Mets, Phillies Interested In Will Ohman
According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Mets GM Omar Minaya contacted Will Ohman‘s agent Page Odle for the first time this winter. Crasnick says the Mets hope to jump in and get a bargain on the lefty reliever.
Additionally, Crasnick counters the Ken Rosenthal report that the Phillies decided not to pursue Ohman. The Phillies are still talking to Odle about Ohman, but don’t have much more than $1MM to spend unless they move a contract.
Blue Jays, Brian Tallet Avoid Arbitration
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Blue Jays avoided arbitration with reliever Brian Tallet by signing him at $1.015MM for ’09. Tallet, 31, held lefties to a .257/.327/.327 line in 2008.
In other lefty reliever news, MLBTR has learned that George Sherrill will agree to terms with the Orioles today or tomorrow. Sherrill had submitted at $3.4MM while the Orioles countered at $2.2MM.
Jays, Kevin Millar Close To Deal
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, first baseman Kevin Millar is "almost certain" to sign a minor league deal with the Blue Jays today or tomorrow. The Mets, Yankees, Nationals, and Rangers had also been in on Millar. Rich Aurilia has been recommended for the Mets by several writers, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post learned they’ve yet to make contact with his agent.
Millar, 37, hit .234/.323/.394 in 610 plate appearances last year.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Wednesday
9:46pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports that Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras, and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti spoke by phone Wednesday. As Stark writes, "There were no indications the two sides made any significant progress toward resolving their differences. But they did agree to stay in touch over the next several days."
6:55pm: Giants manager Bruce Bochy appeared on XM Radio’s Home Plate program Wednesday afternoon. Manny was discussed:
The host, Lee Hamilton, asked Bochy whether the Giants are in on Ramirez. His response: "Well, I’ll say this, he is a free agent, Lee. There have been talks."
"I can’t quantify how much of a player, but this guy no question a tremendous player. Impacts the game, very few players can, it’s got to be the right thing. This is a business, you understand, that as a manager my job is to manage the players. Whatever ownership can do, which they done a lot already, I’ve got to be thankful for what we’ve done. Acquiring [Randy] Johnson, relievers, [Edgar] Renteria, but as long he [Ramirez] is still out there, you never know."
9:29am: We start out today’s Manny Ramirez rumors with a Scott Boras quote obtained by Yahoo’s Tim Brown, which apparently refers to the Dodgers:
"What I do know, you better watch out when you’re playing chicken."
Meanwhile, Buster Olney wonders if Manny, not Boras, is behind the holdout.
Need a refresher on all the recent developments in this saga? Check out our Manny archive.
Blue Jays Claim Brian Burres
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, the Blue Jays claimed lefty Brian Burres off waivers from the Orioles today. Burres had been designated for assignment when the O’s acquired Rich Hill. Burres, 28 in April, posted a 6.04 ERA in 129.6 innings for the Orioles last year.
Rays Reach Impasse With Dioner Navarro
2:22pm: A quote from Navarro’s agent Kendall Almerico, via Topkin:
"It appears that we have reached an impasse and that we will be going to arbitration on Monday. After that, I hope to resume negotiations on a long-term deal so Navi can play in Tampa for the rest of his career. But that may depend on how the Rays present their case and whether the Rays treat Navi respectfully at the hearing as Navi has instructed us to treat the Rays throughout this entire process."
11:04am: According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays are still in talks with their two remaining arbitration-eligible players, Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar.
The Rays are only $150K apart with Aybar, and the sides are discussing a possible two-year deal. Aybar, a Super Two player, is under team control through 2012.
Navarro faces a $400K gap with the Rays, and they’re also discussing multiyear possibilities. He’s under team control through 2011.
The Lefty Reliever Market
Looking for a lefty reliever? Here are the available free agents:
- Joe Beimel – Beimel is a Type B free agent, but the Dodgers did not offer him arbitration. His walk and strikeout ratios are not great but he’s somehow managed to allow only one home run in the past two seasons. Lefties hit .278/.330/.311 against him in ’08.
- Randy Flores – Flores was non-tendered by the Cardinals in December. He had surgery in September for a cyst as well as fraying of the labrum. In the Majors in ’08 lefties hit .314/.422/.549 against him.
- Tyler Johnson – The youngest of the group, Johnson was also non-tendered by the Cards. He missed the entire ’08 season with shoulder problems. He held lefties to a .224/.307/.418 line in 2007.
- Will Ohman – Ohman was traded to the Braves in December of ’07 along with Omar Infante. He held lefties to a .200/.257/.314 line. The Braves have had an offer on the table for him since November, and the Phillies recently backed off.
- Dennys Reyes – Reyes is a Type B who was offered arbitration by the Twins. He’s bounced around in his career. Lefties hit .202/.250/.287 against him last year and the Dodgers may be interested.
- Ricardo Rincon – He pitched in the Mexican league for most of ’08 and hasn’t done much in the Majors since ’05.
- Ron Villone – Held lefties to a .176/.311/.318 line for the Cardinals in ’08.
The Tigers, A’s, Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, and Mets are known to be in the market for lefty relief help.
John Parrish, Orioles Agree To Terms
12:55pm: From Roch Kubatko of MASN:
The Orioles have reached agreement on a minor league deal with Parrish that includes a spring training invite and an out-clause that would allow him to leave the organization if he’s not on the major league roster by April 3.
Parrish will get a chance to crack the Orioles’ rotation.
8:53am: According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, lefty John Parrish is likely to sign a minor league deal with the Orioles this week. The Tigers had expressed interest in Parrish earlier this winter.
Parrish, 31, posted a 2.97 ERA in 91 Triple A innings last year and a 4.04 mark in 42.3 innings for the Blue Jays. He could be a decent candidate to eat innings at the back of Baltimore’s rotation, and he probably prefers the chance to start.
Parrish came up in the Baltimore system and was traded to the Mariners in August of ’07.
Rockies Acquire Matt Murton
According to a press release, the Rockies acquired outfielder Matt Murton from the A’s for infielder Corey Wimberly.
Murton, 27, has a career line of .288/.354/.438 in 1002 plate appearances. He’s been involved in two big trades – the Nomar Garciaparra deal in ’04 and the Rich Harden trade last year. Murton spent most of ’08 in the minors and did not show much power.
Wimberly, 25, ranked as the Rockies’ 26th-best prospect in the ’09 Baseball America Handbook. He went unclaimed in the Rule 5 draft in December after hitting .291/.370/.345 in Double A. The speedster is said to be in the Bip Roberts mold, according to BA.
Brewers Acquire Chase Wright, Ramiro Mendoza
According to a press release, the Brewers acquired pitcher Chase Wright from the Yankees for outfielder/catcher Eric Fryer.
Wright, who turns 26 in a few days, spent most of 2008 with the Yankees’ Double A and Triple A clubs. He posted strong ERAs and strong groundball rates, but low strikeout rates as well. In their 2007 Handbook, Baseball America said Wright had "solid stuff" and "profiles best at the back of a rotation." He was designated for assignment when Andy Pettitte was signed. Fryer, 23, hit .335/.407/.506 in 104 games at Low A.
According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, the Brewers also added reliever Ramiro Mendoza on a minor league deal. Mendoza’s last useful big league stint was in ’04 with the Red Sox; he racked up a lot of innings for the Yankees in the late 90s/early 2000s.