Minor Deals: Jesus Guzman, Enrique Gonzalez, LaHair
Today's minor signings…
- The Padres signed third baseman/left fielder Jesus Guzman to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. Guzman, 26, hit .321/.376/.510 with 18 home runs in 492 Triple-A plate appearances for the Giants' affiliate this year, his second extended stint at the level. He'd been designated for assignment in January to make room when the Giants re-signed Bengie Molina, but remained in the organization for the 2010 season.
- The Tigers re-signed righty Enrique Gonzalez to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. Gonzalez, 28, posted a 3.41 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 1.2 HR/9 in 66 Triple-A innings across eleven starts this year, also racking up 26 big league relief frames. He'd been designated for assignment in August and outrighted shortly thereafter.
- The Cubs re-signed first baseman/left fielder Bryan LaHair to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. LaHair, 28, hit .308/.385/.557 with 25 home runs in 478 Triple-A plate appearances this year, his fifth stint at the level.
Tigers Sign Joaquin Benoit
Talk about rebuilding value. The Tigers officially signed righty reliever Joaquin Benoit to a three-year, $16.5MM deal today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He can earn another $1MM per year in incentives. It's the biggest contract for a non-closer reliever since Scott Linebrink's four-year, $19MM pact with the White Sox three years ago. Benoit's last contract had been of the minor league variety with the Rays, but now he'll be paid $5.5MM annually. The contract is another big score for the Levinson brothers at ACES, who also did the deals for John Buck, Brandon Inge, and Jhonny Peralta.
Benoit was one of baseball's best bargains in 2010, as he posted a 1.34 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, and 38.9% groundball rate in 60 1/3 innings. Benoit was available cheaply because he was coming off rotator cuff surgery performed in January of 2009. The Rays will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.
This time around, the Tigers had to pay full sticker price with a commitment reminiscent of the Astros' three-year, $15MM deal with Brandon Lyon a year ago. Benoit will set up for Jose Valverde in 2011, and could close in the following seasons. The Tigers' biggest offseason deals are yet to come, as they're expected to add a big bat or two. Tip of the hat to MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, who correctly predicted the Tigers would sign Benoit.
Benoit is off the board, but right-handed relief remains a strong suit of this year's free agent class.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports was first to report the near-agreement, while ESPN's Enrique Rojas added details.
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Justin Upton Rumors: Wednesday
Today's Justin Upton rumors…
- One AL exec told SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) that Arizona's asking price for Upton is "ridiculous."
- The Rockies inquired on Upton, according to the Denver Post's Troy Renck. A Diamondbacks official expects the team would be willing to deal within the division, though they'd have to receive a very strong offer.
- The Upton rumors are more than just talk, says ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, who was told the D'Backs are "genuinely open" to moving the 23-year-old. However, it might take a package of five players who could help the team in the short- and long-term (Twitter links).
- The Red Sox discussed Upton with the D'Backs late into Tuesday night, reports CSNNE.com's Sean McAdam, but talks are now stalled over Towers' latest demands.
- The Braves are unlikely to pursue Upton after trading for Dan Uggla, GM Frank Wren implied (via Joel Sherman on Twitter).
- The D'Backs will seek at least four or five players in return for Upton, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. He believes perhaps three of those players would have to be big league ready.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale introduced the idea of Upton as a trade candidate on Monday, and the rumors took off yesterday. Today, Nightengale says the Yankees' offer for Upton has fallen short but the Red Sox remain engaged. Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers described the Upton trade talks as "people kicking the tires right now."
- Towers told Joel Sherman of the New York Post, "[Upton] would be a tough guy to move. But you always seek out the information on what teams will do because you never know if, to get one player, a team will grossly overpay." Sherman added via Twitter that the D'Backs "have [a] growing belief [they] will trade Upton based on [a] ton of interest."
- Sherman talked to one team executive who says the Marlins have had the most interest in Upton for a while. An exec speculated that Logan Morrison and Ricky Nolasco would get it done, notes Sherman.
- It's not known if the Rays would like to add a second Upton, but the execs Sherman spoke to consider them an early favorite along with the Marlins.
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Marlins Sign John Buck
The Marlins made an early strike to fill their need for a starting catcher, officially signing John Buck to a three-year, $18MM deal today. The three-year term comes as no surprise, given the extra years given to free agent catchers last offseason. It's the Marlins' biggest free agent splash since Carlos Delgado's four-year, $52MM deal in January of 2005. Nice work by Buck's agents at ACES; players signing early are doing well so far this offseason. The Marlins' pricey free agent expenditure was made possible in part by their removal of Dan Uggla's salary.
Buck provides the Fish certainty behind the plate with John Baker going down in September for Tommy John surgery and Ronny Paulino a non-tender candidate. The Red Sox were also known to be interested in Buck.
