Quick Hits: Livan, Grilli, Swisher, Hairston, Rangers
Condolences go out to the family and friends of former Major League utility man Ryan Freel. The 36-year-old was found dead at his home today after taking his own life according to Chad Cushnir of First Coast News and MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Freel spent most of his career with the Reds, though he also suited up for the Blue Jays, Royals, Cubs, and Orioles.
Here's the latest from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…
- Livan Hernandez told MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he plans to play in 2013 (Twitter link). The 37-year-old right-hander posted a 6.42 ERA in 67 1/3 relief innings for the Braves and Brewers last season.
- Jason Grilli will take over as closer for the Pirates following the Joel Hanrahan trade according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Heyman notes the right-hander does not have any bonuses based on games finished in his new contract.
- Nick Swisher is giving "serious consideration" to the four-year, $52MM offer from the Indians according to ESPN's Jim Bowden (on Twitter). The switch-hitting outfielder prefers the Dodgers, Angels, or Yankees though.
- The Phillies, Braves, Mets, and Yankees are among the teams still in play for Scott Hairston, reports Heyman (on Twitter). Heyman says the Yankees may be at a disadvantage because they already have three starting outfielders.
- In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says the Rangers should not overreact and drastically alter their plan after failing to land several top targets this offseason.
Braves Interested In Scott Hairston
The Braves are among the teams interested in free agent outfielder Scott Hairston, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (on Twitter). Hairston could address the Braves’ need for a left fielder, but he might be too expensive for Atlanta.
Hairston hit 20 homers and posted a .263/.299/.504 batting line for the Mets this past season. The 32-year-old played all three outfield positions, spending most of his time in the two corner spots. He faced left-handed pitching in precisely half of his 398 plate appearances and, as usual, he excelled against lefties with a .286/.317/.550 batting line and 11 home runs.
The Braves appear to prefer right-handed hitters such as Hairston given their lefty-heavy lineup. However, he wouldn’t be a natural complement to Braves outfielder Reed Johnson, another right-handed hitter who hits lefties better than he hits righties.
Hairston, an Excel Sports Management client, earned $1.1MM in each of the past two seasons. He could be looking for a two-year deal in the $10MM range following Jonny Gomes’ deal with the Red Sox. The Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Tigers and Indians have all been linked to him at various points this offseason.
Quick Hits: Saunders, Cubs, Soriano, Gonzalez
The Orioles would like to re-sign Joe Saunders and have continued talks with him, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter). They'll have plenty of competition for the left-hander, however, as he is drawing high interest from three other clubs. Here's more from around baseball..
- On today’s edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast, MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Mariners–Angels trade, the Cubs’ new-look rotation, and some recent trade rumors.
- The Dodgers are still kicking the tires on Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates and free agent Brian Wilson as they look to deepen their bullpen, but they aren't in the mix for Rafael Soriano, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Nationals continue to talk to Mike Gonzalez about returning and the Reds are also in pursuit, Bowden tweets.
- Sources tell Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter) that the Rangers were never serious bidders for Edwin Jackson. The right-hander signed a four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs earlier today.
- Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik has landed a bigger bat for the middle of his lineup, but that doesn't mean Seattle is done with its roster maneuverings, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com. The Mariners still have financial flexibility since they should several million dollars in the difference between what Kendrys Morales ($4.8MM) will earn compared to Jason Vargas ($7.4MM) in their final year of arbitration eligibility.
- Dexter Fowler told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (on Twitter) that Rockies General Manager Bill Geivett told him that it would take a lot in return for them to deal him to the Braves. Atlanta is targeting Fowler along with Emilio Bonifacio and other outfield options.
Heyman & Knobler On Hanrahan, Rangers, Bourn
The latest from Jon Heyman and Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com…
- Both the Dodgers and Red Sox have interest in Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan, reports Heyman. He hears Los Angeles could also make a play for Indians closer Chris Perez or Mets right-hander Bobby Parnell as well.
