Diamond Leung talked to Ned Colletti, who said a few teams asked about Andruw Jones. However, those teams would ask the Dodgers to pick up the "vast majority" of the $22.1MM owed to Jones. Hmmm…would 150% of it be sufficient?
Reds Rumors: Rhodes, Reyes, Francoeur
10:18pm: Mike Berardino says the D’Backs are one of the other two Rhodes finalists.
TUESDAY, 4:37pm: Rhodes’ agent says he should make a decision within 24-48 hours. It’s down to the Reds plus two unknown teams.
MONDAY, 10:52pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Reds "may have some interest in Jeff Francoeur." However, the Braves don’t want to move him.
8:35pm: A few Reds rumors this evening…
- The Reds met with the agents for Jerry Hairston Jr. and David Weathers and will meet again tonight. Weathers is already a Red for ’09 after accepting arb, but his salary has yet to be determined.
- The Reds still have an offer to Arthur Rhodes on the table.
- Also on the lefty reliever front, the Reds have had talks with Dennys Reyes’ agent.
Marlins Rumors: Cantu, Uggla, Pudge
10:17pm: Berardino says the Giants appear to be out of the running for Cantu due to defensive concerns. That sentiment has been coming from the Giants writers as well lately.
12:36pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Marlins "don’t have immediate interest" in Ivan Rodriguez.
10:49am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Marlins don’t expect to trade Dan Uggla or Jorge Cantu at the Meetings, "but they remain open to all ideas." Cantu has been linked to the Giants and White Sox in recent days.
Rosenthal names the Braves, Reds, and Rays as teams interested in Jeremy Hermida, though nothing is close. Nick Cafardo also suggested the Giants. The Cubs apparently haven’t discussed Hermida in a while.
MLB Trade Rumors Has The Winter Meetings Covered
Looking for obsessive coverage of baseball’s Winter Meetings? MLB Trade Rumors is the place to be. Here are some links if you’re new to the site.
- Click on the December archive to see headlines for the many, many posts we’ve written since the Meetings began. Sometimes news from even a few hours ago gets pushed off the front page of the website to make room for newer stories.
- Read about MLBTR and its creator and author, Tim Dierkes.
- Sign up for our RSS feed.
- Sign up as a fan of MLBTR on Facebook (7,518 and counting).
- Bookmark the MLBTR mobile site on your phone.
- Check out the commenting policy before joining the discussion.
- Bookmark our living, breathing list of this year’s free agents.
- Browse the list of Scott Boras clients.
- Check out the righthand sidebar for other good stuff.
Team Rumor Links Not Updated
I had to make a necessary sacrifice to be able to publish new rumors as quickly as possible during the Winter Meetings: the team rumor links located on the righthand sidebar will not be up-to-date this week.
You will just have to click the December archive and scan all the recent headlines. Also, we’ve got a Winter Meetings Day 2 In Review post coming up in a few hours.
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Tuesday
10:09pm: Angels owner Arte Moreno to Jon Heyman: "Teixeira’s my guy. There are obviously other people we like. But he’s our main target." Currently, the Angels aren’t planning to set a deadline when they make an offer to Tex.
9:11pm: Brian Sabean ruled out Teixeira for the Giants.
4:27pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Angels are "beginning to recognize they will not be the high bidder" for Tex. Some of Rosenthal’s sources believe the Nationals will come in the highest.
3:48pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown says Angels owner Arte Moreno "has been deeply involved in negotiations with Scott Boras regarding Teixeira, as well as with agent Greg Genske on Sabathia." Brown says the Angels may be willing to give Tex seven years if necessary. The Halos are weighing the idea of going after Manny Ramirez if they miss out on Tex and C.C.
11:39am: Jon Heyman says the Red Sox have been one of Tex’s most aggressive pursuers.
1:47am: Yahoo’s Gordon Edes surveyed several club officials, and they believe the Red Sox will sign Mark Teixeira. They have the money and a strong relationship with Scott Boras. However, the Yankees are heavily interested even if they’ve yet to make an offer. And the Angels are said to be "desperate" to retain Tex. As far as we know, no one’s made an offer. Edes sees the Orioles and Nationals on the periphery, though both clubs are serious about Teixeira.
J.J. Putz Rumors: Tuesday
9:57pm: The Mariners spoke with the Cardinals and Brewers today about Putz, though a Fielder for Putz deal never came up.
7:58pm: Doug Melvin didn’t reference Putz specifically, but he did tell reporters he did not find a match with the Mariners in trade talks.
6:02pm: From ESPN’s Steve Phillips:
The Mariners need a power hitter. The Brewers need a closer. There is speculation that the two teams are discussing a package involving Putz and Prince Fielder.
11:22am: Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press says talks between the Ms and Tigers for Putz are ongoing.
11:04am: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Indians "are not really contenders" for Mariners closer J.J. Putz, as they’d prefer to sign a free agent. He notes lukewarm interest from St. Louis and believes the Tigers and Brewers are more serious. Baker questions whether the Tigers have the young players to get it done.
As for the Brewers, Baker speaks of a possible large multiplayer deal that’s "all just a concept for now."
Ben Sheets Rumors: Tuesday
9:43pm: Nolan Ryan says the Rangers examined Sheets’ medical records and determined he’s healthy. Sheets seems to have mutual interest, though the Rangers would need to move players to fit him in the payroll.
6:35pm: Joe Girardi was impressed with Sheets. Meanwhile T.R. Sullivan talks about whether the Rangers could fit Sheets in the budget.
12:14pm: Feinsand now says the Yankees will offer around $26MM over two years to Sheets (hat tip to RAB).
8:26am: Joel Sherman says the Yanks have yet to decide whether to make Sheets an offer.
12:58am: According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, the Yankees are preparing an offer for Ben Sheets to be made within 72 hours (hat tip to River Ave. Blues). Feinsand believes it will be in the two-year, $30MM range.
Orlando Cabrera Rumors: Tuesday
9:21pm: Peter Gammons says the Royals have also been talking to Cabrera.
1:50pm: According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s met with Orlando Cabrera’s agent Monday night but their interest is "mild at best" and "very limited." The loss of their second-round pick has to be a consideration.
Tigers Bullpen Rumors
9:15pm: Jon Paul Morosi says Beimel still tops the Tigers’ list among lefties, but they’ve also expressed interest in John Parrish.
2:23pm: MLB.com’s Jason Beck says the Tigers talked to Joe Beimel’s agent at the Meetings. They intend to sort out their closer situation first though. The Reds also like Beimel.
2:28am: For roughly $4MM in ’09 salaries, the Tigers filled two needs Monday with defensive-minded pickups Gerald Laird and Adam Everett. Now Dave Dombrowski will set his sights on a closer.
Jon Paul Morosi maintains that the Tigers are most interested in J.J. Putz and Kerry Wood. It may come down to how they’d prefer to pay – in prospects or in dollars. Morosi notes that Marcus Thames, expected to earn $2MM+ in ’09, could be shipped out to save additional cash.
