Tigers In Lead For Jose Valverde
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
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
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
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
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?
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.
Odds & Ends: Giants, Yost, Red Sox, Blue Jays
Wednesday linkage…
- It appears that the Yankees added pitcher Zack Segovia on a minor league deal, writes Chad Jennings of The Journal News.
- Reed Johnson is still in the mix for the Cubs' fourth outfielder job, assistant GM Randy Bush told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News passes along a comment from Giants GM Brian Sabean: someone will be designated for assignment to make room for Aubrey Huff. CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban says it won't be Fred Lewis, but Lewis is probably done with the Giants anyway.
- The Royals named former Brewers manager Ned Yost special advisor to baseball operations, according to a team press release.
- John Dewan of Baseball Info Solutions suggests the Red Sox could add eight or nine wins via their defensive improvements (hat tip to Alex Speier of WEEI). In an article for ESPN, Dave Cameron says the Red Sox "have traded on-base percentage for ultimate zone ratings."
- Rany Jazayerli says the Royals' move for Scott Podsednik "wasn't a good signing, but it's not worth getting worked up over either."
- Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle suggests Drayton McLane's $650MM asking price for the Astros "might make it difficult for him to find a buyer."
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues assesses possible Yankees target Xavier Nady.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs likes the Ryan Church signing for the Pirates.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian writes that the Blue Jays signed pitcher Willie Collazo, infielder Jesus Merchan, and outfielder Jorge Padilla to minor league deals.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reiterates the Cubs' interest in Kiko Calero, but guesses the team's interest "is probably contingent" on the health of the reliever's shoulder.
- Brett Myers intends to "stick it" to the Phillies, according to the AP. How dare they pay him over $30MM and stick by him through domestic abuse charges.
Mariners Re-Sign Brad Nelson
The Mariners re-signed first baseman/outfielder Brad Nelson to a minor league deal, according to a team press release. Nelson began the '09 season with the Brewers, and joined the Ms as a minor league free agent in May after refusing an outright assignment. Nelson, 27, hit .247/.322/.451 in Triple A – his fifth stint at the level.
Astros Designate Jason Bourgeois For Assignment
The Astros designated outfielder Jason Bourgeois for assignment to make room for Brett Myers, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Astros had claimed the 28-year-old Bourgeois off waivers from the Brewers in October. In 2009, he hit .316/.354/.401 in Triple A while playing all three outfield positions. The Astros re-signed Jason Michaels in mid-December, lessening the need for extra outfielders.
Giants Sign Aubrey Huff
The Giants officially signed first baseman Aubrey Huff to a one-year, $3MM deal today. The deal was first reported Sunday by Dennis O'Donnell of CBS5 in San Francisco.
Huff split his time between first base and DH last year. Though he has played hundreds of major league games at third, he figures to play first for the Giants. Pablo Sandoval, Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe are all in the mix for time at the corner infield positions, so Bruce Bochy will have lots of options.
Huff, 33, hit .241/.310/.384 in 2009. He will presumably pick up some at bats from Travis Ishikawa, who is seven years younger than Huff and plays better defense. Ishikawa hit .261/.329/.387 last year in 113 games at first base, so he was more productive than Huff at the plate, too.
As MLBTR's Mike Axisa points out on River Ave. Blues, the move appears to lessen the chances that Johnny Damon ends up in San Francisco. The Braves and Yankees could still be fits for Damon, but the Yanks' interest likely depends on Damon's willingness to lower his demands. This also limits the market for Adam LaRoche; the Mets and Orioles have openings at first, but few other teams do.