Rangers Have Some Interest In Mark Prior
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels has some interest in bringing Mark Prior back for 2011, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com. Prior inked a minor league deal with the club just before the end of the 2010 season and pitched just one inning for their Triple-A affiliate.
"He's a free agent now and we have discussed him coming back," the GM said. "There’s a level of interest."
Texas could possibly bring the right-hander into spring training to find out what he can do as a reliever. Recently, Prior's agent John Boggs told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that his client has offers from three teams.
Prior hasn't pitched at the major league level since 2006 due to injuries. In his sophomore campaign in 2003, Prior posted a 2.43 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
Blue Jays Interested In Matt Guerrier
The Blue Jays are showing interest in reliever Matt Guerrier, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The right-hander was not offered arbitration by Minnesota and therefore will not cost a top draft pick. Had he received an arbitration offer from the Twins, he would have been a Type A free agent.
Guerrier posted a 3.17 ERA in 2010 with 5.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 74 appearances. The 32-year-old earned $3.15MM this season and our own Ben Nicholson-Smith doesn't see him making more than $4-5MM in 2011.
Earlier this week we learned that Toronto is also reportedly interested in another reliever familiar to the Twins organization, Jesse Crain.
Phillies Notes: Werth, Quentin, Willingham
Let's check out some Phillies news courtesy of MLB.com's Todd Zolecki..
- For some time we have heard that the Phillies are not serious about keeping Jayson Werth as he is said to be seeking something similar to the seven-year, $120MM that Matt Holliday secured last winter. However, the Phillies could be in position to bring Werth back if his market falls and he instead looks for a deal in the range of four years.
- If Werth does not return to Philadelphia in 2011, the club likely won't sign someone to replace him if it's not a clear upgrade. There are several right fielders who will be available via free agency and trade, and one player that reportedly interests the Phillies is Carlos Quentin of the White Sox. However, Zolecki feels that he's not the strong right-handed bat the club wants and we learned last week that Chicago is not shopping him.
- Of the names that have been mentioned, Zolecki feels that Josh Willingham, Jeff Francoeur, and Matt Diaz make the most sense for the club as they are affordable and "ideal platoon players."
Discussion: George Sherrill
Dodgers reliever George Sherrill, who earned $4.5MM in 2010, might not be offered arbitration this winter. In other news, I might not receive consideration for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize.
With all due respect to Sherrill and his past accomplishments, which include a fantastic second half of 2009 in Los Angeles, his 2010 numbers indicate that he's not worth another year at a similar rate. However, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times offered up a defense of the left-hander earlier this week in which he pointed out that Joe Torre often used him in the wrong situations. Sherrill, who shines against lefties, faced 85 left-handed batters and 95 right-handed batters. His stat line for the year was a 6.69 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9, though lefties batted just .192/.286/.288 against him.
Sherrill won't be offered arbitration but he could certainly be a solid value for the Dodgers or another club looking to take a small gamble on a strong left-handed specialist. Dilbeck predicts a "serious pay cut" and perhaps even a minor league deal in the 33-year-old's near future. When utilized properly, however, one has to think that Sherrill can deliver results worthy of a guaranteed deal. The only question is, will the market force a team to offer one?
Will George Sherrill be forced to take a minor league deal this winter?
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Yes 51% (2,723)
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No 49% (2,644)
Total votes: 5,367
Poll: Will Arizona Deal Justin Upton?
Recently, Justin Upton's name has popped up in trade talks as GM Kevin Towers seems willing to part ways with the 23-year-old – for the right price, of course. Several teams have been linked to the up-and-coming star, including the Red Sox, Yankees, and even the division rival Rockies. There's no shortage of interest in the slugger, but one has to wonder if the asking price will be too rich for everyone's blood.
Yesterday, an American League executive told Jon Heyman of SI that Arizona's asking price is "ridiculous." The D'Backs are said to be looking for at least four or five players in return that can help them in the short-term and long-term. Today, it was reported that half of the teams in baseball have shown interest in Upton but Towers will only ship the up-and-coming star if he comes away the clear victor in a trade. It makes one wonder if Arizona's recently-crowned GM is looking to trade Upton or if he is simply keeping an open mind to potential offers.
Will the D'Backs trade Upton?
