Kevin Gregg To Decide This Week
Reliever Kevin Gregg has been mulling offers from a few clubs and will make a decision "this week, in the next couple of days", agent Danny Horwits told Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore offered the right-hander a two-year deal worth between $8-10MM in early December.
Since putting the two-year offer on the table, the O's have been in regular contact with Horwits. The agent won't disclose which teams are in the mix for his client but it appears that Baltimore is among the finalists.
“We’ve been going back and forth with the teams that are left in the mix for the last couple of weeks,” the agent said. “We’re received new counter offers, fine-tuned other offers. Now, we’re pretty much in the mode of Kevin is going to make a decision.”
Gregg turned in a 3.51 ERA last season with 8.8 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 63 appearances for the Blue Jays. The 32-year-old will likely mark the last major acquisition for the O's this winter. Derrek Lee will likely mark their final offensive upgrade and even though they're in need of a starter and a left-handed reliever, those vacancies will be filled with small deals.
Mariners Designate Anthony Varvaro For Assignment
The Mariners have designated Anthony Varvaro for assignment, tweets Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. The reliever was DFA'd to make room for Miguel Olivo, whose deal became official this afternoon.
Varvaro, 26, was projected to be a top pick out of St. John's University in 2005 before suffering an elbow injury. The right-hander would instead be nabbed by the M's in the 12th round of the draft as he required surgery before ever throwing a pitch as a pro. He threw just four innings for Seattle after making his major league debut in 2010.
Padres Agree To Sign Brad Hawpe
JANUARY 3RD: Hawpe's deal is worth $3MM guaranteed, tweets Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press. The 31-year-old will earn $2MM in '11 with a $6MM mutual option for '12 that can instead be bought out for $1MM.
DECEMBER 24th: The Padres have reached an agreement with Brad Hawpe on a one-year deal according to Bernie Wilson of the AP (via The Miami Herald). The deal is pending a physical. He is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Hawpe, 31, will replace the departed Adrian Gonzalez at first base even though he has just 72 innings of experience at the position in the big leagues. He's a .279/.373/.490 career hitter with at least 22 homers per year from 2006 through 2009. In close to 1,600 plate appearances away from Coors Field, Hawpe is a .271/.367/.467 career hitter. The Padres will likely want to bring in a platoon partner for the lefty swinging Hawpe, who is a .245/.322/.438 career hitter against southpaws.
A quad strain cost Hawpe a little more than two weeks early in the 2010 season, and a rib issue cost him a few days in June. The Rockies cut ties with him in August, and the Rays picked him up off the scrap heap. The Padres also had interest in signing him before Tampa swooped in. Hawpe didn't do much for the Rays on the field (.179/.304/.333 in 46 plate appearances), but he will bring them a supplemental first round pick as a Type-B free agent. San Diego will not have to surrender a pick for the signing.
Rangers Notes: Beltre, Young, Pettitte
The Rangers have been busy today, finalizing deals with Brandon Webb and Arthur Rhodes and designating Clay Rapada and Max Ramirez for assignment in the process. Here are a few more notes on the defending American League champs, from MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan:
- Team officials don't seem optimistic about signing Adrian Beltre. Click here for the latest on the free agent third baseman.
- The Rangers have asked Michael Young what he thinks about switching positions again and he was not receptive to the idea. Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that the Rockies aren't likely to discuss potential Young trades with the Rangers (Twitter link).
- Earlier in the offseason, the Rangers were interested in Andy Pettitte, according to Sullivan. However, they heard that the lefty will either return to the Yankees or retire. ESPNNewYork reported today that the Yankees expect to hear from Pettitte soon.
Rangers Designate Ramirez & Rapada For Assignment
The Rangers designated Max Ramirez and Clay Rapada for assignment to create roster space for Brandon Webb and Arthur Rhodes, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).
Ramirez appeared in 28 games for the Rangers last year, batting .217/.341/.348 in 85 plate appearances. The 26-year-old has spent most of his seven-year pro career in the minors, where he has a .298/.396/.476 career line. The Rangers already have three backstops on their 40-man roster: Taylor Teagarden, Yorvit Torrealba and Matt Treanor.
Rapada, 30 in March, appeared in 13 games for the Rangers last year. He pitched just nine innings, walking seven and striking out five. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.82 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 59 1/3 innings. Those numbers, which are similar to the ones he posted for the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate in 2009, have yet to translate into big league success for the left-hander.
