AL East Notes: Rays, Chavez, Varitek, Red Sox, Burnett
A look at some news out of the American League East..
- It would make sense for the Rays to hold on to their surplus of starting pitching as they've needed at least seven starting pitchers in each of the past four seasons, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters that Eric Chavez's return isn't a sure thing, tweets Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
- Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine isn't expecting Jason Varitek in camp today, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The manager added that the front office hasn't asked them to get the catcher's uniform ready, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. On Friday, we learned that Varitek is leaning towards retirement.
- There is some concern over the Red Sox's shortstop position in 2012 but Valentine told reporters that he was on board with the trade that shipped Marco Scutaro to Colorado, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
- Unloading A.J. Burnett's contract was a move that the Yankees had to make, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Burnett deal will likely be officially announced tomorrow, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Once the deal is official, the Yankees will have the money neccessary to sign another bat such as Raul Ibanez.
- With an annual average of $2MM in his new three-year deal, Rays skipper Joe Maddon would rank in the middle third based on current contracts, writes Topkin.
Mike Cameron To Retire
Outfielder Mike Cameron has notified the Nationals that he will retire, according to the team's official Twitter account. Cameron also drew interest from the Indians this winter before signing a minor league deal with Washington in December.
The 39-year-old was designated for assignment by the Red Sox in June before being dealt to the Marlins. In total, Cameron hit just .203/.285/.359 in 269 combined plate appearances and saw his season come to an end when he was released by the Marlins for conduct detrimental to the team.
In 17 big league seasons, Cameron hit .249/.338/.444 with 278 home runs for eight different clubs. According to Baseball Reference, the centerfielder earned more than $76MM over the course of his career.
Cafardo On Soler, Gonzalez, Ibanez, Abreu, Kazmir
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at the Red Sox's shortstop position after the trade of Marco Scutaro. Major league evaluators are skeptical that Mike Aviles and Nick Punto can get the job done, which could leave the door open to prospect Jose Iglesias getting the nod. All eyes will be on manager Bobby Valentine to see how he handles the club's shortstop situation this spring. Here's more from Cafardo..
- Two GMs told Cafardo that Jorge Soler will go for more than the five years and $15MM-$20MM most thought he would settle for. Some of the clubs who elected to stay away on Yoenis Cespedes because of the hefty price and question marks about his game have decided that Soler is a better value. The Red Sox are one of about eight teams in on Soler.
- Mike Gonzalez is likely headed to the Rangers if they can trade Koji Uehara. The A's have also been connected to the free agent reliever recently.
- The Yankees prefer Raul Ibanez to Johnny Damon because of cost. Damon is seeking about $5MM while Ibanez will likely be in the $1.5MM-$2MM range.
- Angels veteran Bobby Abreu would have gone back to the Yankees in an A.J. Burnett deal. The Halos have a logjam with Kendry Morales returning and Albert Pujols at first base and Abreu has been offered around.
- The Red Sox didn’t attend Scott Kazmir’s workout on Friday and have no plans to watch Brandon Webb throw when he is on display. That's because Boston decided not to delve into the rehab market for pitchers. The club has tried a number of pitchers coming back from serious injury and in most cases, it hasn't worked out.
- Cafardo wonders if Cardinals backup Tyler Greene is worth a look for the Red Sox shortstop mix. The 27-year-old was once a promising prospect and is out of options this year.
Quick Hits: Athletics, Phillies, Burnett, Drew, D’Backs
Here's a look at today's links as players settle in for Spring Training..
- Athletics skipper Bob Melvin expects to see roster additions on pitching and position player sides before the full camp opens, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
- The Phillies were exploring a three-way trade to land A.J. Burnett, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. A third team would have been brought in to allow the club to unload Joe Blanton.
- The Diamondbacks might have to find a more permanent solution at shortstop if Stephen Drew doesn't fully recover from his ankle injury, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Arizona holds a $10MM mutual option on Drew for 2013.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) be surprised to see the Angels make two trades before the end of Spring Training due to the amount of redundancy on their roster.
- Manny Ramirez worked out for the Athletics and the club could sign the slugger within the next week, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Edell
News out of the American League East..
- The Red Sox know that they won't be getting Brett Jackson or Josh Vitters from the Cubs in the compensation agreement but still hope to come away with a quality prospect, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
- The Yankees considered considered taking Diego Moreno in the Rule 5 draft but already made two selections and didn't want to use another 40-man spot, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Bombers viewed Moreno as one of the ten best prospects in the Bucs' system but knew that Pittsburgh didn't, Sherman tweets.
- More from Sherman (via Twitter), who writes that the Yankees don't think that Exicardo Cayones can make it in the majors if he doesn't add more power.
- Orioles left-hander Ryan Edell, who signed a minor league deal with the club, isn't expected in camp and it appears that he's going to retire, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Edell, 28, has pitched in the minors since 2005 for the Indians, Athletics, and Phillies.
AL East: Yankees, Red Sox, Wakefield, Orioles
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) points out that with Tim Wakefield and Javier Vazquez retired, the active strikeout leader is now C.C. Sabathia with 2,017. Here's a look at a few items out of the American League East..
- It would not be shocking to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) to see Wakefield get a call in June or July if the Red Sox are hit with injuries.
