Odds & Ends: Hudson, Red Sox, Bedard, Mets
A Super batch of links..
- In a piece for Fangraphs, Dave Cameron writes that the Twins are in the mix for the best offseason in baseball. Earlier this week, Minnesota agreed to a one-year deal with Orlando Hudson for just $5MM and appear to be close to locking up Joe Mauer.
- Even former Met Darryl Strawberry offered up a critique of the Mets' quiet offseason, writes Newsday's David Lennon. Strawberry said that the offseason "could have been better," when asked about it. Lennon's piece looks at some offseason targets that never became a reality for New York.
- Following up on yesterday's news that Bobby Kielty is converting to a pitcher, MLBTR heard from Kielty himself via email. Kielty says his ultimate goal is to be a right-handed bat off the bench and eat up some relief innings if necessary. He threw some bullpens for the Mets last season and has thrown for Oakland as well. Kielty says he reads MLBTR every day. Thanks for the support, Bobby!
- Peter Abraham has the full list of players who will be with the Red Sox in training camp this year.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Erik Bedard seriously considered an offer from the Orioles similar to the deal he signed to return to Seattle.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post spoke one agent about the Mets, who said "How can you have that payroll and still not have a starting catcher or first baseman, a second baseman you hate and no legitimate starters after Johan?”
- Paul Lo Duca is unlikely to accept a minor league assignment if he doesn't make the Rockies, reports Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post. Colorado signed Lo Duca to a minor league deal in January.
- Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that Pirates' GM Neal Huntington admitted that there are "a lot of rumblings" that prospect Jose Tabata might actually be in his mid-20's. Tabata's listed age is 21, and ESPN's Keith Law ranked him as the 57th best prospect in baseball last month. The Pirates originally acquired Tabata from the Yankees in 2008 as part of the Xavier Nady–Damaso Marte trade.
Cafardo’s Latest: Beckett, Red Sox, Twins, Lowry
The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has plenty of rumors from around the league for us this morning, so let's round them all up…
- The Red Sox are likely to use Roy Halladay's three-year, $60MM deal "minus $6 million-$8 million" as a guideline for a potential Josh Beckett extension rather than John Lackey's five-year, $82.5MM deal. The reason being that they have some concern about the long-term health of his shoulder.
- If another team comes offering Beckett big money after the season, the Sox will move on just as they did with Jason Bay. They could then look into free agents like Cliff Lee, who they pursued at the trade deadline, or even Ben Sheets and Brandon Webb if they bounce back from injury problems of their own.
- With all of their additions this offseason, the Twins' payroll will jump from $65M to about $96M as they move into Target Field this year. GM Bill Smith said it will be up to manager Ron Gardenhire to determine how they use Jim Thome, and that they did their homework on Orlando Hudson's left wrist, which has given him trouble the last few seasons.
- Minnesota's payroll will be larger than the Dodgers' this year.
- The Red Sox watched Noah Lowry's recent workout, but "don't appear interested in signing him."
- Dodgers' third base coach Larry Bowa said he knows that Manny Ramirez still wants to play another three or four years.
- Two big league executives feel that the Giants and Tim Lincecum will settle on a contract before an arbitration hearing.
- One reason the Cubs signed Kevin Millar was to loosen up the clubhouse after the Milton Bradley fiasco last season.
- Drayton McLane is reportedly seeking $700MM to part with the Astros, but it's tough to see someone coming up with that when the Rangers sold for approximately $575MM.
No Phillies Deals For Japanese Lefties
SUNDAY, 8:57am: We've been informed by the Phillies that they have not signed any pitchers from Japan.
FRIDAY, 7:36pm: The Phillies have signed Japanese southpaws Shigetoshi Yamakita and Naoyo Okamoto to minor league contracts according to Daily Sports Online (hat tip to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker).
Both Yamakita (32) and Okamoto (26) spent the 2009 season with the Shonan Searex, a farm team of the Yokohama Bay Stars. Yamakita posted a 2.67 ERA with a 24-7 K/BB ratio in 27 innings, Okamoto a 5.28 ERA with a 10-9 K/BB ratio in 15.1 innings.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Saturday
7:03pm: Damon said on Friday that Tampa Bay remains a possible destination, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, Topkin characterizes this as a "long shot", as Damon is likely to sign with Detroit.
11:47am: Pitchers are catchers are less than two weeks away, however Johnny Damon is still looking for a job and there doesn't appear to be many teams willing to bring him on board. FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi says the Braves and Tigers are definitely among the clubs interested in Damon, though Atlanta has taken a more passive approach. They'd be happy to take him if he "fell into their lap" according to the Fox scribe, which translates to "if his price comes way down."
Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of The Detroit News says the Tigers need to add a hitter after the Twins added Orlando Hudson, but he cautions that Damon isn't "a perfect answer or player." This certainly isn't the first time we've seen these two teams connected to the former Yankee left fielder.
Bobby Abreu didn't sign until February 12th last year, so Damon still has some time before meeting his former teammate's mark.
