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Sign-And-Trade Involving Nakajima Possible

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FRIDAY: The Yankees have not discussed a sign-and-trade with Nakajima since winning the bidding for him, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The Yankees won the bidding for Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be wearing pinstripes in 2012. Agent Greg Genske has approached the Yankees about the possibility of a sign-and-trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Giants and Cubs like Nakajima, according to Rosenthal.

The Yankees won the rights to Nakajima with a bid in the $2MM range last week. They now have 30 days to reach an agreement with the 29-year-old, who will return to the Seibu Lions for another year if he doesn’t sign. Nakajima would like to play every day, but he’s not ruling anything out — even a backup role with the Yankees.

Rockies To Sign Michael Cuddyer

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Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd continued a busy offseason today by making his biggest move yet. The Rockies have agreed to sign Michael Cuddyer to a three-year, $31.5MM deal.

Michael Cuddyer

Cuddyer, 32, hit 20 homers and posted a .284/.346/.459 line in 584 plate appearances for the Twins this past season. After 11 seasons in Minnesota, the Excel Sports Management client has a career line of .272/.343/.451. Cuddyer spent considerable time at three positions in 2011: right field, first base and second base. He has also played third base and left field at the Major League level, so Rockies manager Jim Tracy will have lots of places to pencil his new player into the lineup. 

This isn't the beginning of a Marlins or Angels-like free agent shopping spree for O'Dowd. The Rockies cleared payroll for Cuddyer earlier this month, sending Huston Street and Ian Stewart to National League rivals in trades.

One suitor for Carlos Beltran likely disappears now that the Rockies have Cuddyer. As Troy Renck of the Denver Post points out, Seth Smith's role becomes uncertain with the addition of Cuddyer. He would become a bench bat or a trade candidate if the Rockies use Cuddyer in the outfield.

The Twins, who signed Josh Willingham for $21MM over three years this week, will obtain two top draft picks for losing Cuddyer, since they offered the Type A free agent arbitration. However, it will not cost the Rockies a draft pick to sign Cuddyer under modified rules for ranked free agents. 

Cuddyer ranked 11th on MLBTR's list of the offseason's top free agents. When Tim Dierkes looked at Cuddyer's free agent stock in September, he anticipated that his market would be in the three-year, $30MM range.

Mark Buehrle, Jonathan Papelbon, Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes and C.J. Wilson are the only free agents to sign for more guaranteed money this offseason. This is first time O'Dowd has lured a major free agent to Colorado since 2000, as Renck notes and our Transaction Tracker confirms (minimum $10MM deal).

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the agreement and the terms (Twitter links). Renck reported growing momentum toward a deal Thursday night. Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Bill Smith To Remain With Twins

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FRIDAY: Smith is officially back as an assistant to the president and GM, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

WEDNESDAY: Former Twins general manager Bill Smith is in the process of finalizing a new role in the Minnesota organization, according to Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com. Smith will likely become a special assistant to the president and GM. In that role, he would oversee Latin America development and plans for the team's Spring Training facility.

Twins owner Jim Pohlad let Smith go last month after the team lost 99 games. Longtime Twins GM Terry Ryan accepted the challenge of fielding a respectable team again. "Bill was equally motivated to achieve that goal,” Pohlad explained at the time. “But we differed in the scope and approach that was required." The Twins won two division titles in Smith's four years as GM.

The Latest On Gio Gonzalez

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The Gio Gonzalez trade rumors have been vast and varied so far this offseason. Here's the latest on the A's left-hander from Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com:

The Mets and Mariners are now among the teams in on Gonzalez, a source tells Rosenthal (Twitter link), while the Marlins, Reds, Red Sox and Rangers remain in the mix.

As well, the Nationals are interested in Gonzalez, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter), who adds that Washington considers White Sox lefty John Danks an alternative. The Nats' focus remains acquiring a left-handed starter after missing out on Mark Buehrle, who signed with the Marlins.

The Mets are an odd addition to the growing list of Gonzalez suitors, as they have been rumored to be open to trading one of their young pitchers, Jonathon Niese. The Mariners, meanwhile, are thought to be seeking offense – including, perhaps, Prince Fielder – although Gonzalez would make for a nice No. 2 or 3, along with Michael Pineda, behind ace Felix Hernandez.

