By Tim Dierkes | at
Today's minor moves…
By Tim Dierkes | at
Free agent designated hitter David Ortiz seeks a three-year deal, reports Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. An industry source tells Silverman Ortiz is drawing "serious interest" from more than one team and has an offer in hand. He and the Red Sox maintain mutual interest about a new deal, and Ortiz intends to allow them to match any offer.
One wrinkle for Ortiz is that signing him comes with the tax of the loss of a draft pick, assuming he turns down Boston's arbitration offer. If Ortiz is serious about getting multiple years, he'll have to turn down that arbitration offer on December 7th. The Blue Jays, a somewhat reasonable match for Big Papi, probably aren't keen on giving the Red Sox their #17 pick in next year's draft. Last week, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote that the arbitration offer is one reason the Red Sox are "more likely than not" to retain Ortiz.
By Tim Dierkes | at
A "tense three-week period that will shape [baseball's] landscape for the following year" begins today, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. His latest:
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Rays officially announced the signing of catcher Jose Molina today to a one-year deal with a club option. The $1.8MM deal pays $1.5MM for Molina's 2012 salary and includes a club option at the same price for '13 with a $300K buyout. Molina jumps to the top of the Rays' depth chart, as yesterday they traded catcher John Jaso to the Mariners for reliever Josh Lueke and a player to be named later or cash considerations.
With the Rays, the 36-year-old Molina appears to have a shot at topping his season-bests of 297 plate appearances and 737 innings caught, both set in 2008 with the Yankees. Molina is known for his defense (especially in framing pitches), but in 2011 he had one of his best offensive years in a limited 191 plate appearance sample. Molina is "one of the best defensive catchers in baseball over the past decade," in the words of Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. The Blue Jays will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss. Molina is represented by ACES.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports broke the story on November 17th, with Jon Heyman, Ken Rosenthal, and Jayson Stark adding details today.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Phillies had an outside-the-box idea before signing Jonathan Papelbon this winter. The team called closer Billy Wagner after the season in hopes of coaxing him out of retirement, writes Mark Hale of the New York Post. Wagner told Hale, "It was after the regular season…just to see if I was even contemplating coming back or had an itch or anything. I just told them, 'No, I do not have an itch.'"
Wagner, 40, went out on top with a 37-save season with the Braves in 2010. He closed for the Phillies from 2004-05, after which he joined the Mets on a free agent deal. Wagner is currently coaching junior varsity baseball and has no intention of coming out of retirement.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Tigers' rotation hasn't been considered a major concern, with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, and Rick Porcello under team control through at least 2014 and top prospect Jacob Turner waiting in the wings. However, they're one of the many clubs inquiring on free agent lefty Mark Buehrle, reports Lynn Henning of the Detroit News.
The Tigers are familiar with Buehrle, since he made 34 career starts against them as a member of the White Sox. In Henning's opinion, signing him would allow the Tigers to use young pitching as trade bait. The number of reported Buehrle suitors reaches 14 if you include the Tigers, though the White Sox and Cardinals were part of that Jim Bowden tweet and those clubs are not considered likely.
Elsewhere on the free agent front, Henning says the Tigers have been following Yoenis Cespedes for years. Tigers vice president and director of amateur scouting David Chadd admits Cespdes is a "five-tool player." In a more speculative sense, Henning thinks Kelly Johnson and Octavio Dotel may be Tigers targets. The Tigers are known to have spoken with Aramis Ramirez's agent this month.
By Zachary Links | at
11:33pm: The Astros have confirmed in a press release that they are letting General Manager Ed Wade and President of Baseball Operations Tal Smith go. The release goes on to say that Assistant GM Dave Gottfried will serve as interim GM until a new GM is hired. However, Gottfried is not a candidate for the permanent position. The search for a new GM "begins immediately".
11:21pm: Tal Smith said he was told by team president George Postolos he and GM Ed Wade are being dismissed, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26.
8:41pm: The Astros, coming off the worst season in franchise history, are expected to announce major changes Monday, including the dismissal of GM Ed Wade, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Furthermore, Tal Smith, the team’s president of baseball operations, is also expected to leave his current position, possibly by retiring.
The fate of manager Brad Mills, who is under contract through 2012 with an option for ’13, is uncertain. Mills could be part of the initial housecleaning, or his future could be decided later by the team's next GM.
Last Sunday it was reported that Astros owner Jim Crane was prepared to make a swift decision on the futures of Wade and Smith. Now, Crane and new team president George Postolos plan one-on-one meetings with all of the team’s top executives starting Monday, sources tell Rosenthal and Morosi.
Wade has served as Houston's GM for just over four years and is under contract through 2012. Smith, meanwhile, has been with the Astros a total of 35 years, the last 17 as club president. In total, he's spent 54 years in baseball.
There has been a great deal of speculation surrounding Wade's job security in recent weeks. Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com wrote that if Wade were to be fired, the club could have an ambitious wish list including Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker. Hunsicker previously served as Houston's GM from 1996-2004.
As we've heard before, Friedman is happy with his job in Tampa Bay and unlikely to leave, despite being a Houston native, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Knobler also tweets that friends of Crane say the owner is a fan of the Rangers organization.
By Zachary Links | at
Some items out of the AL and NL Central to round out the evening..
By Zachary Links | at
Sunday evening linkage..
By Zachary Links | at
We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here. News of these moves are courtesy of Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless indicated otherwise..
MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information
hide arrows scroll to top
