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Pat Gillick Elected To Hall Of Fame

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The 16-member Expansion Era committee announced they've elected Pat Gillick to baseball's Hall of Fame.  From their website:

Pat Gillick spent 27 years as the general manager for the Blue Jays, Orioles, Mariners and Phillies, winning at every stop along the way, with his teams earning 11 post-season berths and three World Series championships. In his 27 years as GM, his teams finished with a winning record 20 times.

Eleven other men were on the ballot, including George Steinbrenner, Marvin Miller, and Billy Martin.

Rockies Not Interested In Alfredo Aceves

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4:55pm: The Rockies are not interested in Aceves, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).

8:34am: The Rockies are among the teams interested in recently non-tendered righty Alfredo Aceves, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  He says the Yankees would like Aceves back, but on a minor league deal.

Aceves, 28 on Wednesday, missed most of the season with back pain and then fractured his left clavicle in November in a bicycle accident.  In 2009, he was quite useful with a 3.54 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 35.2% groundball rate in 84 innings.  His flyball tendencies don't seem a great match for Coors Field.

Rockies Close To Deal With Wigginton

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8:07am: Wigginton's deal is for two years and $7.5MM, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports, including a $500K buyout on a 2013 option.  Ringolsby suggests an agreement has been reached.

6:11am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Rockies are close on a deal with free agent Ty Wigginton, who will serve as a right-handed bat off the bench.

Wigginton, 33, hit .248/.312/.415 in 649 plate appearances for the Orioles in 2010. The veteran utility man saw time at first base, second base, and third base for the Orioles, and also has experience in the oufield. He'd been previously identified as the Rockies' top target for a right-handed utility bat.

The Orioles made a curious decision this summer in not trading Wigginton, as he was certain to finish the year as an unranked free agent. Rather than acquire some minor league depth or salary relief, they will instead receive no compensation for his departure.

Jayson Werth Signing Reactions

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Yesterday Jayson Werth signed the third-largest contract ever for an outfielder, as the Nationals locked him up for seven years and $126MM.  He and Vernon Wells figure to be bumped soon by Carl Crawford, though.  Many thought Werth would get five years, a few thought six, but I didn't see anyone predicting seven.  Reactions:

  • ESPN's Keith Law calls the contract "irresponsible" and takes on the "losing teams have to overpay" argument.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says this is "not the drastic overpay that it appears to be on the surface."
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan says that from Scott Boras' point of view, "This deal wasn’t as much about need as it was capitalizing on eagerness."
  • Talking to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, Mets GM Sandy Alderson remarked, "It makes some of our contracts look pretty good.  I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington."
  • One GM, upon hearing the length of Werth's contract, told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports it was "absolutely bat—- crazy."  CBS Sports' Danny Knobler says one American League GM "nearly fell over when I told him the terms."
  • The Phillies' offer, which GM Ruben Amaro Jr. deemed "significant," was for three years and about $48MM according to CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury.  MLB.com's Todd Zolecki notes that a fourth-year vesting option would have increased the value to $60MM.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Werth, Padilla, D’Backs

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A grab bag of overnight links, as we look forward to updates out of Orlando….

Joe Crede Poised For Comeback

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He may not be the biggest name among Scott Boras' free agent third base clients, but Joe Crede is hoping to earn a contract for 2011. According to Scott Merkin of MLB.com (via Twitter), Boras says Crede is "healthy, ready to go and he's going to continue his career. He's ready to come back and play."

Playing for the Twins in 2009, Crede battled injuries, but was effective defensively in the 90 games he played. His +21.6 UZR/150 increased his career UZR/150 at third base to +10.8. And while his .289 OBP was hardly impressive, Crede exhibited his usual power, hitting 15 home runs in 367 plate appearances. The 32-year-old sat out the 2010 campaign though, in part due to questions teams had about his health. When the Twins decided not to re-sign Crede last offseason, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune cited his inability to stay on the field as a primary factor.

If Crede is indeed back to 100%, he could be a low-cost bounceback candidate. Clubs will likely be reluctant to use him as an everyday player, but as a part-time defensive specialist, Crede has some appeal.