Michael Cuddyer Rumors: Thursday

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The Rockies, Twins, Mariners and Reds have some interest in Michael Cuddyer, according to yesterday's reports. Here's the latest on Cuddyer with the most recent updates up top:

  • The Rockies are "growing increasingly confident" that they will sign Cuddyer, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, who adds that Colorado is now the favorite to ink the veteran.
  • The Rockies are leaning toward Cuddyer over Carlos Beltran, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter).
  • The Phillies remain in the mix for Cuddyer, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.
  • Some executives believe the Orioles may be bidding for Cuddyer, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, FOX reports that Cuddyer is not a leading concern of GM Dan Duquette's.
  • A Twins official told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he wouldn't rule anything out, Cuddyer included. Christensen doesn't get the sense that Minnesota has pulled its three-year, $24MM offer. 
  • However, one of Jon Heyman’s sources says there doesn't appear to be room in the Twins’ budget for Cuddyer now that they’ve agreed to sign Josh Willingham to a $21MM deal. 
  • The Red Sox did not enter the bidding for Cuddyer this week, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune (on Twitter).
  • The Rockies and Mariners remain in the mix for Cuddyer, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Troy Tulowitzki told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he won’t object if Colorado signs Cuddyer. "I think our lineup is one of the better ones in the National League, but it would be huge to get another bat," Tulowitzki said. "I have heard nothing but good things about Cuddyer.”

Rangers, Derek Holland Discussing Extension

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9:24pm: The potential extension includes a club option for a sixth year, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com. 

12:29am: The Rangers are discussing a five-year extension with left-handed starter Derek Holland, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Holland missed this year's super two cutoff and is not yet arbitration eligible. A five-year deal would buy out one pre-arbitration season, his three years of arbitration eligibility and his first season of free agency.

Yovani Gallardo, Ricky Romero, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill are unavoidable points of reference for the Rangers and the Martini Sports Management client. All five starters signed five-year deals in the $30MM range at similar stages in their respective careers. Holland has more career innings than any of those pitchers did at the time of their extensions, but none of them had a career ERA above 3.94 at the time of their deals, while Holland has a career mark of 4.73. Options are often a point of contention in extension talks, so it's worth noting that the deals for Cahill and Buchholz include two club options, while the other deals include just one.

Holland, 25, posted a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 198 innings this past season. He set career highs in everything from ERA to innings to strikeouts (162) to wins above replacement (3.6). The Rangers control Holland's rights through 2015.

The Latest On Yoenis Cespedes

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With several of this offseason's top free agents off the board, we should be hearing a lot more about Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes in the upcoming weeks. Here's the latest on the center fielder, courtesy of Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports:

Cespedes and his agent, Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group, are starting negotiations at "Chapman money," one general manager tells Passan, in reference to Aroldis Chapman's six-year, $30.25MM contract with the Reds. The GM said Cespedes might even get a six-, seven- or eight-year deal. The GM also said he's "never seen a more confident agent" than Katz is with Cepedes, adding that the new CBA has increased the outfielder's market (Twitter links).

It's not so surprising to hear from an exec that Katz has high hopes for his client. For what it's worth, we also heard during the Winter Meetings that Katz is seeking a contract twice the value of Chapman's – $60MM – for Cespedes, which would certainly raise the stakes significantly in the bidding.

While Chapman hasn't been terrible, he hasn't exactly fulfilled his promise yet, either, so it's possible that could work against Cespedes. Then again, they are different players at different positions, and it doesn't appear that Daisuke Matsuzaka's troubles have had much of an effect on the bidding for Yu Darvish, as a roughly analogous comparison.

Orioles Notes: Scott, Offseason Plan

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After introducing the newly signed Tsuyoshi Wada to the media today, Orioles GM Dan Duquette addressed his club's offseason to date and future plans with reporters, including Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Here's the latest: 

  • Duquette said he's interested in bringing back slugger Luke Scott, who was non-tendered on Monday, but cautioned that a deal is no sure thing. As for the non-tendering, he explained: "We just felt his value in arbitration was much higher than his actual market value."
  • A left-handed-hitting outfielder and a DH remain on the club's offseason wish list.
  • On whether any swaps are possible, Duquette said: “We’ve got a couple trade discussions that are still alive."
  • The decision on whether Jim Johnson and Brad Bergesen will be starters or relievers in 2012 will be left up to manager Buck Showalter in the spring. Johnson is eligible for arbitration for the second time this offseason and projects to earn $2.5MM through that process.

