Padres Close To Signing Dustin Moseley
The Padres are close to signing free agent right-hander Dustin Moseley to a major league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The deal will be worth a guaranteed $900K, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The Yankees non-tendered Moseley last week after they couldn't come to terms with him on a deal for 2011.
Moseley, who turns 29 this month, posted a 4.96 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 65 1/3 innings as a swingman for the Yankees. It's unclear whether he'll join Aaron Harang in the rotation or work out of Bud Black's 'pen.
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C.C. Sabathia Unaffected By Cliff Lee
Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia has the ability to opt out of the remaining four years and $92MM remaining on his contract after the 2011 season. It's been suggested that a Cliff Lee megadeal could prompt Sabathia to bail in search of more money or years, but he told George King of the New York Post, "It has no effect on me at all." But as Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues points out, Sabathia did not directly slam the door on the opt-out.
Royals Getting Close On Francoeur Deal
11:31am: The Royals will announce a deal with Francoeur later today, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
10:26am: The Royals are getting close on a deal with outfielder Jeff Francoeur, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says it's a one-year deal and a club option is possible. The match comes as no surprise, with Royals GM Dayton Moore showing longstanding interest and also a tendency to acquire players who played for his former employer.
Francoeur, 27 in January, hit .249/.300/.383 overall in 503 plate appearances this year for the Mets and Rangers but did have a nice 56 PA Texas stint. Francoeur was once an up-and-comer with the Braves, hitting 29 home runs as a 22-year-old.
Carlos Beltran Rumors: Wednesday
On Tuesday at the Winter Meetings, the idea of the Red Sox acquiring Carlos Beltran surfaced. For the remainder of the day, we heard a few pieces, culminating with a reported meeting between Boston and the Mets to discuss the idea. Here's your early edition of Wednesday's Beltran rumors:
- A source involved in the discussions told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that nothing was close with Boston and Beltran (Twitter link). Sherman was told yesterday that the Red Sox see Beltran as a fallback.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman spoke to one NL executive who estimated the Mets would have to eat about half of Beltran's salary in order to move him (Twitter link).
- Newsday's David Lennon says a deal between the Red Sox and Mets has gained some traction. While a trade is still a long shot, Mets GM Sandy Alderson is not averse to eating salary to move him. Lennon also speculates on a Daisuke Matsuzaka-Beltran swap, as the two are owed nearly the same amount of money ($20MM vs. $18.5MM, respectively). Matsuzaka would need to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate such a deal.
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Overnight Links: Lee, Brewers, Tigers, Varitek, Parra
Here's some late night odds and ends for the night owls who are still up and running, or early birds who are just rising:
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan opines that offering seven years for Cliff Lee is the right thing for his suitors to do.
- Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News opines that it's better for the Rangers to overpay for Lee than it is to let him go to New York.
- Craig Counsell's agent asked the Brewers for more time to consider his options, tweets MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Milwaukee is anxious to hear whether or not the veteran infielder will return.
- McCalvy also tweets that the Brewers will continue to pursue catching options, even with the near-signing of Wil Nieves.
- McCalvy's colleague Jason Beck tweets confirmation from Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski that the club has considered sending Alfredo Figaro to Japan.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford writes that the Blue Jays talked with Jason Varitek prior to his re-signing with Boston. A.J. Pierzynski, whom the Red Sox also contacted, is happy for Varitek regarding his return to Boston, saying "He deserves it."
- A market for D'Backs outfielder Gerardo Parra is developing, tweets FOX Sports Arizona's Jack Magruder. Parra could be moved to help balance out a lineup that's heavy in left-handed hitters.
Day In Review: 12/7/10
Another day of the Winter Meetings is officially in the books. Here's everything that's happened since yesterday's Day In Review post:
- The highest profile move of the day belongs to the Cubs, who agreed to terms with Carlos Pena on a one-year deal believed to be worth $10MM late last night. Chicago's also shopping Tom Gorzelanny, and the Tigers have shown interest.
