Tim Dierkes | MLB Trade Rumors

Mariners Sign Carlos Guillen

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 8:45pm CDT

8:45pm: The Mariners will pay Guillen $1MM plus incentives based on plate appearances if he makes the team, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times tweets.

1:47pm: The Mariners announced they've signed infielder Carlos Guillen to a minor league contract with a spring training invite. Guillen made his big league debut with the Mariners in 1998, becoming a regular at shortstop and third base for four years before being traded to the Tigers eight years ago.

Guillen, 36, was limited to 699 plate appearances for the Tigers over the last three seasons. The Octagon client had knee surgery in September of 2010, delaying his 2011 debut. Wrist and calf injuries affected the tail end of his campaign.

Roy Oswalt Rumors: Wednesday

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 5:58pm CDT

Free agent righty Roy Oswalt, his wife Nicole, and his agent Bob Garber met with Rangers GM Jon Daniels and CEO and president Nolan Ryan for an exploratory lunch meeting in Arlington yesterday, reported Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. The latest on Oswalt:

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington won't rule out adding a starter before Spring Training, but he says it's unlikely at this point, Alex Speier of WEEI.com tweets. "I wouldn't expect any major changes between now and the report date," the GM said.
The Red Sox are still talking to free agent pitchers, including Oswalt and Edwin Jackson, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports.
The Red Sox appear to be waiting for Jackson or Oswalt to say yes to the offers they've extended, ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets.
The Red Sox still have a great chance of signing Oswalt, a Major League source tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. However, this is the same source that told Edes on Friday that Oswalt would sign with the Cardinals soon, and that did not materialize.
The Cardinals have not made Oswalt a financial offer anywhere close to what he considers sufficient, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal reiterates that Oswalt seeks a one-year, $10MM deal. Rosenthal questions Oswalt's leverage, if he remains adamant about pitching for two teams with full rotations in the Cardinals and Rangers.

Orioles Notes: Out Of Options Players, Trade Chips

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 1:35pm CDT

New Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette spent about $24MM on free agents this winter, mainly adding to his pitching staff with Wei-Yin Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada. He also added a few role players via trade. The latest on the Orioles:

The Orioles have 11 players on the 40-man roster with less than five years of service who are out of options: Robert Andino, Chris Davis, Dana Eveland, Jim Johnson, Jai Miller, Troy Patton, Clay Rapada, Nolan Reimold, Alfredo Simon, Pedro Strop, and Taylor Teagarden.
Out of Baseball America's top ten Orioles prospects, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun finds only L.J. Hoes and Xavier Avery to be legitimate trade targets for other clubs.
MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli speculates that the Orioles could add a veteran bat on a one-year deal, such as Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez, or Casey Kotchman.
The Orioles have three remaining arbitration cases. They face a $3MM gap with Jeremy Guthrie, $2.4MM with Adam Jones, and $400K with Brad Bergesen, as our arbitration tracker shows.

John Lannan Had Arbitration Hearing Today

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 1:34pm CDT

Nationals southpaw John Lannan had his arbitration hearing today, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. We'll know soon whether the CAA Sports client will be paid $5.7MM or $5MM in 2012. Lannan's hearing was the first of 2012, and arbitrators Robert Herzog, Elizabeth Neumeier and John Skonier are expected to decide by Thursday according to the AP.

A file and trial team, the Nationals have had arbitration hearings with Alfonso Soriano, Chad Cordero, John Patterson, Felipe Lopez, Shawn Hill, Sean Burnett, and Brian Bruney since 2006. The Nationals won five of the seven hearings.

Red Sox Out Of Picture On Edwin Jackson?

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 1:11pm CDT

In Edwin Jackson, agent Scott Boras has a 28-year-old free agent innings eater with a touch of upside. Weeks before pitchers and catcher report, Boras has been unable to work his usual magic. Rumor has it a one-year deal is more likely than multiyear; here's the latest…

The Red Sox are "most likely out of the picture" for Jackson, a baseball source tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reported yesterday Boston was in the $5-6MM range on a one-year deal, and Edes says Jackson has "better deals on the table from other clubs." Though it happened with Carlos Pena, a pay cut for Jackson would be a tough pill for Boras to swallow. The righty earned $8.35MM last year. If Jackson lands under $10MM on a one-year deal, his signing will likely be heralded as one of the offseason's best from a team point-of-view.

