Rangers Notes: Pavano, Beltre, Young
A few Rangers-related tidbits..
- The Rangers aren't a player for Carl Pavano, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Texas was once believed to be interested in the right-hander who will celebrate his 35th birthday on Saturday.
- Rangers third baseman Michael Young says that he's willing to move to designated hitter to accomodate Adrian Beltre if the Rangers sign him, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It was reported earlier today that Young was not receptive when he was asked if he would be open to switching positions.
- Young also told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that he does not want to be traded.
Odds & Ends: Boras, Everett, Francis, Webb, Olivo
Some links for Monday night as the deals for Pedro Feliciano and Brad Hawpe become official..
- The players' association has found that Scott Boras did not violate union rules when his company made loans to a Dominican prospect, according to the Associated Press.
- Adam Everett's minor league deal with the Indians will pay the 33-year-old $700K plus incentives if he makes the team, or $15K per month at Triple-A, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
- The Rockies will reach out to pitcher Jeff Francis this week, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. There's a chance that the left-hander returns to Colorado but he might have a better opportunity elsewhere.
- Brandon Webb, who officially joined the Rangers earlier today, says that he won't rush himself back in order to start the season in the rotation, writes ESPN.com's Richard Durrett.
- Greg Johns of MLB.com likes the Mariners' signing of Miguel Olivo.
Rays, Others Interested In Delcarmen
8:00pm: The Rays are one of "several teams" interested in Delcarmen, a baseball source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Roughly a month ago it was said that two AL East clubs (but not the Red Sox) were showing interest in the reliever.
7:15pm: The Rays are showing interest in reliever Manny Delcarmen, writes Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times. Delcarmen, who turns 29-years-old next month, spent the first five seasons and change with the Red Sox before before being dealt to the Rockies in August.
In 57 appearances for Boston and Colorado last season, Delcarmen registered a 4.99 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9. Just yesterday, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe warned readers "not to bet against the Rays" when it comes to the right-hander.
Mets Sign Capuano And Buchholz, DFA Igarashi
7:56pm: More from Rubin (via Twitter) as a Mets official says that these additions do not take the Mets out of the running for other free agent starters such as Chris Young and Jeff Francis. Rubin also tweets that Igarashi, due to his salary, is expected to clear waivers and hook on with the Mets in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.
7:41pm: Capuano's deal has a base of $1.5MM plus incentives while Buchholz will earn a $600K base salary, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter links). The Brewers all but closed the door on bringing back Capuano when they dealt for Zack Greinke and signed Shaun Marcum as Capuano wants to start. Meanwhile, Buchholz says that the Mets will use him as a reliever.
6:08pm: The Mets have signed pitchers Chris Capuano and Taylor Buchholz to one-year deals, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. In order to make room for the two, the Mets have designated Ryota Igarashi for assignment, Puma tweets.
Capuano, 32, turned in a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 66 innings of work last season for the Brewers. The left-hander missed the 2008 and '09 major league seasons after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery in May of 2008. In 2010 he made nine starts with 15 relief appearances. Capuano was never a flamethrower but his 87.4 mph fastball last season was consistent with his career average.
Buchholz, a 29-year-old right-hander, was originally selected in the sixth-round of the 2006 draft by the Phillies. Since then, he has spent time with the Astros, Rockies, and had a cup of coffee with the Blue Jays to close out 2010. In 285 career big league innings, Buchholz has a 4.39 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. He started a combined 27 games in 2008 and 2009 but has not made a major league start since.
Meanwhile, Igarashi is owed $1.1MM for 2011. The Japanese right-hander signed a two-year deal with the club in December 2009 but disappointed in 2010, registering a 7.12 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 34 appearances.
Reds Close To Signing Hermida
The Reds are close to signing outfielder Jeremy Hermida to a minor league deal, a baseball source told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Sheldon cautions that the deal has not been finalized and the club has yet to make a formal announcement.
It's no secret that the Reds have been looking for a left-handed hitting outfielder to come off of the bench and Hermida could fit the bill, provided that he proves himself in Spring Training. The former first-round pick had a down year in 2010 but has a respectable career slash line of .259/.335/.417 across six big league seasons.
Kevin Gregg To Decide This Week
Reliever Kevin Gregg has been mulling offers from a few clubs and will make a decision "this week, in the next couple of days", agent Danny Horwits told Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore offered the right-hander a two-year deal worth between $8-10MM in early December.
