M’s, Felix Make “A Bit” Of Progress On Deal
The Mariners and Felix Hernandez made "a bit" of progress on a five or six-year deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. The two sides will work towards a one-year deal first before resuming talks on a deal that would buy out some of Felix's free agent years.
Hernandez, 24 in April, will likely become a free agent after the 2011 season. A five-year deal would buy three free agent years out and a six-year deal would buy four of them out. Josh Johnson just agreed to a deal that will pay him $13.75MM for each of his first two free agent years, but Hernandez would presumably be looking for more, since he has more major league success to his name at a younger age.
Mariners Claim Tommy Everidge From A’s
The Mariners have claimed Tommy Everidge off waivers from the A's, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea. The A's designated the 26-year-old for assignment last week to make room for Jack Cust. Everidge had a .667 OPS in 97 major league plate appearances last year, but posted a .958 OPS in the upper minors. Everidge has played some third base, but has spent most of his time at first.
Giants Talking To Calero, Could Add A Catcher
The Giants are definitely interested in reliever Kiko Calero, according to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com. Giants vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans confirmed that the club has been talking to Calero's agent, Diego Benz. Even still, Evans seems to think Calero will get a better offer from another club.
There has been little reported interest in the 35-year-old this offseason, despite his strong 2009 year. Calero allowed 36 hits and 30 walks in 60 innings, striking out 69 for a 1.95 ERA, but we haven't heard of interested teams other than the Cubs and Giants.
Brian Sabean is prepared to hand the starting catcher's job to Buster Posey, but Urban says the GM sounds open to adding another backstop (we know they inquired on Yorvit Torrealba). Signing a fifth starter is not a priority for the Giants.
Braves Not Likely To Sign Damon
Don't expect Johnny Damon to end up in Atlanta unless his asking price drops significantly. MLB.com's Mark Bowman hears that the club isn't likely to pursue Damon unless they can sign him for $1-2MM. One of Bowman's sources says "it would take a miracle" for the Braves to sign the left fielder.
The Tigers have some interest in Damon, and the Yankees could re-engage the Scott Boras client if the market continues to weaken Damon's negotiating position.
Dodgers, Billingsley Avoid Arbitration
The Dodgers avoided arbitration with Chad Billingsley, agreeing on a contract for 2010, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Billingley, who made $475K last year and was arbitration-eligible for the first time, will earn $3.85MM this year, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
Corner Infield Options For The Orioles
The Orioles' search for a corner infielder begins with a pair of Scott Boras clients and extends to Puerto Rico, but with a number of alternatives available, the club can afford to wait. Boras, who spoke recently with team president Andy MacPhail, tells Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that Hank Blalock and Joe Crede are options for the Orioles.
"They are fits for Baltimore," Boras said. "It just really depends on whether they want a first or a third baseman."
MacPhail would prefer to play Garrett Atkins at first, according to the Sun, so Crede might makes more sense for the O's. Crede will be looking for the kind of make good contract that fellow Boras client Adrian Beltre signed last week: a short term deal that allows the player to demand a bigger contract if he succeeds.
As expected, the Orioles scouted Carlos Delgado in Puerto Rico last week, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.com. Kubatko names Russell Branyan, Ryan Garko and Chad Tracy as alternatives the O's could pursue.
The Sun notes that the O's signed former Marlin Andy Gonzalez to a minor league deal.
Blue Jays Talking Trades, Will Watch Sheets
Alex Anthopoulos is back from a productive honeymoon. The Blue Jays GM tells MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he worked on three trades and talked to six GMs while vactioning in Hawaii.
The Jays have at least some interest in a notable free agent, too. They will scout Ben Sheets when he throws next week, Anthopoulos confirmed. Toronto doesn't seem like the most logical destination for Sheets, who will see interest from contenders looking to deepen their rotations,but Anthopoulos says the Jays have to do their homework on all players.
"We're not doing our job if we don't at least take a look," he said.
The Jays are tracking players aggressively under Anthopoulos, who upgraded the scouting staff once he became GM.
Indians Sign Mike Redmond
The Indians have signed catcher Mike Redmond, according to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. The 38-year-old has backed up Joe Mauer since 2005 and he figures to do the same for Lou Marson in Cleveland. As Castrovince notes, it's the first major league free agent signing the Indians have made this offseason.
Redmond hit .237/.299/.289 in 147 plate appearances last year. He has a career OBP of .345, but very little power. He hit just two homers in his five-year stint with the Twins. The Padres, who are also looking for catching depth,had been linked to Redmond earlier in the month.
D’Backs Avoid Arbitration With Conor Jackson
The D'Backs avoided arbitration with Conor Jackson, agreeing to sign the left fielder to a $3.1MM deal for 2010, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Jackson, who earned $3.05MM last year, won't be a free agent until after the 2011 season.
The 27-year-old dealt with Valley Fever in 2009 and made just 110 plate appearances, hitting .182/.264/.253. It was easily Jackson's worst showing in the major leagues; his OPS topped .800 in each of the three seasons before last year.
Marlins Rumors: Johnson, Nolasco, Pinto, Uggla
The Marlins spent big yesterday. Here are the details on their plans for the rest of the offseason:
- Josh Johnson tells MLB.com that he always wanted to stay with the Marlins long-term. Yesterday the right-hander agreed to an extension that buys two of his free agent years out.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that the Marlins didn't consider a long-term deal for another one of their young right-handers, Ricky Nolasco.
- The Marlins may trade Renyel Pinto before the season begins, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.
- Capozzi hears that the Marlins are talking regularly with Dan Uggla in hopes of agreeing on the infielder's 2010 salary without going to arbitration.