Latest On Bids For Yu Darvish

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6:46pm: The Nippon Ham Fighters are expected to accept a posting price on Darvish just before Tuesday's deadline, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.

2:14pm: There are strong signs the Blue Jays and Rangers made serious bids, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

9:43am: There's "buzz" that Toronto had a "whopper of an offer," according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Grant suggests the Rangers bid in the $40-49MM range.

THURSDAY, 7:44am: The Cubs placed a bid on Darvish, according to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. The Rangers and Blue Jays placed bids, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The posting system is far from transparent to begin with and tonight’s barrage of tweets, articles and blog posts probably didn’t make it any easier for fans to decipher. If you’d rather skip our lengthy summary of the most recent Yu Darvish rumors and read on to the essentials, you’re in the right place.

The identity of the team that won exclusive negotiating rights with Darvish remains unknown, but here’s what we do know. The deadline for teams to bid for negotiating rights with Darvish via the posting system passed earlier this evening. The Nippon Ham Fighters plan to accept the top bid — and it’s reportedly “sky-high.” Nippon Ham, which doesn't know the identity of the MLB team that won the bidding, has until 4pm CDT on December 20th to accept or reject the high bid. 

The Yankees are the one team that’s known to have placed a bid on the 25-year-old right-hander. Conversely, the Giants, Athletics, Marlins, Mets, Rays, Angels, Twins, Red Sox and Orioles are out of the mix for Darvish, according to tonight’s reports.

Darvish posted a 1.44 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 232 innings this past season and he hasn't posted an ERA above 2.00 since 2007. MLB agents suggested to MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes that it will cost at least $100MM to lock Darvish up, including the posting fee and contract.

Jocketty Discusses Reds’ Offseason

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After winning the NL Central in 2010, the Reds fell short of the playoffs last season, stumbling to a relatively disappointing 79 wins. With a strong nucleus of position players and complementary pitchers in place, Cincinnati is expected to make a push for a top-of-the-rotation starter and perhaps a closer this offseason.

But aside from ongoing negotiations to extend second baseman Brandon Phillips, it has been a pretty quiet winter thus far for the Reds, which GM Walt Jocketty addressed with Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.

The shortage of activity has not been for a lack of trying, according to Jocketty:

“We have to keep being aggressive and try to improve. What we thought we had to do for 2012 was really address our pitching. That’s what we’ve been busy trying to do, but without success so far.”

As Rosenthal notes, the Reds own a few attractive prospects that are rumored to be sought by other teams — in particular, first baseman/outfielder Yonder Alonso and catchers Yasmani Grandal and Devin Mesoraco.

However, it sounds like Jocketty isn't comfortable with the asking price for the top available pitchers on the trade market: “They just want too many of ’em.”

To that end, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets that the A's asked the Reds for Alonso, one of the catching prospects and another player in exchange for left-hander Gio Gonzalez. The Reds have also shown interest in Rays pitchers, including James Shields, and the Braves' Jair Jurrjens, tweets Knobler.

Meanwhile, the Reds' competition in the NL Central has arguably been weakened this offseason, writes Rosenthal. The Cardinals have lost Albert Pujols and are transitioning to a new manager, while the Brewers will almost certainly lose Prince Fielder to free agency and perhaps Ryan Braun to a 50-game suspension at season's outset.

So, Jocketty said he doesn't necessarily feel like he must make a move:

“But we feel that if we did nothing, we’d still have a club capable of contending and competing in our division all year. We felt that way last year. We just had some things that didn’t go well for us."

Jocketty's deliberateness could work to his advantage this offseason, according to Rosenthal, who speculates the Reds will "almost certainly" end up with one of free agent closers Francisco Cordero, Ryan Madson or Brad Lidge, or trade candidate Andrew Bailey of the Athletics.

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