American League Non-Tenders
This post will list all the American League players non-tendered today, but the best place to track all 200+ arbitration eligible players is our new non-tender tracker.
- Blue Jays: Fred Lewis, Jeremy Accardo
- Red Sox: Hideki Okajima, Andrew Miller, Taylor Buchholz
- Mariners: Ryan Rowland-Smith
- Rays: Lance Cormier, Willy Aybar, Dioner Navarro, J.P. Howell
- Royals: Josh Fields
- Rangers: Dustin Nippert
- Angels: Kevin Frandsen
- Athletics: Jack Cust, Travis Buck, Edwin Encarnacion
- Yankees: Alfredo Aceves, Dustin Moseley
- Orioles: Matt Albers
- White Sox: Bobby Jenks, Erick Threets
- Tigers: Zach Miner
Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies Seem Serious About Werth
The Red Sox, Tigers and Phillies are seen as the most serious suitors for Jayson Werth, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Red Sox met with Werth and agent Scott Boras yesterday, according to ESPNBoston.com. However, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the sides did not discuss contract terms yesterday. Instead, Werth, GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona got to know each other.
The Rangers haven't ruled out pursuing Werth, but the White Sox are not pursuing him, Morosi reports.
Rangers Have Some Interest In Mark Prior
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels has some interest in bringing Mark Prior back for 2011, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com. Prior inked a minor league deal with the club just before the end of the 2010 season and pitched just one inning for their Triple-A affiliate.
"He's a free agent now and we have discussed him coming back," the GM said. "There’s a level of interest."
Texas could possibly bring the right-hander into spring training to find out what he can do as a reliever. Recently, Prior's agent John Boggs told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that his client has offers from three teams.
Prior hasn't pitched at the major league level since 2006 due to injuries. In his sophomore campaign in 2003, Prior posted a 2.43 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
Rangers To Make Lee An Official Offer
4:23pm: The Rangers met with Lee in Arkansas yesterday, GM Jon Daniels confirmed to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Daniels declined to say whether the team has made Lee a formal offer.
10:39am: The Yankees haven’t made Lee an offer, a source tells Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. In fact, agent Darek Braunecker isn’t looking for proposals just yet.
“He really doesn't want any offers until next week,” Matthews’ source said. “He wants to be the ringmaster at the winter meetings. I don't expect anything to get done until after that."
8:50am: The Rangers are on the verge of making Cliff Lee an official offer, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. A source tells King that the Rangers are prepared to offer a five-year deal and believe the Yankees have already offered a five or six-year deal. Though Lee’s agent wouldn’t confirm specifics, he did acknowledge that talks are progressing.
"We are starting to move stuff along," Darek Braunecker told the Post.
If the Rangers lose Lee to the Yankees, they will likely consider trading for Zack Greinke. The Royals like Rangers prospects Martin Perez and Tanner Scheppers, according to King.
Though Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that Greinke would not necessarily mind pitching in the Bronx, the Yankees aren’t so sure. They don’t believe that the right-hander wants to pitch for them, according to King.
Heyman On Greinke, Pettitte, Astros, Guerrero
An acquaintance of Zack Greinke's told Jon Heyman of SI.com that the 2009 Cy Young Award winner is "ready" to leave Kansas City. Yahoo's Jeff Passan reported that Greinke's priority is winning, but that doesn't mean we'll see him in Yankee pinstripes. The pitcher's friends say New York would not be a good fit. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- People close to Andy Pettitte tell Heyman the lefty would prefer to remain a Yankee.
- Just about everyone expects Cliff Lee to sign with the Yankees or Rangers, but Heyman says a couple clubs are "laying in the weeds." The Astros are one team with quiet interest.
- As much as the Rangers want Vladimir Guerrero back, they seem reluctant to give him a multiyear deal.
- The Dodgers will try to sign Russell Martin by tomorrow's non-tender deadline.
American League Free Agent Arbitration Decisions
23 American League free agents were offered arbitration on November 23rd. Four of those - Joaquin Benoit, John Buck, Victor Martinez, and Javier Vazquez - already have new contract agreements. Current free agent Kevin Gregg has chosen to decline. The remaining 18 AL free agents offered arbitration will have their decisions noted here and in our tracker.
- Cliff Lee (A) declined the Rangers' offer, as expected.
- Miguel Olivo will decline the Blue Jays' offer, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Jason Frasor (A) will accept the team's offer, according to Mike Wilner of the FAN 590. Scott Downs (A) will decline the Blue Jays' offer, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier that Jason Frasor would either sign a multiyear deal or accept arb (Twitter link).
- Adrian Beltre will decline arbitration from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Felipe Lopez (B) will also decline an offer of arbitration, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford.
- Carl Pavano (A) has officially turned down arbitration, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter). Orlando Hudson (B) will decline the Twins' offer of arbitration, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune tweets of "strong indications" Jesse Crain (B) will also decline.
