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Archives for January 13, 2010

Mets Close To Signing Bengie Molina

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The Mets are "close" to signing Bengie Molina, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The Mets have been connected to Molina all offseason, but seem reluctant to guarantee him two years. Molina, who was looking for a three-year deal, is willing to sign a two-year contract, according to Morosi.

The 35-year-old catcher hit .265/.285/.442 for the Giants last year, hitting 20 homers. Molina's career .308 OBP is nothing special and he throws out fewer baserunners than he did when he was winning Gold Gloves in the early 2000s, but he is durable. Molina appeared in 132 games last year, up from his average of 121 for the decade.

Dodgers Focused On Pineiro, Padilla

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WEDNESDAY, 11:22pm: Dylan Hernandez tweets that in addition to Pineiro and Padilla, the Dodgers have recently contacted the agents for Braden Looper and Garland.

WEDNESDAY, 7:06pm: The Dodgers are open to bringing back Padilla if they are unable to land Pineiro, a major league source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

9:55am: It's been a quiet offseason for the Dodgers, as they've unloaded Juan Pierre while adding Jamey Carroll and a cast of minor league signings.  With Randy Wolf joining the Brewers, there's still a strong need to add a veteran starting pitcher.

The Dodgers' search is focused on Joel Pineiro and Vicente Padilla, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Gurnick indicates they've backed off on Jon Garland.  The Dodgers are aiming for a one-year deal, which might put Pineiro out of reach.  Still, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote today that the Dodgers "are going through the process of getting approval for the funds necessary to make a Pineiro deal."  Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweeted Monday that the Mets were talking to Pineiro about a two-year deal in the $15MM range, so it's probably a two-horse race. 

A reunion with Padilla seems likely, especially if his price starts to plummet.  Early in the offseason, interest was mutual.  The Dodgers' main competition appears to be the Cardinals, who are trying to stretch $6-7MM across several needs.

Pirates Reach Agreement With D.J. Carrasco

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The Pirates and D.J. Carrasco have agreed to terms on a minor league deal, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  If the right-handed reliever makes the team, he will earn $950K in base pay plus as much as $250K in performance bonuses.  The Pirates will have the chance to retain Carrasco beyond 2010 as an arbitration-eligible player.

The 32-year-old posted a 3.76 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 in 93.3 innings for the White Sox last season.  Despite this, the club decided to non-tender him, citing budget concerns.  Carrasco and new Pirates addition Brian Bass ranked #1-2 in relief innings in MLB last year.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltran, Guzman

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Some links on this Wednesday evening…

  • Yorvit Torrealba could end up with the Giants, according to Chris Haft of MLB.com.  However, Torrealba may prefer to wait until after the weekend to sign with any club as his Venezuelan Winter League team is still active in the postseason.
  • Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets that in addition to Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are talking about multiyear deals with Jonathan Broxton and Andre Ethier. 
  • Carlos Beltran will have to refrain from baseball activities for twelve weeks after having his knee scoped, according to a Mets press release passed along by MetsBlog.  The story was first reported by the New York Post's Joel Sherman (via Twitter).  If all goes well with his rehabilitation, the center fielder should only miss a small amount of games to start the year.
  • Free agent lefty Doug Davis is attracting interest from four teams, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Twins, Brewers, Mets, and Nationals are all interested in the 34-year-old, who posted a 4.22 ERA with 6.7 K/9 over the last three years in Arizona.
  • Fernando Tatis' agent told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that the Rockies had preliminary discussions with his client earlier this week.  About a week ago, we heard that the Rockies were eyeing the 35-year-old for a bench role.  Also, two major league sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Mariners are interested as well.
  • Former Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow will audition for at least 16 teams on Friday in Phoenix, according to a report from ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.  The 31-year-old demanded his release from the Rangers back in May.
  • If the Nats are able to sign Orlando Hudson or Adam Kennedy to play second base, Cristian Guzman and his $8MM salary are unlikely to be moved elsewhere, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  Guzman would remain at shortstop, where his agent insists that he is still valuable despite shoulder surgery.
  • Pittsburgh's signing of Ryan Church could pay huge dividends for the club, says ESPN's Rob Neyer.  If Church is healthy and generates interest from other clubs, the Pirates will be able to move him for a more valuable commodity.

Tigers In Lead For Jose Valverde

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4:21pm: In a chat today, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says he's been told the Cardinals are "not actively involved" on Valverde.

12:53pm: The Tigers are believed to have the biggest offer out to free agent reliever Jose Valverde, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The sides are not close to a deal, however.  Morosi adds that the Cubs are not interested, but the Cardinals "could emerge as a suitor."  Just depends on if they want to put most of their $6-7MM in one basket, I'd say.  Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that Valverde has offers from the Tigers, Cardinals, and one other team.

Last night on Twitter, Jim Bowden had this to say:

[Tigers GM] Dave Dombrowski told me tonight they are focusing on the back end of the bullpen and did not deny an offer to Valverde and a willingness to lose their #1 pick.

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith ran through the draft picks that would be at stake in a post Sunday.  The Tigers would surrender the #19 overall pick to the Astros, while the Cardinals would have to part with #25.  Ben noted that the Red Sox have not been connected to Valverde but they'd only have to give up the #107 overall pick.

