The Cubs, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and others are trying for Hiroki Kuroda, tweets MLB Network's Jon Heyman, though he could still return to Japan. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick adds the Yankees and Red Sox to the list of suitors.
The Rockies also remain interested in the Reds' Edinson Volquez, tweets Troy Renck.
The Giants and Mets have agreed on a deal that will send Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez to New York and Angel Pagan to San Francisco, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Giants will also receive a player to be named later or cash, according to a team release. The deal was announced by both clubs today.
All three players are arbitration eligible, and Torres in particular was a candidate to be non-tendered next week. Both Torres and Pagan were valuable as regulars in 2010 but struggled in 2011, though the Mets were expected to tender Pagan a contract.
Prior to the Giants' acquisition of Pagan, their outfield was expected to feature Aubrey Huff in left, Melky Cabrera in center, and Nate Schierholtz in right field. Given the defensive inadequacies of Huff and Cabrera, Pagan might be a well-used fourth outfielder in San Francisco. Pagan will be surely be motivated to earn regular playing time, as he's entering his contract year. He projects to earn $4.7MM through arbitration for 2012.
The Mets can potentially control Torres for two years, and MLBTR estimates a salary of around $2.5MM in 2012. He makes for a nice upside play for GM Sandy Alderson. Alderson has also revamped his 2012 bullpen in the course of about an hour. Ramirez is a useful, affordable addition, and the Mets also signed veteran relievers Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco (together again!)
GMs Alderson and Brian Sabean last matched up in late July, when the Mets traded Carlos Beltran and cash to the Giants for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Anyone still wondering if the Miami Marlins are serious about making a splash this offseason? The Marlins officially signed star shortstop Jose Reyes to a six-year, $106MM deal today. Reyes will receive a heavily backloaded $102MM over six guaranteed years, and has a $4MM buyout on a seventh year option worth $22MM. The backloaded nature of the deal could serve as a no-trade clause, something the deal does not include. Reyes is represented by Peter E. Greenberg & Associates.
As a free agent shortstop in his prime, Reyes was a rarity. The 28-year-old had one of the finest seasons of his nine-year Mets career in 2011, winning his first batting title and posting the fourth season in which he was worth about six wins above replacement. Mets owner Fred Wilpon famously told a reporter in April that Reyes wouldn't get Carl Crawford money, and while Reyes fell one year and $36MM short of that benchmark, he did join Crawford as just baseball's second $100MM player without a 20 home run season on his resume. Reyes' contract was depressed by his injury history, as he hasn't played 135 games in a season since '08. I still like the deal for the Marlins, as Reyes doesn't have to be amazing or play 162 games a year to be worth $17.67MM annually.
The signing means that the Marlins will ask Hanley Ramirez to move to third base, an idea that may not thrill him.
The Mets were willing to offer Reyes a five-year deal for $75-85MM with a sixth year option, but felt that they could not push their offer any further, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). At today's press conference, Reyes suggested the Mets never made an offer. GM Sandy Alderson made the decision not to trade Reyes this summer partly because he hoped to re-sign the team's longtime shortstop. The new collective bargaining agreement did not affect Reyes' status as a Type A free agent, and the Mets will receive the Marlins' third-round pick as well as a supplemental pick in the 2012 draft for their loss (unless the Marlins sign C.J. Wilson or Albert Pujols, among others). It appears that although the Marlins did not give their second-round pick to the Padres for Heath Bell, Bell's higher Elias ranking still pushes the Mets' pick to the third round. In addition to the Mets, the Brewers were expected to be in on the 28-year-old and had planned to meet with his agents this week.
