Quick Hits: Arroyo, Mariners, Twins, Stubbs
Several teams have now called on free agent pitcher Bronson Arroyo, but none of them have made an offer yet, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Mets may or may not have plans to meet with the veteran, depending on who you ask. The Giants could be interested as well, even after re-signing Ryan Vogelsong to a one-year deal. Here's more from around baseball..
- The Mariners are hesitant to deal their young arms and they prefer to upgrade their offense with free agent bats, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).
- Despite agreements with Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco, the Twins could still add one more veteran to their rotation, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Prospects Alex Meyer and Trevor May are still in the minors and Minnesota is looking to keep up with the arms of the Royals and Tigers (link).
- The Indians' outfield has gotten a little more crowded, but the club is still expected to tender a contract to Drew Stubbs, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
Mariners Close To Deal With Willie Bloomquist
11:44am: Bloomquist's deal is expected to be a two-year pact in the $5-6MM range, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
10:49am: The Mariners are nearing a deal with free agent utility player Willie Bloomquist, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
Bloomquist, a client of Scott Boras, batted .317/.360/.367 without a homer or stolen base in 139 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2013. Bloomquist has spent the past three seasons in Arizona, batting a combined .289/.328/.368 with four homers — all of which came back in 2011. The 36-year-old served as a Swiss army knife for manager Kirk Gibson, playing shortstop, second base, third base, left field and right field in his time with the D-Backs.
A deal with Seattle would be a homecoming for Bloomquist in multiple ways. Bloomquist is a Washington native and also spent the first seven seasons of his big league career in Seattle after being selected by the M's in the third round of the 1999 draft.
This post was originally published on Dec. 2, 2013.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Orioles
John Tomase of the Boston Herald looks at the Red Sox’s top three needs this winter. Aside from finding a replacement for Jacoby Ellsbury and a solution to their catching vacancy, the Red Sox need to make sure they have protection for David Ortiz in the lineup. If Mike Napoli returns, he could easily fill the No. 4 or No. 5 hole. If not, it’s possible that Xander Bogaerts could be the man to take over. More from the AL East..
- With catcher Jose Molina all but officially announced as re-signed and the bullpen reconstruction expected to be ongoing into January, the Rays presumably will turn their attention to first base, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin notes that all of the Rays’ potential trade targets are still out there, including Ike Davis of the Mets and Texas’ Mitch Moreland.
- The Red Sox and the Cardinals are staying flexible this offseason, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Cards probably won’t re-sign Carlos Beltran while Boston seems likely to lose at least three of Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia this winter. As CEO Larry Lucchino put it, it’s all about not falling “in love” with your veterans.
- Relief pitcher Oh Seung-hwan of the KBO Samsung Lions decided to move to Japan’s Hanshin Tigers on a record-breaking contract, his agency told The Korea Herald. Seung-hwan, who boasts a 94-96 MPH fastball, had drawn interest from the Yankees.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com looks at the candidates to back up Matt Wieters in the wake of the Orioles‘ acquisition of Johnny Monell.
Cafardo On Samardzija, Price, Kemp, Pierzynski
The Red Sox won a World Series last year thanks to their daring offseason gameplan. Will they break away from those habits going forward? “So far, I don’t think it’s been all that different,” Lucchino told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. “We still value the draft picks enormously and our behavior has shown that we still prefer shorter- to longer-term contracts and a presumption against really long-term contracts. A lot of things we did last year proved to be successful at least in the short term, and I think we’ll behave accordingly going forward.” Here's more from today's column..
- Trade talks for Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija have been going on and he could be on the move, but the Cubs’ preference would be to re-sign Samardzija and lock him in beyond 2015 and build their future around him, according to a major league source. The Cubs will continue to work on both fronts until an extension is reached or an extension proves to be improbable.
- The Rays, unsurprisingly, have gotten a number of inquiries on David Price. However, none of them have been strong enough to make Tampa Bay give serious consideration to parting with him.
- Moving Matt Kemp would require the Dodgers to eat some of the $128MM he's owed over the next six years. If L.A. knocks that down to $80-90MM, the market is expected to open up.
- The notion that A.J. Pierzynski is bad for a team is way off-base, according to one longtime teammate who said, “He may rub people the wrong way on other teams, but if he’s your teammate, he’s great. He’s tough, loyal, can call a game, and he can hit. I wish we had him back.”
- Daniel Bard's control issues have followed him into winter ball. The Cubs are expected to keep working with Bard, however, as they can give him a longer leash than the Red Sox did.
- Most teams, including the Brewers, want Corey Hart on a one-year deal. However, because there are a number of teams in on him, he might get two.