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Jose Reyes Rumors: Friday

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Earlier today we learned that the Marlins are "putting an all-out press" on Jose Reyes, and they are considering increasing their initial offer from the $75-90MM range. Here's the latest on the free agent shortstop…

  • The Marlins have not given Reyes any kind of deadline or ultimatum according to Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel (on Twitter). They are prepared to wait him out beyond the winter meetings if necessary.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson did touch base with Reyes' representatives today, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post (all Twitter links). Andy McCullough of The Star Ledger says the team is still waiting for Reyes' side to come back with an offer for them to match, a right they expect to have. The Mets would reportedly offer five years and $80MM, but not a sixth guaranteed year.
  • Adam Rubin of ESPN New York points out that if Reyes signs with the Marlins, the Mets would only receive Florida's third round pick as compensation. The Marlins' first round pick is protected, and their second rounder is technically going to the Padres since Heath Bell is a higher ranked free agent than Reyes. The Fish will keep their second rounder with a made-up pick going to San Diego, but an MLB official confirmed that it will be treated the same way as previous years.
  • It does not appear that Reyes will be signing with anyone before the winter meeting start on Monday, reports Newsday's David Lennon (on Twitter).

Twins Interested In Jeff Francis And Edwin Jackson

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The Twins were among the finalists for Chris Capuano before the left-hander signed with the Dodgers, and now they're turning their attention to Jeff Francis and Edwin Jackson according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They've had preliminary discussions with Francis' agent and are likely to continue talks at the winter meetings next week.

Jackson, a Scott Boras client, would not a cost draft to sign as a Type-B free agent, but Minnesota is wary of his price tag according to Morosi. At the moment, the Twinkies have Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, and Brian Duensing as potential starters, but Baker, Liriano, and Blackburn have injury concerns and Slowey is a non-tender candidate.

Red Sox Notes: Ortiz, Cespedes, Madson, Bell

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Now that they have a new manager, the Red Sox can focus on improving their roster at next week's winter meetings. Here's the latest from Boston…

  • Bobby Valentine was introduced as the Red Sox's new manager yesterday, and today he flew down to the Dominican Republic to meet with free agent DH David Ortiz according to Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. "I've said 1,000 times that I want to come back to the Red Sox," said Ortiz.
  • Valentine's trip to the Dominican Republic will not include any kind of visit with Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes due to a schedule conflict, reports Jim Bowden of MLB Network (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox continue to maintain dialogue with agent Scott Boras about free agent closer Ryan Madson, tweets Bowden. They also had discussions with Heath Bell's agent before he agreed to join the Marlins, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
  • Boston's priorities (in order) are Ortiz, a closer, a starting pitcher, and a right-handed hitting outfielder tweets Bowden.
  • Regardless of who they hired to manage, the Red Sox did not intend to lose hitting coach Dave Magadan according to The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo (on Twitter).

Dodgers Sign Chris Capuano

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The Dodgers announced that they signed left-hander Chris Capuano to a two-year contract that rounds out the team's rotation and may signify the end of Hiroki Kuroda's tenure in Los Angeles. The $10MM deal includes an $8MM mutual option for 2014 and $1MM in incentives. Capuano joins Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly and Nathan Eovaldi in the Dodgers' rotation after a bounce-back season with the Mets. 

“Chris is an established Major League starting pitcher who adds to our staff,” GM Ned Colletti said in a statement. “He made more than 30 starts last season was a reliable part of the Mets rotation.”  

Capuano, who has had two Tommy John surgeries, didn’t pitch in the Major Leagues in 2008 or 2009. He returned to the Brewers in 2010 and pitched effectively, mostly out of the bullpen. Then, in 2011, he posted a 4.55 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 42.7% ground ball rate in 186 innings for the Mets. His unsightly ERA may be deceptive, since xFIP (3.67) and SIERA (3.60) suggest he pitched better. The Moye Sports Associates client placed 33rd on MLBTR’s list of top free agents. Ben Nicholson-Smith projected a two-year, $8MM deal for Capuano when he examined his free agent value earlier in the offseason and MLBTR's Steve Adams correctly predicted the Capuano-Dodgers pairing in MLBTR's free agent prediction contest.

The Dodgers have been aggressive this offseason, signing infielders Mark Ellis and Adam Kennedy, catcher Matt Treanor and outfielder Juan Rivera. They also locked up Matt Kemp to an eight-year, $160MM extension, so most of Colletti's offseason shopping is likely done.

Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio first reported the agreement and its terms (Twitter links) and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times added detail. Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Brewers Looking For Bullpen, Infield Help

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The Brewers stand to lose both Takashi Saito and Francisco Rodriguez to free agency this winter, and GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel that he plans to talk to agents and look for bullpen help at the Winter Meetings next week (all Twitter links). Furthermore, the club is also looking to add infield help, though the only player they are actively trying to sign right now is Jerry Hairston Jr.

Jimmy Rollins, Alex Gonzalez, Rafael Furcal, and 2011 Brewer Yuniesky Betancourt are among the shortstops the club has checked in on. Melvin said he plans to meet with Betancourt's agent next week. Last week we heard that Milwaukee has already offered Hairston a one-year deal, but several other teams are interested as well. Melvin also confirmed that he does not have any offers out to free agent relievers at the moment.

