Mets Rumors: Reyes, Closer, Murphy, Duda
The Mets were far from the favorite for Jose Reyes entering the offseason. But if the Marlins offered Reyes six years and $90MM as a starting bid, Mets fans can forget about him coming back in the opinion of ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. For months now, the impression has been that the Mets don't want to exceed four years for the shortstop. They'll have to hope for a couple of decent draft picks, depending on what happens with the new collective bargaining agreement.
- Two executives tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets have been assured of Type A draft pick compensation for Reyes this offseason, even if the new CBA eliminates it going forward. GM Sandy Alderson presumes as much, tweets Rubin. Sherman says the expectation is that Type B compensation will be eliminated, and maybe a few non-star Type As will have that status removed. This is the first I've heard of eliminating Type B compensation. All links go to Twitter.
- Alderson described his talks with Reyes' agent Peter Greenberg to Ken Davidoff of Newsday: "I wouldn't classify them as substantive. More than phone tag."
- Mets officials refer to Mike Pelfrey and Angel Pagan as "bridge pieces," reports Sherman, in that they feel no long-term allegiance to either player. Pelfrey and Pagan are arbitration eligible this winter.
- Mets executives tell Sherman closer is the only position at which the team is willing to exceed a one-year contract, and Sherman feels they may top out at two years with an option. The Mets consider themselves two years away from contention, writes Sherman, so Alderson intends to avoid big multiyear commitments. Sherman guesses the Mets will spend $8-10MM for two relievers with late inning experience, letting them battle for the ninth inning.
- The Mets won't trade Ike Davis, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but maybe Daniel Murphy or Lucas Duda.
Marlins Offered Jose Reyes Six Years, $90MM
The Marlins offered $90MM over six years to Jose Reyes, a source told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They say Reyes is intrigued by playing in warm weather and for Ozzie Guillen. Reyes wants a contract worth a minimum of $100MM, however, tweeted Joel Sherman of the New York Post yesterday. More from Rosenthal and Morosi…
- The Marlins have not discussed moving Hanley Ramirez to center field.
- Many in the industry are skeptical of the sincerity of the Marlins' early offers to Reyes, Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle, and Ryan Madson, feeling the proposals are competitive but not good enough to accept.
- The Rangers and Angels are among the teams that are interested in both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt. The Nationals prefer Oswalt. Both pitchers are clients of Bob Garber.
- Heath Bell could benefit from the new collective bargaining agreement if teams no longer have to surrender a draft pick to sign Type A free agents who turned down arbitration. Ramon Hernandez too, in my opinion. I'm surprised to hear that such a change could be instituted for the 2012-13 offseason, after some teams made July trade decisions based on the old free agent compensation system.
- The Padres want to trade Jason Bartlett or Orlando Hudson. They are currently the only two players the Padres have under contract. Bartlett's $5.5MM option for 2013 will vest with 432 plate appearances in 2012.
- Rafael Furcal has drawn interest from the Rockies, Tigers, and Blue Jays as a second baseman, but he prefers to remain at shortstop.
- Rosenthal and Morosi say not to rule out the Giants on Carlos Beltran yet.
- The Angels will know more about Kendrys Morales' condition after January 1st. Morales is still recovering from a fracture in his leg suffered in May of 2010.
Jose Reyes Rumors: Monday
The latest on free agent shortstop Jose Reyes…
- The Tigers like Reyes, but don't expect to sign him, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Heyman hears that Reyes is the Brewers' top target (Twitter link).
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson said he has spoken with agent Peter Greenberg since Reyes visited the Marlins last week, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. Greenberg is currently out of the country, so he won't be meeting with teams at this week's GM Meetings. "I still think it’s early, notwithstanding all the background noise from the last week," Alderson said.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told reporters, including Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, that he has spoken with Reyes' representatives and hasn't decided whether to initiate more talks (Twitter link).
- "There is an expectation [the Marlins] will work something out with Reyes for something in the range of five years, $18-20MM a year," said ESPN's Buster Olney on Sportscenter. Olney sees the Marlins as Reyes' most aggressive suitor.
- The Marlins are very confident on signing Reyes, a baseball source tells Kevin Burkhardt of SNY (Twitter link). Burkhardt says not to be shocked if Hanley Ramirez winds up in center field if the Marlins sign Reyes.
- One executive interested in Reyes told Joel Sherman of the New York Post Reyes is targeting a minimum of $100MM (Twitter link).