Red Sox Notes: Scutaro, Papelbon
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has been rather busy at the winter GM meetings, writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. While the club has yet to make a move, Epstein is hopeful that something will soon come out of the trade talks that he has had.
- Yesterday, we learned that teams are showing interest in shortstop Marco Scutaro and the club is willing to move him for the right return. The market for Scutaro is rapidly heating up as McAdam writes that six teams are in on the 35-year-old. Potential landing spots include St. Louis, Cincinnati, San Diego, and San Francisco if the Giants are unable to re-sign Juan Uribe. The Red Sox are seeking bullpen help in return for Scutaro, according to McAdam.
- Closer Jonathan Papelbon will seek $11.5MM in arbitration, $2.15MM more than he earned in 2010, a major league source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Papelbon is coming off of a down season in which he turned in career-highs in ERA (3.90) and BB/9 (3.8), though his 10.2 K/9 is consistent with his career average.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Barmes, Thornton, Braves
Links for Thursday night..
- The Yankees will pursue Carl Crawford if they do not land Cliff Lee, writes Newsday's Ken Davidoff.
- There's mutual interest between the Giants and Aubrey Huff, but talks between the two parties have not advanced lately, writes Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
- The Dodgers have signed a pair of Japanese amateur pitchers, Kazuya Takano and Kazuki Nishijima, according to Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times.
- Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin is "untouchable" in trade talks, a team source told Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
- Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that the Astros got better in the long run by dealing for Clint Barmes this afternoon.
- Matt Thornton of the White Sox told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he isn't concerned about hammering out a long-term deal with the club.
- The Phillies have decisions to make on several players in advance of tomorrow's midnight deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- The Braves have named Jonathan Schuerholz, son of team president John Schuerholz, the manager of their Gulf Coast league affiliate, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
NL East Notes: Willingham, Werth, Phillies
Let's take a look at a few items on the Nationals and Phillies..
- A baseball source familiar with the Nats' thinking tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com that Josh Willingham will most likely be traded before 2011. Yesterday, we learned that the Nats are unlikely to offer the outfielder an extension this winter. Washington controls Willingham for one more season and the slugger's agent Matt Sosnick says that his client has no animosity towards the club.
- An interesting note from the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Brookover: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro referred to outfielder Jayson Werth in the past tense when addressing the media today. Most believe that the Phillies are not interested in retaining the 31-year-old, who is sure to fetch hefty offers on the open market.
- Little surprise here, but Amaro says that the club's recent signing of Dan Meyer to a minor-league deal will not preclude them from getting other left-handers, Brookover writes. The GM has made no secret of the fact that he is after left-handed relief this winter and has begun to show interest in Hisanori Takahashi.
The Latest On Mets Managerial Search
Mets executives concluded their second round of managerial interviews today when they met with Wally Backman and Terry Collins, writes ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. While they did not specify the reason, the club has told SNY to get ready for a press conference on Tuesday, tweets Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record.
Collins has been rumored to be the favorite for the job but Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) says that he is somewhat unsure of his chances as the 61-year-old spoke today about being helpful to the Mets in any role. Sherman tweets that he still believes Collins is the slight favorite over Bob Melvin and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) also sees Collins as the frontrunner.
Backman told Rubin that he felt that the interview went "very good" and remains focused on securing the Mets managerial post. However, Backman will likely wind up managing the club's Single-A or Double-A affiliates as the three runners-up are expected to remain in the organization.
Poll: Are The Phillies Really Intent On Re-Signing Werth?
For some time now, the general consensus has been that Jayson Werth would be moving on in 2011 as the Phillies are not willing to dole out the money and years necessary to retain him. On Wednesday, a Phillies source told ESPN's Jayson Stark that there was "no chance" of the right fielder remaining in Philadelphia.
GM Ruben Amaro now says that he needs an answer from the 31-year-old quickly, a request that seems unlikely to be fulfilled by a Scott Boras client. Amaro wouldn't confirm or deny that the club has made Werth an offer but SI's Jon Heyman (via Twitter) hears that they are making a big push to keep him aboard.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Phillies' push to re-sign Werth is nothing more than a public relations move. The club, he says, wants to be able to say that they made the slugger a big offer and tried their best to hang on to him. Is the "big push" to keep the right-handed bopper nothing more than a PR ploy? We want to know your take on the situation.
Are the Phillies really intent on keeping Werth?