Dodgers Close To Two-Year Deal With Kemp

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4:09pm: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has more comments from Stewart, who expects Kemp to be signed by the Tuesday salary figure exchange date.  Meanwhile, Dodgers president Dennis Mannion told Hernandez Ned Colletti is not being limited to two years for Kemp.

11:43am: Back on December 31st, we learned from MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that the Dodgers opened multiyear contract discussions with center fielder Matt Kemp.  Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart, said that if he and the Dodgers couldn't find common ground he was comfortable going year to year.

Interviewed on XM MLB Home Plate radio last night, Stewart told host Jim Bowden that he and the Dodgers are close to a two-year deal for Kemp (via Bowden's Twitter account).  Stewart indicated he believes the Dodgers' ownership situation limited the number of years they could offer.  MLB.com's Ken Gurnick has direct quotes from Stewart.

Nick Markakis and Carlos Beltran are two decent comparables for Kemp, in terms of where their simple career numbers were after three years service time.  On a six-year deal, Markakis will be paid $9.75MM for his first two arbitration years.  Beltran went year to year in 2002-03 and made $9.5MM.  I would guess Kemp would be in the $10MM range for 2010-11.

Dodgers Sign Nick Green, Two Others

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WEDNESDAY, 3:48pm: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times writes that Green will get a $550K base salary if he's on the big league roster, with another $100K in incentives.  Hernandez also has contract details for Angel Berroa, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Russ Ortiz.

MONDAY, 1:25pm: The Dodgers signed Nick Green to a minor league deal, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosental says Green would be Rafael Furcal's primary backup at shortstop. 

Green, 31, hit .236/.303/.366 in 309 plate appearances for the Red Sox last year, logging 644.3 innings at short.  His defense graded as a positive in that insufficient sample.  Green had back surgery in November and was outrighted by the Sox shortly thereafter.  The Rockies also showed interest this offseason.

MLB.com's Ken Gurnick notes two other Dodgers signings: pitcher Scott Dohmann and infielder Argenis Reyes.  Dohmann, 31, was released by the Hiroshima Carp in June and landed in the D'Backs organization.  Reyes, 27, hit .282/.336/.377 for the Mets' Triple A club.

Russell Branyan Moving On From Seattle

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Russell Branyan is reluctantly moving on from the Mariners, reports MLB.com's Jim Street.  After hearing the Ms acquired Casey Kotchman, Branyan called GM Jack Zduriencik to thank him for the opportunity.  Street says Branyan has no hard feelings, though the slugger indicated talks with the Mariners ended rather abruptly after the Winter Meetings.

Branyan says he has a couple of interested teams, and he expects a Major League deal.  He came into the offseason aiming for two years, but the Mariners would only offer one year and a club option.  Branyan says he feels great despite back woes marring the second half of his season.  He still managed 31 home runs, second only to Jason Bay among free agents this offseason.

Assuming Branyan is open to a DH job, the White Sox, Tigers, or Royals could be a fit.  The Orioles, A's, or Mets could consider him at first base.  Branyan, 34, earned $1.75MM in '09.

Delgado Not A Fit For Blue Jays

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WEDNESDAY, 1:54pm: MLB.com's Jordan Bastian writes that a Major League source told him Delgado "doesn't fit into the Blue Jays' plans."  But if you're concerned about Delgado's health, his agent told Bastian the slugger "would have no problems playing first base on an everyday basis."

MONDAY, 6:59pm: AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price tweets, the Mets have seen Carlos Delgado in Puerto Rico twice, and plan to see him once more. Price adds that Delgado "is not moving well". Price adds that the Blue Jays, Delgado's first team, might be a "more likely landing spot."

One would figure Price mentions this because Toronto plays in the American League, giving Delgado a chance to DH, but it isn't so clear where Delgado fits in there. Adam Lind is Toronto's best hitter, and fields like a DH. Lyle Overbay is left-handed, just as Delgado is. Just how much of a role Toronto can offer Delgado is not at all clear.

Where Delgado fits with the Mets is much more obvious- he stands as far likelier to excel as a hitter while playing first base than Daniel Murphy in 2010. If he can't move well enough to play the position, of course, he becomes a glorified pinch hitter for New York.

For his part, Delgado has been hitting in his time with Carolina, putting a .353 average up in 19 plate appearances, including a home run. He only began playing the field on Sunday night, however.

Rich Hill Ready To Sign?

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1:36pm: MASN's Roch Kubatko says Hill expects to sign today or tomorrow, and won't rule out the Orioles.  Hill might have one club (not Baltimore) willing to offer a big league deal.

8:26am: Free agent lefty starter Rich Hill "is poised to accept" an offer with a team other than the Orioles, reports Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  Hill became a free agent after being outrighted by the O's in November.

Acquired from the Cubs in February for cash considerations, Hill was a worthwhile pickup for Andy MacPhail.  However, Hill fared poorly in 13 starts last year while dealing with elbow and shoulder injuries.  He had labrum surgery in August.  For more background on Hill, check out our November 4th discussion post.

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