- The Rangers were interested in Anibal Sanchez and Russell Martin before they signed elsewhere, Knobler reports. Now Texas is pursuing Edwin Jackson, A.J. Pierzynski and Cody Ross. Michael Bourn and Kyle Lohse aren't thought to be "front-burner" items for the Rangers now, Knobler reports. Knobler suggests the Rangers are interested in a relatively short-term deal for Jackson, who's also drawing serious interest from the Cubs.
- The Dodgers have talked about trading Andre Ethier and signing Bourn to replace him, reports Knobler. Los Angeles is looking for a leadoff hitter. Earlier this week we heard they've considered trading Ethier and signing Nick Swisher.
- The Rangers may be the best bet for Pierzynski since the Yankees still can’t get excited about the backstop, Heyman reports (on Twitter). Instead, New York is looking to go with Austin Romine.
- The Braves continue eyeing a left fielder and would prefer to add a leadoff type, Heyman reports (on Twitter).
- Bobby Abreu, who is now playing winter ball, hopes to play for two or three more years, Heyman reports (on Twitter).
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Olney On Soriano, LaRoche, Braves
Baseball’s most recent collective bargaining agreement introduced new rules regarding draft pick compensation, and the changes were expected to help free agents. However, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports that some agents and general managers say certain free agents who obtained qualifying offers are now seeing reduced interest from teams. These players are talented, but general managers are hesitant to give up draft picks. Here are more notes from Olney’s column…
- One GM pointed out that teams aren’t “wild about giving up a draft pick for a reliever," even though Rafael Soriano is a good pitcher. The Yankees almost certainly won’t consider taking him back, according to Olney.
- The Red Sox have targeted players who aren’t linked to draft pick compensation, as Olney points out.
- Adam LaRoche is tied to draft pick compensation and it’s “really hurting him,” Olney writes. The first baseman has been sitting on a two-year offer from the Nationals.
- It appears that the Braves would be fairly comfortable going into the season with Martin Prado playing both left field and third base. They’d use Reed Johnson in left field against left-handers and Juan Francisco at third base against right-handers in that scenario.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Ross, Braves, Fowler
Sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that the Phillies are intensifying their pursuit of Cody Ross. Of course there’s other clubs strongly pursuing the outfielder, including the Mariners. Here’s more out on the Phillies and the rest of the NL East..
- There were no trade talks brewing this weekend between the Braves or Rangers on Dexter Fowler, a Rockies source told Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Braves have been in trade talks this week with several clubs and are believed to be targeting Fowler.
- The Mets may be on the verge of acquiring Travis d’Arnaud from the Blue Jays, which shows how bad they want R.A. Dickey, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Two other execs that asked for d’Arnaud this offseason were told flat-out no.
- After picking up Mike Adams and John Lannan, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at what is left for the Phillies to spend on an outfield upgrade. By Gelb’s math, the Phillies could sign an outfielder with an average annual salary of approximately $7MM and be right up against the tax threshold.
East Notes: Braves, Trumbo, Yankees, Orioles
The Braves made an “aggressive” offer for Shin-Soo Choo, but ultimately it was the Reds that snagged him in a three-team deal. Could Atlanta be in the mix for another slugger? Here's more on that and other notes out of the Eastern divisions..
- The Braves have Angels outfielder/first baseman Mark Trumbo on their radar, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Earlier today, it was reported that the Halos are very likely to trade either Trumbo or Peter Bourjos for a pitcher. However, Trumbo appears to be less available than Bourjos.
- The Yankees luxury tax penalty for 2012 will come in at $18.9MM, according to the Associated Press. The Bombers have run up a luxury tax bill of $224.2MM over the past ten years, with the fee increasing from $13.9MM last year.
- It's possible that the Orioles' relative quiet in the free agent market will become the new norm in the AL East, writes Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com. Of course, the rival Rays and Blue Jays made major splashes this offseason via trade.
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.