Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Orioles Rumors

Hisanori Takahashi Seeking Major League Deal

By | at

Japanese lefty Hisanori Takahashi seeks a big league deal as he attempts to transition to MLB, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Crasnick names five interested teams: the Orioles, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, and Giants.  Takahashi, 35 in April, is willing to pitch as a starter or reliever.

Last year for the Yomiuri Giants Takahashi posted a 2.94 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 144 innings. Takahashi's '08 numbers: 4.13 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 1.18 HR/9 in 122 innings.  By numbers alone Takahashi could be considered a command guy who might have trouble keeping the ball in the yard and exceeding 150 innings.

Back in November, Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker profiled Takahashi.  He earned about $1.3MM in '09 and is represented by Peter Greenberg.  Takahashi doesn't throw very hard or shut down lefties, but is known for his screwball.

Cubs Sign Chad Tracy

By | at

The Cubs officially signed infielder Chad Tracy to a minor league deal today.  ESPN's Bruce Levine and Jayson Stark first reported the agreement last night, which is worth $900K if Tracy makes the team and another $525K if he reaches 450 plate appearances.

Tracy, 30 in May, struggled to a .237/.306/.389 line in 288 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks last year.  Tracy's future looked bright in May of '06, when he inked a three-year, $13.25MM deal with the D'Backs coming off a .308/.359/.553 season.  But even then he was shielded against lefties, against whom he's never had success.  Tracy's left knee began to bother him, and he had microfracture surgery in September of '07.  A blood clot complicated his recovery.  In March of '09, Tracy told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert the knee was no longer a factor.

Tracy gives Chicago a left-handed reserve bat and corner infield backup for Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee.  The Rockies, Orioles and Mets had also shown interest in the veteran infielder, who will be changing addresses for the first time in his six-year major league career. 

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Orioles Make Offer To Will Ohman

By | at

The Orioles offered a minor league deal to lefty reliever Will Ohman, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  Ohman will throw for the O's and other clubs this week.  Ohman, 32, had a lost 2009 season after signing with the Dodgers on March 30th.  Shoulder problems led to September surgery.  When he's right, Ohman can shut down lefties.  Connolly adds that the Orioles are still in talks with southpaw Mark Hendrickson.

Connolly also notes that Miguel Tejada's one-year, $6MM deal to return to Baltimore is official.  Connolly speculates that reliever Dennis Sarfate could be designated for assignment to make room for Tejada.  You may recall that Sarfate came to the Orioles from the Astros in the December '07 Tejada trade.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Turnbow, Delgado, Nady

By | at

Links for Tuesday…

  • Orlando Hudson is "making progress on signing with a team," tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson, however Hudson declined to name the team. In separate tweet, Ladson says a source told him that the Nationals top Hudson's wish list.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Diamondbacks and Rockies are pursuing Derrick Turnbow, who could sign soon.
  • MLBTR's resident translator Nick Collias passes along this report from Esteban Rivera of the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, in which Carlos Delgado says that the Mets, Orioles, and Royals "have seen him [play] on the island." Omar Minaya said there is still a mutual interest in bringing Delgado back to New York, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure
  • The final offer Scott Boras presented the Yankees with for Xavier Nady was worth $5MM, tweets Joel Sherman of The New York Post. He adds that the Yanks would have considered him at the price he signed for today, and that they'll only do a minor league deal for Rocco Baldelli (via Twitter).
  • Now that Ben Sheets has signed with the A's, Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com tweets that the Mets' next target appears to be John Smoltz. A source tells him they haven't aggressively pursued Jon Garland. 
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart mentions that the Astros and Wandy Rodriguez are set to go an arbitration hearing on February 17th. Wandy filed for $7MM, the team $5MM.
  • Meanwhile, Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle breaks down the Astros' offseason in a video.
  • Rick Ankiel said that the Nationals, Marlins, and Yankees were in it until the end, reports Doug Tucker of The Brownsville Herald.
  • Cody Ross' arbitration hearing has been scheduled for February 15th, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Ross is seeking a $4.45MM salary in 2010, but the Marlins are countering with $4.2MM.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about baseball's internal discussions on how to fix the draft, including some notes about what was discussed at the recent general managers meeting (sub. req'd).
  • In a mailbag, MLB.com's Kelly Thesier says the Twins payroll appears to be right around $90MM, and they don't seem willing to spend much more than that.    
  • Meanwhile, Lyle Spencer of MLB.com writes in his mailbag that the Angels "appear to have stretched the salary budget to its limit," so don't expect any more major moves.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday lists what he thinks are the best run organizations in baseball (sub. req'd). There's 15 of them, however ten are from the AL while just five come from the NL. 
  • John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer looks at the list of remaining free agents, and sees only one fit for the Reds: Orlando Cabrera. He's probably too expensive for them at this point, however. 
  • MLB.com's Marty Noble says in a mailbag that he doesn't believe the Mets' current roster and the Opening Day roster will be the same, but he's not sure where the club can turn to improve.

