Latest On Gio Gonzalez
A dozen teams are in on Athletics lefty Gio Gonzalez, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The latest:
- There are indications the Blue Jays and A's might add a third team to the discussions to try to find the right match for Gonzalez, writes Slusser. The A's seek "at least two high-value prospects and a few mid-range prospects."
Orioles Expected To Announce Trade Today
The Orioles are "real close" to a trade that is expected to be announced today, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
Originally published on December 8th at 9:44am.
C.J. Wilson Rumors: Thursday
Will C.J. Wilson follow Albert Pujols to Los Angeles? The latest on the free agent lefty…
- The Marlins have a six-year, $80MM offer on the table for Wilson but it may not be enough, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Given that $80MM over five years seems attainable for Wilson, the fact that the Marlins went to six years doesn't hold much weight in my opinion.
Originally published on December 8th at 9:55am.
Ortiz, Kelly Johnson, Francisco Rodriguez Accept Arbitration
Three free agents accepted arbitration at tonight's deadline: David Ortiz of the Red Sox, Kelly Johnson of the Blue Jays, and Francisco Rodriguez of the Brewers. The trio is now off the market and under team control for 2012 at a salary to potentially be determined by the arbitration process. For further details, check out MLBTR's free agent arbitration offer tracker, which allows you to filter by team, type, whether the player was offered, and whether he accepted.
Ortiz, Johnson, and Rodriguez all probably could have found two-year deals on the open market, but they'll receive raises for 2012 by accepting arbitration. Of the three, only Ortiz was inhibited by having a draft pick cost attached.
Free Agent Arbitration Offer Decisions
37 free agents were offered arbitration in November, but Jonathan Papelbon, Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Rod Barajas, Clint Barmes, Matt Capps, Bruce Chen, David DeJesus, Ryan Doumit, Mark Ellis, Frank Francisco, Freddy Garcia, Aaron Harang, Ramon Hernandez, Jose Molina, Jon Rauch, and Mark Buehrle have already reached agreements. The deadline is tonight at 11pm central time. For MLBTR's handy chart that can be filtered by team, type, and whether the player was offered and/or accepted, click here.
- Based on Heyman's tweet indicating only three players accepted arbitration, we can deduce that Prince Fielder (A), Albert Pujols (A), Jimmy Rollins (A), C.J. Wilson (A), Francisco Cordero (B), Octavio Dotel (B), Raul Ibanez (B), Edwin Jackson (B), and Darren Oliver (B) declined their respective teams' offers.
- Derrek Lee (B) has turned down the Pirates' offer, tweets MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
- Kelly Johnson (A) has accepted the Blue Jays' offer, tweets Jon Heyman.
- Michael Cuddyer (A) and Jason Kubel (B) have declined the Twins' offers, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
- Francisco Rodriguez (A) has accepted the Brewers' offer, tweets MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- Ryan Madson (A) will decline the Phillies' offer, tweets Jon Heyman.
- David Ortiz (A) will accept Boston's offer, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston confirms that Ortiz has officially accepted (Twitter link).
- Aramis Ramirez (B) officially declined the Cubs' offer, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Josh Willingham (A) will decline Oakland's offer, MLBTR has learned. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Willingham has officially declined.
- Dan Wheeler (B) will decline Boston's offer of arbitration, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Cherington confirmed the decision to reporters, including Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).
- Carlos Pena (B) has decided not to accept the Cubs' arbitration offer, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Cubs president Theo Epstein recently told reporters he did not expect Pena to accept, as he's likely to find a multiyear deal on the open market.
Kelly Johnson Accepts Arbitration
11:08pm: Johnson has accepted arbitration, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
3:28pm: It sounds very likely Johnson will accept arbitration, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.
2:31pm: There's a "good chance" Kelly Johnson returns, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. The second baseman could accept Toronto's arbitration offer, or perhaps sign a multiyear deal.
C.J. Wilson Rumors: Wednesday
The latest on free agent lefty C.J. Wilson…
- Wilson has arrived at the Winter Meetings and will meet with the Marlins tonight, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Miami's offer appeals to Wilson because of the long-term commitment and because he'd have a chance to hit, tweets T.R. Sullivan. I can't imagine the opportunity to get at-bats being a deciding factor, but it could at least be a notch in the 'pros' column.
- Angels sources have suggested they won't increase their offer to six years, which could give the Marlins the edge, tweets Jon Heyman.
- The Marlins are the "best bet" for Wilson, with the Angels a close runner-up, Rosenthal hears.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters, including T.R. Sullivan, that he's resigned to the possibility that Wilson will sign elsewhere.
- The Marlins' offer to Wilson is still on the table, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
- If the Angels sign Wilson, it would likely be for five years, rather than six, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hears that the Rangers haven't offered Wilson five years (Twitter link).
