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Heyman On Mauer, Pujols, Damon, Washburn

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3:59pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves have not made an offer to Damon, contrary to Heyman's suggestion below.

12:49pm: Jon Heyman's latest column for SI.com leads with thoughts on contract talks for two superstars, Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols.  Heyman says Mauer has been slow to engage with the Twins only because he's giving them a chance to put the 2010 team together first.  Heyman believes Mauer is "thinking about a contract for at least seven years and more than $20MM, though he isn't going to press the $30MM issue that could conceivably come into focus if he goes the free-agent route."  On the other hand, Heyman says Pujols is "surely seeking" $30MM a year.  On to Heyman's other rumors…

  • Heyman believes the Braves and Giants made offers to Johnny Damon.  It's not clear if the Giants' offer for Damon is still on the table given their Aubrey Huff agreement.
  • Jarrod Washburn rejected a $5MM offer from the Twins; the Mets and Royals are other suitors.
  • The Mariners have considered Ryan Garko.  An outfielder would make more sense.
  • The Rangers are looking for a "low-cost starting pitcher."
  • The Orioles are "still in play" for first baseman Adam LaRoche.  Currently it's difficult to name another LaRoche suitor.

Cafardo On Damon, Hernandez, Delgado

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In his new column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses the Red Sox' decision to move Jacoby Ellsbury from center field to left field, concluding that the 26-year-old should excel in left. Here are some other notes from Cafardo's piece:

  • Despite having a productive season, Johnny Damon acknowledges that he's expecting to take a pay cut. Right now though, he isn't willing to slice his earnings in half, which is what he'd be doing if he accepted a deal worth $6-7MM annually, after making $13MM in each of the last four years. Is returning to the Bronx still a possibility for Damon? "I don’t know. I haven’t had any conversations with them recently. Nothing would surprise me, but there’s nothing there right now."
  • Talks between Felix Hernandez and the Mariners are "getting serious" and there's a chance that they could work out a long-term deal before the season begins.
  • The Mets and Orioles are the primary suitors for Carlos Delgado. Baltimore is more interested in Delgado as a first baseman than a designated hitter, since they'd prefer a right-handed DH.
  • Gary Sheffield still feels he can be an everyday player, but says a market hasn't developed for him yet this offseason.
  • Cafardo describes the lack of interest in Miguel Tejada so far as "baffling."
  • Although Miguel Cabrera's name popped up earlier in the winter as a possible trade candidate, it looks like the enormous price tag (in terms of both his salary and the required return) has quieted those rumors for now.
  • Colby Lewis' impressive numbers in Japan over the past two seasons could earn him a multi-year contract. Cafardo says that at least six teams are interested, and that the Red Sox aren't one of them.

Orioles Notes: MacPhail On Bedard, Hendrickson

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According to MASN's Roch Kubatko, the Orioles are simply looking for "any kind of pitching" as the club winds down its winter shopping.  While corner infield help ostensibly remains at the top of Baltimore's shopping list, O's GM Andy MacPhail told Kubatko that it isn't a critical priority given the club's organizational strength at the corners (i.e. prospects Josh Bell and Brandon Snyder).

As for pitching, however, MacPhail said, "we'll always sort of stay in the hunt for pitching."  Here's what MacPhail had to say about two potential free-agent targets…

  • Erik Bedard.  We've heard some rumors about the O's looking to bring the left-hander back to Baltimore, but the lack of activity should not be taken as a decline in interest on the club's part.  Bedard "doesn't seem to be in a rush to sign" with anyone, and MacPhail noted that Bedard was likely to sign "a late-January type deal anyway, if that."  Given how Bedard's probable contract will be a one or two-year, incentive-laden deal, it makes sense that clubs would wait to see how the rest of the offseason pitching market shakes down before making Bedard an offer.  MacPhail added that based on some preliminary medical information the Baltimore staff has received about Bedard, the southpaw will be able to pitch before midseason, contrary to what some reports have suggested. 
  • Mark Hendrickson.  It's been widely assumed that Hendrickson would re-sign with Baltimore, and the pitcher himself said he was hoping to get a deal done quickly back in October.  But now we're a third of the way through January and the left-hander is still a free agent.  MacPhail said the team is still interested in bringing Hendrickson back, but they have been waiting "to see how some of these other things play out, as far as what we do and how extensive it's going to be and how our roster shapes up.  So we can't quite commit yet, but we never pretended that there wasn't interest." 

Kubatko also reported that the door seems to be closed on Ben Sheets joining the Orioles.  Sheets fit the Bedard mold as a pitcher who would sign a short-term deal, but Kubatko said Baltimore asked for (and never received) Sheets' medical records.  Sheets "apparently wants to be paid as if he isn't a health risk," which is a pretty firm negotiating stance for a pitcher who hasn't appeared in a Major League game since 2008.

Orioles Rumors: Delgado, Tejada, Uggla

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The Orioles have added Garrett Atkins, but they're still interested in various corner infielders. Which ones? Roch Kubatko of MASN.com has the details:

  • The O's will scout Carlos Delgado in Puerto Rico next week; they would consider him as a first baseman.
  • They also have interest in first basemen Hank Blalock, Adam LaRoche, Russell Branyan and Chad Tracy, but don't want to offer multi-year deals to any of them. LaRoche is probably the only one of those players with much of a chance at a multi-year contract.
  • Miguel Tejada remains a long shot for the Orioles. Unlike Dan Uggla, Tejada's open to playing third, so he's ahead of Uggla on Baltimore's wish list.

