Archives for 2010

Mets Rumors: Jeter, Lee, Alderson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 24, 2010 at 9:16am CDT

Now that the Mets have hired a GM and a manager, they're set to begin a quiet offseason. Here are some details on their winter plans:

In case there was any doubt remaining, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News makes things clear: there is "absolutely no way" Derek Jeter becomes a Met, according to a source with direct knowledge of the team's thinking.
As Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog notes, GM Sandy Alderson repeated on WFAN that the Mets won't be pursuing "top end" free agents like Cliff Lee this offseason.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Alderson risked shortening his own honeymoon period when he chose Terry Collins as manager.

Giants Focused On Finding A Shortstop

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 24, 2010 at 8:42am CDT

Now that the Giants have re-signed Aubrey Huff, they are focusing on finding a shortstop, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. They have serious interest in re-signing Juan Uribe, but GM Brian Sabean will also consider trades.

The Giants really wants Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew, according to Schulman, who reports that Arizona GM Kevin Towers will not deal him. Alternatively, Jose Reyes, Jason Bartlett and Marco Scutaro could become trade targets or the Giants could ask Emmanuel Burriss to take on a bigger role.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman guaranteed to Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record that Derek Jeter’s representatives have called “every club out there.” Negotiations between Jeter and the Yankees appear to be souring, but it still seems unlikely that the shortstop would leave the Bronx or that a team like the Giants would match the Yankees $45MM offer.

Rosenthal On Lee, Konerko, Huff, Burrell, Hudson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 24, 2010 at 8:29am CDT

The Yankees’ “lack of tact” in their negotiations with Derek Jeter isn’t helping them, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Here are Rosenthal's latest updates on the Yankees and other teams around the league:

Even Cliff Lee’s representatives would be surprised if the left-hander received a seven-year offer like C.C. Sabathia did.
The Rangers were in on Victor Martinez “big,” according to Rosenthal.
The Rangers are talking to Vladimir Guerrero and showing interest in Paul Konerko. The White Sox offered the first baseman arbitration, so it will cost a top pick to sign him.
The Dodgers showed serious interest in Aubrey Huff before he re-signed with the Giants, according to Rosenthal.
The Phillies discussed the idea of bringing Pat Burrell back to Philadelphia, but decided against it.
Type B free agent Orlando Hudson almost certainly agreed in advance to reject the Twins’ offer of arbitration, Rosenthal says. The Twins agreed not to offer the second baseman arbitration if he was a Type A free agent, so Hudson may have agreed not to accept if he ended up a Type B.
The Marlins have between $3-8MM to spend, depending on which one of Rosenthal’s sources you ask.
Eric Hinske is close to deciding between the Braves and Brewers, who have both offered him contracts.

35 Free Agents Offered Arbitration

By Tim Dierkes | November 23, 2010 at 11:02pm CDT

35 free agents were offered arbitration this year, 12 more than last year. If you're not sure what offering arbitration means, click here to read our free agent arbitration primer.

The following players were offered arbitration today, and now have until November 30th to decide whether to accept. Type As who turn down arbitration cost a draft pick for a new team to sign; Type Bs do not.

Type A (14 players)

Grant Balfour
Adrian Beltre
Carl Crawford
Jorge De La Rosa
Scott Downs
Adam Dunn
Frank Francisco
Jason Frasor
Paul Konerko
Cliff Lee
Victor Martinez
Carl Pavano
Rafael Soriano
Jayson Werth

Type B (21 players)

Joaquin Benoit
John Buck
Randy Choate
Kevin Correia
Jesse Crain
Octavio Dotel
Pedro Feliciano
Jon Garland
Kevin Gregg
Brad Hawpe
Aaron Heilman
Trevor Hoffman
Orlando Hudson
Adam LaRoche
Felipe Lopez
Miguel Olivo
J.J. Putz
Chad Qualls
Yorvit Torrealba
Juan Uribe
Javier Vazquez

Regarding my predictions yesterday, I was correct on 46 of 62 players. That's slightly worse than my success rate last year, though I did predict that we'd see more than 30 total arbitration offers this year. I was particularly surprised by the decisions on Vazquez, Hoffman, Guerrier, Podsednik, Correia, Dotel, Hawpe, and Qualls. Vazquez and Hoffman were offered only because of gentleman's agreements that they'd decline.

