Ben Nicholson-Smith | MLB Trade Rumors

Beeston Talks Blue Jays, Fielder, Rogers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 1:32pm CDT

Blue Jays president Paul Beeston joined Jeff Blair on Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 in Toronto and said the Blue Jays can compete with the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays in the American League East in 2012. He acknowledged the frustration that some Blue Jays fans have expressed over the team's modest payroll, but said money won't solve everything. "It's not just a matter of spending, it's a matter of spending it wisely," he explained. Here are some more highlights from Blair's conversation with Beeston:

Beeston said the Blue Jays ask certain questions of themselves before spending big on any free agent. "Is that going to put you over the top? Is that going to give you an opportunity to get to the point where you have that contending team, that competitive team? Does that one piece do it for you?" Darren Oliver's $4.5MM contract represents the Blue Jays' most substantial free agent expenditure to date under GM Alex Anthopoulos.
The Blue Jays might regret it if they sign Prince Fielder to a ten-year deal, Beeston said. "We all love Prince Fielder," he said. "Prince Fielder is a terrific ballplayer and there's no question about that." Despite the praise for the 27-year-old free agent, it definitely doesn't sound as though he'll be signing in Toronto.
Rogers communications, which owns the Blue Jays, has never denied a request to increase payroll or spend on player development, Beeston said.
Beeston said the Blue Jays could have managed fan expectations better this offseason.

Rays Sign Will Rhymes

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 12:41pm CDT

The Rays signed second baseman Will Rhymes, outfielder Jesus Feliciano and right-handed reliever Romulo Sanchez to minor league deals, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Rhymes, 28, spent parts of the past two seasons with the Tigers, who non-tendered him in December. The team confirmed the moves and reports the signing of right-hander Matt Torra.

Rhymes, who's listed at 5'9" and 155 pounds, owns a .283/.341/.370 line in 312 MLB plate appearances. He was far more impressive at the plate in 2010 than in 2011, when his batting average on balls in play dropped by 50 points.

Feliciano made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2010, soon after his 31st birthday. He posted a .563 OPS in 119 plate appearances and spent the 2011 campaign in the minors. Sanchez, 27, spent last year in Japan and has MLB experience with the Pirates and Yankees.

Minor Moves: Petit, Loux

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 12:13pm CDT

Here's where we'll track the day's minor moves…

The Indians signed infielder Gregorio Petit to a minor league deal, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets. The 27-year-old appeared in the Majors with the Athletics in 2008-09, but didn't play affiliated baseball last year. He spent the 2010 campaign with the Rangers' top affiliate, where he posted a .658 OPS in 525 plate appearances as the Oklahoma City shortstop.
The Giants announced 25 non-roster invitees, including right-hander Shane Loux. The 32-year-old last appeared in the Majors in 2009 and spent the 2011 season as a starter for the Giants' top affiliate.

Indians Sign Fred Lewis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 11:13am CDT

The Indians announced that they signed outfielder Fred Lewis to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training. The club also confirmed that it has signed Jeremy Accardo to a minor league deal.

Lewis posted a .230/.321/.317 line in 210 plate appearances last year, but he spent time on the disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle. The 31-year-old played both corner outfield positions for the Reds, who signed him for $900K. Lewis elected free agency in the fall after the Reds outrighted him off of their roster. Lewis has a track record of success against right-handed pitching (.780 career OPS), though Cleveland's lineup already features a number of left-handed bats.

Indians To Sign Jeremy Accardo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 10:14am CDT

The Indians have agreed to sign right-handed reliever Jeremy Accardo to a minor league deal, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets. The Phillies also expressed interest in the Lapa/Leventhal client.

Accardo, who turned 30 last month, posted a 5.73 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 37.4% ground ball rate in 37 2/3 innings for the Orioles in 2011. The seven-year veteran also logged 33 1/3 innings at Triple-A, where he posted a 2.16 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. Baltimore outrighted Accardo off of the 40-man roster in October and he elected free agency.

Athletics Shopping Brandon Allen

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 9:59am CDT

Faced with an abundance of first base candidates and just one job, the Athletics are shopping first baseman Brandon Allen, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The 25-year-old has excelled throughout the minor leagues, but has yet to produce at the plate in three Major League stints with the Diamondbacks and A's.

Allen posted a .200/.277/.377 line with six home runs in 195 MLB plate appearances last year to go along with a .991 OPS in 419 minor league plate appearances. The A's, who obtained Allen for Brad Ziegler last summer, also have Daric Barton, Chris Carter and Kila Ka'aihue in the mix at first base.

If the A's haven't already called the Rays, Indians, Pirates and Brewers about Allen, I doubt they're too far down the list of clubs that GM Billy Beane and assistant GM David Forst will get in touch with. The White Sox selected the left-handed hitter in the fifth round of the 2004 draft and traded him to Arizona for Tony Pena in 2009.

Checking In On The Offseason’s Multiyear Deals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 9:28am CDT

So far this offseason, 33 players have signed multiyear deals. Albert Pujols’ megacontract is worth 100 times as much as Laynce Nix’s relatively modest $2.4MM deal, so not all multiyear deals are created equal. But they demonstrate a willingness on the part of teams to commit long term and, usually, to spend more. Here's a look at which teams have spent most aggressively on multiyear deals for free agents so far this winter (extensions not included).

