Archives for January 2011

Cameron Content In Boston; Trade Unlikely

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 6, 2011 at 8:38am CDT

Mike Cameron's agent told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that his client does not hope to leave the Red Sox for a team that can offer more playing time. Cameron wants to win and has not requested a trade, Mike Nicotera says.

The Red Sox have discussed potential deals with other teams, but Nicotera says Boston did not initiate the discussions. The Red Sox will listen to offers for the outfielder, but a team source told Speier that a trade would be surprising since “there isn’t a deal out there that makes sense.”

The Phillies have kicked the tires on Cameron and the Braves could also use a right-handed hitting outfielder who can handle center field.

Cameron missed significant time with kidney stones and an abdominal tear in 2010, as the Red Sox finished third in the AL East. This year, Cameron wants to win and stay healthy. He’ll likely get lots of playing time against left-handed pitching since Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, J.D. Drew and David Ortiz all bat from the left side and Cameron, a right-handed hitter, handles southpaws well.

Cameron, who turns 38 this week, earns $7.25MM for 2011, the final year on his contract.

Rays Sign Chris Carter

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 6, 2011 at 8:08am CDT

The Rays signed Chris Carter to a minor league deal, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets non-tendered the 28-year-old in December after he appeared in a career-high 100 games in 2010. Rubin reports that Carter will earn $12K per month in the minors and $420K in the majors.

Carter, who arrived in New York in the 2009 Billy Wagner trade, has big league experience in left and right field. The left-handed hitter posted a .263/.317/.389 line in 180 plate appearances last year. The Mets shielded him from southpaws in 2010; all but 7 of his plate appearances came against right-handed pitching.

The Rays will be able to retain Carter long after 2011 if they deem him worthy of a roster spot going forward.

Odds & Ends: Thome, Vladdy, Blue Jays, CarGo

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 11:37pm CDT

As Cooperstown welcomes Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven into the Hall of Fame, some of these news items concern a few of Alomar and Blyleven's former teams and teammates…

Jim Thome is said to be looking for a one-year deal worth as much as $8MM, reports ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill. Thome's strong 2010 season notwithstanding, that would represent a whopping increase over the $1.5MM contract he signed with Minnesota last year. The Twins have been considered the favorites to re-sign Thome, but if the team balks at that asking price, Churchill suggests they could instead turn to Vladimir Guerrero as a DH option. Churchill adds that Tampa Bay could also be interested in Guerrero if the price is right.
Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos "conceded that it's looking more likely that" Jose Bautista will be Toronto's Opening Day third baseman rather than its right fielder, reports Shi Davidi of The Canadian Press. Anthopoulos noted that the club is still looking at other third base/right field options and also may still be in the market for another reliever. The Blue Jays have added Octavio Dotel, Chad Cordero and Wil Ledezma to their bullpen mix over the past two days.
Carlos Gonzalez had a lengthy meeting with agent Scott Boras in December to discuss a possible extension with the Rockies, so the agreed-upon deal wasn't at all "an impulse decision," tweets The Denver Post's Troy Renck.
Also from Renck (Twitter link), the Rockies are "not totally out" of the bidding for Joe Beimel, but other clubs "have shown stronger interest." We heard last month that the Rockies weren't one of several teams who had made Beimel a contract offer.
The Pirates' desire to add left-handed relievers has only grown in the wake of Ledezma going to Toronto, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Speaking of the Pirates, Bucs president Frank Coonelly discussed the team's relief options and other topics in his monthly chat with fans on MLB.com.
With so many intriguing designated hitter possibilities on the market, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog notes that it's an unfortunate time for the Yankees to be shifting Jorge Posada into the full-time DH spot.

Discussion: The Angels’ Offseason

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 10:59pm CDT

Three months ago, who would've guessed that the Dodgers would have the most active winter of any Los Angeles ballclub? Following a barrage of criticism from fans and media over how the McCourts' divorce and ownership dispute was hurting the franchise, the Dodgers added a bullpen arm in Matt Guerrier, rebuilt their catching corps following Russell Martin's departure, and re-signed all three of their free agent starters (Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Vicente Padilla), also adding Jon Garland to the rotation to boot. Not every move has been well-received — the Juan Uribe contract jumps to mind — but overall, it's been a solid offseason for the Dodgers.

Compare their situation to that of L.A.'s other team. The Angels suffered their first sub-.500 season since 2003 and looked primed to add at least one top-tier free agent to their roster. Almost all of the Halos' top targets, however, went elsewhere: Carl Crawford signed with Boston, Adrian Beltre signed with Texas and some longer-shot targets that the Angels at least mildly explored (Cliff Lee, Derrek Lee, an Adrian Gonzalez trade) failed to pan out. The club added left-handers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi to the bullpen, but those have been GM Tony Reagins' only major moves of the winter.

In the wake of Beltre signing with a division rival, the knives have come out in regards to the Angels' underwhelming winter. Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com says "not only have the Angels shown they're not prepared to compete financially with the big boys, but they've shown they can't even compete financially with the big boys in their own division." Fanhouse.com's Tom Krasovic says the club has had "one stinker of an offseason…so far" and quotes an unnamed AL executive who says that missing out on Crawford was a big mistake.

