Orioles Sign Chris Gomez
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles signed infielder Chris Gomez to a minor league deal. Gomez signed with the Orioles as a free agent prior to the ’05 season and remained in the organization until the Indians took him off waivers in August of ’07.
Odds and Ends: Bradley, Roberts, Cruz, Smoltz
Links for Friday…
- David Chase looks at fantasy baseball’s top strikeout pitchers.
- The third year of Milton Bradley‘s contract turns into a club option if he has serious health problems this year.
- Two players expected to attend the Brewers’ open tryout this month: Randall Simon and Mark Bellhorn.
- Dave Cameron looks at the premium teams pay for proven closers.
- Bobby Valentine comments on the Orioles’ Koji Uehara signing in Dan Connolly’s article. Within that article Connolly suggests the trade market for Brian Roberts may be suffering because of Orlando Hudson‘s availability on the free agent market.
- The D’Backs wouldn’t be thrilled, but the Yankees could sign Juan Cruz and only surrender a fourth-round pick.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington said the team is looking at some comeback-type free agent outfielders. Dejan Kovacevic guesses that Emil Brown, Craig Monroe, or Jonny Gomes could fit the bill.
- The Red Sox designated knuckleballer Charlie Zink for assignment.
- J.C. Bradbury believes the Braves were misleading with the public regarding their offer to John Smoltz.
Rosenthal On Fielder, Buchholz, Edmonds
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- Rosenthal suggests the Brewers trade Prince Fielder for "premium pitching" and then sign Adam Dunn to replace him. Which begs the question, why wouldn’t the team giving up this premium pitching just sign Dunn instead?
- Despite signing John Smoltz, the Red Sox still are not willing to trade Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Sox may be willing to move Michael Bowden or especially Daniel Bard for Salty.
- The Yankees’ interest in Mike Cameron "seems to be waning."
- Despite Jon Heyman’s report, the Phillies, Angels, and Brewers deny interest in Derek Lowe. Rosenthal says the market for Oliver Perez is even worse.
- Rosenthal suggests veterans such as Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, and Jim Edmonds could go the Kenny Lofton route. Lofton, a capable player, sat out the 2008 season when his salary demands weren’t met. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ll soon see which former stars are willing to play for a pittance (if you consider more than $500K a pittance).
- The Orioles have Edmonds on the radar as a first base candidate.
- Suitors for lefty reliever Dennys Reyes: the A’s, Mets, and Dodgers. The Tigers and Rangers are also known to be on the lookout for a southpaw in the pen.
Yankees Want To Trade Nady
FRIDAY: Ken Davidoff of Newsday says Yankees GM Brian Cashman has received more requests for Swisher than Nady, but agrees the Yanks would prefer to move Nady. (Chris Haft likes Swisher for the Giants). Davidoff says the Mets had interest in Nady at last year’s trade deadline but are currently focused on their rotation.
THURSDAY: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle heard from a good source that Yankees GM Brian Cashman wants to keep Nick Swisher and trade Xavier Nady. Would Nady make sense for the Giants at first base? Schulman doesn’t think so, as the Nady hasn’t played the position much and is unlikely to sign an extension with Scott Boras as his agent. Nady will be eligible for free agency after the ’09 season.
Latest On Pedro Martinez
FRIDAY: From Mike Puma of the New York Post:
Martinez said he’s open to pitching just about anywhere in 2009, but the Mets are far and away his first choice.
THURSDAY: Matthew Cerrone at MetsBlog does a nice job summing up reports on the Pedro Martinez situation.
Dylan Hernandez has said the Dodgers are not in on Pedro, but the righty has narrowed his choices to two teams in each league. The Mets are one known suitor – Omar Minaya will meet with Pedro next week. I’ve talked to many Pirates and White Sox fans who would like to see their team sign Martinez to a one-year deal, but the interest level of those teams is unknown.
