Mariners Offer Contract To Laynce Nix
The Mariners added Jack Cust and Miguel Olivo at the Winter Meetings, but they continue to tinker. The Ms offered a contract to outfielder Laynce Nix, tweets John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse.
Nix, 30, hit .291/.350/.455 in 182 plate appearances across 97 games for the Reds this year, playing mostly left field. He was shielded against lefties by manager Dusty Baker. Nix missed most of September with an ankle injury and was outrighted in November.
Mariners Reach Agreement With Miguel Olivo
The Mariners won't be going young at catcher anytime soon. Today they reached an agreement with backstop Miguel Olivo on a two-year, $7MM deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times notes, "Adam Moore's stock with this team appears to have taken a hit." As you might expect, Olivo has been told he's the No. 1 catcher.
Olivo, 32, hit .269/.315/.449 with 14 home runs in 427 plate appearances for the Rockies this year. He caught 935 innings, throwing out 42% of attempted basestealers. Olivo previously played for the Mariners in parts of the '04 and '05 seasons after coming over from the White Sox in the Freddy Garcia trade. This is a nice contract for Olivo, who is represented by Martin Arburua. He's the fifth catcher to score a multiyear deal this winter.
The Rockies shipped Olivo to the Blue Jays in November, who declined his mutual option at the price of $500K and later offered him arbitration. They'll now get a supplementary draft pick for their troubles.
Brewers To Have Extension Talks With Marcum
1:10pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel clarifies: the Brewers agreed to check back in with Marcum's agent, but extension talks have not begun (Twitter link).
12:59pm: The Brewers have had preliminary extension talks with new acquisition Shaun Marcum, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The righty is clearly open to the idea, since he was also discussing the possibility with the Blue Jays. But it's interesting to hear the Brewers having talks before Marcum even throws a pitch for them.
Historically, young pitcher extensions have been signed in January, February, or March. Marcum is already under team control through 2012 as an arbitration eligible player. He shouldn't earn a ton in 2011, partially because he's only operating from an $850K salary.
Michael Young Rumors: Thursday
Previously we learned that the Rangers discussed Michael Young trades with the Angels, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Rockies. ESPN's Buster Olney speculates that the Rangers may be trying to set up other moves. The latest:
- Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers' talks with the Rockies are dormant and there are no active Young talks with other teams.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the chances of a Young trade are less than 50 percent.
Twins Would Consider Trading Slowey
The Twins would consider trading Kevin Slowey - especially if they re-sign Carl Pavano - reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman says the Twins have actually received inquiries on ace Francisco Liriano from the Yankees and others, but a team official can't imagine moving the lefty.
Slowey, 26, posted a 4.45 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 28.3% groundball rate in 155 2/3 innings this year for the Twins, missing time with elbow and triceps injuries. He's a control artist who works around 90 mph, and with one of the highest flyball rates in the game Slowey would be best-suited in a big ballpark. He's arbitration eligible for the first time this winter.
Cubs Remain Focused On Webb
Free agent righty Brandon Webb remains the Cubs' No. 1 target, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. The Cubs met with Webb's agent Jonathan Maurer multiple times during the Winter Meetings. Sullivan says Rays officials were amused by the Matt Garza speculation, and the Cubs aren't getting Zack Greinke either.
After adding Carlos Pena to a creative one-year, $10MM deal, the Cubs appear to have limited funds remaining to bring in a starter and bullpen arm.
Cardinals Consider Zaun Fallback Option
The Cardinals consider Gregg Zaun a fallback option in their search for a backup catcher, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards have also been linked to Yadier Molina's brother, Bengie. Assuming Matt Treanor and Henry Blanco finish expected deals, the backup catcher market could be down to Zaun, Josh Bard, Gerald Laird, and Molina if he's willing.
Pirates Close To Deal For Kawakami?
THURSDAY, 9:35am: The Pirates seem to be close to a deal for Kawakami, tweets Biertempfel. He says money is one issue, as is the possibility of the Pirates moving Paul Maholm.
1:10pm: The Braves are trying to see whether the Pirates or Orioles will pick up more of Kawakami's salary, tweets Biertempfel.
WEDNESDAY, 11:39am: The Pirates and Braves are still discussing a Kawakami trade, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
TUESDAY, 2:41pm: A Braves-Orioles Kawakami deal won't happen, tweets Connolly.
12:54pm: The Braves appear destined to unload righty Kenshin Kawakami, picking up much of the $6.67MM tab. The Pirates were linked to Kawakami yesterday, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review feels they may have cooled on him given the deals for Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen. Biertempfel says the Orioles are in the mix; Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the two teams have talked several times.
Kawakami is not the only available Braves starter; David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that they'd trade Brandon Beachy in the right deal.
Mutual Interest Between Orioles, Adam LaRoche
The Orioles and first baseman Adam LaRoche have mutual interest, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. No formal offer has been made yet.
The Nationals and LaRoche reportedly have mutual interest as well, so he seems likely to land with one of these teams.
Pirates Acquire Valdez From D’Backs To Complete Duke Trade
The Pirates acquired righty Cesar Valdez from the Diamondbacks to complete the Zach Duke trade, the team announced on Twitter.
Valdez, 26 in March, tossed 20 innings for Arizona this year as a rookie. He also did his second Triple-A stint, posting a 5.90 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings. Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America ranked Valdez seventh among Diamondbacks prospects. They called his changeup "a legitimate plus pitch" and labeled him a potential back-rotation starter.
The Diamondbacks acquired Duke from the Pirates in November after he'd been designated for assignment. I'm guessing the Pirates' return was contingent on the D'Backs hammering out a deal with the arbitration eligible lefty, which they did for a $4.25MM guarantee.