Archives for February 2010

Marlins Interested In Russell Branyan

By Tim Dierkes | February 5, 2010 at 5:22pm CDT

FRIDAY, 5:22pm: MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that he was told the team "never even spoke with him," meaning Branyan. So that's the end of that.

TUESDAY, 9:19pm: Two sources tell the Miami Herald that the Marlins have not made Branyan an offer. The Marlins have some interest in Branyan, but the Herald's sources say the club has not yet made an offer. They have merely contacted the first baseman's agent.

1:32pm: The Marlins offered a one-year deal to free agent first baseman Russell Branyan, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. The offer contains a "low base and lots of incentives," and Branyan would have to pass rookies Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison on the depth chart for a starting job.

Branyan's options are dwindling, as the Orioles added Miguel Tejada, the Mariners acquired Casey Kotchman, and the Mets don't appear to be interested. One possibility could be a return to Cleveland, as Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer recently hinted. Why the lack of interest in a 31-home run free agent slugger? Branyan is 34 now, and most of his '09 production came in the first half. Back troubles ended his season on August 28th.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Baldelli, Gregg, Blockbusters

By Mike Axisa | February 5, 2010 at 3:05pm CDT

On this date way back in 1935, the Yankees released an aging slugger by the name of Babe Ruth just one day before his 40th birthday so he could sign with the Boston Braves. The Sultan of Swat hit .288/.448/.537 with 22 homers in his final season in New York, easily his worst full season with the team. He went on to hit just .181/.359/.431 with six homers in 28 games for the Braves before retiring in May. Ruth ended his career as a .342/.474/.690 hitter with a then-record 714 homers.

Here's some links from around the web…

TYU wants to see the Yankees invite Rocco Baldelli to Spring Training as a non-roster player.
The Tao of Stieb tries to make sense of the Kevin Gregg addition for the Blue Jays.
Red Legged, Blue Blooded Boilermaker reviews Cincinnati's offseason and projects their 25-man roster.
Fantasy Baseball Junkie examines how players perform after being involved in a blockbuster trade, with a fantasy spin.
More Hardball built a 25-man roster out of players still available on the free agent market.
Camden Crazies looks at how Miguel Tejada may handle the transition to third base.
Flushing University says that the Mets have failed to address their biggest needs this offseason.
MLB News and Rumors compiled prospect lists from all of the different outlets.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Mets, Rockies, Giants Interested In Wellemeyer

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 5, 2010 at 2:36pm CDT

2:36pm: Troy Renck of The Denver Post says that the Giants are the favorite to land Wellemeyer, followed by the Rockies.

2:01pm: Todd Wellemeyer told the Team 1380 in St. Louis that he could sign with the Mets, Rockies or Giants. Tim McKernan of the Team tweets that Wellemeyer hasn't talked to the Cardinals and doesn't expect to return to St. Louis (Hat Tip: Bart Hubbuch).

MLBTR reported earlier this week that the Phillies and D'Backs expressed interest in Wellemeyer, along with the Rockies. The 31-year-old pitched to a 5.89 ERA in 122.1 innings last year, with sub-par rate stats: 5.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

Orlando Hudson’s Other Offers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 5, 2010 at 1:47pm CDT

Orlando Hudson agreed to a one-year $5MM deal with the Twins yesterday, but other teams were in it until the end. Here's a look at the offers the O-Dog turned down to play in Minnesota:

The Nationals offered Hudson a $4MM deal that could have reached $5MM with incentives, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
The Indians offered Hudson $10MM over two years, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Indians, who have had a remarkably quiet offseason, wanted Hudson on a heavily-backloaded deal. Lots of money was tied up in the buyout of a third year option.

Odds & Ends: Jays, V-Mart, Jeter, Gonzalez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 5, 2010 at 1:29pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Tim Dillard, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week, cleared waivers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter).
Don't expect the Twins to add much to their 2010 payroll. GM Bill Smith tells Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that the team is nearing the "upper extremes" of what it can spend (Twitter link).
The Blue Jays are no longer in on Carlos Delgado, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Twins had one of the best offseasons in baseball.
Alex Anthopoulos doesn't expect to trade any of his relievers before the season starts, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. However, the Jays GM points out that things can change.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier compares Victor Martinez to similar catchers to hit free agency in recent years. Speier writes that after this season V-Mart could be in line for a four-year $40MM deal like the ones Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Varitek signed. Some consider Martinez a first baseman going forward, which would make him a "completely different animal" in the eyes of interested teams.
Those small market Twins will open the season with a payroll of about $96MM, writes Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Derek Jeter hits free agency after the season and Hank Steinbrenner says we can "pretty much assume" what will happen at that point given Jeter's place in Yankee history (link from the Philadelphia Daily News).
Padres GM Jed Hoyer tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that he hasn't ruled out signing Adrian Gonzalez long-term. That seems unlikely given the offers Gonzalez could demand as a free agent.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Adam Kennedy will be the Nats' everday second baseman, which likely leaves Cristian Guzman at short.
Now the Nats will look for a veteran starter, tweets Ladson.
Jesus Guzman cleared waivers and will receive an invitation to Giants Spring Training, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants designated the infielder for assignment in late January.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star tweets that Jarrod Washburn may be too expensive for the Royals.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that some within the Dodgers organization called Orlando Hudson "Slow-Dog" because they were surprised he wasn't faster. Some Dodgers officials believe Hudson's defensive reputation is better than it should be.

Mark Reynolds, D’Backs Talking Multi-Year Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 5, 2010 at 1:22pm CDT

1:22pm: Reynolds expects to be talking in terms of formal offers by the week of February 15th, according to Piecoro.

