Rockies Sign Phillips; Interest In Torrealba
The Rockies signed catcher Paul Phillips to a minor league deal today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Phillips will make $450K if he's on the big league roster. Last year, he posted an .818 OPS in 54 major league plate appearances. Phillips has a .702 OPS in nearly 2800 minor league plate appearances,
This doesn't necessarily mean that the Rockies won't bring back free agent Yorvit Torrealba, however. Two other teams have expressed interest in Torrealba so far, but the Rockies could re-sign him. One of the interested clubs plays in the American League and the other is in the NL West.
Orioles Claim Tatum From Reds
The Orioles claimed catcher Craig Tatum off of waivers from the Cincinnati Reds, according to a team press release. The O's designated lefty Chris Waters for assignment to clear space for Tatum.
The 26-year-old catcher posted a .471 OPS in 77 plate appearances with the Reds this year; a considerable dropoff from his .638 OPS in Triple A. In 2008, Baseball America named Tatum the best defensive catcher in the Reds' organization.
Cubs To Sign Grabow To Two-Year Deal
FRIDAY, 2:15pm: Wittenmyer hears that the deal is worth $7.5MM. The Cubs have officially announced it.
THURSDAY, 10:53am: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the deal is believed to be worth at least $7MM in total. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs calls it a "waste of cash."
9:47am: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs have agreed to sign Grabow to a two-year deal. Sullivan's sources say the deal could be announced today.
8:13am: The Cubs are nearing an agreement with lefty John Grabow on a two-year deal, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the two sides finalize a deal soon; we heard last week that an agreement wasn't far off.
Levine reports that the deal will be worth nearly $7.5MM over two years. His source says the deal should be completed today. Grabow struck out 7.1 per nine innings and walked 5.0 per nine with the Pirates and Cubs last year for a 3.36 ERA.
Quinlan Drawing Preliminary Interest
Robb Quinlan's representatives say the utility man has drawn interest from two National League teams and one American League team, according to MLB.com's Lyle Spencer. The Phillies are known to be looking for bench help and Spencer suggests the Twins could be a fit, too. We heard earlier in the week that Quinlan will not be back in Anaheim next year.
D’Backs Acquire Aaron Heilman
The Diamondbacks acquired Aaron Heilman from the Cubs, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Cubs obtained minor leaguers Scott Maine and Ryne White in return.
Tim listed Heilman as a non-tender candidate last month, so it's not a surprise that the Cubs were willing to part with the 31-year-old righty. He pitched to a 4.11 ERA in 72.1 innings with the Cubs last year, allowing 68 hits and 34 walks, while striking out 65.
Heilman has started before, but GM Josh Byrnes suggests to the Arizona Republic that the D'Backs see him as a reliever.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Cubs, Red Sox, Hawkins
Some more links to read through as we count down the hours until teams can start serious negotiations with all free agents…
- GM Neal Huntington tells MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch that the Pirates won't be spending big on relievers this year: "Our focus is going to be more on the borderline-type guys that may not get $3-4 million or may not even get a Major League contract," Huntington said.
- The Cubs probably can't afford Rich Harden or Reed Johnson, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- Harden and Erik Bedard appear on Jeff Zrebiec's list of ten free agents the O's might target.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the O's need at least one middle-of-the-order bat.
- The Cubs don't intend to pursue Pedro Martinez this offseason, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- David Ortiz tells WEEI.com that the Red Sox can always use more power.
- The Astros have already offered LaTroy Hawkins a contract, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- Peter Gammons of ESPN.com shows that the low-budget Marlins have had a lot of recent success because they're well-run.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean hinted that he could approach ownership with creative offers for big-name free agents, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft.
Dodgers Don’t Plan To Pursue Lackey
They may be looking for starting pitching , but the Dodgers don't plan to pursue John Lackey, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Team president Dennis Mannion told Shaikin that the team has reservations about making a big free agent commitment.
"You can't ignore the fact the economy will be level at best for next year," Mannion said. "We're not going to make any outlandish-type decisions in a rough economy."
That doesn't mean the Dodgers will have to trade arbitration-eligible players to save money. The team's ownership is in flux because of the McCourt divorce, but the Dodgers intend to keep players like Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsley as they become more expensive.
Angels Won’t Pursue Holliday; Bay Is An Option
2:45pm: Moreno estimates that he has $12MM to spend on improving the club, according to FOX Sports. That could be enough to sign Bay if the left fielder agrees to sign a back-loaded deal.
1:16pm: Angels owner Arte Moreno told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that Matt Holliday is not an option for the Angels.
"He is not going to be an Angel," Moreno said. "We are not looking at Holliday at all."
Jason Bay, on the other hand, is a player "you have to look at," Moreno said. The Angels still have interest in bringing back John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero, but Moreno told the LA Times that the Angels won't be able to bring both Figgins and Lackey back.
As for Guerrero, Moreno hinted that he won't be back without saying so explicitly.
Stark On Bradley, Uggla, Yankees, Braves, Pedro
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark responds to some of Scott Boras' recent comments before providing some rumors in his latest Rumblings and Grumblings column:
- The Rays, Rangers and Jays appear to be the three likeliest landing spots for Milton Bradley. The Cubs say they don't want to eat much of the $21MM remaining on Bradley's contract, so a bad contract swap still seems possible.
- Stark hears that the Marlins were in serious trade talks with the Giants and Rangers about Dan Uggla.
- There's no indication that the Yankees are in on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday at this point. The Yanks figure to negotiate firmly with Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
- The Braves would like to trade for a cleanup-hitter and are expected to try to extend Javier Vazquez if they can move Derek Lowe and his contract.
- The Phillies don't appear to have a preference at third base, though they're said to be considering Placido Polanco, Mark DeRosa and Adrian Beltre.
- At least two executives believe Pedro Martinez fits best as a half-year starter next season.
Yankees Interested In Gonzalez, Soriano?
An MLB executive tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Yankees plan to pursue free agent relievers Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez. However, another source tells Rosenthal that the Yanks intend to develop relievers from within the organization.
Both relievers are Type A free agents, so they would cost draft picks if the Braves offer arbitration. The Yankees might to prefer to wait until December 1st. By then, we'll know whether the Braves offered arbitration and if any other ranked relievers can be signed without surrendering a high pick.
We heard yesterday that the Red Sox asked the Braves for the relievers' medical records. If the Red Sox and Yankees decide to pursue Gonzalez, they'll be negotiating with his new agent: Scott Boras.