Prince Fielder Rumors: Monday
We heard earlier today that the Brewers are likely to hold onto Prince Fielder, but that won't stop other teams from expressing interest in the former home run champ. Here are the details on Prince, with more updates to come throughout the evening:
- The Brewers are having internal meetings to discuss Fielder, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Brewers approached the Dodgers about their potential interest in Fielder, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti shot down the Fielder-Loney-Broxton rumor, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Brewers and Dodgers have not spoken at the meetings (Twitter link).
- The Dodgers have zero interest in Fielder, according to Yahoo's Steve Henson (on Twitter).
- The Dodgers are discussing a possible three-player deal that would send Fielder to Los Angeles for James Loney and Jonathan Broxton, according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Dodgers appear willing to listen to offers for Broxton and the Brewers are one of three teams that have inquired on Loney.
Josh Willingham Likely To Be Moved
4:38pm: The Orioles have had internal discussions about Willingham, potentially as a first baseman, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The O's haven't ruled out bringing Ty Wigginton back.
1:56am: The Nationals added one huge piece to their outfield today, but could subtract another key contributor before Opening Day. MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that Josh Willingham will "most likely" be traded by the Nationals sometime this offseason. The 31-year-old isn't the only National on the trade block either; earlier today, we heard that the club would listen to offers for everyone on its roster besides Werth and Ryan Zimmerman.
There would be room in the Nationals' outfield for both Willingham, a left fielder, and Werth, who is expected to play right. However, Ladson writes that Washington would like to get something back for Willingham rather than letting him leave via free agency after the 2011 season.
Last month, it appeared Willingham and the Nationals would be unable to work out an extension to keep the outfielder in Washington. GM Mike Rizzo indicated that the team would go year to year on Willingham, with Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post suggesting that a trade was also a possibility.
According to Ladson, the Nats are also eyeing first base options, and Carlos Pena remains their top choice. If they can't lock up Pena, the team might like Adam LaRoche as an alternative.
Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners Interested In Diaz
4:17pm: The Blue Jays also have some interest in Diaz, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
3:15pm: The Yankees and Mariners are interested in Matt Diaz as a possible platoon player. New York would mix Diaz in with Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The Mariners are interested in platooning Diaz with Michael Saunders in left field, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Like Marcus Thames, who excelled for the Yankees in a part-time role last year, Diaz handles lefties well. He has a .335/.373/.533 line against them in his career, though he bats just .269/.327/.382 against right-handers. The Braves non-tendered the 32-year-old last week, making him a free agent.
Diaz has experience in right field, but he has spent most of his big league career in left. The Dodgers and Phillies are other potential suitors for Diaz.
Pirates Rumors: Correia, Accardo, Duchscherer
4:05pm: The Pirates are interested in Kevin Correia, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
3:25pm: The Pirates are aggressively pursuing Accardo, according to Kovacevic (on Twitter).
2:51pm: The latest on the Pirates:
- The Pirates are deeply interested in Jeremy Accardo, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Dodgers are also known to be in on the recently non-tendered reliever.
- A couple of teams have approached the Pirates about center fielder Andrew McCutchen, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes, but they'd have to be overwhelmed.
- The Pirates and Justin Duchscherer have mutual interest, reports Kovacevic.
- The Pirates have shown some interest in Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. She estimates Kawakami would only cost the Pirates $1-2MM and no significant players, as the Braves are just looking to unload part of his $6.667MM salary.
- Langosch says the Pirates have mild interest in Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan. Kovacevic says the Pirates continue to discuss shortstops with many teams, including J.J. Hardy with the Twins.
- Kovacevic adds that the Pirates would love to trade Ryan Doumit. He says they'd only trade Evan Meek or Joel Hanrahan for a very significant return.
Nightengale On Gonzalez, Beckham, Mariners
The Red Sox have a preliminary agreement to sign Adrian Gonzalez to a seven-year extension worth $154MM, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale. The possible deal, which Ken Rosenthal anticipated earlier today, probably won't be announced until April because of MLB's luxury tax.
