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Ozzie: Marlins “Dead Serious” About Contract Offers

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Many people around the industry are skeptical about whether the Marlins are sincere about their intent to go all-in on free agents this offseason, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. However, manager Ozzie Guillen wants to assure any doubters that the Marlins are "dead serious" about making a splash.

“This is for real,” Guillen told Rosenthal. “I don’t think this is a marketing thing. This is what [the Marlins] want. They’re trying to improve as quickly as they can…. It’s not to show, ‘We’re trying, but we’re not going to do anything.’”

Rosenthal confirms yesterday's report that the Marlins offered Albert Pujols a nine-year contract. While he's not sure about the dollar amount, he hears it's "substantial." Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post reported this afternoon that the total amount of the offer is under $200MM.

The Marlins have also extended formal offers to Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Ryan Madson, according to Rosenthal. Considering how many players the Marlins are pursuing, the team is prepared to increase its payroll significantly for 2012. According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), club president David Samson said today that he doesn't expect player salaries to exceed $100MM next season, but "you never know."

Giants Attempting To Extend Matt Cain

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While we heard earlier today that the Giants are more focused on a long-term extension for Tim Lincecum than fellow starter Matt Cain, team president Larry Baer says the club is trying to lock up Matt Cain as well, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. Heyman adds that the Giants may prefer deals of approximately four years.

Here are a few other items of interest from the National League West:

  • The Padres are preparing for the Rule 5 draft with some minor moves. They've requested waivers on Alberto Gonzalez, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link), and will remove Jeremy Hermida from the roster later in the week, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter).
  • Rusty Ryal signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks after having spent a year in Japan, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter).
  • The Rockies met with Milton Bradley's agents today, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Marlins’ Offer To Pujols Believed To Be For Nine Years

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The contract the Marlins offered to Albert Pujols "is believed to be for nine years," says Yahoo's Tim Brown. The Marlins pulled out all the stops in an attempt to woo Pujols, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, who hears that part of the team's pitch to Pujols involved bringing in about ten players to assist in recruiting and "make the organization's interest clear." Here are the rest of the latest rumblings on the free agent who ranks atop MLBTR's Top 50….

  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak expects to meet with Dan Lozano, Pujols' agent, this week, according to Crasnick. It will be the first time this offseason that the two have talked in person.
  • Past reports have indicated St. Louis made Pujols an offer of nine years and $210MM before the season, but Crasnick hears that the Cardinals never topped $200MM.
  • While Pujols was "surprised" that the Cardinals named Mike Matheny their new manager, the hiring isn't expected to play a major role one way or the other in Pujols' decision.
  • Mozeliak said Tuesday afternoon that he "wouldn't envision" pursuing Prince Fielder even if Pujols signed elsewhere.

Anthopoulos Talks Offseason Approach, Closers, CBA

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Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi at the GM meetings and commented on a few hot stove issues. Here are some highlights:

  • Anthopoulos said there are still so many options available that he doesn't expect to be too active this week, since it would close the door on too many other possibilities.
  • The Jays are doing their due diligence on closers, having looked into health records for a few of the big-name free agents. However, Anthopoulos hasn't found any deals to his liking yet: "Some of them I'm fine with the terms and I'm not fine with the dollars, some of them I'm fine with the dollars and not fine with the terms."
  • Anthopoulos is very wary of making the mistake of signing or taking on a bad contract, since that would limit his freedom for other roster changes: "Cash, spots open on the roster, I think for the most part we have tradable players, tradable contracts. We've got the ability to go in a lot of directions."
  • We heard earlier today that free agent compensation could be modified this offseason as part of the new CBA, which could hurt the Blue Jays' chances of landing draft picks. But Anthopoulos thinks "the league is going to consider their impact on clubs" and isn't worried about the changes.
  • Davidi indicates the Jays' desire for a closer may be slightly overblown. He says the club would like to have one guy for the ninth rather than an ever-changing rotation of arms like they had last year with Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch, and others. However, they're not interested in committing to any reliever for the four years that Jonathan Papelbon received from the Phillies.

Brian Schneider Nearing Deal With Phillies

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The Phillies are close to re-signing catcher Brian Schneider, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

Schneider, 34, has served as the Phillies' backup catcher since signing a two-year, $2.75MM deal prior to the 2010 season. His production at the plate dropped off significantly in 2011, with his .502 OPS bringing his overall slash line in Philadelphia down to .208/.297/.320 in 286 plate appearances.