Odds & Ends: Kielty, Ruiz, Gillick, Santos
Saturday morning links…
- Arangure (via Twitter) writes that the A's have agreed to terms with Michael Feliz, a right-hander from the Dominican Republic. The deal, which is still pending a physical and an age investigation, will provide Feliz with an $800K bonus. The Dominican Prospect League website says that the 6'4, 200-pound hurler is 16-years-old.
- Tim tweets that Bobby Kielty is converting to pitching, and that his slider is actually pretty good. The 33-year-old last played in the big leagues back in 2007, when he was still an outfielder of course.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure tweets that the Blue Jays, Rockies, and Rangers are the teams most interested in Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz. Ruiz was recently cleared to sign by the Office of Foreign Asset Control.
- Pat Gillick has returned to the Phillies as a senior advisor to president Dave Montgomery, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun. Gillick was the team's GM from 2006-2008.
- ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to several talent evaluators, none of whom think Omir Santos is equipped to be a number one catcher. If the season started today, Santos would likely be behind the plate for the Mets.
Rockies Sign Four To Minor League Contracts
The Rockies have signed first baseman Josh Phelps, righthander Chris Gissell, and outfielders Alex Escobar and Bronson Sardinha to minor league contracts according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies. Etkin says all four players will be a given a chance to make the roster of the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs.
Phelps, 31, hasn't played in the big leagues since 2008, though he's a .297/.364/.495 career hitter off lefties, so he might work his way onto Colorado's bench with a big spring. Escobar, also 31, last appeared in the Majors way back in 2006, and he didn't play in affiliated ball at all last season.
The 26-year-old Sardinha is a former first round pick (2001), though he didn't play in 2009 after being released by the Tigers in April. Gissell, 32, spend the last two seasons playing for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.44 ERA in 89 innings. He played for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League once upon a time.
Mariners Designate Yusmeiro Petit For Assignment
The Mariners have designated righty Yusmeiro Petit for assignment according to a team press release. The move opens up a roster spot for the newly re-signed Erik Bedard.
The 25-year-old Petit was claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks back in November, and owns a 5.57 career ERA with a 6.9 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9 in 229.1 innings. His 1.96 HR/9 is the worst in baseball history among pitchers with at least as 200 innings to their credit.
Nationals Sign Shawn Estes To Minor League Deal
The Nationals have signed veteran lefty Shawn Estes to a minor league contract according to the AP (via MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez). Estes will earn $600K and could pocket another $400K in incentives if he makes the club.
Estes, 37 later this month, last pitched in the big leagues back in 2008, when he gave the Padres 43.2 innings of 4.74 ERA ball, though his peripherals were ugly (3.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9). He spent last season with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.07 ERA in 13 starts despite similar peripherals. On the bright side, he did hold lefties to a .206 batting average.
Odds & Ends: Jackson, Norman, Dye, Lester, Manny
Some links for Friday night…
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert tweets that the Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson have made no progress towards reaching an agreement to avoid arbitration. A hearing is set for February 17th.
- Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette passes along a report from the independent St. Paul Saints that says that the Pirates have signed 25-year-old outfielder Anthony Norman to a minor league deal.
- Several executives told Morosi that they expect Jermaine Dye to sign with an AL club, though no one's sure which one.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier says that Jon Lester's contract is one of the biggest bargains in baseball when you look at the deals Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander just received. Lester signed a five-year deal last March that guaranteed him at least $30MM.
- Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times wonders if 2010 could be the final year of Manny Ramirez's career. If so, he has a chance to be just the eighth player in history to retire with a career OPS over 1.000.
- ESPN's Keith Law says that the Orlando Hudson signing is a major upgrade for the Twins, likely enough to make them preseason favorites in the AL Central.
- Meanwhile, Law thinks it's too risky for the Diamondbacks to give Mark Reynolds a multi-year contract right now. The two-sides have been discussing such a deal recently.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says the Mets are more likely to sign a pitcher rather than another catcher this month.
- Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle has some quotes from Travis Buck regarding his standing with the A's following all of their outfield additions, and adds that the team has found some interest in Dana Eveland and Gregorio Petit, both of whom were recently designated for assignment.
Gomes, Reds No Closer To A Deal
Jonny Gomes is no closer to returning to the Reds despite some discussions in recent weeks, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
"Nothing recently," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said on Friday night. "We may re-evaluate where we're at with our roster and with the number of people we have going [to Spring Training]."
Even if the team doesn't bring back Gomes, whose 20 homers were the third most on the club in 2009 despite just 314 plate appearances, Jocketty doesn't expect to sign another outfielder as a backup plan.
"We'll either do something with him or stay with what we have until we get to camp and see how it shakes out.
"There's no real deadline. We're playing it by ear. I don't think there's pressure one way or the other to get it done."
The Cubs, Mariners, and Royals all considered Gomes at one point, however they all ended up going in different directions for their outfield needs. MLBTR readers discussed his situation a few weeks ago.