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Archives for November 2010

Blue Jays On Verge Of Acquiring Rajai Davis

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The Blue Jays are on the verge of acquiring outfielder Rajai Davis from the Athletics, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Minor league reliever Trystan Magnuson is one of the players heading to Oakland in the deal, MLBTR has learned.

Davis, a 30-year-old speedster, became more expendable for Oakland after they acquired David DeJesus from the Royals.  Davis slipped to .284/.320/.377 this year in 561 plate appearances for the A's, playing all three outfield positions but mainly center.  It's not clear how the Jays would employ Davis, but capable center fielders are a rare commodity.  Davis is arbitration eligible for the second time this winter and potentially under team control through 2013.

Magnuson, a 25-year-old righty, posted a 2.58 ERA, 7.7 K/9, and 1.2 BB/9 with only one home run allowed in 73 1/3 Double-A innings this year.  Heading into the season Baseball America had him 22nd among Jays prospects.

Eric Chavez Attempting Comeback

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We know Eric Chavez has pondered retirement, but his agent Scott Leventhal told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald the third baseman hopes to play in 2011.  Chavez is having strenuous workouts five days a week at Athletes Performance in Arizona and Leventhal says he's "completely healthy."  Chavez, 33 next month, has endured two back surgeries and three shoulder surgeries in his career.  Recently he dealt with bulging discs in his neck.

The Dodgers are one team that has considered asking Chavez to work out for them, reports Silverman.

Rockies Draw Line At Three Years For De La Rosa

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The Rockies have drawn the line at a three-year deal for free agent lefty Jorge de la Rosa, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Competition for De La Rosa appears heavy; Renck adds the Orioles to a list of suitors that already included the Pirates, Nationals, Rangers, Yankees, and Brewers.  Since three of those clubs are eyeing higher profile lefty Cliff Lee, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports feels that De La Rosa may wait until he signs, though Renck does not agree.

With Jake Westbrook and Hiroki Kuroda off the board, Renck believes that Carl Pavano is now a stronger possibility for Colorado.  Renck also names Javier Vazquez, and I imagine they might take a look at Jon Garland.

Renck also notes that Melvin Mora is looking to sign a contract soon.  The Rockies aren't ready to commit, so he may sign elsewhere.

Yankees Rumors: Upton, Lee, Soriano, Jeter

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post dishes out the latest Yankees buzz in a series of articles…

  • Sherman notes that Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has knowledge of the Yankees farm system after working for the team last year, which makes a Justin Upton match intriguing.  However, Sherman feels that the Yankees would get involved most likely if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere and they look to trade an outfielder for a starter.  Teams have inquired on Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Brett Gardner, notes Sherman.
  • Executives Sherman spoke to continue to express the opinion that the Yankees will land Lee.
  • The Yanks are also working hard to find a setup man, calling on about a dozen free agents including Pedro Feliciano.  They've checked in on Rafael Soriano "as a fallback position in the incredibly small likelihood that Mariano Rivera does not re-sign."  Sherman says to forget the idea of Soriano signing as Rivera's setup man and closer-in-waiting.  Neither side is interested in that scenario.
  • Sherman analyzes the Derek Jeter situation, which he feels could become "one of the most interesting games of contract chicken in history."  The main sticking point seems to be the number of years.

Dodgers Rumors: Martin, Loney, Dunn, Nishioka

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The latest on the Dodgers, from Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times…

  • GM Ned Colletti admitted the team will spend the most time debating what to do about catcher Russell Martin, who we've pegged as a non-tender candidate.  The Dodgers could try to bring him back for less than this year's $5.05MM, writes Baxter.  Martin was sidelined by a hip injury this year, though he expects to be ready for Spring Training.  His agent recently told Baxter's colleague Dylan Hernandez that his client hopes to remain with the Dodgers.
  • Another player I was willing to call a non-tender or at least trade candidate, James Loney, "is all but certain to return at first base" according to Baxter.  He could earn around $5MM despite a disappointing 2010 season.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported recently that Loney is the position player the Dodgers are most willing to trade as they look to add power to the lineup. 
  • The Dodgers have uncertainty at left field and second base, but Baxter says they're not expected to bid on Adam Dunn or Tsuyoshi Nishioka.  Instead, they could continue to add pitching.

Red Sox Will Go No More Than Four Years For Beltre

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The Red Sox have said that retaining Adrian Beltre is one of their top priorities this offseason, but a source tells Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe that they will not offer him more than four years and $52MM. Cafardo adds that they appear to have a similar limit with Victor Martinez.

