Orioles Still Have Offer On Table For Gregg
2:48pm: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the Orioles have not made a two-year, $12MM offer to Gregg and they don't feel a deal is imminent. They've still got a two-year offer in the $8-10MM range on the table.
2:44pm: The Orioles are close to a two-year, $12MM deal with reliever Kevin Gregg, reports ESPN's Joe McDonald. He notes that the Red Sox and Nationals are still involved in talks with Gregg, but the Orioles are the frontrunner.
The potential Baltimore deal is the same as the one they struck with Mike Gonzalez a year ago, and I think they'll have similar regrets in overpaying for saves again. Gregg, 32, posted a 3.51 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 42.3% groundball rate in 59 innings this year. He saved 37 games in 43 tries, an improvement on his 76-77% success rate of the previous two years.
Orioles Sign Koji Uehara
The Orioles signed Koji Uehara to a one-year deal with a vesting option for 2012, the team announced. The deal will pay the reliever $3MM in 2011 and give him the chance to earn a couple million more in incentives, depending on how many games he finishes or saves.
Uehara an earn an additional $100K for each of 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 appearances, plus another $150K-200K based on games finished from 10 to 50. His $4MM option for 2012 will vest with either 55 games pitched or 25 games finished next season. The contract can be worth as much as $11.5MM and contains a limited no-trade clause.
Six teams were interested in Uehara earlier this week. The 35-year-old right-hander posted a 2.86 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9 in 44 innings of work last year. He made trips to the disabled list because of elbow and thigh injuries, but few pitchers have a strikeout to walk ratio as impressive as Uehara's. SFX represents Uehara.
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun broke the story and colleague Dan Connolly added the financial info on Twitter.
Six Teams Interested In Derrek Lee
The Orioles, Athletics, Blue Jays, Padres, Nationals, and Diamondbacks have all expressed interest in free agent first baseman Derrek Lee according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (via Twitter). We've heard that Lee wouldn't mind playing for Arizona, and the interest from the O's and A's is nothing new. Heyman reiterated the D'Backs interest in Xavier Nady as well.
Lee, 35, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb after the season. He's expressed a desire to join a playoff club for 2011, but calling any of those six teams a contender would be generous. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers was the Padres GM when Lee broke in with the team in 1997, and the running theme of the offseason has been Towers bringing some of his former players to Arizona. Nady obviously fits the bill as well.
I examined Lee's free agent stock back in October.
Orioles To Re-Sign Cesar Izturis, Not Nick Green
6:52pm: The Orioles say that Green has not agreed to a contract, tweets Connolly.
4:35pm: The Orioles have re-signed Cesar Izturis to a one-year deal worth $1.5MM, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). The deal, which is pending a physical, includes $1.7MM in incentives based on plate appearances and games stared, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (Twitter link). Agent Peter Greenberg represents the shortstop.
The Orioles have already added Mark Reynolds, Brendan Harris and J.J. Hardy to an infield that has become crowded in a hurry. The Baltimore infield also includes Brian Roberts and Robert Andino, so it would not be surprising to see president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail make another move before the season begins.
Izturis has been Baltimore's starting shortstop for the past two seasons, but he figures to back up Hardy in 2011. The 30-year-old switch-hitter batted .230/.277/.268 in 513 plate appearances, but posted an above-average UZR/150 (5.8) in 1250 innings on defense.
The Orioles have also signed Nick Green to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Sun (via Connolly on Twitter). The 32-year-old picked up just 23 plate appearances last year, but he has a career .237/.305/.348 line in parts of six MLB seasons. Connolly suggests Harris, Andino and Green will likely battle for one roster spot in Spring Training.
Orioles Offer Gregg $8-10MM
The two-year deal that the Orioles offered Kevin Gregg is worth between $8-10MM, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Gregg continues to negotiate with the Orioles, who still believe they have a chance at the former Blue Jays closer.
Even though the Orioles agreed to terms with Koji Uehara, they could offer Gregg the closer's job. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail did not commit to Uehara as the team's closer this week.
The Orioles aren't the only team interested in Gregg. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported this week that the Red Sox, Pirates and Nationals have offered the 32-year-old deals and that the Mariners are in the mix for him. The Rockies also appear to be interested in the Type B free agent.
The Blue Jays will obtain a draft pick for losing Gregg, since he and his representatives at Beverly Hills Sports Council turned down Toronto's offer of arbitration. However, teams don't have to forfeit a pick to sign Gregg.
Odds & Ends: Jeter, Cameron, Rich Hill
Another eventful Winter Meetings has come to a close. Even with the pre-meetings action involving Adrian Gonzalez, Jayson Werth, and Shaun Marcum, we had plenty to talk about this week. Carl Crawford signed the biggest deal of the offseason so far. Paul Konerko stayed with the White Sox after some drama. Carlos Pena found a pillow contract with the Cubs. J.J. Putz assumed the Diamondbacks' closer role. The Orioles rebuilt the left side of their infield with Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy. The Pirates, Mariners, Padres, Royals, Rockies, Mets, and others made additions as well. On to today's links…
- Check out a couple of Rule 5 draft reviews from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein. And of course, a pair of great links from John Manuel of Baseball America. We've got the picks from the Major League phase listed here.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff has the financial breakdown on Derek Jeter's new contract.
- The Red Sox have already gotten inquiries on outfielder Mike Cameron, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The team plans to keep him but is willing to listen. Cameron will have to take on a part-time role with Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew filling Boston's outfield.
- The Red Sox are expected to reach an agreement to re-sign Rich Hill in the next few days, reports Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Hill, who grew up a Sox fan, hopes to crack the bullpen this year.