Odds & Ends: Mauer, Turnbow, Loaiza

By | at

Links for Monday…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the convergence of Joe Mauer, Ron Shapiro, and Bill Smith in St. Paul Wednesday for a Rick Reilly program will accelerate extension talks.
  • The Rockies "remain firmly in the mix" for free agent reliever Derrick Turnbow, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Turnbow could make a choice by Wednesday.
  • In his latest MLB.com mailbag, Jordan Bastian notes that Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan is out of options.
  • MLBTR's resident translator, Nick Collias, passes along this Esteban Loaiza interview with Hector Linares from the Mexican newspaper Excelsior.  Loaiza says he's doing everything possible to make it back to the big leagues, and has received a few calls from teams.  He last pitched for the White Sox in June of '08.
  • Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News explains why the Phillies' Cliff Lee trade was the right move.  He says fans don't understand, and the Phils needed the prospects. 
  • Aaron Gleeman wouldn't mind seeing Delmon Young benched and Jim Thome added by the Twins to platoon at DH.
  • RotoAuthority assesses David Wright's fantasy prospects for 2010.
  • Baseball America's Ben Badler says MLB voided the seven-figure contract Dominican third baseman Duanel Jones had with San Francisco.  ESPN's Jorge Arangure says (via Twitter) the move was prompted by Jones failing a drug test administered by the Giants.
  • Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie told MASN's Steve Melewski that his $120K pay cut from 2008 to 2009 did not affect his '09 performance.

Odds & Ends: Nelson Cruz, Tejada, White Sox, Ankiel

By | at

Some links to browse through on your Sunday afternoon…

  • Besides sifting through the remaining free agents, the Yankees are exploring the trade market for left field, writes Frankie Piliere of Fanhouse (via Twitter).  Piliere heard unconfirmed whispers that one of those inquiries was made on Nelson Cruz. 
  • Oregon State left-hander Josh Osich will miss the 2010 season due to Tommy John surgery, writes Jason Churchill. The 20-year-old southpaw had been described as a "lock for the mid- to late first round" by Keith Law.
  • Steve Melewski takes a look at the arguments for and against Miguel Tejada's return to Baltimore, and also suggests slotting Miggy into the cleanup spot to start the season.
  • White Sox VP Scott Reifert passes along a quote (via Twitter) from scouting director Doug Laumann, saying the south-siders will likely focus on pitching in the next draft.
  • Rany Jazayerli has mixed feelings about the Royals' acquisition of Rick Ankiel, but says the outfielder is a better fit than Mike Jacobs was a year ago.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski repeated that he's not going to sign a hitter who can't play the field, writes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press. 
  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times doesn't expect Johnny Damon to return to the Yankees in 2010. 
  • Fernando Tatis and Ryan Freel are options for the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. 
  • Derrick Turnbow is still on the Rockies' radar, writes Renck.
  • Tom Robson heads Bob Elliott's list of Canadians eligible for the 2010 draft at the Canadian Baseball Network. 

