Orioles Rumors

Orioles Sign Hennessey

By Tim Dierkes | November 17, 2008 at 4:57pm CDT

According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Online, the Orioles signed pitcher Brad Hennessey to a minor league deal. The O’s also inked infielder Donnie Murphy, which was first reported a few days ago.

Hennessey, 29 in February, posted a 7.81 ERA in 40.1 innings for the Giants this year. He was also unimpressive in 21 Triple A starts. Hennessey’s fastball was down over two miles per hour this year, and he went to his changeup more often. He’ll probably provide rotation depth for the Orioles, though he did close for several months last year.

Odds and Ends: Mussina, Proefrock, Cuban

By Tim Dierkes | November 17, 2008 at 11:21am CDT

Links for Monday…

Pitcher Kelvin Jimenez was claimed off waivers by the White Sox. The Blue Jays had claimed him from the Cardinals previously.
The Yankees hope Mike Mussina decides whether he’s retiring soon. He says it might be this week.
Aaron Gleeman runs through the more affordable middle relief options.
Roch Kubatko had the scoop yesterday – Scott Proefrock, formerly of the Orioles, is the new assistant GM for the Phillies.
Trey Hillman is familiar with Kenshin Kawakami, but it’s not known whether the Royals are interested.
Peter Abraham is wary of five free agents the Yankees might consider.
Mark Cuban is in hot water for alleged insider trading.
Ben Davis is apparently pitching these days, and he’ll try to crack the Reds’ Double A rotation.

Odds & Ends: Kawakami, Renteria, Johnson, Ohman

By Nat Boyle | November 16, 2008 at 11:56am CDT

A number of Odds & Ends for your weekend update:

From Japanball.com, Kenshin Kawakami is filing for free agency.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports the Cubs are considering Randy Johnson for a one year deal. The 45 year old lefty is a career 13-0 against the Cubs, 4-0 at Wrigley, and needs 5 wins to reach 300.
The Cardinals are moving in on free agent Will Ohman, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and are reportedly interested in Jeremy Affeldt and Arthur Rhodes.
In the same article, Goold suggests the Cards will stall on their efforts to pursue Edgar Renteria until after the Tigers decline their offer of arbitration, since signing the Type A free agent beforehand would result in any team losing a first round draft pick. So despite "mutual interest", don’t expect the Cardinals, or anyone, to sign Renteria before the second week of December. Matthew Leach of mlb.com notes there are a lot of free agent shortstop options.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Giants are finding mutual interest in Rafael Furcal and Bobby Howry.
Utility man Donnie Murphy signed a minor-league deal with the O’s – from Peter Schmuck’s blog.
John Hickey at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says M’s GM Jack Zduriencik expects Raul Ibanez to wait for Seattle to name it’s next manager before making any decisions.

Odds and Ends: Ankiel, Hoffman, Mussina

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2008 at 3:37pm CDT

Linkage for Thursday…

Viva El Birdos tries to put a price on Rick Ankiel, and decides now is the time to trade him. Ankiel, a Scott Boras client, is eligible for free agency after the ’09 season.
Derrick Goold runs through the lefty reliever options for St. Louis on his blog. It doesn’t seem like Trevor Hoffman is on the Cardinals’ radar. Hoffman wants to remain a closer, so he won’t be going to San Francisco either.
Brian Cashman explains that $6MM for one year of Damaso Marte was too much, but $12MM over three years works. Ken Davidoff still doesn’t get it.
Mike Mussina will make his decision early next week.
Tony Massarotti runs through best and worst case scenarios for the Yankees and Red Sox.
Jeff Zrebiec names ten possible free agent targets for the Orioles.
Omar Minaya spilled the beans to WFAN’s Mike Francesa. He’s not interested in Ben Sheets, but will make an offer to Pedro Martinez.
The Twins seem more likely to make trades than sign free agents, according to Joe Christensen.
Could Ted Turner buy back the Braves?

Cubs Focused On Lefthanded Bat

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2008 at 9:35am CDT

Gordon Wittenmyer talked to his sources and agrees with Lou Piniella’s indication that the Cubs are not serious about Jake Peavy. Wittenmyer believes San Diego sources were putting the Cubs rumors out there to drive up the price. He says the Cubs are focused on acquiring an athletic lefthanded hitter this winter.

Wittenmyer says Raul Ibanez, Jeremy Hermida, and Brian Roberts remain on the radar. The latest word on Hermida is that the Marlins will need to be "wowed" to move him.

Heyman’s Latest: Manny, Martin, Jenks

By Tim Dierkes | November 11, 2008 at 11:50am CDT

SI.com’s Jon Heyman has some hot stove musings today.

