibility that both players remain in Boston next season. In a conference call with media (including WEEI's Alex Speier), Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said that re-signing both Beltre and Martinez are top priorities for his club.
“Our first choice for our third baseman in 2011 and beyond would be to bring back Adrian Beltre,” said Epstein. “Victor would certainly be our first choice to be our 2011 catcher and beyond. He did an outstanding job for us in the year and a half he was here. … I know it’s been portrayed in the media a little bit as if we haven’t been pursuing him. … We absolutely want this guy back.”
The Red Sox are one of the few clubs that can afford signing two high-profile free agents like Beltre and Martinez, though Epstein noted that "it always comes down to years and dollars.” The former is the more important factor for Boston. Both players are 31 years old and signing either to a long-term contract might be tricky for a club that has Josh Beckett and John Lackey signed through 2014 to already borderline-regrettable deals. Signing Beltre and Martinez would also make it virtually impossible that the Red Sox could afford Carl Crawford, their other big target of the winter.
Epstein said the club is "not particularly close to anything at this time" and doesn't expect any major signings before the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to free agents. He also said that the Red Sox will trade or sign "at least one" new reliever this winter, though Epstein expects the market for bullpen help to be very busy this winter given the number of quality arms available.
Astros Notes: Wade, Infielders, Wolf
Houston GM Ed Wade discussed some offseason plans with Dan Duqette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio. Here are a few of the major topics…
- "We need to figure out a way to improve offensively," Wade said. He noted that the Astros are looking for a left-handed hitter and may either look internally or wait until later in the offseason to find left-handed bats "that fit our profile both from a performance and an economic standpoint."
- The "primary external focus" is to find better-hitting middle infielders, though Wade said he was happy with Jeff Keppinger's play last season.
- Wade is pleased with Houston's 2011 rotation but "everybody’s always looking for the starting pitcher. We’d love to be able to replicate the Brett Myers experience of last year where you get the guy in a one-year deal and he finds his groove the way that Brett did for us."
In other Astros news, Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reports the club extended spring training invites to eight players, three of whom weren't with Houston last season. One is Casey Fien, whose acquisition was reported yesterday, and the other two newcomers are right-handers Ross Wolf and Fernando Rodriguez. Wolf posted a 4.26 ERA in 11 appearances with Oakland last season after coming over from the Orioles in the Jake Fox trade last June. Rodriguez has pitched in the Angels system since 2003, and has just one major league appearance to his credit.
A’s Interested In Lance Berkman
The A's have been bidding, trading and claiming their way through the early stages of the offseason, and they're also considering a big free agent bat. Oakland has interest in Lance Berkman as a potential DH, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
MLBTR's Tim Dierkes suggested earlier in the week that Berkman "can probably find 500 plate appearances in 2011 for around $5MM." The Astros won't be pursuing Berkman, but AL teams such as the Mariners, Rays, Blue Jays, Twins and Rangers could have some interest. The 34-year-old batted .248/.368/.413 for the Yankees and Astros last year, though he now struggles against left-handed pitching.
Red Sox Acquire Andrew Miller
The Red Sox acquired Andrew Miller from the Marlins in exchange for Dustin Richardson, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports (on Twitter).
Miller, 25, was picked sixth overall by Detroit in the 2006 amateur draft and was dealt to Florida as part of the big Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis swap in December 2007. Miller was seen as arguably the biggest piece (along with Cameron Maybin) of the six-prospect package that Florida acquired for their stars, but the left-hander has struggled to become a consistent major league hurler. In 79 career games, 54 of them starts, Miller has a 5.84 ERA and a 7.2 BB/9 rate. Miller was out of options with the Marlins and could've been non-tendered, but the Red Sox were clearly willing to take a chance on a young pitcher who still has a high ceiling.
Richardson is also a 25-year-old southpaw originally chosen in the 2006 draft, though Richardson's pick came in the fifth round. Also like Miller, Richardson has struggled with control issues — in 16.1 major league innings, Richardson has recorded 15 walks. His control has been better (4.4 BB/9 rate) in the minors, plus he has a K/9 ratio of 10.0 over his five minor league seasons. Richardson has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the last two years and the Marlins were known to be looking for relief pitching this winter.
Moore Explains Greinke Trade Rumors
Royals GM Dayton Moore repeated today that he is willing to listen to offers for his ace. Moore told Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio what will happen if they can’t sign Zack Greinke to another multi-year contract.
