Orioles Eyeing Jackson; Damon Unlikely
The Orioles are a long shot to sign Edwin Jackson, but they’d love to have him and would consider offering a four-year deal, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. The Orioles’ chances of signing the free agent right-hander will likely come down to money, Connolly notes.
Johnny Damon is also an unlikely fit in Baltimore. The Orioles aren’t motivated to sign him, especially after adding another designated hitter option in Wilson Betemit. We can basically cross Damon off of Baltimore’s list for now, Connolly explains. Damon and Jackson are both Scott Boras clients.
The Red Sox appear to have offered Jackson a contract. No unsigned pitcher completed as many 2011 innings as Jackson (199 2/3 regular season innings plus 17 2/3 in the playoffs), and the 28-year-old is probably the top free agent remaining.
Quick Hits: Braves, Fielder, Reds, Cespedes, Dodgers
On this day last year, the Rangers traded Frank Francisco and cash considerations to the Blue Jays for Mike Napoli. Toronto pulled the trigger on the swap just four days after acquiring Napoli from the Halos. Here's a look at tonight's links..
- The Braves have set a player payroll budget of $94MM for this year, leaving them with several million dollars still to spend, chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk told Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McGuirk also said that Liberty Media has expressed no intention of selling the club in the near future. Also of note is that the club is locked into a 25-year local TV deal that will prevent the franchise from cashing in on MLB’s trend toward higher telecast rights fees.
- The Rangers' bid for Prince Fielder was much shorter than nine years, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- The Reds are probably done handing out big league deals this offseason, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Earlier tonight, the club reached agreement on a minor league deal with Jeff Francis.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter) ranked Yoenis Cespedes' most probable destinations in the following order: Cubs, Marlins, Orioles, and White Sox.
- Peter Ueberroth says he's heard from several groups bidding on the Dodgers but rebuffed them all, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
- C. Trent Rosecrans of CBSSports.com examined what's left on the open market.
- Free agent Raul Ibanez believes that a three-day session that he had in December with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo will be key to a bounce back season in 2012. Last season, Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 in 575 plate appearances for the Phillies.
- Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette is zeroed in on improving the club's on-base percentage this winter, writes Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
- Rival executives applaud Fielder for signing on with a winning club rather than signing with a struggling club just for the money, Heyman tweets.
Rosenthal On Fukudome, Uehara, Orioles, Jackson
A look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- Kosuke Fukudome wants to remain in the majors, according to a source with knowledge of his thinking. Some executives, however, believe he could end up back in Japan. The Brewers had interest in Fukudome before signing Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki.
- Rangers right-hander Koji Uehara enjoyed his time so much in Baltimore that he recommended the Orioles to the two free-agents the team signed out of the Japanese league, Tsuyoshi Wada and Wei-Yin Chen, according to a major-league source. A trade back to the O's is possible for Uehara, who rejected a deal to the Blue Jays this week.
- The Red Sox are talking to Edwin Jackson, who might be open to a one-year pact. However, one executive points out that the AL East isn't an easy landing spot for a starting pitcher. If Jackson signs for one year, he might be better off in the NL, where he could produce better numbers before trying the open market again.
- The bright side of the Nationals’ failure to sign Prince Fielder is that it allows the club to retain positional flexibility, particularly in center field. A long-term deal for the slugger eventually might have pushed the Nats to use an outfield of Michael Morse in left, Jayson Werth in center and Bryce Harper in right. Now, they can move Morse to first after Adam LaRoche plays out his contract this season and go after a center fielder.
Latest On Roy Oswalt
10:35pm: The Cardinals made a bid approaching $5MM on Oswalt weeks ago but that deal is not likely to happen, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss predicts that the Rangers will win the bidding on Oswalt with $2-3MM more and other perks.
9:36pm: Some executives believe that the Rangers are the favorites to land Oswalt, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Other interested clubs include the Cardinals, Red Sox, Nationals, Indians, and Brewers.
Even after acquiring Gio Gonzalez, Rosenthal writes that the Nats value Oswalt's veteran presence and makeup. The Indians are in the mix as they face the possible loss of the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona. Milwaukee would only sign Oswalt at the right price.
The big question with the 34-year-old is whether he'll continue playing if neither the Cardinals nor Rangers want him. One friend of the pitcher says that he again mentioned retirement as an option, though two sources close to Oswalt insist that he will pitch in 2012 and perhaps even sign a two-year deal. Sources also say that the right-hander turned down a strong offer from the Tigers.
4:35pm: There's mutual interest between the Rangers and Oswalt, but for him to be a fit, it'd have to be on Texas' terms, Heyman tweets.
1:33pm: The Red Sox made Oswalt an offer, but are unsure of his interest level, since he has yet to accept, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
8:13am: Now that Prince Fielder has agreed to terms with the Tigers, Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt are the top unsigned free agents. It wouldn’t surprise many if Oswalt, who now seeks a one-year deal, signs in Boston, but two general managers think he wants to join the Rangers and another says he’d like to sign in St. Louis, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network.