- A source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Paul Konerko (A) will decline arbitration (Twitter link). J.J. Putz (B) declined arbitration from the White Sox, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin (on Twitter).
- Chad Qualls (B) and Carl Crawford (A) have declined arbitration, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter). Grant Balfour (A) turned down arbitration, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). As anticipated, Randy Choate (B) declined the Rays' offer, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff. ESPN's Buster Olney predicted the decision earlier today. Rafael Soriano (A) will decline the Rays' arbitration offer, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Brad Hawpe (B) will decline the Rays' offer as well, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
- Frank Francisco (A) will accept the Rangers' offer, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
Odds & Ends: Jeter, Berkman, A’s, Upton, Webb
Exactly ten years ago, the Orix Blue Wave lost a 27-year-old outfielder to the Seattle Mariners. A decade later, Ichiro Suzuki has ten Gold Gloves and 2244 big league hits to his name. Here are today's links…
- Derek Jeter is meeting with agent Casey Close, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter). They met with the Yankees in Tampa today, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- An executive interested in Lance Berkman expects that it would take a one-year deal worth $7MM to sign the switch-hitter, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
- Passan reports that the A’s continue to talk with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, though talks appeared to sour earlier in the month.
- The Nationals are still discussing potential deals with Carl Pavano, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (on Twitter).
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he'll know by the end of next week's winter meetings whether it makes sense to trade Justin Upton.
- A.J. Pierzynski said on The Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 that he's talking to the White Sox and some other teams about potential deals (via ESPNChicago). The White Sox are open to bringing the catcher back, though they didn't offer him arbitration last week.
- Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball looks back at some record salary arbitration cases from over the years. For instance, Tim Lincecum's demand for a $13MM salary last year was the most any first-time eligible pitcher has ever asked for.
- The Rangers have signed a European player for the first time in franchise history. They agreed to a minor league deal with 18-year-old Dutch middle infielder Nick Urbanus, according to the Newberg Report.
- The agent for Brandon Webb told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the former Cy Young Award winner would have interest in pitching for the Pirates. About six teams are interested in Webb, including Pittsburgh.
Rangers Sign Yoshinori Tateyama
The Rangers signed Japanese free agent righty Yoshinori Tateyama to a one-year Major League deal with two club option years, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Tateyama, 35 next month, posted a 1.80 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 55 relief innings this year for the Nippon Ham Fighters. He's primarily a fastball/slider pitcher, wrote NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman in October. Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein tweets a more detailed scouting report.
Rangers Deny Contacting Andy Pettitte
8:10pm: Rangers sources denied to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that they've contacted Pettitte. The only contact between the team and the left-hander occured after the ALCS when Pettitte called Ryan to congratulate him.
5:59pm: Rangers president Nolan Ryan recently contacted Andy Pettitte to try and persuade the left-hander to return to Texas, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Though Pettitte appeared to be leaning toward a return to the Bronx, he will presumably consider the Rangers' pitch since they play relatively close to Deer Park, Texas, where he lives. Pettitte left the Yankees for the Astros after the 2003 season only to return to New York three years later.
The Rangers' interest could spark an unusual dynamic between the Rangers and the team they defeated in this year's ALCS. The Yankees are interested in lefty Cliff Lee, so the two teams appear to be bidding against one another for their best left-handed starters.
The Yankees did not offer Pettitte arbitration, so the Rangers wouldn't have to surrender a draft choice to sign Pettitte. Like longtime teammate and fellow free agent Derek Jeter, Pettitte gains leverage because of interest from other teams.
Rangers, Torrealba Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Rangers agreed to sign Yorvit Torrealba to a two-year, $6.25MM deal that will pay the catcher $3MM in 2011 and $3.25MM in 2012. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported the deal (on Twitter) and Anthony Andro of the Star-Telegram reported the terms of the contract (on Twitter).
Torrealba and his representatives at MDR Sports moved on from the Padres, who offered him arbitration, but not a multi-year deal. San Diego will rely on Nick Hundley to take on a bigger role and obtain a supplementary first round draft pick for losing Torrealba, a Type B free agent.
Torrealba hit .271/.343/.378 in 363 plate appearances last year. He batted more in 2010 than in any year except 2007, the lone season of his career in which he caught 100-plus games. The former Giant and Rockie has a .708 OPS in parts of ten big league seasons. Tip of the cap to MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, who correctly predicted on November 10th that Torrealba would land with the Rangers.
It seems likely that free agent Bengie Molina will sign elsewhere and that Max Ramirez and Taylor Teagarden will be candidates to back Torrealba up. Rod Barajas, Gerald Laird, Miguel Olivo, A.J. Pierzynski and Jason Varitek are among the catchers still available on the free agent market.