Nationals Sign Chad Durbin

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 12:59pm CDT

The Nationals signed reliever Chad Durbin to a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Last year Durbin held out until March 1st to score a Major League deal with the Indians; this year he has time to plan before pitchers and catchers report.

Durbin, 34, posted a 5.53 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.58 HR/9, and 40.2% groundball rate in 68 1/3 innings for the Tribe last year. Aside from more of his flyballs leaving the yard and more of his batted balls dropping in for hits, Durbin's numbers weren't much different from when he posted a 3.80 ERA in 2010 with the Phillies.

Durbin joins non-roster invitees Jeff Fulchino and Waldis Joaquin in a spring battle for a low-leverage gig in the Nationals' bullpen.

Pirates Sign Juan Cruz

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 12:38pm CDT

The Pirates signed reliever Juan Cruz to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, the team announced.

Cruz, 33, posted a 3.88 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9, and 35.2% groundball rate for the Rays last year in 48 2/3 innings. Cruz missed time in July with a groin strain, and his average fastball velocity dipped below 93 miles per hour for the first time in his career. Pirates GM Neal Huntington may be hoping Cruz can match the contribution of another wild right-handed Praver/Shapiro client he signed to a minor league deal a year ago. Jose Veras gave the Bucs 71 innings of 3.80 ball in 2011 for a total of $1.35MM, and was traded to the Brewers for Casey McGehee after the season.

Cruz will compete for a bullpen job with other non-roster invitees such as Michael Crotta, Ryota Igarashi, Logan Kensing, Shairon Martis, Jo-Jo Reyes, Doug Slaten, and Tim Wood.

Blue Jays Designate Darin Mastroianni For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 12:34pm CDT

The Blue Jays announced they’ve designated outfielder Darin Mastroianni for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for reliever Francisco Cordero, whose one-year, $4.5MM deal was officially announced.

Mastroianni, 26, hit .268/.353/.377 in 562 plate appearance last year across Double and Triple-A, making his big league debut for one game in August. Mastroianni mostly played center and left field in the minors.

White Sox Sign Dan Johnson

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 11:06am CDT

The White Sox signed first baseman Dan Johnson to a minor league deal, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

Johnson, 32, hit .273/.382/.459 in 395 Triple-A plate appearances for the Rays' affiliate last year, a downturn from his 2010 production perhaps caused by a wrist injury. He elected free agency after being outrighted by the Rays in November. Johnson clubbed a pair of legendary late-season home runs for the Rays in '08 and '11, as described here by Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Johnson is represented by TWC Sports.

For teams still seeking a little extra depth at first base, the free agent market features Russell Branyan, Ross Gload, Conor Jackson, Casey Kotchman, Derrek Lee, and Xavier Nady.

Red Sox Notes: Compensation, Hearings, Epstein

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2012 at 10:48am CDT

The Red Sox haven't spent much on free agents this offseason, but new GM Ben Cherington did improve his bullpen via trade while also clearing salary by moving shortstop Marco Scutaro. The latest on the team:

Commissioner Bud Selig still hasn't received written arguments in the Cubs-Red Sox Theo Epstein compensation case, tweets MLB Network's Peter Gammons. Gammons moderated the Hot Stove Cool Music panel on Monday with both Epstein and Cherington. Cherington said that he expects direction from the commissioner's office soon, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Explained Cherington, "There was an expectation when Theo left that the Red Sox would receive significant compensation for allowing the Cubs to hire him and we haven’t been able to agree on what 'significant compensation’ means.'"
The Red Sox have potential arbitration hearings for Alfredo Aceves and David Ortiz, and Cherington told MLB.com's Evan Drellich he'd prefer not to publicize the dates. Ortiz's hearing is tentatively scheduled for mid-February, reported Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports yesterday. Cherington doesn't think the potential impact of the hearings would be significant, but a $3.85MM spread on Ortiz does seem significant to me for a club that recently unloaded its starting shortstop in a trade that appeared financially motivated.
As part of a Sacred Heart University lecture series last night, Epstein said that in retrospect it wasn't necessary for him to leave the Red Sox for three months during the 2005-06 offseason as a means of determining what the organization stood for (WEEI's Ryan Hannable reporting). Yankees GM Brian Cashman, now a potential trading partner for Epstein, also attended the event. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times has quotes about the executives' observations of each other while competing in the AL East.
I've begun collecting lists of 40-man roster players with less than five years of service who are out of options. For the Red Sox, I've confirmed it's Michael Bowden, Felix Doubront, Andrew Miller, Darnell McDonald, Franklin Morales, and Matt Albers.

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