Oswalt would like to join Mike Maddux and Nolan Ryan with the Rangers, Gammons reports. However, both of last year’s World Series teams enter the 2012 season will rotations that appear to be full.
Though Oswalt had two back-related stints on the disabled list in 2011, he finished the season with six strong September starts and a season ERA of 3.69 with 6.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. The 34-year-old Bob Garber client made 23 starts and completed 139 innings this past season, posting a 3.69 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 45.1% ground ball rate overall. His average fastball velocity dropped to 91.4 mph, however. Oswalt was a Type A free agent, but the Phillies declined to offer him arbitration and he won't cost a draft pick.
Reds, Francis Agree To Minor League Deal
The Reds have agreed to sign free agent left-hander Jeff Francis to a minor league deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The 31-year-old is represented by Frontline Sports Management.
Last week it was reported that Francis was gaining interest from clubs, including the Reds, Mariners, Blue Jays, and Mets. The Cubs were also linked to the veteran before the New Year.
Francis spent 2011 with the Royals, posting a 4.82 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 across 31 starts. His 183 innings of work was his highest total since 2007, the season before he suffered a shoulder injury which required surgery and caused him to miss the entire 2009 campaign.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) first reported that the two sides were nearing an agreement.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Gonzalez, Fielder, Howard
The Nationals were linked to free agent slugger Prince Fielder for quite some time but yesterday the 27-year-old agreed to a nine-year, $214MM deal with the Tigers. Here's more on the Nats and other items from around the National League East..
- The Nats were never close to winning the Fielder bidding, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. The club only got as far as discussing parameters of a deal, never specifics.
- Gio Gonzalez doesn't have a no-trade clause in his new deal with the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Gonzalez agreed to a five-year extension with the club earlier this month.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday that while he believes Domonic Brown would benefit from more sustained playing time in the minor leagues, he'l have a chance to win the leftfield job away from John Mayberry this spring, writes Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- More from Hofmann as he writes that Amaro is even happier with Ryan Howard's five-year, $125MM deal after seeing the contracts signed by Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.
- The Phillies looked at Omar Vizquel before he signed with Blue Jays, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Crasnick notes that the club still has Michael Martinez as a utility infielder.
- Washington GM Mike Rizzo says that the club was in the talks for Fielder "until the end," tweets Kilgore.
Red Sox Notes: Ross, Jackson, Payroll
The Red Sox freed up some spending room last week by sending Marco Scutaro to Colorado, and today it was reported that the club has made offers to both Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson. Here's the latest on the BoSox..
- The Red Sox are in the process of “exploring everything” with regards to freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster after signing Cody Ross, a team source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com. At the moment, the source says, there’s no sense that the team will consider a “significant” move with regards to its roster. The most straightforward way to make room for the club might be to deal one of their many out-of-options pitchers. Boston is also carrying six outfielders on their 40-man roster.
- According to a major league source, the Red Sox are more likely to address their starting rotation needs through free agency than via a trade, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Lauber also spoke to Scott Boras who declined to confirm the Red Sox's reported offer to Jackson.
- More from Lauber (via Twitter) as a major league source says that the money saved by trading Scutaro is "not a hard number," meaning that the Red Sox may be able to spend more to land a starter and/or shortstop.
- In an interview on WEEI this afternoon, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said that there was no instruction from ownership to stay under the luxury tax threshold of $178MM, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
Rockies Agree To Extend Rafael Betancourt
The Rockies and Rafael Betancourt have agreed to a contract extension, the team announced (on Twitter). Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that the deal guarantees Betancourt's $4.25MM mutual option for 2013, and adds an option at the same salary for 2014. The Octagon client will earn $4MM in 2012 as part of his current contract.
"Basically, the Rockies executed the mutual option I had in my contract for 2013 and added another in 2014, which guarantees me work for the next two years and the possibility of a third followed in Colorado," said Betancourt. "I prefer [security] first, I am happy the deal."
Betancourt, 37 in April, remains one of baseball's best late-game relievers. He pitched to a 2.89 ERA in 2011 with 10.5 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings, saving eight games while Huston Street was on the disabled list. During his two and a half years in Colorado, Betancourt has pitched to a 3.00 ERA with 11.5 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 150 innings.
Betancourt is expected to close for the Rockies in 2013 following the trade of Street to the Padres. Check out RotoAuthority's Closer Depth Chart for your fantasy bullpen needs.
Motte, Cardinals Avoid Arbitration
The Cardinals avoided arbitration with Jason Motte, agreeing to a one-year deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Motte, an ACES client, will earn a base salary of $1.95MM in 2012 and could earn $75K more in incentives.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, that's the midpoint between the Cardinals' $1.5MM submission and Motte's request of $2.4MM. The Cardinals have now signed all of their arbitration eligible players.
Bailey, Red Sox Avoid Arbitration
The Red Sox and Andrew Bailey avoided arbitration, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Bailey, a Hendricks Sports client, agreed to a one-year, $3.9MM deal that includes $100K in incentives.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, that's slightly below the midpoint between Boston's $3.35MM submission and Bailey's request of $4.7MM. The Red Sox have two unsigned arbitration eligible players: Alfredo Aceves and David Ortiz.