Heyman On Crawford, Pavano, CarGo
There’s word that many Angels people were in favor of offering Carl Crawford a seven-year deal worth $142MM or so, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Red Sox won the bidding for the All-Star left fielder with a $142MM offer that left the Angels without one of their offseason targets. Owner Arte Moreno has said that his team never made Crawford an offer, but he acknowledged the Angels' interest. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- There are thought to be one or two teams looking at Carl Pavano other than the Twins and Nationals, according to Heyman. The Mariners and Rangers have been linked to Pavano this winter, but it's not clear if those clubs are currently interested.
- Heyman reports that the Rockies are still trying to lock up Carlos Gonzalez. Meanwhile Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that the Rockies could move closer to an extension with the 25-year-old this week
Dodgers Sign Tim Redding
The Dodgers have signed Tim Redding to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The 32-year-old will provide depth for the Dodgers, who already have starters Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla.
Redding didn't appear in the majors last year, though he logged 109 innings in the minor leagues. Pitching for the Yankees' and Rockies' Triple-A affiliates, Redding posted a 2.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 as a starter. He last appeared in the majors with the 2009 Mets, when he posted a 5.10 ERA in 120 innings as a swingman.
The Dodgers added Dana Eveland in a similar move earlier in the offseason. The Redding deal is one of many minor league contracts GM Ned Colletti has negotiated this winter. Agent Tom O'Connell represents Redding.
Reds Interested In Fred Lewis
The Reds are looking for a versatile outfielder who bats from the left side and they are now interested in Fred Lewis, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The 30-year-old played all three outfield positions for the Blue Jays last year and boasts a .280/.354/.442 line against right-handed pitching in his five-year MLB career. That would make him a natural complement to Jonny Gomes, Drew Stubbs and Chris Heisey, who all bat right-handed. Lewis is precisely the type of player the Reds would like to add.
“What we’re looking for is veteran outfielder, preferably a left-handed hitting outfielder," GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer last week.
The team is also considering Scott Podsednik, who is versatile and left-handed, like Lewis. The Blue Jays non-tendered Lewis in December and he has since drawn interest from the Indians, Tigers, Mets and others. The Rays also checked in on Lewis, according to Morosi (on Twitter). However, their interest appears to be "extremely limited."
Lewis hit 31 doubles last year and posted a .262/.332/.414 line in 480 plate appearances for the Blue Jays.
Rangers To Sign Arthur Rhodes
The Rangers have announced their deal with left-hander Arthur Rhodes. The deal pays Rhodes $3.9MM in 2011 and includes a $4MM vesting option for 2012, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
Rhodes, 41, is coming off the first All-Star season of his 19-year major league career. In 69 games with the Reds last year, Rhodes posted a 2.29 ERA, a 8.2 K/9 rate and a 2.78 K/BB ratio. Rhodes qualified as a Type A free agent, but since Cincinnati didn't offer him arbitration, Texas won't lose a draft pick as compensation.
Steve Phillips of AOL Fanhouse (Twitter link) first reported the agreement and Jon Heyman of SI.com first added detail about the vesting option.
Rangers To Sign Brandon Webb
The Rangers are set to announce their one-year deal with Brandon Webb. The contract is worth $3MM plus incentives that could bring the total value of the deal to $8-10MM. The team will make the deal official this afternoon, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
Webb, 31, won the National League Cy Young award in 2006, when he went 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. Prior to the 2009 season, Webb had cemented himself as one of the best in the National League, totaling 1315 2/3 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 since his 2003 debut. In addition to his 2006 Cy Young nod, he also finished second in both 2007 and 2008.
That seems like a long time ago though, as Webb has thrown just four innings since. Webb has spent a total of 372 days on the disabled list in his recovery from shoulder surgery in 2009. The Rangers will hope that this signing works out better than a similar move they made last season when they signed Rich Harden to a one-year deal.
Webb will join C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Tommy Hunter in a Texas rotation that's trying to cope with the loss of Cliff Lee. The move may prove to be a risky decision for Webb, as the hitter-friendly environment in Texas isn't an ideal setting for a pitcher to re-establish his value. Returning to his outstanding career 62.4% groundball rate would help Webb mitigate the homer-happy confines of his new home park.
Webb and agent Jonathan Maurer were possibly deciding between the Rangers and an NL Central mystery team, widely believed to be the Reds. If that's true, then it's not as if Webb was ever considering a pitcher-friendly environment in the first place. Back in November, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith correctly predicted Webb would end up with the Rangers.
ESPN's Buster Olney and Jerry Crasnick reported the terms of the deal. FanHouse's Ed Price first reported the agreement.