Players Tendered Contracts
Midnight ET is the non-tender deadline, so we'll keep track of all the players who are offered and/or agreed to contracts today in this post. Keep coming back throughout the day for updates.
- Washington tendered contracts to Josh Willingham, Jesus Flores, Wil Nieves, Jason Bergmann, and Sean Burnett.
- Zach Duke was tendered an offer by the Pirates.
- The Marlins reached an agreement with Ronny Paulino. The deal will be for one-year, $1.1MM.
- The Royals avoided arbitration by reaching one year deals with Brian Bannister ($2.3MM) Roman Colon ($660K), and Kyle Davies ($1.8MM).
- Dioner Navarro will remain with the Rays on a one-year deal worth $2.1MM.
- The White Sox will offer contracts to Bobby Jenks, John Danks, Carlos Quentin, and Tony Pena.
- Milwaukee will tender offers to six players: Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva, Todd Coffey, Jody Gerut, Corey Hart, and Carlos Gomez.
- Toronto will tender an offer to Jeremy Accardo.
- Kevin Correia will remain with the Padres for one-year, $3.6MM.
- The Rangers have signed Esteban German to a 2010 contract. He'll earn $600K in the majors and $200K in the minors. They offered contracts to their other arbitration-eligible players including Scott Feldman, Chris Ray, Frank Francisco, C.J. Wilson, Dustin Nippert, Brandon McCarthy, and Josh Hamilton.
- Tampa Bay avoided arbitration with Lance Cormier by inking him to a one-year deal. The contract will pay Cormier $1.2MM.
- The Twins will tender contracts to all 30 unsigned players on their 40-man roster. That means Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris, Francisco Liriano, Pat Neshek, Delmon Young, and many more figure to be in the Twins' plans in 2010.
- The following eight Cubs will receive offers from the team: Carlos Marmol, Ryan Theriot, Jeff Baker, Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall, Koyie Hill, Tom Gorzelanny, and Mike Fontenot.
- Atlanta tendered offers to relievers Peter Moylan and Boone Logan.
- The Marlins will tender offers to almost all of their arbitration-eligible players – Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, Ricky Nolasco, Cody Ross, Josh Johnson, Leo Nunez, and Renyel Pinto.
- The Astros will tender offers to all remaining arbitration-eligible players. This means Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Wandy Rodriguez, Matt Lindstrom, Tim Byrdak, Chris Sampson, Jeff Keppinger, and Humberto Quintero are invited back.
- Matt Albers and Cla Meredith have agreed to terms with the Orioles. Albers' deal is worth $.68MM for one-year. Meanwhile, Meredith will recieve $.85MM in 2010.
- Randy Choate agreed to a one year deal. Terms of the deal are one-year, $700K.
Jason Bay Rumors: Saturday
9:02pm: Urbon tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that nothing will be decided this weekend (via Twitter). Earlier today, Jon Heyman tweeted that he believes the Mets would be willing to give Bay a five-year deal if neccessary.
4:46pm: A major league source told WEEI.com that one club has "extended past" a five-year deal for Jason Bay – which could mean a five-year deal or a four-year deal with an option. Meanwhile, Ian Browne of MLB.com says that it's "starting to appear unlikely" that Bay will remain with Boston.
2:55pm: Bay has rejected Boston's latest proposal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Bay's agent Joe Urbon told Rosenthal there are "other offers on the table that are of greater interest" to his client.
The last known offer from the BoSox was a four-year pact worth $60MM. It has been said that Bay is seeking the security of a five-year contract.
10:14am: A team source indicated to The NY Post's Bart Hubbuch that the Mets' offer to free agent Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, starting out with a $10MM salary in the first year before ballooning to $20MM in the final year. Hubbuch notes that this is common practice for the Mets under Omar Minaya, citing Carlos Beltran's similarly structured deal.
Yesterday we learned that Bay's agent countered Boston's original four year, $60MM offer by asking for six years at $16-18MM annually. The general belief is that a fifth year will land the free agent.
Braves Non-Tender Kelly Johnson
1:32pm: The Braves will not tender Johnson an offer, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Johnson made $2.8MM in a disappointing year for Atlanta.
11:48pm: The Braves are trying to trade second baseman Kelly Johnson according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. If they can't work out a trade by midnight ET tonight, Johnson will be non-tendered.
Earlier this week we learned that Atlanta was getting nibbles on Johnson, however we haven't heard anything since. The 27-year-old hit just .224/.303/.389 last season, and has seen all three triple-slash stats decline for three straight years. UZR/150 has consistently rated Johnson's defense as below average.
Odds & Ends: Jacobs, Bradley, Lackey, Lyon
Some links to start the weekend…
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says that Mike Jacobs isn't a fit to return to the Marlins. The team's second best prospect is first baseman Logan Morrison, who is on the cusp of the big leagues after spending most of 2009 in Double-A.
- Milton Bradley continues to hamstring the Cubs this offseason, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.
- Tommy Bennett at Beyond The Box Score compared John Lackey to A.J. Burnett, and doesn't think he deserves a bigger contract than the Yanks' hurler.
