O’s Offer Contract To Hendrickson; Rockies Interested
The Orioles have offered left-hander Mark Hendrickson a minor league contract, reports The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly. Hendrickson, 36, has posted a 4.74 ERA, a 2.19 K/BB ratio and a 10.6 H/9 rate in 105 games (12 of them starts) over the last two seasons in Baltimore. The Orioles declined Hendrickson's $1.2MM option for 2011, but were still known to be interested in bringing the veteran back at a lower price.
Hendrickson is also being targeted by the Rockies, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. It's no secret Colorado is looking for left-handed bullpen help, specifically a pitcher who is willing to sign a minor league contract. Tampa Bay and Seattle showed some interest in Hendrickson earlier this offseason, but there has been no news on either of those fronts since the Winter Meetings.
Marlins Sign Shawn Hill
The Marlins have signed right-hander Shawn Hill to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Hill is invited to Spring Training and will earn $600K if he makes the club.
Hill, 29, broke into the majors with Montreal in 2004 and most recently made four starts for Toronto last season. The Jays released Hill to make room for Rajai Davis in November. Hill has a career 4.74 ERA and a 2.04 K/BB ratio in 44 Major League starts and has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in his young career. Hill pitched well in both the majors and minors for the Jays last year, and if he stays healthy, could be a nice high-upside addition to Florida's staff.
Orioles Notes: Guthrie, Millwood, Scott
Some news items out of the Orioles' FanFest event this weekend…
- The Orioles have discussed a multiyear contract with Jeremy Guthrie, the right-hander tells MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski. "I love pitching here and anytime you can provide your family with security, it's a great option," Guthrie said. "I'm very happy to also play it out year-by-year and have the motivation to go out and do the best that I can. Whatever happens, I'll be a good spot." Guthrie is going through the arbitration process for the second time in his career; MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently analyzed Guthrie's case.
- Kevin Millwood is still an option for the O's, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Andy MacPhail told the FanFest crowd that the idea of re-signing Millwood "hasn't been ruled out 'by any stretch,' " but the Orioles can't guarantee a rotation spot to Millwood or any free agent starter. We've heard that Millwood is interested in returning to Baltimore, but without the promise of a regular starting gig, he could turn to other suitors like the Indians or Yankees.
- Luke Scott has told Buck Showalter that not only is he willing to move to left field if Baltimore signs Vladimir Guerrero, but Scott "wants to play defense," Showalter tells Steve Melewski. Scott played 106 games in left in 2008 and had a very solid +5.8 UZR/150 rating, but he has made just 40 outfield starts over the last two seasons.
Jim Edmonds Likely To Retire
Jim Edmonds is probably going to retire, according to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, blogs John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Edmonds has been contemplating whether he'd return in 2011 after playing well (.276/.342/.504) in 86 games with the Brewers and Reds in 2010. Unsatisfied with contract offers after the 2008 season, he sat out all of 2009.
Despite Edmond's surprisingly solid effort in 2010, it's unlikely that his retirement will have much of a ripple effect on any rosters. He might only have gotten a minor-league deal this offseason, anyway, as he did last offseason from the Brewers.
If this is the end for Edmonds, it will have been a heck of a career. In 17 seasons, he's hit .284/.376/.527, claimed eight Gold Gloves and won a World Series with the Cardinals in 2006.
Quick Hits: Farnsworth, Durbin, Izzy, Duchscherer
Here are a few items of note for Jan. 29, 53 years to the day after Stan Musial became the National League's highest-paid player with the one-year, $100K contract he signed with the Cardinals …
- The Rays will pay Kyle Farnsworth $2.6MM in salary in 2011, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. If Farnsworth's option for 2012 is picked up, he will earn $3.3MM that year. If it's declined, the buyout is $650K. The deal also includes up to $300K in incentives for games finished.
