Giants Sign Santiago Casilla
The Giants signed reliever Santiago Casilla to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy. He'd been released by the A's on December 10th to make room for Rule 5 pick Bobby Cassevah.
Casilla, 29, posted a 5.96 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 4.7 BB/9 in 48.3 relief innings last year. He was hindered by calf and knee injuries. He dealt with a sore elbow throughout the '08 season.
Odds & Ends: League, Bourgeois, Giants, Uggla
Some links for Wednesday night…
- The Mariners signed reliever Brandon League to a 2010 contract, according to a team press release. He'll get $1.08MM, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. That's just below the midpoint.
- Matt Eddy at Baseball America has this week's minor league transactions.
- Matthew Carruth of FanGraphs wants you to vote on the worst contract in baseball.
- Via Twitter, Alyson Footer notes that Jason Bourgeois, who was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Brett Myers, cleared waivers and accepted a trip to the minors.
- Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the Giants are unlikely to sign any more players to Major League contracts. The Bengie Molina deal tapped them out.
- Marlins' team president David Sampson said that Dan Uggla will be the team's Opening Day second baseman, writes Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald. We also heard that there was no chance of a long-term deal for Josh Johnson this offseason, so take it with a grain of salt.
- Tom Haudricourt of The Journal News notes (via Twitter) that Brewers' GM Doug Melvin tried to trade for Doug Davis twice last season. Melvin got his man today.
- Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News heard from a Mets' insider that the team could try to trade for Tim Hudson. That seems highly unlikely for a number of reasons, but mostly because Hudson signed an extension in November, has 10-and-5 no-trade rights, and the Braves already traded one veteran starter in Javier Vazquez this offseason.
- Here's the up to the minute 2010 draft order. The only two unsigned free agents left that will bring their former teams compensation are Joel Pineiro and Rod Barajas.
Johnny Damon Considered Retirement?
8:47pm: Yankees' GM Brian Cashman shot down Hairston's comments, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
8:10pm: Jerry Hairston Jr. was on Jim Bowden's radio show on XM 175 earlier today, and said that the Yankees didn't make him an offer because they're waiting on Damon's price to come down (via Bowden's Twitter). If true, it would seem that it's only matter of time before they get a deal worked out.
12:38pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution feels differently – his source close to Damon says retirement hasn't been considered (Twitter link).
8:43am: Johnny Damon has considered retirement, according to a friend of Damon's who spoke to Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record. Keep in mind that Damon pondered the same idea back in Spring Training '07. However, that March '09 Bill Madden article added that Damon "harbors no more thoughts of retiring when his contract expires after this season."
Though Damon texted "I'm sure things will work out somewhere" to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, his prospects of a decent contract appear bleak. ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted Monday that the Yankees haven't made recent contact. They and the Braves are thought to have only $2MM in the budget. The Giants and Tigers appear out, though I imagine Damon will find a market if his price drops below $5MM.
Cubs, Calero In Negotiations
The Cubs and free agent reliever Kiko Calero are in negotiations, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com. The righthander is seeking a two-year deal, though the Cubs are holding firm at one year because of concerns about Calero's past shoulder injuries.
Calero has been connected to quite a few teams this offseason, however we haven't really heard about any hard talks until now. The 35-year-old Calero posted a 1.95 ERA in 60 innings for the Marlins last year, easily his best in the big leagues.
Phillies Talking Multi-Year Deals With Blanton, Ruiz
Yesterday we learned that the Phillies were discussing a multi-year deal with the arbitration eligible Shane Victorino, and now MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports that the team is doing the same with both Joe Blanton and Carlos Ruiz. Blanton is up for arbitration for the final time, but this is Ruiz's first experience with the process.
"I think we're making progress on all of them," (GM Ruben) Amaro said. "We're trying to work through it. We're hoping we can get these done."
Blanton and the Phillies were $2.75MM apart in their arbitration filings, the second largest gap behind Tim Lincecum. We all know what Blanton is at this point, and that's an extremely durable innings eater that'll give you an ERA in the low-4.00's.
Ruiz filed for $2.5MM while the Phillies countered with $1.7MM. He had a breakout season in 2009, hitting .255/.355/.425 (all career highs) in 379 plate appearances. Chris Iannetta's three year deal worth $8.3MM guaranteed could serve as a baseline for a Ruiz extension.