"If [the Angels] are being scared off from premium players in the market, they're in big trouble," said the AL executive. "They don't have a lot of talent coming up. They are known for being difficult to trade with. They are going to have to spend wisely in free agent to make up that difference, but that's getting harder and harder to do with what's out there."

Reagins told MLB.com's Lyle Spencer during the Winter Meetings that the Angels wanted to stay away from "unaffordable bidding wars" over players who were asking for more than the Halos thought they were worth. This policy certainly has merit, and given that L.A. had signed the likes of Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu in recent years, Los Angeles can't be criticized for ignoring the free agent front. As Knobler points out, however, it doesn't make the team look good when owner Arte Moreno promises to spend and then comes up short.

Spencer also notes that the Angels didn't do anything this winter to combat the perception that they aren't "capable of engaging [Scott] Boras in meaningful dialogue," which is an obvious issue given the number of top players Boras represents. Rafael Soriano, for instance, is a Boras client, though even if the Angels went after the top-rated free agent left on the market, a top closer is a much less pressing need for the Halos given the Downs and Takahashi signings and the presence of Fernando Rodney.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes identified a third baseman, an outfielder/DH type and a leadoff man as the primary "unfinished business" the Angels had to address before Opening Day, mentioning recent rumors tying the club to the likes of Scott Podsednik and Johnny Damon. The Rangers' signing of Beltre also may open the door for Vladimir Guerrero to return to Los Angeles, while Spencer suggests the Angels might consider trying to re-acquire another former Halo in Chone Figgins.

There's still plenty of time for the Angels to make moves that will make their team better next year, but barring something surprising, it will be hard for the team to shake the perception (or perhaps its own feelings) that the 2010-11 offseason was a missed opportunity.

NL East Notes: Uggla, Mets, Nationals, Marrero

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 9:41pm CDT

Here are a few items from what's been arguably the most newsworthy division of the winter thus far…

There's no shortage of reaction to Dan Uggla's contract extension with Atlanta. Joe Pawlikowski of Fangraphs likes the deal for the Braves, arguing that Uggla's power might be helped by hitting at Turner Field and saying that Uggla's "bat will still play well" if he has to move to left field or third base a few years down the line.
Speaking of an Uggla position switch, MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that Uggla wants to remain playing second base and would've probably not signed the extension had the Braves insisted he move elsewhere on the diamond. Bowman also compares Uggla's contract to Jayson Werth's deal in Washington, and notes that some Braves players and coaches weren't pleased that the Braves didn't do more to keep other big-name acquisitions (i.e. J.D. Drew, Gary Sheffield, Mark Teixeira) in Atlanta.
If the Mets add a left-handed reliever, it will probably have to be someone willing to take a minor league contract, writes Metsblog.com's Matthew Cerrone.
The Nationals aren't expected to pursue the "file-and-trial" arbitration strategy this winter, reports The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore. You can keep track of the Nats' three arb-eligible players (John Lannan, Mike Morse and Doug Slaten) and all of the arbitration dealings with MLBTR's Arb Tracker feature.
With Adam LaRoche locked up for at least two years in Washington, MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling looks at how the Nats' long-term plans at first base are affected by the signing, with a particular focus on prospect Chris Marrero.

Eric Chavez To Work Out With Dodgers, Two AL Clubs

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 8:46pm CDT

Eric Chavez will work out with the Dodgers on January 20, and has two other private workouts lined up with American League clubs, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The AL teams aren't named, but Slusser says the A's aren't one of them, and specifies that the Dodgers are the only southern Californian team in the mix. (Twitter link) We heard last month that Seattle had "checked in" on Chavez, so they could be one of the two mystery teams.

The Dodgers were rumored to have an interest in bringing Chavez in for a workout. They fit Chavez's preference to remain in southern California and Slusser notes that Chavez has spoken to Don Mattingly. The left-handed hitting Chavez could be a nice platoon partner with incumbent Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake, a right-handed hitter who only managed a .663 OPS against right-handed pitching last season.

The big question, of course, is Chavez's health. He has undergone two back surguries and three shoulder surguries in his career and he has played in just 64 games since July 26, 2007. Chavez told Slusser that his "throwing has been unreal" in workout sessions at the Athletes' Performance center in Arizona (which is of particular interest given Chavez's Gold Glove defense in his prime) but he "needs to see live pitching to judge the hitting accurately."

