Winter Meetings Acquisitions Roundup
To say that the last few days have been busy would be a whopping understatement. The Red Sox and Nationals signed a pair of All-Star outfielders to seven-year deals, the Cliff Lee sweepstakes intensified and the Pirates, Diamondbacks and Orioles all made numerous moves. Here's a summary of the additions teams have made since Sunday:
- Washington Nationals: Jayson Werth
- Toronto Blue Jays: Brett Lawrie
- Tampa Bay Rays: Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos
- Seattle Mariners: Miguel Olivo, Esteilon Peguero, Jack Cust
- San Diego Padres: Dustin Moseley, Jason Bartlett, Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Kevin Correia, Matt Diaz, Scott Olsen, Cesar Valdez
- Philadelphia Phillies: Dennys Reyes, Brian Bass
- New York Mets: D.J. Carrasco, Ronny Paulino, Dusty Ryan, Russ Adams
- Minnesota Twins: Brett Jacobson, Jim Hoey
- Milwaukee Brewers: Shaun Marcum, Wil Nieves
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Trent Oeltjen, Tony Gwynn, Dioner Navarro
- Kansas City Royals: Melky Cabrera, Jeff Francoeur
- Houston Astros: Ryan Rowland-Smith
- Detroit Tigers: Chris Oxspring, Omir Santos
- Colorado Rockies: Ty Wigginton
- Cleveland Indians: Paul Phillips
- Cincinnati Reds: Miguel Cairo
- Chicago White Sox: Paul Konerko
- Chicago Cubs: Carlos Pena
- Boston Red Sox: Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez
- Baltimore Orioles: Brendan Harris, J.J. Hardy, Koji Uehara, Mark Reynolds
- Atlanta Braves: George Sherrill
- Arizona Diamondbacks: J.J. Putz, Melvin Mora, Kameron Mickolio, David Hernandez
Note: Teams are listed in reverse alphabetical order and the Werth and Gonzalez deals, which technically happened before the meetings began, are included. Deals that happened before Sunday, like the Adam Dunn signing, are not included. For even more transactions, check out the results of today's Rule 5 draft.
Odds & Ends: Jeter, Cameron, Rich Hill
Another eventful Winter Meetings has come to a close. Even with the pre-meetings action involving Adrian Gonzalez, Jayson Werth, and Shaun Marcum, we had plenty to talk about this week. Carl Crawford signed the biggest deal of the offseason so far. Paul Konerko stayed with the White Sox after some drama. Carlos Pena found a pillow contract with the Cubs. J.J. Putz assumed the Diamondbacks' closer role. The Orioles rebuilt the left side of their infield with Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy. The Pirates, Mariners, Padres, Royals, Rockies, Mets, and others made additions as well. On to today's links…
- Check out a couple of Rule 5 draft reviews from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein. And of course, a pair of great links from John Manuel of Baseball America. We've got the picks from the Major League phase listed here.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff has the financial breakdown on Derek Jeter's new contract.
- The Red Sox have already gotten inquiries on outfielder Mike Cameron, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The team plans to keep him but is willing to listen. Cameron will have to take on a part-time role with Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew filling Boston's outfield.
- The Red Sox are expected to reach an agreement to re-sign Rich Hill in the next few days, reports Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Hill, who grew up a Sox fan, hopes to crack the bullpen this year.
- The Tigers' talks with Carl Crawford didn't get far, GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck. Dombrowski explained that a team can only have so many $20MM players, and the Tigers already have two.
- Orioles president Andy MacPhail hasn't ruled out Cesar Izturis returning, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Izturis is a tougher fit after the Orioles acquired Hardy and Brendan Harris.
Mariners Offer Contract To Laynce Nix
The Mariners added Jack Cust and Miguel Olivo at the Winter Meetings, but they continue to tinker. The Ms offered a contract to outfielder Laynce Nix, tweets John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse.
Nix, 30, hit .291/.350/.455 in 182 plate appearances across 97 games for the Reds this year, playing mostly left field. He was shielded against lefties by manager Dusty Baker. Nix missed most of September with an ankle injury and was outrighted in November.
Mariners Reach Agreement With Miguel Olivo
The Mariners won't be going young at catcher anytime soon. Today they reached an agreement with backstop Miguel Olivo on a two-year, $7MM deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times notes, "Adam Moore's stock with this team appears to have taken a hit." As you might expect, Olivo has been told he's the No. 1 catcher.
