The Twins inquired on Rangers outfielder David Murphy, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Rangers are reluctant to compromise their outfield depth.
Murphy, 30, hit .275/.328/.401 in 440 plate appearances this year while playing all three outfield positions. Murphy is arbitration eligible for the second time this winter and MLBTR projects a $3.2MM salary for 2012.
12:16pm: The D'Backs also have reliever Takashi Saito in their sights, tweets Henson. Recently Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweeted that the Brewers and five other teams have shown interest in Saito.
9:18am: We've known for a while now that the Diamondbacks are targeting free agent righty Hiroki Kuroda. According to a tweet from Yahoo's Steve Henson, an official says a deal could get done this week if the 36-year-old drops his demand for a second-year player option.
Reportedly, Kuroda will consider all offers regardless of location, and seeks a $12-13MM salary. In addition to Arizona, the Hiroshima Carp, Rockies, Red Sox, and Angels appear to have varying levels of interest.
The White Sox are asking for big returns for starters John Danks and Gavin Floyd, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees like Danks, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, but they're unwilling to meet Chicago's request of top prospects Manny Banuelos and Jesus Montero. In fact, Heyman says the Yankees wouldn't trade either for Danks.
Though Danks is generally regarded as a better pitcher than Floyd, it's possible Floyd has more trade value since he's potentially under club control for 2013.
Free agent first baseman Casey Kotchman is on the Indians' radar, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Heyman says the Tribe is looking at every everyday first baseman aside from Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols. Earlier today, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweeted that the Indians are "focused on either a first baseman or complementary outfielder."
Kotchman was one of the year's best minor league signings, as he hit .306/.378/.422 for the Rays in 563 plate appearances. He ranked 36th on my top 50 free agents list.
The Royals are downplaying it, but they would trade closer Joakim Soria for a starting pitcher and would also discuss reliever Greg Holland, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Soria, 27, is potentially under contract through 2014. Holland is drawing interest from the Blue Jays and others after a breakout season. Either player would require a significant bounty.
Longtime Cubs third baseman Ron Santo was elected to the Hall of Fame today, announced the Baseball Writers Association of America. Santo was elected by the Golden Era Committee, a newly-formed part of the Veterans Committee, which exists for players not elected during their initial 15 years of eligibility. Unfortunately Santo was not around to witness his election, having passed away a year ago due to complications from diabetes. His induction will take place July 22nd in Cooperstown.
Santo hit .277/.362/.464 with 342 home runs in his 15-year career, mostly for the Cubs. He was known as as a strong defender. In a sabermetric sense, Santo tallied 79.3 wins above replacement according to FanGraphs. Santo later served as the Cubs' radio color commentator.
The Dodgers announced that they signed infielder Adam Kennedy to a one-year, Major League deal. The contract will be worth about $800K, and will include $150K in incentives based on plate appearances. The Dodgers pursued Kennedy because of his versatility.
“Adam gives us infield depth and an experienced left-handed bat,” GM Ned Colletti said in a statement. “He provides us with infield versatility at second and third base and can play first as well.”
Kennedy played first, second and third base for the Mariners in 2011, posting a .234/.277/.355 line with 23 doubles in 409 plate appearances. Kennedy signed one-year deals in the $1MM range in each of the past two offseasons. The Mariners signed him to a minor league deal worth $750K plus incentives last offseason. TWC Sports represents Kennedy, a 13-year MLB veteran.
As MLBTR's free agent tracker shows, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has committed about $15MM so far this offseason to free agents Mark Ellis, Juan Rivera, Matt Treanor, and Kennedy.
MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith first reported Kennedy's discussions with the Dodgers, with Tony Jackson, Ken Rosenthal, Dylan Hernandez and Tim Brown adding details.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
The latest Orioles hot stove information…
The Cubs reached an agreement with outfielder David DeJesus, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It's a two-year deal, tweets MLB.com's Jane Lee. The Cubs confirmed the deal on Twitter, noting the inclusion of a club option for 2014. The contract guarantees $10MM, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets salary details. DeJesus will be the Cubs' regular right fielder. He makes his offseason home in Wheaton, Illinois, according to the Cubs' press release.
DeJesus, 31, had a disappointing offensive season for the Athletics after being traded from the Royals a year ago, hitting .240/.323/.376 in 506 plate appearances. In his Royals career, DeJesus hit .289/.360/.427 in 3,799 plate appearances. Despite his offensive struggles in 2011, DeJesus was worth over two wins last year according to FanGraphs, partially on account of strong right field defense. He's logged over 1,700 innings at each outfield position in the course of his nine-year career. DeJesus was offered arbitration by the A's last week, so they'll receive a supplemental draft pick in 2012 for their loss.
DeJesus marks the first signing under new Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer. Epstein had interest in acquiring the outfielder for the Red Sox at the 2010 trade deadline until he tore a ligament in his thumb. DeJesus, an ACES client, ranked 29th on our top 50 free agents list, and I'm proud to say I actually predicted this one correctly in MLBTR's contest. With four of ten correct I rank 150th overall; six people are tied with six correct picks.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
The new collective bargaining agreement calls for a competitive balance draft pick lottery beginning in 2013, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has details. 13 teams will be eligible for the first lottery based on their market size and revenue: the Diamondbacks, Orioles, Indians, Royals, Athletics, Pirates, Padres, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers, and Cardinals. The lottery gives each of these teams the chance to win one of six extra picks in the 2013 draft, which will come after the compensation picks for free agents. The odds of winning a pick will be based on each team's winning percentage in the previous season.
There will be another group of six picks after the draft's second round. The teams in the mix for these will be the ones that did not win a pick in the first lottery, as well as any other team that receives revenue sharing.
Mayo says lottery picks can be traded, but only once by a team and only during the regular season. The picks cannot be sold for cash.
A third lottery will be held for picks forfeited by teams that exceeded their bonus pools. Teams that did not exceed their pools will be eligible, with odds based on a formula of revenue and winning percentage. Got all that? There will be a quiz tomorrow.
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