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New York Notes: Aceves, C.C., Emaus, Martin

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Alfredo Aceves' signing seems like just the latest wrinkle in a long line of them in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but the Mets had a stake in that deal, too. Here's more on that and some other items of note coming out of the Big Apple on Tuesday …

  • The Mets, like the Red Sox, offered Aceves a Major League contract, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the right-hander preferred to play for Boston. The Mets were disappointed to miss out on Aceves, Heyman tweets, and understandably so, as Aceves would have been another decent addition for a team that entered the offseason on a tight budget. Interestingly, Aceves is reportedly throwing in bullpen sessions, which is further along than the Yankees anticipated he'd be at this juncture, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. One has to wonder whether the new timetable would have influenced the Yanks' decision to non-tender Aceves in December.
  • Yankees ace C.C.  Sabathia has shed 30 pounds this offseason in an effort to reduce the load on his surgically repaired right knee, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Typically, we don't get too excited over this sort of Spring Training cliche, as we're bound to hear quite a bit about who's in shape and who's not over the next couple weeks, but 30 pounds is a lot of weight, and we're especially mindful of the opt-out clause in Sabathia's contract after the 2011 campaign. If he's healthy and has a big season, Sabathia could be in for another big payday next offseason.
  • Mets second baseman Brad Emaus, a Rule 5 draftee, has a good chance of making the Mets' Opening Day roster as either their starting second baseman or in a platoon/utility role with Daniel Murphy, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. To that end, Rubin notes it's now "widely expected" that Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo will both be "jettisoned" before Opening Day.
  • Yankees catcher Russell Martin is not 100 percent recovered from the right knee surgery he underwent in December, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, but the Bombers' backstop expects to be ready by Opening Day. The Yankees are known to have exceptional depth at catcher with Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, so they probably won't have to range outside the organization in the event that Martin isn't fully healthy after Spring Training.
  • Mets shortstop Jose Reyes feels sorry for the Wilpons on account of their financial plight, tweets Peter Botte of the New York Daily News, but he's not concerned about his contract status and is ready to "play baseball and see what happens." Reyes, a free agent after this season, also said that he feels as good as he's felt in the past two years and is expecting a big season, tweets Botte.

Angels, Weaver Set For Wednesday Hearing

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The Angels and right-hander Jered Weaver are scheduled to have their arbitration hearing on Wednesday, blogs Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

The Halos' and Weaver's arbitration hearing would be the second of the 2010-11 offseason after the Pirates and Ross Ohlendorf got that ball rolling on Tuesday, although the sides could still avoid the hearing by settling beforehand. Weaver is seeking $8.80MM, while the Angels are offering $7.37MM, rendering a midpoint of $8.08MM, as shown on our Arbitration Tracker.

Weaver, coming off a fine 2010 in which he posted a 3.01 ERA with a 9.3 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9, is in his second year of arbitration eligibility. A first-round draft pick in 2004, Weaver, 28, is represented by Scott Boras.

Blue Jays Interested In Trading Juan Rivera

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The Blue Jays would like to trade Juan Rivera, whom they acquired from the Angels in the Vernon Wells swap, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.

Rivera, 33 in July, is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2011 season and does not factor into the Blue Jays' long-term plans, according to Rosenthal. Rivera projects as a reserve for the Jays if they field an outfield of Travis Snider, Rajai Davis and Jose Bautista, but he could start in the outfield if Bautista is moved to third base.

The Blue Jays didn't especially want Rivera from the Halos, according to Rosenthal, but rather took him on and the $5.25MM he's owed in 2011 to rid themselves of Wells' hefty contract. It's unlikely the Jays will be able to trade Rivera before the beginning of Spring Training, writes Rosenthal, when teams begin developing needs on account of injuries and ineffectiveness.

In 10 seasons with the Yankees, Expos and Angels, Rivera has posted a line of .280/.328/.461.

Quick Hits: NL Central Grades, J. Upton, Salazar

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Here are some items of note for Feb. 8. On this day in 1999, the Red Sox's arbitration hearing with Midre Cummings was decided by Elizabeth Neumeier, marking the first time a woman had decided an arbitration case since its adoption by MLB in 1974. The preceeding 409 cases had all been decided by men.

