Johnny Damon Rumors: Saturday
7:03pm: Damon said on Friday that Tampa Bay remains a possible destination, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, Topkin characterizes this as a "long shot", as Damon is likely to sign with Detroit.
11:47am: Pitchers are catchers are less than two weeks away, however Johnny Damon is still looking for a job and there doesn't appear to be many teams willing to bring him on board. FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi says the Braves and Tigers are definitely among the clubs interested in Damon, though Atlanta has taken a more passive approach. They'd be happy to take him if he "fell into their lap" according to the Fox scribe, which translates to "if his price comes way down."
Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of The Detroit News says the Tigers need to add a hitter after the Twins added Orlando Hudson, but he cautions that Damon isn't "a perfect answer or player." This certainly isn't the first time we've seen these two teams connected to the former Yankee left fielder.
Bobby Abreu didn't sign until February 12th last year, so Damon still has some time before meeting his former teammate's mark.
Odds & Ends: Everidge, Lincecum, Lewis, Manny
Links for Wednesday…
- Tommy Everidge cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The Mariners designated Everidge for assignment last week to make room on the roster for Eric Byrnes.
- Various agents think the Giants and Tim Lincecum will somehow avoid an arbitration hearing regardless of how poorly talks are going, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft.
- The Astros signed 18-year-old Nicaraguan first baseman Mesac Laguna yesterday, reports Roger Olivas of El Nuevo Diaro.
- Free agent journeyman Nelson Figueroa hopes to return to the Mets but wants to avoid the minors, reports Angel Pinto Vaamonde of the blog BeisbolVenezolano.net. Thanks to Nick Collias for translations on these two bullets.
- Colby Lewis heard from 12 or 13 teams before signing with the Rangers, reports ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. The A's and Twins also offered two-year deals.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball explains how an arbitration hearing works. Hearings are scheduled through February 21st, with Tim Lincecum's case drawing the most attention.
- Manny Ramirez "seriously considered opting out of his contract to return to the American League for a designated-hitter role," reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The idea seems silly now, but in November it wasn't ridiculous to think Manny might've preferred to chase, say, a two-year, $32MM deal elsewhere.
- Bill Shanks of Scout.com talked to Braves assistant GM Bruce Manno, who replied "Never say never" when asked about Johnny Damon. Still, Manno likes the club as it stands. And MLB.com's Mark Bowman believes the Braves are not actively pursuing Damon.
- Rany Jazayerli examines a "delusional" quote from an anonymous Royals official regarding the team's 2008-09 offseason.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays should have significant payroll flexibility after the 2010 season.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince doesn't see Orlando Hudson as a fit for the Indians.
Lowry Audition Pushed Back
MONDAY, 4:13pm: Lowry's scheduled throwing session has been pushed back, according to the AP. His agent says the lefty has not had a setback; he just wants to throw a few more bullpen sessions before auditioning.
THURSDAY, 1:35pm: Scott Lauber of the News Journal tweets that the Phillies will be there.
WEDNESDAY, 4:29pm: The Rangers will watch Lowry throw, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
8:27am: Lefty Noah Lowry is set to throw for teams Tuesday, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The 29-year-old seeks a one-year contract after battling thoracic outlet syndrome the last few years. His last truly effective season was 2005.
Crasnick expects about 15 teams to attend the session, including the Reds, Red Sox, Cardinals, Braves, Astros, Dodgers, Mariners, Cubs, Nationals and Mets. Back in December, a Crasnick report linked the Padres, A's, Rockies, and Pirates to Lowry as well.
Minor League Transactions: Clark, Hammock, Loux
Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the minor league transactions for the period of January 19-24. A few notables from him, after the Knoedler and Giese bullets:
- The Dodgers signed catcher Justin Knoedler, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- According to MiLB.com, the A's re-signed pitcher Dan Giese on January 27th. Giese, 33 in May, tossed 22 innings for the big league club last year but learned in June he'd need Tommy John surgery.
- The Braves signed reliever Chris Resop, who spent '09 with the Hanshin Tigers.
- The White Sox added Brady Clark, who once scored 94 runs as a member of the '05 Brewers. It was the Brewers' December '04 Scott Podsednik–Carlos Lee trade with the Sox that gave Clark a starting opportunity in '05.
- The Rockies signed catcher Robby Hammock, who spent last season with Baltimore's Triple A club.
- Pitcher Shane Loux signed with the Astros. The 30-year-old posted a 5.86 ERA, 19 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 58.3 innings for the Angels last year.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Friday
Johnny Damon is open to joining the Blue Jays, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). Damon said in a text message that he is "all ears and eager to help make any team better."
Stark On Damon, Bedard, Phillies, Smoltz, Gregg
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com points out that teams aren't handing out long-term contracts as liberally as they were a few years ago. We've seen just eight contracts of three-plus years this offseason, after seeing 13 such contracts in each of the previous two winters. The offseason before that? Players signed 29 contracts of three years or more. Here are Stark's rumors:
- Detroit doesn't seem that interested in Johnny Damon and the Braves haven't spoken with Damon's agent, Scott Boras, in a month and a half. The Rays have checked in, but they have little to spend.
- Erik Bedard and the Orioles have mutual interest in a reunion, Stark hears.
- The Phillies would like to add a veteran left-handed reliever on a minor league deal, but Alan Embree and Ron Mahay are holding out for big league deals at this point, despite the Phillies' interest.
- Kevin Gregg is high on the Rockies' shopping list. They're looking at infield options and hoping to save enough money to shore up their bullpen, too.
