Angels Pursuing Javier Vazquez?
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are focusing on acquiring Javier Vazquez from the Atlanta Braves, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Stark (who credits angelswin.com's Chuck Richter with the initial story) hears from rival executives that, in the wake of missing out on John Lackey, the Angels have turned their attention to the Braves and Vazquez.
The Angels will have an uphill battle, however, attempting to deal for Vazquez, as opposed to his teammate Derek Lowe. In addition to coming off a stronger season and having a more favorable contract than Lowe, Vazquez also has a no-trade clause that allows him to veto a deal to a west-coast club. A trade to the Angels would mean the right-hander would have to waive that clause, which he negotiated in order to stay closer to his family in Puerto Rico.
With Lackey, Roy Halladay, and Randy Wolf all off the market, Vazquez is one of the more interesting names still potentially available. The Braves have maintained all along that once Lackey signed, Lowe would become a more attractive commodity, and the same could be said about Vazquez. I don't expect the Braves to move him, but they could demand a significant return if they did.
Braves Sign Mitch Jones
The Braves signed outfielder/first baseman Mitch Jones, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 32-year-old is a minor league lifer with five Triple A seasons under his belt. He has big-time power, with 35 home runs and a .651 SLG this year for the Albuquerque Isotopes. Sometimes all these so-called Quad-A guys need is an opportunity; Jack Cust provided good value for the A's over the last three seasons.
Odds & Ends: Lowe, Bay, Gonzalez
News and notes from around the big leagues tonight…
- Derek Lowe tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman that he doesn't expect to be back in Atlanta in 2010 and feels rather disrespected by being put on the trade market just a year after signing with the Braves: "I would have never even considered going there if I knew that ultimately this was going to happen."
- The Providence Journal's Joe McDonald considers Theo Epstein's comments from the Mike Cameron press conference to be a virtual farewell to Jason Bay's time in Boston.
- As if the Mike Gonzalez and Garrett Atkins signings weren't enough, the Orioles also "made a pretty good run" at trading for Adrian Gonzalez at the winter meetings, tweets ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes.
- Scott Merkin of MLB.com is reporting (via Twitter) that Jason Botts has been given an invitation to spring training by the White Sox. Botts played in Japan last season after posting a .230/.325/.344 line in 326 plate appearances with Texas from 2005 to 2008.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki (via Twitter) quoted Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. as saying "Right now, it doesn't look good," in regards to Chan Ho Park re-signing with Philadelphia.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark talks with Baseball America's John Manuel about how the Phillies' farm system looks in the wake of the big Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee deal.
- Jose Contreras wanted a three-year contract from the Rockies, but the club "didn't bite," reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Harding notes that Colorado may have to wait to see what happens with Rafael Betancourt's possible arbitration case before they can make a move toward signing relievers like Contreras or Joe Beimel.
- If the Nationals can't sign any relief help, they will move a willing Collin Balester into the bullpen, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Jake Westbrook seems fit after his stint Puerto Rican Winter League, reports MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. It was rumored that the Tribe would have been in the market for a veteran starter (maybe Carl Pavano) to anchor their staff had Westbrook suffered a setback from his Tommy John surgery in 2008.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Royals, Dodgers, Lowe
More links for Tuesday…
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal writes about the efforts of some players to find work during the off-season. Joe Nelson, who made $1.3MM with the Rays last season was at the winter meetings and said he is "just trying to put food on the table.”
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic is now on Twitter and reports that the Diamondbacks looked into bringing back Jose Valverde but his price was not within their budget.
- Mets GM Omar Minaya tells Newsday's David Lennon that he had hoped to sign John Lackey.
- Minaya tells Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post that he has interest in bringing Carlos Delgado back.
- Minaya tells Hubbuch that the Mets asked about Roy Halladay before the Blue Jays moved on to other options.
- The Royals accepted cash from the Red Sox to complete the Tug Hulett deal, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Dodgers are expected to target pitchers with the money they freed up in the Juan Pierre deal. Could they target Joel Pineiro? They saved $8MM in the trade and that may not be enough for a single year of Pineiro's services. I'd be surprised to see the Dodgers sign him.
- The Mariners hope to bring the recently-non-tendered Ryan Langerhans back, according to Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Braves aren't necessarily looking for a right-handed bat in exchange for Derek Lowe. They'd accept prospects, too.
Mike Cameron Agrees To Deal With Boston
7:58pm: The deal is in the range of $15.5MM for two years, tweets Ken Rosenthal.
7:53pm: Mike Cameron has agreed to sign a two-year deal with Boston, the AP reports.
6:38pm: It is "believed" that Cameron would play left field for the BoSox, with Jacoby Ellsbury in center and J.D. Drew in right, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. This would make recently-acquired Jeremy Hermida the team's fourth outfielder.
The Cubs and Mariners both had interest in Cameron, but shied away for different reasons. The Cubbies were waiting on a taker for Milton Bradley while the M's continue to focus on Jason Bay. The Braves also had interest, but it now it sounds as though Boston has the inside track.
Speaking of Bay, Crasnick wonders aloud (via Twitter) if this is the "final nail" in the free agent's chances of returning to Fenway.
5:40pm: Free agent outfielder Mike Cameron is in "serious talks" with the Red Sox, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The two sides are reportedly discussing a two-year pact.
Rosenthal adds that it is unclear whether the BoSox would place Cameron in left field or center field.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Cust
Some Saturday links:
- The Mets have yet to make an offer to John Lackey and continue to focus on Jason Bay, according to David Lennon of Newsday (via Twitter).
- Meanwhile, Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets would be willing to give Bay a five-year deal if necessary.