  • With Spring Training nearly upon us and most teams merely making a few roster tweaks here and there, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com hands out his grades for the best and worst offseasons among the residents of the NL Central. The Brewers, on the strength of bolstering their rotation with Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, fared the best, writes Stark. The Cubs did well to retool a bit with the additions of Matt Garza and Carlos Pena, while the Pirates and Reds got so-so marks for their modest changes. The rebuilding Astros are pulling up the rear, and the jury is still out on the Cardinals, who have an outstanding issue to tend to with respect to a potential extension for Albert Pujols.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers was never really interested in dealing Justin Upton this offseason, writes Tom Verducci of SI.com, but he felt it prudent to gauge other teams' interest. No offers were of particular interest to Towers, according to Verducci. Towers is interested in seeing what Upton can do under the tutelage of new hitting coach Don Baylor, under whom one-time uberprospect Carlos Gonzalez realized his full potential with the Rockies in 2010.
  • Padres infielder Oscar Salazar has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment, has accepted his minor league assignment and will be in Major League camp, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.

Pirates, Ohlendorf Go To Arbitration

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The Pirates and pitcher Ross Ohlendorf had their arbitration hearing Tuesday, tweets Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and a decision is expected on Wednesday.

Ohlendorf is seeking $2.02MM while the club is offering $1.4MM, as our Arbitration Tracker shows, leaving a midpoint of $1.71MM. The hearing marks the first of the 2010-11 offseason and the Pirates' first since Jack Wilson in 2004, blogs Rob Biertempfel of TribLIVE.com.

Ohlendorf, 28, has started 50 games over the past two seasons with the Bucs, and has a career ERA of 4.40 in his four-year career spent with Pittsburgh and the Yankees. He earned $439K last season, when he went 1-11 and posted a 4.07 ERA in 21 starts.

In addition to Ohlendorf, 12 other arbitration-eligible players have not yet settled their 2011 salaries: Carlos Marmol, Delmon Young, Hunter Pence, James Loney, Jered Weaver, Jeremy Guthrie, Jose Bautista, Josh Hamilton, Kelly Johnson, Luke Scott, Rickie Weeks and Shaun Marcum.

Of course, they could have hearings or avoid hearings by settling on one- or multiyear deals.

Nationals Sign Alex Cintron

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The Nationals have signed infielder Alex Cintron to a minor league deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com.

Cintron, 32, last appeared in the Major Leagues with Washington in 2009. The utility infielder spent last season in the Mets organization, playing in 20 games with Triple-A Buffalo.

The Nationals plan to give rookie Danny Espinosa a shot at the second-base job this season, but he is inexperienced and coming off hand surgery, so Cintron was presumably added for the sake of organizational depth in the event Espinosa is not ready to go by Opening Day.

Cintron broke into the big leagues with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and remained with Arizona through 2005. He's bounced around since then, spending time in a handful of organizations.

Quick Hits: Millwood, Bautista, Hawkins

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Here are some items of note for Feb. 3, 2011, the day on which former AL Rookie of the Year and MVP Fred Lynn turned 59.

  • The Indians are interested in free-agent righty Kevin Millwood, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer, but not at the current asking price of one year, $4-5MM. Cleveland is among the handful of potential Millwood suitors enumerated by Ben Nicholson-Smith earlier on Thursday. The Yankees are part of the group, too, and it stands to reason that Andy Pettitte's retirement might strengthen their interest, writes Chris Bahr of the Sporting News.
  • The Red Sox's interest in trading for Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is telling because it indicates there is a belief among baseball executives and talent evaluators that Bautista's monstrous 54-homer campaign in 2010 was not a fluke, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The Red Sox eventually got their man when they signed free-agent outfielder Carl Crawford, so Bautista-to-Boston is obviously off, notes Morosi, but it bodes well for Bautista in his final season before hitting free agency.
  • Brewers reliever LaTroy Hawkins said that his surgically repaired shoulder feels good and that he'll compete for a spot in Milwaukee's bullpen, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Hawkins signed a two-year, $7.5MM deal with Milwaukee prior to last season but pitched in just 18 games before being lost to an injured labrum and rotator cuff. Hawkins has a guaranteed contract, so the Brewers will surely want him to be at full strength and pitching well, but it bears watching how they handle him if he struggles with injury and/or ineffectiveness.

