Jimmy Rollins Rumors: Tuesday
The latest on free agent shortstop Jimmy Rollins…
- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he thinks there's a "big chance" Rollins returns to the Phillies, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel he met with Rollins' agent Dan Lozano at the start of the Winter Meetings, but no proposal was made.
- The Phillies met late into the night with Lozano on Rollins, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. No meeting is expected between the two parties today, but Lozano is a busy man with Albert Pujols and Carlos Beltran as clients.
Free Agent Notes: Young, Rowand, Manny, Francisco
Free agent notes I found lying around on Twitter…
- Righty Chris Young should be ready for spring training following shoulder capsule surgery, his agent told MLB.com's Corey Brock.
- Aaron Rowand is looking for a big league job, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Phillies said no.
- Manny Ramirez is calling teams directly in his search for employment, tweets Bob Klapisch.
- Reliever Frank Francisco is likely to sign elsewhere in the wake of the Blue Jays acquiring Sergio Santos, GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters today.
- Infielder Miguel Tejada hopes for a Major League deal, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- More than a dozen scouts are expected to watch Joel Zumaya throw next week, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, and Padres are among the team's that will be in attendance.
- Sidney Ponson has no intention of pitching again, writes MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko. Currently, Ponson is contemplating whether to purchase a boat. I say go for it, big guy!
Cold Market For David Ortiz
3:37pm: The Red Sox offered Ortiz a two-year deal worth $18MM, tweets Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston, but he seeks $7MM more. He's undecided on whether to accept arbitration tomorrow.
2:46pm: The draft pick cost associated with signing free agent designated hitter David Ortiz killed his market, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The Blue Jays and Mariners are seen as unlikely, so Big Papi might have to reconsider Boston's reported two-year offer or else accept arbitration tomorrow night.
Twins Made Three-Year Offer To Cuddyer
3:23pm: The Twins are meeting with Cuddyer's agent today, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and seek resolution on their offer.
10:25am: The Twins offered Michael Cuddyer a three-year, $25MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Josh Willingham is viewed as a back-up plan.
Baseball Trade Rumors App Available
Our Baseball Trade Rumors iPhone app is available in the iTunes store for $2.99; you can check it out here. The app was recently revamped to allow filtering of the news page by team and transaction, and of course you can customize it to receive push notifications for news on your favorite teams and players. We released version 2.0.1 this week, which allows users to receive player and team notifications for transactions only. Keep up with the Winter Meetings madness with the Baseball Trade Rumors app!
Indians Designate Hector Rondon For Assignment
The Indians designated righty Hector Rondon for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Grady Sizemore, announced the team. Rondon endured an elbow fracture in November and is facing a five to seven month recovery period. Baseball America ranked Rondon the Indians' 15th-best prospect prior to the season, even though he had Tommy John surgery in August of 2010.
Matt Thornton-Braves Rumor Shot Down
1:53pm: This rumor is bogus, tweets O'Brien.
1:37pm: A potential trade of White Sox lefty reliever Matt Thornton to the Braves is picking up steam, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. However, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says this one's not happening.
Thornton, 35, posted a 3.32 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9, and 48.8% groundball rate in 59 2/3 innings for the White Sox this year. He's owed $12MM through 2013 on an extension signed in March. It's unclear whether Sox GM Kenny Williams would further deplete his bullpen depth after trading Sergio Santos to Toronto today, but relievers generally aren't crucial to a rebuilding effort.
Pirates, Mariners, Twins Interested In Jeff Francis
1:06pm: Francis' agent will also meet with the Pirates and Twins this week, tweets Morosi.
TUESDAY, 11:04am: The Mariners will meet today with Francis' agent, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Francis is represented by Frontline, as our agency database shows.
MONDAY, 12:09pm: The Mariners are also interested in Francis, tweets Morosi. Additionally, the Ms have interest in old favorite Jamie Moyer.
11:19am: The Pirates are among the teams with interest in free agent lefty Jeff Francis, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Bucs were in on Francis a year ago, but with a healthy season in the books he'll certainly require more than a one-year, $2MM guarantee this time.
The Pirates also reportedly have interest in free agent pitchers Wei-Yin Chen, Tsuyoshi Wada, and Aaron Cook.
Red Sox Re-Sign Andrew Miller
The Red Sox re-signed lefty Andrew Miller, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Miller had been arbitration eligible. He received a non-guaranteed Major League deal worth $1.04MM, tweets WEEI's Alex Speier.
Miller, 26, posted a 5.54 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 5.7 BB/9, 1.11 HR/9, and 45.4% groundball rate in 65 innings for the Red Sox this year, faring a little better in 65 2/3 Triple-A frames. The big southpaw might have been a non-tender candidate had he made it to the December 12th deadline unsigned. Miller is represented by Frontline.
Giants Trying To Trade Keppinger, Torres, Ramirez
12:37pm: It'd be a fairly easy call for the Giants to non-tender Keppinger, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Baggarly also notes that the Giants intend to work out a multiyear deal with starter Ryan Vogelsong, who would be eligible for free agency after 2012. For more on the Giants' huge arbitration class, read up here.
11:34am: The Giants are trying to trade infielder Jeff Keppinger, outfielder Andres Torres, and reliever Ramon Ramirez, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. They're planning to keep lefty Jeremy Affeldt. ESPN's Buster Olney says there's a strong feeling by other teams Torres will be non-tendered. If so, the Giants may not be able to get much for him. Torres was the second-most valuable center fielder in baseball in 2010, based on FanGraphs' wins above replacement.
Keppinger, Torres, and Ramirez are all arbitration eligible, and MLBTR projects salaries in the $2.3-2.7MM range for each.