Orioles Notes: Mora, Tejada, Atkins, Hill

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A pair of former Oriole bats are still looking for somewhere to sign, and Baltimore has shown no interest in bringing back either Melvin Mora or Aubrey Huff, according to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Here are some more Baltimore-centric tidbits from their piece:

  • The O's may not be interested in Mora, but we heard earlier in the week that a few other clubs are. Mora confirms that several teams have been in touch with his agent, including the Rockies, Cardinals, and Angels.
  • The Orioles are still looking to add a corner infielder. Although they've had discussions with Miguel Tejada's representation, "a reunion remains unlikely."
  • The club would prefer to play Garrett Atkins at first base, rather than at third. The greater number of affordable first basemen left on the market, however, may force their hand.
  • A handful of teams, including Baltimore, have extended minor league contract offers to Rich Hill, but the lefty has yet to make a decision.

Red Sox Sign Adrian Beltre

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Adrian Beltre left one defense-oriented team for another today and signed with the Red Sox. When he signed a five-year $64MM deal with the Mariners in 2004, Beltre was coming off a 48 homer season. Last year, he hit just eight homers, but his well-deserved reputation as one of the game's elite defenders earned him $9MM for the upcoming season and the chance to make even more in 2011.

Beltre, 31 in April, will earn a $7MM salary in 2010, in addition to a $2MM signing bonus. He has a player option for 2011 that's worth at least $5MM and will reach $10MM if Beltre makes 640 plate appearances this season. There's also a $1MM buy-out for 2011. It's not a lot of guaranteed money, but Beltre and agent Scott Boras could lobby for a long-term deal if Beltre re-establishes his offensive value in Fenway Park this year.

Jon Heyman tweeted that Beltre was close to a deal with the Red Sox and Buster Onley tweeted some details of the agreement before Tim Brown of Yahoo tweeted that Beltre had "reached an agreement" with the Red Sox. Peter Gammons, Peter Abraham, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, WEEI's Rob Bradford and Alex Speier followed up with the details.

According to the Boston Herald's John Tomase, Beltre turned down both a three-year and four-year deal in order to sign with the Red Sox. Rosenthal says Beltre turned down a pair of three-year, $24MM offers this offseason, apparently from the Phillies and A's.  We'll see if he ultimately beats that amount over 2010-12.

The Mariners obtain a supplementary rounder in next year's draft for losing Beltre, who turned down their offer of arbitration.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

GM Trade Histories: AL East

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Brendan Bianowicz has more updates to the GM Trade History series.  Today he covers the AL East.  Check out the Excel spreadsheets below to see trades, free agent signings, and notable draft picks for each GM.

Marlins Notes: Kennedy, Reed, Cantu

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A couple of Fish-related tidbits from the land of Dwyane Wade and Dexter Morgan tonight….

  • Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins have made finding relief pitching a priority over replacing Ross Gload.  Jackson mentioned Adam Kennedy and Jeremy Reed as left-handed hitters "mentioned in informal talks" that Florida might be interested in signing once they take care of their bullpen.
  • It looks as if Dan Uggla will still be a Marlin when the 2010 season starts, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  Rodriguez thinks that if the Fish can't find a trade partner for Uggla, they may shift gears and "start taking calls" about Jorge Cantu.  Cantu's ability to place both first and third base makes him an attractive option to teams looking for help at the corners.  Could Baltimore be interested?  We know they're still in the market for a corner infielder, and the Orioles and Marlins touched base with each other about an Uggla trade earlier this winter.

LaRoche Turns Down Giants’ Offer

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ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that Adam LaRoche turned down a two-year, $17MM deal from San Francisco, and now the Giants may have pulled their offer back altogether.  LaRoche has been mentioned as a possible target for the Giants this winter and would certainly fill their need for a left-handed hitter, but as Olney notes in a follow-up tweet, San Francisco is "discussing alternatives" to signing the first baseman. 

The Giants' stance could also be a negotiating tactic to get LaRoche to drop his asking price given that, as Olney pointed out, LaRoche seems to be down to just the Giants and Orioles as potential suitors.  (The Mariners were scratched from the list given their acquisition of Casey Kotchman.)

Matt Holliday, Cardinals Could Agree This Week

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10:06pm: Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa says that any deal should be finalized this week, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The piece offers plenty of detail about this past weekend's negotiations, which have left the Cardinals with "a sense of optimism" regarding Holliday.

5:30pm: Sources tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Cardinals and Holliday "are close to a deal."

12:35pm: It's been suggested that the Cardinals have offered multiple contract scenarios to Holliday.  One might have been seven years and $112MM, according to SI's Jon Heyman.  Also, Heyman talked to one source who believes the Orioles are "laying in the weeds" despite recent denials.

Meanwhile, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers his take, in which he notes that silence from Cards GM John Mozeliak might be a positive sign.

8:30am: A Friday tweet by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa had some fans wondering if a Matt Holliday signing was imminent, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contacted La Russa to get an explanation exceeding 140 characters.  La Russa explained to Goold:

"We're getting ready to move.  I know they’ve been talking a lot with Matt. I know we have a really smart Plan B…(It) could be on Plan A, or it could be our Plan B. The point is, we're not going to get stuck."

La Russa told Goold he was not referring specifically to Holliday with his "Soon the Cards will be smart too" tweet.  However, Goold did learn from one source that there could be a Holliday resolution this week.  Goold speculated that of the various packages offered to the slugger, six or seven years with a guarantee over $100MM might do the trick.  Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports suggested on Wednesday that Holliday aims to top the $18MM average annual salary he passed up from the Rockies in '08.  It will be interesting to see how high the Cardinals are willing to go given the lack of a clear second suitor for Holliday.

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