- The Rockies made the next-biggest signing of the day, inking Ty Wigginton for two years and $8MM. That's far more money than most people had pegged Wigginton for.
- The Yankees' signing of Derek Jeter became official.
- Lots of low-profile moves, such as the Dodgers signing Tony Gwynn Jr. to a one-year deal for $675K and the Pirates agreeing to a surprising two-year deal with Matt Diaz. Pittsburgh is also looking at multiple relievers.
- The Mets made a pair of free agent signings, agreeing to terms with Ronny Paulino on a one-year, $1.3MM deal and D.J. Carrasco on a two-year, $2.5MM deal.
- A few more low-budget moves appear to be on the horizon, as the Padres are close to signing Dustin Moseley to a one-year deal and the Dodgers nearing an agreement with Vicente Padilla for $2MM. Also, the Brewers are close to signing Wil Nieves and Dennys Reyes may sign with the Phillies within the next day or two.
- Much was made last night of talks to send Michael Young from Texas to Colorado, but in the end, the Rangers told their third basemen he'd be going nowhere. Meanwhile, Texas likes Magglio Ordonez.
- The Cubs and Rangers were said to be discussing a multi-player deal that would send Chris Davis and Darren O'Day to Chicago. Their signing of Carlos Pena may impact that train of thought.
- The Orioles appear to be closing in on a deal to keep Koji Uehara in Baltimore, and will not be trading for Jason Bartlett, as was rumored. The same is true of the rumored Kenshin Kawakami swap.
- We learned that Tsuyoshi Nishioka is looking for about $12MM total over three years, and the Twins aren't far off. However there were no talks between the two sides yesterday, though no one is worried about getting something done.
- Oakland made a serious offer to Brandon McCarthy and is considering several DH types including Hideki Matsui and Vladimir Guerrero.
- The Braves will begin talk about an extension for Dan Uggla and are confident one can be reached.
- The Nationals have switched their focus to Adam LaRoche, are out on Carl Pavano, but may still be in talks for Cliff Lee.
- Ryan Ludwick is drawing trade interest from several teams.
- The Cardinals have considered adding Yadier Molina's older brother Bengie Molina as a backup.
- Jesse Crain is reportedly looking for Joaquin Benoit money. Good luck with that. His former teammate Matt Guerrier was rumored to be as well, before his agent shot that down.
- More on the reliever front — Kevin Gregg has received offers from three teams, while the Yankees and possibly White Sox are in on Kerry Wood.
- The latest on big name free agents and trade chips: Cliff Lee's offers have allegedly jumped to seven years, though no teams are owning up to it. Carl Crawford remains the Angels' top priority, clubs are upping their offers for Zack Greinke, three teams called about Prince Fielder, the Rays are motivated to move Matt Garza, Brandon Webb's agent met with several clubs, and the Red Sox are talking about Carlos Beltran.
Paul Konerko Rumors: Wednesday
Yesterday the talks between the White Sox and longtime first baseman Paul Konerko hit a snag, with GM Kenny Williams talking about moving on. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf still may step in and make it work, but here's the latest…
- Yahoo's Steve Henson calls a Konerko-White Sox reunion "dead in the water for the time being." He suggests Jayson Werth's signing caused Konerko to raise his demands as a ripple effect.
- Rival teams bidding on Konerko are convinced he's returning to the White Sox, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Giants Rumors: Rotation Depth, Cabrera, Santiago
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle has a pair of Giants articles up. Let's dig in:
- The Giants are looking to add rotation depth by pursuing "sixth starter" types. According to Shea, they're one of several teams interested in Andrew Miller, who visited the Giants in their suite Tuesday at the Winter Meetings.
- The Giants are also in the market for backup shortstops. Some names they've floated around include Orlando Cabrera and Tigers' utilityman Ramon Santiago. Edgar Renteria remains an option as well.
- Despite yet another surgery for Freddy Sanchez (this time on his left shoulder), San Francisco won't be pursuing any second basemen. Sanchez should be ready for Opening Day, and the Giants already have Mike Fontenot and Mark DeRosa to backup if needed.