- The Astros will make the Brandon Lyon signing official today, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- Curious about what the 2010 draft order looks like following the recent signings? Check it out.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Saturday
11:07am: ESPN's Jayson Stark spoke to a source who says Toronto is pushing the Angels for lefty pitching prospect Trevor Reckling in any Halladay deal. Baseball America rating Reckling the fourth best prospect in the Angels' organization coming into the 2009 season.
9:44am: It's just a hunch, but Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com wonders if the Phillies are trying to move Cliff Lee as part of a three or four team trade to land Roy Halladay. The idea is that Lee would get moved to one team for prospects, then Philadelphia would then use those prospects to land Halladay, perhaps keeping some for themselves as well. That would sure be a fun deal.
Meanwhile, in today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney mentions that other GMs feel Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is "aggressively preparing" to move Halladay. He also notes that we still don't know if team ownership will approve a Doc trade.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday
11:36pm: One baseball source tells Tom Verducci of SI.com that the Phillies have been "very aggressive" in their efforts to obtain Halladay. Apparently the Phils are trying to find the players the Blue Jays want, even if that means looking on other teams.
10:00pm: Angels GM Tony Reagins didn't comment on the reported offer of Saunders, Aybar and Bourjos, but two sources shot the rumor down when Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times asked them about it.
Reagins said the Blue Jays have targeted Saunders, Bourjos and Mike Napoli. It's even "possible" that the deal could be expanded to send more Blue Jays to Anaheim.
"They have a lot of pieces that are attractive," Reagins said.
8:33am: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had this to say to Scott Lauber about acquiring Halladay: "I don't think there's any likeliness. None."
6:01am: Mark Feinsand of The NY Daily News spoke to a source who said "Don't rule out them including Cole Hamels" in a potential Halladay deal. I'm not sure it's wise for Philly to sell low on Hamels for only one year of Halladay, but that would be something.
4:47am: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com says that the Angels and Phillies have emerged as the frontrunners in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. Philadelphia is prepared to offer a package that will likely include J.A. Happ, plus either Michael Taylor or Domonic Brown. Echoing a report from yesterday, Rosenthal says the Angels offered Joe Saunders, Erick Aybar, and Peter Bourjos to the Blue Jays.
Halladay will likely require a contract extension in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause according to Rosenthal, and the Phillies would almost certainly have to make another move to fit Halladay into the payroll. Joe Blanton is a prime candidate to be that sacrificial lamb. Meanwhile, the Angels are trying to re-sign John Lackey, and could withdraw from the Halladay pursuit if he returns.
Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday
7:36pm: A source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets offered Bay more than $60MM, but less than $65MM.
5:57pm: The Mets confirmed that they made Bay and Bengie Molina offers, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
3:27pm: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets offered Bay four years and about $65MM. He feels "they'd probably have to bump it to five years to get him." Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the offer was in the four-year, $60MM range. Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News agrees with Heyman's figure.
12:57pm: Newsday's David Lennon tweets that the Mets' first two free agent offers are going out to Bay and Bengie Molina.
5:18am: Going into the fourth day of the Winter Meetings, the Angels, Mariners, Red Sox, and maybe even the Mets are suitors for free agent outfielder Jason Bay, writes Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald. One source indicated that Boston was in a "holding pattern" until the Bay situation was resolved, however they could turn to Matt Holliday, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes that if anyone offers Bay a five year contract, that would likely seal the deal. However, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that there are "concerns within the Boston organization about whether Jason Bay would hold up physically through a multi-year deal." For what it's worth, Bay has only been on the DL twice in his career, the last time coming way back in 2004.
Meanwhile, Kevin Baxter of The LA Times says that Angels' manager Mike Scioscia would prefer to re-sign John Lackey instead of importing Bay, noting that they have to be as balanced as possible.
Milton Bradley Rumors: Thursday
3:03pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that if a Bradley trade is close, it's not with the Rays.
1:37pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale has Cubs officials saying they are close to a Bradley trade, and Nightengale thinks it'll be with the Rays. MLBTR's source continues to say there's nothing new, however.
7:34am: MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says the Cubs are now scrambling to unload Milton Bradley. Tampa Bay – the team that's been most connected to Bradley through this ordeal – feels that they are in no way obligated to help the Cubbies out, and prefer one year of Pat Burrell to two years of Bradley. Hard to blame them.
Royals Release Mike Jacobs, John Bale
9:43am: The release of Jacobs and Bale was confirmed by the Royals.
7:10am: Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star tweets that the Royals will release first baseman Mike Jacobs and lefty reliever John Bale this morning. The moves will give Kansas City two open 40-man roster spots, meaning they can make two picks in the Rule 5 Draft if they choose.
The 29-year-old Jacobs hit just .228/.297/.401 with 19 homers in 478 plate appearances after being acquired for Leo Nunez last offseason. Bale, 35, had a 5.72 ERA in 28.1 innings last year, and was only able to hold lefties to a .271 batting average. Both players made MLBTR's list of non-tender candidates.
Joey Gathright Remains Unsigned
7:57am: Gathright's agency, Reynolds Sports Management, tells us via email that the outfielder has not signed.
5:27am: Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun reports that the Blue Jays have signed speedy outfielder Joey Gathright.
The 28-year-old Gathright is a career .263/.327/.303 hitter in the big leagues, and has spent the better part of his baseball life bouncing between Triple-A and the Majors. Gathright just needs to hook on with the Yankees one of these years to complete the AL East quintuple crown.