Quick Hits: Cubs, McCann, Cespedes, Smoak, Broxton

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Some links as Tuesday turns into Wednesday…

  • “Like I’ve always said, there is one person responsible for making those decisions, and one person accountable for those results,” said Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts to reporters (including Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune) when asked about the possibility of signing a player to a mammoth contract. “So if [Theo Epstein] believes strongly that’s what’s in the best interests of the team, then he’s got my support.” Earlier today we heard that the Cubs are pursuing both Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.
  • Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders if the Braves will offer Brian McCann a long-term contract extension soon. The six-time All-Star will make $11.5MM in 2012 and the team holds a $12MM club option for 2013, so there's no urgency to get a deal done at the moment.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is currently in the Dominican Republic scouting Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. On Monday we heard that Washington views Cespedes as an alternative to Fielder.
  • The Mariners have interest in Fielder, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says (on Twitter) that they would make Justin Smoak available in a trade if they manage to sign the free agent slugger.
  • Before he agreed to join the Royals, the Red Sox expressed interest in Jonathan Broxton according to Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald. Broxton wanted to sign before the winter meetings, and Lauber's source said that was “a little quicker than [the Sox] were comfortable with."
  • There is no more than a "10 percent" chance that Rays GM Andrew Friedman could be convinced to take the Astros GM job according to one executive that spoke to Friedman and ESPN's Jayson Stark (Twitter link).
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman offered a “would not say" to George A. King III of The New York Post when asked if he has any interest in Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima. The Seibu Lions posted Nakajima on Monday.
  • Kelvim Escobar hopes to pitch in winter ball next month, agent Peter Greenberg told Mike Puma of The New York Post (Twitter link). The 35-year-old righty hopes to get back to MLB despite having pitched in just one game since 2007.

CBA Links: Michael Weiner, Draft

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Details are still emerging about baseball's new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here's the latest on the agreement coutesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis, as well as a Q&A between ESPN's Jayson Stark and MLBPA head Michael Weiner…

  • The draft was "perhaps [the owners'] most aggressive objective" said Weiner, adding that they wanted to achieve competitive balance. The union heard from GMs and other executives that weren't in favor of some of the proposed changes.
  • "We look to the agents for assistance and for ideas," said Weiner. Scott Boras and "other agents who have been active in advising players in the draft" were consulted during the collective bargaining process.
  • The players pushed for HGH testing, but left it up to union to make sure it was done the right way. They were uncomfortable with the collection process (blood withdrawal), which is why there is no in-season testing at the moment.
  • The draft has been reduced from 50 rounds to 40 rounds, and any attempt to circumvent the draft pool (i.e. an under-the-table agreement) is strictly prohibited. 
  • Teams get an extra year of protection for compensation picks, meaning if a team fails to sign the player they took with a pick they received for failing to sign a previous pick, they will get another compensation pick the following year.

Royals Links: Infielder, Rotation, Bullpen

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Some links from Kansas City on the day the Royals added Jonathan Broxton to their bullpen…

  • In an interview with Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link), GM Dayton Moore said he is looking for someone to backup Alcides Escobar at short, as well as a right-handed bat that can play third base to give Mike Moustakas the occasional break. 
  • "We will be open minded with continuing to improve our rotation," added Moore during the interview. He expects any upgrades to come via trade (like the Jonathan Sanchez acquisition) rather than free agency.
  • Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star hears that the Royals believe the price to add an impact starting pitcher is too high, so they're attempting to build a lock-down bullpen (Twitter link). 
  • In a another tweet, Dutton says infielder Jeff Bianchi and outfielder Derrick Robinson are the leading candidates to be removed from the 40-man roster when the Royals make the Broxton deal official.

Mariners Interested In Seth Smith

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As part of their continuing search for offense, the Mariners have interest in Rockies outfielder Seth Smith according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It's unclear if there are any talks ongoing.

Smith, 29, is a .275/.348/.485 career hitter in parts of five seasons in Colorado. He's hit at least 15 homers in each of the last three seasons, though the advanced metrics rate his defense in the corner outfield spots as below average. The Braves are fond of him as well.

Reds, Phillips Talking Contract Extension

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8:52pm: “I think it’s still a ways to go,” said GM Walt Jocketty to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. “We’re still hopeful to get something done. We’re glad [Phillips] feels that way.”

4:31pm: Brandon Phillips has made it no secret that he'd like a long-term contract extension from the Reds, and a few weeks ago we heard that the two sides were making progress towards a new deal. Earlier this afternoon, Phillips said (on Twitter) that he spoke to his agent and "it feels good to know that we're moving in the right direction" towards an extension.

The Red exercised Phillips' $12MM option for next season earlier this month, but the second baseman said he would consider it a "slap in the face" if the team picked up the option without talking about a new contract. He also indicated that he wouldn't give the team a hometown discount. Phillips, 30, hit .300/.353/.457 with 18 homers in 674 plate appearances for Cincinnati in 2011.

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