Mets Close To Signing Bengie Molina
The Mets are "close" to signing Bengie Molina, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The Mets have been connected to Molina all offseason, but seem reluctant to guarantee him two years. Molina, who was looking for a three-year deal, is willing to sign a two-year contract, according to Morosi.
The 35-year-old catcher hit .265/.285/.442 for the Giants last year, hitting 20 homers. Molina's career .308 OBP is nothing special and he throws out fewer baserunners than he did when he was winning Gold Gloves in the early 2000s, but he is durable. Molina appeared in 132 games last year, up from his average of 121 for the decade.
Giants Sign Aubrey Huff
The Giants officially signed first baseman Aubrey Huff to a one-year, $3MM deal today. The deal was first reported Sunday by Dennis O'Donnell of CBS5 in San Francisco.
Huff split his time between first base and DH last year. Though he has played hundreds of major league games at third, he figures to play first for the Giants. Pablo Sandoval, Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe are all in the mix for time at the corner infield positions, so Bruce Bochy will have lots of options.
Huff, 33, hit .241/.310/.384 in 2009. He will presumably pick up some at bats from Travis Ishikawa, who is seven years younger than Huff and plays better defense. Ishikawa hit .261/.329/.387 last year in 113 games at first base, so he was more productive than Huff at the plate, too.
As MLBTR's Mike Axisa points out on River Ave. Blues, the move appears to lessen the chances that Johnny Damon ends up in San Francisco. The Braves and Yankees could still be fits for Damon, but the Yanks' interest likely depends on Damon's willingness to lower his demands. This also limits the market for Adam LaRoche; the Mets and Orioles have openings at first, but few other teams do.
Astros Sign Brett Myers
The Astros officially signed Brett Myers to a one-year, $5.1MM deal today. His contract pays $3.1MM in 2010 and has an $8MM mutual option/$2MM buyout for '11. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first tweeted that the Astros were talking to the right-hander about a starting job and MLB.com's Brian McTaggart followed up with a couple Tweets of his own, first indicating that the Astros had signed Myers, then passing the specifics along. Alyson Footer tweeted salary details today.
Myers' ERA and hit rates have risen for two consecutive seasons and his strikeout rate dropped for the second straight year in 2009. His average fastball lost velocity and his slider lost effectiveness. To his credit, Myers lowered his walk rate last year and allowed a disproportionately high homer total. He was sidelined for much of the season due to hip surgery.
The Astros are hoping that Myers can recover his 2005-06 form. The 29-year-old made 30 starts in both seasons, keeping his ERA below 4.00. Myers joins Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez in a rotation that will likely include two of Brian Moehler, Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino. The Astros have committed over $28MM this offseason to Myers, Matt Lindstrom, Pedro Feliz, Brandon Lyon, Jason Michaels, Geoff Blum, and others – more than they were thought to have available.
Houston’s Compensation For Losing Valverde
Hundreds of players remain on the open market, but only one of the unsigned Type A free agents received an offer of arbitration. Now that players like Jason Bay and Matt Holliday have signed, just Jose Valverde remains.
- 19th – The Tigers would have to give their first rounder up, but they've reportedly made an offer.
- 23rd – The Marlins consider Valverde too pricey right now.
- 49th - The Pirates have some interest, but don't like Valverde's asking price of $8MM per year.
- 53rd – The D'Backs, who are also interested, have their first round pick protected.
- 57th – The A's have a protected first rounder, but they may stick with 2009 Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey.
- 58th – We haven't heard of definitive interest from the Blue Jays.
- The Phillies (27th), Yankees (32nd) and Nats (48th) would all surrender top-50 picks to sign Valverde, though those clubs don't appear to be likely destinations.
- The Red Sox haven't been connected to him either, and they'd rather avoid the luxury tax, but here's something to consider: they'd only have to give up their 107th overall pick to add the reliever. Valverde's ranked higher than John Lackey and Marco Scutaro, so the Astros get the 29th pick (now held by the Angels) if their former closer signs with the Red Sox. The Blue Jays and Angels are surely hoping to avoid this possibility because it would strengthen their rival's bullpen and diminish the value of their compensation picks.
- Confused? Check out our free agent compensation primer.
Aroldis Chapman Rumors: Friday
7:30pm: ESPN's Jorge Arangure says (via Twitter) that if the Yankees don't sign Chapman, he'd be willing to bet that it has more to do with makeup than money.
5:49pm: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com tweets that the Reds are in on Chapman, however the Jays remain the favorite. In a second tweet, Rosenthal mentions that Toronto has money to spend after sending Scott Rolen, Alex Rios, and Roy Halladay packing.
4:00pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Blue Jays have a "decent shot" at signing Chapman, now that they appear to have bid over $20MM. He names the Nationals, Marlins, Red Sox, A's and Angels as potential players for the prospect.
12:11pm: As the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes continue, at least one outlet is reporting that the Blue Jays have made the left-hander a considerable offer. Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald reports that the Jays offered Chapman a $23MM deal (click here for the Miami-based paper's original Spanish story and here for some Drunk Jays Fans analysis).
Ebro reports that the Marlins raised their offer to $16MM, but have now conceded defeat. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported yesterday that the Marlins did not expect to sign Chapman. That leaves the Angels, Red Sox and Blue Jays in pursuit of the Cuban prospect.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Damon, Boras, Padres
Some links for Friday…
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com reports that the Red Sox considered dealing Jason Varitek and Shea Hillenbrand for Adrian Beltre and Paul LoDuca before the 2003 season.
