Reds Agree To Minor League Deal With Nix
The Reds agreed to sign Laynce Nix to a minor league deal, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Nix became a free agent about a month ago, but the Reds stayed in contact with him and ultimately brought him back. Nix set a career high with 15 homers this year, hitting .239/.291/.476 in 337 plate appearances for the Reds.
Mets Sign Clint Everts, Elmer Dessens
The Mets announced the signing of righty Clint Everts according to the Twitter account of the Reynolds Sports Agency. The 25-year-old pitched in the minors for the Nationals this year, splitting time across three levels. He allowed 49 hits and 26 walks in 60.0 innings, striking out 68 for an ERA of 1.65.
And we first heard about the Mets' involvement with Elmer Dessens weeks ago, but the club officially announced that signing today, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (via Twitter).
Rays Sign Ryan Shealy, Joe Dillon
The Rays signed Ryan Shealy to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The 30-year-old first baseman has a .271/.335/.429 line in 591 career plate appearances with the Rockies and Royals. Shealy, who didn't play at all last year, is a right-handed hitter, but hits oddly well against righties (.843 career OPS).
The Rays also signed Joe Dillon, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain. The Rays acquired the 34-year-old for Adam Kennedy this year, and used him in 15 games.
Jason Bay Rumors: Friday
The Mariners have a new left fielder, so we can safely assume they won't be committing tens of millions to Jason Bay. As Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post notes on his Twitter account, Bay's options are disappearing. Hubbuch says resolution with the Mets "should be coming soon." They're currently waiting to hear back from Bay on their offer.
Mariners Could Trade Morrow, Talking Extension With Gutierrez
1:19pm: Earlier in the week Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the club isn't currently talking trades with the Mariners. A deal is still possible, but the Brewers have shown no inclination to trade Gamel.
10:59am: The Mariners are trying to trade one of their young players and lock another one up long-term, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal hears that the Mariners are trying to trade Brandon Morrow for a corner infielder or DH. The M's may re-visit talks with the Brewers about a Mat Gamel for Morrow swap.
Giants Agree To Sign Third Base Prospect
The Giants have agreed to sign a Dominican third base prospect to a seven-figure deal, according to Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus. They will sign Duanel Jones to a deal worth $1.3MM, according to McDaniel's sources, though that number has yet to be completely confirmed.
White Sox Acquire Juan Pierre
FRIDAY, 12:57pm: The Dodgers will obtain Ely and Link to complete the deal, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
TUESDAY, 11:44am: The Dodgers will choose two pitchers from a list of arms that could contribute in the majors next year, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The teams will complete the trade on or before January 7th, 2010, according to a Dodgers press release.
11:31am: The Dodgers have officially announced the deal, according to Hernandez. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that John Ely and Jon Link are heading to the Dodgers. The Tigers and Pirates also had interest in Pierre, according to Morosi.
10:43am: The White Sox will pay $3MM of Pierre's salary in 2010 and $5MM of it in 2011, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. That means the Dodgers will pay the remaining $10.5MM.
10:28am: Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times says the Dodgers will acquire two players to be named later.
9:52am: The White Sox acquired Juan Pierre from the Dodgers for two minor league pitchers, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (and confirmed by Ken Rosenthal). The Dodgers will take on roughly half of Pierre's salary. The outfielder has $18.5MM remaining on his deal ($10MM next year and $8.5MM in 2011), so the Dodgers are taking on about $9MM.
Pierre, 32, hit .308/.365/.392 in 425 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year. He stole 30 bases and played well in the outfield, according to UZR (though we don't want to draw sweeping conclusions from 750 innings of work).
The White Sox had shown interest in Scott Podsednik and Brett Gardner, but they appear set with their new addition. If Pierre performs close to last year's levels, the White Sox will have themselves a bargain (depending on the pitchers they give up).
Boston Offered Holliday Five Years
Before they signed John Lackey, the Red Sox offered Matt Holliday a five-year deal worth $82.5MM, according to Peter Gammons (via Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney heard the same thing and adds, not surprisingly, that the Red Sox are no longer suitors for Holliday. That's comparable to the amount of money the Cardinals are willing to guarantee the left fielder, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Vazquez, Matthews
Some links for Friday…
- Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com expect the Cubs to go after free agent center fielders now that they've dealt Milton Bradley.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer doesn't expect the Reds to deal Aaron Harang in the near future.
- The Chiba Lotte Marines signed Bryan Corey, according to NPB Tracker.
- A source close to Javier Vazquez tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman that it's highly unlikely the pitcher would approve a trade to a west coast team like the Angels. The Braves are still interested in trading Derek Lowe.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale says it would be an upset to see anyone but the Cardinals sign Matt Holliday.
- Now that the Dodgers have traded Juan Pierre, the Angels are optimistic about unloading Gary Matthews Jr. and his contract, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The Angels will have to eat some of the $23MM owed to Matthews if they hope to deal him.
- O's reliever Jim Johnson tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's glad to have new acquisition Mike Gonzalez around.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still need another arm. Brian Cashman says the Yankees aren't done.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times expects the Yanks to spend big on next year's free agent class.
- New Blue Jay Kyle Drabek tells the Toronto Sun that he doesn't plan on changing his approach, though he does feel some pressure as a major piece of the Roy Halladay trade.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates evaluate players and then stand by the figures they decide on almost all the time. This approach prevents the Pirates from over-spending and sometimes prevents them from signing their targets (like Miguel Angel Sano).
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers expect Claudio Vargas to take his physical today and finalize his deal.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan examines Scott Boras' relationship with mystery teams.
Phillies Exercise Jimmy Rollins’ 2011 Option
The Phillies picked up Jimmy Rollins' $8.5MM option for 2011, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. It's interesting to see the Phillies pick the option up now; they could easily have preserved some flexibility by waiting.