Five Teams Interested In Jerry Hairston Jr.
Five teams have expressed interest in free agent utility man Jerry Hairston Jr., according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com (via Twitter). Among the interested teams are the Padres, A's (who employ his brother Scott), and the Yankees, with whom he won a World Series ring in 2009.
Rosenthal adds that Hairston would likely receive a $2-3MM salary on a one-year deal, however he's also received multi-year offers. The 34-year-old is a career .259/.328/.373 hitter, and is capable of playing pretty much anywhere on the field except pitcher and catcher.
Endy Chavez Willing To Sign A Minor League Deal
Endy Chavez is ahead of schedule rehabbing from a torn ACL and MCL, and his agent Peter Greenberg said they'd be willing to consider a minor league deal according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. Chavez will likely be "90 percent or so" in March, at which time he would hold a showcase for interested teams.
Greenberg indicated that the Mariners "as well as many other teams" have shown interest in the free agent outfielder. Jack Zduriencik confirmed that his club is watching Chavez's progress closely, and it's possible he could sign by the end of the month if the right situation pops up.
Chavez, 32 in February, is a career .270/.312/.367 hitter, though his outfield defense is top-of-the-line at all three spots. He earned $2.05MM in 2009 as part of the two-year, $3.85MM extension he signed with the Mets in 2008.
Cardinals Have $6-7MM Left To Spend
Now that Matt Holliday's mega-contract is all but official, the Cardinals have approximately $6-7MM left in their budget according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. The team must now figure out how to allocate those funds, because they still have to address third base and the back of the rotation, plus the bullpen and bench.
"It's a great question and one that I don't know the answer to today," (GM John) Mozeliak said on Thursday when asked what comes next. "[Assistant GM John] Abbamondi, myself, Jeff [Luhnow, scouting director and farm director] and the group will sit down tomorrow. I'll then also get with Tony [La Russa, manager] over the weekend and we'll kind of prioritize what we think, if we had a bullet to use, what would we use it on. Once we get to that point, then we'll look at what's out there and how to use that resource if it's there. We may stand pat. But we'll see."
As Leach points out, the Cardinals do have in-house options at third (David Freese) and the fifth starter's spot (Jaime Garcia, Mitchell Boggs, Blake Hawksworth), though the bench – particularly a lefty hitter – is an area the team will have to go outside of the organization to upgrade.
We've seen names like Miguel Tejada, Joe Crede, and Felipe Lopez mentioned as possible fits for the Cardinals in recent weeks.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bay, Holliday, Front Offices
On this date nine years ago, the A's, Royals, and Devil Rays pulled off a three-team trade that included seven big leaguers. Oakland acquired Johnny Damon, Mark Ellis, and the late Cory Lidle while Kansas City received Angel Berroa, A.J. Hinch, and Roberto Hernandez. Tampa Bay picked up just Ben Grieve. Even though Berroa went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, Billy Beane's club walked away as the clear winner of this blockbuster.
Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere as Spring Training inches closer…
- Fenway Nation thinks the Red Sox made a mistake by not re-signing Jason Bay, and wants to see the club atone for it by trading for Adrian Gonzalez.
- Simon On Sports interviewed a blogger from each team about their squad's offseason.
- At Home Plate says the Cardinals overpaid for Matt Holliday not because he isn't worth the money, but because no one else was bidding for his services.
- Athletics Nation graded the front offices of the last decade.
- U.S.S. Mariner calls Franklin Gutierrez's contract extension a major bargain, and notes it's similarities to the deal Mike Cameron signed with Seattle a decade ago.
- DRays Bay wonders if the Rays could use Alfredo Amezaga.
- Phillies Nation takes a look at some of the cheaper free agent pitching options that could entice the two-time defending NL Champs.
- Twins Overlook examines the progression of Delmon Young since arriving in Minnesota.
- River Ave. Blues ranked the $100MM contracts given to position players.
