Dennys Reyes Declines Arb Offer
According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Type B free agent reliever Dennys Reyes declined the Twins’ offer of arbitration. They’ll get a supplemental pick if he signs elsewhere. He’s looking for a three-year deal for about $4MM per.
Grudzielanek Declines Arb Offer
According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, Type B free agent Mark Grudzielanek declined the Royals’ offer of arbitration as expected. The Royals will get a supplemental pick if he signs elsewhere. Grudz is looking to play for a contender.
Sabathia, Sheets, Shouse Decline Arb Offers
11:33pm: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy says Type A free agents Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia also declined arbitration. The Brewers will get two draft picks for each if they sign elsewhere. Haudricourt says Sheets’ decision "almost certainly ends his association with the Brewers."
11:12pm: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Type B free agent reliever Brian Shouse declined the Brewers’ offer of arbitration. The Brewers will get a supplemental pick if he signs elsewhere. He’s looking for a two-year deal.
Manny, Lowe, Blake Decline Arb Offers
11:31pm: Type A free agents Manny Ramirez and Derek Lowe also declined arbitration, according to Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News. The Dodgers will get two picks for each if they sign elsewhere.
10:32pm: According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Type B free agent Casey Blake turned down the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration as expected. The Dodgers stand to gain a draft pick if he signs elsewhere. Blake received a few two-year offers but aims for three.
Weathers Accepts Arb Offer
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, reliever David Weathers accepted the Reds’ offer of arbitration. He’s Reds property for ’09 now, and he’ll get a raise beyond this year’s $2.75MM salary.
Milton Bradley Declines Arb Offer
According to Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News, Type B free agent Milton Bradley declined the Rangers’ offer of arbitration. They’ll get a supplemental draft pick if he signs elsewhere. SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote a month ago that Bradley "is expected to seek a four-year deal now more than $10 million a year."
Oliver Perez Declines Arb Offer
According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Type A free agent Oliver Perez will decline the Mets’ offer of arbitration. The Mets will get two draft picks if he signs elsewhere.
Orlando Cabrera Declines Arb Offer
According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Orlando Cabrera will decline Chicago’s offer of arbitration. Ken Williams can rest easy. Cabrera’s a Type A, so the Sox will score two draft picks if he signs elsewhere. There’s an extra tax of one draft pick for the team that signs him.
Mets To Make Offer To K-Rod Tonight
9:55pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Mets will meet with K-Rod, Fuentes, and Kerry Wood within the next 24 hours. They won’t be making simultaneous offers to all three. Instead, they’ll probably start with an offer to Rodriguez as Heyman mentioned.
8:35pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Mets GM Omar Minaya is meeting with Francisco Rodriguez tonight and is expected to make an offer. Internally, the Mets have discussed offering a three-year deal, possibly with a fourth year vesting option.
Minaya has face-to-face meetings planned with Trevor Hoffman and Brian Fuentes as well, which could become unnecessary if K-Rod jumps at the first offer. Seems unlikely he’d do that.
Stark’s Latest: Dye, Greinke, Teixeira
Jayson Stark’s Winter Meetings preview is up; let’s take a look.
- Stark sees "just about zero chance" the Padres trade Jake Peavy at the Meetings. The Cubs will need at least a few weeks to settle their ownership situation before they can make a trade and take on his contract. Plus, a Stark source says it makes sense for the Padres to wait until the top free agent starters are off the board.
- The Braves, Reds, Royals, Rays, and possibly Mets have shown interest in Jermaine Dye. Dye played for the Royals from 1997-2001 before he was traded for Neifi Perez. The White Sox are willing to trade Paul Konerko and Jim Thome too.
- The Mariners would listen on "pretty much anybody." But given the surplus of closers on the market, it seems unlikely that Jack Zduriencik will be bowled over with an offer for J.J. Putz.
- The Royals really don’t want to trade Zack Greinke, but they’ll at least discuss him. The price would be massive. It doesn’t look like they want to trade David DeJesus or Mark Teahen either, but Jose Guillen can be had.
- The Marlins have been pushing Jorge Cantu over Jeremy Hermida, though Hermida’s drawn plenty of interest. Nick Cafardo named the Rays, Reds, and Giants earlier today.
- The Angels figure to attach a two or three-day deadline to their eventual Mark Teixeira offer.
- Stark sees Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake as the two free agents most likely to sign this week. Most execs Stark surveyed see Teixeira and Manny Ramirez signing in January.