Orioles Interested In A.J. Burnett
A.J. Burnett still hasn't decided whether he'll pitch in 2014, but if he wants to continue his career, the Orioles are interested, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko tweets. Kubatko also notes that the Orioles met with Frontline, which represents Burnett, at the Winter Meetings. Burnett lives in Monkton, Maryland, about a half-hour north of Baltimore.
Burnett had previously indicated that he wanted to retire as a Pirate, but since then, he has taken his time deciding whether or not to return in 2014. The Pirates did not extend a qualifying offer to Burnett, with GM Neal Huntington telling Tom Singer of MLB.com, "If he or others want a market-value deal, they'll sign elsewhere." Burnett pitched 191 innings for the Pirates in 2013, posting a 3.30 ERA with 3.2 BB/9 and a league-leading 9.8 K/9. Burnett's 56.5% ground-ball percentage also led the National League.
Ross Wolf To Pitch In Korea
The Rangers have announced that pitcher Ross Wolf has exercised an out clause in his minor-league deal, and he will now head to the Korean Baseball Organization to pitch for SK Wyverns. The Rangers outrighted Wolf in early November, and he re-signed a minor-league deal with the team.
Wolf pitched 47 2/3 innings with the Rangers in 2013, posting a 4.15 ERA with 4.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. The 31-year-old last appeared in the big leagues in 2010, pitching a handful of outings with the Athletics. He also briefly appeared with the Marlins in 2007.
Corey Hart Weighing Options
12:46pm: The Mariners are indeed in on Hart, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, who notes that GM Jack Zduriencik drafted Hart when he was Milwaukee's scouting director back in 2000.
12:38pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that Hart is torn between re-signing with the Brewers or signing with another team, which could be the Mariners.
9:39am: Hart is currently weighing offers from multiple teams, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY, 7:24am: The Brewers are still waiting on word from Hart, but feel like they've done all they can do and are optimistic about their chances, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
TUESDAY, 8:25pm: Free agent first baseman Corey Hart could agree to terms with a team tonight, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets. Earlier this week, a report indicated that the Brewers were prioritizing re-signing Hart. They also have a need at first base. Hart, meanwhile, has said he would be willing to take less money to stay in Milwaukee.
Hart missed the 2013 season and has recently had surgeries on both knees. He hit .270/.334/.507 for the Brewers in 2012. The Brewers currently have Juan Francisco atop their depth chart at first base.
Trumbo Trade Allows Angels To Pursue Pitching
By trading Mark Trumbo to the Diamondbacks, the Angels freed up about $4MM in payroll, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez notes. Now they're approximately $20MM underneath the $189MM luxury-tax threshold. Even after acquiring Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago, then, GM Jerry Dipoto says the Angels will be "very aggressive with how we fill our pitching needs."
Gonzalez notes that the Angels could sign a free agent like Matt Garza or possibly Masahiro Tanaka. Lower-tier free agents like Jason Hammel and Paul Maholm are also possibilities. The Trumbo deal also means that Howie Kendrick (who had previously appeared to be another trade candidate, due to his salary) will very likely stay with the Angels. To replace Trumbo's offense, Gonzalez suggests the Angels will likely turn toward a relatively inexpensive hitter, like Raul Ibanez or Michael Morse.
Quick Hits: Cubs, Blue Jays, Butler, Cruz, Ackley
By participating in the three-team Mark Trumbo trade with the Diamondbacks and Angels, the White Sox hindered their cross-town rivals' hopes of dealing Jeff Samardzija, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. The Diamondbacks have been interested in Samardzija since the summer, and one of the players they dealt in the Trumbo deal, pitcher Tyler Skaggs, would have been a key component of any package strong enough for the Cubs to send Samardzija to the desert. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- Wittenmyer also reports that the Cubs haven't yet made an offer to Scott Baker, who worked through an elbow injury and made three late-season starts for the Cubs in 2013. They have, however, talked with his agency. Baker is represented by Octagon.
- The Blue Jays are still prefer not to sign players for more than five years, although, as Sportsnet.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently noted (via Twitter), there may be signs that could be softening somewhat. Still, their reluctance removes them from the market for top-tier free agents, who usually sign for longer, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm points out. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos prefers to trading for high-profile players rather than signing them. "There are some players out there in trade that signed long-term contracts, and then a year or two later, they're already getting moved," he says. "That's pretty telling. I still think five years is a long period of time."
- Chisholm also reports that Anthopoulos says that prospects Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman "come up in every trade talk we probably have," due to their relatively close proximity to the Majors. "If you're trying to get a controllable starter, everyone would prefer to get the talent level that's closest," Anthopoulos says.
- Even though the the Royals didn't sign Carlos Beltran, they haven't ruled out the possibility of trading DH Billy Butler, ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets. If they do, they could end up signing Nelson Cruz.
- The Rangers, Mariners and Orioles still appear to have interest in Cruz, Stark tweets, noting that it could still be awhile before Cruz signs.
- The Orioles have also checked in on free agent starting pitcher Bartolo Colon, tweets FOX Sports' Jon Morosi.
- The Yankees, Mets and Padres have asked about Dustin Ackley of the Mariners, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. Ackley, 25, hit .253/.319/.341 in 427 plate appearances in 2013, with his time split between second base and outfield.
