Scott Boras Holds Court
Agent Scott Boras is holding court at the Winter Meetings; here's the latest.
- Boras has not met with the Indians about a Shin-Soo Choo extension and doesn't expect to at the Winter Meetings. He says the Indians being a "developmental team" might stand in the way.
- Boras says Carlos Beltran plans to be a Met this season. Beltran has full no-trade rights.
- Magglio Ordonez is working out for teams today. The Tigers were set to attend, says MLB.com's Jason Beck. The market for Ordonez is said by Boras to be aggressive, with a multiyear deal expected. More specifically, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Ordonez wants at least two years at $10MM or more per.
- Adrian Beltre hasn't closed the door on signing with the Athletics.
- Prince Fielder is open to extension talks with the Brewers, but Boras did plenty of qualifying.
Athletics Targeting Premium Relievers
The Athletics still have money to spend after their attempts to sign Adrian Beltre and Hisashi Iwakuma fell through, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they're now targeting premium relievers in addition to outfield/designated hitter types.
Rosenthal feels that someone like Scott Downs could work, with Oakland's first-round pick protected. Most top relievers remain unsigned, including Rafael Soriano, Bobby Jenks, Brian Fuentes, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, and Koji Uehara.
Adam LaRoche-Nationals Deal Not Imminent
11:35am: A LaRoche-Nationals deal is not imminent and not at all a lock, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
11:00am: It "sounds like Adam LaRoche [is] headed to [the] Nationals," tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse. The market for first basemen is shrinking, with LaRoche and Derrek Lee the best two options still on the board.
Reds Close To Deal With Miguel Cairo
Miguel Cairo is close to returning to the Reds, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Cairo, 36, hit .290/.353/.410 in 226 plate appearances for the Reds, playing mostly at the infield corners.
Braves, Brewers Still Talking Trade
The Braves and Brewers continue to discuss trades that would send an outfielder to Atlanta for a young pitcher, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman. However, the Brewers are more inclined to move Carlos Gomez than Lorenzo Cain. The Brewers requested Mike Minor for Cain, and the Braves balked at trading him or their other top young arms.
White Sox Re-Sign Paul Konerko
The White Sox reached an agreement with first baseman Paul Konerko on a three-year deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The deal is worth $37.5MM, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The contract includes deferred money, as outlined by MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The contract has now been officially announced by the White Sox.
Konerko gets a slight raise, but still falls short of Adam Dunn's new deal with the Sox. Konerko is represented by Craig Landis of LSW Baseball. GM Kenny Williams talked about moving on yesterday, but chairman Jerry Reinsdorf got involved. Considering Konerko a special case, the Diamondbacks offered him three years and $30MM. Landis said Konerko was very tempted by the offer.
Konerko, 35 in March, led all free agents with 39 home runs in 2010. He hit .312/.393/.584 in 631 plate appearances, perhaps the best season of his career. He's been Chicago's first baseman since '99.
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C.C. Sabathia Unaffected By Cliff Lee
Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia has the ability to opt out of the remaining four years and $92MM remaining on his contract after the 2011 season. It's been suggested that a Cliff Lee megadeal could prompt Sabathia to bail in search of more money or years, but he told George King of the New York Post, "It has no effect on me at all." But as Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues points out, Sabathia did not directly slam the door on the opt-out.
Royals Getting Close On Francoeur Deal
11:31am: The Royals will announce a deal with Francoeur later today, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
10:26am: The Royals are getting close on a deal with outfielder Jeff Francoeur, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says it's a one-year deal and a club option is possible. The match comes as no surprise, with Royals GM Dayton Moore showing longstanding interest and also a tendency to acquire players who played for his former employer.
Francoeur, 27 in January, hit .249/.300/.383 overall in 503 plate appearances this year for the Mets and Rangers but did have a nice 56 PA Texas stint. Francoeur was once an up-and-comer with the Braves, hitting 29 home runs as a 22-year-old.
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