As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, 19 of the 30 MLB teams have already signed at least one player to a multiyear deal. The Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Marlins lead the way with four apiece and the Phillies have signed three such deals. On the other hand, the Braves, White Sox, Reds, Indians, Astros, Yankees, Padres, Mariners, Rays, Blue Jays and Nationals have yet to sign a free agent to a multiyear deal. However, some of those teams have been linked to Prince Fielder and other free agents, so the offseason totals are by no means final.

Last offseason 22 clubs signed at least one player to a multiyear deal, as our Transaction Tracker shows. Five teams have avoided multiyear free agent deals in both of past two offseasons: the Braves, Indians, Astros, Rays and Blue Jays.

In some cases teams prefer long-term deals. Why lock a superstar player like Jose Reyes up for one-year when you can have him for six? And in some cases players prefer short-term deals. Why sign long-term after a disappointing season when an Adrian Beltre-like 'pillow contract' will allow you to re-establish your value? Generally speaking, however, players prefer multiyear security.

Tigers Notes: Damon, Cespedes, Turner

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2012 at 8:15am CDT

The Tigers announced this week that Victor Martinez is likely to miss the 2012 season with a torn ACL and though GM Dave Dombrowski said the team won’t act rashly, the Tigers figure to be on the lookout for a bat. Here’s the latest on the defending AL Central Champions…

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said on MLB Network Radio that the Tigers probably aren’t going to find someone as good as Martinez. “So if you say it’s not gonna hurt us, you’re lying,” he added. Hat tip to Jason Beck of MLB.com, who has a partial transcript of Leyland's comments.
Leyland said Johnny Damon’s name will likely come up since he can contribute to a club, even if he's not a "prototype DH."
Leyland knows there are a lot of options remaining for teams in search of hitters. “How good they produce anymore, I don’t know,” he said. “And I always ultimately leave that up to Dave. We’ve already had some discussions, I won’t say who they are, of some guys internally.”
John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press suggests Vladimir Guerrero and Raul Ibanez could be fits for the Tigers and notes that it remains to be seen whether Martinez's injury will affect the Tigers' pursuit of Yoenis Cespedes.
Right-hander Jacob Turner, third baseman Nick Castellanos, left-hander Drew Smyly and left-hander Casey Crosby top Baseball America's list of the Tigers' best prospects entering the season.
Leyland said the Tigers could round out their rotation with a trade or a free agent acquisition, James Schmehl of MLive.com writes. Turner and others would compete for the team's final rotation spot if Dombrowski doesn't add a starter.
Right-hander Max Scherzer is an extension candidate and I previewed a possible deal last night.

NL East Notes: Wigginton, Brown, Oviedo, Fielder

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 18, 2012 at 11:30pm CDT

Earlier today we heard that the Nationals are discussing a contract extension with Ryan Zimmerman and that the agent for Cole Hamels doesn't think Jered Weaver's five-year $85MM deal is that relevant for his client. Here are some more notes on the NL East, starting with Hamels’ teammates in Philadelphia…

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said on MLB Network Radio that the Phillies are operating carefully because they’re up against the luxury tax, Jim Bowden tweets.
Amaro said Ty Wigginton will play first base regularly until Ryan Howard returns from the disabled list, Bowden tweets. Jim Thome will also get occasional starts at first.
Amaro said he expects to platoon John Mayberry Jr. and Laynce Nix in left field, Bowden tweets. Unless Domonic Brown wows his bosses in Spring Training, he’ll head to the Phillies' Triple-A club.
There’s an expectation that the Marlins will try to trade Juan Carlos Oviedo, and the reliever told Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that he’s mentally prepared for a deal. “It's a business,” he said. “I'd like to stay in Miami, but those are things they decide.”
Many baseball people still view the Nationals as the favorite to sign Prince Fielder, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.

Quick Hits: Motte, Cespedes, Garcia, Angels

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 18, 2012 at 10:05pm CDT

On this date last year, the White Sox selected Philip Humber off of waivers from the Athletics. The right-hander posted a 3.75 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 163 innings in 2011 and projects to start for Chicago in 2012. We didn't see anyone claimed on waivers today, but we do have these links…

A multiyear deal between the Cardinals and Jason Motte is ‘in play,’ though nothing is close, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. Motte filed for $2.4MM in arbitration, with the Cardinals countering at $1.5MM, as our Arbitration Tracker shows.
Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes hit his first home run since joining the Dominican Winter League and you can view a clip of it here (hat tip: Keith Law).
Another Cuban, left-hander Onelkis Garcia, will be eligible for the 2012 amateur draft, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. MLB made Garcia eligible to MLB teams as last year's draft approached, before making him ineligible at the last minute. Scouts tell Badler the 22-year-old projects as a reliever and could be selected in the third round this June.
Angels GM Jerry Dipoto explained to Lance Pugmire of the LA Times that at one point during the Winter Meetings, the Angels had people negotiating with representatives for C.J. Wilson, LaTroy Hawkins and Albert Pujols in three different places.
Indians president Mark Shapiro, who is depicted in the Moneyball movie, told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com that he enjoyed the film for what it was. "I appreciate why most people would like it,” Shapiro said. “But I felt like it was an oversimplified kind of view, which is kind of what you have to do when you take a lot of history and condense it into an hour and a half."

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