Olivo, 32, hit .269/.315/.449 with 14 home runs in 427 plate appearances for the Rockies this year. He caught 935 innings, throwing out 42% of attempted basestealers. Olivo previously played for the Mariners in parts of the '04 and '05 seasons after coming over from the White Sox in the Freddy Garcia trade. This is a nice contract for Olivo, who is represented by Martin Arburua. He's the fifth catcher to score a multiyear deal this winter.
The Rockies shipped Olivo to the Blue Jays in November, who declined his mutual option at the price of $500K and later offered him arbitration. They'll now get a supplementary draft pick for their troubles.
Brewers To Have Extension Talks With Marcum
1:10pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel clarifies: the Brewers agreed to check back in with Marcum's agent, but extension talks have not begun (Twitter link).
12:59pm: The Brewers have had preliminary extension talks with new acquisition Shaun Marcum, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The righty is clearly open to the idea, since he was also discussing the possibility with the Blue Jays. But it's interesting to hear the Brewers having talks before Marcum even throws a pitch for them.
Historically, young pitcher extensions have been signed in January, February, or March. Marcum is already under team control through 2012 as an arbitration eligible player. He shouldn't earn a ton in 2011, partially because he's only operating from an $850K salary.
Michael Young Rumors: Thursday
Previously we learned that the Rangers discussed Michael Young trades with the Angels, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Rockies. ESPN's Buster Olney speculates that the Rangers may be trying to set up other moves. The latest:
- Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers' talks with the Rockies are dormant and there are no active Young talks with other teams.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the chances of a Young trade are less than 50 percent.
Twins Would Consider Trading Slowey
The Twins would consider trading Kevin Slowey - especially if they re-sign Carl Pavano - reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman says the Twins have actually received inquiries on ace Francisco Liriano from the Yankees and others, but a team official can't imagine moving the lefty.
Slowey, 26, posted a 4.45 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 28.3% groundball rate in 155 2/3 innings this year for the Twins, missing time with elbow and triceps injuries. He's a control artist who works around 90 mph, and with one of the highest flyball rates in the game Slowey would be best-suited in a big ballpark. He's arbitration eligible for the first time this winter.
Gonzalez: No Agreement In Place With Red Sox
Adrian Gonzalez hasn't agreed to anything more than a trade. In a phone interview with the Mexican blog Puro Beisbol (link in Spanish), the normally tight-lipped first baseman denied reports from Sports Illustrated, USA Today and other sources that he and the Red Sox have tentatively agreed to an extension that won't be announced until April in order for the team to avoid luxury tax.
"Nothing about that is true," Gonzalez told Fernando Ballesteros. "It's false. I haven't signed any contract." Indeed, by Gonzalez's account, the two sides have yet to even delve into specific figures, despite word that he asked for, and received, approximately $161MM over eight years. "We discussed the trade, but we didn't reach any agreement, and we didn't negotiate numbers," Gonzalez explained. "The only thing I have for sure is the contract that I had already signed with the Padres, and what I can tell you is that over the course of the season we're going to negotiate to reach an agreement."
Left unasked was what, specifically, led to the impasse that nearly derailed the trade last week, but Gonzalez's quotes leave open the possibility that it centered on expectations of years rather than salary. When asked if eight years, $161MM was his goal, Gonzalez stayed mum, saying, "Look, the market changes every day in baseball. Right now I don't know what to tell you because the team could use it to its advantage, so the day that [the Red Sox] want to sit down and discuss my contract, we'll happily do it, and that day we'll say what we want."
Gonzalez gives no indication of discontent with his new team in the interview, insisting that he is "enthusiastic" about both the upcoming season and reports of how his power will play in Fenway Park. However, his portrayal of the negotiations tempers expectations, at least for the time being, about the dawn of a Gonzalez/Crawford decade in Boston.
Cubs Remain Focused On Webb
Free agent righty Brandon Webb remains the Cubs' No. 1 target, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. The Cubs met with Webb's agent Jonathan Maurer multiple times during the Winter Meetings. Sullivan says Rays officials were amused by the Matt Garza speculation, and the Cubs aren't getting Zack Greinke either.
After adding Carlos Pena to a creative one-year, $10MM deal, the Cubs appear to have limited funds remaining to bring in a starter and bullpen arm.
Cardinals Consider Zaun Fallback Option
The Cardinals consider Gregg Zaun a fallback option in their search for a backup catcher, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards have also been linked to Yadier Molina's brother, Bengie. Assuming Matt Treanor and Henry Blanco finish expected deals, the backup catcher market could be down to Zaun, Josh Bard, Gerald Laird, and Molina if he's willing.