- Ten teams are interested in infielder Justin Turner, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes writes (via Twitter). Turner hit .280/.319/.385 in 214 plate appearances and played all four infield position for the Mets in 2013.
- Astros outfielder L.J. Hoes is now represented by MVP Sports Group, Dierkes tweets.
David Price Rumors: Tuesday
Here are David Price rumors for Tuesday:
- With the Dodgers and Rangers appearing increasingly unlikely to trade for Price, the Mariners have a "real opportunity" to acquire him, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets.
- The Mariners likely won't trade Taijuan Walker in a deal for Price, Heyman tweets. They could, however, trade a package including top position player prospects, including catcher Mike Zunino. Zunino, the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, made his debut for Seattle in 2013.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says the team is not pursuing any starting pitchers, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick tweets. Colletti did not specifically mention Price's name, Gurnick notes.
Latest On Matt Kemp
Here are the latest trade rumors surrounding Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. Kemp, who hit .270/.328/.395 in an injury-plagued season in 2013, has six years and $128MM remaining on the eight-year deal he signed at the end of 2011.
- The Red Sox have decided not to trade for Matt Kemp, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets.
- The Tigers and Mariners (along with the Red Sox) have recently talked with the Dodgers about Kemp, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweet.
- Rosenthal tweets that, if the Dodgers deal Kemp, they want to make sure they get good players back, and they're willing to eat salary in order to do so.
- For the Tigers, trading for Kemp will be tricky because of their recent agreement to sign Rajai Davis, Morosi tweets. Acquiring Kemp might mean they'd have to trade Austin Jackson to make room for him.
Central Notes: Anderson, Cardinals, Ellis, Pirates
Former first-round pick Brian Anderson has come full circle, deciding to try his hand as an outfielder again. Anderson tallied 355 big league games from 2005-09, mostly for the White Sox, before switching to the mound in 2010. He battled injuries as a pitcher, and tells MLBTR now, "I'd love to get back on the field again." Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- The White Sox are "determined" to acquire a catcher before the Winter Meetings are through, Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets.
- The Cardinals today met with Mark Ellis' agent, Jamie Murphy of TWC, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). The Cardinals currently have youngster Kolten Wong penciled in at second base, but Ellis might allow Wong to start the season in the minors, or might provide an insurance policy in case Wong struggles. Maybe it's too early to read too much into it, however — Slusser notes that Murphy has met with many teams.
- Jhonny Peralta takes care of the Cardinals' offensive void at shortstop but he comes with plenty of question marks, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Pirates are looking for a first baseman, but they say they could just stick with Gaby Sanchez there, reports MLB.com's John Schlegel. "I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with Gaby as our answer. We're not," says GM Neal Huntington. Huntington does note, however, that Sanchez pounds left-handed pitching and struggles against right-handers. It seems unlikely that the Pirates would go into the 2014 season with Sanchez as their primary first baseman against righties.
Tim Dierkes and Zach Links contributed to this post.
East Notes: Tanaka, Red Sox, Mets, Braves, Chavez
The Red Sox would benefit most strongly if Masahiro Tanaka were to not be posted, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes. If Tanaka were to stay in Japan, not only would he not go to the Yankees, but prices for other starters (such as Ervin Santana and Matt Garza) would rise, and so would the value of the Red Sox's own pitchers, such as John Lackey, Ryan Dempster and Jake Peavy. Also, if Tanaka were to be posted next offseason, the Red Sox might actually bid for him. Right now, they don't have a need. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- The Blue Jays have offered outfielder Colby Rasmus to two teams in exchange for starting pitching, the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott writes.
- If Corey Hart doesn't re-sign with the Brewers, the team could quickly deal for Ike Davis of the Mets, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Hart could make a decision tonight about where to sign.
- The Mets have had discussions with the Legacy Agency, which represents Freddy Garcia and Cesar Izturis, today, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (via Twitter). Puma notes the Mets could sign either player.
- The Braves are on the lookout for a hitter for their bench, and Eric Chavez could be their top free agent option, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman. They also continue to stay in touch with reliever Eric O'Flaherty.
East Notes: Mets, Burnett, Phillies, Benoit
The Mets' offseason will be a disappointment if the Curtis Granderson acquisition is the only big move, the New York Post's Joel Sherman writes. "If this really is it — after all the buildup asking for patience to let the money of Johan Santana and Jason Bay go away — then this will be a breach with the fan base," Sherman says. "Heading toward another $85 million-ish payroll is — quite frankly — not honoring the commitment. It is being the San Diego Mets." Here are more notes from around the East divisions.
- A.J. Burnett still hasn't decided whether or not to pitch in 2014, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. Burnett has previously said he intends to pitch for the Pirates or retire, but Heyman introduces a new possibility — that Burnett could pitch for the Orioles instead. Burnett resides in Maryland.
- GM Ruben Amaro says the Phillies would eat salary in a trade that improved the team, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Salisbury notes that the Phillies would like to trade Jonathan Papelbon, who will make $13MM in both 2014 and 2015 and has a $13MM vesting option in 2016.
- Despite the signing of Nate McLouth, the Nationals have no plans to deal Denard Span, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Span will continue to be their center fielder and leadoff hitter.
- The Yankees have had "lots of internal discussions" about free agent reliever Joaquin Benoit, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter). The Yankees would like to add two bullpen arms.