Merkin Valdez Designated For Assignment
Reliever Merkin Valdez was designated for assignment today to make room for Aubrey Huff, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. 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.
With a 95.5 mph average fastball, someone will give Valdez a look. Heading into the 2004 season Baseball America ranked him as the #40 prospect in baseball. Heading into '05 he was at #58. Valdez had Tommy John surgery in October of '06.
Tigers Avoid Arbitration With Joel Zumaya
THURSDAY, 11:34am: Beck says Zumaya will be paid $915K in 2010, a $175K raise. There's also a $20K bonus for 35 games.
WEDNESDAY, 4:31pm: The Tigers avoided arbitration with reliever Joel Zumaya by signing him to a one-year deal, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck. Zumaya earned $735K in '09, his first arbitration year. The 25-year-old posted a 4.94 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 6.4 BB/9 in 31 innings. He was limited by a shoulder injury all year, and had arthroscopic surgery in August. Zumaya is the favorite to close for the Tigers in 2010, unless they bring in someone like Jose Valverde.
Brewers Sign Norris Hopper
The Brewers signed outfielder Norris Hopper to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Hopper, 31 in March, hit .281/.337/.330 in 453 Triple A plate appearances last year across three organizations. He has a .316/.367/.371 big league line in 440 plate appearances, with most of his time spent in center field.
Braves Avoid Arbitration With Melky Cabrera
The Braves avoided arbitration with outfielder Melky Cabrera by signing him to a $3.1MM deal for 2010, reports ESPN's Enrique Rojas. Cabrera earned $1.4MM in '09, his first arbitration year. He proceeded to hit .274/.336/.416 for the Yankees and was traded to the Braves this winter in the Javier Vazquez deal. Cot's Baseball Contracts notes that the Yankees paid $500K toward Cabrera's 2010 salary.
Braves Still Pursuing Johnny Damon
The Braves are still pursuing free agent outfielder Johnny Damon, according to a tweet from David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. On Monday, O'Brien shot down a Jon Heyman suggestion that the Braves had made an offer.
The Giants appear to be out for Damon now that they've added Aubrey Huff, and we learned Tuesday that a Yankees reunion is unlikely. Scott Boras is going to have to cook up a mystery team if he's going to get the Braves to overpay for Damon. The Royals and Padres might be looking to add an outfielder, but Damon is an unlikely fit for either club.
Padres, Cubs Eyeing Jermaine Dye
THURSDAY, 8:06am: MLB.com's Corey Brock has a source saying a Dye deal is "low on likelihood" for the Padres. More likely would be Randy Winn or Jerry Hairston Jr., to whom the Padres have made offers. Another mild possibility for Dye is the Cubs. The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan says they're looking at him for a platoon/backup/DH role.
WEDNESDAY, 11:02am: The Padres are showing interest in free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, Morosi believes the Padres would have to trade a veteran to be able to afford him. He names Heath Bell and Kevin Kouzmanoff as trade candidates.
Dye isn't a great fit for a National League club, given his outfield defense. And he's not the type of free agent you make other moves to accomodate. Given the limited interest, I can't see him getting much more than $3MM.
Mets Close To Signing Bengie Molina
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
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
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
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.