Central Notes: Soriano, Pierzynski, Adams, Royals
Happy birthday to Cubs great Fergie Jenkins, who was born 70 years ago today in Chatham, Ontario. The 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner won 167 games in 10 years with the Cubs and wore the red 'C' into the Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 1991.
Here are some items from Chicago and elsewhere around both the AL and NL Central divisions…
- The Braves don't have any interest in trading for Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Cubs are willing to pay $26MM of Soriano's remaining $36MM salary in a trade and have shopped the veteran to the Astros and Phillies this offseason.
- The White Sox would like to bring back A.J. Pierzynski but only at the team's price, writes Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. While the team has kept in touch with Pierzynski's agent, the Sox are prepared to go ahead with Tyler Flowers as their everyday catcher.
- The Brewers can probably be counted out of the Mike Adams hunt, opines Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link) as the free agent reliever will likely be priced out of the Crew's range. At least seven other teams besides Milwaukee are known to be interested in Adams.
- Also from Haudricourt, he outlines how the Brewers have been historically unable to keep their major stars, a trend that may continue given the team's small local TV contract. The one exception was Ryan Braun, who was already on an eight-year contract when he signed his major extension with the Crew.
- We heard last month that the Royals were trying to trade Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar, but Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that while the team will listen, they "feel no urgency" to move either pitcher. The Royals want a lot of rotation depth and could just put either Chen or Hochevar in the bullpen, though K.C. could also wait until March to find better trade offers. (All links to Dutton's Twitter account.)
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told reporters (including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that his team is pretty much done its winter shopping, though he hinted that the Reds could add a left-handed reliever.
- As the cost of high-end pitching has risen, Adam Wainwright is in position to receive a huge payday as he enters the final year of his contract with the Cardinals, writes the Associated Press. Both Wainwright and the Cards are open to the idea of discussing a new contract before Opening Day.
- From earlier today, the Cubs and Tigers are the final two suitors for Anibal Sanchez. The Cubs thought they had Sanchez signed to a five-year, $75MM offer, but Sanchez is giving the Tigers a final chance to match or top the offer.
Braves Sign Ramiro Pena
The Braves have signed infielder Ramiro Pena to a one-year, Major League contract, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman (via Twitter). Pena joins the recently re-signed Paul Janish as infield depth on the Braves' bench, though Bowman opines that he thinks the two men will be competing for the utility infield job.
Pena, 27, has made just 40 Major League plate appearances over the last two seasons and has a career .233/.266/.288 line in 338 career PAs with the Yankees since 2009. New York designated Pena for assignment twice last season, and Pena also drew the interest of the Braves back in July before they acquired Janish. Pena has played mostly shortstop and third base in his career, also getting some time at second and right field.
NL East Notes: Braves, Nationals, Phillies
Here are the latest links from the NL East…
- The Braves made an “aggressive” offer for Shin-Soo Choo before the Reds acquired him, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Mariners were also involved, but their offer wasn’t as strong.
- Nationals manager Davey Johnson said he has received “positive signs” from GM Mike Rizzo that Washington will re-sign free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche before Christmas, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter).
- The Phillies and Brewers were in on Sean Burnett before he signed with the Angels, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (all Twitter links). Morosi wonders if this means the Phillies would be willing to move a left-handed reliever. It's possible Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst and Raul Valdes would have become trade candidates if the Phillies had signed Burnett.
- Here's the latest on the Mets and R.A. Dickey.
Braves Still Involved In Multiple Trade Talks
The Braves have already made one notable trade this offseason (Tommy Hanson for Jordan Walden), and Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says they are still involved in multiple trade talks (Twitter links). Emilio Bonifacio and Dexter Fowler are believed to be among their targets.
O'Brien notes the Braves did make a strong push for Shin-Soo Choo before he was traded to the Reds, but the team wasn't going to overpay for a player one year away from free agency. Atlanta has been seeking outfield help this offseason, though Martin Prado's versatility also allows them to seek a third baseman if they choose.
Free Agent Rumors: Dempster, Ichiro, Jackson, Tejada
Approximately half of the free agents on MLBTR’s top 50 list remain unsigned, which means there will be lots of action in the next few weeks. Here are the latest free agent updates from around MLB…
- The Brewers, Red Sox and Royals are the "three main teams" looking at Ryan Dempster, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). This would seem to eliminate the Cubs, who we recently heard weren't negotiating with Dempster.
- The Yankees are still talking to Ichiro Suzuki as they continue waiting to hear from Kevin Youkilis, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Youkilis is weighing multiple offers and the Indians are also bidding for his services.
