Rockies Draw Line At Three Years For De La Rosa
The Rockies have drawn the line at a three-year deal for free agent lefty Jorge de la Rosa, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Competition for De La Rosa appears heavy; Renck adds the Orioles to a list of suitors that already included the Pirates, Nationals, Rangers, Yankees, and Brewers. Since three of those clubs are eyeing higher profile lefty Cliff Lee, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports feels that De La Rosa may wait until he signs, though Renck does not agree.
With Jake Westbrook and Hiroki Kuroda off the board, Renck believes that Carl Pavano is now a stronger possibility for Colorado. Renck also names Javier Vazquez, and I imagine they might take a look at Jon Garland.
Renck also notes that Melvin Mora is looking to sign a contract soon. The Rockies aren't ready to commit, so he may sign elsewhere.
Yankees Rumors: Upton, Lee, Soriano, Jeter
Joel Sherman of the New York Post dishes out the latest Yankees buzz in a series of articles…
- Sherman notes that Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has knowledge of the Yankees farm system after working for the team last year, which makes a Justin Upton match intriguing. However, Sherman feels that the Yankees would get involved most likely if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere and they look to trade an outfielder for a starter. Teams have inquired on Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Brett Gardner, notes Sherman.
- Executives Sherman spoke to continue to express the opinion that the Yankees will land Lee.
- The Yanks are also working hard to find a setup man, calling on about a dozen free agents including Pedro Feliciano. They've checked in on Rafael Soriano "as a fallback position in the incredibly small likelihood that Mariano Rivera does not re-sign." Sherman says to forget the idea of Soriano signing as Rivera's setup man and closer-in-waiting. Neither side is interested in that scenario.
- Sherman analyzes the Derek Jeter situation, which he feels could become "one of the most interesting games of contract chicken in history." The main sticking point seems to be the number of years.
Dodgers Rumors: Martin, Loney, Dunn, Nishioka
The latest on the Dodgers, from Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times…
- GM Ned Colletti admitted the team will spend the most time debating what to do about catcher Russell Martin, who we've pegged as a non-tender candidate. The Dodgers could try to bring him back for less than this year's $5.05MM, writes Baxter. Martin was sidelined by a hip injury this year, though he expects to be ready for Spring Training. His agent recently told Baxter's colleague Dylan Hernandez that his client hopes to remain with the Dodgers.
- Another player I was willing to call a non-tender or at least trade candidate, James Loney, "is all but certain to return at first base" according to Baxter. He could earn around $5MM despite a disappointing 2010 season. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported recently that Loney is the position player the Dodgers are most willing to trade as they look to add power to the lineup.
- The Dodgers have uncertainty at left field and second base, but Baxter says they're not expected to bid on Adam Dunn or Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Instead, they could continue to add pitching.
Minor Deals: German, Carroll, Moore, Tracy
A look at the minor deals struck today…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that Esteban German is returning to the Rangers on a minor league deal. German, 33 in January, hit .280/.371/.388 in 567 Triple-A plate appearances this year, playing all around the diamond. He was outrighted on November 5th and chose to become a free agent.
- The Royals signed outfielder Brett Carroll to a minor league contract, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). The 28-year-old is a .205/.284/.325 career hitter in 319 plate appearances with the Marlins.
- Infielder Scott Moore signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, reports Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. He originally broke in with the Cubs back in 2006, but was later traded to the Orioles for Steve Trachsel.
- Infielder Chad Tracy signed with the Hiroshima Carp for about $1.3MM according to a report passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman (Twitter link).
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Diamondbacks Listening On Justin Upton
6:09pm: Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger says that like the Red Sox, the Yankees were just doing their due diligence when they called about Upton.
3:33pm: The Yankees talked to the Diamondbacks about Upton, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
12:56pm: The Red Sox expressed interest in Upton, report Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. However, one source tells the FOX writers the talks are "not far advanced," while WEEI's Rob Bradford heard the rumor has "no legs." Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe concurs, calling the discussions "more due diligence than actual trade talk" (Twitter link).
10:59am: You may have missed it yesterday, but USA Today's Bob Nightengale listed Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton as one of the big names GMs say are already "under discussion." GM Kevin Towers elaborated:
"I'm open to listening on anybody. We got more hits on Upton and [Stephen] Drew. They're difficult to move, but sometimes to make your club better, you have to move good players. You never know when a deal might present itself."
This could be little more than a GM taking the common stance that no player is untouchable. Today Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that while the D'Backs are listening on Upton, the return would have to be "big." He notes that they're much less inclined to move Drew – they'd have to be "blown away," given the lack of alternatives at shortstop.
Upton, still only 23, regressed a bit in the first year of his six-year, $51.25MM contract. He hit .273/.356/.442 in 571 plate appearances, though a shoulder strain may have been partially responsible. Though he slipped in all three categories, his walk rate was actually higher than it was in '09. Since Upton would not have been arbitration eligible until now, almost all of his contract will be paid out over 2011-15.