Stark On Crawford, Beltre, Lee, Greinke, Bartlett

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In his latest piece for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark discusses the ripple effect that Jayson Werth's $126MM deal will have on the remaining free agents. One AL official opines that it raises Carl Crawford's price in a "big, big way": "He's looking at maybe eight years, $180 million now, maybe 10 years, $190 million." Here are the rest of Stark's hot stove notes:

  • Crawford is the clear top target for the Angels, but in the past they've tried to avoid going as high as eight years for any player, let alone ten.
  • Despite getting Werth's contract done already, Scott Boras often drags out negotiations for his top clients. Stark polled a dozen people across baseball on when Adrian Beltre would sign, and many predicted it wouldn't happen until Christmas or later.
  • Neither the Yankees or Rangers have made a formal offer to Cliff Lee yet, but many of those baseball people polled by Stark expect a deal to get done within the next week.
  • There's good news and bad news for the Royals and Zack Greinke's trade value: with many free agent arms coming off the board already, Greinke has become more valuable in a pitching-thin market. However, according to one AL source, "Greinke has been trying to convince the Royals that it's not a great idea if he's there next year," which reduces Kansas City's leverage.
  • The Diamondbacks haven't totally ruled out trading Justin Upton, though it appears unlikely. Kevin Towers tells Stark "it's going to take somebody a little on the crazy side" to get anything done.
  • There's a sense that Jason Bartlett is the player most likely to be traded this week. However, Stark has trouble finding a team in need of a shortstop that matches up well with the Rays, who would like a late-inning reliever in return.
  • With Werth off the market, the Phillies will look to replace him with a complementary player rather than a big name. Stark lists Scott Hairston, Jeff Francoeur, and Matt Diaz as a few possible targets. Philadelphia has also been trying to find a taker for Raul Ibanez, but would likely have to eat a good chunk of salary to do so.

Chien-Ming Wang Seeks Major League Deal

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It's been more than 17 months since Chien-Ming Wang pitched in a major league game, but that won't stop him from searching for a major league contract this winter. Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that Wang is seeking a big league deal; if he can't find one, the 30-year-old figures to accept a minor league offer from the Nationals.

The Nationals had hoped to work out an agreement with Wang before last week's non-tender deadline, but couldn't get anything done. Still, agent Alan Nero says the right-hander would like to return to Washington, who signed Wang to a one-year, $2MM deal last winter.

While it remains to be seen if any team will take a major league flier on Wang, the righty received some good reviews this fall following his recovery from shoulder surgery. One scout who watched the ex-Yankee pitch in instructional league action said he looked "filthy."

White Sox, Konerko Talking

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MONDAY, 1:15am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Monday's meeting will involve Konerko's agent and assistant GM Rick Hahn. With the Orioles viewed as the only other serious suitor for Konerko, there's a "strong feeling" the White Sox will get a deal done as early as this week.

SUNDAY, 9:29pm: Reinsdorf will do anything he can to re-sign Konerko, a source tells Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.

1:42pm: A deal between Konerko and the White Sox will probably happen but nothing is imminent, sources tell Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter).

1:34pm: Konerko won't be meeting with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf tomorrow, only his agent Craig Landis will, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal believes that the two sides will reach an accord, though they're not close just yet.

12:58pm: Jerry Reinsdorf and Paul Konerko are very close, according to Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter).  The slugger and White Sox chairman are scheduled to meet tomorrow.

Re-signing Konerko would cap off an incredibly busy week for the White Sox who also reeled in Adam Dunn and retained A.J. Pierzynski.  On Friday GM Kenny Williams told reporters that both Dunn and Pierzynski will accept deferred payment on their newly minted contracts, giving the club the ability to make Konerko a solid offer.

Diamondbacks Unlikely To Trade Justin Upton

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Although he has become one of baseball's most intriguing trade candidates early in the offseason, Justin Upton likely won't be going anywhere, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. According to Sherman, the Diamondbacks are actively trying to fill holes on their roster that otherwise would have been filled in an Upton trade.

Nearly two weeks ago, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that GM Kevin Towers was growing increasingly pessimistic that the Diamondbacks would find an acceptable offer for Upton. Since then, rumors concerning the young outfielder have been sparse; it appears the D'Backs have, at least for now, moved on to explore other ways of addressing their needs.

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