Reactions: Andy Pettitte’s Retirement

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Here's a look at some of the many and various takes on Andy Pettitte's retirement, which will be announced Friday …

  • The Yankees will be no worse for the wear without the services of the aging and declining Pettitte, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Although Pettitte would have been a convenient solution for the problem of the Yankees' thin starting rotation, he wouldn't necessarily have been an ideal fit on account of his diminishing workload over the past three years, according to Morosi.
  • The Bronx Bombers should have assumed Pettitte was going to retire and executed an offseason plan accordingly, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. Instead, they're now in a bind with the prospect of Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and a handful of promising but young prospects battling for two rotation spots.
  • Pettitte's decision is mildly surprising to Newsday's Ken Davidoff, who notes that Pettitte must have been pretty seriously contemplating a return, considering the left-hander had been throwing recently. Davidoff wonders whether the Yankees' failure to sign Cliff Lee and subsequently diminished World Series hopes factored into Pettitte's decision.
  • Pettitte simply must not have been "feeling it" after he began preparing for the 2011 season, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Don't expect a midseason return — a la Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez — for Pettitte, adds Olney.
  • Whether Pettitte would return was as uncertain as a "flip of the coin," notes Tom Verducci of SI.com. Ultimately, the allure of spending more time with his family pulled the industrious Pettitte away from the game, according to Verducci.
  • Considering they have a stellar lineup, solid bullpen, considerable financial resources for future moves and a top-heavy rotation that could be effective if things break right, the Yankees needn't panic, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
  • The Yankees' signing of reliever Rafael Soriano, thereby giving them a "lockdown pen," seems especially important in the wake of Pettitte's retirement, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com.
  • Our own Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues recounts his signature Pettitte moment.
  • And the debate begins in earnest: Jayson Stark of ESPN.com writes that Pettitte is not quite a Hall of Famer.

Rays Sign Juan Cruz

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The Rays have signed right-handed reliever Juan Cruz to a minor league deal, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

After a successful three-year stint with the Diamondbacks from 2006-08, Cruz signed a two-year deal worth $5.5MM with the Royals prior to the 2009 season. However, Cruz never found his form in Kansas City. He was released in April 2010 and underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in May.

Still, the Rays continue a solid offseason with another low-risk, high-reward signing, bringing in a reliever in Cruz, 32, who has a career ERA of 4.15 and averaged 9.1 K/9.

Mets Notes: Reyes, Alderson, Perez, Castillo

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Here are a few Mets items of note, as the Wilpons' lawsuit drama continues to unfold …

  • The Mets plan to let Jose Reyes play out the entire 2011 season to see if he can stay healthy before deciding whether they should re-sign him, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. Reyes, 28 in June, is an All-Star caliber shortstop when healthy (career line of .286/.335/.434), but he played in just 36 games in 2009 and was limited to 133 games last season due to a variety of injuries. The Mets picked up Reyes' $11MM option for 2011 earlier this offseason.
  • GM Sandy Alderson is maintaining that the Mets' baseball operations have not been hamstrung by the Wilpons' murky financial standing, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but the true test of that will be in the following months, when the team navigates the draft and the non-waiver trade deadline in July. Sherman wonders, will the Mets spend big on the 13th pick and in the international free-agent pool? If they're in contention, will they have the financial flexibility to add a pricey player? If they're out of contention, will they try to offload the big contracts of Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez?
  • With the Mets mired in a cycle of bad publicity due to the Madoff scandal, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez (particularly the latter) might be released in hopes of appeasing an angry fan base, writes Steve Popper of the Bergen Record. Alderson told Popper that new manager Terry Collins won't tolerate the "conduct that has existed in the past," and that the Mets and their players have a "responsibility to the fans."

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