Rockies Rumors: Trade Targets, Stewart, Sizemore

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The latest on the Rockies from the Denver Post's Troy Renck:

  • The Rockies continue to search for starting pitching via trade, having met with a few teams already. They probably won't match the asking prices for John Danks or Wandy Rodriguez, but they could target arms such as Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez, Jeff Niemann, and Wade Davis, if the Marlins and Rays are willing to deal.
  • The club plans to tender Ian Stewart a contract, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be a Rockie in 2012. Multiple clubs have inquired on Stewart, and Colorado is listening.
  • Grady Sizemore won't work out for the Rockies, but the team hopes to get a better read on his health when he visits the Steadman-Hawkins clinic in Vail, Colorado.
  • The Rockies would have interest in LaTroy Hawkins if they opened up a spot for him by trading Huston Street.

Quick Hits: Phillips, Kuroda, Ortiz, Wood, Counsell

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It's been a busy first day of the GM meetings, but we don't want to let anything fall through the cracks. Here's a collection of assorted links from throughout the day:

Jose Reyes Rumors: Tuesday

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While many are wondering if Yu Darvish's stock could be affected by Japanese imports' past success, or lack thereof, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs wonders if Carl Crawford's poor 2011 could affect Jose Reyes' next contract. As Cameron writes, the two players are similar in many ways, and teams may have second thoughts about committing so many years and dollars to a player in Crawford's mold. Still, in this morning's poll, approximately 63% of MLBTR readers predicted Reyes would sign for $100MM or more. Let's check out today's Reyes-related rumors, with the latest additions on top….

  • Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link) hears that Reyes only has two legit offers so far, but cautions that it's still early. Bowden guesses the offers are from the Marlins and Mets, but Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link) spoke to a Mets person who suggests no offer has been extended to Reyes.
  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News talked to Mets people who continue to find it unlikely that the club would go as high as six years for Reyes. SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter) says the reported six-year, $90MM offer for Reyes could be in the Mets' ballpark, but no one expects that to ultimately be the best offer.
  • Tigers manager Jim Leyland told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio (Twitter link) that, while he loves Reyes, "I don't think we're going to shop at that store."
  • GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudicourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he thinks the Brewers' interest in Reyes has "probably" been overstated (Twitter link).

Red Sox Rumors: Garcia, Ortiz, Manager, Darvish

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Let's check in on the latest from Red Sox and new GM Ben Cherington….

  • Boston has inquired on Freddy Garcia, a source tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
  • The Red Sox will meet with David Ortiz's agent tonight, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Rob Bradford of WEEI (Twitter link) hears from a source that the Sox have already made Ortiz a contract offer.
  • Ortiz continues to say that he'd like to return to Boston, and will give the Red Sox a chance to match any other offer he's considering, according to the Boston Herald.
  • At least one more managerial candidate, in addition to Dale Sveum, is expected to get a second interview, tweets Silverman. Principal owner John Henry says the team is making sure not to rush the process, writes Scott Lauber of the Herald.
  • In a separate tweet, Silverman says Cherington will travel to the Dominican Republic, at least in part to get a first-hand look at Yoenis Cespedes.
  • Their current investment in other starting pitchers means the Red Sox will have less interest in Yu Darvish than they did in Daisuke Matsuzaka when he was posted, says Abraham (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox and Cubs touched base again on compensation talks today and will revisit the topic tonight, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston (via Twitter).
  • Josh Reddick will have wrist surgery, but expects to be healthy in time for Spring Training, reports ESPNBoston's Joe McDonald.

Cubs, Buehrle’s Agent Have Had Multiple Discussions

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The Cubs have had multiple discussions with Mark Buehrle's agent Jeff Berry, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Berry also met with Marlins earlier today.  Morosi sums up the other interested clubs: the White Sox, Blue Jays, Royals, Angels, Nationals, and Diamondbacks.

Earlier in November, we heard that the Cubs would have interest in the longtime White Sox pitcher "if the price tag and years aren't astronomical." Considering the number of Buehrle rumors we've heard so far this offseason, there appears to be plenty of competition, but we don't have a clear idea yet of the years and dollars the lefty might be offered.

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