AL West Rumors: McCann, Ellsbury, Tanaka, Lowrie
The latest out of the AL West..
- The Rangers are high on catcher Brian McCann, but a few GM's are thinking Texas still has interest in Jacoby Ellsbury, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- The Rangers have put their pursuit of free agent pitchers Masahiro Tanaka and Matt Garza (as well as top trade target David Price) to the side as they seek out a big bat, writes Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram.
- In an appearance on 95.7 The Game, A's manager Bob Melvin threw cold water on the idea that Jed Lowrie could be traded to the Cardinals, tweets Jane Lee of MLB.com. "Maybe [the Cardinals] made a call and inquired about him … we’re not looking to move Jed Lowrie."
- Athletics GM Billy Beane spoke with Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com about the GM Meetings and his club's needs. Beane says he's on the lookout for backend bullpen help, a right-handed hitting outfielder to replace Chris Young, and added that there is mutual interest in a return between the A's and Bartolo Colon.
- Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com examines Carlos Beltran as a possible target for the Rangers.
Central Rumors: Hart, Pelfrey, Suzuki, Cubs, Indians
Today's news out of the AL and NL Central..
- The Brewers are considering bringing back Corey Hart to fill their first-base need and it appears they may favor him over other first base options like Mets first baseman Ike Davis and free agent Justin Morneau, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. A Brewers person didn't look overly enthused when asked about Davis or Morneau and added that the rumored trade of Norichika Aoki for Davis would not be happening.
- Agent Scott Boras says that he's gotten good interest from a "variety of teams" on client Mike Pelfrey and said the Twins are amongst those clubs, tweets Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. He also claims that Pelfrey holds a multi-year offer.
- The Cubs don’t plan to drop big bucks on a free agent catcher like Brian McCann or Jarrod Saltalamacchia and sources tell Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com they have their eye on a cheaper target: Kurt Suzuki. The Cubs are seeking out a veteran backstop to complement Welington Castillo.
- Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) there's been ongoing trade interest in Nate Schierholtz since mid-season.
- Justin Masterson will listen if the Indians want to approach him with a multi-year offer, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.
Braves Avoid Arbitration With Jonny Venters
4:03pm: Venters' deal is worth $1.625MM, the same as he earned last season, a source tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (on Twitter).
4:47pm: The Braves have avoided arbitration with reliever Jonny Venters, agreeing to a one-year deal, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twiter). Financial terms of the deal are not yet known but Matt Swartz of MLBTR estimated that he would earn $1.625MM through arbitration.
Venters is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and should be available to the club in April or May of 2014. Because of his injury woes, the reliever was a non-tender candidate, but Atlanta decided to bring him back in hopes that he can make a full recovery. The left-hander owns a career 2.23 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 across three seasons.
Latest On Brian Wilson
General Manager Brian Cashman told reporters, including Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter), that you can rule out the Yankees signing Brian Wilson after his agent told the team he won't shave his beard. While you ponder that, here's the latest on Wilson..
- Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) hears that the most interested teams are the Giants, Dodgers, Indians, Tigers, Rockies, Mariners, and Red Sox. The Reds could also jump in, depending on whether Aroldis Chapman moves to the rotation.
Rockies Made Offer To Carlos Ruiz
WEDNESDAY, 3:28pm: The Rockies have moved on from Ruiz and have shifted their attention towards finding a closer, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
TUESDAY, 4:02pm: The Rockies offered Ruiz a two-year deal worth approximately $15MM with a club option for a third year on Monday night, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies won't go to $20MM, however, and they're prepared to move on to the outfield/first base market if they can't strike a deal with Ruiz. It remains to be seen if Ruiz will ultimately top Russell Martin's two-year, $17MM deal from last winter.
2:57pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter) hears that the Rockies are willing to do a two-year deal with an option. However, it would appear that the Rockies were not the team to offer $20MM over two years as Sherman reports (link) that they were told about the offer from Ruiz's representatives. If that's really Ruiz's asking price, then the Rockies will pass.
2:40pm: Ruiz's agent has told at least one suitor that his client has a two-year, $20MM offer on the table, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Ruiz earned $5MM last season with the Phillies.
2:13pm: The Rockies are in the mix for veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz and they have made an offer to him in the last 48 hours, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. They'll have their work cut out for them, however, as the Phillies, Red Sox, and Blue Jays are also said to be among the teams with interest.
Renck writes that the Rockies may have to overpay to get the backstop, but they're more likely to overpay in cash than in contract length. If the Rockies landed Ruiz, current catcher Wilin Rosario would likely shift to right field, while also seeing time at first base and catcher. Even though he got off to a slow start in 213 after missing time due to a suspension for Adderall, over the last two months of the season he looked more like his old self.
NL West Notes: Napoli, Giants, Johnson, Puig
Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Sulia link) says that Mike Napoli would be a strong fit for the Rockies. Renck believes that the Rockies could land Napoli by doling out big dollars on a medium-term deal and suggests last year’s ill-fated three-year, $39MM pact as a starting point. Meanwhile, Colorado also likes cheaper alternative Michael Morse. More from the NL West..
