Giants To Hire Lou Piniella
Lou Piniella is joining the San Francisco front office as a consultant, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Piniella, who retired from managing in August to be closer to his family, will likely evaluate and scout players and advise on player movement from Florida, Shea writes.
Giants GM Brian Sabean knows Piniella from the 1980s, when both were in the Yankees organization. Sabean interviewed Piniella for the Giants’ managerial opening after the 2006 season, before Piniella withdrew his name from consideration.
Red Sox Notes: Gonzalez, Hoover, Lopez
Some Red Sox tidbits to close out the evening..
- BoSox GM Theo Epstein doesn't think that the Albert Pujols negotiations will have an impact on the club's talks with Adrian Gonzalez, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. In December the slugger said that he would look for a market value deal rather than try to pattern his extension after Pujols'.
- By acquiring Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Bobby Jenks, Rays manager Joe Maddon believes that the Red Sox gained the most ground of any team in the division this winter, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
- The Red Sox signed catcher Paul Hoover to a minor league deal, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Hoover, 34, has a career .733 OPS at the Triple-A level.
- If Felipe Lopez winds up signing a minor league deal with the Rays and makes the Opening Day roster, the Red Sox still won't receive a compensatory draft pick, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
Quick Hits: Rockies, Guerrero, Lee, Indians, Athletics
On this day in 1999 the Yankees sent Mike Lowell to the Marlins for Todd Noel, Mark Johnson and Ed Yarnall. Here are some links for tonight as we anticipate more roster shakeups..
- The Rockies signed catcher Ben Petralli to a minor league deal, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 25-year-old was drafted five times between 2004 and 2008 and played independent baseball last season.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the Rays might consider moving Johnny Damon to first base, allowing them to sign free agent DH Vladimir Guerrero.
- Derrek Lee will make the greatest impact of any Orioles offseason acquisition, opines Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer asked Indians GM Chris Antonetti and two scouts to evaluate the young talent that the club received in exchange for their three stars.
- Even though several Athletics are under contract for just one more year, MLB.com's Jane Lee doesn't expect that many of them will be dealt for prospects.
Indians Working To Sign Bonderman
The Indians are working to sign free agent pitcher Jeremy Bonderman, a source tells Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Cleveland GM Chris Antonetti declined comment when reached.
Bonderman lost a potential suitor earlier today when Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said that the club will not look to bring the right-hander back to Detroit. Last season marked the 28-year-old's first since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2008. In 29 starts and one relief appearance, Bonderman posted a 5.53 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9.
New York Notes: Pettitte, Mets, Pitching
Let's check out a few items concerning the Yankees and Mets..
- Yankees people continue to hear from friends of Andy Pettitte that they think the 38-year-old will pitch this year, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Of course, there's still no word from Pettitte himself on the matter.
- As expected, Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon, COO Jeff Wilpon and team president Saul Katz met with commissioner Bud Selig today to talk about the team's finances, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. On Friday the club announced that they are looking to sell 20 to 25 percent of the team in order to give themselves a cushion against any settlement that comes from the Bernie Madoff case.
- Mike Piazza, who earned more than $120MM over the course of his major league career, says he isn't interested in buying a share of the club right now, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Nick Swisher isn't concerned about the Yankees' pitching woes, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
Rays Close To Signing Lopez
We can expect to see the Rays sign veteran Felipe Lopez to a minor league deal in the next couple of days, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter). Topkin wrote earlier today that Lopez was a name to "keep in mind" as the club is in need of an inexpensive middle infielder.
After signing a one-year, $1MM deal with the Cardinals last year, the club cut ties with the 30-year-old due to behavioral problems. Lopez's flat offense didn't help his case either as he hit just .233/.311/.345 in 109 games before signing with Boston. The Red Sox wisely offered the Type B infielder arbitration, but a minor league deal means that they won't receive a compensatory draft pick.
Orioles Notes: Simon, Jakubauskas, Houser
Let's take a look at some Orioles news..
