Astros Sign Edgar Ferreira
The Astros have inked Dominican pitching prospect Edgar Ferreira, reports Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
GM Ed Wade confirmed the signing to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, who says the signing bonus is rumored to be $350K. The 17-year-old Ferreira has a fastball that sits in the low-90s and touches 94 on occasion.
Mets, Phillies, Orioles Interested In Rodney
The Mets, Phillies, and Orioles are all "in" on Fernando Rodney, tweets Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com. However, Arangure adds that nothing appears imminent at this point.
What kind of contract offer would you extend to Rodney, who will turn 33 before Opening Day?
Odds & Ends: Wang, Yankees, White Sox
Some Sunday links…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that three AL teams and three NL teams have shown interest in Chien-Ming Wang. However, the Dodgers are not one of those teams "yet." Rosenthal notes that Wang is a favorite of Joe Torre and his staff.
- In his running blog, Rosenthal says that Kevin Youkilis' versatility gives the Red Sox a number of options this winter. Boston could sign Adrian Beltre to play third or, for a much lower price, Nick Johnson to play first.
- Regardless of where Wang signs, we can safely assume that it will not be for a split contract. The Yankees made the 29-year-old a minor-league offer that would become a major-league deal once his shoulder was healthy. Wang's agent demanded guaranteed money, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.
- Earlier today, Buster Olney mentioned the Yanks as a possible destination for free agent outfielder Brian Giles. Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger hears that the club is just doing its "due diligence" by checking in on the soon-to-be 39-year-old.
- The White Sox have signed Freddie Bynum and T.J. Bohn to minor league deals, according to the FutureSox twitter page.
- Kevin Correia's agent Barry Axelrod told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the Brewers and Rays both showed interested in trading for his client. While GM Jed Hoyer gave him no guarantees that the one-year deal won't be a sign-and-trade, Axelrod is confident that the 29-year-old will pitch for San Diego in 2010.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke to Mike Rivera, who was non-tendered by the Brewers yesterday. Rivera says he was caught off guard by the decision but was told by GM Doug Melvin that the organization might reach out to him again at some point.
Reds Notes: Gomes, Nix, Amezaga
Some Reds notes courtesy of John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who spoke to GM Walt Jocketty…
- Jocketty says the club is "open" to bringing back recently non-tendered Jonny Gomes. Talking to Gomes last night, Jocketty told the outfielder that they would like to "make it work," but didn't want to be locked in by arbitration.
- The GM continues to chat with Laynce Nix's agent and says something is "pretty close" to getting done. Nix elected free agency after being outrighted by the Reds in November.
- Fay mentioned the name of Alfredo Amezaga, who was non-tendered by the Marlins last night. While Jocketty noted that he is a good athlete, he mentioned that he has trouble staying healthy.
Nationals To Sign Scott Olsen
8:13pm: William Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter) has received confirmation from the Nats.
6:53pm: One day after being non-tendered by the club, Scott Olsen has agreed to a one-year deal with the Nationals, reports Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
While the base salary is just $1MM, Crasnick says that the deal could jump to nearly $4MM if he makes 33 starts. Olsen made just 11 starts last season after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. However, the soon-to-be 26-year-old made exactly 33 starts in 2007 and 2008 and 31 starts in '06.
In the aforementioned healthy seasons he spent with Florida, Olsen recorded an ERA of 4.65 with 6.6 K/9.
Last winter, Olsen avoided arbitration with the team by inking one-year, $2.8MM deal with the Nats. The figure was closer to Washington's side as they were set to submit $2.5MM and he was seeking $3.5MM.
Yankees Yet To Make Offer To Johnny Damon
Johnny Damon told George A. King III of the New York Post that he has yet to receive a proposal from the Yankees. On top of that, Damon has yet to tell the club what he wants out of a contract.
It seems as though his agent, Scott Boras, is focused on securing a three or four-year deal for his client. Most recently, we heard that the Giants have thrown themselves in the mix for the 36-year-old slugger. In 2009, Damon delivered a slash line of .282/.365/.489 with 24 HRs.
Despite his advanced age, Damon has played in upwards of 140 games every season of his career, excluding his rookie campaign. With that in mind, would you be willing to give Damon more than two years? Does it make sense to match his $13MM salary in '09? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Mariners Notes: LaRoche, Gomes, Cust
Let's take a look at some Mariners tidbits courtesy of The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker…
- Recently non-tendered Ryan Langerhans indicated to Baker that his friend Adam LaRoche is being looked at by the Mariners. Yesterday, it was reported that LaRoche is seeking a three-year, $31.5MM deal. We've seen some rather surprising deals go down over the years, but does anyone see that as a realistic figure?
- The aforementioned Langerhans wouldn't rule out the possibility of returning to Seattle on a minor-league contract.
- As the M's have made it a priority to find a DH who can also play a field position, Baker doesn't anticipate Jonny Gomes, Jack Cust, or Mike Sweeney to land with the club. As one person told him, "[The Mariners] can't carry two Griffeys."
Indians Re-Sign Anthony Reyes, Adam Miller
The Indians have announced via press release that they have re-signed right-handed pitchers Anthony Reyes and Adam Miller to minor league deals after non-tendering them yesterday.
In 2009, Reyes turned in a 6.57 ERA in eight starts before his injured right elbow, which required surgery, shut him down for the year.
Miller, meanwhile, did not pitch last season as he underwent surgery on his right long finger for the third time. The 25-year-old was once one of the top prospects in the Tribe's system, having been their supplemental choice (31st overall) in the 2003 draft.
Giants Non-Tender Ryan Garko
11:29pm: Baggarly writes that Garko did not see eye-to-eye with manager Bruce Bochy and likely wouldn't have seen much playing time in 2010. Now, the Giants have turned their attention to signing Nick Johnson or Adam LaRoche to play first base. Another option would be to sign Mark DeRosa to play third and move Pablo Sandoval to first.
San Francisco has made offers to all three of the aforementioned free agents, but couldn't agree on the dollar figures. It may take LaRoche a while to come around as he is seeking a three-year, $31.5MM deal.
11:00pm: The Giants elected to not tender Ryan Garko an offer, reports Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News (via Twitter).
After coming to the Giants in July, Garko was unable to get into a rhythm, posting a .638 OPS in 40 games. For his career, the soon-to-be 29-year-old has a slash line of .351/.441/.792.
Yankees Non-Tender Chien-Ming Wang
10:04pm: The Yankees have confirmed that Wang has been non-tendered, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). However, GM Brian Cashman says that he hopes the club's relationship with Wang can continue (also, via Twitter).
3:34pm: The Yankees have yet to confirm this, tweets Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
1:55pm: The Yankees have non-tendered Chien-Ming Wang, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
The right-hander was clearly less than 100% to start the year and had season-ending shoulder surgery in July. Wang's last truly healthy season was in 2007, when he turned in an ERA of 3.70 over 199.1 innings of work.
What teams do you expect to show interest in the 29-year-old?