MLBPA Postpones Meetings To Focus On CBA
Meetings scheduled for the Players Association this week have been postponed in order to focus on the negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement, league sources told Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Agents were set to meet Tuesday in Los Angeles and Wednesday in Chicago but instead, the sessions have been put on hold.
The postponement is due in part to a lack of manpower for the MLBPA. MLBPA leadership also didn’t want to go before player agents without being able to share the terms of the new basic agreement before it's established.
One source with close knowledge of the CBA talks said the two parties remain hopeful that a deal can be struck this week. In recent days, the players and owners reached near agreement on amateur draft spending which is one of the most significant hurdles to reaching a new deal.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Hamels, Mets, Reyes, Capuano
The Phillies made waves with their four-year, $50MM signing of Jonathan Papelbon, but now they must look at how that deal and the rest of their hefty payroll will shape their contract talks with Cole Hamels. Here's a look at the Phillies and more from the NL East..
- Four teams showed serious interest in Papelbon prior to the reliever with the Phillies, a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. That number is including the Phillies but not the Red Sox, who never made a formal offer to Papelbon.
- There don't appear to be any conversations between the Phillies and left-hander Cole Hamels, who will be eligible for free agency next fall so the club will have three possible options, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). The Phils could sign Hamels to a one-year contract for 2012 and risk him walking away with with little to no return, try and lock him up to a long-term deal, or deal him now for the best possible return. Some officials believe that the club's best course of action would be to move him this winter if they know now they don't want to pay him $20MM per season.
- If the Mets cannot re-sign Jose Reyes, they may look to make Daniel Murphy the full-time second baseman, an organizational source told Mike Puma of the New York Post.
- Based off of comments from Mets GM Sandy Alderson, it sounds like pitcher Chris Capuano is a goner, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. On Monday, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Mets have crossed the veteran off of their list due to his desire for a two-year deal.
AL East Notes: Votto, Price, Garcia, Yankees, Red Sox
Here's a look at some news out of the AL East..
- The Rays are concentrating on upgrading at first base, DH, and landing two relievers, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They want to hang on to their pitching depth, but that would change if Joey Votto of the Reds became available.
- More from Sherman (via Twitter) on the Rays as he writes that the club is always open to anything, but have it in their budget to keep David Price at $4-$4.5MM as a Super Two. Price could earn $7-8MM in 2012 through arbitration according to MLBTR's projections. Sherman adds that it would take a gigantic return for them to move him.
- As expected, the Yankees intend to follow up with Freddy Garcia’s agents once more, a person with knowledge of the situation, told Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has already talked with Garcia’s representatives, even before the right-hander was a free agent.
- Dale Sveum is interviewing again Wednesday with the Red Sox and GM Ben Cherington is unsure if they will bring back anyone else for an interview, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Talks between the Red Sox and Cubs over compensation for Theo Epstein will continue this week but Commissioner Bud Selig is likely to settle matter, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald tweets. Cherington says that Selig hashing things out is probably what's best for both parties.
AL West Notes: Hernandez, Mariners, Angels, Barajas
Here's a look at a few items out of the American League West..
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has no intentions to trade Felix Hernandez and the organization plans to build around the 25-year-old right-hander, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Angels called to express interest in Rod Barajas after he had already committed to the Pirates, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Angels announced that former big leaguer Hal Morris has agreed to terms on a multi-year contract to become the team's director of pro scouting, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. After retiring as a player Morris scouted amateur players from 2008-2009 for the Pirates before joining the Red Sox in 2010.
Ramirez Not Open To Position Change
Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez is not at all pleased about the prospect of changing positions if the team signs Jose Reyes, a source tells Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Spencer adds that the two players aren't the friends that many portray.
Late last month, club president David Samson said that the Marlins haven't discussed moving Ramirez away from shortstop or asking Ramirez about a position change. A representative for Ramirez also said that the Marlins hadn't asked the soon-to-be 28-year-old to move from shortstop.
Athletics Notes: Gonzalez, Bailey, Sizemore, Cespedes
We've seen a good amount of talk surrounding the A's lately and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle gave her take on it all..
- Even though it's been said that Billy Beane will listen on all of his players this offseason, that is standard operating procedure for the GM and nothing new. Beane's philosophy is that there is a match for any player, if the price is right.