- The Twins invited Mike Maroth and 13 other non-roster players to Spring Training, according to a team press release.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter) that the Tigers have no intention of adding a DH.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that the team is focusing on adding an outfielder, not a catcher or a starter. Sabean, who would prefer to add a left-handed hitter, did not confirm or deny interest in Johnny Damon.
- Scott Boras would let Adrian Beltre baby-sit his kids, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
- Boras says he approached the Red Sox about the idea of signing Adrian Beltre to a "pillow contract," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Boras likes that Beltre will likely attract lots of attention in Boston.
- Boras tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's starting to have "a lot of conversation" about Rick Ankiel. He also suggests Joe Crede could be a fit for the Cards.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times tweets that the Franklin Gutierrez extension should become official today.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Hideki Matsui's one-year $6MM deal with the Angels set the market for other DH-types like Vladimir Guerrero.
- As MLB.com's Corey Brock notes (via Twitter), the Royals' pending deal with Scott Podsednik could influence the offers the Padres make to Jerry Hairston Jr. and Randy Winn.
- The Nippon Ham Fighters acquired former Blue Jay reliever Brian Wolfe, according to the Kyodo News.
- Carlos Delgado hit a homer in the Puerto Rican Winter League yesterday, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
- Jason Giambi is open to returning to the Rockies if he doesn't find a DH job, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch totals up the Cardinals' payroll and finds that the club has $7.4MM to spend on four players – an outfielder, an infielder, a reliever and a starter.
Nationals Interested In Randy Winn?
4:12pm: Winn tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link) that he hasn't heard anything about the Nationals' interest.
3:13pm: Randy Winn has a new suitor, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter). The Nationals are interested in the 35-year-old outfielder. Winn hit .262/.318/.353 last year, but has appeal because of his glove (He added more defensive value than all but three outfielders in 2009, despite his age).
The Nationals have Josh Willingham, Nyjer Morgan and Elijah Dukes in the outfield, so adding Winn would probably mean dealing Willingham or reducing Dukes' role. Winn wants to get at bats, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, so it doesn't sound like he'll take a bench role unless he has to.
The Royals were connected to Winn, but their interest has presumably waned, now that they're on the cusp of adding Scott Podsednik. Winn could make sense for the Padres, and we've heard him connected to the D'Backs for a while now.
Rangers In “Serious Talks” With Guerrero
3:46pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Rangers are in "serious talks" with Vlad about a deal that would be worth about $5MM plus incentives.
1:52pm: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers have offered Guerrero a contract. However, Sullivan's sources indicate that it wasn't close to $7MM. Interestingly, Sullivan hears from executives who haven't heard Guerrero's name connected with any other team.
The Rangers have expressed interest in Jim Thome, according to Sullivan.
11:20am: Richard Durrett of ESPN.com hears that though the Rangers have been in regular contact with Vlad's representatives, the two sides haven't made progress towards a deal. Guerrero still wants a two-year contract.
10:50am: Yahoo's Tim Brown hears that the Rangers haven't made any official offers to DH candidates.
9:30am: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Rangers offered about $5MM.
FRIDAY, 9:10am: Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hears from a team source that the Rangers did not offer Vlad $7MM.
THURSDAY, 4:01pm: A source tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that the Rangers aren't likely to commit more than $5MM to Vlad.
3:00pm: Sullivan hears that Vlad isn't particularly happy with the Rangers' offer, though he hasn't seen a better one from any other team.
1:47pm: The Rangers have offered Vladimir Guerrero a one-year deal worth $7MM, according to this tweet from Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Hat Tip: Jorge Arangure Jr.'s Twitter). We've heard about the Rangers' potential interest in Vlad for months now and T.R. Sullivan reported yesterday that the Rangers are very much interested in the 2004 AL MVP.
Vlad hit .295/.334/.460 last year for the Angels and made $15MM. He's in line for a pay-cut this offseason because of his fading power (32 extra base hits last year) and questionable defense (consistently weak, according to UZR/150). Vlad is one of the best hitters of his generation, but the surplus of DH-types probably means he won't see offers much better than this.
A’s Sign Lenny DiNardo
The A's signed lefty Lenny DiNardo to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. DiNardo, a "popular guy" in the clubhouse, returns to the A's after spending last year in Kansas City.
The 30-year-old pitched for the A's in 2007-08 and had his most successful major league stint in Oakland. He managed a 4.61 ERA in 154.1 innings over the course of his two seasons by the Bay. The A's will be able to retain DiNardo as an arbitration-eligible player after next season if they so choose, since he won't have enough service time to file for free agency.
Not only did the A's sign DiNardo today, they lost Jay Marshall to the Mets on waivers and designated Tommy Everidge for assignment. Click here for more on which infielders the A's are pursuing.
Mets Claim Jay Marshall From A’s
The Mets claimed lefty Jay Marshall off waivers from the A's today, according to Lisa Winston of MLB.com. The reliever, who turns 27 next month, has allowed 63 hits and 22 walks in 49.1 big league innings, striking out 19 for a 7.66 ERA. He appeared in ten games for the A's in 2009, allowing 12 runs in 7.1 innings.
Marshall's numbers were markedly better in Triple A last year, where he posted a 3.20 ERA in 50 appearances.