Quick Hits: Rockies, Guerrero, Lee, Indians, Athletics
On this day in 1999 the Yankees sent Mike Lowell to the Marlins for Todd Noel, Mark Johnson and Ed Yarnall. Here are some links for tonight as we anticipate more roster shakeups..
- The Rockies signed catcher Ben Petralli to a minor league deal, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 25-year-old was drafted five times between 2004 and 2008 and played independent baseball last season.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the Rays might consider moving Johnny Damon to first base, allowing them to sign free agent DH Vladimir Guerrero.
- Derrek Lee will make the greatest impact of any Orioles offseason acquisition, opines Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer asked Indians GM Chris Antonetti and two scouts to evaluate the young talent that the club received in exchange for their three stars.
- Even though several Athletics are under contract for just one more year, MLB.com's Jane Lee doesn't expect that many of them will be dealt for prospects.
Quick Hits: Ohlendorf, Izzy, Edmonds, Flores
On this day in 2006, Frank Thomas officially parted ways with the White Sox, signing a free agent contract with the Athletics. The Big Hurt left Chicago after suffering through two injury-plagued years, a dispute with GM Kenny Williams and virtually no role in the team's run to the 2005 World Series title. Thomas had a huge bounce-back year with the A's, posting a .926 OPS to help lead Oakland to the ALCS.
Some news to wrap up a busy Monday night…
- Both Ross Ohlendorf and the Pirates would prefer to avoid an arbitration hearing, but "each party [is] hesitant to budge too much" from the $625K gap in proposed salaries, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Bucs don't want Ohlendorf's price driven up for future arb years, though Ohlendorf is only asking for $2.025MM in 2011. As the Arbtracker tells us, Ohlendorf is Pittsburgh's last remaining arbitration-eligible player without a contract.
- Jason Isringhausen had a throwing session for Reds pitching coach Bryan Price today and "threw the ball fine," Price told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty was non-committal about the chances of Isringhausen rejoining the Reds organization on a minor league deal. "We're not sure if we will pursue it or not," Jocketty said. "We'll discuss it in the next few days. We have quite a bit of right-handed pitching."
- Jim Edmonds' agent tells Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link) that Edmonds will "probably" know by early next week if he'll retire or try to come back in 2011. Walt Jocketty recently opined that Edmonds would retire.
- If Jesus Flores proves he's healthy during Spring Training, MLB.com's Bill Ladson thinks the Nationals might try to trade him to a catcher-needy team.
- The Orioles had no shortage of needs this offseason, but Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun points out that the O's have "at least theoretically, filled each of the roster's gaping holes that loomed in October."
- The Twins and Royals both appear to be finished their winter additions. MLB.com's Kelly Thesier says Minnesota is out of payroll space, and Dayton Moore tells Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star that the Royals are done shopping "unless something comes up that we’re not expecting." Moore wouldn't comment on rumors that K.C. is looking at Kevin Millwood.
Minor Deals: Banks, Fiorentino
Mark Hendrickson and Greg Dobbs already agreed to minor league deals today. We'll keep track of some lower-profile agreements right here:
- The Giants signed Josh Banks to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft. Banks, a former second round pick of the Blue Jays, has played in the majors every year since 2007, but his only extended taste of the big leagues came in 2008, when he posted a 4.75 ERA in 85 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander has a 5.66 ERA with 4.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 119 1/3 career innings.
- Jeff Fiorentino is returning to the Orioles on a minor league deal after a year in Japan, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Fiorentino, 27, has appeared in parts of four big league seasons with the Orioles and A's. He made the majors the year after the Orioles selected him the third round of the '04 draft and has since compiled a .270/.341/.324 line in 173 career plate appearances. He has played all three outfield positions, but most of his big league experience has come in center.
Orioles To Sign Mark Hendrickson
The Orioles have agreed to sign Mark Hendrickson to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Hendrickson had an offer from the Rockies, but chose to return to Baltimore, where he'll compete to be a situational left-hander and long reliever. Dan Connolly of the Sun reports that the deal is worth about $900K if Hendrickson makes the team (Twitter link).
The 36-year-old logged 75 1/3 innings for the Orioles last year, posting a 5.26 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He has started at least one game in every season since 2002, but he's primarily a reliever at this point. Hendrickson has held left-handed hitters to a .702 OPS in his career.
The Rays and Orioles also expressed interest in Hendrickson earlier in the offseason. Hendrickson, who played for four NBA teams before focusing on baseball, is now with his fifth MLB club.
Orioles & Nationals Are Finalists For Duchscherer
5:03pm: The Mariners are now out of the running, reports Connolly (Twitter links). The Orioles definitely offered Duchscherer a Major League contract.
2:36pm: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets that Duchscherer's search is down to three teams: the Mariners, Orioles, and Nationals. All three have offered one-year deals, and more than one are Major League offers.
2:14pm: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Duchscherer has narrowed his options to four teams, and that the Nationals and Orioles are both making pushes to sign the former Athletic.
2:10pm: Duchscherer told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter link), via text message, that he's "very close" with several teams and that his decision will be made this week.
