Indians Sign Mark Grudzielanek
The Indians signed Mark Grudzielanek to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Grudzielanek, 39, hit .299/.345/.399 for the Royals in '08. That season ended early with an August ankle injury. The Royals surprisingly offered Grudzielanek arbitration after the season, and he declined, but they did not get a draft pick because he didn't sign until July. That minor league deal with the Twins was short-lived.
Minor League Transactions
Baseball America's Matt Eddy is back with minor league transactions for the period of December 21-31. A few notable moves…
- The White Sox signed 1B/OF Jason Botts, who compiled a .230/.325/.344 career line with the Rangers.
- The Marlins signed reliever Chris Schroder, who posted a 2.22 ERA in 56.6 Triple A innings last year.
- The Dodgers brought Jay Gibbons aboard. Gibbons signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in January of '09 and was cut in March.
- The Yankees added outfielder Reid Gorecki, who hit .286/.351/.464 in Triple A. Also, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yanks signed lefty reliever Royce Ring and outfielder David Winfree.
- The Giants signed reliever Kevin Cameron, who had a respectable rookie season with the Padres back in '07. He pitched only 32.3 innings in '09 for various A's affiliates.
- The Blue Jays signed left fielder Chris Lubanski, who was originally drafted fifth overall by the Royals in 2003.
Royals Considering Gomes, Thames
The Royals are looking to add a power hitter, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The bat would slot into right field or the DH spot, depending on the health of Jose Guillen. Morosi names Jonny Gomes and Marcus Thames as two players of interest who could fit into Dayton Moore's limited budget.
Gomes, 29, was non-tendered by the Reds after hitting .267/.338/.541 in 314 plate appearances. 35% of those PAs came against left-handed pitching, keep in mind. Gomes would be best-served as a DH, as his limited defensive work in the outfield corners grades poorly. We haven't heard about much of a market for Gomes, aside from seemingly mild interest from the Reds and Yankees.
Thames, 33 in March, hit .252/.323/.453 in 294 plate appearances for the Tigers and was cut loose in November. He saw lefties even more often than Gomes. The main defensive difference between the two is Thames' 239.3 career innings at first base. The Indians and Blue Jays were named as interested parties in mid-December, though the Tribe may be out after signing Austin Kearns and Shelley Duncan.
Though not mentioned by Morosi, free agents Gary Sheffield and Jermaine Dye also fit the profile of right-handed bats with pop and limited defensive ability.
A Look Back At The Second Week Of 2009
Let's take a look back at the hot stove happenings from January 8-14th, 2009. So much changes in a year…
- The Mets signed Tim Redding and were preparing an offer for Randy Wolf. I wonder where Oliver Perez would've gone had the Mets signed Wolf.
- The Braves signed Kenshin Kawakami to a three-year deal and Derek Lowe for four years. Those moves led to this winter's Javier Vazquez trade.
- Scott Boras got Willie Bloomquist a two-year deal from the Royals.
- Orlando Cabrera, Juan Cruz, Jason Varitek, Ben Sheets, and others languished in compensation-pick purgatory as Type A free agents who had been offered arbitration. Currently only Jose Valverde still has this problem.
- The Brewers agreed to terms with Trevor Hoffman on a $6MM deal. Hoffman leaving San Diego was one of the offseason's biggest surprises. Another one: the Red Sox signing John Smoltz. The Sox also added Takashi Saito.
- Cliff Lee was open to an extension with the Indians. Instead, he was traded twice in the year that followed.
- A reminder how quickly a surplus can disappear: the Yankees discussed trading Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady.
- Upon being asked to move to third base, Michael Young requested a trade from the Rangers.
- Adam Dunn was still looking for four years and $56MM. He settled on two years, $20MM from the Nationals in February.
- Paul Byrd decided to sit out the first half of the season. Pedro Martinez was weighing possibilities, but ultimately sat out as well. I'm curious to see who this year's midseason mercenaries will be.
- The Dodgers prepared to release Andruw Jones.
