Archives for 2013

Randy Messenger, Hanshin Tigers Agree To Deal

By charliewilmoth | November 12, 2013 at 5:17pm CDT

Pitcher Randy Messenger has agreed to a three-year deal to remain with Japan's Hanshin Tigers, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets. Messenger has pitched in Japan for the last four seasons, and he posted a 2.89 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 196 1/3 innings in 2013. He last pitched in the big leagues with the Mariners in 2009.

Messenger has pitched well in three straight years in Japan, so he appeared to be a strong candidate to return to the Major Leagues, should he have chosen to go that route. He had previously set a November 15 deadline for MLB teams to submit offers. Messenger was reportedly searching for a two-year MLB deal in the $8MM-$10MM range.

Amaro Leaning Toward Tendering Contract To Mayberry

By Tim Dierkes | November 12, 2013 at 5:00pm CDT

Phillies outfielder John Mayberry Jr. has been considered a non-tender candidate in many circles, but even after signing Marlon Byrd, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. seems to be leaning toward retaining him. "He's not a issue for me. We haven't made any final decisions. But I'd view him as a tender," Amaro said today of Mayberry, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mayberry is eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career, having amassed three years and 95 days of big league service time.

Mayberry, 30 in December, hit .227/.286/.391 in 384 plate appearances this year. A right-handed hitter, he has continually shown power against southpaws. Matt Swartz projects him at a $1.7MM salary for 2014. The Phillies' arbitration class also includes Kyle Kendrick, Antonio Bastardo, Ben Revere, and Kevin Frandsen.

MLBTR published its list of non-tender candidates last Thursday.

Latest On The Mariners

By Tim Dierkes | November 12, 2013 at 4:43pm CDT

The Mariners have money to spend and a need for offense. Yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that the team could be aggressive on free agents Jhonny Peralta, Nelson Cruz, and Mike Napoli. The latest:

The Mariners' reported interest in Jacoby Ellsbury may be overblown, hears ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick wrote earlier than the Ms are more immersed in the Carlos Beltran/Peralta/Kendrys Morales market than in Ellsbury's. The Mariners would like to find a way to add Cruz and Beltran, tweets Crasnick. If they are to pull that off, it could be another offseason of disregarding defense, in my opinion. Signing Cruz and Beltran requires the forfeiture of draft picks, but the Mariners' first rounder is protected. They would lose their second round pick as well as their Competitive Balance Round B pick (similar to the Indians last winter).

Quick Hits: Kazmir, Royals, Rodney, Wilson

By Zachary Links | November 12, 2013 at 4:26pm CDT

Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com hears the Mets aren't considering a reunion with Scott Kazmir. Earlier today, we heard that the Indians don't expect to hang on to the left-hander as he's likely to command a multi-year pact and they're not willing to go beyond one. Here's more from around baseball..

Royals manager Ned Yost told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (Twitter links) that his priorities are starting pitching and second base. Yost also indicated that Carlos Beltran, Brandon Phillips, and Ervin Santana have popped up in discussions.
Indians GM Chris Antonetti is scheduled to talk to agent Dan Lozano about two of his clients, closers Fernando Rodney and Brian Wilson, according to Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. Cleveland is looking into out-of-house closing options after parting ways with Chris Perez.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he's looking to add "400 innings" to the rotation this winter, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers says he has scouted Masahiro Tanaka extensively and hopes to be in the mix for him, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
If Carlos Ruiz really has a two-year, $20MM offer on the table, then he probably shouldn't let it sit for too long, opines MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (on Twitter).
Nationals assistant GM and VP of player personnel Roy Clark has the club to take a job with the Dodgers, according to Keith Law of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Yankees Plan To Tender Contract To Francisco Cervelli

By Zachary Links | November 12, 2013 at 4:08pm CDT

The Yankees plan to tender a contract to the arbitration-eligible Francisco Cervelli, General Manager Brian Cashman tells Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter). The GM added that the catcher is healthy.

Cervelli, 27, missed the bulk of 2013 for the Yankees. After breaking his hand on a foul tip in late April, he was later hit with a 50-game suspension in August for ties to the Biogenesis clinic. Over parts of six years in the Bronx, Cervelli owns a .271/.343/.367 slash line. Matt Swartz estimates that Cervelli will receive $1MM in arbitration.

Mark DeRosa To Retire

By Zachary Links | November 12, 2013 at 3:39pm CDT

Veteran infielder Mark DeRosa is set to retire this offseason, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Toronto exercised their $750K option on the veteran late last month. Toronto has confirmed the news via press release.

DeRosa, 39 in February, slashed .235/.326/.407 with seven homers in 236 plate appearances last season. Over the course of his 16-year career, DeRosa owns a career .268/.340/.412 batting line with the Braves, Rangers, Cubs, Indians, Cardinals, Giants, Nationals, and Blue Jays. DeRosa has earned more than $29MM over the course of his career, according to Baseball-Reference.