We may be seeing more arbitration offers this year due to more value being placed on draft picks, especially with a strong 2011 class. Additionally, teams may have been more inclined to offer based on the expectation that players will decline in hopes of getting in on the lavish contracts given out so far.

All 65 of the arbitration decisions are noted in our Free Agent Arbitration Offer Tracker, which will also show who accepts on November 30th. The decisions are noted in our constantly-updated 2011 free agents list as well.

American League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

By Tim Dierkes | November 23, 2010 at 11:02pm CDT

10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.

The Blue Jays offered arbitration to Scott Downs (A) Jason Frasor (A) Kevin Gregg (B) Miguel Olivo (B), according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisolm (on Twitter).
The Twins offered arbitration to Carl Pavano (A), Jesse Crain (B) and Orlando Hudson (B) and declined to offer arbitration to Matt Guerrier (A), Brian Fuentes (B) and Jon Rauch (B), according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (on Twitter).
The Rays offered arbitration to Grant Balfour (A), Carl Crawford (A), Rafael Soriano (A), Randy Choate (B), Brad Hawpe (B) and Chad Qualls (B), according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. They did not offer Dan Wheeler (A) or Carlos Pena (B) arbitration. It seems possible that Hawpe has agreed in advance to turn down arbitration.
The Orioles won't offer arbitration to Koji Uehara (B) or Kevin Millwood (B), according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links).
The Angels declined to offer Hideki Matsui (B) arbitration, the team announced.
The Rangers offered arbitration to Cliff Lee (A) and Frank Francisco (A), but not to Vladimir Guerrero (A) and Bengie Molina (A), according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
The Yankees will offer arbitration to Javier Vazquez (B), but not to any of their other free agents, according to Ken Davidoff of Newsday on Twitter. Andy Pettitte (A), Derek Jeter (A), Mariano Rivera (A), Lance Berkman (B) and Kerry Wood (B) were the team's other ranked free agents. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Yankees would offer Vazquez arbitration and noted that the right-hander has agreed to reject the offer, a common gentleman's agreement that can take place with Type B free agents. Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger first reported on Twitter that the Yankees would not offer Jeter arbitration.
The Red Sox offered arbitration to Adrian Beltre (A), Victor Martinez (A) and Felipe Lopez (B), but not to Mike Lowell (B) or Jason Varitek (B), according to the team.
The White Sox offered arbitration to Paul Konerko (A) and J.J. Putz (B), but not to A.J. Pierzynski (A) or Manny Ramirez (A) according to the team (on Twitter).
As expected, the Tigers announced that they will not offer arbitration to any of their free agents, including Scott Boras clients Magglio Ordonez (A), Johnny Damon (B), and Gerald Laird (B).

National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

By Tim Dierkes | November 23, 2010 at 11:01pm CDT

11 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.

The Padres offered Jon Garland (B), Yorvit Torrealba (B) and Kevin Correia (B) arbitration, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). They did not offer Miguel Tejada (A) and David Eckstein (B) arbitration.
The Reds declined to offer Orlando Cabrera (B) or Arthur Rhodes (A) arbitration, according to the team (on Twitter).
The Dodgers declined to offer arbitration to Scott Podsednik (B), Rod Barajas (B) and Vicente Padilla (B), according to the team (on Twitter).
The Giants offered Juan Uribe (B) arbitration, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
In a surprising move, the Brewers decided to offer Trevor Hoffman (B) arbitration, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that Hoffman has agreed to turn the offer down (Twitter link).
The Diamondbacks announced that they offered arbitration to Adam LaRoche (B) and Aaron Heilman (B).
The Rockies will offer arbitration to Jorge de la Rosa (A) and Octavio Dotel (B), according to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post.
The Braves will not offer arbitration to first baseman Derrek Lee (A), according to GM Frank Wren via David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Twitter.
The Nationals offered arbitration to first baseman Adam Dunn (A), reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
The Mets will offer arbitration to lefty Pedro Feliciano (B), tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
Yesterday, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki learned that the Phillies will offer arbitration to Jayson Werth (A) but not Chad Durbin (B).