Heyman On Mauer, Pujols, Damon, Washburn
3:59pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves have not made an offer to Damon, contrary to Heyman's suggestion below.
12:49pm: Jon Heyman's latest column for SI.com leads with thoughts on contract talks for two superstars, Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols. Heyman says Mauer has been slow to engage with the Twins only because he's giving them a chance to put the 2010 team together first. Heyman believes Mauer is "thinking about a contract for at least seven years and more than $20MM, though he isn't going to press the $30MM issue that could conceivably come into focus if he goes the free-agent route." On the other hand, Heyman says Pujols is "surely seeking" $30MM a year. On to Heyman's other rumors…
- Heyman believes the Braves and Giants made offers to Johnny Damon. It's not clear if the Giants' offer for Damon is still on the table given their Aubrey Huff agreement.
- Jarrod Washburn rejected a $5MM offer from the Twins; the Mets and Royals are other suitors.
- The Mariners have considered Ryan Garko. An outfielder would make more sense.
- The Rangers are looking for a "low-cost starting pitcher."
- The Orioles are "still in play" for first baseman Adam LaRoche. Currently it's difficult to name another LaRoche suitor.
AL West Moves
A look at the moves made so far this winter by AL West clubs…
Angels
- Acquired/re-signed: Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui, Fernando Rodney, Michael Rocco, Taylor Wilding, Julio Perez, Travis Chick, Gary Patchett, Cory Aldridge, Camilo Vazquez, Nick Gorneault,
- Lost: Darren Oliver, Chone Figgins, John Lackey, Vladimir Guerrero, Kelvim Escobar, Matt Brown, Bobby Cassevah, David Herndon
Athletics
- Acquired/re-signed: Coco Crisp, Justin Duchscherer, Jack Cust, Michael Taylor, Dallas McPherson, Aaron Miles, Jake Fox, Bobby Cassevah, Matthew Whitney, Matt Wright, Marcus McBeth, Fernando Hernandez, Cedrick Bowers, Alex Valdez, Trey Webb
- Lost: Brett Wallace, Chris Denorfia, Bobby Crosby, Jeff Gray, Matthew Spencer, Ronny Morla, Jay Marshall
Mariners
- Acquired/re-signed: Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley, Casey Kotchman, Ken Griffey Jr., Brandon League, Josh Bard, Chad Cordero, Johermyn Chavez, Yusmeiro Petit, Josh Wilson, Corey Patterson, Kanekoa Texeira, Pedro Okuda, Ryan Langerhans, Chris Woodward, Guillermo Quiroz, Rich Dorman, Steve Bray, Steven Shell, Jose Yepez, Levale Speigner, Chris Seddon, Travis Denker, Mike Koplove, David Pauley, Ralph Henriquez
- Lost: Adrian Beltre, Brandon Morrow, Kenji Johjima, Justin Thomas, Bryan LaHair, Carlos Silva, Bill Hall, Chris Jakubauskas, Robert Manuel, J.C. Ramirez, Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, Roy Corcoran
Rangers
- Acquired/re-signed: Darren Oliver, Vladimir Guerrero, Rich Harden, Chris Ray, Khalil Greene, Kevin Richardson, Joe Inglett, Clay Rapada, Ben Snyder, Ray Olmedo, Geoff Geary, Matt Brown, Robbie Alcombrack, John Otness
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Lost: Jason Grilli, Ivan Rodriguez, Eddie Guardado, Marlon Byrd, Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, Kevin Millwood
Odds & Ends: Maddux, Valverde, Davis, Felix
Links for Monday…
- Press release: Greg Maddux has joined the Cubs as an assistant to GM Jim Hendry. He'll work with the coaching staffs as well as baseball operations. Click here for the official story.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Diamondbacks' interest in Jose Valverde has cooled. The Tigers made an offer, the magnitude of which is unknown.
- Morosi says the Indians are not engaged in trade talks for Jhonny Peralta.
- ESPN's Keith Law praises the Reds for adding a pitcher with huge upside in Aroldis Chapman. He also points out that MLB's current draft setup "screws American-born players."
