Free Agent Notes: Young, Ross, Cespedes, Oswalt
Stray notes on various free agents…
- Dmitri Young is attending the Winter Meetings in Dallas, searching for a contract offer. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets that Young has lost 70 pounds and would go to Japan if he can't land a job with an MLB team. The 38-year-old last appeared in the bigs in 2008 with the Nationals.
- Outfielder Cody Ross seeks a three-year deal, an NL official tells ESPN's Buster Olney. The 30-year-old hit .240/.325/.405 in 461 plate appearances for the Giants this year, playing all three outfield positions. He told Jaymee Sire of CSN Bay Area that the Giants are his "number one choice" (Twitter link).
- The agent for soon-to-be free agent center fielder Yoenis Cespedes is telling teams he'll require twice what fellow Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman received, tweets ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes. That is, $60MM. The Rangers, by the way, are unlikely to pursue Cespedes, hears MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- Roy Oswalt's camp is waiting for C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle to sign to see the exact market, as most teams view Oswalt as a fallback option, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- Free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal underwent an appendectomy last week, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown, and is recovering well at home in Florida.
- Teams are looking at Edgar Renteria as a multi-position utility guy, including third base, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Renteria wants to play for a contender.
Mark Buehrle Rumors: Monday
The latest on free agent left-hander Mark Buehrle…
- An NL executive speculated to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) that the first team to offer Buehrle four years might get him. Meanwhile, Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio tweets that another one of the 14 teams interested in the lefty just extended a first offer.
- The Twins, Nationals, Marlins, and Rangers are in on Buehrle, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the Twins' offer is not as strong as the others. The other teams are believed to be in the three-year, $36-39MM range. Yesterday, we learned that Buehrle is the Nationals' top target and the Marlins have made him a strong offer. The inclusion of a no-trade clause will be a factor.
Giants Did Not Bid On Nakajima
6:32pm: GM Brian Sabean confirmed the Giants did not submit a bid for Nakajima, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).
9:52am: The report of the Giants submitting a bid on Nakajima is not accurate, tweets John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
9:21am: The Giants appear to have submitted a bid for Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, tweet Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The posting period ended a few days ago, and we learned previously that the Seibu Lions are expected to accept the high bid regardless of the amount. Nakajima hit .297/.354/.433 with 16 home runs and 27 doubles in 633 plate appearances for the Lions in 2011 and is represented by Legacy Sports.
The Giants have a void at shortstop, having used Brandon Crawford, Miguel Tejada, Mike Fontenot, and Orlando Cabrera at the position in 2011.
Brewers, Reds Interested In Octavio Dotel
5:43pm: MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez adds the Reds to the list of teams who are interested in Dotel, noting that the righty's representatives have met with the Tigers and Brewers already.
10:44am: The Cardinals and Brewers are very interested in Octavio Dotel, the 38-year-old reliever told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles (link in Spanish). Dotel confirmed the Tigers and Mets are also interested. Dotel hopes to return to the Cardinals, and has a one-year offer in hand from them. Dotel told Rojas he'd like to get two years, or at least one year at an adequate salary (thanks to Nick Collias for translating).
Dodgers, Aaron Harang Making Progress On Deal
5:27pm: Talks between the two sides are still progressing, with terms in the ballpark of two years and $12MM, tweets Rosenthal.
2:23pm: The Dodgers are making progress on a deal with starter Aaron Harang, tweet Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The deal is expected to be for two years, tweets Morosi. Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio adds that the two sides are close to an agreement. Bowden says the two sides have agreed to terms but are just waiting on dotting i's and crossing t's.
Harang, 33, aimed to remain on the West Coast after spending 2011 in his native San Diego. The Dodgers signed Chris Capuano earlier this month. The two veterans would complement a rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and Ted Lilly.
Harang posted a 3.64 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9, and 40.6% groundball rate in 170 2/3 innings for the Padres this year, earning $4MM.
AL East Rumors: Lowrie, Upton, Maddon, Orioles
The latest buzz out of the AL East…
- A few teams are asking the Red Sox about infielder Jed Lowrie, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Braves are not in the picture for Lowrie, notes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.
- The Rays are telling teams they will talk about center fielder B.J. Upton, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but they have to be overwhelmed to move him. Upton has one year remaning before free agency.
- Rays manager Joe Maddon told reporters he's very confident of getting a contract extension, and he's had talks with the team.
- The Orioles are receiving plenty of interest in righty Jim Johnson, reports MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli, but they don't seem intent on moving him. The Orioles are undecided on whether to use Johnson as a starter or reliever next year, manager Buck Showalter told reporters today.