- The Blue Jays have told clubs that Scott Downs and Jason Frasor are available. The Cubs have checked in on the pair of relievers.
- The Royals have told teams they're "open minded" about moving Gil Meche or Brian Bannister.
- John Smoltz is in no rush to sign. He's open to waiting for a few months, since he'd like a starting job and some execs question his ability to start for an entire season.
- Ben Sheets will be the first A's pitcher to make $10MM (though some believe Sheets will be traded before the end of the year).
- Mark Prior is throwing off a mound and would like to make a comeback.
Odds & Ends: Calero, Nats, Byrnes, Fogg, Timlin
Links for Thursday…
- The Marlins aren't that confident in Kiko Calero's ability to hold up as well as he did last year, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- The Nationals designated right-hander Marco Estrada for assignment to make room for Tyler Walker according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, via Twitter.
- The A's have no interest in Eric Byrnes, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
- The Dodgers are a finalist for Derrick Turnbow, tweets MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- The Mets are interested in Josh Fogg, according to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.
- Mike Timlin said on WEEI.com that he will stay in retirement this year. Last year, Timlin pitched in the Rockies' minor league system.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes that Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is "open to anything." The Jays could stand to add a corner outfielder and there are a number of options available should the Jays decide to pursue them.
- I wrote an article for my fantasy website, RotoAuthority.com, suggesting that overhyped "sleepers" can still provide a profit.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that Gary Sheffield might be a good fit for the Reds, and that Sheff was "on his way" to the Diamondbacks before they signed Adam LaRoche.
- Brandon Webb still contends that re-signing with the D'Backs is his first choice, in an article written by MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Reds, Padres, White Sox, and Royals inquired on the Yankees' Brett Gardner this winter, with hopes of using him as a starting center fielder.
- Bill Shanks of Scout.com makes a case for the Braves to sign Johnny Damon.
- Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Dodgers are one club eyeing Garret Anderson for a fourth outfielder role.
Odds & Ends: Prospects, Livan, Cardinals, Damon
Some links for Wednesday night…
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo released his list of the top 50 prospects in the game. Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg rank one-two.
- Livan Hernandez sent a contract proposal to Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo back in December, but he never received a response according to a tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak confirmed that any pickups from here on out would be on the offensive side of the roster.
- Scott Boras said that "The Yankees never even made an offer to me regarding Johnny Damon during the entire process," according to a tweet from Tyler Kepner of The New York Times. In a second tweet, Kepner says Boras indicated that the two-year, $14MM offer the team reportedly made was conditional on whether or not Nick Johnson would sign.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure reports that 17-year-old righty Rafael DePaula is back on the market after being suspended for a year by MLB after lying about his age. His agent hopes to have him signed within the next 15-20 days, and Arangure mentions that both the Yankees and Red Sox are interested.
- Pirate relievers Anthony Claggett and Steven Jackson both cleared waivers according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, and have been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Claggett was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Octavio Dotel, Jackson for Ryan Church.
- Astros' GM Ed Wade said that signing Wandy Rodriguez to a long-term deal would become a "front-burner discussion for us" if he repeats his 2009 success in 2010, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Wandy had a 3.02 ERA with an 8.4 K/9 in 205.2 innings last season.
- Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com says that the Braves have discussed Johnny Damon recently, but came up with three reasons why he wasn't a fit.
- David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News lays out the Phillies' payroll commitments for the next four years. As of right now, the team stands to shed almost $70MM off the books following the 2011 season.
Rays Interested In Johnny Damon
The Rays have interest in Johnny Damon as a DH candidate, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman says the Rays are considering Damon even if they can't unload Pat Burrell. Sherman's sources believe Damon would be willing to play for $7MM, partially deferred.
We learned earlier today from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that agent Scott Boras is "trying to engage" the Reds and Tigers for Damon. Crasnick notes that those clubs would have a hard time fitting Damon into the budget. The Yankees are out, having reached an agreement with Randy Winn today.
Oakland's rumored interest in a Damon reunion was not directly addressed by GM Billy Beane, reports MLB.com's Jane Lee. Still, Beane said his priority is adding infield depth.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Giants, Wakefield
A wrap-up of some items on this busy Tuesday evening…
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times looks at some of the free agents left on the market and wonders if the Mariners will be enticed to make one more move this winter. Neither Stone nor MLB.com's Jim Street think an Erik Bedard return is likely.
- Chris Haft of MLB.com covers a number of Giants-related topics in a mailbag, including how outfielder Fred Lewis "appears to have fallen out of favor with the organization" and "probably needs a change of scenery."
- Tim Wakefield tells CSNNE.com's Art Martone that he intends "on being one of the five starters" in the Boston rotation next season.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan-led ownership group paid a cool $570MM for the Rangers.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was told by Brewers GM Doug Melvin that he is "working on one other thing….It would be a minor-league deal." Haudricourt speculates that Milwaukee is looking for a left-handed reserve outfielder and former Brewer Gabe Gross could be an option.
- The Dodgers are another team looking for a lefty backup outfielder, tweets MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman says that a recent Chipper Jones comment about Atlanta possibly bringing back Javier Vazquez after 2010 is "wishful thinking" on the part of the Braves superstar. Bowman discusses a few other topics in the mailbag piece, including the wisdom of the Braves buying out the arbitration years of Jair Jurrjens and/or Tommy Hanson.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that Robb Quinlan was a reserve option for the Twins if they hadn't signed Jim Thome. The right-handed Quinlan might have fit into the Minnesota bench a bit better than Thome, but if you had to pick between the two, I think most people would give Thome the nod.