- David Coleman of The Crawfish Boxes says the Astros drew a line when they designated Julio Lugo for assignment in '03 following domestic violence charges, making their Brett Myers signing seem hypocritical.
- Free agent lefty Doug Davis is interested in joining the Nationals, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson, but Davis was told the Nats are more focused on adding a second baseman. Davis acknowledged, "Things are kind of going slow for me because I'm fifth or sixth down the line [when it comes to] starting pitching."
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times talks about the Mariners' need to sign Felix Hernandez long-term before the season begins.
- Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles evaluates the Giants' Aubrey Huff signing.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller discusses new defensive stats with experts and team officials.
Royals Sign Matt Herges
The Royals signed reliever Matt Herges to a minor league deal, according to a team press release. Herges, 40 in April, posted a 6.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, and 3.38 ERA in 34.6 innings for the Indians and Rockies last year. He logged another 28.3 innings at Triple A.
Herges is one of a slew of minor league signings made by Royals GM Dayton Moore so far this offseason. Check out the full list here.
Rays Sign Dan Johnson
The Rays signed first baseman Dan Johnson to a one-year, Major League deal worth $500K, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. The Rays sold Johnson's rights to the Yokohama BayStars about a year ago, and the 30-year-old hit .215/.330/.462 in 382 plate appearances in Japan in 2009. He's got a career line of .248/.343/.420. Most his big league time came with the A's from 2005-07.
AL Central Moves
A look at the moves made so far this offseason by AL Central clubs…
White Sox
- Acquired/re-signed: Mark Teahen, Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, J.J. Putz, Freddy Garcia, Juan Pierre, Freddy Dolsi, Jacob Marceaux, Wander Perez, Ryan Braun, Miguel Negron, Dylan Axelrod, Freddie Bynum, T.J. Bohn, Greg Aquino, Erick Threets, Mark Kotsay, Alejandro De Aza
- Lost: DeWayne Wise, Scott Podsednik, Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Jon Link, John Ely, Wilson Betemit, Jerry Owens
Indians
- Acquired/re-signed: Brian Buscher, Jason Grilli, Mike Gosling, Anthony Reyes, Mitch Talbot, Luis Rodriguez, Hector Ambriz, Saul Rivera, Shelley Duncan, Austin Kearns, Jose Constanza
- Lost: Jamey Carroll, Kelly Shoppach, Greg Aquino, Vinnie Chulk, Masahide Kobayashi, Zach Jackson
Tigers
- Acquired/re-signed: Adam Everett, Daniel Schlereth, Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, Enrique Gonzalez, Macay McBride, Robinzon Diaz, Brad Thomas
- Lost: Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, Brandon Lyon, Clay Rapada, Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, Freddy Dolsi, Dusty Ryan, Matt Treanor
Royals
- Acquired/re-signed: Jason Kendall, Brian Anderson, Scott Podsednik, Josh Fields, Chris Getz, John Parrish, Noel Arguelles, Wilson Betemit, Edgar Osuna, Scott Thorman, Reggie Taylor, Cody Clark, Irving Falu, John Bannister, Jorge Campillo, Brad Thompson, Edwin Bellorin, Bryan Bullington, Juan Mora, Josh Rupe, Steve Lerud, Jorge Bonifacio, Buck Coats, Philip Humber, Devon Lowery, Julio Pimentel, Francisco Rosario, Adam Bostick, Bruce Chen, Nelson Payano, Vance Wilson, Ernesto Mejia, Shane Costa, Damon Hollins
- Lost: Mark Teahen, Lenny DiNardo, Miguel Olivo, Coco Crisp, Tug Hulett, John Buck, Josh Anderson, Tony Pena Jr.
Twins
- Acquired/re-signed: J.J. Hardy, Carl Pavano, Clay Condrey, Yancarlos Ortiz, Henry Arias, Jose Lugo, Chris Province, Mike Maroth, Brock Peterson
- Lost: Brian Buscher, Boof Bonser, Carlos Gomez, Armando Gabino, Bobby Keppel, R.A. Dickey, Philip Humber