Mariners Notes: Hernandez, Saunders, Montero
Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik won't get into details about contract negotiations with Felix Hernandez but he told reporters today that he has "every intention of keeping Felix [in Seattle] for the long-term", tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. Here's more on the M's..
- Jack Z also said that the door is "wide open" for a young pitcher to make the starting five, but the GM would prefer to add a veteran, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).
- That veteran just might be Joe Saunders, who has the interest of the Mariners as well as the Orioles. It's not clear who the other teams with interest in the left-hander, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- The Mariners will also look to add another catcher or two prior to Spring Training in support of Jesus Montero, Johns tweets.
Justin Upton Rumors: Wednesday
Here's a look at the latest Justin Upton rumors with all links going to Twitter..
- Arizona GM Kevin Towers is going on vacation this Friday, Rosenthal reports. While Towers would prefer to trade Upton or Kubel by then, it's not a deadline.
- The Braves are now waiting to hear back from the Diamondbacks about their offer, Rosenthal reports. It's a "sensitive" time in the trade talks. For much of the offseason, the Braves had trouble getting the Diamondbacks to return their calls, Rosenthal reports. Things have evidently changed.
Earlier Updates
- The Rangers haven't talked to the Diamondbacks about Upton in weeks, Heyman reports.
- The Diamondbacks could make a trade involving Upton or Kubel with the next few days, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Heyman notes that the Braves seem seriously interested in Upton and adds on Twitter that they're trying hard for him and have offered a "strong" package of players. The Rangers, Rays and Padres have also shown interest, Heyman writes.
- The Diamondbacks have an offer on the table for Upton, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The offer is believed to be from the Braves, Rosenthal writes. Arizona likes Evan Gattis' power, but the team continues weighing various options. For example, Diamomdbacks executives discussed Kubel with the Orioles today.
- The Diamondbacks want to make a decision on trading Jason Kubel or Upton by Friday, people involved in the process tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Arizona had an agreement with the Mariners on an Upton deal earlier this offseason but the 25-year-old used his limited veto power to shoot the trade down.
- Meanwhile, Arizona's talks with the Braves on Upton have resumed (Twitter link). Atlanta is said to be aggressive about acquiring Upton and they're likely the frontrunner for the outfielder if he is dealt. The D'Backs have been reviewing the Braves' offer and some folks involved believe that it's a strong proposal, according to Olney.
- The asking price for Kubel is dropping and Baltimore would be a logical landing spot for him, Olney tweets. Earlier today it was reported that the O's are pursuing Kubel but talks are not yet at an advanced stage.
Marlins Sign Matt Downs
The Marlins have signed second baseman Matt Downs to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reported late last week that Downs was close to a deal with Miami and that it would include an invite to Spring Training.
Downs, 28, hit .202/.253/.371 with eight homers in 191 plate appearances for Houston in 2012. The year prior, he posted a .276/.347/.518 slash line with ten homers in 222 plate appearances for the Astros. Downs also has experience playing first base, shortstop, third base, and the corner outfield spots.
Quick Hits: Wells, Angels, Phillies, Wainwright
The Angels' Vernon Wells has been a trade candidate for quite some time but a source tells Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter) that it is now "very likely" that he will start the season with the Halos. Those odds have increased even more now that Delmon Young landed in Philadelphia. Here's more from around baseball..
- Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro told reporters that they plan to use Young as their starting right fielder, tweets Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Young, who may not be available to start the season as he recovers from ankle surgery, has not played the position in six years.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that he hopes to work out a new contract with Adam Wainwright by Opening Day, tweets ESPN.com's Jim Bowden. For his part, the pitcher says that he isn't setting a deadline for talks.
- The acquisition of Rafael Soriano caught Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard by surprise, but he isn't in a rut over not getting the chance to close in 2013, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
AL East Notes: Napoli, Red Sox, Price, Saltalamacchia
Here’s a look at the latest out of the AL East..
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com has the details of Mike Napoli‘s contract with the Red Sox. The base of the deal is $5MM but incentives could boost the overall value to $13MM. The catcher can either hit the $13MM mark by achieving benchmarks in days on the active roster and plate appearance bonuses or can simply nail a “catch all” by being on the active roster for more than 165 days.
- The Rays would obviously like to keep ace David Price in the fold, but they may not be able to hold on to him long-term. Price says that he would like to find middle ground with the Rays on a contract extension, but cautions that he won’t “sell himself short”, writes Yahoo’s Tim Brown. The American League Cy Young Award winner is set to hit the open market three seasons from now.
- The Red Sox have a logjam behind the plate but they have yet to ask Jarrod Saltalamacchia about playing first base in 2013, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. For his part, Salty says that he feels that catcher is his natural position. The 27-year-old would appear to be a trade candidate given Boston’s surplus.