- Braves GM Frank Wren said the club is open to retaining Kelly Johnson at a lesser salary, he said that he would be better suited to an opportunity where he could get more at-bats, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- While Wren continues to explore other options on the open market, the club is leaving the door open for Jason Heyward to win the job in right field, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Prior to being selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 draft and sold to the Dodgers, Carlos Monasterios told Bravos de Margarita that both the Dodgers and the Tigers were in contact with him (passed along by Diamond Leung).
- The Red Sox trade of Mike Lowell to Texas has not been officially completed as Rangers officials are looking over the third baseman's thumb, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- Recently non-tendered Jack Cust could be a fit for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that the club still has room to spend this winter.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says that barring something that's not currently on the team's radar, the second baseman job will go to Blake DeWitt plus a veteran, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America brings us the latest minor league transactions. Most notably, former Seton Hall Prep standout and Yankees' first round selection Eric Duncan has landed with the Braves.
Braves Non-Tender Kelly Johnson
1:32pm: The Braves will not tender Johnson an offer, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Johnson made $2.8MM in a disappointing year for Atlanta.
11:48pm: The Braves are trying to trade second baseman Kelly Johnson according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. If they can't work out a trade by midnight ET tonight, Johnson will be non-tendered.
Earlier this week we learned that Atlanta was getting nibbles on Johnson, however we haven't heard anything since. The 27-year-old hit just .224/.303/.389 last season, and has seen all three triple-slash stats decline for three straight years. UZR/150 has consistently rated Johnson's defense as below average.
Odds & Ends: Diaz, Cedeno, German, Ojeda
A few tidbits from around the majors….
- Blue Jays reliever Jeremy Accardo hopes to be non-tendered tomorrow, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. The righty, 28 this month, dealt with a groin injury and bounced up and down between Triple A and the Majors this year. He earned $900K.
- Cases of players avoiding arbitration and signing for 2010, according to the AP: Matt Diaz of the Braves at $2.55MM, Ronny Cedeno of the Pirates at $1.125MM, and Esteban German of the Rangers at $600K. Diaz gets a 106% raise, heading into his third arbitration year.
- The AP also notes that the Nationals signed pitcher Ryan Speier for $425K. The 30-year-old toiled at Triple A for the Rockies this year, mainly.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (via Twitter) reports that the Diamondbacks have avoided going to arbitration with Augie Ojeda by re-signing the veteran infielder to a one-year deal. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the contract is worth $825K. Ojeda, 34, has spent the last three seasons with Arizona and hit .246/.340/.345 in 309 plate appearances in 2009. The defensive specialist is a valuable utilityman, able to play second, third and shortstop.
- Twins GM Bill Smith tells Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that his traditionally low-spending team has "substantial funds" to cover arbitration raises and potential signings that could raise Minnesota's payroll into the $90MM neighborhood for next season. The general manager was predictably non-committal when asked if "substantial" translated to "enough to extend Joe Mauer."
- NPB Tracker passes on news from Japanese site Sanspo.com that the Yakult Swallows will announce next week that they have signed Eulogio De La Cruz. The right-hander was released by the Padres on Wednesday. De La Cruz has an 11.84 ERA in 15 appearances over three seasons with San Diego, Florida and Detroit.
- The White Sox seem ready to stick with Randy Williams as the only left-handed reliever (besides, of course, set-up man Matt Thornton) next season, as Chicago GM Kenny Williams told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Gonzales notes that if the club changes its mind, a possible target could be former White Sox reliever Neal Cotts, who will be non-tendered by the Cubs tomorrow.
Rafael Soriano-Jesse Chavez Swap Made Official
The Rays made their deal for Braves reliever Rafael Soriano official today, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. He says the Rays came to terms on a one-year, $7.25MM deal with Soriano, who was acquired from Atlanta for reliever Jesse Chavez. A reminder on how this all played out:
On December 1st, the Braves made arbitration offers to Type A free agent relievers Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, expecting both to decline. The Braves moved quickly to sign Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito in the days following, making it clear that Soriano and Gonzalez would have lesser roles if they returned. Gonzalez, a Scott Boras client, declined arbitration. But after his agent talked to teams all day Monday at the Winter Meetings, Soriano decided the best move was to accept arbitration (otherwise, he would've cost his signing team a draft pick). The Braves held talks with the Orioles, Astros, and Rays at the Meetings, eventually shipping Soriano to Tampa Bay for Chavez. So the Braves hoped to get two draft picks for the loss of Soriano, but instead received five years of Chavez.
And from the Rays' point of view…back in November, a few days before they had to decide between second baseman Akinori Iwamura's $4.85MM option and a $550K buyout, they traded him to the Pirates for Chavez. It was a solid move, Chavez being under team control through 2014. Still, he wasn't a guy to whom they'd hand over the ninth inning. The Rays were expected to add a few bargain free agents to compete for the closer job, with owner Stuart Sternberg saying on December 6th, "There is no $7 million closer showing up." Maybe Sternberg was being literal, as the Rays sent Chavez to the Braves and now have a $7.25 million closer.
Rays Acquire Rafael Soriano
7:18pm: Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times says it's a "done deal." It'll be announced tomorrow.
6:29pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the deal hasn't been finalized yet. The doctors didn't look at all the reports today, but it should go through tomorrow.
4:38pm: MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the medical reports have been reviewed and the Rafael Soriano–Jesse Chavez swap has been finalized.
11:00am: Rosenthal and Morosi say the Rays will sign Soriano for one year and $7MM or slightly more; the deal will be official after medical records are exchanged. They say Soriano's contract will be non-guaranteed.