- The Phillies have not re-signed free-agent reliever Chad Durbin because he is seeking a two-year deal at a higher annual salary than the club is comfortable giving him, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Philly is also intent on preserving the roster spot for the sake of grooming younger relievers, according to Stark.
- The Reds will decide whether to sign free-agent reliever Jason Isringhausen after watching him throw a bullpen session on Monday in Arizona, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Isringhausen signed a minor-league deal with the Reds last July but did not appear in any games for them. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Rays in June 2009, a stint that ended when he suffered an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery.
- The Orioles remain fairly interested in free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer after receiving positive feedback on the right-hander's Friday bullpen session, blogs Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
Rangers, Daniels Negotiating Extension
The Rangers are negotiating a contract extension with general manager Jon Daniels, writes Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com.
Rangers president Nolan Ryan said on Jan. 20 that he expects Daniels' extension to be finalized before Spring Training, Durrett notes.
Daniels' current contract, negotiated with former Rangers owner Tom Hicks, expires after the 2011 season. That contract includes an opt-out clause in the event that ownership changed hands — which it did — but Daniels has insisted that he's happy with the Rangers and wants to remain with them.
Daniels was the youngest GM in baseball history at 28 when he originally signed on with Texas following the 2005 season. He has helped bring the organization to prominence, culminating in a World Series berth in 2010.
For a comprehensive look at all of Daniels' moves as a GM, check out our Transaction Tracker.
Olney On Mets, Young, Figgins
The fallout continues from the Mets' announcement on Friday that a portion of the team is up for sale, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Here's Olney's take, as well as some other items of note …
- The Madoff scandal could prove to be a turning point in Mets history if it leads to a change in the team's ownership. The financial implications go a long way toward explaining why the Mets' baseball-operations staff has been on a shorter payroll leash since the signing of Jason Bay, and one has to wonder how long the Mets will be operating in that mode as the legal process plays out. To that end, signing a big-ticket free agent like Albert Pujols in the near future would be difficult. Finally, was new GM Sandy Alderson aware of the Mets' financial standing when he took the job?
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan and manager Ron Washington are on record as saying that Michael Young will be with Texas on Opening Day, as Young is well-liked by the organization and will be useful in the super utility role. Both the Rangers and Rockies say that trade talks regarding Young have not been rekindled.
- The Athletics' rumored pursuit of Chone Figgins makes sense if you consider that he fits Oakland's preference for acquiring players who are fast and defensively sound. To boot, Figgins would cost the A's only about 60 percent of what they were willing to spend on free-agent Adrian Beltre, who signed with the rival Rangers. Olney interprets Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik's comment that Figgins is the Mariners' third baseman as a, "no comment."
Indians Interested In Kevin Millwood
The Indians are interested in signing free-agent starter Kevin Millwood, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the sides are far apart on a price.
The Royals are in interested in Millwood, as well, and the Yankees may be in play, too, depending on what happens with Andy Pettitte, according to Heyman.
Vladimir Guerrero Rumors: Saturday
10:23am: Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said that there's no timetable on a Guerrero decision, tweets Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
9:06am: The Orioles are "settled" on their position in contract negotiations with free-agent Vladimir Guerrero, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
The O's offer to Vlad stands at $4.5-5MM, and if that's not enough to land him, Baltimore is OK with that, Olney says.
This, of course, after several days of hard bargaining between the Orioles and Guerrero.
Phillies Interested In Signing Jason Grilli
The Phillies are interested in signing free-agent reliever Jason Grilli to a minor-league deal, writes Paul Hagen of Philly.com.
Grilli, a right-hander, last pitched for the Rangers in 2009. He signed a minor-league deal with the Indians prior to last season before suffering a knee injury that cost him all of the 2010 campaign.
Grilli's best season in the Majors (3.00 ERA) came in 2008, when he split time with the Tigers and Rockies. For his career, he has a 4.74 ERA over 356 2/3 innings.
Grilli, 34, is a former first-round pick of the Giants and has pitched for five teams.