Rays Sign Oviedo, Duncan, Wright, Sandoval
The Rays have signed outfielder Shelley Duncan and right-handers Jamey Wright, Juan Sandoval, and Juan Carlos Oviedo to minor league deals, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). All four deals include invites to major league spring training, tweets Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.
Oviedo is the former Leo Nunez, who finished 142 games for the Marlins from 2009-2011. The 30-year-old was disciplined for identity fraud prior to last season and appeared in just three minor league games before an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery ended his campaign. For his career, Oviedo has a 4.34 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 across seven big league seasons.
Because his injury will likely cost him the bulk of the 2013 season, the Rays' deal with Oviedo includes an option for 2014, Topkin tweets.
Duncan, 33, spent much of the season as Cleveland's left fielder and posted a .203/.288/.388 batting line in 264 MLB plate appearances. The left fielder/first baseman refused a minor league assignment in October, making him a free agent.
Wright, 38, has 17 major league seasons to his credit. The veteran spent 2012 with the Dodgers and made 66 relief appearances, posting a 3.72 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. Sandoval, 32, had a 2.97 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in the Mexican League last season.
Mets Sign Pedro Feliciano
The Mets announced that they have signed Pedro Feliciano to a minor league deal. The deal includes an invite to major league spring training.
Feliciano, 36, is coming off a two-year, $8MM deal he signed with the Yankees. Unfortunately, injury problems kept him from throwing a single big league inning for the Bombers during that time. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said in 2011 that the Mets "abused" Feliciano by relying on him to pitch constantly. Over his eight years spent with the Mets, the left-hander posted a 3.31 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. He led the National League in appearances each year from 2008-10, averaging 89 games per season for that three-year span.
The reliever is represented by MDR Sports Management.
D’Backs Discussing Two-Year Deal With Pennington
The Diamondbacks are discussing a two-year deal with shortstop/second baseman Cliff Pennington, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Sosnick/Cobbe client is arbitration eligible for the first time this winter.
Arizona acquired Pennington from the A's last October in a three-team deal that also brought Heath Bell to the Diamondbacks. For his career, Pennington owns a .249/.313/.356 batting line across parts of five seasons in Oakland.
As MLBTR's Transactions Tracker shows, Pennington filed for $2.8MM last week while the Diamondbacks countered with $1.8MM. The midpoint between the two figures is $2.3MM.
Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Fowler, Harrison, Nationals
Several teams have shown interest in the Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler, but the club hasn't had trade discussions on either player in recent days, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Colorado heard from a number of parties interested in Gonzalez during the Winter Meetings but they reportedly told teams that he wasn't available. Meanwhile, Fowler's name has popped up quite a bit in trade rumors in recent months with the Braves, Reds, and Phillies all showing interest earlier this offseason. Here's more from around baseball..
- Nationals manager Davey Johnson said at last night's BBWAA dinner that he was caught off guard by the club's signing of Rafael Soriano, writes James Wagner of the Washington Post. "That kind of surprised me,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know we were needing a closer. I thought we were done” this offseason."
- The Rangers are basically paying Matt Harrison as just a slightly above-average starting pitcher in his new deal and even if his results fall back to his peripherals, he'll still outpitch his contract, writes Jack Moore of Fangraphs. Texas agreed to a five-year, $55MM extension with the 27-year-old last week.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider sub. req'd) writes that there are interested teams champing at the bit to get involved in the Justin Upton conversations with the Diamondbacks. The D'Backs spent the early part of the month talking with the Mariners and Cubs, who are both on his no-trade list.
East Notes: Rays, Scott, Mets, Yankees, Soriano
Here's a look at some items out of the AL and NL East..
- The field of available DH options for the Rays has thinned out somewhat, but there are still a good number of options including Luke Scott and Delmon Young, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Other free agent sluggers that Tampa Bay might consider include Dan Johnson, Aubrey Huff, Jim Thome, and Carlos Lee.
- The Mets’ plan is to emulate the Giants by playing sound baseball in a large ballpark and developing strong pitching to carry them through, writes Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. Sandy Alderson & Co. see it as the more cost-effective plan towards winning as home run hitters tend to cost big bucks.
- The Yankees knew that they would be parting ways with Rafael Soriano this winter and GM Brian Cashman told Ken Davidoff of the New York Post that he wasn't exactly sweating things out before the closer signed with the Nationals. Agent Scott Boras still has to find homes for Michael Bourn, Kyle Lohse, Francisco Rodriguez, and Jose Valverde, but says that he's not afraid to wait for the right deal.