- The Royals and other teams seem “very cool” to Edwin Jackson, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter). In other words they aren't overly eager to spend aggressively on him.
- Braves GM Frank Wren said he has interest in certain outfielders as one-year stopgaps, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter). The Braves need another outfielder, even after signing B.J. Upton.
- The Diamondbacks are very interested in Miguel Tejada, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com reports (on Twitter, in Spanish). The team offered Tejada a minor league deal, but he’d like a guaranteed contract.
- The Marlins are only interested in Carl Pavano if he’ll accept a low base salary of $3MM or so plus incentives, Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 reports (on Twitter). Pavano’s agent met with the Twins yesterday, Mackey adds.
Four Teams Interested In Dee Gordon
FRIDAY: The Braves and Phillies also asked about Gordon, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports (Twitter links). It appears that every team except the Dodgers would try Gordon as an outfielder. However, the Dodgers told clubs that they aren't open to moving him now.
WEDNESDAY: The Indians are discussing Gordon with the Dodgers, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, eyeing him as a potential replacement if they trade shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
TUESDAY: The Dodgers are fielding tons of inquiries on shortstop Dee Gordon, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports, though they're not looking to deal him. The Mariners are among the teams hitting the Dodgers hard on Gordon, tweets Miller.
Gordon, 25 in April, hit .228/.280/.281 in 330 plate appearances this year. He missed significant time due to thumb surgery. Prior to the 2011 season, Baseball America ranked Gordon the 26th best prospect in baseball, citing the potential for four plus tools.
Braves To Sign Reed Johnson
FRIDAY: Johnson obtains a $1.75MM guarantee plus $150K in incentives, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (on Twitter). The deal also includes a club option for 2014 with a $1.6MM salary and a $150K buyout. Johnson will earn a base salary of $1.6MM in 2013.
THURSDAY: The Braves agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Reed Johnson, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Johnson is represented by Wasserman Media Group.
Johnson, 36 on Saturday, hit .290/.337/.398 in 288 plate appearances for the Cubs and Braves this year. He joined the Braves in the July Paul Maholm trade. A right-handed hitter, Johnson has a .306/.339/.457 line against southpaws over the past three seasons.
Latest On Ben Revere
Twins outfielder Ben Revere appears to be in play, despite the team trading Denard Span to the Nationals six days ago. Revere, 24, hit .294/.333/.342 in 553 plate appearances for the Twins this year, stealing 40 bags in 49 tries. With just one year and 149 days of Major League service, Revere will not be arbitration eligible until 2014 at the earliest, and is under team control through 2017. The latest:
- Revere may be the Phillies' top choice for center field, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Twins are interested in Vance Worley plus a pitching prospect, tweets Knobler. Phillies executives Ruben Amaro Jr. and Pat Gillick met separately with Twins GM Terry Ryan this morning, tweets MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- The Braves are interested and have spoken to the Twins about Revere, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Rockies Notes: Cuddyer, Francis, Fowler
Some early-morning Rockies news, courtesy of the Denver Post's Troy Renck (Twitter links)…
- A trade is still the more likely means for Colorado to acquire starting pitching help, according to Renck. Teams are calling about Dexter Fowler and Michael Cuddyer. Renck notes that the two years and $21MM remaining on Cuddyer's contract may be appealing to teams, given the inflated prices we've seen in this year's free agent market.
- The one-year deal signed by Jeff Francis last night will pay the southpaw somewhere north of $750K salary that he earned in 2012.
- Renck also writes that the team included Alex White in this week's Wilton Lopez trade because they no longer viewed White as a starter.
- Within that same piece, Renck reports that in trade talks prior to the Winter Meetings, the Rockies asked for Mike Minor and one of Julio Teheran or Randall Delgado in exchange for Fowler. Needless to say, the price on Colorado's center fielder remains high.
Latest On Nate Schierholtz
5:52pm: The Braves have interest in Schierholtz, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
1:00pm: The Orioles made an offer to Schierholtz that was turned down this morning, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The O's eventually inked Nate McLouth.
9:27am: Having generated plenty of interest since hitting the free agent market last week, Nate Schierholtz is making "good progress" toward a new deal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Olney adds that the Yankees are the early favorites to land the 28-year-old (Twitter links).
Schierholtz was traded by the Giants to the Phillies in the deadline deal that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco. For the season, the outfielder hit .257/.321/.407 in 269 plate appearances. Despite a potential arbitration cost of around $1.6MM, according to MLBTR's projections, the Phillies elected not to tender Schierholtz a contract for 2013.