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Bidding For Yu Darvish Ends Wednesday

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6:22pm: The Nationals have interest in Darvish, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. GM Mike Rizzo didn't divulge whether the Nats plan to bid, but his refusal to comment suggests to Kilgore that they will.

4:50pm: Now that Darvish has been posted, teams will have until 4:00pm CST on December 14th (four business days) to submit bids, tweets Buster Olney.

12:40pm: The Yankees are unsure about whether they'll bid on Darvish, tweets Buster Olney.  He considers their interest lukewarm.  I think everyone's playing coy at this stage; we'll see where the bids were when the dust settles.  By the way, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said this week he will not be bidding on Darvish, according to Jason Beck.

11:07am: The Dodgers won't be bidding on Darvish, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, but A's assistant GM David Forst wouldn't rule it out in talking to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears the Rangers aren't willing to gamble $100MM on Darvish.  The Red Sox will discuss Darvish but feel pretty good about the front end of their rotation already, GM Ben Cherington told reporters.

4:56am: Following the announcement last night that the Nippon-Ham Fighters will post ace Yu Darvish, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports write that the Rangers, Blue Jays, and Yankees are all expected to bid on the Japanese righty. ESPN's Buster Olney also tweets that rival executives are expecting both the Rangers and Blue Jays to bid big Darvish, with the Rangers fueled by the expected loss of C.J. Wilson to the Angels or Marlins.

Rosenthal and Morosi write that the Red Sox could be a wild card for a big Darvish bid, as new manager Bobby Valentine, who saw Darvish first-hand many times as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004-2009, is said to "love" the 25-year old. FOX's duo also note that both Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and Rangers GM Jon Daniels saw Darvish pitch in Japan last season.

The posting period will last four days, and the winning team will have a 30-day exclusive negotation period with Darvish and his representatives Don Nomura and Arn Tellem. If a contract agreement cannot be reached between Darvish and the winning team, that team will be refunded the total of the posting fee.

Tim Dierkes and Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Phillies Sign Laynce Nix

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Laynce Nix has signed a two-year contract with the Phillies, passing a physical today to make it official, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter). The deal is worth $2.5MM.

Nix, who turned 31 on October 30, hit .250/.299/.451 in 351 plate appearances for the Nationals last season. The journeyman is known for his ability to hit for big power against right-handed pitching (career .198 ISO versus righties), but he doesn't get on base much and his career .506 OPS against southpaws shows he's definitely a platoon player.

Nix, a client of Gaylord Sports Management, has signed minor league deals in each of the past four offseasons. He has experience at all three outfield positions (primarily left field and center field), and both UZR and DRS suggest that his defense has been a positive throughout his career. The A's and Red Sox were also interested in signing him, reports Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.

Salisbury first reported that the two sides had reached an agreement (Twitter links), while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added salary details (on Twitter).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Albert Pujols Signing Reactions

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Albert Pujols and the Angels agreed to a $254MM deal today that will keep the longtime Cardinal under contract until he's 41. As you can imagine, the signing has inspired some reactions across the league. Here are a few takes and additional details on the second-largest contract in baseball history:

Tim Dierkes' take: In hindsight, it was odd to be talking about offers in the $200MM range on the open market for Pujols, who still may be the best hitter in baseball.  It seems that ultimately the Cardinals were way behind in their offer, as both the Marlins and Angels offered over $40MM more.  Before the 2011 season, a contract for Pujols topping Alex Rodriguez's $275MM seemed possible in free agency, but a rough start to the season and the lowest walk rate of Pujols' career might have given a few teams pause.  Plus, the Yankees and Red Sox weren't involved.  

Almost all long-term contracts end badly.  Angels owner Arte Moreno knows that, and he's going for broke for the next three to four years.  I generally appreciate an owner who is willing to do that.  We see teams overpay for dozens of free agents every winter; Angels fans should be glad their owner did it for the best free agent in years.

I can't speak for Cardinals fans, but I don't see cause to be angry toward Pujols or the team.  The Cardinals made the best offer they could reasonably afford, and it was nowhere near the others.  They still have a strong team and the glow of two recent World Series wins.  As for Albert, if I was him I wouldn't have agreed to a contract that made me the fourth-best-paid first baseman in the game.

