Mets, Blanco Re-Negotiate Contract
Just a week after signing backup catcher Henry Blanco to a one year, $1.45MM contract, the two sides have re-negotiated the pact according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff. Concerns about the backstop's throwing shoulder popped up during a physical, which led the restructuring.
Under the new contract, Blanco can actually earn more than he would have under the original deal, however most of that money is now tied up in bonuses. His base salary drops to $750K, but he can pocket another $775K in incentives tied to games started and various awards.
The new deal protects the Mets should Blanco get hurt, and as Davidoff so candidly puts it, if he earns those incentives, then "something has gone horribly wrong for the Mets." Blanco's agent stressed that his client's shoulder has been fine since a 1997 procedure.
Winter Meetings Review: Day 3
The Rule 5 Draft starts in a few hours, and after that most team executives will head back home. There was lots on action on Wednesday, so let's recap…
- Two of the better free agent starters came off the board during Day 3 of the Winter Meetings. Randy Wolf finalized his three year, $29.75MM deal with Milwaukee, and even managed to secure an option for a fourth year. Andy Pettitte re-upped with the Yankees for another year, and will earn $11.75MM in 2010.
- The Rays acquired relief ace Rafael Soriano from the Braves for Jesse Chavez, pending medical review. Tampa will take on all of Soriano's salary, whatever that ends up being. The Yankees, Angels, Orioles, and Astros were all considered suitors for the righthander throughout the day.
- The Astros imported a notable pair of relievers of their own on Wednesday. First they traded two minor leaguers and their pick in the Rule 5 Draft to Florida for closer Matt Lindstrom. Later in the day, they signed Brandon Lyon to a three year, $15MM deal. Those moves will help make up for the loss of LaTroy Hawkins, who inked a two year, $7.5MM deal with the Brewers.
- The Rangers finally sent Kevin Millwood packing, dealing him to the Orioles for Chris Ray. Baltimore is also sending the third overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft to Texas. That move opened the door for the Rangers to sign Rich Harden to a one year, $7.5MM contract that includes an option for 2011. The Mariners were rumored to be in on Harden, but they had to settle for Corey Patterson instead.
- While that was happening, the Rangers moved closer to acquiring Mike Lowell from the Red Sox for Max Ramirez. There's a chance Lowell's hip and thumb issues could interfere with the deal, though. That move would open a spot for Adrian Beltre, who the Sox have serious interest in. Despite their need for a corner bat, the Giants are not interested in Beltre.
- Bobby Crosby signed a one year deal with the Pirates, and will earn $1MM with another $500K in incentives.
- On the pitching market, Ben Sheets is looking for big money, while multiple teams are discussing Derek Lowe. The Mets, Nationals, and Phillies are all interested in Jason Marquis, while Darren Oliver has plenty of suitors as well. Joel Pineiro, as expected, has a bunch of teams after him. In a move of astounding cheapness, the Padres are expected to non-tender Kevin Correia.
- Nick Johnson is a wanted man, with seven teams pursuing him. The Reds, meanwhile, are interested in Craig Counsell, while five teams are interested in Scott Podsednik. The White Sox appear to be closing in on J.J. Putz, and the Padres are shopping Kevin Kouzmanoff.
- The Rockies are nearing a two year deal with Yorvit Torrealba, while the Mets are prepared to offer Bengie Molina a deal by Thursday afternoon. Sticking to the theme, the Royals offered Jason Kendall two years as well.
- Of course, it wouldn't be a day near the Hot Stove without some talk about Jason Bay, Roy Halladay, Milton Bradley, and John Lackey.
In case you missed it, here's MLBTR's review of Day 1 and Day 2.
Overnight Links: Rodney, Lyon, Nationals, Weaver
The Hot Stove never sleeps…
- With Brandon Lyon headed to Houston, Steve Kornacki of MLive.com expects the Tigers to intensify their efforts to re-sign Fernando Rodney.
- Speaking of Lyon, Dave Cameron at FanGraphs calls his signing by the Astros "the latest act in a joke that’s gone on far too long." Ouch.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson says that the Nationals' agenda hasn't changed; they're looking for quality pitching and a backup infielder.
- The Angels will be among the teams at Aroldis Chapman's workout next week, reports Mike DiGiovanna of The LA Times.
- The Dodgers have interest in re-signing righty Jeff Weaver, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The 33-year-old Weaver had a 3.65 ERA in 79 innings for LA last season.
- Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com notes that the Tigers have only $33MM committed to their 2011 payroll, and would have a big chunk of money to play around with next offseason even if they scale their payroll back a bit.
- Bill Beane left the Winter Meetings late Wednesday afternoon according to MLB.com's Tom Singer, and is ready to get some serious work done. "You really do more productive work when you get back home, and can get on the phone away from the distractions," Beane said.
- Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro acknowledged that it's possible the team may move past Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre, says MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- MLB.com's Chris Haft wonders if the Giants could benefit from the Yankees' glut of outfielders.
Nationals Plan To Hold Onto Willingham
The Nationals plan to hold onto outfielder Josh Willingham, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Mets asked Washington who they'd want in exchange for The Hammer, but were apparently rebuffed.
The 30-year-old outfielder hit .260/.367/.496 with 24 homers in 502 plate appearances last season, and stands to get a nice raise over his $2.95MM salary in his second year of arbitration. Willingham is certainly no stranger to the trade rumor circuit.
Dodgers, Rockies Possible For Luis Ayala
TUESDAY: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that we should expect Ayala to ink a minor league deal with the Dodgers or Rockies.
THURSDAY: Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times tweets that the Dodgers are in discussions with free agent reliever Luis Ayala about a minor league contract.
