Adrian Beltre Rumors: Tuesday
5:36pm: A source insisted to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that the Angels still want to sign Beltre.
2:35pm: The Angels pulled their offer to Beltre but have not shut any doors on him, reports DiGiovanna.
1:13pm: We learned Friday that the Angels' offer to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre is believed to be in the five-year, $70MM range, with the player seeking a sixth year. The Halos' offer is "not likely to be increased," Mike DiGiovanna wrote at the time. Beltre himself told Scott Lauber earlier this month that the years are the most important factor.
Scott Boras seeks the sixth year, or at least something in the $85-90MM range on a five-year deal according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal says the Angels "are not angry to the point they were two years ago, when they publicly withdrew from the negotiations for Mark Teixeira."
Rosenthal adds that the Rangers are not active in the bidding, making the Angels' competition unclear. A month ago Beltre was said to have a dozen suitors, but many teams have filled third base holes since then. I think Boras could probably find several clubs willing to go to five years and $60MM or so, but there is no evidence the Angels need to increase their offer.
Rangers, Others Still In Play For Webb
4:27pm: The Rangers and Nationals are still showing strong interest in Webb and a mystery NL Central team expressed late interest in the right-hander, but the Cubs’ pursuit has slowed, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. GM Jon Daniels, who is looking for a starter, has already spoken to Webb.
Webb's Ashland, Kentucky home is not far from Cincinnati, the Brewers could look to bolster their already revamped rotation and the Cardinals and Pirates seem like possible fits. It seems unlikely that the Astros are the mystery team, however.
2:11pm: The Rangers' interest in Webb has intensified, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Wilson says there are plans for Webb to speak later today on the phone with Washington and Maddux.
8:54am: Webb is not in Texas and "other clubs are very much in play," a source tells MLBTR. Sullivan now has an update saying Ron Washington has not met with Webb. While the Rangers are in the mix, they have not met with the pitcher and have no plans to do so. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Webb is not expected to decide on a team today.
8:50am: The Rangers and Brandon Webb "could be getting close to a deal," reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sullivan hears Webb is in Texas and has met with Ron Washington and Mike Maddux. Webb's agent Jonathan Maurer is expected to have further conversations with the Rangers today "to try to hammer out a deal."
The Cubs appear to be the Rangers' main competition for Webb, but Sullivan expects a deal with Texas to get done.
Padres Acquire Rob Johnson
The Padres acquired catcher Rob Johnson from the Mariners for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to the team. Johnson had been designated for assignment on December 13th to create a spot for Jack Cust. He'll serve as Nick Hundley's backup in San Diego, presumably. The Padres now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.
Johnson, 27, has a .200/.282/.302 line in parts of four seasons with the Mariners. Last offseason, he underwent labrum surgery on both hips and had left wrist surgery. Johnson appeared in 61 games in 2010, batting .191/.293/.281 in 209 plate appearances. He threw out 35% of would-be base stealers, a career high (he has a 30% career mark). In their 2009 Handbook, Baseball America called Johnson the best defensive catcher in the Mariners' farm system.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
Brewers Claim Roque Mercedes
The Brewers claimed righty reliever Roque Mercedes off waivers from the Diamondbacks, tweets MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. This gives the Brewers 37 players on the 40-man roster. Mercedes had been designated for assignment by Arizona on Friday along with Rusty Ryal's release to clear spots for Henry Blanco and Xavier Nady.
Mercedes, 24, came up through the Brewers' system and was traded to Arizona in July of last year in the Felipe Lopez deal. This year at Double-A he posted a 4.36 ERA, 7.5 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9 in 53 2/3 innings. Heading into the season, Baseball America ranked Mercedes 28th among D'Backs prospects, saying, "he could develop into a seventh-inning reliever."
Indians To Sign Travis Buck
The Indians officially announced an agreement today with outfielder Travis Buck on a minor league deal with a spring training invite. MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that Buck would earn $625K in the Majors.
Buck, 27, hit .298/.364/.463 in 141 Triple-A plate appearances, also making a couple of brief appearances with the Athletics this year. He was non-tendered earlier this month, as he would have been arbitration eligible for the first time. The Indians will have the opportunity to control him past 2011. Buck is represented by CAA.
Buck authored a promising rookie campaign in 2007 – .288/.377/.474 in a half-season – but he's battled elbow surgery, shin splints, post-concussion syndrome, and shoulder and oblique injuries since.
Chris Antonetti's first offseason as Indians GM has been a quiet one, with five minor league deals to his credit so far.
Nationals To Sign Rick Ankiel
The Nationals officially agreed to terms with outfielder Rick Ankiel on a one-year, $1.5MM deal. He can earn another $1.25MM in performance bonuses.
Ankiel, a Scott Boras client, signed a one-year deal with the Royals a year ago but failed to deliver. The 31-year-old former pitcher still provides pop against righties and can play all three outfield positions, but has had difficulty hitting lefties, getting on base, and staying healthy.
Earlier this month, Boras and the Nationals hammered out an agreement worth 84 times as much for right fielder Jayson Werth. The Nats shipped out Josh Willingham, but still have Nyjer Morgan, Roger Bernadina, and Michael Morse in the outfield mix. Bernadina and Ankiel will compete for the left field job, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
SI's Jon Heyman broke the news of Ankiel's agreement.
ACES Leading In Multiyear Deals
Top free agents often choose the Boras Corporation if they're looking for the maximum payday. But there is evidence that mid-tier players should look to ACES if they crave the security of a multiyear deal.