- More Hardball has some New Year's resolutions for various people and teams in the game.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Cantu, Lowry, Nationals, Braves
Some links for Wednesday night…
- The Marlins have no interest in trading Jorge Cantu to save money, even if they don't trade Dan Uggla before the season, tweets Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald. Yesterday we heard the team may "start taking calls" about Cantu if they can't unload Uggla.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says that the Dodgers are among the 14 teams that have asked for Noah Lowry's medical records according to his agent Damon Lara. We first heard of their interest in the lefty way back in early December.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said he is still looking for starting pitching and to improve his team's defense, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman says that Braves' team president John Schuerholz indicated the team's payroll "won't be diminished at all." Bowman's rough estimate has the team's 2010 payroll at about $87MM after they spent roughly $95MM in 2009.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports (via Twitter) that the Brewers have outrighted pitcher Omar Aguilar to Triple-A, however assistant GM Gord Ash said the team has no move in the works to the fill the vacated 40-man roster spot according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (again, via Twitter).
- In response to a fan on Twitter, C.J. Wilson tweets that the Rangers have never offered him a long-term deal.
- Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News says there's a chance Juan Uribe could be the Giants' starting third baseman, shifting Mark DeRosa to the outfield. He adds that the team plans to make more moves, however their lack of pitching depth will make it tough to swing a trade.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com examines how the recent moves by the Red Sox impact their payroll with regard to the luxury tax.
- The Diamondbacks have released minor league righthander Tony Barnette so he can pursue opportunities in Japan, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (via Twitter).
Cardinals Will Be Paying Holliday Through 2029
As part of his new seven year, $120MM contract, Matt Holliday will be collecting paychecks from the Cardinals through 2029 according to the AP (via SI.com). As you know, the contract calls for a $17MM annual salary through 2016 with an option for 2017, however $2MM is deferred without interest each season. Depending on whether or not the option is picked up/vests, Holliday will be paid either $1.4MM or $1.6MM on July 15th every year from 2020 to 2029.
Just for some perspective, Holliday will be 49-years-old on July 15th, 2029.
Mariners Sign Chris Woodward
The Mariners have signed utility player Chris Woodward to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to a team press release.
Woodward, 33, played in 20 games for Seattle last season before being claimed off waivers by the Red Sox in August. Overall, Woodward is a .242/.298/.369 career hitter in the big leagues, and has played every position except pitcher and catcher with varying degrees of success.
Brewers May Not Be Able To Add Another Starter
The Brewers may be right up against their 2010 payroll limit according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, however GM Doug Melvin is still looking to upgrade his club.
"If we can [add another starter] we'd like to," Melvin said at the conclusion of the Winter Meetings. "We might not be able to. We're always looking to improve the club.
"We're trying to keep flexibility to do things. The worst thing you can do is lose flexibility. We still want to be aggressive but we can step back and look at the landscape, see what takes place with free agents and trades."
McCalvy notes that the club's free agent signings total a $21MM commitment for 2010, plus there's another $37MM or so tied up in players already on their roster. The team has seven players eligible for salary arbitration, and there's about $18MM budgeted for them. If they fill out their roster with players making close to the minimum, it'll push Melvin's club over their $80MM or so projected payroll.
Given Randy Wolf's price tag, the team may not be able to add the second starter they crave. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com said the Brewers will "almost certainly" sign one of Jon Garland, Doug Davis, or Jarrod Washburn, though they may have to make a move to free up some cash to sign one of them.
Reds Sign Josh Anderson To Minor League Deal
The Reds have signed outfielder Josh Anderson to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, according to a tweet from MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
The speedy outfielder has bounced around from Houston to Atlanta to Detroit to Kansas City in his brief big league career, during which he's hit .272/.313/.352 in 519 plate appearances. Johnson has stolen 36 bases in 43 tries, though UZR says he's a poor defender in center but strong on the corners.
Twins Release Bobby Keppel
According to the transactions on the team's official site, the Twins have released righty reliever Bobby Keppel. Keppel appeared in 37 games for Minnesota last season, and had a 4.83 ERA with a 5.3 K/9 in 54 innings. He's also pitched for the Royals and Rockies in his career.
Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker passed along a report earlier this offseason saying that the Hanshin Tigers were looking at Keppel.