- The Tigers' talks with Carl Crawford didn't get far, GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck. Dombrowski explained that a team can only have so many $20MM players, and the Tigers already have two.
- Orioles president Andy MacPhail hasn't ruled out Cesar Izturis returning, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Izturis is a tougher fit after the Orioles acquired Hardy and Brendan Harris.
Orioles Acquire J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris
The Orioles officially acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy, infielder Brendan Harris, and $500K from the Twins for relievers Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey, the teams announced.
Hardy, 28, hit .268/.320/.394 in 375 plate appearances this year for the Twins after coming over from Milwaukee for Carlos Gomez. He missed time with wrist and knee injuries. Hardy earned $5.1MM this year and is arbitration eligible one last time. He would have been a free agent already, but fell just short of the service time requirement because the Brewers briefly demoted him to Triple-A late in the '09 season. Hardy joins Mark Reynolds in a revamped left side infield for Baltimore. He became expendable for Minnesota with their expected signing of Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
Harris, 30, received only 120 plate appearances from the Twins this year after more regular duty in previous seasons. He was outrighted in June due to poor performance, and a $1.75MM commitment for 2011 likely allowed him to clear waivers. Harris is capable of playing all around the infield.
Hoey, 28 later this month, hasn't pitched in the Majors since '07. In a season split between Double and Triple-A, the reliever posted a 3.25 ERA, 12.0 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 52 2/3 innings in 2010. Prior to his '08 shoulder surgery, Hoey's average fastball velocity exceeded 95 mph.
Jacobson, a 24-year-old reliever, posted a 2.79 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 71 High-A innings this year. Baseball America ranked him 16th among Orioles prospects heading into the season, noting that he came over from the Tigers in the Aubrey Huff deal in August of '09. He's said to have a power repertoire and a setup man profile.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Pirates Close To Deal For Kawakami?
THURSDAY, 9:35am: The Pirates seem to be close to a deal for Kawakami, tweets Biertempfel. He says money is one issue, as is the possibility of the Pirates moving Paul Maholm.
1:10pm: The Braves are trying to see whether the Pirates or Orioles will pick up more of Kawakami's salary, tweets Biertempfel.
WEDNESDAY, 11:39am: The Pirates and Braves are still discussing a Kawakami trade, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
TUESDAY, 2:41pm: A Braves-Orioles Kawakami deal won't happen, tweets Connolly.
12:54pm: The Braves appear destined to unload righty Kenshin Kawakami, picking up much of the $6.67MM tab. The Pirates were linked to Kawakami yesterday, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review feels they may have cooled on him given the deals for Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen. Biertempfel says the Orioles are in the mix; Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the two teams have talked several times.
Kawakami is not the only available Braves starter; David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that they'd trade Brandon Beachy in the right deal.
Mutual Interest Between Orioles, Adam LaRoche
The Orioles and first baseman Adam LaRoche have mutual interest, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. No formal offer has been made yet.
The Nationals and LaRoche reportedly have mutual interest as well, so he seems likely to land with one of these teams.
Cliff Lee Rumors: Wednesday
SI.com's Jon Heyman reported yesterday that two teams may have offered Cliff Lee seven-year deals, and the rumor mill will be flying again today. Remember, the Yankees, Rangers, Angels, and Nationals all deny such an offer. Here's a look at all of yesterday's rumors, and here are today's:
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports identifies the Red Sox as one of the "mystery teams" who made a seven-year bid for Lee. However, they didn't offer enough money for Lee to realistically consider accepting. Rather, the proposal was about increasing Lee's leverage with other teams and trying to force the Yankees to add an extra year.
- Boston's agreement with Carl Crawford is good news for Lee, who is now the clear top free agent left on the market. Sherman speculates (via Twitter) that the Angels and Rangers, who were in on Crawford, could make a stronger push for Lee now. Brian Cashman, however, says the move won't affect the Yankees' approach on the lefty (Twitter link).
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that the Rangers have asked Braunecker to tell them what it will take to sign Lee. The Rangers have not made an offer, but they're considering a six-year deal, since they expect it will take a long-term commitment to sign Lee.
- Lee will decide on his next team by the end of the weekend, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Yankees offered Lee a six-year deal worth $140MM, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). George A. King III of the New York Post hears that the team is comfortable offering between $137.5MM and $150MM.
- Cashman confirmed to reporters that the Yankees have made an offer, according to Marc Carig of the Star Ledger (on Twitter).
- GM Mike Rizzo told Ben Goessling of MASNSports that the Nationals did not meet with Lee's agent today (Twitter link).
- The Brewers are not the mystery team interested in Lee, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirms (on Twitter).
- Though it appeared that the Yankees were about to make a strong offer, they have yet to propose a deal formally, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- Braunecker has left the building! He wouldn't reveal where he's going, reports CBS Sports' Danny Knobler.
- The Rangers met with Braunecker again this morning, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Lee's agent Darek Braunecker told ESPN's Richard Durrett that one club has been eliminated.
- The Yankees are going to make a very strong six-year offer in the $140-150MM range to Lee today, tweets Heyman.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if Lee really has received seven-year offers, and if he'd go to a non-contender that offered seven years. He spoke with two executives who had Lee in their organization once, and both feel he would.
- Sherman also checked around and ruled out the Cubs as a seven-year team. He says there was some buzz about the Brewers, but that the finances are beyond their means. ESPN's Buster Olney rules out the Orioles.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson has a source who says the Nationals aren't out of the Lee sweepstakes "by any means," despite GM Mike Rizzo's comments. Ladson's source feels Jayson Werth's seven-year deal actually increased Washington's chances for Lee.