Pirates Close To Deal With Scott Olsen
The Pirates reached a tentative agreement with lefty Scott Olsen on a one-year, incentive-laden deal, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. Olsen's agent Matt Sosnick tells MLBTR "nothing is done yet." Langosch says the deal will become official if Olsen passes a physical later this week. He'll have a base salary in the $1MM range, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Olsen, 27 in January, posted a 5.56 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 46.5% groundball rate this year in 81 innings for the Nationals. Olsen had labrum surgery in July of '09 and was sidelined for much of this season with soreness.
Nationals, Cubs, Brewers Inquired On James Loney
12:22pm: A Dodgers source tells Yahoo's Steve Henson Loney will not be traded because he'd be too expensive to replace on the open market (Twitter link). Rosenthal now agrees that Loney will not be traded.
11:39am: The Nationals, Cubs, and Brewers have inquired on Dodgers first baseman James Loney, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Loney is available, says Rosenthal. Rosenthal notes that the Brewers would only want him in the unlikely event of a Prince Fielder trade. The Cubs and Nationals appear to be focused on Carlos Pena, says Rosenthal.
Loney was tendered a contract on December 2nd, so he'll earn $4.5-5MM in 2011 after a disappointing '10 season. The Dodgers' asking price doesn't appear to be reasonable, as MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that they wanted Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann from Washington.
Adrian Beltre Seeking Five Years, $70MM+
Adrian Beltre's agent Scott Boras is seeking five years and north of $70MM, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports chimes in with five years, $85MM. In mid-November, SI's Jon Heyman had suggested a five-year, $90MM target.
Beltre recently lost a major suitor when the Red Sox acquired a different Adrian. Boras reportedly ignored offers from the Athletics, including a five-year, $64MM proposal. Yahoo's Steve Henson tweets that with those two clubs out of the bidding, Beltre will wait it out in hopes of landing with a winning team.
Padres Checking In On Free Agent First Basemen
Part of the calculus in trading Adrian Gonzalez was the pool of available free agent first basemen, Padres GM Jed Hoyer told ESPN's Jayson Stark (Twitter link). Stark feels Adam LaRoche and former Padre Derrek Lee are viable options.
Royals, Phillies Pick Up Pace On Francoeur
The Royals and Phillies have picked up the pace on free agent outfielder Jeff Francoeur, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Rockies are also in on Francoeur. All three suitors were already known from past reports.
Nationals Rumors: Closer, Adam LaRoche
The latest on the Nationals, who have plenty of work left after signing Jayson Werth…
- The Nationals would like to add a closer, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. That'd help ease Drew Storen into the role and perhaps trade the veteran signee midseason as they did with Matt Capps.
- First baseman Adam LaRoche told MLB.com's Bill Ladson he has interest in playing for the Nationals and his agent will meet with the team in the next few days.
Six Teams Interested In Koji Uehara
The Orioles, Mariners, Twins, Red Sox, Brewers, and Cardinals are interested in free agent reliever Koji Uehara, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun learned from an unnamed Japanese reporter. Uehara would like to return to the Orioles, but they're unlikely to give him a multiyear deal. If he finds such an offer, he'll sign elsewhere.
Uehara, 36 in April, was dominant out of the Orioles' pen this year in 44 innings but has had an injury-plagued couple of seasons in the U.S.
Heath Bell Will Not Be Traded
Padres GM Jed Hoyer, talking to reporters including SI's Jon Heyman, said the Adrian Gonzalez trade does not represent a firesale and Heath Bell will be the team's closer in 2011.
Bell, 33, racked up 47 saves and a couple of Cy Young votes this year. He's under the Padres' control for one more season, and due a raise on his $4MM salary of 2010.
Rockies Made Informal Offer To Carlos Gonzalez?
The Rockies made an informal seven-to-ten year offer to outfielder Carlos Gonzalez this winter, hears Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. It'd take a special deal to buy out any of CarGo's free agent years, as he's represented by Scott Boras. Gonzalez isn't even arbitration eligible until after next season, and won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2014 season.
Gonzalez, 25, finished third in the NL MVP voting this season.
Red Sox Acquire Adrian Gonzalez
After being the subject of trade rumors for close to two years, Adrian Gonzalez is finally on his way out of San Diego. The Padres will send their star slugger to the Red Sox in exchange for Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes, and a player to be named later. The Red Sox and Padres officially announced the deal this morning. While no extension is in place, GM Theo Epstein told reporters he's very confident they'll work something out. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is hearing a seven-year, $154MM ceiling.
If Boston waits until after Opening Day to officially ink Gonzalez to a new contract, the deal will not impact the 2011 payroll, saving them money on the luxury tax. Several high-priced members of the Red Sox come off of the books after 2011, including David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Marco Scutaro, and Mike Cameron.
The 28-year-old Gonzalez is one of the game's premier power-hitters, with no fewer than 30 home runs in each of the last four years despite playing half his games in spacious Petco Park. The Red Sox made the best offer, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that both Chicago teams were serious bidders. The trade all but guarantees that Adrian Beltre will not be returning to Boston, reducing his leverage on the open market. The Red Sox are expected to put Gonzalez at first base and slide Kevin Youkilis over to third.
Kelly, 21, is the headliner for San Diego. He was the 30th overall pick in the 2008 draft and owns a 3.69 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 190 career innings split evenly between Single and Double-A. After dabbling at shortstop earlier in his career, Kelly is a full-time pitcher now. Despite the less than stellar statistics, Callis said the Red Sox still "[envisioned] him becoming a frontline starter with three possible plus pitches and above-average command," and he expects Kelly to rank in the 30-50 range of the publication's upcoming Top 100 Prospects list (Twitter link).
Rizzo, also 21, was a sixth round pick in 2007 and has broken out since missing most of the 2008 season to get treatment for Limited Stage Classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He's hit .279/.349/.476 over the last two years, mostly at the Single-A level. Callis writes that he "generates plus power with strength and leverage" and "should hit for a solid average and draw some walks." Rizzo was also voted the best defensive first baseman in the Double-A Eastern League by managers this season.
Fuentes, 20 in February, is a center fielder like his cousin Carlos Beltran, and hit .270/.328/.377 in 2010, his first full season after being the 28th overall pick in the 2009 draft. Although he "may need four or five seasons in the minors," Callis says he has similar tools to Jacoby Ellsbury but projects to be better with both the bat and glove down the road.
ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes and Dan Hayes of the North County Times first reported that the two sides were closing in on a trade, with Jon Heyman of SI.com eventually tweeting that the deal had been finalized. In between, a slew of writers added details to the proceedings. For the full timeline of events, check out our posts leading up to the agreement.
MLBTR's Mike Axisa, Luke Adams, and Zach Links contributed to this post.