Ayala, 32 in January, posted a 5.62 ERA in 40 innings in 2009, mostly for the Twins but some for the Marlins. Over the last two seasons, he's posted a 5.68 ERA in 115.2 innings.
Mets Consider Offer For Molina
MONDAY, 7:44pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Mets are considering offering Molina a deal that would pay him $6MM next year and include an option for 2011. It's not clear what kind of option they're considering. The Mets would prefer not to offer Molina a two-year deal, but they haven't ruled such a deal out.
9:52pm: Newsday's Ken Davidoff says that the Mets are considering Rod Barajas as an alternative to Molina. What do you think: genuine interest, or a smoke screen to put some pressure on Bengie?
SUNDAY, 3:02pm: Jon Heyman says, via Twitter, that the Mets are trying to wait it out when it comes to Molina. According to Heyman, the Mets figure that other teams with catching needs, such as the Royals and Rangers, have less money than them.
Are the Mets wise to wait on Bengie? Or, are they running a risk of losing out on what seems to be their main target for starting catcher in 2010? Gregg Zaun already signed with the Brewers this week, eliminating one possible alternative from this year's free agent crop.
SATURDAY, 9:19am: Despite signing both Henry Blanco and Chris Coste recently, the Mets are still looking to add a catcher according to Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post. Manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen hold last year's catching corps partially responsible for the team's 4.46 ERA, though I think the fact that Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, Oliver Perez, Nelson Figueroa, and Pat Misch combined to make 71 starts is more to blame.
Hubbuch says the primary catching target appears to be Bengie Molina, whose 20 homers in 2009 was nearly double what the Mets got out of their catchers. Molina is a Type-A free agent, but he wasn't offered arbitration, meaning it won't cost a draft pick to sign him. Giants' GM Brian Sabean recently said that he believes Molina "probably has been offered" a multi-year deal by another team, though we haven't heard any more about that.
Nationals Talking To Jon Garland
MONDAY, 5:11pm: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo confirmed interest in Garland, saying, "He's one of the 10 names we've been talking about throughout the whole winter." (Chico Harlan of the Washington Post reporting).
SUNDAY, 10:23pm: In search of a couple of starting pitchers this winter, the Nationals are talking to free agent Jon Garland, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons. We've also heard that the Nats were interested in John Smoltz and John Lackey, and I think it would be pretty cool if they ended up with four Jon/John's in their rotation (don't forget John Lannan!).
Only one non-Lannan Nats' starter eclipsed 100 IP last year (Craig Stammen at 105.2 IP), and Garland would certainly help that situation. He's made at least 32 starts and thrown at least 191.2 innings every year since 2002, during which time he has a respectable 4.38 ERA.
MLBTR readers discussed Garland about a month ago.
Adrian Beltre To Decline Arbitration?
MONDAY, 1:26pm: SI's Jon Heyman agrees; he says Beltre plans to decline the arbitration offer today.
SUNDAY, 11:03pm: Word in the Winter Meetings' lobby is that there's "no way" Scott Boras will allow Adrian Beltre to accept the Mariners' offer of arbitration, says Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. Tomorrow is the deadline for the 20 or so free agents that were offered arbitration to either decline or accept.
There was some thought on Friday that the Mariners couldn't finalize their deal with Chone Figgins until Monday because the team first had to make sure Beltre would decline arbitration. The 31-year-old former NL MVP runner-up is said to be looking for at least $10MM per year, and has drawn interest from the Giants.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Martinez, Blanton, Putz
A few links the night before all Hot Stove hell breaks loose…
- Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that team president Frank Coonelly said the Pirates have made less than $11MM profit over the last two years, and all of that was put back into the team.
- Agent Alan Nero says that opening talks about a long-term deal for Victor Martinez "should be on the to-do list in January," according to Daniel Barbarisi and Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal.
- Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says we can add Joe Blanton to the list of pitchers available via trade. He's arbitration eligible after making $5.475MM in 2009, and the Phillies can better use that money elsewhere.
- The Diamondbacks are one of the teams that watched J.J. Putz's recent throwing session, according to FoxSports.com.
- Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times takes a look at five issues facing the Dodgers heading into the Winter Meetings.
- The Mariners are among the teams looking to land a catcher this week, says Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
- Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News rounds up Omar Minaya's brief meeting with the press upon arriving in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings.
- Carl Pavano's agent says his client is undecided about whether to accept arbitration, according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says the Red Sox, Angels, Mariners, and maybe the Mets represent the market for Jason Bay.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat spoke to a Rangers' official who said the team would be willing to bring Milton Bradley back, however they're not sure they want to deal with "that headache" again.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Angels will compete with the Mariners for John Lackey and Jason Bay, but they won't bid $100MM.
- Omar Minaya suggests that trades are more likely than free agent signings for the Mets, according to Ben Shpigel of The NY Times.
- Free agent Jamey Carroll says the "door hasn't been closed" on a return to Cleveland, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune says the Rays will be looking to make more under-the-radar moves this year.
- Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes about a perfect storm scenario that could send Roy Halladay to the Phillies.
- LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune hears that Joe Mauer's agent might not attend the Winter Meetings because of all the attention that will paid to his client's possible free agency.
- Tyler Hissey previewed the Orioles' offseason.
Betancourt Set To Accept Arbitration
11:38pm: FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi says that the Brewers have interest in Betancourt, "but their offer is unlikely to be big enough to persuade him to refuse salary arbitration with the Rockies." Morosi adds that interest in Betancourt has declined sharply after he was offered arbitration, as teams are unwilling to give up a draft pick to sign him.
6:08pm: Tracy Ringolsby of FoxSports.com reports that free agent reliever Rafael Betancourt is "ready to accept the [Rockies'] offer of arbitration." Betancourt is a Type-A free agent, so a team would have had to forfeit a high draft pick to sign him.