- Scouts like the power arm of Diego Moreno, but there are a lot of questions about his maturity, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) had the early reads on the Yankees' imports from the Pirates. Moreno can reach 98 mph on the gun but has command issues while Exicardo Cayones can hit but doesn't have much in the way of power.
- Before deciding to call it a career, Tim Wakefield had offers from four clubs, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Agent Barry Meister says that one of the four offers was a guaranteed big league deal.
- Wakefield didn't consider any of those offers for long, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Upon hearing of the offers, the pitcher asked his agent, "Do they play for Boston?"
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun ranked the Orioles' offseason acquisitons by potential impact. At the top of the list is 26-year-old left-hander Wei-Yin Chen.
Quick Hits: Uehara, Burnett, Diamondbacks, Tigers
Friday Night Links..
- While one source told Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram that a trade of Koji Uehara could free up enough money for the Rangers to sign free agent Roy Oswalt, another source said that any money saved would be pocketed rather than be used on Oswalt or Mike Gonzalez.
- The other team involved in the A.J. Burnett talks was the Phillies, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. However, the club would've had to clear Joe Blanton's to make the deal work.
- The Diamondbacks will be on the lookout for catching depth through Spring Training, Olney tweets.
- In his blog for the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen writes that the Tigers should stay in-house when it comes to their fifth starter position rather than scour the open market for an affordable arm. The highly-touted Jacob Turner is among the candidates for the backend of the rotation.
Jason Varitek Leaning Towards Retirement
On the heels of Tim Wakefield's retirement, another key member of the Red Sox organization might be close to calling it a career. At Wakefield's press conference earlier today, a friend of Jason Varitek said that the catcher is leaning towards retirement, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
This morning, Varitek's agent Scott Boras maintained that his client hasn't made any decisions yet about playing in 2012. The veteran has received interest from other clubs, but like Wakefield, it is believed that Varitek will decide between the Red Sox and retirement.
BoSox GM Ben Cherington said that he is leaving the ball in Varitek's court and the catcher is welcome to come to camp without a guaranteed roster spot, tweets Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
Quick Hits: Payrolls, Orioles, De La Rosa, Red Sox
On this day in 1988, the Padres traded Rich Gossage and Ray Hayward to the Cubs for Mike Brumley and Keith Moreland. Here's a look at today's links..
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Yankees and Red Sox are no longer alone as financial superpowers. Sherman also looks at five offseason market trends that will impact the 2012 season and beyond.
- In analyzing the Orioles' collection of non-roster invitees and the 40-man roster decisions they'll face this Spring, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that Baltimore would eat a portion of Kevin Gregg's $5.8MM salary to trade him. Kubatko also speculates that an out of options player like Pedro Strop could be moved during Spring Training.
- Free agent Scott Kazmir is set to throw for scouts in Houston on Wednesday, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- Jorge De La Rosa will undoubtedly exercise his $11MM player option for 2013 as he rehabs from elbow surgery, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. If he does that, the Rockies receive a $11MM club option for 2014.
- Red Sox officials seem to think they’ll know what they’ll be getting from the Cubs “before the official start of spring training,’’ but it's not clear if that refers to when pitchers and catchers report or when the full squad arrives, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- If Magglio Ordoñez doesn't find a big-league job this season, he will have his own professional baseball club waiting for him in his native Venezuela, writes Robert Downs of the Detroit Free Press. The slugger is set purchase shares in the Caribes de Anzoátegui when he retires.
- The Indians and Casey Kotchman never talked about anything but a one-year deal, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. The first baseman signed with the Tribe for $3MM earlier this month.
A.J. Burnett Rumors: Sunday
Yesterday we learned that four teams are in on A.J. Burnett, but the Yankees feel that the Pirates are the best match. One of those four clubs is on Burnett's no-trade list, which reportedly includes ten West Coast clubs. Here's the latest on Burnett and the Yanks..
- New York is insistent on getting the "right players" in a Burnett trade, tweets Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Carig's source notes that this is "not a give away" of Burnett, and says that the two sides intend to keep working toward a deal (Twitter links).
- The Yankees likely will pay $19-23MM of $33MM remaining on Burnett’s contract and receive multiple minor leaguers in return, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Those prospects would not be players on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, the source said.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) guesses that two of the other teams in on Burnett are the Royals and Indians. The Indians could defray some money by dealing Travis Hafner, who is owed roughly $15MM between 2012 and his '13 buyout.
- The Pirates are more concerned about prospects than money, so they're more likely to compromise on the amount of money they'll pay Burnett, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
- It's doubtful that a deal will be completed today, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Yankees don't love the two minor leaguers that the Pirates offered for Burnett, tweets Heyman. Heyman still thinks that a deal gets done with the Pirates paying $13-15MM of the $33MM owed to Burnett.
- The Yankees know they can make a Burnett deal with the Pirates but they first want to make sure that nothing else is available before pulling the trigger, tweets Sherman. All signs point to the Yankees moving Burnett in the coming days and trying to sign Eric Chavez and a left-handed DH with the money saved (Twitter link).
- The Bucs and Yankees have a framework for a possible deal in place, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal is not done but the two teams have a lot of common ground and Pittsburgh is still the frontrunner, Olney tweets.