The White Sox, a runner-up in the Gonzalez sweepstakes, offered Gordon Beckham and prospects to the Padres, according to Nightengale (Twitter links). Nightengale reports that the Mariners were the other finalist for the slugging first baseman.
D’backs May Be Nearing Deal With J.J. Putz
The Diamondbacks have serious interest in J.J. Putz and may be close to signing the reliever to a multiyear deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the team's interest is serious and MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports that the sides are nearing a two-year deal with an option for 2013.
Earlier today, reports indicated that the Diamondbacks have serious interest in the reliever. The Diamondbacks, who have prioritized the reconstruction of their bullpen, already added relievers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio today.
Orioles Acquire Mark Reynolds
The Orioles acquired slugging third baseman Mark Reynolds and a player to be named later or cash considerations for relievers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio, announced the team.
Reynolds' stock is at a low point after he hit .198/.320/.433 with 32 home runs and 211 strikeouts this year in 596 plate appearances for Arizona. However, he mashed 44 home runs in '09 despite whiffing 223 times. Reynolds owns the first three spots on the single-season strikeout all-time leaderboard. He was locked up by former D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes in March and is owed $5MM in '11 and $7.5MM in '12 with an $11MM club option for '13.
As a reliever, the 25-year-old Hernandez posted a 3.16 ERA, 10.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, and 0.97 HR/9 in 37 innings this year for the Orioles. He's a hard-throwing flyball pitcher who the Diamondbacks view as their seventh/eighth inning guy.
Mickolio, 26, is another hard-throwing right-handed bullpen arm. He came to the Orioles in the February '08 Erik Bedard trade. He's less established than Hernandez, with only 25 Major League innings to his name. Mickolio posted big strikeout numbers in 35 1/3 Triple-A innings this year but also allowed tons of hits, leading to a 6.37 ERA. He's dealt with various arm injuries the past few years.
Kevin Towers and Andy MacPhail last matched up on the Cla Meredith–Oscar Salazar swap from July of '09.
SI's Jon Heyman first reported the trade was close, with ESPN's Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, and the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro adding details.
Diamondbacks Sign Melvin Mora
The Diamondbacks officially signed infielder Melvin Mora to a one-year, $2MM deal today. Mora and Geoff Blum will be tasked with replacing Mark Reynolds at third base.
Mora's career found new life in the National League with the Rockies this year. He hit .285/.358/.421 in 354 plate appearances while spending time at first base, second base, third base, and left field. Mora is represented by Eric Goldschmidt.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports broke the story, with Nick Piecoro and Steve Gilbert adding details.
Odds & Ends: Nishioka, Uggla, Soriano, Wigginton
The typical Winter Meetings barrage of links…
- There's trade interest in newly-blocked third baseman Josh Bell, Orioles manager Buck Showalter told Yahoo's Steve Henson, though Bell can play first (Twitter link).
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka's agents are meeting with the Twins today, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. He says the Japanese infielder seeks a three-year deal.
- Dan Uggla and the Braves have talked a bit about an extension, tweets Heyman.
- The Angels have deflected trade talks about other closers because they're focused on Rafael Soriano, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
- Ty Wigginton is the Rockies' top target for a right-handed bench bat, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they're meeting with his agent today.
- MLB.com's Scott Merkin talked to free agent reliever Bobby Jenks, who would like to return to the White Sox if possible. Manager Ozzie Guillen told Merkin that if Jenks does return, he would not be guaranteed the closer job (Twitter link).
- Reds manager Dusty Baker told reporters, "Joey Votto told me he wants to stay. He just wasn't ready to say he wants to stay the rest of life."
Brandon Webb Rumors: Monday
Given the guarantees required to sign Cliff Lee or Carl Pavano, Brandon Webb must appeal to many teams even after missing almost all of the last two seasons. The latest on the sinkerballer:
- The Cubs, Nationals, and Rangers remain in the mix for Webb, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The righty's surgeon issued a positive report for 2011, according to Crasnick (Twitter link). The Mets appear to think Webb is too risky, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
- The Pirates' pursuit of Webb appears to have gone cold, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic says the Bucs have not been in touch with him since November 22nd.