- Giants GM Brian Sabean told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter) that nothing is imminent pitching-wise. Right now he’s only discussing concepts of dollars and years with agents. Sabean added that he would go to three years for the right guy.
- Schulman (link) also spoke with Josh Johnson‘s agent who said that he only discussed a deal for his client with the Giants “in passing.”
- The Dodgers have made outfielders Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford available, but they’re also getting inquiries on Cuban sensation Yasiel Puig, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Of course, of the four, the Dodgers are most reluctant to trade Puig.
Feinsand On Freese, Yankees, Ellsbury, Beltran
Here's a look at the latest from Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, with all links going to Twitter..
- The Yankees are talking to the Cardinals about a deal for third baseman David Freese, a source tells Feinsand (via Twitter). The Cardinals could theoretically part with Freese since they can move Matt Carpenter to third base and use Kolten Wong at second. Freese, 30, would give the Yankees a solid plan B in the event that Alex Rodriguez's suspension is upheld. Even if the suspension isn't upheld, A-Rod will probably have to play a good amount of DH. Freese hit just .262/.340/.381 with nine homers last season but his career slash line of .286/.356/.427 is much stronger.
- A source says the says Mariners have "no interest" in Jacoby Ellsbury but the Cubs appear to be stealthily waiting in the wings (link). The Cubs are probably targeting 2015 to make a move towards contending but its possible that they'll look to make a splash this winter in advance of that.
- According to Rangers source, the club is working to schedule Carlos Beltran for a visit to Dallas (link). Two other teams are believed to be working on the same thing. Feinsand lists the Yankees, Red Sox, Royals, Indians, and Mariners as the other clubs showing serious interest and notes that they're all AL clubs (link).
AL East Rumors: Salty, Lackey, Kazmir, Red Sox, O’s
The news is coming in fast and furious today out of Orlando, where our own Steve Adams is on the scene. Here's the very latest out of the AL East..
- The Jarrod Saltalamacchia market remains quiet, but the Red Sox would take him back on a shorter deal, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Meanwhile, Salty is looking for at least three to four years.
- More from Edes (link), who tweets that the Red Sox have used their time at the GM Meetings to gauge interest from clubs in their veteran starting pitchers, including John Lackey.
- A Yankees contingent, led by managing partner Hal Steinbrenner, met with the agents for Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo Choo, Jacoby Ellsbury, Stephen Drew, Brian McCann and presumably other free agents at the GM Meetings, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Meanwhile, Steinbrenner has talked with Derek Jeter about the possibility of signing a starting shortstop and he is said to understand their position. The Bombers could be loaded with shortstop options in 2014: they like Drew and a possible signing of Brendan Ryan won't preclude them from making that happen.
- Scott Kazmir is high on the Orioles' list of free agent pitching candidates, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
- The Red Sox need a catcher but don't want to block their prospects so Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (link) could see a two-year deal at a lofty rate for a backstop.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com explained why Lackey's average annual value isn't calculated any differently as a result of the minimum salary that he will earn in 2015. A clause in Lackey's deal calls for him to make the minimum with the Red Sox in '15 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
- Check out this morning's collection of news out of the AL East.
NL East Rumors: Brown, Mets, Aceves, Phillies, Price
The latest from the NL East..
- The Phillies are willing to listen on Domonic Brown, but a rumored Brown-for-Jose Bautista swap isn't happening, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
- Jeff Wilpon said the Mets are close to making some sort of transaction earlier today, but GM Sandy Alderson seemed genuinely surprised when that was relayed to him by reporters, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post.
- The Mets are among the clubs with interest in former Red Sox hurler Alfredo Aceves, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro isn't eager to move young talent, tweets Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Everybody is looking for the same thing, and that's young controllable players. There is no reason for us to be moving any of them," the GM said.
- A trade to land Rays ace David Price would probably call for the Nationals to part with Anthony Rendon, Lucas Giolito, and another prospect or two from the club's top-tier, writes Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider. Because of the steep price, it's probably not worthwhile.
Athletics To Sign Nick Punto
The A's announced that they have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with a vesting option on 2015 with infielder Nick Punto. Punto's deal is for $2.75MM in 2014 and he'll have the opportunity to earn the same amount the following year, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The option is based on days spent on the disabled list and comes with a $250K buyout if it's not exercised.
Athletics assistant GM David Forst tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter) that the signing has nothing to do with Jed Lowrie and insisted that he is still the club's starting shortstop. Forst added (Twitter links) that if Punto's option does not vest, it turns into a club option. Forst also disclosed that the option vests if Punto spends less than 30 days on the disabled list, but there are other ways that he can get the option to trigger if he exceeds that number.
The 36-year-old Punto offers experience at second base, shortstop, and third base. In 116 games last season, the veteran hit .255/.328/.327 in 116 games for the Dodgers last season. Across 13 big league seasons, Punto owns a .248..325/.325 batting line while offering quality defense in the infield.
Punto is represented by Jeff Caulfield, according to the MLBTR Agency Database.