- If GM Billy Beane could get a substantial return for them, Slusser could see him trading Gio Gonzalez or Andrew Bailey. Gonzalez is coveted by many contenders, with the Yankees at the head of the pack. Bailey's value isn't terribly high after missing the first-half of last season with elbow issues, but the skyrocketing price of closers helps his case. The two-time All-Star is under team control for three more years.
- Slusser believes that it would take a Dan Haren-type deal to pry Gonzalez away and doesn't see that happening.
- Of the bullpen options that the A's have, Bailey probably would make the most sense if the A’s were to trade a younger piece. Then again, Slusser notes that Grant Balfour is making more than Bailey and would also draw interest.
- Even though the A’s have been linked to Grady Sizemore, Slusser hasn't heard any rumblings at all from the team about the center fielder. The A’s are believed to be focusing on building a team with an eye towards a new stadium and signing Sizemore on a one-year deal doesn't fit with that idea.
- There also hasn't been any talk from the team of going after Yoenis Cespedes, who on paper is the kind of player that the team might have interest in. The A’s are not in the mode where they’ll do the kind of spending that it will take to land the 26-year-old, so it's not likely that they'll land him. They have had high level scouts and executives at games and workouts but the pricetag is likely too high for Oakland. Slusser suggests taking the Sizemore and Cespedes talk with a grain of salt until the team has more clarity on the stadium situation.
Padres Not Optimistic About Keeping Heath Bell
The Padres aren't too optimistic about their chances of retaining Heath Bell, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. They club has offered a two-year deal to the closer but he can likely get three years for more than $30MM elsewhere, Heyman adds.
Bell will obviously attract a great deal of attention from teams, including the Red Sox who also be in on Ryan Madson following Jonathan Papelbon's signing with the Phillies. Last week, Bell said in an interview that he’d prefer to sign with the Padres, Angels or Dodgers and would also like to play for the Red Sox or Phillies, though it's probably safe to say that the Phillies are no longer a possibility for Bell.
Epstein On Zambrano, Managerial Search, Hale
Earlier today, Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein had lunch with embattled pitcher Carlos Zambrano to discuss his future. Here are Epstein's comments on the meeting and more..
- Epstein said that Zambrano has a chance to "earn his way back' to being a Cub, tweets Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.
- Epstein also hopes to make progress on naming a manager this week and will have "follow-ups" with candidates, Hoynes tweets.
- The Cubs conducted a phone interview with DeMarlo Hale for the managerial job, tweets Bruce Miles of The Daily Herald. Epstein said that they know the Red Sox bench coach well enough that a face-to-face meeting wasn't necessary.
- Epstein hopes that the Red Sox and Cubs can make headway on their compensation talks now that they're in the same building, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- In other Cubs news, scouting director Jason McLeod is headed to the Dominican Republic this week to see several players, including outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Muskat tweets.
White Sox GM On Buehrle’s Future, Danks
White Sox GM Ken Williams sounded less-than-optimistic when addressing the possibility of Mark Buehrle's return to Chicago, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. The GM said that he is unsure if it is the free agent ace's "time to go" but seemed prepared for the veteran to move on and play elsewhere in 2012.
“What I will miss more than that is the person he is. And you guys know what I’m talking about. When you talk about teammates, good teammates, supportive teammates, guys who have fun in the game, know when to be serious, know when to check somebody but know when to make somebody laugh, this is the guy you want. There’s much more that we’re going to miss than just every fifth day from Mark," said Williams at a hotel restaurant at the general managers’ meetings.
Last week we learned that the Marlins extended an offer to Buehrle and earlier this evening it was reported that the Diamondbacks have interest in him as well. Last season, the 32-year-old posted a 3.59 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 31 starts.
Williams also said that a trade of John Danks doesn’t seem imminent because he doesn’t think that he could get fair value for the left-hander.
“First of all, the climate for teams giving up young pitching hasn’t been sunny in a few years,” the GM said. “Secondly, it’s seems like every year, we all sit down and people are worried about the pitching.”
Minor Deals: Thurston, Beerer
We'll keep track of all of today's minor league deals right here..
- The Astros signed Joe Thurston to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to a team press release. The 32-year-old infielder has just 384 plate appearances over parts of seven seasons with the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Marlins. He's a career .226/.305/.323 hitter and only saw significant playing time during his 2009 stint with St. Louis.
- The Orioles signed six-year minor league free agent outfielder Scott Beerer, according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. The 29-year-old was a second-round pick of the Rockies in 2003 out of Texas A&M.