Cubs Rumors: Calero, Nady, Priorities
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports provide the latest Cubs rumblings…
- Morosi reported Wednesday that the Cubs were "engaged in negotiations" with free agent reliever Kiko Calero. However, he now says their interest has waned. A right-handed setup man is still a primary item on the Cubs' shopping list.
- Previous reports have connected the Cubs to outfielders Xavier Nady, Jonny Gomes, Rocco Baldelli, and Reed Johnson. The FOX writers say Nady is the Cubs' top choice unless Dye's contract demands come down.
- The Cubs seek rotation insurance, but the FOX writers confirm ESPN's Jayson Stark Saturday suggestion that Ben Sheets is unlikely. Perhaps Mark Mulder, linked to the Cubs Tuesday by Morosi, is more feasible.
- Though the Cubs have looked into Adam Kennedy and Orlando Hudson, adding a second baseman is not a high priority.
Odds & Ends: Mauer, Turnbow, Loaiza
Links for Monday…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the convergence of Joe Mauer, Ron Shapiro, and Bill Smith in St. Paul Wednesday for a Rick Reilly program will accelerate extension talks.
- The Rockies "remain firmly in the mix" for free agent reliever Derrick Turnbow, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Turnbow could make a choice by Wednesday.
- In his latest MLB.com mailbag, Jordan Bastian notes that Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan is out of options.
- MLBTR's resident translator, Nick Collias, passes along this Esteban Loaiza interview with Hector Linares from the Mexican newspaper Excelsior. Loaiza says he's doing everything possible to make it back to the big leagues, and has received a few calls from teams. He last pitched for the White Sox in June of '08.
- Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News explains why the Phillies' Cliff Lee trade was the right move. He says fans don't understand, and the Phils needed the prospects.
- Aaron Gleeman wouldn't mind seeing Delmon Young benched and Jim Thome added by the Twins to platoon at DH.
- RotoAuthority assesses David Wright's fantasy prospects for 2010.
- Baseball America's Ben Badler says MLB voided the seven-figure contract Dominican third baseman Duanel Jones had with San Francisco. ESPN's Jorge Arangure says (via Twitter) the move was prompted by Jones failing a drug test administered by the Giants.
- Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie told MASN's Steve Melewski that his $120K pay cut from 2008 to 2009 did not affect his '09 performance.
Rangers Designate Joe Inglett For Assignment
The Rangers designated Joe Inglett for assignment to make room for Colby Lewis, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Inglett had been claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays on December 4th, but perhaps the Rangers' signing of Khalil Greene made him expendable.
Inglett, 31, hit .281/.347/.348 in 99 plate appearances for the Jays last year while playing the outfield corners and second base. He hit .360/.422/.516 in 186 Triple A plate appearances.
Mets Rumors: Catcher, Smoltz, Sheets, Delgado
Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News has the latest on the Mets.
- The Mets are said to be 50-50 on whether to use internal catching options or sign Yorvit Torrealba or Rod Barajas. The current favorite to start is Omir Santos, projected to hit .247/.296/.359 by CHONE.
- The Mets are "very likely to add one more starting pitcher," writes Rubin. John Smoltz, Ben Sheets, and Jon Garland are the names under discussion. The Smoltz talks are described as "active dialogue." We learned earlier today that the A's appear to be a top competitor for Sheets, while SI's Jon Heyman believes the Rangers and Mariners are also in the mix. Heyman tweets that the Mets "don't appear to be the frontrunner for Sheets at the moment."
- Rubin considers a Carlos Delgado re-signing to be "not overly likely" due to concerns about Delgado playing first base. Instead, the Mets could bring Fernando Tatis back.
Royals Sign Rick Ankiel
The Royals officially signed outfielder Rick Ankiel to a one-year, $3.25MM deal today. The contract has a second-year mutual option worth $6MM, and Ankiel can earn up to $500K in incentives this year. Yahoo's Tim Brown first tweeted news of the agreement Thursday night, with Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports following the next day with the incentives.
Back on December 10th, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweeted that Scott Boras wanted three years and "big money" for Ankiel, but ultimately he settled for an unsurprising contract. Ankiel also drew interest from the Cubs, Pirates, and Red Sox this winter.
