Pirates Notes: Correia, Pierzynski, Millwood
Here’s a look at some news on the Pirates courtesy of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel..
- Kevin Correia’s agent told the Biertempfel his client will test free agency and Bucs management has given no indication it will try to bring Correia back. The right-hander requested a trade over the summer when Wandy Rodriguez‘s arrival bumped him out of the rotation. Correia posted a 4.21 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 28 starts and four relief appearances last season.
- General Manager Neal Huntington certainly will try to acquire a big league-ready catcher if he moves closer Joel Hanrahan over the winter. If they try to acquire a backstop on the open market, they’ll find a rather shallow market at the position. Potential targets include Gerald Laird, A.J. Pierzynski, Yorvit Torrealba, Kelly Shoppach, and Humberto Quintero.
- The Pirates will stick with A.J. Burnett and Rodriguez at the top of their rotation and look for a veteran starter to bolster the back end of the starting five. Given their budget restraints, the club may look at Kevin Millwood, Tim Stauffer, Chris Young, Carlos Villanueva, Jeff Francis, and Jeremy Guthrie.
- Despite his up-and-down performance in 2012, right-hander James McDonald remains in the plans for the rotation next season.
Cafardo On Shields, Twins, Wells, Red Sox, Aceves
After 25 years as a General Manager and president of the Twins, Cubs, and Orioles, Andy MacPhail stepped away from baseball last season to take care of his ailing father. Now, MacPhail tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he wants to return to baseball in some capacity. The executive was often viewed as a future commissioner and it would make sense for him to get involved with the league office. He also won’t rule out working as a GM again, but he has yet do discuss that with any team and most clubs already have their front office leadership in place. Here’s more from Cafardo..
- The Twins have already inquired on Rays pitcher James Shields. Tampa Bay will field plenty of other calls on Shields in the coming weeks but whether they pull the trigger to obtain offense remains to be seen. The Dodgers say they’re not shopping Andre Ethier, but it may make sense to use him to get Shields if they have their eye on Josh Hamilton. The problem there is that the Rays may not be able to carry Ethier’s contract.
- The Angels are shopping Vernon Wells in an effort to clear some of the $42MM still owed to him. The Halos have tried to start talks with the Red Sox and would like to get John Lackey back, but the Sox are curious to see what Lackey looks like after Tommy John surgery.
- There was speculation that the Red Sox were trying to include Alfredo Aceves in a deal for Dan Haren. The Red Sox love Aceves’ arm and stuff, but could do without the high maintenance. Aceves is very much available, but they won’t give him away for nothing. The pitcher can fill different roles, but he still prefers to start.
- The Dodgers would love to reunite with free agent Hiroki Kuroda. The hurler could have more suitors than any other pitcher this winter if the Yankees don’t tie him up quickly.
- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is taking a wait-and-see approach on his agents, the Levinson brothers. A few clients have already jumped ship but Pedroia noted that they have been good to him and his family.
- The Red Sox would like to re-sign Vicente Padilla, but he is on the radar of a few teams, including the Angels, who are desperately looking to retool their bullpen. Padilla ran out of gas late in the year but turned in a decent year in total.
Athletics Notes: Gomes, McCarthy, Drew, Inge
The Athletics have had minimal contract talks with their free agents this winter, with the exception of Jonny Gomes, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Sources say that Oakland presented Gomes' former agency, ACES, with an offer at the end of the season. The two sides were unable to come to terms on a deal, however, and the A's went on to trade for Chris Young. Here's more from Slusser..
- Brandon McCarthy has drawn immediate interest from numerous teams including the Cubs, White Sox and Blue Jays. McCarthy was impressive when healthy but missed significant time thanks to shoulder issues and the scary line drive incident in early September.
- Oakland hopes to continue talks with shortstop Stephen Drew, who became a free agent after the club declined their side of a $10MM mutual option. The shortstop posted a combined batting line of .223/.309/.348 in 327 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks and A's in 2012.
- The Athletics won't totally rule out a return for Brandon Inge, but he hasn't been considered a strong candidate to return.
- The A's agreed to a new one-year deal with Bartolo Colon earlier this afternoon, and GM Billy Beane told MLB.com's Jane Lee that he considers the right-hander low-risk depth (Twitter link).
- Slusser notes (on Twitter) that the Colon deal will not impact the club's attempts to re-sign McCarthy.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
2012 Qualifying Offers
Friday was decision day for clubs as they had until 4pm CST to extend qualifying offers to their free agents. Players who received the one-year, $13.3MM offer now have until November 9th to accept the deal. If the player turns down the offer and signs elsewhere, the team will get a compensatory draft pick in June. Here's a look at the nine players who received offers this winter..
- Michael Bourn, Braves
- Josh Hamilton, Rangers
- Hiroki Kuroda, Yankees
- Adam LaRoche, Nationals
- Kyle Lohse, Cardinals
- David Ortiz, Red Sox (Ortiz and the Red Sox later agreed to a two-year, $26MM deal)
- Rafael Soriano, Yankees
- Nick Swisher, Yankees
- B.J. Upton, Rays
Travis Ishikawa Elects Free Agency
Brewers first baseman Travis Ishikawa has elected free agency, according to our own Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter). Ishikawa was outrighted off of Milwaukee’s 40-man roster yesterday.