Heyman On Fielder, Madson, Jurrjens, Capuano
In addition to Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle, the Marlins made an offer to free agent closer Ryan Madson, reports SI's Jon Heyman. Unlike the other three, the Madson offer has yet to inspire a visit to Miami. Heyman notes that the proposals are preliminary, and the team is not concerned about all four accepting. Marlins president David Samson explained Saturday on 790 The Ticket with Glenn Geffner that the team has a free agent flow chart in which they expect a playoff team with every outcome (transcript courtesy of Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post). More from Heyman…
- The Mariners will make a run at Prince Fielder, tweets Heyman, but they're unsure if there's room in the budget. Heyman suggests the Ms will not be in on Pujols.
- Heyman explains the mess that was the Phillies' negotiations with Madson. He says Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. proposed $44MM over four years, which Madson accepted an hour or two later. Oddly, Amaro added at that point that he needed the approval of CEO David Montgomery, according to Heyman. The next day Amaro told agent Scott Boras he'd been unable to get that approval. However, Amaro told Heyman there was no agreement "either verbal or in writing," and also said, "I will stand by my history of integrity forever." Amaro also said Montgomery was aware of the negotiations as they occurred and wasn't responsible for killing the deal. It appears Amaro and Boras are not on the same page as to what constitutes an agreement.
- The Braves seek a Zack Greinke-like deal for Jair Jurrjens, writes Heyman. He later tweeted, "Jurrjens understandably popular on trade market. A star and only 25. You know Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, others are in."
- The Mets have crossed Chris Capuano off their list given his desire for a two-year deal.
Latest On CBA Talks
The collective bargaining agreement talks are at the ten-yard line, a source tells ESPN's Buster Olney. The latest…
- There will be no agreement this week, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Look for a deal around Thanksgiving, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
- One idea discussed is a ceiling for draft bonuses based on slot recommendations for the first ten rounds, reports Olney. There would be no need to adhere to slot for individual picks, but if a team exceeded the recommended ten-round total they'd be taxed the first time and would "lose a top pick" the second time.
- Negotiations are in progress for first-round draft pick compensation to disappear, according to Olney. I take this to mean that a team signing a Type A free agent would never have to surrender its first round pick.
Kimbrel, Hellickson Win Rookie Of The Year Awards
Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson won the 2011 Rookie of the Year awards, announced the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Kimbrel received all 32 first-place votes, becoming the tenth unanimous selection. Freddie Freeman, Vance Worley, Wilson Ramos, Josh Collmenter, Danny Espinosa, Darwin Barney, and Kenley Jansen also received votes in the NL. Kimbrel tied John Axford for the NL saves lead with 46, setting a rookie record in the process.
Mark Trumbo, Eric Hosmer, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Dustin Ackley, Desmond Jennings, and Jordan Walden followed Hellickson in the AL. Hellickson posted a 2.95 ERA in 189 regular season innings for Tampa Bay this year.
Non-Tender Candidates
By my count, 195 players are currently arbitration eligible. More than 50 of those can be considered non-tender candidates. The deadline for teams to decide is December 12th. Non-tendering a player makes him a free agent. Below is my subjective list of non-tender candidates. Please note that not all of them will actually be non-tendered. Click here for MLBTR's projected salaries for these players, if they are tendered contracts.
Position Players
John Baker
Daric Barton
Emmanuel Burriss
Jesus Flores
Mike Fontenot
Chris Getz
Alberto Gonzalez
Tony Gwynn Jr.
Jeremy Hermida
Koyie Hill
Paul Janish
George Kottaras
James Loney
Jeff Mathis
Donnie Murphy
Angel Pagan
Ronny Paulino
Brayan Pena
Landon Powell
Adam Rosales
Skip Schumaker
Luke Scott
Ryan Spilborghs
Ian Stewart
Ryan Theriot
Andres Torres
Wilson Valdez
Eli Whiteside
Pitchers
Matt Albers
Brad Bergesen
Taylor Buchholz
Dana Eveland
Willie Eyre
Tom Gorzelanny
Clay Hensley
Rich Hill
J.P. Howell
Hong-Chih Kuo
Jose Mijares
Andrew Miller
Peter Moylan
Ross Ohlendorf
Juan Carlos Oviedo
Micah Owings
Manny Parra
Mike Pelfrey
Jo-Jo Reyes
Joe Saunders
Doug Slaten
Kevin Slowey
Andy Sonnanstine
Joe Thatcher
Chris Volstad
Jerome Williams
Heavy Interest In C.J. Wilson
Interest has been heavy in free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, despite his disappointing postseason. The Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Marlins, Nationals, and Rangers have already expressed interest, reports Morosi. All six clubs had been expected to be in the mix.