Davidoff On Damon, Draft Picks, Pavano, O’s

By | at

Newsday's Ken Davidoff has his Baseball Insider column up (subscription required); let's take a look at the highlights:

  • The Yankees would love to have Johnny Damon back. The catch there is that they'd love to have him back for $2MM, which Davidoff doesn't see happening. I agree Damon doesn't seem likely to take that drastic of a pay cut, but his options are dwindling.
  • Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says the club acquired Curtis Granderson to be their center fielder, though some scouts have said Granderson struggles in center and is better suited for left field. The Yankees could use Brett Gardner in center, who doesn't profile as much of a corner outfielder offensively anyway.
  • MLB and the MLBPA are actively working to alter draft pick compensation for relievers. Davidoff writes that the Elias Ranking system fails Type-A setup men in particular. Most teams are unwilling to sacrifice a draft pick for an eighth inning role, leaving Type-A setup men with little choice but to accept arbitration. The current goal is for the rankings to favor saves more and wins less.
  • Tom O'Connell, the agent for Carl Pavano, did well to accept arbitration from the Twins and guarantee Pavano $7MM. As Davidoff points out, O'Connell guaranteed his client more money than a free agent such as Doug Davis, who signed for one year and $5.25MM with Milwaukee.
  • In this separate piece, Davidoff praises the work the Orioles have done this offseason, bringing in Kevin Millwood, Mike Gonzalez, Garrett Atkins, and most recently, Miguel Tejada.

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Hudson, Loretta, Pence

By | at

More Saturday linkage..

  • Ty Wigginton of the Orioles will likely see his number of at-bats decrease after the team's signing of Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins.  Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com says that the 32-year-old could be a trade candidate in Spring Training.
  • The sale of the Rangers to Chuck Greenberg's group is complete and an announcement is forthcoming, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
  • Phil Wood of MASNSports.com understands the Nats' pursuit of Orlando Hudson, but not their reported interest in Orlando Cabrera.  Hudson is reportedly seeking $9MM per season whereas Mike Axisa estimates that Cabrera can be had for $3MM.
  • Veteran infielder Mark Loretta is expected to retire this week and take a job with an unspecified major league club, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.  The 38-year-old, who spent 2009 with the Dodgers, has a career .754 OPS.
  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that signing Hunter Pence to one-year, $3.5MM deal makes sense for Houston.  McTaggart senses that there is some kind of a groundswell of support by Astros fans to lock up the 26-year-old, but the club still has three years of contractual control to make such a deal happen.
  • Signing Brad Penny saved money for the Cardinals, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  While it may seem as though Penny's $7.5MM deal is similar to Joel Pineiro's two-year deal that will pay him an average of $8MM per season, the extra year on Pineiro's contract didn't fit into the Cards' budget.
  • Due in part to the team's overload of left field options, top Reds prospect Todd Frazier could see some time at shortstop this season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Frazier played shortstop in his time at Rutgers University but was moved to the outfield as he was considered to be "too big for the spot."  GM Walt Jocketty said that there will be open competition for the role of starting shortstop, though Fay says that it will likely go to the light-hitting Paul Janish.

Orioles Agree To Sign Miguel Tejada

By | at

Miguel Tejada arrived in Baltimore with a $72MM contract and the promise of MVP-caliber play six offseasons ago. This time, the expectations are more moderate and so is Tejada's contract. The Orioles agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with the infielder, who will play third for the first time in his MLB career. 

Baltimore already signed one corner infielder, Garrett Atkins, so Tejada will play third and Atkins will play first. The 35-year-old Tejada hit .313/.340/.455 for the Astros last season, with pretty drastic home-road splits. UZR/150 tells us that Tejada's defense cost the Astros ten-plus runs last year, though that was at a different position than the one the O's will have him play.

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun first reported the deal and Jon Heyman of SI.com added the terms.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Coffey, Nolasco, Vazquez

By | at

Links for Thursday…

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top