So far this offseason, ACES is the leader in multiyear deals with six: Randy Choate, Ty Wigginton, Joaquin Benoit, John Buck, Jhonny Peralta, and Brandon Inge. They have potential for one more with Grant Balfour. Only one other agency has brokered more than two multiyear deals this winter. Legacy Sports has done four: Orlando Hudson, Bobby Jenks, Carl Crawford, and Adam Dunn.
ACES is the unofficial multiyear deal leader for last offseason as well with eight agreements reached (three with the Phillies). This winter we still have several remaining free agent multiyear deal candidates, spanning various agencies: Balfour, Adrian Beltre, Brian Fuentes, Kevin Gregg, Adam LaRoche, Carl Pavano, Scott Podsednik, and Rafael Soriano. We'll also see multiyear extensions probably beginning in January and running into April.
Blue Jays Sign Corey Patterson
The Blue Jays announced six minor league signings today: outfielder Corey Patterson, righty Winston Abreu, catcher Ryan Budde, lefty Sean Henn, lefty Mike Hinckley, and righty Brian Stokes. The deals for Abreu, Budde, Henn, Hinckley, and Stokes were reported on previously.
Patterson, 31, hit .269/.315/.406 in 340 plate appearances for the Orioles this year, playing mostly left field. He came up as a center fielder with the Cubs, who drafted him third overall in 1998. As Patterson can be a useful fourth outfielder, I thought he might be able to snag a big league contract. He is represented by Jim Bronner and Bob Gilhooley. The Jays' current outfield picture includes Travis Snider, Vernon Wells, and Rajai Davis, with Jose Bautista and Adam Lind seemingly more likely to occupy infield corners.
Abreu, 34 in April, spent the 2010 season with Tampa Bay's Triple-A affiliate. His signing was announced by Baseball America's Matt Eddy earlier this month, but the journeyman deserves elaboration here at MLBTR. In Triple-A Abreu posted a 2.28 ERA, 13.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 55 1/3 innings. Abreu has done that type of thing at Triple-A before, but has yet to receive an extended big league trial.
A note about Henn: the Blue Jays originally claimed him off waivers from the Orioles in October of last year, marking GM Alex Anthopoulos' first move.
Mets Waiting For Pitching Prices To Drop
The Mets are waiting for the asking prices of low-risk, high-reward starting pitchers to drop, reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. They've got about $4MM to work with, though the Mets say that number is flexible.
Martino expects the Mets to choose between Freddy Garcia, Chris Young, Jeff Francis, "and any other established or semi-established starter." There are plenty of other similar free agents, including Jeremy Bonderman, Doug Davis, Justin Duchscherer, Rodrigo Lopez, Kevin Millwood, and Brad Penny. However, Mike Puma of the New York Post wrote on Friday that Young "appears to be the only free agent starting pitcher the Mets are seriously considering." Puma wrote of a "growing sense" the Mets will turn to a trade, with Tom Gorzelanny and Matt Garza on the radar. John Maine is unlikely to return, according to new Mets GM Sandy Alderson at the Winter Meetings.
Martino says that while the Mets are not seriously pursuing Brandon Webb, they may be forced to wait for him to sign and set the market for pitchers with injury concerns. Last offseason Ben Sheets signed on January 26th, after guys like Rich Harden, Brett Myers, and Penny. So the Mets don't necessarily have to assume Webb and Young are tied to one another. Regardless, Webb is expected to sign soon.
It's been a quiet first offseason for Alderson, who has committed $3.8MM to Ronny Paulino and D.J. Carrasco and otherwise stuck to minor league deals and a couple of Rule 5 selections.
Minor Deals: Stokes, Diaz, Barton, Brewers
Rounding up today's minor signings:
- The Blue Jays signed Brian Stokes, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 31-year-old struggled through 16 2/3 innigns for the Angels last year, but was useful for the Mets from 2008-09 before they sent him to L.A. for Gary Matthews Jr..
- The A's signed right-hander Jonathan Ortiz, who combined a sinker and an above-average changeup to post 11.8 K/9 in the Yankees system this year, according to Eddy (all links go to Twitter).
- The Tigers signed shortstop Argenis Diaz, who was non-tendered by the Pirates despite his strong glovework.
- The Angels signed Ryan Braun – not the Brewers slugger, but the 30-year-old right-hander who posted a 2.20 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 57 1/3 innings at Triple-A Charlotte last year. He last pitched in the majors for the 2007 Royals.
- The Twins signed Matt Brown, a former Angel who should provide corner infield depth.
- The Pirates re-signed Tyler Yates, who missed last season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
- Brian Barton, who hit 19 homers and stole 18 bases in the Atlantic League this year, signed with the Reds, according to Eddy (on Twitter).
- The Cubs signed lefty Polin Trinidad, who posted a 4.81 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 149 2/3 innings in the upper minor for the Astros last year (Twitter link).
- The Brewers signed Edwin Maysonet and Shawn Riggans to minor league deals and invited them to Spring Training, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). Maysonet, 29, appeared in 46 games as a backup infielder for the Astros in 2008-09 and hit .248/.308/.329 in 356 minor league plate apperances last year. Riggans, who spent parts of four seasons with the Rays, barely played in 2010.
- The Twins inked lefty Chuck James, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. The 29-year-old former Brave had rotator cuff surgery in September of 2008.
- The Nationals announced seven signings, including previously unreported contracts for Ryan Mattheus, Michael Aubrey, and Brian Bixler. Mattheus, a 27-year-old right-handed reliever, was acquired by the Nats at the '09 trade deadline in the Joe Beimel deal, the same month he had Tommy John surgery. His is a Major League deal. Aubrey, drafted 11th overall by the Indians in 2003, hit .235/.310/.495 at Triple-A this year. Bixler, a defensive-minded utility infielder, was acquired by Washington from the Pirates in August.