Orioles Notes: Martinez, Randolph, Nishioka

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 23, 2010 at 8:57pm CDT

The Orioles declined to offer arbitration to Kevin Millwood or Koji Uehara tonight. Here are the other hot stove-related items about the O's:

President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's "disappointed" to have missed out on Victor Martinez. The Orioles made Martinez a four-year $48MM offer at the general manager meetings in Orlando last week and were not given the chance to raise their offer, according to Zrebiec. MacPhail says the O's are now "looking at other options."
The Orioles agreed to sign former Mets manager Willie Randolph to be Buck Showalter's bench coach, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
The Orioles did not bid on Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, according to Connolly (on Twitter).

Eight Teams Interested In Lance Berkman

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 23, 2010 at 8:48pm CDT

Lance Berkman tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that eight teams have expressed some interest in him this offseason. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported earlier in the month that the A's were interested and Rosenthal adds the Cubs and Rockies to the list.

Berkman says Oakland has been the "most aggressive" in terms of contacting him. The 34-year-old isn't ruling the A's out, but he'd prefer not to be a DH and Oakland has first baseman Daric Barton and lots of outfielders.

“I’m not a DH-slash-first baseman," Berkman told Rosenthal. "I’m a first baseman-slash-outfielder.”

Berkman has not played the outfield since 2007, but he says he feels better now that he has recovered from the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in March. Berkman has said he'll look for an everyday role and he told Rosenthal that he would like to return to the National League. There will be no reunion with the Astros, however.

Free Agent Arbitration Offer Tracker

By Tim Dierkes | November 23, 2010 at 8:40pm CDT

By 11pm central time tonight, we'll have arbitration offer decisions on 65 Type A or B free agents. MLB Trade Rumors has created an awesome tool to help you keep track of everything in real-time: our new Free Agent Arbitration Offer Tracker.

You can filter the decisions by team and whether the player was offered arbitration, or both, with the "Filter" button. In the "Offered" column, the word "Yes" or "No" is linked to the source story. We will be updating the tracker constantly throughout the day, so be sure to bookmark and refresh. Enjoy!

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Boras, Francisco, Dunn

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 23, 2010 at 8:24pm CDT

Links for Tuesday night, one year after the White Sox signed Omar Vizquel. One year later, the White Sox have already re-signed the 43-year-old infielder for 2011…

The Dodgers are open to re-signing Rod Barajas, Vicente Padilla and Scott Podsednik, though they didn’t offer the players arbitration. Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports on Twitter that the team remains in contact with all three.
Scott Boras' company provided families of poor Dominican prospects with tens of thousands of dollars, reports Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. Boras tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that he was helping prospects out when their careers were on the line, but MLB will investigate the issue.
The Rangers expect Frank Francisco to accept their offer of arbitration, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
The Nationals are no longer pursuing Adam Dunn aggressively and they appear to be a fringe suitor for him, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Brian Moehler tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he intends to play in 2011 and has interest in returning to the Astros. But Moehler has never pitched in the playoffs, so he'd like to sign with a team that has a good chance of making a playoff run.
The divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt is now final, according to the AP (on ESPN). The McCourts await a decision that will determine whether Frank has sole ownership of the Dodgers or whether he shares the club with his ex-wife.
Don Nomura, the agent for Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he "deeply" hopes to complete a deal between his client and the A's. Oakland, who won the bidding for Iwakuma, broke off talks earlier in the week because the sides were too far apart.

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