NL Central Rumors: Lee, Soriano, Cardinals, Brewers
The latest on several NL Central teams…
- The Reds are talking about a lot of trade possibilities and talking about a whole range of players, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. It is a possibility the Reds use Yonder Alonso as a trade piece to fix other needs, manager Dusty Baker told Jim Bowden on MLB Netowrk Radio. Baker indicated the Reds will keep prospects Yasmani Grandal and Devin Mesoraco, as well as star first baseman Joey Votto.
- The Reds outrighted lefty Jeremy Horst, dropping their 40-man roster count to 39, according toMLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that the Astros are letting teams know Carlos Lee is out there. Lee, 35, is owed $18.5MM for 2012 and has ten-and-five rights. A source close to the Astros' ownership tells Stark interim GM David Gottfried has autonomy to make trades this week.
- Speaking of mistakes from the 2006-07 offseason, the Cubs are getting a bit of interest in left fielder Alfonso Soriano, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Soriano, 35, is owed $54MM through 2014 and has a full no-trade clause. I think the Cubs would have to eat over $40MM to move Soriano.
- World Series revenue is not a game-changer for the Cardinals, owner Bill DeWitt Jr. told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the team's payroll is expected to remain around $110MM. The Cardinals have about $80MM committed to eight players under contract for 2012.
- The Brewers are in on everyone at several positions, including shortstop and third base, but are not down the road at all on any of them, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Brewers are also known to be actively seeking relief help.
Nationals Rumors: Zimmerman, Coffey, Flores
The latest on the Nationals…
- The Nationals prefer not to give players no-trade clauses, but GM Mike Rizzo admitted today that after giving one to Jayson Werth last year he'd do it again for the right player. Rizzo also said he met with two teams and two agents today and he's not close on anything.
- Ryan Zimmerman's camp at CAA says their attempts at securing an extension with the Nationals have been rebuffed, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden. The Nationals, however, maintain that taking care of Zimmerman is an offseason priority. For more on Zimmerman, check out this November post.
- Mark Buehrle is the Nationals' primary starting pitching target, confirms Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com. Roy Oswalt is probably their second choice, and C.J. Wilson is a distant third.
- Free agent reliever Todd Coffey told MLB.com's Bill Ladson, "In my heart of hearts, if it's the right contract, I would look to definitely come back to the Nationals." Ladson hears at least five teams have expressed interest in Coffey so far.
- Nationals catcher Jesus Flores is now represented by Barry Praver, Scott Shapiro, and Bart Hernandez, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. You can track representation for most MLB players in MLBTR's agency database.
Five Teams Considering Carlos Guillen
The Royals, Marlins, Twins, Athletics, and Mariners are interested in Carlos Guillen, agent Wilfredo Polidor told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles (link in Spanish). Guillen, 36, has missed increasing amounts in each of the last three seasons due to injuries. However, Polidor says his client is working like an animal in Miami and can help at almost any position.
Guillen began his big league career with the Mariners and was traded to the Tigers in January of '04. The M's will meet with Polidor at the Winter Meetings to discuss the possiblity of bringing his client back to Seattle, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).
NL West Rumors: Ludwick, Gillick, Padres, Rockies
The latest on various NL West clubs…
- Heath Bell told MLB.com's Corey Brock he never heard from new Padres GM Josh Byrnes. Bell noted that he passed on offers of a little more money to take a three-year, $27MM deal from the Marlins.
- The Padres' goal is to fix the eighth and ninth innings this offseason, manager Bud Black told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio.
- The Dodgers are closing in on a minor league deal with reliever Alberto Castillo, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The 36-year-old spent most of the year at Triple-A, posting a 1.91 ERA and 8.1 K/9 in 42 1/3 innings there.
- The Giants are believed to have scheduled a meeting today with Ryan Ludwick's agent Dan Horwits, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft. Ludwick, 33, hit .237/.310/.363 with 13 home runs in 553 plate appearances for the Padres and Pirates this year.
- Phillies senior advisor and former GM Pat Gillick would consider a position as the Dodgers' new president of baseball operations, he told Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
- The Padres are getting hits on Chase Headley, Jason Bartlett, and Orlando Hudson, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, who expects one of them to be dealt by spring training. Hudson, who is owed $7.5MM through 2012, would be a pure salary dump, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
- The Rockies are lukewarm at best on Hudson, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, who wonders if the Giants' Jeff Keppinger could be a fit. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says the Giants are looking to get creative on the trade front for outfield and infield help.
- Non-tender candidate Joe Saunders told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert he'd like to return to the Diamondbacks, but the decision is up to the team. About a week ago, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that Saunders has a very good chance of returning to the D'Backs on a two-year deal.