Rockies Release Manny Corpas
The Rockies released reliever Manny Corpas, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Corpas, 27, had Tommy John surgery in September. He'd also undergone surgery to remove bone chips in that elbow in July of '09. $3.75MM remains on his contract, which he signed in February of '08.
This year Corpas posted a 4.62 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9 and 42.5% groundball rate, picking up ten saves. The Rockies locked him up after his best season, several years before he would have been arbitration eligible. It was just unnecessary.
Roy Halladay Wins NL Cy Young Award
Phillies righty Roy Halladay unanimously won the National League Cy Young award today, seven years after taking home the American League trophy. Adam Wainwright, Ubaldo Jimenez, and ten others received votes; click here for the full results.
Odds & Ends: De La Rosa, Mariners, Thames
Links for Tuesday, as the GM Meetings commence in Orlando and we await the announcement of the NL Cy Young winner…
- The Pirates' top free agent target is Jorge de la Rosa, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Brewers, Rangers, Nationals, Yankees, and Rockies have also been linked to the lefty. Correct me if I'm wrong, Pirates fans, but aside from Yoslan Herrera it seems the team's last multiyear free agent pitcher signing was Pete Schourek in December of 1998.
- The Mariners are expected to be limited to bargain bin shopping this winter, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. They've got plenty of needs, but expensive free agents don't make sense until they're closer to contention.
- Meanwhile the Softbank Hawks are working on signing Marcus Thames, according to a Sponichi report passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter. Thames, 34 in March, was productive in a part-time role for the Yankees this year.
- Brandon Backe intends to pitch in 2011, his agent told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). He's recovering from a rotator cuff injury.
- The Rockies will keep an eye on Bartolo Colon in the Dominican Republic, GM Dan O'Dowd told Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but Renck finds a signing a long shot (Twitter link). MLBTR's Nick Collias filled us in on Colon yesterday.
- The Chiba Lotte Marines re-signed pitchers Hayden Penn and Bill Murphy, tweets Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman ruled out Leo Mazzone but not Rick Peterson for the team's new pitching coach, reports Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post muses on how the Mets should handle well-paid veterans Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes.
Orioles, 11 Others Eyeing Adrian Beltre
The market for free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre is hot, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, and the Orioles "seem very interested." Heyman tweets that a dozen teams are interested in the Scott Boras client. Last week Boras told MLB Network Radio hosts Casey Stern and Jim Bowden regarding Beltre, "I would have to say in my years of doing this I’ve never had so much interest in one player." Heyman believes Beltre could be the first star to go off the board, but I'd still be surprised to see him sign before December.
In addition to the contract, the Orioles would have to surrender their second-round pick to sign Beltre. There is recent precedent for that; they gave their second-round pick (#53 overall) to the Braves a year ago to sign Mike Gonzalez.
Beltre, ranked third on our Top 50 Free Agents list, is far and away the best available third baseman this winter. In addition to the Orioles, the Red Sox, Angels, Blue Jays, Indians, Athletics, and Giants could be looking for help at the hot corner. Even the Pirates were said a week ago by Heyman to have interest in Beltre, but not all the clubs named here will be willing to go four or five years at $15MM or more per season.
Yankees Interested In Pedro Feliciano
The Yankees expressed interest in lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday. The rubber-armed 34-year-old figures to be popular this winter, with the Phillies, Angels, Mets, and others also seeking left-handed relief. The question for the Yankees, notes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues, is whether they're willing to commit multiple years and a $3MM+ salary to Feliciano or a similar veteran given the money they already owe to Damaso Marte and Boone Logan.
Feliciano led the National League in appearances in each of the last three seasons. His detractors will suggest he's been overworked; his agents at MDR Sports Management will say it's proof of his durability. One Feliciano trait that cannot be argued: he's very tough on lefties.
Team Facebook Pages
This post is a reminder that MLBTR now has team Facebook pages. We were already on Facebook, of course, but now we have 30 separate pages for those who are only looking to receive and comment on rumors related to their favorite club. Click your team below, hit the Like button to sign up, and enjoy!