- Now that the Marlins have reached an agreement with Buehrle, they're likely out on Wilson, according to a number of reporters, including T.R. Sullivan. This could mean Wilson's decision will come down to the Angels vs. the Rangers. However, Jon Heyman of MLB Network hears the Marlins may still be trying for Wilson (Twitter link).
- Wilson tells MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan he's undecided and "torn in different directions."
- The Marlins have big offers out to Wilson and Buehrle, tweets Buster Olney, and they'll sign whoever says yes first.
- If the Angels don't match the Marlins' six-year offer, Wilson will likely sign with Miami, tweets Jon Paul Morosi. The Nationals are out on Wilson, notes Morosi.
- Wilson has a six-year offer from the Marlins, reports Tom Verducci of MLB Network. However, Danny Knobler says the Angels are currently the clear favorite and Wilson's decision is not expected before late tonight.
- The Marlins are well down the road with negotiations for Wilson and Mark Buehrle, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. They're saying that if they sign one of the starters, that will end their Albert Pujols pursuit.
- The Rangers are not optimistic about re-signing Wilson, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Team officials expect him to sign with the Angels or Marlins.
- The Angels are ramping up efforts to sign Wilson with hopes of getting a deal done today, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
David Ortiz Accepts Arbitration
8:08pm: Ortiz has officially accepted arbitration, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston. Neither side has ruled out a multiyear deal at some point this offseason, tweets MLB.com's Ian Browne. The Sox reportedly increased their two-year offer to Ortiz today.
3:30pm: The Red Sox have not heard any official word from Ortiz, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford.
2:20pm: Free agent DH David Ortiz will accept Boston's arbitration offer, tweets MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Ortiz's plan was first reported yesterday by ESPN's Enrique Rojas. That means Ortiz is under the team's control for 2012 at a salary to potentially be determined by the arbitration process. He'll get a raise on this year's $12.5MM salary.
Ortiz, 36, was MLBTR's 13th-ranked free agent, but his market was cold given his inability to play the field and the attached draft pick cost.
Brewers Expect Rollins To Sign With Phillies
The latest on free agent shortstop Jimmy Rollins…
- Phillies sources tell Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link) that there was no meeting with Rollins tonight.
- The Phillies are currently meeting with Lozano and could "get to the finish line" tonight, tweets Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- While no deal between the Phillies and Rollins has been agreed upon, Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio hears from sources on both sides that it will get done (Twitter link).
- The Brewers expect Rollins to re-sign with the Phillies because their second meeting with agent Dan Lozano was canceled, tweets Haudricourt. According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had this to say on the Brewers' expectations: "That's good news, I guess. I don't know why they have that thought process, but I hope it's true."
- The Phillies are not close to re-signing Rollins, tweets Ken Rosenthal.
- The Brewers are hearing that Rollins is staying with the Phillies, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. ESPN's Chris Singleton received an encouraging report from a Phillies person that a deal with Rollins will get done soon.
Mets Listening On Niese, Others In Trade Talks
The Mets are being aggressive at the Winter Meetings, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, talking about everyone except David Wright. Among young players, the Mets are talking the most about Jonathon Niese rather than Davis, tweets Sherman. Niese, 25, is under team control through 2015 and could be an alternative for teams that find Oakland's asking price too high for Gio Gonzalez. Here are today's rumors on Niese and other Mets trade candidates, with the newest updates on top:
- Teams have been inquiring about Mike Pelfrey as well, but the Mets were underwhelmed by the offers, tweets Martino.
- The Mets would like a placeholder starter for their big league club in addition to a prospect for Niese, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post and Sherman (Twitter links). Sherman points to Jason Hammel as a possible match, though Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) hears the Rockies haven't had discussions with the Mets.
- The Red Sox aren't a match for Niese, says Alex Speier of WEEI.
- The Padres aren't interested in Niese, a source tells Martino (Twitter link).
- Andy Martino hears the Mets would have to get a lot if they were to trade Niese, and aren't close to anything. Two team officials that spoke to Martino don't expect a trade today (Twitter links). Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger adds, via Twitter, that the asking price for Daniel Murphy is also high.
- The Blue Jays are also talking to the Mets about Niese, tweets Sherman. The Yankees have also called, but Sherman isn't sure how serious they are (Twitter link).
- The Mets are hoping to get multiple pieces in return for Niese, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. They're interested in adding a catcher, an infielder, and prospects.
- The Red Sox have talked to the Mets and have interest in Niese, says Sherman.
- The Padres and Rockies are among the teams interested in Niese, tweets Sherman. The Padres could get in on Niese but have not engaged yet, adds Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.