Additonal Pujols reactions:

  • The signing makes the Angels much better in the short term, but it's "almost unthinkable that this contract will look like a good one in 2021 when we look back on it after its conclusion," writes ESPN.com's Keith Law (Insider required).
  • Dave Cameron of Fangraphs agrees with Law, saying the Angels will need a lot of breaks in order for the deal to work out long-term.
  • The Angels were the "unlikely beneficiary of the Cardinals' inactivity," says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • Cardinals fans have the right to feel bitter, but comparing Pujols to LeBron James is misguided, since Pujols and the Cards won two championships, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • "I would like our fans to know that we tried our best to make Albert a lifetime Cardinal but unfortunately we were unable to make it happen," Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. said as part of a statement, thanking Albert for his achievements and community contributions.
  • Two other FOX Sports scribes provided their takes on the deal as well.
  • At today's press conference, Angels GM Jerry Dipoto praised the athleticism of Mark Trumbo, now the Angels' former first baseman. Dipoto mentioned third base, designated hitter, and the outfield as possibilities for Trumbo, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
  • Appearing on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Dipoto said the Angels didn't get heavily involved with Pujols until the last 24 hours before they reached an agreement.
  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com spoke to a few National League GMs who are happy to see Pujols switching leagues. "I'll miss seeing him," said Reds GM Walt Jocketty. "But I won't miss facing him."
  • Typically big spenders, the Yankees and Red Sox weren't in on the Pujols bidding. Yanks GM Brian Cashman "gave it a nice, respectful no" when Pujols' camp approached him, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. Sox GM Ben Cherington said it would have taken "huge, fundamental changes" to the team's roster and payroll to sign Pujols, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
  • As we discussed earlier, the Angels' offer wasn't the largest one Pujols received — the Marlins' ten-year proposal topped it.

Red Sox Notes: Nakajima, Arnsberg, Cherington

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Aside from David Ortiz accepting arbitration, the Red Sox had an uneventful Winter Meetings, though the offseason is still young.  The latest:

  • An executive who knows Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine says he's very high on Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman's source expects Nakajima to reject the Yankees' attempts to sign him, play in Japan for 2012, and sign with the Red Sox as a free agent.
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington met with pitching coach candidate Brad Arnsberg before leaving the Meetings, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.  The meeting went well, but others will be interviewed.  Arnsberg has served as pitching coach for the Blue Jays and Astros.
  • It's unlikely the Red Sox focus their remaining offseason resources on offense, Cherington told reporters including WEEI's Alex Speier.
  • Cherington said he's felt all along that his pitching staff would be an "all-winter project."
  • Asked if the Sox considered being creative to try to fit Albert Pujols in, Cherington replied, "Not really."
  • Regarding the compensation owed by the Cubs for acquiring Theo Epstein, Cherington said, "Loosely, we've loosely defined a strategy of talking at some point in the near future. Yeah. We'll resolve it at some point I'm sure."
  • In case you missed it, the Red Sox added reliever Jesse Carlson on a split contract and minor league pitcher Marco Duarte by way of trading Rule 5 pick Marwin Gonzalez to Houston.

Red Sox Sign Jesse Carlson

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The Red Sox signed lefty reliever Jesse Carlson to a split contract with a spring training invite, his brother told Robert Mayer of the local online newspaper the Berlin Patch in a story published yesterday.  Carlson, 30, had rotator cuff surgery in May and was removed from Toronto's 40-man roster in November.  Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com first tweeted the near-agreement yesterday morning.

Rockies Considering Three-Year Offer To Cuddyer

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The Rockies' willingness to consider a three-year offer to free agent right fielder Michael Cuddyer makes them a serious suitor, writes Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  The Rockies freed up $7MM in yesterday's Huston Street trade.  They have mild interest in Cody Ross as a complementary piece and are not pursuing Josh Willingham, writes Renck.

The Twins reportedly have a three-year offer worth $24-25MM on the table for Cuddyer.  GM Terry Ryan told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger he still thinks they have a chance.  Ryan would like to get something done sooner than later.  Cuddyer's wife just gave birth to twin girls, however, so Cuddyer may be occupied with diaper duty.

