Multiple Teams Interested In Brian Giles
The agent for Brian Giles tells Dan Hayes of the North County Times that eight to ten teams have inquired on his client (Twitter link). Joe Bick, Giles' agent, expects the 39-year-old outfielder to agree to a deal by the end of the week.
Giants Sign Guillermo Mota
The Giants signed Guillermo Mota to a minor league deal, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Unlike Horacio Ramirez and Byung-Hyun Kim, who also agreed to deals with the Giants today, Mota receives an invitation to Spring Training.
The Dodgers didn't offer Mota arbitration after the righty posted a 3.44 ERA for them last year in 65.1 innings of relief. The 36-year-old's rate stats – 5.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 – are nothing special, but his average fastball is about 94 mph.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wang, Brewers, Cabrera
Some links for your Sunday…
- Bryce Harper is not among the top ten on the Pirates' draft rankings currently, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Jason Marquis, Ryan Zimmerman, Nyjer Morgan, and Ivan Rodriguez have all voiced their desire for the Nats to sign Orlando Hudson, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. - The Phillies have talked about Chien-Ming Wang, but don't believe he's a fit, according to Scott Lauber of the News Journal.
- Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson says it's up to Mark Mulder to decide if he wants to pitch for the Brewers, according to this tweet from Haudricourt.
- The Brewers have pulled their latest offer to Corey Hart and are preparing for an arbitration hearing with him, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Orlando Cabrera wasn't willing to move from shortstop, so he picked the Reds over the Rockies, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
- Chien-Ming Wang will end up on one of the coasts, according to this tweet from Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- Melvin Mora is talking extensively with the Rockies and another club, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- The Dodgers are in the midst of talks with Garret Anderson, writes Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
- Tony Jackson of ESPN.com adds Reed Johnson, Gabe Gross and Brian Giles to the list of backup outfielders the team is considering.
- The Indians are talking about bringing Russell Branyan back, according to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A reunion seems unlikely unless Branyan doesn't see appealing offers elsewhere.
- The Brewers engaged Jason Marquis but backed off since they were convinced he would sign with the Mets, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
All-Star Free Agents Remaining
Matt Holliday and Jason Bay have signed, but the free agent market is still littered with former All-Stars. Most of these players won't make another All-Star team, but lots of them can still be useful contributors. Take John Smoltz, for example. He lost his first All-Star Game to Nolan Ryan two decades ago, in 1989. Like many players below, Smoltz is past his prime but could help teams win.
They're not the best players around, or even the best free agents, but here's the complete list of free agents who have been selected to at least one All-Star Game. These 37 players have been chosen for the Midsummer Classic 92 times in total:
- One – Rich Aurilia, Aaron Boone, Paul Byrd, Tony Clark, Joe Crede, Shawn Estes, Cliff Floyd, Geoff Jenkins, Felipe Lopez, Mike MacDougal, Eric Milton, Chan Ho Park, Odalis Perez, Mark Prior
- Two – Hank Blalock, Bartolo Colon, Johnny Damon, Carlos Delgado, Jermaine Dye, Darin Erstad, Brian Giles, Mike Hampton, Livan Hernandez, Orlando Hudson, Jason Isringhausen, Mark Mulder, Dmitri Young
- Three - Garret Anderson, Eric Gagne, Tom Gordon, Jason Schmidt
- Four - Troy Percival
- Five - Mike Sweeney
- Six - Nomar Garciaparra
- Eight - Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz
- Nine - Gary Sheffield
Cafardo On Damon, Ohman, Sheffield, Wang
Scott Boras tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he has seen some "very creative proposals" for Johnny Damon's services. The market for Damon seems limited, but teams like the Blue Jays, Tigers and A's could be fits at some price. Here are the rest of Cafardo's rumors:
- The Blue Jays, Orioles and Royals seem most aggressive in their pursuit of reliever Will Ohman.
- Gary Sheffield is considering two unidentified teams and waiting for offers from them.
- Boras is trying to find interest for Jeff Weaver.
- There's interest in Chien-Ming Wang, but teams aren't offering the two-time 19 game winner much money.
Olney On The Damon Negotiations
When the offseason began, Johnny Damon was not interested in seeing offers for deals that would pay him less than the $13MM he made in 2009, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The Yankees offered Damon $14MM over two years ealier in the winter and lowered the offer to $6MM for a single year recently.
Nationals, Dunn Talked Extension Today
SATURDAY, 4:51pm: Dunn could be a fit for a number of American League teams next offseason, including the Red Sox or Rangers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Boston could seek a replacement for David Ortiz while the Rangers, who are under new ownership, may be drawn to the Texas native.
Despite the fact that most baseball people view him as a DH, the Nats seem comfortable with the 30-year-old at first base. In 66 starts at the position in 2009, Dunn posted a UZR/150 of -25.0.
FRIDAY, 4:49pm: GM Mike Rizzo said the Nats talked with Dunn about an extension this afternoon, according to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. The Nats and Dunn both say they'd like to reach an agreement, but they hadn't sat down to discuss one before today and the talks are still in their preliminary stages.
3:05pm: The extension talks are at "stage 0," according to this update tweet from Ladson.
1:34pm: The Nationals are discussing an extension with Adam Dunn, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Dunn, 30, is under contract for $12MM in 2010, but he's set to become a free agent after the season.
You get tons of power, walks and strikeouts with Dunn, but not much defense. He broke his personal streak of hitting exactly 40 homers per year at four in 2009 when he hit 38. His exceptionally poor defense limits his value, so he's likely to fit better on AL teams from here on.
Tigers, Verlander Talking Long-Term Deal
SATURDAY, 1:31pm: Tacking on a sixth year to a new contract for Verlander could cost the Tigers an additional $20MM, writes Tom Gage of The Detroit News.
FRIDAY, 4:27pm: The sides will likely reach a deal if the Tigers guarantee a sixth year, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Verlander has avoided team options in the past so a club option seems unlikely.
1:10pm: The Tigers have started talking with Justin Verlander about a long-term deal, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan. The sides are discussing a five-year $75MM deal, but Verlander wants a sixth year guaranteed.
Felix Hernandez's five-year $78MM deal would serve as a baseline for a possible Verlander deal. The Mariners bought out two of Hernandez's arbitration years, plus three free agent years. The Tigers are looking to do the same with Verlander, who is on track to hit free agency after the 2011 season.
Verlander, who turns 27 next month, led the American League in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched last year. It was a return to form after a disappointing 2008 season. Verlander has pitched at least 200 innings in each of the last three seasons. He was named AL Rookie of the Year in 2006 and pitched a no-hitter the following year.
Verlander filed for $9.5MM in arbitration earlier this month, while the Tigers offered $6.9MM.
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."
Twins, Mauer Begin Contract Negotiations
The Twins have opened contract negotiations with Joe Mauer. Manager Ron Gardenhire told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that talks couldn't be going better with the catcher. Mauer's agent, Ron Shapiro, confirmed to Jon Heyman of SI.com that talks have begun, but cautions that "nothing is imminent." (Both links go to Twitter).
Mauer will hit free agency after this season if the Twins don't lock him up long-term. That's easier said than done for a small-market team, especially when we're talking about one of the best players in the world. Mauer doesn't turn 27 until April, but he already has three batting titles, two Gold Gloves and an MVP to his name.
He led the league in batting average, OBP and SLG last year, maintaining his reputation as a strong defender and helping his club make the playoffs. He's under contract for $12.5MM this year, and he'll have the chance to sign for considerably more than $100MM if he hits the open market.