White Sox Notes: Beckham, Jones, Designated Hitter
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen addressed some of the team's needs before heading off to Indianapolis, and MLB.com's Scott Merkin has the goods..
- Guillen would like to find an upgrade over Gordan Beckham in the leadoff spot. However, Guillen went out of his way to say that he is a "good RBI man" and added that he would like to move him down to sixth or seventh in the lineup.
- Andruw Jones could be an everyday outfielder for the ChiSox if (and, as Merkin notes, "that's a big if") he reports to Spring Training in shape.
- Guillen seems to like the flexibility that comes with not having a true designated hitter. The way he sees it, he can use Jones, Omar Vizquel, Mark Kotsay, Paul Konerko or Mark Teahen in the spot when neccessary, and shift them around as he sees fit.
- Freddy Garcia is working to get himself in position to be the club's fifth starter. The 33-year-old posted a 4.34 ERA in nine starts with the White Sox last season.
Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bradley, Figgins
Here are some links to check out as the snow falls for the first time this season in New York:
- Free agent Mark DeRosa is in a state of flux, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cardinals, Braves, Yankees, Giants, and Red Sox are all possibilities, but each have higher priorities than the 34-year-old. The Mets and Nationals are also interested in the right-handed batter, but he would prefer to play for a contender. DeRosa may be waiting by the phone for a while if he is unwilling to lower his asking price.
- More from Ken Rosenthal as he writes that despite interest from the Rangers, the Rays remain the frontrunners for Milton Bradley.
- Considering their plans to reduce their hefty payroll, It shouldn't surprise anyone that the Yankees won't consider Matt Holliday or Jason Bay (per Buster Olney's blog). However, Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues wisely point out that this time last year, it was said that the Yanks didn't have enough cash to land Mark Teixeira after signing CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.
- The Mariners' signing of Chone Figgins may indicate that the organization believes power is currently overrated, says ESPN's Keith Law.
- In a footnote to his report of the Orioles re-signing Chad Moeller, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun writes that while the O's remain interested in righty reliever Ryota Igarashi and lefty Hisanori Takahashi, they aren't expected to be terribly aggressive in their pursuit. Both players recently applied for international free agency.
- On the heels of Phillies GM Ruben Amaro stating that the door is open for Pedro Martinez's return to the club, the 38-year-old reciprocated that sentiment to Scott Lauber of The News Journal.
- Kevin Towers is leaning towards accepting an offer from his close friend – Yankees GM Brian Cashman, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel estimates that the Brewers will have about $12MM to spend on starting pitching after addressing the rest of their roster. Since that probably puts them short of the capital needed to sign John Lackey, what do you think would be the best way to take care of their starting pitching needs on the open market?
- The Pirates placed Luis Cruz on waivers to make space for their second pick in the Rule 5 draft, writes Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com.
Giants Notes: Rodriguez, Uggla, Bumgarner
Let's take a look at some Giants tidbits courtesy of Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News…
- We heard earlier today that the Giants are one of a handful of teams interested in Ivan Rodriguez. It has also been reported that the club is interested in Yorvit Torrealba and Brad Ausmus as they look to ease Buster Posey into the role of catcher. However, Baggarly says Miguel Olivo, Rod Barajas, and Jason Kendall are more likely targets.
- Although Florida's Dan Uggla is highly coveted by GM Brian Sabean, he is unwilling to sacrifice valuable commodities such as left-hander Madison Bumgarner to get him.
- Just as the club wants to wait before giving Posey the reins as starting catcher, they would like to have Bumgarner start the year in Triple-A. In order to do this, they need to find a fifth starter. If they cannot retain Brad Penny, they'll have to look out-of-house.
Reds Interested Carroll, Lowry
Reds GM Walt Jocketty confirmed his interest in free agent infielder Jamey Carroll and left-handed starter Noah Lowry with MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
While Jocketty said that the organization has not discussed Carroll "at length," he acknowledged that he admires his hard-nosed play.
Carroll would be slotted into shortstop, where defensive-minded Paul Janish plays. However, Jocketty insisted that he is not looking to squeeze Janish out of the picture, as both he and manager Dusty Baker value his glove. In 82 games this season, the light-hitting 27-year-old turned in a UZR/150 of 24.6 while posting .211/.296/.305 at the plate.
Carroll, on the other hand, hit .276/.355/.340 in 2009 for the Indians. However, it is worth noting that he has not played shortstop with any semblance of regularity since 2005, when he played 241 innings at the position for the Nationals (with a subpar -6.7 UZR/150).
Meanwhile, Jocketty says that Lowry could work as the Reds' fifth starter, provided that he is healthy. The former first round pick of the Giants recorded a 3.92 ERA in 2007, but walked as many batters as he struck out.
Astros Sign Ryan Sadowski
Ryan Sadowski, who made his major league debut with the Giants in June, has signed with the Houston Astros, writes Theo Fightmaster of the Marin Independent Journal.
The 27-year-old righty was called up for the first time after spending six years in the minors. Sadowski recorded a rather pedestrian ERA of 4.45 in six late-season starts. More notably, the "Big Sadowski" recorded 16.2 scoreless innings to start his big league career.