AL East
AL Central
AL West
NL East
NL Central
NL West
Anthopoulos Talks Encarnacion, Buck
Alex Anthopoulos spoke to Jeff Blair of The Fan 590 before his plane took off for Orlando yesterday, and the Blue Jays GM said he was trying to get a signing done right before the radio show call. Some have speculated on Manny Ramirez, who's been hanging out in Toronto lately, while others point out that at the very least the Jays would wait a week until after the White Sox have declined to offer him arbitration. At this point we know Manny likes the Blue Jays but not whether interest is mutual. It does appear Manny needs the Jays more than they need him. If a Blue Jays signing of any kind is to happen before the 23rd, it'd have to be a free agent not ranked as a Type A.
Anthopoulos went on to say that his talks with agents over the last week suggest the free agent market might move faster than in years past, as people "try to jump out early and get things done."
On the topic of Edwin Encarnacion, Anthopoulos explained that the third baseman is in line for an arbitration raise of $1-2MM on top of this year's $4.75MM salary. That salary, plus Encarnacion's desire to play every day, wasn't a fit for the Jays. Encarnacion was claimed by the Athletics, but he could still be non-tendered on December 2nd. Anthopoulos has not closed the door in the event that happens.
Anthopoulos described the market for John Buck as "very, very strong" after talking to his agents at ACES. He says Buck is "sitting on years and dollars that might be a little steep for us," but that the catcher's agents will give the Jays a chance to match before he signs. We saw extra contract years tossed around for multiple free agent catchers last year; could a 30-year-old Buck find a three-year deal?
Tigers Nearing Deal With Joaquin Benoit
The Tigers are nearing a three-year deal with reliever Joaquin Benoit, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi tweets that the contract "is in [the] final stages of discussion."
Benoit signed a minor league deal with the Rays in February and was one of baseball's best bargains. The righty 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. The 33-year-old was available cheaply because he was coming off rotator cuff surgery performed in January of 2009. This time around, the Tigers had to pay full sticker price.
Cardinals Rumors: Pujols, Uribe, Tejada
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak would like to begin talks on an Albert Pujols extension "between now and the Christmas holiday," he told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss has a source who believes Pujols "is unlikely to revisit the matter once the 2011 season opens." At the least, Pujols figures to sign the third-largest contract in baseball history whether this winter or as a free agent after the '11 season.
Regarding infield upgrades, Mozeliak told Strauss Sunday that "we probably have more of an emphasis on short than second at this point." They'd also like a utility infielder to back up David Freese at third base. Unless Dan Uggla fits into the picture somewhere, free agents Juan Uribe and Miguel Tejada are on the Cardinals' radar according to Strauss. Though they also have an eye on recently-posted infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Mozeliak "indicated the timing may not be right for the club to make such a heavy commitment for a Pacific Rim player."
It's becoming more and more clear the Cardinals won't be moving Colby Rasmus; today Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports quoted a source who sees a 99% chance of the center fielder staying put. Indeed, Mozeliak told Strauss Sunday that Rasmus is "almost impossible to replace."
One note you may have missed from yesterday: the team is growing more optimistic about signing Jake Westbrook, according to Rosenthal.
Dan Uggla Rumors: Tuesday
The Marlins are known to be shopping second baseman Dan Uggla; the Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Blue Jays, and Tigers are reported suitors. There is some debate as to the Marlins' sense of urgency in making a deal, though MLB.com's Joe Frisaro joins ESPN's Buster Olney in the "aggressively shopping him" camp (Twitter link). Here's the latest on the slugger…
- The Marlins and Braves are talking about a deal that would send Uggla to Atlanta for Omar Infante and Michael Dunn, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Infante, a super-utility man, hit .321/.359/.416 in 506 plate appearances for the Braves this year. He's under contract through 2011. 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.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests Uggla could provide backup at third base as Chipper Jones recovers from August surgery to report a torn ACL in his knee. Another possibility: Uggla or Martin Prado could spend the season in left field if Jones is healthy. Would the Marlins be willing to deal within the division with the Braves or Nationals? Yes, one rival executive tells Rosenthal, "but the ask is very high."