Brewers Notes: K-Rod, Shortstop, Saito

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The Brewers are on the hook for a likely salary in excess of $11.5MM for reliever Francisco Rodriguez next year, after K-Rod accepted their arbitration offer.  The latest on the team after GM Doug Melvin met with reporters:

  • Melvin said he doesn't have to trade Rodriguez to clear payroll space, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  The Brewers feel good about the back end of the bullpen now, and Melvin noted that Rodriguez's added cost should be considered less the $3MM he would have had to spend to sign two compensatory draft picks.  That estimate doesn't hold water if you assume the Brewers would have received, say, the Padres' second-round pick plus a supplemental choice.  Slot for two picks of that nature would probably total $1.25MM.
  • Asked about Aramis Ramirez, Melvin said, "Anybody that's still a free agent is a possibility."
  • Melvin hopes to zero in on a shortstop early next week.  Yuniesky Betancourt, Alex Gonzalez, and Rafael Furcal are the candidates, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
  • Melvin gave some parameters to Takashi Saito's agent Nez Balelo, which didn't change post K-Rod.  It's not an official offer, but Melvin expects Balelo to try to get more from another team.  Six to eight teams have shown interest in Saito, Balelo told WEEI's Alex Speier yesterday.

Cubs Lack Cash For Prince Fielder?

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Yesterday word was the Marlins and Rangers were not in on Prince Fielder, despite Scott Boras' Jimmie Foxx comparisons.  The latest…

Rockies Acquire Kevin Slowey

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THURSDAY: The Twins acquired righty Daniel Turpen from the Rockies to complete the Slowey deal, they announced today.  Turpen, 25, posted a 4.83 ERA in Double-A this year.  He was taken by the Yankees from the Red Sox in last year's Rule 5 draft, then returned to Boston and later traded to Colorado.

TUESDAY: The Rockies agreed to acquire starter Kevin Slowey from the Twins for a player to be named later, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding.  The Twins have since announced the trade.

Slowey

Slowey, 27, was widely regarded as a non-tender candidate had he remained with the Twins until next week's deadline.  He projects to earn $2.7MM through arbitration in 2012, and is under team control through 2013.  One of the game's most extreme flyball pitchers, Slowey (pictured) doesn't seem a great fit for Coors Field.  The other concern is that Slowey hasn't compiled big innings totals in the Majors.  Still, he limits free passes as well as anyone and could be a useful back-end rotation addition for Colorado.  The Rockies also added starter Tyler Chatwood last week in a trade with the Angels.

The Rockies may have other irons in the fire, as Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post reported earlier that they've discussed a deal with the Reds involving closer Huston Street for starter Edinson Volquez.  It's unclear whether those talks are still active given the Slowey acquisition.  Renck also wrote that the Rockies have interest in trading for the Phillies' Placido Polanco or the Braves' Martin Prado, and asked the Cubs about D.J. LeMahieu and Scott Maine in Ian Stewart talks that have since lost momentum.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Marlins Were High Bidders For Pujols, Wilson

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With $191MM committed to Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell, Marlins fans can't complain about their offseason so far.  Only one of the 5,020 entrants in MLBTR's free agent prediction contest, Matthew Lazear, correctly guessed in November that the Marlins would sign all three.  However, it's interesting to note that the Marlins also made the highest bids on top free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, who ultimately went to the Angels today.

Pujols received ten years and $254MM from the Angels, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the Marlins offered ten years and $275MM.  That would have tied Alex Rodriguez for the largest contract guarantee in baseball history.  Nightengale says that with incentives and Florida's lack of a state income tax, the deal could have been worth nearly $300MM.

Wilson signed a five-year, $77.5MM deal with the Halos, but agent Bob Garber told Ken Rosenthal Wilson could "easily" have gotten $100MM, and the Marlins "would not let it go."  Said Wilson: "But if it were just about money I'd be a Marlin, straight up, because they offered more money, they have a great situation." 

The Marlins reportedly stuck to their policy of not including a no-trade clause for either player, which may have been a factor in their decisions.

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