White Sox Offer Kerry Wood Two Years
The White Sox just landed Jesse Crain, but they aren't done yet. Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of The Chicago Tribune report that the ChiSox have offered Kerry Wood a two-year contract.
Wood, 33, is reportedly seeking a two-year deal worth $12MM, and interestingly enough a Wood-White Sox rumor was shot down last week. The former Cub pitched to a 3.13 ERA in 46 innings in 2010, aided greatly by his brilliant stint with the Yankees. After being acquired at the trade deadline, Wood pitched to a 0.69 ERA with 10.7 K/9 in 26 innings with New York, though he walked way too many batters at 6.2 per nine innings.
A’s, Nationals In Serious Talks About Willingham
The A's and Nationals are in serious discussions about a trade that would send Josh Willingham to Oakland, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Nationals would receive two minor leaguers from the A's, according to Rosenthal
The Red Sox, Tigers and Mariners also checked in on Willingham during the Winter Meetings, but Rosenthal said at the time that the Nationals' asking price was absurd. However, it seemed earlier in the month that the Nationals were likely to move the left fielder.
Willingham earned $4.6MM in 2010 and will go to arbitration one last time this winter before hitting free agency after the 2011 season. The 31-year-old batted .268/.389/.459 in 450 plate appearances last year before he went on the disabled list and underwent left knee surgery.
Rosenthal suggests that the Nationals could potentially use the money they save to acquire a starting pitcher, sign a first baseman or sign a closer.
Blue Jays Pursuing Octavio Dotel
After letting Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg become free agents, the Blue Jays are interested in adding Octavio Dotel to their bullpen according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Last week we learned that Toronto was one of seven teams that inquired about the right-hander.
Dotel, now 37, bounced from the Pirates to the Dodgers to the Rockies in 2010 and posted a 4.08 ERA along the way. He picked up 21 saves as the closer in Pittsburgh and struck out over a batter per inning (10.5 K/9) overall. Dotel walked lots of hitters as usual (4.5 BB/9), but limited hits.
Yankees Rumors: Pettitte, Lefty Relievers, Lee, Martin
The latest on the Yankees:
- Andy Pettitte is likely to return because his family supports it, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. The lefty will not take a "lowball" offer, however.
- The Yankees "seem to be looking" at lefty relievers at the moment, says SI.com's Jon Heyman. He lists Arthur Rhodes, Brian Fuentes, and Pedro Feliciano in his tweet.
- Darek Braunecker, agent for Cliff Lee, told reporters "The fact of the matter is, there's nothing the Yankees could have done differently" at today's introductory press conference according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez adds this (via Twitter) from Lee himself: "There wasn't anything that scared me away from playing in New York."
- Russell Martin's contract guarantees him $4MM and the catcher could earn another $1.4MM in incentives, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. If Martin catches 120 games, he'll earn the full $1.4MM in incentives.
- The Yankees expect Andy Pettitte to tell them whether he intends to retire within a few days, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). They're cautiously optimistic that he'll return.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees will be a deeper, less top-heavy team without Cliff Lee. Expect the Yankees to sign a couple relievers and an outfielder who bats from the right side as they continue to monitor the market for starting pitching.
- So which starters might the Yankees pursue? In a separate piece, Sherman says the Yankees don't like Brandon Webb all that much. However, they will consider pursuing a veteran with "good stuff but questionable health."
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News says Carlos Zambrano is a "likely target" for GM Brian Cashman. Like new addition Mark Prior, Zambrano knows Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild from their time in Chicago.
- The Yankees are believed to be on Felix Hernandez's no-trade list, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
Rockies Sign Ty Wigginton
The Rockies continued their active offseason today, officially announcing their contract with Ty Wigginton. Wigginton received a two-year, $8MM deal with an option for 2013, which is steep compared to Eric Hinske's one-year, $1.35MM deal. The Wigginton contract represents another big win for ACES, the agency behind the deals for Joaquin Benoit, John Buck, Jhonny Peralta, Brandon Inge, and Javier Vazquez.
Wigginton, 33, hit .248/.312/.415 with 22 home runs in 649 plate appearances for the Orioles in 2010. The veteran utility man saw time at first base, second base, and third base for the Orioles, and also has experience in the oufield. He'd been previously identified as the Rockies' top target for a right-handed utility bat.
The Orioles made a curious decision this summer in not trading Wigginton, as he was certain to finish the year as an unranked free agent. Rather than acquire some minor league depth or salary relief, they will instead receive no compensation for his departure.
Wigginton is added to the list of offseason activity from the Rockies that has included extending Troy Tulowitzki, signing Jorge de la Rosa, and acquiring Jose Lopez and Felipe Paulino. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs is confused as to why the Rockies added Wigginton after getting Lopez.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first broke the news that the two sides were close on a deal, while his colleague Tracy Ringolsby added details.