Trading Upton would be very difficult from a public relations standpoint unless the D'Backs receive a comparable young star in return. It's difficult to picture Upton terrorizing the D'Backs over the next five years as a member of the Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, or Giants, but any club could afford Upton financially. In the opinion of Rosenthal's colleague Jon Paul Morosi, the Braves would be at the front of the line for Upton and they have the young arms to pull off a deal (Twitter link).
Braves Acquire Dan Uggla
The Braves landed one of baseball's most powerful second basemen today, acquiring Dan Uggla from the division rival Marlins for utility man Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn.
Uggla, 31 in March, had another fine season in 2010 with a .287/.369/.508 line in 674 plate appearances. Uggla is one season away from free agency, and extension talks with the Marlins broke off after he rejected a four-year, $48MM offer. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports feels that the Braves will attempt to sign him long-term. Martin Prado will step in at third base as Chipper Jones recovers from knee surgery or log innings in left field if necessary, tweets Rosenthal. Uggla should be happy to remain at second base.
Infante, a super-utility type, hit .321/.359/.416 in 506 plate appearances for the Braves this year. He's under contract through 2011 at $2.5MM with another possible $1MM in plate appearance incentives. The loss may put the Braves in the market for a utility player, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Dunn, 26 in May, is a hard-throwing left-handed reliever who came to Atlanta from the Yankees a year ago in the Javier Vazquez deal. Dunn racked up big-time strikeout and walk numbers this year between Triple-A and the Majors. The intra-division asking price for Uggla was expected to be large, but this is a disappointing return for the Marlins. They have succeeded in revamping their bullpen for the long-term, adding Ryan Webb, Edward Mujica, Dustin Richardson, and Dunn in recent trades.
The Cardinals, Blue Jays, Nationals, and Tigers were other reported suitors for Uggla.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick broke news of the agreement on Twitter, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Mark Bowman of MLB.com provided updates as the story developed.
Marlins Close To Signing John Buck
3:53pm: Buck's three-year deal with the Marlins will be worth $18MM, tweets Rosenthal. This will be Florida's biggest free agent signing since Carlos Delgado in 2005.
2:03pm: The Marlins are close to signing Buck to a three-year deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. We had speculated on the three-year possibility just a few hours ago.
10:26am: The Marlins are working hard to sign free agent catcher John Buck, an official from another team told Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Marlins are definitely interested in Buck, but not close to a deal. Yesterday, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos described Buck's market as "very, very strong" and implied his agents at ACES seek a multiyear deal. Buck, 30, hit .281/.314/.489 with 20 home runs in 437 plate appearances for Toronto this year. He signed for $2MM after being non-tendered by the Royals.
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post reported yesterday that the Marlins and A.J. Pierzynski share mutual interest, but he might be too pricey for the Fish.
Rangers Met With Cliff Lee Yesterday
Rangers executives Chuck Greenberg, Nolan Ryan, and Jon Daniels flew to Little Rock, Arkansas yesterday and met with free agent lefty Cliff Lee for about two hours, reports Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Yankees GM Brian Cashman made the same trip by himself on Wednesday of last week.
Last we heard, Lee's agent Darek Braunecker was leaning against making the trip to Orlando for the GM Meetings. Braunecker told ESPN's Andrew Marchand "there has been significant interest from a multitude of teams," and he doesn't feel it's necessary for Lee to visit various cities.
Five Teams Interested In Jeff Francis
Free agent lefty Jeff Francis is drawing interest from at least five clubs, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick: the Pirates, Mariners, Brewers, Astros, and Rockies.
Francis, 30 in January, posted a 5.00 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, and 47% groundball rate in 104 1/3 innings this year for the Rockies. Baseball Prospectus' SIERA stat suggests Francis' work was more deserving of an ERA around 4.00. Francis missed all of last season after having shoulder surgery in February of '09, and had some lingering issues this year. The Rockies declined his $7MM club option earlier this month. If Francis' shoulder checks out, many teams will have interest in plugging him into the back end of their rotation on a one-year, incentive-laden deal.
Wainwright’s 2012, 2013 Options Affected By Cy Vote
With today's second place Cy Young finish, Cardinals righty Adam Wainwright took a major step toward seeing his 2012 and 2013 contract options become guaranteed. The options will become locked in if he does not finish the 2011 season on the disabled list, reports MLB.com's Matthew Leach. He'll earn $9MM in '12 and $12MM in '13, plus award bonuses for his Cy Young votes. Thanks to Mike Lutz for pointing this out via Twitter, and to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the details.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak signed Wainwright to a team-friendly extension in March of 2008, during a brief period where double club options were popular. Had Wainwright not signed the deal, he would have been arbitration eligible for the third time this winter and eligible for free agency after '11. Wainwright doesn't appear to have any regrets; in fact, he told Leach and other reporters today he hopes to finish his career in St. Louis.