Preston Wilson Looking To Make A Comeback
Move over Jim Edmonds, you aren't the only former Cardinals' outfielder looking to make a comeback. ESPN's Jayson Stark is reporting that Preston Wilson is looking for an invitation to Spring Training now that the knee troubles that forced him from the game in the first place are behind him.
Wilson last played in the big leagues back in 2007, when he hit just .219/.265/.313 in 68 plate appearances with St. Louis. He appeared in 48 games last season with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, hitting .302/.344/.474 while missing time with a broken eye socket (hit by a pitch) and a separated shoulder (suffered on a slide).
The 35-year-old outfielder is a career .264/.329/.468 hitter in the Majors, and was known for his prodigious strikeout totals (1,085 K in 4,436 PA). The Yankees are rumored to be looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder, and if Wilson is only looking for a Spring Training invite, what's the harm?
Blue Jays Acquire Merkin Valdez
The Blue Jays acquired pitcher Merkin Valdez from the Giants for cash considerations, reports CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban. Valdez was designated for assignment on January 14th to make room for Aubrey Huff.
Valdez, 28, posted a 5.66 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 5.1 BB/9 in 49.3 innings for the Giants last year. He throws in the mid-90s and was ranked among the top 60 prospects in baseball before October '06 Tommy John surgery.
Odds & Ends: Havlicek, Lincecum, Kennedy
Links for Wednesday…
- The Rays signed 16-year-old lefty Stepan Havlicek out of the Czech Republic, according to a press release. He is "believed to be the first ever signed by the Rays out of Europe."
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports takes a look at the significance of Tim Lincecum's arbitration case. SI's Jon Heyman believes a two-year, $24MM deal would work for both sides.
- Heyman also notes that the Rays, Marlins, and Nationals have a policy not to compromise after figures are filed.
- In another article, Morosi says Adam Kennedy is down to three teams, two of which would use him as an everyday second baseman.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram informs us about Colby Lewis, the newest member of the Rangers' rotation.
- WEEI's Alex Speier tells you everything you ever wanted to know (and then some) about the Red Sox and their efforts to minimize their competitive balance tax.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker says 34-year-old screwballing lefty Hisanori Takahashi may have a big league offer. The Orioles are one interested party, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners appear to have about $10MM left to spend.
Diamondbacks Release Eric Byrnes
WEDNESDAY, 2:21pm: Byrnes has been released by the D'Backs, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Welcome to our free agent list, Eric!
FRIDAY, 1:52pm: The D'Backs have designated Eric Byrnes for assignment, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The D'Backs will presumably have trouble trading Byrnes, who has some no-trade protection and will make $11MM this year. The club may well end up releasing him within the next ten days.
If they release Byrnes, the D'Backs will have obtained a hugely disappointing return on the three-year $30MM deal they signed the outfielder to in 2007. In the 482 plate appearances he's made under the new deal, Byrnes hit .218/.271/.382. Byrnes, 34 next month, was a positive on defense in nearly 900 innings the last two seasons, according to UZR.
Edmonds Talks Cards Comeback
12:03pm: SI's Jon Heyman writes that Cohen told him says it's "better than 50-50" that Edmonds signs by the end of next week.
WEDNESDAY, 9:01am: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports talked to Edmonds' agent Paul Cohen yesterday. Edmonds is serious about playing in 2010. He's open to a platoon arrangment, possible time at first base, and teams in either league. Morosi believes Edmonds will lean toward teams with smaller ballparks.
MONDAY, 2:10pm: B.J. Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat has comments from La Russa regarding Edmonds. La Russa initially thought Edmonds was joking, but now says a "serious discussion" is in order.
8:05am: At Tony La Russa's animal rescue benefit last night, Jim Edmonds publicly challenged his former manager to bring him aboard for the league minimum in 2010 (MLB.com's Matthew Leach reporting). Leach is unsure whether Edmonds was serious, however. Prior to Edmonds' comments, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted that the Cardinals were "not entertaining inviting Edmonds to camp." GM John Mozeliak specifically told Strauss's colleague Derrick Goold (Twitter), "That wasn't in the plans."
Last offseason it appeared that Edmonds planned to play in 2009. But like Frank Thomas, Luis Gonzalez, Geoff Jenkins, and a handful of other veterans, Edmonds was left out in the cold. If nothing else, Edmonds demonstrated in '08 that he could still hit right-handed pitching.