Archives for December 16, 2011

NL West Notes: Niese, Smith, Quentin, Cuddyer

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 7:39pm CDT

We've already seen the Rockies make a big signing and the Padres swing a trade today, so let's check what else is cooking in the NL West….

Jonathon Niese "is believed to be available in a package built around" Rockies outfielder Seth Smith, reports Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports. Smith's name has been whispered in the trade rumors all winter and he could be even more expendable now that Colorado has agreed to terms with Michael Cuddyer. The Mets hadn't had any "significant" talks about Niese, though the Rockies were known to be one of the several teams interested in the young southpaw.
Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd "is having a very good winter. If he can add another strong arm or two, he has a chance at a great winter," writes Scott Miller for CBSSports.com. Miller also examines how Cuddyer's clubhouse presence was an important factor in the Rockies' decision to sign him.
The Padres have the payroll space to trade for an available slugger like Carlos Quentin, writes Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. With free agent hitters wary of coming to Petco Park, the trade market is San Diego's best avenue for finding a bat, Rosenthal/Morosi note. They also mention Quentin's past with Padres GM Josh Byrnes in Arizona, though it was Byrnes who dealt Quentin to the White Sox in 2007 when Byrnes was the Diamondbacks' general manager.
There is no risk of Frank McCourt trying to keep ownership the Dodgers, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Doing so "would put hundreds of millions of dollars at risk to try a 'hail Mary' strategy," Shaikin writes.
Padres owner Jeff Moorad should speed up his purchase of the team from John Moores, opines Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Cubs Negotiating With Paul Maholm

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 6:52pm CDT

The Cubs are in talks with left-hander Paul Maholm, reports ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine. The team and Bo McKinnis, Maholm's agent, "have been negotiating the parameters of a deal" between the two sides.

Maholm, 29, posted a 3.66 ERA in 26 starts with the Pirates last season before being sidelined by a shoulder injury. The Bucs declined to pick up the $9.75MM option on Maholm's contract for 2012, making the southpaw a free agent after seven seasons in Pittsburgh.

As Levine points out, Maholm's ability to keep the ball in the park (a career 0.82 HR/9) and on the ground (a career 52.3% ground-ball rate) will help him adjust to Wrigley Field. Maholm would be a solid addition to a Chicago rotation that also includes Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza and Randy Wells, though the latter two have been rumored to be on the trading block.

Cherington On Madson, Saunders, Melancon, Darvish

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 6:08pm CDT

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington appeared on MLB Network Radio's "Inside Pitch" with Jim Bowden this afternoon to speak about the club's offseason plans. Alex Speier of WEEI.com has a partial transcript of the interview and here are some highlights…

Cherington said the Red Sox are looking for rotation depth. The team is satisfied with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz at the top of the rotation so the Sox "don’t feel like we’re backed into a place where we need to break the door in for a top-of-the-rotation starter," Cherington said. "If we can do that and it makes sense for us, then we’ll certainly do that. We’re always looking for ways to do that. But…we’re in good position there and can kind of let the market come to us a little bit."
To this end, Cherington said "the timing wasn’t right" for the team to bid on Yu Darvish.
Cherington said he had been in contact with Ryan Madson and Joe Saunders' representatives "as well as several other free agent options."
The newly-acquired Mark Melancon projects as Boston's closer, at least for now. “As I told Mark on the phone when I talked to him, we believe he can close….If the season opened tomorrow, that’s what he’d be doing,” Cherington said. This, of course, could easily change should the Red Sox sign Madson or trade for Andrew Bailey.
The Red Sox have interviewed Brad Arnsberg and Neil Allen about the vacant pitching coach job and also talked to "several" other candidates.

Mariners Close To Signing George Sherrill

By Mike Axisa | December 16, 2011 at 5:49pm CDT

The Mariners are close to signing left-hander George Sherrill to a one-year deal, reports Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider first reported that the two sides were close to a deal (on Twitter), saying it's worth $1.1MM plus incentives. The contract is pending a physical, and an announcement could come early next week.