Ankiel will try to rebuild value in Kansas City after slipping to a .231/.285/.387 line for the Cardinals in 2009. The 30-year-old's maladies included a sore Achilles tendon, a deep shoulder bruise, and a groin strain. The shoulder injury, suffered in May, came from a headfirst collision with a wall and lingered most of the season.
A converted pitcher, Ankiel has experience at all three outfield positions but predominantly played center field. He'll join Scott Podsednik, David DeJesus, and possibly Brian Anderson in the Royals' outfield, with Jose Guillen presumably serving as designated hitter.
Kovacevic Talks To Pirates Owner Nutting
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette grilled Pirates owner Bob Nutting yesterday; let's take a look at the interview.
- Nutting says Miguel Angel Sano's $3.15MM bonus with the Twins, $550K more than the Pirates' offered, "was comfortably within the range" of what the Bucs could've paid.
- GM Neal Huntington has "lots of flexibility" in payroll, but Nutting does not want to divert from the long-term plan.
- Asked if the Pirates would "someday spend at the level of the Brewers and Reds," Nutting replied in the affirmative. That'd be the $75-80MM range. The Pirates currently project to fall under $40MM in 2010.
- Nutting assured Kovacevic the Pirates are "using our revenue-share dollars appropriately."
- By my count, the Pirates have added about $14MM for winter acquisitions Akinori Iwamura, Octavio Dotel, Ryan Church, Brendan Donnelly, Bobby Crosby, D.J. Carrasco (non-guaranteed), and Javier Lopez. Matt Capps, who received $3.5MM from the Nationals, was the one well-paid subtraction.
Odds & Ends: Byrdak, Rangers, Storen
Sunday night links..
- The Astros have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.6MM with pitcher Tim Byrdak, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The dollar figure is the midpoint between Houston's offer and Byrdak's submission. The agreement leaves Wandy Rodriguez as the team's last remaining arbitration eligible player.
- Boston's international scouting efforts are starting to yield some results, writes Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Of the twelve minor leaguers at this year's rookie development program, six of them were foreign-born.
- Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) hears that Chuck Greenberg's group will pay $570MM for the Texas Rangers, though he notes that is unconfirmed.
- While all eyes are on Stephen Strasburg in Washington, right-hander Drew Storen is trying to make the Opening Day roster, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The Nationals used their other first-round selection, tenth overall, to select Storen in the 2009 draft.
Week In Review: 1/17/10 – 1/23/10
Let's take a look back at the week that was:
- Felix Hernandez agreed to continue his reign in Seattle, inking a five-year, $78MM deal with the M's. The contract buys out his two remaining years of arbitration plus three years of free agency.
- The Red Sox and closer Jonathan Papelbon agreed to a one-year deal worth $9.35MM. Incentives could put another $150K in the 29-year-old's bank account.
- The Phillies avoided arbitration with Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino, signing them each to three-year deals worth $24MM and $22MM, respectively.
- The Angels landed free agent pitcher Joel Pineiro for $16MM over two years. St. Louis will receive a first round pick as compensation for losing the Type-B free agent.
- Josh Johnson officially signed a four-year, $39MM extension with the Marlins.
- The Dodgers locked up Andre Ethier and Jonathan Broxton, inking them both to two-year deals. Broxton will earn $11MM in his final two years of being contractually controlled. Ethier, meanwhile, will still be under Dodger control for one more year following his contract, which could be worth as much as $15.625MM.
- Tim Lincecum filed for $13MM in arbitration while the Giants submitted $8MM.
- Meanwhile, Justin Verlander filed for $9.5MM in arbitration while the Tigers countered with $6.9MM.
- Johnny Damon is still without a team, but this week we learned that the Yankees would welcome him back – at the right price, of course. We could see Damon sign somewhere shortly, as he told Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger that he "should have a team in a week."
- The Orioles agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with Miguel Tejada, who will play third for the first time in his major league career. This means that Garrett Atkins, who signed a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the O's, will play first.
