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Blue Jays Have Inquired On Greinke, Gordon

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The Blue Jays have inquired about the availability of Zack Greinke and Alex Gordon, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. As Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported yesterday, the Royals are looking for multiple top prospects for Greinke.

The Blue Jays have Shaun Marcum, Brandon Morrow, Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil and Kyle Drabek pencilled in to their 2011 rotation. They could either let Drabek begin the year in the minors or trade a starter of their own if they acquired Greinke.

Gordon could play first or third for the Blue Jays, but it’s unlikely that he would patrol the outfield, where Travis Snider, Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista figure to get most of the playing time.

It’s not surprising to hear that the Blue Jays inquired on Greinke, a former Cy Young Award winner, and Gordon, a former first rounder who has always destroyed minor league pitching, but it doesn’t mean that GM Alex Anthopoulos will make the Royals a serious offer. 

Angels Target Crawford, Prepare To Spend

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The Angels have made Carl Crawford their primary free agent target and are prepared to spend $100MM or more on him, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. The Halos will also monitor the market for Cliff Lee, but they don’t expect to become finalists for the left-hander.

Torii Hunter, who speaks to Crawford regularly, predicts the Red Sox and Angels will be finalists for the left fielder’s services. Hunter expects Angels owner Arte Moreno to visit Crawford in person and he hopes the trip is a success. “We need Carl Crawford," Hunter said. "Put it like that."

A’s To Sign Vicmal De La Cruz

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9:22pm: De La Cruz will get an $800K bonus, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter).

8:51pm: The A's agreed to sign De La Cruz, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Badler writes that the 16-year-old center fielder has impressed scouts with "some of the best all-around tools of any prospect from this year's international signing class."

8:18pm: The A's are likely to sign top Dominican amateur Vicmal De La Cruz, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com (on Twitter). When Blake Bentley ranked this year's crop of July 2 prospects for MLBTR, De La Cruz topped the list because of his tools and star potential.

The contract details are not known, but it would not be surprising if the A's offered De La Cruz a seven-figure bonus. As MLBTR's Mike Axisa noted when reviewing Oakland's biggest bonuses, the A's "spend like financial powerhouses when it comes to young talent" despite being a small market team.

Brown On Red Sox, Reynolds, Beckham

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Agent Scott Boras tells Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the changes to the offseason schedule mean he’s fielding offers for his clients earlier than usual. Here are the rest of Brown’s rumors:

  • The Astros appear to be close to re-signing Geoff Blum.
  • The Red Sox will determine how available Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder are before they start serious negotiations with top free agents. It sounds like the Padres and Brewers will at least listen to offers for their respective first basemen.
  • The D’Backs are “shopping” Mark Reynolds and looking for relievers and contact hitters.
  • Rival teams believe the White Sox will listen to offers for Gordon Beckham.
  • Gary Matthews Jr. hopes to continue playing, according to Brown.

 

Red Sox Eyeing John Buck

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The Red Sox have had extensive internal discussions about John Buck and are expected to pursue him aggressively in case Victor Martinez signs elsewhere, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Boston’s front office expects the Tigers to make a “major push” for Martinez.

The Red Sox have Jarrod Saltalamacchia, but will likely add a second catcher since Martinez and Jason Varitek are free agents. Buck, who would not cost a pick to sign, batted .281/.314/.489 with 20 homers for the Blue Jays last year after the Royals non-tendered him. The 30-year-old threw out 28% of would be base stealers and made the All-Star team for the first time in his career.

The Blue Jays will have Jose Molina and J.P. Arencibia in uniform next year, but they haven't ruled out bringing back Buck or Miguel Olivo (who became Blue Jays property in a surprising trade last week). Toronto will obtain a supplementary first round pick if Buck declines arbitration to sign elsewhere.