Sherrill, 34, originally broke into the big leagues with the Mariners in 2004 after spending time with four different independent league teams. He was part of the trade that sent Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, and others to Baltimore for Erik Bedard before the 2008 season, but he spent last season with the Braves. Sherrill held left-handed batters to a .256/.275/.333 batting line with 32 strikeouts and just one walk in 81 plate appearances in 2011.

This post was originally published on December 17th.

NL East Links: Oswalt, Davis, Cedeno, Cuddyer

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 5:41pm CDT

Here's the latest from the National League East…

The Nationals "have had little contact with" Roy Oswalt, a source tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson. We heard last week that Oswalt was the Nats' "plan B" once Mark Buehrle signed with Miami. The Nats didn't bid on Yu Darvish and won't meet Oakland's price for Gio Gonzalez, so the club may stick with its current rotation.
Ladson believes the Nationals will look for bench help before re-entering the pitching market. To that end, Ladson reports the team is maintaining interest in Mike Cameron, Mark DeRosa and Greg Dobbs. (Both links go to Ladson's Twitter account.)
The Marlins are interested in Rays right-hander Wade Davis, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. With Matt Moore, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson as untouchables and the Rays seemingly determined to keep James Shields, Davis and Jeff Niemann are the most likely Rays pitchers to be moved, if the club does indeed try to deal from its pitching surplus. The inter-Florida rivals have already completed one (lower-profile) trade this offseason, involving righty Burke Badenhop.
The Mets have talked to Ronny Cedeno and Jack Wilson, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Wilson has been linked to the Mets for a few weeks, but Cedeno is a new name in the mix for the Amazins. The Red Sox and Braves have also had interest in Cedeno this offseason.
Also from Heyman, the Phillies made Michael Cuddyer an early contract offer worth more than $25MM. The club lost interest in Cuddyer, however, after signing Ty Wigginton and Laynce Nix. Cuddyer agreed to a three-year, $31.5MM deal today with the Rockies.
Dontrelle Willis sounded confident that he will play alongside his longtime friend Jimmy Rollins with the Phillies next season, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Jose Reyes has yet to speak to Hanley Ramirez since signing with the Marlins, according to The Associated Press. "As soon as I have the opportunity, I'm going to talk to him, because we are very good friends," Reyes said. "We're both here for one reason — to win the World Series. It doesn't matter where I'm going to play or where he's going to play."
The Braves will rely on several players aged 24 and under next season, but Fangraphs' Jason Roberts thinks the health of veterans like Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson are bigger concerns for the club.

Gio Gonzalez Rumors: Friday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2011 at 4:44pm CDT

No MLB pitcher has walked more opponents in the past two seasons than Gio Gonzalez and he's about to get expensive through arbitration, yet the Athletics are drawing strong interest in the left-hander. In fairness to Gonzalez, he has reached the 200-inning plateau in each of the past two seasons without posting an ERA above 3.23 and capable pitchers aren't easy to find (though Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has an alternative for teams who don't like the asking price on Gonzalez). Here are the latest rumors on Gonzalez:

The Nationals are "all but out" of the Gonzalez sweepstakes, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The Athletics' asking price is "way out of line," Ladson hears.
The Mets told the A's they won't include Jonathon Niese, Ike Davis, Matt Harvey, Jenrry Mejia or Jeurys Familia in a deal for Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
The Tigers are on the "outskirts" of the Gonzalez sweepstakes, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. They aren't upbeat about their chances of trading for him.
The A's would love to get a future third baseman in a deal for Gonzalez, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Rangers prospect Mike Olt is one possibility.
The A's continue seeking a huge package for Gonzalez, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Though the Yankees "love" him, they aren't eager to surrender prospects such as Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances.
The Rangers, who are pursuing Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey, can be expected to try to trade for Gonzalez or Matt Garza if they don't win the bidding on Yu Darvish, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney also reports that the Rangers are likely to pursue Gonzalez if they miss out on Darvish. He tweets that 20-year-old left-hander Martin Perez would "almost have to be" in a deal between the A's and Rangers.
The market for Gonzalez and John Danks may pick up once the winner in the Darvish bidding is announced and the Rays decide which of their starting pitchers are available, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