A dozen teams are reportedly interested in the 31-year-old Beltre, who is far and away the best third baseman on the free agent market. Interest in the soon-to-be 32-year-old Martinez is plentiful as well, with about half-a-dozen clubs expressing interest in his services at one point or another. While four years and $52MM is certainly a competitive offer, it's possible that Beltre could find more than $13MM annually on the open market, especially coming off a .321/.365/.553 season.

Meetings Rumors: A’s, Tigers, M’s, Red Sox, O’s

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Baseball's general managers met in Orlando today and discussed potential changes to the collective bargaining agreement. MLB Executive Vice President Rob Manfred told reporters that he's optimistic about reaching a new CBA with the MLB Players Association and eager to hear the opinions of baseball's GMs. Manfred declined to go into detail on the talks, but the GMs addressed a number of hot stove topics with MLBTR soon afterwards. Here are the details (and be sure to follow @mlbtrorlando for more updates):

  • The A's are off to a busy offseason start, but it's not intentional. "I don't think any particular reason other than opportunities presented themselves when they did," A's GM Billy Beane said. "It wasn't by design or anything like that. [David]  DeJesus was somebody we inquired on back in August when he was hurt and we didn't control the pace of that negotiation, because they didn't move him until they were ready to move him."
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers could add left-handers, right-handers or both to their bullpen this winter.
  • The Tigers expect Andy Oliver to be a quality big league pitcher, but they aren't counting on him for their 2011 rotation, according to Dombrowski.
  • Asked who will close for his team in 2011, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik praised David Aardsma's recent body of work. Zduriencik also said he doesn't expect Milton Bradley's history with manager Eric Wedge to be an issue. 
  • The Mariners opened the 2010 season with a heavily right-handed bullpen and Zduriencik says "it'd be nice to have a left-hander or two out there" in 2011.
  • Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says the Red Sox need to get to know Andrew Miller and Taylor Buchholz before he knows specifically what to expect from the team's new acquisitions. He does like "the possibility of real upside" for both pitchers, and was impressed by Buchholz's 2008 season with the Rockies.
  • Epstein says the Red Sox bullpen is far from a finished product despite the acquisitions. "We probably have to acquire one or two relievers through trade or free agency and we will. I really believe in the guys we have in the back: [Jonathan] Pabelbon, [Daniel] Bard and possibly [Felix] Doubront. If he's not in the rotation, he could be a very valuable bullpen piece."
  • Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail says there haven't been major developments with free agents Cesar Izturis or Ty Wigginton since the O's expressed interest in both when the offseason ended.
  • For more GM Meetings coverage, see what Jed Hoyer of the Padres, Neal Huntington of the Pirates and Andrew Friedman of the Rays had to say.

Marlins Notes: Uggla, Pavano, Prado

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The Marlins wasted no time trading Dan Uggla this offseason, sending him to Atlanta for Omar Infante and Mike Dunn on Tuesday. The move came less than a week after the team broke off extension talks with their All Star second baseman due to a gap in negotiations.

Let's round up the latest Marlins' news in the wake of the trade…

Minor Deals: German, Carroll, Moore, Tracy

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A look at the minor deals struck today…

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that Esteban German is returning to the Rangers on a minor league deal.  German, 33 in January, hit .280/.371/.388 in 567 Triple-A plate appearances this year, playing all around the diamond.  He was outrighted on November 5th and chose to become a free agent.
  • The Royals signed outfielder Brett Carroll to a minor league contract, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). The 28-year-old is a .205/.284/.325 career hitter in 319 plate appearances with the Marlins.
  • Infielder Scott Moore signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, reports Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. He originally broke in with the Cubs back in 2006, but was later traded to the Orioles for Steve Trachsel.
  • Infielder Chad Tracy signed with the Hiroshima Carp for about $1.3MM according to a report passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman (Twitter link).

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Cardinals Re-Sign Jake Westbrook

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The Cardinals have re-signed Jake Westbrook to a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2013 worth a guaranteed $16.5MM. The deal includes a full no-trade clause that was given in exchange for a non-guaranteed third year. 

Westbrook, 33, joined the Cardinals in a three-team trade that sent Ryan Ludwick to the Padres and prospects to the Indians at the deadline. He pitched to a 3.48 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 75 innings for St. Louis. After missing the 2009 season due to Tommy John surgery, Westbrook's overall season looked very much like the rest of his career: an ERA in the 4.20's and lots of innings (202 2/3 to be exact).

The new deal will pay the right-hander $8MM in 2011 and $8.5MM in 2012. The 2013 option calls for a $8.5MM base salary, though he'll receive a $1MM buyout if the team declines the option. If Westbrook declines the option, he'll receive no buyout.

Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reported the agreement (via Twitter) while FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and MLB.com's Matthew Leach provided the contract details (Twitter links).

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