Heyman talked to one GM who asked (in reference to C.C. Sabathia), "When does anyone ever leave a dollar on the table, much less twenty or thirty million dollars?" I have heard this sentiment often but I do remember certain players leaving money on the table (often to play in California). Randy Wolf took less in ’06 to sign with the Dodgers, and Brian Giles did the same for the Padres in ’05. Kerry Wood turned down a multiyear offer from Boston last year. And how about Andre Dawson and the blank check in ’87? Evan Longoria left a ton of money on the table too, but let’s stick to free agents. Any other examples?
Heyman still likes the Orioles as one of Manny Ramirez’s suitors.
Heyman describes the evidence as "fairly thin" that the Dodgers are looking to trade Russell Martin.
White Sox GM Ken Williams is listening on Bobby Jenks, and the Mets are in on him. Javier Vazquez and Paul Konerko may also be available, though Konerko has full no-trade rights.

Angels Hold Off On Teixeira Bid

By Tim Dierkes | November 11, 2008 at 10:14am CDT

Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times describes the Angels’ strategy regarding free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. He says that since Tex will test the open market regardless, the Halos will not make an offer within their exclusive negotiation period. So much for resolving the situation quickly.

The Angels do not want Scott Boras shopping around their offer to the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, and Nationals and driving up the price. Just a guess, maybe the Nats consider Josh Willingham their cleanup hitter acquisition and will back out of the Teixeira derby.

DiGiovanna adds that the Angels "plan a serious run" at C.C. Sabathia and could bid on A.J. Burnett. He also describes their stance on their own free agents aside from Teixeira:

The team will look to re-sign reliever Darren Oliver, is open to retaining closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Juan Rivera, and seems lukewarm to the idea of retaining pitcher Jon Garland and outfielder Garret Anderson.

Koji Uehara Coming To MLB

By Tim Dierkes | November 11, 2008 at 9:12am CDT

Koji Uehara is officially coming to MLB, according to NPB Tracker. The free agent hurler hired SFX to represent him.

Based on Japanese reports, Newman says the Mets and Angels are eyeing Uehara as a reliever, while the Orioles like him as a starter. Newman likes him with the Cardinals as a swingman. Uehara, a 33 year-old control pitcher, was profiled here.

Indians Rumors: Shoppach, Roberts, Street

By Tim Dierkes | November 7, 2008 at 4:51pm CDT

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer discusses the Indians’ offseason needs.

With Victor Martinez, Kelly Shoppach, Carlos Santana, and others, the Indians have a surplus of catching (and mad guitar skills). The Red Sox, Marlins, Reds, and Tigers are known to be in the market, so maybe the Indians can deal a catcher to fill another need. Those other needs: an infielder, a late inning reliever, and a starter.
Hoynes believes the Indians will fall short of meeting the demands of free agents Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Rafael Furcal.
Hoynes implies the asking price for one year of Brian Roberts is Fausto Carmona and Asdrubal Cabrera. That won’t work for the Tribe; they are looking to add a starter. They might have the same problem if they try to acquire Garrett Atkins.
As we’ve heard, the Indians are in on Huston Street.
Hoynes tosses out a couple of possible free agent bargains that may come with the necessary price break: Joe Crede and Jason Isringhausen.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Friday

By Tim Dierkes | November 7, 2008 at 1:50pm CDT

1:47pm: This Scott Miller column is from yesterday, but it has some good info. Miller’s source believes the Braves are the frontrunners for Peavy and are willing to include Gorkys Hernandez. Additionally, the source said the Cubs are very aggressive and the Dodgers are making a strong pitch.

12:53pm: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says Samardzija is not on the table and has a full, not partial, no-trade. Additionally, the Cubs have not thrown Fontenot into the mix. Miles gives a 50-50 chance of the Cubs getting Peavy.

9:39am: GM Kevin Towers expects to trade Jake Peavy before the winter meetings, saying, "The train’s kind of left the station." Continuing the metaphor, Barry Axelrod said, "The only thing we’ve got is a brake."

According to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, the Cubs have moved in front of the Braves in the battle for Peavy. Passan says the Padres want Jeff Samardzija (who has a limited no-trade clause), and the Cubs could also include players such as Felix Pie, Sean Marshall, Ronny Cedeno, Kevin Hart, and Donald Veal. Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Rich Harden or Mike Fontenot could be involved. De Luca notes that a Peavy trade would probably prevent the Cubs from acquiring Brian Roberts. ESPN’s Buster Olney believes Josh Vitters would have to be involved, while the Daily Herald’s Bruce Miles adds Jose Ceda, Welington Castillo, and Mitch Atkins as possibilities. Miles does not see the Cubs as a player for C.C. Sabathia, by the way.

The Padres would prefer a deal with Atlanta, but can’t pry Tommy Hanson loose. The Braves are willing to trade Yunel Escobar, Charlie Morton, and Jordan Schafer.

Meanwhile, Tom Krasovic at the San Diego Union-Tribune says Peavy and Barry Axelrod are concerned about the Braves’ shortstop situation if they are to include the defensively-talented Escobar. Perhaps the Braves could sway them by outlining some contingency plans at the position.

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