Stark On Greinke, Jeter, Phillies, Uggla

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It's looking more and more likely that MLB will add a second wild card team to each league, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. He also has the latest rumblings from around the league; here they are:

  • Clubs that have spoken to the Royals say Kansas City would only accept a bunch of front-line players for Zack Greinke. One of those players must be a pitcher with a Greinke-like ceiling, so GM Dayton Moore expects a lot for his ace.
  • Clubs that have checked in with the Royals believe Greinke would veto a deal to any major market East Coast team. However, one official says the pitcher “would at least think about the L.A. clubs.”
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently suggested that the Yankees make Derek Jeter a Yankee for life with a 25-year contract that would keep him involved in the organization once his playing days end, but Stark hears that Jeter’s next deal will be “a baseball contract. Period.”
  • A Phillies source summed up the chances of Jayson Werth returning to Philadelphia concisely: "No chance. None. Zero.
  • "The Phillies are working aggressively to re-sign Jose Contreras, according to Stark.
  • GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Stark that he has been working the phones this week. "We've made contact with 40 free agents, predominantly bullpen guys." He said. "Left-handed relief is a priority for us."
  • Teams that have contacted the Marlins about Dan Uggla see definite signs that if extension talks don’t go anywhere, the second baseman could soon become trade bait.

A’s Acquire DeJesus For Mazzaro, Marks

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The A’s acquired David DeJesus from the Royals for right-hander Vin Mazzaro and left-hander Justin Marks, the teams announced today. Royals GM Dayton Moore says Mazzaro will join the team’s rotation and Marks will start the season at high Class A Wilmington. 

Mazzaro, 24, posted a 4.27 ERA in 122 1/3 innings for the A's this year with 5.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. He became expendable when Oakland won the bidding for Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma earlier in the week. If the A's reach a deal with Iwakuma, he'll join Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden in the team's rotation.

DeJesus batted .318/.384/.443 in 394 plate appearances this year, but he missed the final two months of the season because he required surgery on his right thumb. The 30-year-old, who has spent all of his eight-year career with the Royals, has experience in left, center and right. He joins Rajai Davis, Coco Crisp, Ryan Sweeney, Conor Jackson and Jack Cust in a crowded Oakland outfield that could clear up if Jackson and Cust are traded or non-tendered.

Marks, 22, posted a 4.87 ERA as a starter in the lower minors in 2010. The 2009 third rounder posted 9.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 as he picked up his first significant experience as a pro.

DeJesus will earn $6MM in 2011 and qualify for free agency after the season. Mazzaro may qualify for arbitration as a Super Two next winter, but he cheap for now and won't hit free agency until after the 2015 campaign.

Regular MLBTR Features

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If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

  • MLBTR Chats – Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the major leagues.
  • Baseball Blogs Weigh In – Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
  • Week In Review – It's amazing how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
  • MLBTR Originals – We gather all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.

Brian Bannister Becomes A Free Agent

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Brian Bannister is officially a free agent, according to the Royals. Kansas City reinstated Jason Kendall and David DeJesus from the 60-day DL and made room by outrighting Bannister to Triple-A and designating right-hander Brian Anderson for assignment. Bannister refused his assignment and became a free agent.

Bannister, 29, pitched to a 6.34 ERA in 127 2/3 innings last year. His walk rate rose to 3.5 BB/9 and his strikeout rate dropped to 5.4 K/9, so it's not surprising that the Royals let him go. If they had offered arbitration, Bannister would have made something like $2.3MM, his 2010 salary. When Mike Axisa identified Bannister as a non-tender candidate last month, 71% of MLBTR readers correctly predicted that the Royals would cut him loose.

Anderson, a longtime outfielder in the major leagues, started making the transition to the mound this year. He logged 17 1/3 innings across three levels in the Royals system, striking out 17 and walking 5.

Reds Re-Sign Corky Miller

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The Reds announced that they re-signed Corky Miller to a minor league deal after the catcher cleared waivers, refused an outright assignment and elected free agency. The 34-year-old batted .243/.282/.392 in 79 plate appearances for the Reds in 2010.

Miller threw out 27% of would be base stealers while backing up Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan. The ten-year MLB veteran figures to take on a similar role for the Reds in 2011.

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