The Passaic, New Jersey native belted his last and 100th home run of his career off the Astros’ Dallas Keuchel on July 27th of this past season.

AL West Rumors: Castro, Astros, Rangers

By Zachary Links | November 12, 2013 at 3:23pm CDT

The Astros are receiving significant interest in catcher Jason Castro, and interest could pick up once big free agents like Brian McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia go off the board, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Their interest in trading Castro isn't known, but Houston is said to like catching prospect Max Stassi very much. Heyman sees the Yankees, Rangers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Angels, Rockies, and Twins as teams that could possibly have interest if Castro is on the block. Here's more out of the AL West..

The Mariners are more immersed in the Carlos Beltran–Jhonny Peralta–Kendrys Morales market than Jacoby Ellsbury at this point, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link) doesn't see the Astros trading Castro. Even though Castro is starting to make some money – the catcher is projected to earn $2.2MM in arbitration this year – they're not deep enough at catcher to lose him and the club needs to take a step forward.
Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com examined Carlos Ruiz as a possible fit for the Rangers if they don't land top catcher Brian McCann.
More from Durrett, who believes that Jurickson Profar's trade value hasn't decreased much despite a down year in 2013.
The Angels' best bet for acquiring quality pitching via trade would be to part with Mark Trumbo, even though losing him would hurt, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.

West Notes: Mariners, Cruz, Rockies, Fowler

By Zachary Links | November 12, 2013 at 3:09pm CDT

A quick look at the latest from the AL and NL West..

The Mariners have interest in free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz, sources tell Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The M's have been expected to be in the hunt for right-handed hitting this winter and one possible target, Marlon Byrd, came off the board earlier today.
The Rockies continue to tell teams that stars Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, and Michael Cuddyer are unavailable, but they did talk to a couple teams about center fielder Dexter Fowler, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Cardinals are said to have been one of the teams to call on Fowler, but people close to the situation say there wasn't an apparent match.
A's pitcher Brett Anderson could hit the trade block and the odds will only increase if Bartolo Colon is retained, writes Heyman. The A's also have starters Sonny Gray. Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin, Dan Straily, and Tommy Milone. in the fold.

AL Central Rumors: Pierzynski, Kazmir, Beltran

By Zachary Links | November 12, 2013 at 2:26pm CDT

The latest from the AL Central..

Free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf had breakfast together at the GM Meetings in Orlando, Florida, but Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter) cautions not to read into it.
The Indians aren't optimistic about their chances of re-signing Scott Kazmir this winter, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Tribe would be interested in a one-year deal for the left-hander but believe he's certain to have multi-year offers after resurrecting his career in Cleveland this past year, posting a 4.04 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.
The Royals would like to reunite with Carlos Beltran but they fear being outbid by large market clubs like the Yankees, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the Twins might give Bronson Arroyo a three-year deal to anchor their rotation. Meanwhile, sources tell Rosenthal the Giants are among the teams considering Arroyo, but they would prefer to strike a quick, affordable two-year deal for a No. 4 starter.
The White Sox like Curtis Granderson, but they may feel that he's not worth the type of contract that he will command or losing a second-round pick, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com.
Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer looks at some of the Indians' internal candidates that could help fill the void if Ubaldo Jimenez goes elsewhere. “I think Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber, and Zach McAllister are capable of doing that,” said pitching coach Mickey Callaway. “But we need them to stay healthy and log innings like Ubaldo did the last two years.”
Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press examines Jeremy Hellickson of the Rays as a possible trade target for the Twins.
Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs tackles the question of whether the Tigers should trade Max Scherzer or Rick Porcello this winter. Yesterday, we learned that Detroit is open to dealing one or the other.

AL East Rumors: Johnson, Bautista, Granderson, Choo

By Zachary Links | November 12, 2013 at 2:23pm CDT

Yankees free agent Curtis Granderson joined Ken Rosenthal on MLB Network's Hot Stove to discuss his offseason thus far. The outfielder told Rosenthal that the number one thing he's looking for is to sign with a winner. More from the AL East..

With uncertainty over Alex Rodriguez and the future of Robinson Cano, the Yankees have contacted free agent Kelly Johnson, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Johnson has primarily played second base over the course of his career but he also offers experience at left field and saw some time at third base in 2013.
It's not a huge surprise, but teams are inquiring on Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). Whether they are willing to move him is another story.
Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran are targets 1 and 1A for the Yankees, a person familiar with their thinking tells Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Fellow outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury sits a hair behind the other two stars.
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (on Twitter) also hears that the Yankees are serious about their pursuit of Beltran.
Former Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves is working out in Mexico and drawing interest from multiple teams, tweets Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
The Blue Jays' priority is improving the rotation, but they're also keeping an eye out for help at second base and catcher, writes Heyman. It's no surprise to hear that they're interested in Robinson Cano, but his price tag will probably prove to be too much since they need to direct their bucks towards starting pitching.
Alex Speier of WEEI.com explains why Ellsbury, Mike Napoli, and Stephen Drew all turned down the $14.1MM qualifying offer from the Red Sox.

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