Miguel Sano Officially Signs With Twins
Dominican shortstop Miguel Sano, long suspected of having an age discrepancy on his records, has been formally granted his U.S. work visa, completing his deal with the Twins, writes Enrique Rojas of ESPN.
The embattled 16-year-old agreed to terms with Minnesota in September, but the deal – which included a $3.15MM signing bonus – wasn't official until the laminate on his visa dried. Interestingly, Rojas refers to the youngster by the surname "Sano" in his article, rather than his father's last name "Jean", which we had heard he would now go by.
Yankees Seek Starter On Open Market
The Yankees are interested in free agent hurlers John Lackey, Rich Harden, Joel Pineiro, and maybe Randy Wolf, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Although major league sources indicate that the the team is looking into landing Roy Halladay and their first priority continues to be re-signing Andy Pettitte, the Yanks will pursue alternatives on the open market. Brian Cashman & Co. are also expected to ink "at least one" free agent reliever, but will focus on starters first.
Rosenthal and Morosi surmise that Wolf and Pineiro are not high on the Yankees' list as the former is a lifelong National League pitcher and the latter was coming off of a five-year slide coming into '09. The report also notes that injury-prone Harden has caught the eye of the Red Sox and Mariners.
Almost a month ago, Tim picked the Bombers as the team most likely to land Lackey, the top starter of this free agent class. Do you agree with that assessment? Should the Yankees pursue less stable, but more economical options in Wolf, Pineiro, and Harden? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Royals Expecting Interest In DeJesus and Meche
The Royals expect left fielder David DeJesus and pitcher Gil Meche to draw significant trade interest once the major free agents sign, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Both players are under club control for the next two seasons. Meche is owed $24MM on the back end of the five-year, $55MM deal he signed with the team in December of 2006. Meanwhile, DeJesus will earn $4.7MM in 2010 with a club option for 2011 worth $6MM.
In three years for the Royals, Meche has posted an ERA of 4.12 with 7.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. The soon-to-be 30-year-old DeJesus posted numbers consistant with his career average in 2009, recording a slash line of .281/.347/.434 with 12 HRs.
Kansas City's motivation in trading either player would be to reduce payroll while creating an influx of young talent. The report notes that while the Royals are not expected to be major players in free agency, they have shown interest in veteran outfielder Scott Podsednik.
What teams should be calling Dayton Moore about Meche and DeJesus? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Mets Notes: Delgado, Johnson, Lackey, Halladay
Tonight on SNY's Mets Hot Stove, SI's Jon Heyman delivered his latest on the Mets:
- The Mets still like Carlos Delgado and continue to keep an eye on him this winter. Heyman says that the market for Delgado is rather weak as there are many DH-type players on the open market. In his look at Free Agent DHs, Tim noted that there appear to be no more than eight available slots in total.
- Meanwhile, the Mets are not interested in free agent first baseman Nick Johnson, because they believe he has declined considerably in terms of range and power. Nicky J hit just 8 HRs in 2009, compared to a career-high 23 HRs in 2006, his last healthy season.
- Their interest in John Lackey remains strong, but as of right now it doesn't look like the Mets are "heavily involved" with the 32-year-old hurler. Heyman believes that he will garner close to $100MM.
- Heyman says that he would be "shocked" if the Mets pulled off a deal for Roy Halladay at the winter meetings.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Pujols, Gonzalez, D-Backs
Some Thursday night links…
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports note that the Phillies had a creative idea for third base before signing Placido Polanco – they asked Orlando Hudson if he'd make the position change. He passed.
- Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III spoke openly about the club's limitations in retaining Albert Pujols beyond his current deal, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Signing Pujols and free agent Matt Holliday to new contracts would almost definitely mean committing upwards of 40% of the team's payroll to two players.
- If the Tigers cannot re-sign free agent relievers Brandon Lyon or Fernando Rodney, they may have to look into a pair of Type A free agents, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. Atlanta's Mike Gonzalez or Rafael Soriano could appeal to Detroit, but they would require the forfeiture of a first-round pick.
- Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes conducted a live chat today on MLB.com. It sounds as though Byrnes would be content to more or less stand pat this offseason, telling one fan that most of the club's impact players evolve within their system rather than "arrive via offseason splash." Don't expect Arizona to go after a second baseman this winter either as Byrnes says he looks forward to competition over the spot this season, featuring late-season acquisition Tony Abreu.
- More from Arizona as the club outrighted a pair of prospects to their Triple-A affiliate – pitcher Kyler Newby and catcher Luke Carlin, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic writes that the move was not made in anticipation of a free agent signing or trade.
- Matt Stairs told Larry Mahoney of the Bangor Daily News that he would like to play next season. Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer says not to expect Stairs back in Philadelphia next season, as Phils GM Ruben Amaro offered him the opportunity to audition for other teams at Spring Training.
- Jacque Jones also wants back in baseball, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The 34-year-old last played in 2008, seeing time in 42 games in which he recorded an OPS of .446. However, his agent insists that teams will be impressed with his physical conditioning and desire to continue his career.