An official with an involved club expects at least five years with a sixth-year option for Wilson, while another official believes six years guaranteed is possible. Could a sixth year push Wilson to $100MM? In an August 30th poll, 78% of nearly 7,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Wilson would fall short of nine figures.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels recently commented on Wilson to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, saying, "We would like to have him back. We know he's in a great position. He'll explore his options. We'll prepare for both possibilities." At the least, the Rangers are expected to offer arbitration to the Type A free agent nine days from now. If Wilson does leave the Rangers, they could end up with a top 20 draft pick as compensation if the Nationals, Jays, or Angels sign him and the current system remains in place for 2012. Out of Morosi's five competing suitors, only the Marlins have a protected first-round pick.
GM Meetings Preview
Though GMs are flying into Milwaukee today, the GM Meetings will take place in earnest on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today MLB's focus is on the Rookie of the Year awards, which will be announced by the BBWAA at 1pm central time. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith will be reporting from Milwaukee Tuesday and Wednesday. Here are a few potential stories to watch:
- Owners meet on Thursday, at which point the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane is expected to be approved.
- With significant progress last week, a new collective bargaining agreement could be announced at the meetings. The Astros are expected to move to the American League in 2013, creating two 15-team leagues each with three five-team divisions. Two more playoff teams are expected to be added. Changes are also expected in free agent draft pick compensation and perhaps draft spending.
- The Cardinals named Mike Matheny manager yesterday, while the Cubs and Red Sox still have openings. The Cubs are considering Sandy Alomar Jr., Pete Mackanin, Mike Maddux, and Dale Sveum. With a second interview coming this week, Sveum is the frontrunner for Boston's job, though Alomar, Mackanin, Torey Lovullo, and Gene Lamont are also in the mix.
- The Miami Marlins have offers out to Jose Reyes, Albert Pujols, and Mark Buehrle. Will any of them sign on the dotted line this week? The Marlins were active at last year's GM Meetings, trading Dan Uggla and signing John Buck. Assuming they're not bringing him back, the White Sox wouldn't mind Buehrle signing before November 23rd, because that would guarantee them a supplemental draft pick.
- Click here to see the remaining free agents. Aside from the Marlins' targets, big names include Prince Fielder, Aramis Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, C.J. Wilson, Edwin Jackson, and Carlos Beltran.
- The Chunichi Dragons are up 2-0 in the Nippon Series over the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. If the series concludes this week, will the Nippon Ham Fighters post Yu Darvish shortly thereafter?
- Look for a couple of trades at the GM Meetings. Last year we had trades involving Uggla and Rajai Davis, as well as the Felipe Paulino–Clint Barmes swap. Paulino and Barmes were non-tender candidates. I've got some tentative candidates in this spreadsheet, but my list will be published this week.
- Last year the Joaquin Benoit contract, signed during the GM Meetings, shook up the market for free agent relievers. Jonathan Papelbon's record deal with the Phillies has done that for the high-end of the market already, but will it have a ripple effect for all decent free agent relievers?
- Six teams have new GMs: the Orioles (Dan Duquette), Red Sox (Ben Cherington), Twins (Terry Ryan), Angels (Jerry Dipoto), Cubs (Jed Hoyer), and Padres (Josh Byrnes). Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is now president of baseball operations for the Cubs. The Dodgers' Ned Colletti and the Astros' Ed Wade are operating under uncertainty with ownership changes on the horizon.
Minor Moves: Torres, Molleken
A few minor moves for Monday…
- The Yomiuri Giants will not exercise their 2012 option on former White Sox prospect Carlos Torres, MLBTR has learned. The 29-year-old righty is drawing interest from MLB clubs for a split contract, and is also receiving calls from teams in Japan and Korea. He won't be making a decision until later this year. Torres spent most of the season in the minor leagues for Yomiuri.
- 27-year-old righty reliever Dustin Molleken re-signed with the Rockies as a minor league free agent with a Major League invite to spring training, MLBTR has learned. Molleken posted a 4.76 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 1.4 HR/9 in 45 1/3 relief innings this year at Double-A.