“Then we are going to have to make a decision to move him at some point in time,” Moore said. “Is that this winter? I don't know. Is it prior to the deadline in 2011? Possibly. Is it off-season 2011? But we will have to make that determination no different than other clubs have had to make. Minnesota had to make a similar decision with [Johan] Santana and, of course, Cleveland had to make a decision similar with [Cliff] Lee and [C.C.] Sabathia. So we will have to maximize his value certainly at some point in time.”
Moore says the Royals have received calls on Greinke at multiple points, including at last year’s trade deadline. The Blue Jays and Red Sox are among the teams that have inquired on Greinke, who has a partial no-trade clause and two years and $27MMM remaining on his current deal.
Moore added that the Royals are approaching the free agent market cautiously. The club will look to add one or two right-handed hitting outfielders this offseason and, as we heard yesterday, Jeff Francoeur is one option for Kansas City.
Renteria Wants To Retire With Cardinals Or Marlins
One way or another, Edgar Renteria wants to bring his career full circle and return to the site of his postseason heroics. Few other players could say this and still keep their options open, but Renteria has some choices. Changing course from a recent statement that he would prefer to return to the Giants, Renteria told reporters in his hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia yesterday that he would like to retire playing either for the Cardinals or the Marlins (link in Spanish).
Over the course of nearly an hour of questioning, Renteria explained that he had been undecided about retirement following the World Series, so he sought the opinions of the baseball minds he admired most. "God sent me a message through the MVP, and I don't know if he did it so that I would retire or so that I would keep going," Renteria said. "In any case, I spoke with important baseball people like Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox, and Manny Mota, and they suggested that I continue, and I'm motivated."
Renteria reiterated that he is willing to play second base as well as shortstop, though even after his down 2009 campaign, the 35-year-old stands out as a feasible backup and occasional starter on both sides of the bag. Both the Cardinals and the Marlins have their 2009 and 2010 starting middle infields under contract for 2011, though the Cardinal duo of Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan customarily leave more opportunities for spot-starts and substitutions than the Marlins' steady Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez. Though the Marlins aren't a fit for Renteria now, a spot could open up if they are unable to reach an agreement with Uggla and explore trading the second baseman.
Odds & Ends: Pudge, Indians, Orioles, Jeter
Links for Friday, four years to the day after the Cubs signed Aramis Ramirez to a five-year $75MM contract. He has 93 homers and a .287/.356/.510 line since signing the deal…
- MLB executives predicted the destinations for some top free agents along with Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
- Ivan Rodriguez told Raul Alzaga of Primera Hora that he works out for three or four hours per day and feels physically fit enough to play three more years (link in Spanish).
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi told Vincent M. Mallozzi of the New York Times that he's happy to help recruit free agents.
- The Royals announced that they promoted Lonnie Goldberg to scouting director.
- Cleveland GM Chris Antonetti has spoken to the agents for former Indian Jake Westbrook, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. When he was traded to the Cardinals, Westbrook said he was open to re-signing in Cleveland after the season.
- The Indians are looking for a third baseman, and they don't have much money to spend, but they have discussed potential trades.
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that the O's have talked to "a wide variety" of free agents already.
- Derek Jeter and GM Brian Cashman told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that they're hopeful they can work out a contract.
- For what it's worth, Joe Torre, Jeter's longtime manager, told Peter Botte of the New York Daily News that he can't envision the shortstop playing elsewhere.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post argues that no team can "allow the heart to rule the brain in on-field decisions."
Nationals Interested In Bloomquist, Miles, Cairo
The Nationals are interested in Willie Bloomquist, Aaron Miles and Miguel Cairo, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter). GM Mike Rizzo is apparently looking to add versatility to his bench.
Bloomquist, 33 this month, said at the end of the season that he wanted to play every day in 2011. He batted .267/.299/.380, so it seems doubtful that teams would see him as a regular. Instead, clubs will presumably ask Bloomquist to move all around the diamond as he did last year, when he played all four infield positions and all three outfield positions.
Miles, 33, batted .281/.311/.317 for the Cardinals last year. He played short, second and third and even pitched two scoreless innings (lowering his career ERA to 3.60).
The Reds have had preliminary talks about re-signing Cairo, who batted .290/.353/.410 in 226 plate appearances last year. The 15-year veteran played five positions for Cincinnati.