Buck, 30, hit .281/.314/.489 in 437 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year, logging 933 innings behind the dish. He signed with Toronto for just $2MM after being non-tendered by the Royals. Buck is a Type B free agent, so the Blue Jays will receive a supplemental round draft pick for their loss.
Ed Price of AOL FanHouse first tweeted the Marlins were working hard to sign Buck, while Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post tweeted that the signing was official. In between, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports provided all other developments and details.
Jorge De La Rosa Rumors: Wednesday
5:30pm: The Nationals, Pirates, and Orioles have been the most aggressive De La Rosa suitors, tweets Renck, while the Brewers are no longer in the mix.
4:22pm: The Nationals met today with Jorge de la Rosa's agent Bobby Barad, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Barad told SI's Jon Heyman earlier that seven or eight teams are in on his client. From previous reports, it appears that the Rockies, Orioles, Pirates, Rangers, Yankees, and Brewers comprise most of those clubs. The Nationals have also been linked to Carl Pavano and Brandon Webb this offseason as they look to upgrade their rotation.
De La Rosa, a Type A free agent, will net the Rockies a pair of draft picks if he turns down an arbitration offer. His Elias score is 74.422, so the Rockies won't necessarily receive a first-rounder from another club. Also working against them is the fact that the first-round picks of the Pirates, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are protected.
Blue Jays Acquire Rajai Davis
The Blue Jays added to their outfield mix today by acquiring speedster Rajai Davis from the Athletics for minor league relievers Danny Farquhar and Trystan Magnuson. The Jays also released righty Shawn Hill, according to a press release.
Davis, 30, became more expendable for Oakland after they acquired David DeJesus from the Royals. Davis slipped to .284/.320/.377 this year in 561 plate appearances for the A's, playing all three outfield positions but mainly center. It's not clear how the Jays will employ him, but capable center fielders are a rare commodity. We named him as a trade candidate back on October 25th. Davis is arbitration eligible for the second time this winter and potentially under team control through 2013.
Farquhar, 24 in February, posted a 3.52 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 4.9 BB/9, and 0.82 HR/9 in 76 2/3 Double-A innings this year. Baseball America ranked him 14th among Jays prospects heading into the season, noting that he effectively uses multiple arm angles to keep hitters off balance. The Blue Jays reportedly offered him to the Marlins as part of a deal for Dan Uggla.
Magnuson, a 25-year-old righty, posted a 2.58 ERA, 7.7 K/9, and 1.2 BB/9 with only one home run allowed in 73 1/3 Double-A innings this year. Heading into the season BA had him 22nd among Jays prospects.
Hill, 30 in April, has undergone Tommy John surgery twice in his career but was solid in 15 pro starts this year.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first tweeted the deal was close, while MLBTR added Magnuson's inclusion.
Twins, Red Sox Eyeing Nishioka?
3:32pm: The Red Sox are also in on Nishioka, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. However, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe disagrees (Twitter link).
8:25am: The Twins' Orlando Hudson–J.J. Hardy middle infield combination may not stick around for 2011. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune runs through the possibilities.
For starters, the Twins are expected to bid on Tsuyoshi Nishioka this week. However, Christensen finds the team unlikely to win the bidding. Nishioka was posted Monday, and the high bidder should be revealed next week.
Only one of Hudson and Hardy is expected to be retained, and Christensen writes of "growing indications" the Twins will tender Hardy a contract at the December 2nd deadline. In an August 17th poll, almost 84% of you expected Hardy to be tendered. If they keep Hardy and lose out on Nishioka, it looks like Alexi Casilla will get a shot as the regular second baseman.
Odds & Ends: Gordon, Anderson, Phillies, Park
Links for Wednesday, the second day of the GM Meetings, as Ron Gardenhire and Bud Black take home Manager of the Year honors…
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says he'd like to add starting pitching depth, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
- The Rockies, Blue Jays, and Athletics are among the teams that have shown interest in Alex Gordon according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. "I surely don't want [a trade] to happen, but it's part of baseball and it could happen," said Gordon.
- Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star reports that outfielder turned pitcher Brian Anderson has opted for free agency after being designated for assignment by the Royals.
- David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Phillies GM Ruben Amaro reiterated that he has not been given a firm payroll by ownership. Their payroll has increased steadily over the last several years, peaking at approximately $138MM last season.
- The Pirates and reliever Chan Ho Park have mutual interest in a new contract, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, but Langosch believes the Bucs would only do a minor league deal. Park posted a 3.49 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 for the Pirates this year after coming over from the Yankees. Jeremy Bonderman is also on the Pirates' radar, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf confirmed to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Sox asked the Marlins for a particular player as compensation for talking to manager Ozzie Guillen. Reinsdorf told Wittenmyer the player was not Mike Stanton; the Sun-Times writer speculates it may have been Logan Morrison.
- As you might expect, the Rays are not in a big rush to trade B.J. Upton given the loss of Carl Crawford, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal feels the Rays will also be reluctant to trade a starting pitcher right now, but would be willing to part with shortstop Jason Bartlett.