Olney On Lee, Pineiro, Orioles
A look at the latest blog post from ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney believes the Phillies could have and should have kept Cliff Lee. He points out that they could've traded Joe Blanton and taken draft picks for Lee after the season, resulting in a similar prospect package to the one they received from the Mariners. It's not the exact same, partly since Blanton could yet net draft picks for the Phils, but I agree with Olney's point. The Phillies' decision to move Lee in tandem with the Roy Halladay trade just seems weird.
- Consequences of the Angels' Joel Pineiro deal: the Mets could sign Jon Garland or Ben Sheets, and the Dodgers could bring Vicente Padilla back. Newsday's Ken Davidoff gets the sense the Mets "have prioritized Sheets over Garland."
- Olney says the Orioles "are very comfortable letting the field of free-agent corner guys come to them, at their price." On a related note, O's second baseman Brian Roberts said to MASN's Roch Kubatko that he'd love to have Miguel Tejada back in Baltimore.
Gagne To Work Out For Teams
THURSDAY, 8:23am: Via Twitter, Yahoo's Tim Brown adds the Rockies, Dodgers, and Blue Jays as other clubs that will watch Gagne throw.
WEDNESDAY, 2:43pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who downplayed the Gagne tryout: "We don't have any expectations, at all."
8:19am: After being released by the Brewers in March of last year, Eric Gagne hooked on with a Can-Am League team as a starter. He tallied 102.6 mediocre innings, and now hopes to find his way back to the bigs.
Today David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News passes along a segment from Montreal radio station CKAC in which Gagne indicated he has a throwing session scheduled with the Phillies today. The 34-year-old hasn't done much since his 33.3-inning stint with Texas in '07.
Rockies Sign Jay Payton
The Rockies announced the signing of outfielder Jay Payton to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The 37-year-old last appeared in the Majors in 2008, when he hit .243/.291/.346 for the Orioles. His corner outfield defense generally rated as a positive in his last few years. Payton hoped to play in 2009, but had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in April after a weightlifting injury.
Payton played with the Rockies from the '02 trade deadline through the '03 season. His .309/.359/.532 line contained drastic home/road splits, and the Rockies non-tendered him due to limited financial flexibility.
Astros Sign Cory Sullivan
The Astros signed outfielder Cory Sullivan to a minor league deal, tweets Alyson Footer. Sullivan, 30, hit .250/.338/.382 for the Mets in 157 plate appearances last year while mainly playing left field. He also tallied a .290/.352/.367 line in 320 PAs for the Mets' Triple A affiliate. Sullivan was non-tendered on the December 12th deadline.
Also, in case you missed it, Jeremy Reed signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays yesterday. Like Sullivan, Reed played outfield for the '09 Mets and was non-tendered in December. The 28-year-old hit .242/.301/.304 in 177 plate appearances for the big club, playing all three outfield positions and even a little first base. Before the 2004 season, Baseball America ranked Reed the 25th best prospect in the game.
Giants Sign Santiago Casilla
The Giants signed reliever Santiago Casilla to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy. He'd been released by the A's on December 10th to make room for Rule 5 pick Bobby Cassevah.
Casilla, 29, posted a 5.96 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 4.7 BB/9 in 48.3 relief innings last year. He was hindered by calf and knee injuries. He dealt with a sore elbow throughout the '08 season.
Johnny Damon Considered Retirement?
8:47pm: Yankees' GM Brian Cashman shot down Hairston's comments, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
8:10pm: Jerry Hairston Jr. was on Jim Bowden's radio show on XM 175 earlier today, and said that the Yankees didn't make him an offer because they're waiting on Damon's price to come down (via Bowden's Twitter). If true, it would seem that it's only matter of time before they get a deal worked out.
12:38pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution feels differently – his source close to Damon says retirement hasn't been considered (Twitter link).
8:43am: Johnny Damon has considered retirement, according to a friend of Damon's who spoke to Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record. Keep in mind that Damon pondered the same idea back in Spring Training '07. However, that March '09 Bill Madden article added that Damon "harbors no more thoughts of retiring when his contract expires after this season."