- The O's are unlikely to make a move with Alfredo Simon until February 26th, the mandatory date for all players to report to Spring Training, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. After being named as the primary suspect in a murder and denied bail in the Dominican Republic, Simon probably won't be able to join the club by that date. Once that date passes, Baltimore can move the reliever to the restricted list, freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster.
- Baltimore has signed a trio of free agent pitchers to minor league deals according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The club reached deals with right-handers Chris Jakubauskas and Mark Worrell as well as lefty James Houser. Houser, who was tabbed by the Rays in the second-round of the 2003 draft, turned in a 3.67 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 for the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate in 2010. The Orioles now have a handful of interesting pitchers in their farm system after signing Clay Rapada and Nick Bierbrodt last week.
Rays Notes: Manny, Damon, Boras
The Rays are officially introducing Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez today and the former Red Sox have lots of good things to say about their new team. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times has the details (all links go to Twitter):
- The Rays could also add a veteran middle infielder on a minor league deal. Topkin wonders if Felipe Lopez could be a fit.
- Agent Scott Boras says talks started with Damon, then expanded to include another one of his clients: Ramirez.
- Ramirez, who signed for $2MM, says other teams offered more lucrative deals. He chose to play in Tampa since he's "already made [his] money."
- Manager Joe Maddon says he's confident that Ramirez is motivated to help the Rays repeat as AL East champions.
- Damon also thinks the Rays can win the AL East. Disagree? Cast your vote here.
- Damon says he isn't writing the "final chapter" of his career and Ramirez says he can play five more seasons.
Tigers Not Signing Bonderman Or Guerrero
3:23pm: The Tigers aren't signing Vladimir Guerrero, either. "There's not a fit for us," Dombrowski told Gage. "We're not involved with that at all and haven't been."
2:44pm: Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has been open to re-signing Jeremy Bonderman throughout the offseason, but the longtime Tiger will not be returning to Detroit. "We are not signing Jeremy Bonderman," Dombrowski told Tom Gage of the Detroit News (on Twitter).
Last year Bonderman had his first full season since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2008. The 28-year-old logged 171 innings, posting a 5.53 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Bonderman, who is about to begin his ninth big league season, is a free agent for the first time. Gage suggests Bonderman could be on the verge of signing with another club.
The 20 Biggest Free Agent Deals Of The Offseason
Unless Vladimir Guerrero, Scott Podsednik or another free agent signs an unexpectedly lucrative deal, the biggest contracts of the offseason have all been finalized. As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, 20 free agents signed deals worth $15MM or more this offseason.
That's not counting the extensions that non-free agents like Troy Tulowitzki and Jay Bruce signed and we're only talking about guaranteed dollars. Many of the players below could earn more or less than the figures listed, depending on player opt-outs and vesting options. With that in mind, here are the 20 free agents who signed for the most guaranteed money this offseason:
1. Carl Crawford – Red Sox – $142MM
2. Jayson Werth – Nationals – $126MM
3. Cliff Lee – Phillies – $120MM
4. Adrian Beltre – Rangers – $80MM
5. Adam Dunn – White Sox – $56MM
6. Derek Jeter – Yankees – $51MM
7. Victor Martinez – Tigers – $50MM
8. Paul Konerko – White Sox – $37.5MM
9. Rafael Soriano – Yankees – $35MM
10. Ted Lilly – Dodgers – $33MM
11. Jorge de la Rosa – Rockies – $32MM
12. Mariano Rivera – Yankees – $30MM
13. Aubrey Huff – Giants – $22MM
14. Juan Uribe – Dodgers – $21MM
15. John Buck – Marlins – $18MM
16. Joaquin Benoit – Tigers – $16.5MM
16. Carl Pavano – Twins – $16.5MM
16. Jake Westbrook – Cardinals – $16.5MM
19. Adam LaRoche – Nationals – $16MM
20. Scott Downs – Angels – $15MM