O’Brien Discusses Andruw Jones
Braves beat writer David O’Brien discusses Andruw Jones in a new blog post. He believes the Braves are leaning toward signing him, simply as "very small gamble they’d hope would pay off, nothing more." The Braves continue to look at other outfield options, guys like Adam Dunn, Nick Swisher, and Xavier Nady.
O’Brien adds that Scott Boras said Jones received eight inquiries and probably will not make a decision before late next week.
Crede, Gagne Twins Talks Held Up?
A few people have sent in this link from Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, which contains one Twins hot stove line:
The word is that length of contract is holding up the Twins’ signing of former White Sox third baseman Joe Crede and relief pitcher Eric Gagne.
The implication is that the two Scott Boras clients are seeking more than one year, which would be a surprise. If the Twins do get Crede, he’ll be one of just a handful of players to make the Chicago-Minnesota jump.
Rich Aurilia Still Talking To Giants
Andrew Baggarly has a little bit of info about free agent first baseman Rich Aurilia. Aurilia’s agent is having ongoing conversations with the Giants, and the team considers him their top option for a right-handed bat off the bench. A one-year deal seems likely, but Baggarly isn’t sure what’s holding up the process.
Aurilia, 37, hit .283/.332/.413 in 440 plate appearances while playing the infield corners. He earned $4.5MM, so a significant pay cut is in order.
Ricketts Family Wins Bid To Buy Cubs
7:13pm: The Chicago Tribune itself also hears from sources that the Ricketts family has won the bidding to buy the Cubs. The bid is apparently for $900MM, but the family hasn’t yet worked out details with the Tribune Company.
5:30pm: The Tribune Company has chosen Thomas Ricketts as the favorite to buy the Cubs, an unidentified source told the Chicago Sun-Times. The article suggests Ricketts bid about $900MM.
8:44am: According to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, the Tribune Company submitted a favorite among the three Cubs’ bidders to their creditors. It’s not known whether the favorite is Thomas Ricketts, Hersch Klaff, or Marc Utay/Leo J. Hindery Jr. This article had a more detailed look at the situation.
Glaus Unavailable For Opening Day
So far today I have avoided this story, because it didn’t seem to have much to do with the hot stove. It was revealed today that Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus had shoulder surgery that may keep him out until mid-April. John Mozeliak has plenty of internal third base candidates, but he did say, "We may also look at external options."
A’s, Twins, Dodgers Eyeing Russ Springer
According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s, Twins, and Dodgers are pursuing Russ Springer. Rosenthal adds that the Twins prefer Springer to Eric Gagne. The Twins’ interest in Springer was first reported by Seth Stohs, while Buster Olney mentioned the A’s a few days ago. Ken Gurnick had the Springer-Dodgers connection back in December.
Phillies Unlikely To Add A Starter
Chuck Hixson of PhillyBaseballNews.com recently asked Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. about free agent starters Braden Looper, Jon Garland, and Randy Wolf. Amaro responded:
"I’d like to think that we’re at the point on our payroll, where those guys wouldn’t fit. We’re really kind of looking more for bullpen help. We are looking at some guys from outside the organization to add some depth and experience for us in the bullpen."
Braves’ Non-Roster Invitees
David O’Brien has the Braves’ non-roster Spring Training invitees:
RHPs Rafael Cruz, Emiliano Fruto, Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen; LHPs Francisley Bueno, Mariano Gomez and Juan Perez); catchers J.C. Boscan, Phillip Britton, Alvin Colina and Matt Kennelly; INFs Brooks Conrad, Freddie Freeman and Brandon Hicks, and OFs Jason Heyward and Jordan Schafer.
MacPhail On Roberts, Bargains
A few notes from Andy MacPhail from the Nick Markakis press conference today, by way of MASN’s Roch Kubatko.
- MacPhail indicates a willingness to "swoop in" and acquire a free agent at a bargain price if the right opportunity presents itself.
- Talks on a Brian Roberts extension continue. MacPhail said, "The market really hasn’t played itself out," which could be a reference to Orlando Hudson.
Heyman On Manny, Varitek, Madson, Swisher
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up…
- Heyman says half the teams in baseball may still have a big deal left in them, with roughly 100 free agents remaining.
- Manny Ramirez continues to wait patiently; Heyman guesses the Dodgers go to three years for him. They’d be bidding against themselves, unless Manny has an offer we don’t know about.
- When John Henry asked Jason Varitek why he didn’t accept their offer of arbitration, Varitek responded that he didn’t believe it would’ve guaranteed him a spot on the team.
- Heyman finds it odd that first-year arb closers are getting more money than starters.
- Scott Boras was in favor of Ryan Madson taking the Phillies’ three-year, $12MM offer based on Madson’s personal/familial circumstances.
- The Yankees are finding more interest in Nick Swisher than Xavier Nady.
- Heyman has the Ricketts family as the favorite to buy the Cubs.
- Heyman suggests Bobby Abreu‘s defense gets a bad rap. The plus/minus system, however, says the right fielder is among the worst in the game.
- The Nationals and Marlins share the Rays’ policy of not negotiating once arbitration figures are submitted. The Nats are apparently willing to bend and may keep talking with Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham (each about a million bucks apart).