Cerrone also relays a Tom Verducci report from the MLB Network saying Martinez recently rejected a one-year, $7MM offer from an AL team. He must really dislike that team, because he’s not going to get that kind of money elsewhere.
Red Sox Sign Mark Kotsay
According to Sean McAdam and Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox reached an agreement with outfielder Mark Kotsay on a one-year deal worth $1.5MM plus incentives. Kotsay will back up Kevin Youkilis at first base and complement Rocco Baldelli as an extra outfielder.
Kotsay was one of few viable options at center field among free agents this year, but he still could not find a regular job.
Chad Cordero To Audition Friday
THURSDAY: Count the Mets in on the Cordero session. Twins too.
WEDNESDAY: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy says Cordero will throw Friday, and the Brewers will be in attendance. They’ve already seen him throw once. The Rangers will also be there.
TUESDAY, 9:57pm: MLB.com’s Jason Beck says the Tigers are also expected to watch Cordero throw.
1:37pm: Nick Piecoro says the D’Backs will be one of the teams in attendance at Cordero’s audition. Chico Harlan says the Nationals will also attend.
8:38am: According to a baseball source, free agent reliever Chad Cordero is ahead of schedule and teams will watch him throw this week. The Nationals had said he wouldn’t be able to throw until June due to last summer’s labrum/biceps surgery.
Teams known to be interested based on reports: the Angels, Mets, Cardinals, D’Backs, Rangers, and Tigers.
What’s Next For Chipper And Glavine?
9:22pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman has some related quotes from Glavine from this week.
3:04pm: John Smoltz is gone, even after Bobby Cox’s last-ditch phone call this morning. What about longtime Braves Chipper Jones and Tom Glavine?
The AJC’s Carroll Rogers talked to Chipper, who wonders whether he could be traded midseason if the Braves aren’t playing well. He is expecting the Braves to approach him about an extension this winter though. Jones is quite disappointed about Smoltz’s departure and said "it hasn’t gone unnoticed by me."
Glavine’s first choice is the Braves, but he’s keeping an open mind according to Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick wonders if the Nationals could be a possibility.
Red Sox Agree To Terms With Baldelli, Smoltz
7:00pm: Smoltz signed the offer sheet from the Red Sox, says Buster Olney. Olney’s story has contract details as well. There’s also an interesting quote from Theo Epstein:
"I think you’ll see us now turn to players who we can take chances on, players who represent potential impact players. We still have some things going on."
2:31pm: Gordon Edes provides details on the Braves’ offer to Smoltz:
The Braves would have paid Smoltz incrementally based on his health up to a maximum of $5 million if he remained on the major league roster for 60 days, and the guarantee was for no more than $3 million. The offer also included another $5 million in performance bonuses and $2 million in additional incentives. So Smoltz could have earned up to $12 million by staying healthy and pitching extremely well.
1:55pm: David O’Brien says the Braves would not exceed $3MM guaranteed for Smoltz. Braves CEO Terry McGuirk is "shocked and surprised" by his decision. Buster Olney says Smoltz is set to sign Boston’s offer sheet and was perturbed by McGuirk’s comments. In a statement, Smoltz said there were "large discrepancies" between the offers.
11:39am: Chad Finn of the Boston Globe sums up the reports: the Red Sox announced an agreement with Rocco Baldelli on a one-year deal and the AP says their one-year deal with John Smoltz will be finalized today. Both players are pretty much luxuries for the Sox, but they had money to burn. I never would’ve predicted Smoltz and Trevor Hoffman would be wearing new uniforms in 2009.
Baldelli’s deal has a $500K base with $1.75MM in roster bonuses and $5.25MM in performance bonuses. The Phillies, Reds, Pirates, and Orioles were in on him. Smoltz gets $5MM guaranteed with another possible $5MM in bonuses.
WEEI’s Alex Speier looks at Boston’s successful history of buying low, and the station also notes that Brad Penny‘s physical is scheduled for today.
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