Though Damon texted "I'm sure things will work out somewhere" to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, his prospects of a decent contract appear bleak. ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted Monday that the Yankees haven't made recent contact. They and the Braves are thought to have only $2MM in the budget. The Giants and Tigers appear out, though I imagine Damon will find a market if his price drops below $5MM.
Blue Jays Acquire Merkin Valdez
The Blue Jays acquired pitcher Merkin Valdez from the Giants for cash considerations, reports CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban. Valdez was designated for assignment on January 14th to make room for Aubrey Huff.
Valdez, 28, posted a 5.66 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 5.1 BB/9 in 49.3 innings for the Giants last year. He throws in the mid-90s and was ranked among the top 60 prospects in baseball before October '06 Tommy John surgery.
Odds & Ends: Havlicek, Lincecum, Kennedy
Links for Wednesday…
- The Rays signed 16-year-old lefty Stepan Havlicek out of the Czech Republic, according to a press release. He is "believed to be the first ever signed by the Rays out of Europe."
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports takes a look at the significance of Tim Lincecum's arbitration case. SI's Jon Heyman believes a two-year, $24MM deal would work for both sides.
- Heyman also notes that the Rays, Marlins, and Nationals have a policy not to compromise after figures are filed.
- In another article, Morosi says Adam Kennedy is down to three teams, two of which would use him as an everyday second baseman.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram informs us about Colby Lewis, the newest member of the Rangers' rotation.
- WEEI's Alex Speier tells you everything you ever wanted to know (and then some) about the Red Sox and their efforts to minimize their competitive balance tax.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker says 34-year-old screwballing lefty Hisanori Takahashi may have a big league offer. The Orioles are one interested party, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners appear to have about $10MM left to spend.
Edmonds Talks Cards Comeback
12:03pm: SI's Jon Heyman writes that Cohen told him says it's "better than 50-50" that Edmonds signs by the end of next week.
WEDNESDAY, 9:01am: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports talked to Edmonds' agent Paul Cohen yesterday. Edmonds is serious about playing in 2010. He's open to a platoon arrangment, possible time at first base, and teams in either league. Morosi believes Edmonds will lean toward teams with smaller ballparks.
MONDAY, 2:10pm: B.J. Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat has comments from La Russa regarding Edmonds. La Russa initially thought Edmonds was joking, but now says a "serious discussion" is in order.
8:05am: At Tony La Russa's animal rescue benefit last night, Jim Edmonds publicly challenged his former manager to bring him aboard for the league minimum in 2010 (MLB.com's Matthew Leach reporting). Leach is unsure whether Edmonds was serious, however. Prior to Edmonds' comments, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted that the Cardinals were "not entertaining inviting Edmonds to camp." GM John Mozeliak specifically told Strauss's colleague Derrick Goold (Twitter), "That wasn't in the plans."
Last offseason it appeared that Edmonds planned to play in 2009. But like Frank Thomas, Luis Gonzalez, Geoff Jenkins, and a handful of other veterans, Edmonds was left out in the cold. If nothing else, Edmonds demonstrated in '08 that he could still hit right-handed pitching.
Mets Rumors: Sheets, Pineiro, Molina, Torrealba
Here's the latest on the Mets, who still have significant work to do…
- MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone hears Ben Sheets will seek "at least $10 million, plus lots of incentives, and a second-year, player-controlled option." He says that while the Mets' interest in Sheets is legitimate, they prefer Joel Pineiro. The Mets made an offer – probably two years – to Pineiro.
- Cerrone writes about Bengie Molina, saying the Mets "offered at least $1 million more than the Giants, and also offered a player-controlled option for 2011." Cerrone believes Molina grew skeptical of playing in New York.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday writes of a "team-fan disconnect," in that a Mets official he spoke to expected the team to get hammered for not signing Molina, but most fans don't mind.
- ESPN's Buster Olney writes of "signals being sent out on Tuesday night that the Mets are turning to Yorvit Torrealba." David Waldstein of the New York Times suggests the Mets would have to pay extra for Torrealba to settle the catcher's two-year-old grievance as part of a new deal. Rod Barajas is probably the only other starting-caliber free agent catcher remaining.