Since putting the two-year offer on the table, the O's have been in regular contact with Horwits. The agent won't disclose which teams are in the mix for his client but it appears that Baltimore is among the finalists.
“We’ve been going back and forth with the teams that are left in the mix for the last couple of weeks,” the agent said. “We’re received new counter offers, fine-tuned other offers. Now, we’re pretty much in the mode of Kevin is going to make a decision.”
Gregg turned in a 3.51 ERA last season with 8.8 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 63 appearances for the Blue Jays. The 32-year-old will likely mark the last major acquisition for the O's this winter. Derrek Lee will likely mark their final offensive upgrade and even though they're in need of a starter and a left-handed reliever, those vacancies will be filled with small deals.
Mariners Designate Anthony Varvaro For Assignment
The Mariners have designated Anthony Varvaro for assignment, tweets Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. The reliever was DFA'd to make room for Miguel Olivo, whose deal became official this afternoon.
Varvaro, 26, was projected to be a top pick out of St. John's University in 2005 before suffering an elbow injury. The right-hander would instead be nabbed by the M's in the 12th round of the draft as he required surgery before ever throwing a pitch as a pro. He threw just four innings for Seattle after making his major league debut in 2010.
Rangers Agree To Terms With Venezuelan Shortstop
Venezuelan shortstop Rougned Odor has agreed to terms with the Rangers for $450K, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. The left-handed Odor can also hold his own at second base and many scouts feel that he will transition to the other side of the bag.
At 5'10", Badler writes that Odor stands out for his simple, compact stroke and advanced feel for hitting. Some who have seen the middle infielder recently say that he has increased his speed, as evidenced by his time of 6.62 seconds in the 60-yard-dash. Earlier this year Baseball America projected that Odor would be one of the ten best-compensated free agents from Latin America.
Discussion: Lefty Relief Options For The Mets
In December of 2010 (gosh, it seems like so long ago) the Mets lost two left-handed relievers to free agency when Hisanori Takahashi signed with the Angels and Pedro Feliciano hooked on with the Yankees. Since then, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com notes, the Mets haven't signed any lefty bullpen help to offset those losses. We've heard plenty about the club's plans to search through the bargain bin for a starting pitcher, but what southpaw relief options do the Mets have?
The Mets have been linked to Brian Fuentes who would certainly go a long way to help bolster their 'pen. The tall left-hander turned in a 2.81 ERA last season with 8.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in his walk year. However, unless the Mets plan on expanding their budget, they likely won't have room to sign Fuentes and the starter that they're after.
Veterans such as Joe Beimel, Will Ohman, and Ron Mahay could probably be had on the cheap. We know that Dennys Reyes will come at a reasonable price after he almost inked a one-year, $1.1MM deal with the Phillies. Rubin also floats the names of Tim Byrdak and Randy Flores as possibilities. While none of these players would be a particularly flashy acquisition, all of the Mets' in-house options are surrounded with question marks. Trying Oliver Perez in relief is one such option, but his recent play in the Mexican winter league has been less-than-impressive. If you were in Sandy Alderson's position, what direction would you go in?
Odds & Ends: Aardsma, Rendon, Miner, Germano
Let's help ring in the New Year with some links..
- "I've grown to really like that mlbtraderumors.com site," said David Aardsma to Kirby Arnold of The Herald. "I find out so much information about everybody – who we're bringing in, who we're looking at. So, it's kind of hard to miss it. In a way, I'm flattered they believe other teams would want me to be their closer." Welcome to the site, David!
- Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon has been cleared to resume full baseball activities according to Joseph Duarte of The Houston Chronicle. Rendon suffered severe injuries to his right foot and ankle this past July, and is the early front runner to be the first overall selection in a loaded 2011 draft.
- The Royals see Zach Miner as a potential starter depending on how well and how quickly he comes back from Tommy John surgery, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Earlier today the Royals signed the right-hander to a minor league deal.
- Indians reliever Justin Germano has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Columbus, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Meanwhile, the club's signing of Austin Kearns is not yet official due to the holidays.
- Gabe Lacques of USA Today writes that there are no major gaps for the Tigers to fill.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues wonders what the next collective bargaining agreement could mean for the MLB draft.