1:19pm: The Orioles are the frontrunner to land Justin Duchscherer's services, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. According to Rosenthal, the O's have made an offer that's believed to be a Major League deal. Whether it's from Baltimore or another team, Rosenthal says the right-hander has at least one Major League offer.
Duchscherer, who turned 33 last November, has been limited to just 28 innings since a stellar 2008 season that was also marred by injury. Duchscherer's most recent trip to the DL occured in April this past season, and resulted in season-ending hip surgery on June 7. It was his his third trip to the 60-day disabled list of his career.
When healthy, Ducscherer provides plenty of value, owning a career 3.13 ERA, 6.87 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 through 454 2/3 innings, mostly out of the bullpen.
AL East Notes: Scott, Chavez, Pettitte, Rays
Last season, the AL East produced two 95-win teams and two more who won at least 85 games. However, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the division has seen recent success off the field as well as on it. Three AL East teams – the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Rays – rank among the top five in Sherman's list of baseball's best offseasons. Here are a few other division-related items:
- Luke Scott would be "all for" signing a contract to keep him in Baltimore long-term, he tells the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Scott is one of two remaining arbitration cases for the Orioles, along with Jeremy Guthrie.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Twitter link) thinks it makes a lot of sense for the Jays to sign Eric Chavez to a minor league deal, though he acknowledges that the third baseman has other offers and the final say.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News believes Andy Pettitte will pitch for the Yankees again, "sooner rather than later."
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times runs through a few moves the Rays could make in the coming weeks, but says the team is "pretty much set" for Spring Training.
O’s Offer Contract To Hendrickson; Rockies Interested
The Orioles have offered left-hander Mark Hendrickson a minor league contract, reports The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly. Hendrickson, 36, has posted a 4.74 ERA, a 2.19 K/BB ratio and a 10.6 H/9 rate in 105 games (12 of them starts) over the last two seasons in Baltimore. The Orioles declined Hendrickson's $1.2MM option for 2011, but were still known to be interested in bringing the veteran back at a lower price.
Hendrickson is also being targeted by the Rockies, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. It's no secret Colorado is looking for left-handed bullpen help, specifically a pitcher who is willing to sign a minor league contract. Tampa Bay and Seattle showed some interest in Hendrickson earlier this offseason, but there has been no news on either of those fronts since the Winter Meetings.
Orioles Notes: Guthrie, Millwood, Scott
Some news items out of the Orioles' FanFest event this weekend…
- The Orioles have discussed a multiyear contract with Jeremy Guthrie, the right-hander tells MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski. "I love pitching here and anytime you can provide your family with security, it's a great option," Guthrie said. "I'm very happy to also play it out year-by-year and have the motivation to go out and do the best that I can. Whatever happens, I'll be a good spot." Guthrie is going through the arbitration process for the second time in his career; MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently analyzed Guthrie's case.
- Kevin Millwood is still an option for the O's, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Andy MacPhail told the FanFest crowd that the idea of re-signing Millwood "hasn't been ruled out 'by any stretch,' " but the Orioles can't guarantee a rotation spot to Millwood or any free agent starter. We've heard that Millwood is interested in returning to Baltimore, but without the promise of a regular starting gig, he could turn to other suitors like the Indians or Yankees.
- Luke Scott has told Buck Showalter that not only is he willing to move to left field if Baltimore signs Vladimir Guerrero, but Scott "wants to play defense," Showalter tells Steve Melewski. Scott played 106 games in left in 2008 and had a very solid +5.8 UZR/150 rating, but he has made just 40 outfield starts over the last two seasons.
Quick Hits: Farnsworth, Durbin, Izzy, Duchscherer
Here are a few items of note for Jan. 29, 53 years to the day after Stan Musial became the National League's highest-paid player with the one-year, $100K contract he signed with the Cardinals …
- The Rays will pay Kyle Farnsworth $2.6MM in salary in 2011, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. If Farnsworth's option for 2012 is picked up, he will earn $3.3MM that year. If it's declined, the buyout is $650K. The deal also includes up to $300K in incentives for games finished.
- The Phillies have not re-signed free-agent reliever Chad Durbin because he is seeking a two-year deal at a higher annual salary than the club is comfortable giving him, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Philly is also intent on preserving the roster spot for the sake of grooming younger relievers, according to Stark.
- The Reds will decide whether to sign free-agent reliever Jason Isringhausen after watching him throw a bullpen session on Monday in Arizona, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Isringhausen signed a minor-league deal with the Reds last July but did not appear in any games for them. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Rays in June 2009, a stint that ended when he suffered an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery.
- The Orioles remain fairly interested in free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer after receiving positive feedback on the right-hander's Friday bullpen session, blogs Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
Vladimir Guerrero Rumors: Saturday
10:23am: Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said that there's no timetable on a Guerrero decision, tweets Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
9:06am: The Orioles are "settled" on their position in contract negotiations with free-agent Vladimir Guerrero, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
The O's offer to Vlad stands at $4.5-5MM, and if that's not enough to land him, Baltimore is OK with that, Olney says.
This, of course, after several days of hard bargaining between the Orioles and Guerrero.