- Colorado locked up two key bullpen pieces – Huston Street and Rafael Betancourt. Street, who was arb-eligible for the final time, agreed to a three-year deal worth $22.5MM with an option for a fourth year. Meanwhile, Betancourt agreed to a two-year deal for $3.775MM per year.
- Milwaukee signed Doug Davis to a one-year deal worth $5.25MM guaranteed, including the $1MM buyout of his 2011 mutual option. The mutual option would pay the 34-year-old $6.5MM in total.
- The Giants re-signed Bengie Molina to a one-year deal worth $4.5MM. Molina accepted San Francisco's offer despite a one-year, $5MM offer from the Mets.
- The Mets received outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. in exchange for reliever Brian Stokes. The Halos will pick up all but $2MM of the $23.5MM remaining on his deal.
- Rick Ankiel agreed to a one-year deal for $3.25MM with the Royals. The contract includes up to $500K in incentives and a mutual option for 2011 worth $6MM.
- After weeks of speculation, the Pirates finally signed Octavio Dotel to a one-year deal with a club option for 2011. Dotel will earn $3.25MM in 2010 and $4.5MM in 2011, if the option is exercised.
- The Dodgers brought Vicente Padilla back on a one-year, $5.025MM deal. However, GM Ned Colletti says that it is unlikely that the Dodgers can afford to sign another free agent pitcher.
- A pair of former Mets landed minor league deals with the Rockies, Paul Lo Duca and Jay Payton.
- Jim Edmonds is looking to make a comeback in 2010, and he may get his opportunity in St. Louis.
- Carl Pavano and the Twins avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year pact worth $7MM. The contract does not include any incentives.
- A pair of aging sluggers found homes in the NL West as Matt Stairs signed with the Padres and Jason Giambi agreed to return to the Rockies for $1.75MM.
- We heard that the Nationals are interested in Orlando Hudson as well as Orlando Cabrera. Hudson is allegedly seeking $9MM per year.
- The Indians acquired shortstop Brian Bixler from the Pirates in exchange for infielder Jesus Brito.
Phillies, Ruiz Agree To Multi-Year Deal
7:33pm: The deal is worth $8.85MM over three seasons, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. The contract includes a fourth-year club option of $5MM with a five-year buyout as well as performance incentives for games started.
5:22pm: The Phillies and catcher Carlos Ruiz have agreed to terms on a three-year, $9MM deal, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Ruiz, who turns 31-years-old on Friday, had his best offensive campaign to date in 2009, hitting .255/.355/.425 with a career-high 9 HRs in 107 games. The deal covers all of Ruiz's remaining arbitration years.
With Chooch set to sign, the Phillies have avoided arbitration with their three eligible players. Earlier in the week, the club agreed to a three-year, $24MM extension with pitcher Joe Blanton. Shane Victorino was next up, inking a three-year, $22MM pact.
Odds & Ends: Nelson Cruz, Tejada, White Sox, Ankiel
Some links to browse through on your Sunday afternoon…
- Besides sifting through the remaining free agents, the Yankees are exploring the trade market for left field, writes Frankie Piliere of Fanhouse (via Twitter). Piliere heard unconfirmed whispers that one of those inquiries was made on Nelson Cruz.
- Oregon State left-hander Josh Osich will miss the 2010 season due to Tommy John surgery, writes Jason Churchill. The 20-year-old southpaw had been described as a "lock for the mid- to late first round" by Keith Law.
- Steve Melewski takes a look at the arguments for and against Miguel Tejada's return to Baltimore, and also suggests slotting Miggy into the cleanup spot to start the season.
- White Sox VP Scott Reifert passes along a quote (via Twitter) from scouting director Doug Laumann, saying the south-siders will likely focus on pitching in the next draft.
- Rany Jazayerli has mixed feelings about the Royals' acquisition of Rick Ankiel, but says the outfielder is a better fit than Mike Jacobs was a year ago.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski repeated that he's not going to sign a hitter who can't play the field, writes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times doesn't expect Johnny Damon to return to the Yankees in 2010.
- Fernando Tatis and Ryan Freel are options for the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Derrick Turnbow is still on the Rockies' radar, writes Renck.
- Tom Robson heads Bob Elliott's list of Canadians eligible for the 2010 draft at the Canadian Baseball Network.