The 29-year old played in 94 games for the Brewers last season and posted a batting line of .257/.329/.428 with four homers. In parts of five big league seasons, Ishikawa has hit .264/.328/.405 for the Giants and Brewers.
Mariano Rivera To Return In 2013
Mariano Rivera informed Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman that he wants to return next season, tweets Erik Boland of Newsday. The closer is now a free agent after finishing up his two-year, $30MM contract.
Rivera tore his ACL while shagging fly balls in May, bringing his season to an end. The closer vowed to return to action but Cashman recently disclosed that Rivera was considering retirement. Rivera has earned $15MM in each of the past five seasons, but the Yankees may look to push that number down as he closes in on his 43rd birthday.
Gaining some clarity on Rivera's situation will almost certainly influence the Yankees' stance on Rafael Soriano. Soriano is expected to decline the one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer he received yesterday and the Yankees likely won't pay a steep price for him unless it's to bring him back as closer. Boras is said to be seeking a four-year pact in the neighborhood of $60MM.
Quick Hits: Berkman, Myers, Mariners, Rays, Rockies
Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow says that he will be in contact with Lance Berkman this winter, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. “Lance can still produce at the Major League level,” said Luhnow. “He’s a guy a lot of clubs are going to be interested in. We’ll have a conversation with him and see where it goes.” It seemed as though Berkman was leaning towards retirement but late last week the veteran said that he would keep his options open and listen to any offer that comes his way. With the Astros shifting to the American League, the 36-year-old could be a solid fit as a DH. Here's more from around baseball..
- As he gets set to hit the open market, right-hander Brett Myers says that he would be open to either working as a starter or reliever, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. “I’ve got the mentality, I want to pitch,” Myers said. “Whichever way a team wants me to go I’ll do. I think I’ve proven I can start. I’ve proven I can do both. Hindsight is 20/20. Some teams might like me in the bullpen. Some might like me as a starter. It’s up to the team.” The White Sox were evaluating Myers as a potential starter before they declined his $10MM option for 2013.
- Mariners GM Jack Mariners GM Zduriencik says that he expects to have more money available than the $85MM the team opened 2012 with, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times tweets. The M's agreed to a two-year contract extension with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma earlier tonight that includes an option for 2015.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the Rays might look to trade Jeremy Hellickson rather than the more expensive James Shields. While Hellickson is still quite affordable and won't be eligible for arbitration until 2014, he is a Scott Boras client and not likely to sign a club-friendly extension anytime soon.
- The Rockies won't decide on their managerial situation this weekend and are set to interview Matt Williams on Monday, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Dipoto On Haren, Hunter, Santana, Greinke
Earlier tonight, the Angels declined Dan Haren's $15.5MM option for 2013, but not before an interesting week of speculation and a near-deal hours before the deadline. Here's a look at what Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto had to say about Haren and other issues concerning the club..
- Dipoto won't rule out talking with Haren or Torii Hunter, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. "Anything is possible. I can't say anything is likely," said the GM. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) gets the sense that there's almost no chance of Hunter returning after hearing Dipoto's comments.
- The GM said that the apparent departures of Haren, Hunter, and Santana reflect the club's desire for financial flexibility, not shrinking financial resources, Shaikin tweets.
- That financial flexibility won't necessarily give way to a massive deal for Zack Greinke as Dipoto says that the team is not isolated on him, tweets Shaikin.
- If Hunter is not in the picture in 2013, Peter Bourjos will be slotted as the starter in centerfield with Vernon Wells in reserve, Shaikin tweets.
Mariners, Iwakuma Agree To Extension
11:30pm: Iwakuma's deal is worth at least $14MM over two years, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The right-hander will get $6.5MM in 2013, $6.5MM in 2014, and a $1MM buyout if his $7MM option for 2015 is declined.
10:13pm: The Mariners announced that they have agreed to a new deal with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma that will extend him through 2014 with an option for 2015. Iwakuma is a client of the Wasserman Media Group.
Seattle had exclusive negoatiating rights with the pitcher through tomorrow night. If General Manager Jack Zduriencik did not reach agreement with Iwakuma by the deadline then the hurler would not have been able to pitch until May 15th.
The M's inked Iwakuma to a one-year, $1.5MM deal last year and did well in his debut MLB season. The 31-year-old 3.16 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 16 starts and 14 relief appearances.
Angels Decline Dan Haren’s Option
The Angels have declined their option on Dan Haren's contract for 2013, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (via Twitter). The hurler will now enter the open market with a $3.5MM buyout rather than a $15.5MM salary with the Angels next season.
Earlier this evening it seemed as though the Angels were on the cusp of trading Haren to the Cubs for reliever Carlos Marmol. Marmol was apparently willing to waive his no trade clause to go to the Halos but the Cubs ultimately pulled the deal off the table. The Red Sox were one club known to be keen on Haren and the Halos worked to strike a different deal for Haren as the deadline neared, but they were unable to find anything to their liking.
Haren, 32, posted a 4.33 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 176 2/3 innings across 30 games for the Angels in 2012. The right-hander emailed reporters on Thursday and said that he had a feeling that he would be traded before the deadline.