12:37pm: The D'Backs are discussing a multi-year deal with Reynolds, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Reynolds tells Gilbert that the sides have discussed two and three-year deals. If the D'Backs come at him with a fair offer, Reynolds says he's "willing to take a look." The sides aren't talking money yet, but Reynolds tells Gilbert that they're discussing a two or three-year deal with options.

9:15am: The D'Backs and Mark Reynolds have mutual interest in a multi-year deal, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The club is expected to make an offer before Spring Training and there are indications the sides could discuss a three-year deal. Managing general partner Ken Kendrick told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that Reynolds is one player the club would prefer to lock up.

"We would like to not have to go through year-by-year arbitration with [Reynolds], if we can agree on a multiyear deal," Kendrick said.

Reynolds just missed Super Two status this year, so he isn't arbitration-eligible yet. He's set to make $500K or so this year and he'll be arbitration-eligible after the season. He won't hit free agency until after the 2013 campaign.

Piecoro notes that Dan Uggla made $5.35MM in his first arb year, while Miguel Cabrera made $7.4MM and Ryan Howard made a record-setting $10MM. Reynolds figures to fall short of the contracts Cabrera and Howard earned, so Piecoro wonders if a three-year deal worth $14-15MM could work for both the D'Backs and their third baseman.

Reynolds, 26, hit 44 homers last year and set the single season strikeout record with 223 Ks. He played slightly below average defense and posted a .260/.349/.543 line.

Blue Jays Sign Kevin Gregg

By Tim Dierkes | February 5, 2010 at 11:27am CDT

The Blue Jays officially signed Kevin Gregg to a one-year $2.75MM deal that includes a pair of club options. The Blue Jays will have ten days after the 2010 World Series to choose between three options:

Allow Gregg to become a free agent
Pick up a $4.5MM option for 2011
Pick up an $8.75MM option for 2011-12

Gregg spent much of 2009 closing for the Cubs, and he managed to trim his walk rate and increase his strikeouts. However, he allowed a disastrous 13 home runs in 68.6 innings. Gregg, who was drawn to Toronto because of the chance to close games, will compete with Scott Downs and Jason Frasor for Toronto's closing job. The Blue Jays have a number of relievers competing for jobs, so some have speculated that the club could deal Downs or Frasor, both free agents after the season.

Agent Dan Horwits told Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that the Rockies, Padres and Marlins were all interested in Gregg.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the sides were close to a deal. Jon Heyman of SI.com and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweeted details.

Twins Sign Orlando Hudson

By Tim Dierkes | February 5, 2010 at 9:30am CDT

The Twins signed Orlando Hudson to a one-year $5MM deal. The contract, which doesn't include incentives, dictates that the Twins can't offer Hudson arbitration if he is a Type A free agent.

Hudson will take over at second base for Nick Punto, who played the position from mid-June until the end of the season. Punto posted a solid 9.4 UZR/150 as the Twins' second baseman, but hit just .228/.337/.284 with one homer on the year.

In 149 games for the Dodgers last season, the 32-year-old Hudson hit .283/.357/.417 with 9 HRs. While he holds a career UZR/150 of 2.6, he posted a -7.6 in 2008 and -3.7 in 2009.

The Nationals and Indians were also pursuing Hudson. Washington promptly agreed to a deal with Adam Kennedy once Hudson agreed to a contract with the Twins.

Curtis Kitchen of WHB Radio in Kansas City first tweeted that Hudson had reached an agreement with the Twins. ESPN.com's Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted contract details.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Olney On Verlander, Branyan, Bedard

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 5, 2010 at 8:40am CDT

ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that Orlando Hudson would likely benefit from hitting in front of Joe Mauer. Those hitting before Mauer saw lots of fastballs last year and Hudson hits the heater well. Here are Olney's rumors:

An AL scout calls the Justin Verlander deal a "solid sign for the club." An NL GM calls Verlander a "top-of-the-rotation type, long term." An NL scout says it's a "great signing" for the Tigers if the righty stays healthy.
Despite concerns about Russell Branyan's back, one current coach says the slugger looks good in workouts.
Some within the industry believe Erik Bedard could miss months of the upcoming season. The lefty is close to signing with the Mariners.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Hudson, Brewers, Guzman

By Zachary Links | February 4, 2010 at 10:35pm CDT

Thursday night linkage..

With Hudson having agreed to a deal with the Twins, Jon Heyman of SI tweets that he anticipates the Nationals considering Adam Kennedy.
Jarrod Washburn is only considering two teams at present – the Twins and the Mariners. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes that if he doesn't receive an offer from either club or expand his list, the 35-year-old hurler may retire.
Orlando Hudson would be a great fit for the Twins, writes Rob Neyer of ESPN. Neyer writes that the extra one or two wins that Hudson's addition represents are worth at least $3MM. However, according to Buster Olney, Hudson has been offered a one-year pact worth $5MM.
Despite Travis Buck's reported dissatisfaction with the organization, A's GM Billy Beane is not looking to move the outfielder writes Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.
Spurred by the recent pickups of Joe Inglett and Marco Estrada, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com takes a look back at the Brewers' best waiver wire moves in recent years. One of the best hidden gems was one of GM Doug Melvin's earliest acquisitions, Scott Podsednik.
The Orioles have signed Joel Guzman to a minor league deal, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The 25-year-old, once one of baseball's top prospects, will not receive an invite to Spring Training. In 108 games with the Nationals' Double-A affiliate last season, Guzman hit .281/.352/.447 with 12 HRs.

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