AL West Notes: Beltre, Rangers, A’s, Guerrero

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 8:14pm CDT

Needless to say, the Adrian Beltre signing is the biggest news of the day in the AL West. Here are some other items from the division with the longest World Series title drought (albeit only since 2002) in baseball…

There isn't any deferred money in the five guaranteed years of Beltre's contract, reports Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News. (Twitter link) Grant says the Rangers are "trying to do away with deferrals."
Beltre's signing could push the Rangers' payroll over the $100MM mark for the first time since 2003, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Team president Nolan Ryan says the team is not only prepared for the possibility, but says Beltre's deal won't affect plans to explore extensions with players like Josh Hamilton.
Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com thinks the Beltre signing "isn’t necessarily a loss for the jilted A’s" since the Rangers didn't solve their main need of pitching, and Beltre's production last year "represents a wash offensively" with the departed Vladimir Guerrero.
Speaking of Guerrero, Angels manager Mike Scioscia discussed the veteran slugger with Jim Duqette and Kevin Kennedy of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM. (MLB.com's Lyle Spencer has a fuller recap of Scioscia's appearance.) Scioscia said his team isn't looking for a long-term contract with Guerrero, but admitted that "he's definitely a guy that's very interesting to look at." We've heard mixed reports about the Angels' interest in bringing Guerrero back to Anaheim, but with Texas out of the picture, the Halos probably won't have to offer more than a one-year deal to sign the possible Hall-of-Famer.

Cards Notes: Pujols, Penny, Punto, Eckstein

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 7:40pm CDT

In a chat with fans today, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch dished out some information about the Cardinals' remaining offseason wants, some free agent rumors and the Albert Pujols extension talks. Here are some of the highlights…

Strauss thinks it's "feasible" that Pujols could agree to an extension that doesn't stretch over as many years (maybe a five- or six-year deal) but pays him the highest average annual salary in baseball history. This way Pujols gets his big payout, but it doesn't leave St. Louis on the hook for a huge salary in the seventh or eighth year of a longer contract.
The Cardinals are looking for some infield depth at shortstop and third base, plus another starter to provide rotation depth. They're looking for players with Major League experience to fill these roles, but on non-guaranteed contracts.
There is "little enthusiasm" for bringing back Brad Penny. Strauss isn't sure Penny would be content with serving as an emergency starter out of the bullpen.
If the Cards sign a backup infielder, it will have to be an infielder who is "adroit" at third base in case David Freese can't handle the everyday job. This seems to rule out a return to St. Louis for David Eckstein, but Strauss says Nick Punto "is a popular name within some quarters of the organization." We haven't heard much about Punto since the Winter Meetings, where the former Twins infielder engaged in "meaningful negotiations" with Cleveland.
The Cardinals believe Mitchell Boggs and/or Jason Motte can develop into a solid closer, so there isn't much interest in Rafael Soriano.

Scot Shields Still Undecided About Retirement

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 6:47pm CDT

Scot Shields sounded as if he was closing the door on his baseball career last September, but while the veteran reliever says he is still "not leaning any way" about whether or not he wishes to continue pitching, Shields seemed a bit more open to returning in an interview with Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

"If something comes along that seems like it's a good deal in a good place, I will play. If not, I'll be happy to stay home and spend time with my family," Shields said. "I feel really good….It doesn't take me long to get ready for the season. If I do play, I'll have a lot of desire to prove I can still pitch."

DiGiovanna speculates that if Shields does return, either with the Angels or another team, it will be on a minor league contract given Shields' injury-plagued 2009 and 2010 seasons. If Shields is healthy, he could provide a team with a nice right-handed bullpen option. The 35-year-old posted a 2.93 ERA, a 2.53 K/BB ratio and an 8.2 K/9 rate in 428 appearances with the Halos between 2001 and 2008, earning a "set-up man of the decade" distinction from Sports Illustrated.

Minor Deals: Iribarren, Yankees, Zavada, Hernandez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 5, 2011 at 6:30pm CDT

The latest minor league deals, with fresh updates up top:

The Rockies have signed utilityman Hernan Iribarren to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding. Iribarren, 26, last played in the majors with Milwaukee in 2009, and spent last season playing with Texas' Triple-A affiliate. Harding says Iribarren's deal includes an invitation to Colorado's Major League Spring Training camp.
The Yankees claimed righty Brian Schlitter from the Cubs, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). Schlitter, 25, appeared in seven games for the Cubs last year. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, where he posted a 3.15 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings.
The D'Backs re-signed lefty Clay Zavada. The 26-year-old thrived in 49 relief appearances in 2009, posting 9.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. He spent part of the 2010 season at Triple-A Reno, but appeared in just five games before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Royals re-signed right-hander Gaby Hernandez. Hernandez started 22 games for Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate in 2010, posting a 4.91 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 144 2/3 innings. The Mets selected Hernandez in the third round of the 2004 draft and he has also spent time in the Marlins and Mariners organizations.
The Padres added some catching depth, signing Guillermo Quiroz. The 29-year-old, who has big league experisnce with the Mariners, Blue Jays, Rangers and Orioles, spent last year in Seattle's minor league system. The backstop hit .286/.347/.431 in 361 minor league plate appearances. The Mariners have added two former Padres catchers this winter: Miguel Olivo and Josh Bard (a player I thought could have fit well on the 2011 Padres). San Diego already has former Mariner Rob Johnson, and the Padres continue to look for catching depth.

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