Latest On The Rockies’ Search For A Reliever
The Rockies have been looking to strengthen their bullpen basically all offseason, but they haven't done much in that regard beyond trading for Felipe Paulino. They did make an offer to Matt Guerrier before he agreed to sign with the Dodgers, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (Twitter link), but their search for relief help won't stop there.
In a series of tweets, Renck says the Rockies maintain interest in Jesse Crain, but like many clubs they prefer not to go three years on a reliever. He adds that they also like Bobby Jenks and former Rockie Brian Fuentes, but they might be out of their price range. Finally, Renck says it would not be surprising to see them pursue Jon Rauch, though Chad Qualls, Hideki Okajima, and Mike MacDougal are interesting options as well.
The back end of Colorado's bullpen is pretty well set with Huston Street, Rafael Betancourt, and Matt Belisle, but there's no such thing as too much depth. Street missed time with a shoulder issue and battled an oblique problem late in the season, and I'm sure the team would like to ease off Belisle, who led MLB with 92 relief innings in 2010.
Royals Designate Philip Humber For Assignment
The Royals designated Philip Humber for assignment to make room for Jeff Francoeur on the 40-man roster, according to the team. Japanese clubs expressed interest in the right-hander earlier this offseason, before former Royal Bryan Bullington joined the Hiroshima Carp.
Humber, 28 next week, posted a 4.15 ERA in 21 2/3 big league innings this year. As short as that stint was, it was the most Humber's pitched in a big league season. The former first rounder was once considered a top prospect and the Mets sent him to Minnesota in the Johan Santana deal. In 664 1/3 minor league innings, he has a 4.48 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.
Marlins Sign Randy Choate
The Marlins announced that they signed Randy Choate to a two-year deal. It's worth a total of $2.5MM plus incentives, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who first reported the deal (all Twitter links). Choate will earn $1MM in 2011 and $1.5MM in 2012 with $150K in incentives each year, depending on the number of appearances he makes. ACES represents Choate.
The 35-year-old led the league in appearances (85), but logged just 44 2/3 innings, since he's generally a lefty specialist. Choate posted a 4.23 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 for the Rays last year. Against lefties, he had a 9.2 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, and 61.8% groundball rate. Choate had similar numbers against them the prior year.
At least two teams besides the Marlins pursued Choate. The Rays offered the Type B free agent arbitration, so they'll receive a supplementary first round pick in next year's draft.
Relievers On Boston’s Radar
4:23pm: The Red Sox are having ongoing discussions with Dan Wheeler about a possible deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. One of Speier's sources is optimistic about the negotiations.
1:16pm: The Red Sox liked Matt Guerrier well enough to offer him a two-year deal, but the Dodgers offered a third guaranteed year and the right-hander has agreed to play for Los Angeles. The Red Sox will have to move on to other targets as they look to round out their 'pen. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the details on what he says is the biggest challenge of the offseason for GM Theo Epstein.
Two former Twins, right-hander Jesse Crain and left-hander Brian Fuentes are the team’s priorities now. The Red Sox are also considering trades and would “love” to reacquire Justin Masterson, according to Cafardo. The Indians have been reluctant to part with Masterson, whom they acquired in the 2009 Victor Martinez trade.
There are a number of alternatives for Epstein to pursue, including Indians relievers Joe Smith and Rafael Perez, who “could be on Boston’s radar.” The A’s are likely willing to listen on their relievers and the Mariners would listen on David Aardsma, Cafardo writes.
Minor Deals: Yankees, Chulk, Van Every, Coats
Let's take a look at today's notable minor league deals, with the most recent updates at the top:
- The Yankees signed Doug Bernier, Buddy Carlyle, Neal Cotts and Gustavo Molina to minor league deals, the team announced. The club officially announced its deals with Andy Sisco and outfielder-turned-pitcher Brian Anderson.
- The Pirates have welcomed back Donald Veal just two weeks after non-tendering him, Eddy tweets. Veal underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year.
- The Rays picked up right-handed reliever Jonah Bayliss, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Bayliss turned in a 3.58 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for Houston's Triple-A club last season.
- The Athletics signed right-handed reliever Vinnie Chulk, tweets Eddy. Chulk appeared in 28 games for Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate in 2010 and spent the other half of the year with the Hiroshima Carp. His numbers overseas left much to be desired but the righty carries more than 250 games of big league experience.
- First baseman Andy Tracy has hooked on with the Diamondbacks, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The left-handed hitter, who turned 37-years-old on Saturday, has spent the last three years with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate. In 2010 he hit .275/.373/.492, numbers that are slightly better than his career averages.
- The Nationals signed outfielder Jonathan Van Every, according to Eddy (via Twitter). The 31-year-old boasts a career .471 slugging percentage in Triple-A and can play all three outfield positions. Van Every played in 39 games for Boston's varsity squad across the last three years.
- Washington picked up another versatile, left-handed hitting outfielder in Buck Coats, Eddy tweets. Coats, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Cubs, has a lifetime slash line of .294/.352/.407 at the Triple-A level.
- The Cubs invited first baseman Bryan LaHair and outfielder Brad Snyder to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter).