Edwin Jackson Traded For Matt Joyce
11:06pm: Jon Paul Morosi says the swap has been finalized. The Tigers get Jackson for his three arb years, while the Rays get six years of Joyce. Joyce is a strong defensive right fielder who posted a fine rookie half-season.
9:55pm: Marc Topkin says the final details are being worked out in this trade. Bill Chastain’s Rays source says they don’t have a completed trade. The Rays would add an outfielder and save a few million with the deal.
8:43pm: According to Ed Price, the Tigers are set to acquire Edwin Jackson from the Rays for outfielder Matt Joyce.
Sabean Rant
Giants GM Brian Sabean treated beat writers to what could only be described as a rant today. He’s angry with the way the whole C.C. Sabathia thing went down in the media.
D’Backs Make Offer To Felipe Lopez
According to Nick Piecoro, the Diamondbacks made a one-year offer to free agent infielder Felipe Lopez. That probably won’t get it done for the Scott Boras client, but it’s a starting point.
Astros Shopping Wigginton
9:36pm: Nick Piecoro says there’s nothing to the D’Backs-Wigginton rumor.
4:19pm: According to Ed Price, the Astros are shopping Ty Wigginton. He’s arbitration-eligible and under team control for one more year. Price says the D’Backs are showing the most interest, while the Dodger and Indians are out. We’ve also seen the Blue Jays and Twins linked to Wiggy.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Wednesday
9:31pm: The Royals hope to clear payroll to make room for Furcal, preferably by trading Jose Guillen. Orlando Cabrera is their backup plan. The Royals would eat some money to move Guillen, but predictably the market is "almost nonexistent."
The Royals believe Furcal requires a four-year, $44MM deal. Kinzer has four offers for Furcal currently, all for three or four years. The surprising implication is that the Dodgers went past two years.
2:50pm: Buster Olney says the A’s met again with Furcal last night. Apparently Oakland’s four-year offer had been worth about $36MM. Meanwhile Steve Phillips says Royals GM Dayton Moore asked ownership for more money to sign Furcal.
2:07am: Richard Griffin suggests the Blue Jays are just being used by Kinzer to add negotiating power.
12:10am: The most important takeaway from yesterday’s Rafael Furcal rumors: his agent Paul Kinzer told Ken Rosenthal the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Royals, and A’s are in the running. Furcal still wants four years. We also have word from Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the Orioles are in on Furcal, and the list might at times include the Indians. Brown says the O’s would sign Furcal as a complement to Mark Teixeira.
Three Teams Interested In Barrett
9:16pm: The Blue Jays admitted to sitting down with Barrett, while the Astros downplayed the rumor.
6:18pm: According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, free agent catcher Michael Barrett is drawing interest from the Orioles, Astros, Blue Jays, and Marlins.
Ben Sheets Rumors: Wednesday
9:05pm: Sheets had his house for sale in Dallas but recently took it off the market, for what it’s worth.
1:01pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Brewers GM Doug Melvin met with Ben Sheets and his agent Casey Close yesterday. The Brewers did not make an offer, but haven’t ruled it out. Haudricourt notes that Sheets signing with the Yankees would be bad for Milwaukee, since the Brewers can’t get a second first-round compensation pick from them.
Brewers Looking For Pitching
9:00pm: Tom Haudricourt has an update. Nothing came of Doug Melvin’s talks with the Rangers, and he denied talking to the Giants or Mariners.
The Brewers haven’t made an offer yet to Randy Johnson, who seems to prefer the West Coast. Melvin says he won’t pursue Hoffman. And, some of the $100MM offered to Sabathia is available for pitching.
5:06pm: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says Melvin spoke to the Rangers about pitching. Melvin is said to hold Kevin Millwood in high regard.
3:27pm: Danny Knobler heard from two sources that Brewers GM Doug Melvin can’t shift any of the $100MM offered to C.C. Sabathia to players, and the Brewers are "very unlikely" to pursue a closer (this despite meetings with closers that are known to have taken place).
1:51pm: This information has all pretty much surfaced prior to today, but let’s put it all in one place. The Brewers are considering Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman as closer options, with Randy Johnson a rotation option.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday
8:36pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock learned from Towers that he should know one way or another on a Peavy trade by the end of the Meetings. Towers now believes a fourth team will be required. Towers mentioned that Marquis and DeRosa may be hangups, especially Marquis’ contract. Though he’d prefer not to, under certain circumstances the Padres might pay some of his salary.
There was some goofy Carlos Carrasco/Jason Donald stuff we didn’t link to today, and that was shot down. Brock suggests names like Josh Vitters, Felix Pie, and Kevin Hart could be involved on the Cubs’ part.
8:31pm: Jayson Stark says Peavy to the Cubs doesn’t seem inevitable anymore, and the sides have not made progress in the last 24 hours. The Cubs have leverage, so they’ve dug in their heels. Stark adds that once word of the possible inclusion of DeRosa linked, Jim Hendry has been "bombarded with calls from other clubs interested" in him. Hendry does not want to trade DeRosa.
6:00pm: Buster Olney says the Yankees have talked with the Padres recently about Peavy, but it didn’t go anywhere.
5:19pm: Brock talked to a Padres source who does not believe the Twins are involved.
4:10pm: Buster Olney says Axelrod left the Meetings with no word of a deal but the expectation is still that the Cubs will get it done.
3:48pm: Tom Krasovic reminds us that Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said going into the Meetings that the Yankees would be more attractive to his client if they signed C.C. Sabathia. Still, Peavy prefers the NL.
3:17pm: Corey Brock says the Phillies might want Scott Hairston from the Padres to use in left field.
2:33pm: Carrie Muskat’s Cubs source says DeRosa will not be traded.
9:45am: LEN3 says the Twins discussed DeRosa with the Cubs yesterday. The Cubs will present the Twins with a list of pitchers they like, which will be influenced by the Padres’ preferences.
9:31am: There’s word from Jim Salisbury that pitcher Kyle Kendrick could be included in this three-team trade.
1:19am: If you dare to sort through yesterday’s Jake Peavy rumors, click here. Today, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times maintains that the biggest obstacle is the Cubs moving part of Jason Marquis‘ contract. Another factor – the Padres will need to free up several spots on the 40-man roster. The Cubs’ sale will not be an issue.
Wittenmyer adds that a Phillies official didn’t expect to get Mark DeRosa from the Cubs but rather other players. Also, Cubs officials shot down the John Perrotto rumor that the Cubs might shop Carlos Zambrano after acquiring Peavy.
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune also weighs in. He says the Padres have discussed Phils catching prospect Jason Jaramillo.
Phillies Acquire Ronny Paulino
8:13pm: Lauber has the deal: the Phils receive catcher Ronny Paulino from the Pirates for Triple A backstop in Jason Jaramillo.
7:24pm: Scott Lauber talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who has agreed to a small trade a notch above the Greg Golson/John Mayberry swap. The players traded are on 40-man rosters though. They’re awaiting physicals.
The Pirates could have a small trade in the works as well.