Armed with deeper pockets and the appeal of a brand new ballpark, the Marlins have been aggressive in their courtship of top free agents this winter. They signed closer Heath Bell a few days ago, have an offer out to C.J. Wilson, and remain in the mix for Mark Buehrle and even Albert Pujols.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports broke news of the agreement and the absence of a no-trade clause, ESPN's Jayson Stark added contract deals, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com first reported the length of the offer, and other details were also provided by Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Tim Dierkes contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
The Brewers intensified their pursuit of free agent reliever LaTroy Hawkins yesterday, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Discussions with his agents are expected to continue today. Since Hawkins lives in Dallas, he attended the first two days of the Meetings.
The Brewers have maintained contact with Takashi Saito's agent Nez Balelo, adds McCalvy. ESPN's Jim Bowden expects a one-year deal.
The latest on the Red Sox…
Rafael Furcal is likely headed for a team other than the Brewers, tweets Tom Haudricourt, increasing the chances of them re-signing Yuniesky Betancourt.
WEDNESDAY: The Marlins have every intention of Hanley being their third baseman next year, president Larry Beinfest said at today's Jose Reyes press conference.
TUESDAY: Hanley Ramirez isn't on board with the idea of moving to third base and would rather be traded than switch positions, a "credible source" told Enrique Rojas at ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com (link in Spanish).
"Hanley doesn't want to play third base and the Marlins were informed of that," the source told Rojas. "Rather than ask for a trade, what he has done is to inform (the team) that he does not want to play another position other than shortstop." Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post has also verified with a Marlins official that Ramirez did not ask to be traded (Twitter link).
Ramirez's agent Andy Mota told Rojas he had no comment about the situation, but the player himself posted a resigned-sounding Tweet this morning, saying, "What I am gonna do is work hard and get ready for next season because that is the only thing I can control I love y'all!!!!"
Rojas also spoke with Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen yesterday in Dallas, and the skipper said he had spoken with Ramirez before Reyes was signed and plans to revisit the discussion soon. "He has to understand what is best for the club, and he'll be a better player with those two guys [Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio] in front of him in the lineup," Guillen said. "The last thing we would do is smack the kid and tell him, 'You've got to move.' That's not the way… I think the boy will have the opportunity to be an All-Star third baseman. We have the opportunity to have two all stars in those positions."
Both owner Jeffrey Loria and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest suggested recently that Ramirez would ultimately defer to Reyes, and that a trade wasn't on the table. A week ago, before Reyes had signed, Ramirez expressed deference toward the possibility in an appearance on Dominican TV, saying "the front office has the last word." Ramirez played just three games worth of third base while in the Red Sox system, most recently in 2005. His -4.8 UZR in 2011 was firmly in the bottom half of NL shortstops, directly behind Reyes and in front of Bonifacio, who took over the six-hole when Ramirez underwent shoulder surgery in August.
The Yankees will listen to offers for starter A.J. Burnett, reports George A. King III of the New York Post, and they're willing to assume $8MM of the $33MM owed to him for 2012-13.
I don't think teams will be lining up to pay Burnett $25MM over two years, however, so the Yankees will probably have to do better to move him. Burnett, 34, posted a 5.15 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.47 HR/9, and 49.2% groundball rate in 190 1/3 innings this year. A change of scenery might help.
The Rockies contacted the Braves to express interest in righty Jair Jurrjens, tweets MLB.com's Thomas Harding. With today's Huston Street trade, the Rockies freed up the better part of $8MM to pursue a starting pitcher. MLBTR projects Jurrjens to earn $5.1MM in 2012; the 25-year-old is under team control through 2013 as an arbitration eligible player. Eight to ten teams have shown real interest in Jurrjens this winter, reported Danny Knobler of CBS Sports last night.
The Rockies' unloading of Street is also expected to kickstart their pursuit of free agent reliever Brad Lidge, a Denver-area native, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
The Pirates announced today they've signed catcher Jose Morales to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first tweeted the near-agreement last night.
Morales, 28, has a .289/.365/.344 career batting line in 252 big league plate appearances for the Twins and Rockies. This year at Triple-A he hit .264/.350/.380 in 295 plate appearances.
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