Minor Moves: Baxter, Blanco, Orioles, Michaels

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2011 at 4:34pm CDT

We'll track today's minor moves here…

The Mets signed outfielder Mike Baxter to a minor league contract, according to the team's official Twitter feed. The deal includes an invitation to the Major League spring training camp. Baxter, 27, was born in Queens and appeared in 22 games with the Mets last season.
The Nationals signed Andres Blanco to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. In 82 plate appearances for the Rangers in 2011, the versatile 27-year-old posted a .224/.263/.342 line and played four positions.
The Orioles agreed to sign outfielders Antoan Richardson and Lee Cruz to minor league deals, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Richardson, who briefly played for the Braves in 2011, is one of six players in MLB history from the Bahamas, Crasnick tweets.
The Nationals signed outfielder Jason Michaels to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Michaels spent the 2011 season with the Astros and posted a .199/.256/.295 line in 169 plate appearances. The 11-year veteran has a career line of .263/.335/.407 and experience at all three outfield positions.
The Rockies signed catcher Wilkin Castillo and right-handed relievers Mike Ekstrom and Zach Simons to minor league deals, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Castillo spent the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he hit .262/.285/.366 in 291 plate appearances. Ekstrom, who appeared in one game for the Rays in 2011, posted a 4.35 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 for Tampa Bay's top affiliate. The 26-year-old Simons posted a 5.46 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 61 innings in the Tigers' and Marlins' systems in 2011.

Reds Eyeing Gonzalez, Latos, Jurrjens

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2011 at 4:14pm CDT

Gio Gonzalez, Mat Latos and Jair Jurrjens are among the pitchers on the Reds’ wish list, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Latos may be available in the right deal, Gonzalez could be had, but Oakland's asking price is high and Jurrjens also appears to be available. GM Walt Jocketty recently told Rosenthal that he’s looking aggressively at ways of improving his team’s pitching staff, despite the high asking prices sellers are setting for available arms.

Matt Garza, who could earn a salary approaching $9MM through arbitration, is too expensive for Jocketty’s liking and John Danks is less appealing than some alternatives, as he’s under team control for just one season, Rosenthal writes. James Shields appears to be out of the reach for every team, including the Reds, and Jocketty is aiming to obtain a better pitcher than Wade Davis.

Indians Acquire Aaron Cunningham

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2011 at 2:52pm CDT

The Indians have acquired outfielder Aaron Cunningham from the Padres for minor leaguer Cory Burns, the teams announced. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first tweeted news of the deal.

Cunningham, who is out of options, posted a .178/.257/.367 line in 101 plate appearances for the Padres in 2011, playing right and left field. The 25-year-old also posted a .931 OPS in 384 plate appearances for the Padres' top affiliate this past season. He has a .231/.290/.375 career line in four seasons with the Padres and A's as a corner outfielder.

Burns, 24, posted a 2.11 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings of relief at Double-A in 2011. He has saved 88 of the 130 minor league games he's appeared in since being selected in the 2009 draft. Sosnick Cobbe Sports represents both Cunningham and Burns.

Indians Sign Jose Lopez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2011 at 2:50pm CDT

The Indians announced that they signed infielder Jose Lopez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. The team also officially announced the signing of Felix Pie to a minor league deal.

Lopez, 28, spent the 2011 season with the Rockies and Marlins and appeared at first, second and third base. He posted a .216/.245/.372 line for a second consecutive disappointing season at the plate. Lopez, who hit 25 home runs just two seasons ago, is a right-handed bat who could add some balance to a lefty-heavy Indians lineup. He has a career OPS of .713 against left-handed pitchers.

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