O’s, Cubs Talking Deal For Rich Hill
FRIDAY: A small update from Roch Kubatko: nothing is imminent with the Orioles and Hill. He says not to expect an announcement before next week, if the two teams are to hammer out a deal.
THURSDAY: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles are looking to acquire Cubs lefty Rich Hill. Hill is out of options, limiting his value. Zrebiec notes that Hill could benefit from a reunion with Rick Kranitz, his former Triple A pitching coach.
An industry source told Zrebiec that it’s a "strong possibility" that Hill will end up with the Orioles. Apparently the Cubs would receive a player to be named later in return, the value of whom would hinge on Hill’s success in Baltimore. The Mariners have also shown interest, but the O’s are believed to be in the lead at this point. Hill, 28, walked 18 in 19.2 innings last year before his demotion to the minors. He had a nice run for the Cubs in 2006-07.
Odds and Ends: Boras, Manny, Heilman
Links for Friday…
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick examines Scott Boras’ work so far this winter, as well as his remaining clients.
- RotoAuthority has first baseman rankings for fantasy leagues.
- Matthew Cerrone suggests the Mets might want to publicly rule out Manny Ramirez.
- Interesting WHIFF profile on Aaron Heilman.
- Patrick Newman introduces us to Norichika Aoki, perhaps the best hitter in Japan. Aoki may end up in MLB, but it probably won’t be anytime soon.
- The Orioles agreed to a split contract with pitcher Brian Burres, says Troy Renck.
Odds and Ends: Kotsay, Redding
Links for Thursday…
- RotoAuthority ranks the catchers for fantasy baseball.
- Dave Cameron reminds us that talented minor leaguers often have delayed success in the bigs.
- MLB.com’s Mychael Urban talked to Mark Kotsay, who did not enjoy the free agent experience.
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone transcribes a Tim Redding MLB Network interview, where it was revealed that the Rockies, Pirates, and Orioles had interest before the pitcher signed with the Mets.
Stark On Greinke, Manny, Dunn, Swisher
The latest from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…
- The Cubs’ ownership situation is not close to the finish line, which is one reason the team won’t be acquiring Jake Peavy anytime soon.
- One source of Stark’s suggested Zack Greinke nearly left his current agent John Courtright of SFX for Scott Boras, a whisper I’d heard as well. But now Greinke is happy with his contract and agent.
- Free agents such as Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez could reasonably wait until March to sign. Not a bad thing for this website!
- Adam Dunn would like Manny to sign earlier, as he’s waiting to see what the Dodgers (his preferred team) do. The Nationals have been Dunn’s most aggressive suitor, the Orioles have mild interest, and the Braves have backed off.
- Stark questions the idea of talks for Manny heating up lately, since the Mets, Yankees, and Angels are out and the Giants are only conditionally interested.
- When Alex Rodriguez was a free agent last winter, Joe Torre advised the Dodgers against signing him.
- The Phillies would like to move Geoff Jenkins for a right-handed hitting outfielder, but Jenkins is paid too much. Jay Payton and Emil Brown are not on the Phillies’ radar; they still like Nomar Garciaparra.
- The Yankees are apparently "softening to the idea of trading Nick Swisher," with the Braves the top suitor.
Orioles Looking At Braden Looper
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, industry sources say that the Orioles continue to have talks with the representative of Braden Looper.
Orioles president Andy MacPhail isn’t naming Looper specifically, but has said that the team is taking a close look at the free-agent pitching market. The Orioles’ rotation still has holes following the acquisition of Koji Uehara, though they have good young talent on the way.
The 34 year-old Looper went 12-14 with a 4.16 ERA with the Cardinals last year.
Brian Roberts Addresses Contract Situation
On MASN’s weekly Brian Roberts segment, the Orioles’ second baseman touched on his contract situation, as well as teammate Nick Markakis‘ new deal. In regard to his own contract, Roberts made it clear that though he’s focused on Opening Day, he believes that there’s time to make a deal before spring training:
"It is going to come to a point where we have to make a decision one way or the other," he said. "I don’t want this to drag out once we get into kind of midway through spring training as I start getting ready to play for the season. I think there will be sufficient time up until then to get this worked out if we can. And if not, then we’ll see what happens at the end of the year. We’re not at that point yet."
Ken Rosenthal reported previously that Roberts wants a four-year extension to stay in Baltimore. The Orioles made Roberts an offer earlier this month, which was believed to be for $10MM per season, but only for three years.
Odds and Ends: Sherrill, Kubel, Teahen
Links for Wednesday…
- T.R. Sullivan examines the Rangers’ interest level in 25 free agents.
- An article about Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus.
- Rany Jazayerli suggests the Jeremy Bonderman contract might have been a model for Zack Greinke‘s deal.
- George Sherrill‘s arbitration hearing is set for February 19th. The Orioles are at $2.2MM while Sherrill requested $3.4MM, putting the midpoint at $2.8MM.
- Jack Marshall discusses the ethics of Scott Boras.
- Barry Bloom looks at the remaining free agent starting pitchers and possible suitors.
- Dave Cameron questions the Twins’ recent Jason Kubel contract.
- Sam Mellinger talks about the Mark Teahen second base experiment.
- Will Clark is set to join the Giants’ front office.
Odds and Ends: Yamarin, Eaton, Atkins, Ohman
Links for Monday…
- Yankees and Red Sox fans are dreaming of Joe Mauer, whose contract is up after the 2010 season.
- Updated June draft order, courtesy of Baseball America.
- The Braves signed a Japanese amateur pitcher named Yoshinori Yamarin to a minor league deal.
- Adam Eaton is not a candidate for the Phillies’ fifth starter job, and they’ll probably release him and eat his contract if they can’t trade him.
- MLB.com made a nice addition in Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki.
- Arbitration hearing dates are set for Paul Maholm and Nate McLouth.
- Jim Salisbury writes about Tal Smith, who prepares arbitration cases for clubs.
- Garrett Atkins comments on his arbitration request and his future with the Rockies.
- The Reds voided the contract of 16 year-old Venezuelan pitcher Ismael Guillon and re-signed him for less due to a problem found during his physical.
- Athletics Nation talked to MLB.com beat writer Mychael Urban.
- David O’Brien chatted with unsigned reliever Will Ohman.
- Orioles infielder Oscar Salazar cleared waivers.
O’s Not In On Sheets
While the Ben Sheets market continues to be quiet, this evening we can more forcefully eliminate another team from the list of potential suitors. It appears the Baltimore Orioles are not interested.
In a post that looks at the Orioles’ young staff, Steve Melewski ends with a comment about Baltimore’s lack of interest in the potential staff ace. Melewski estimates that signing Sheets may require a two-year offer at $8MM per; he also mentions Sheets’ six DL stints. Considering these two factors, Melewski writes, "unless the club has a radical change of heart, they are just not going to take that chance."
Padres, Nats Interested In Ohman
According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick the Nationals and Padres are among the teams interested in Will Ohman. Both teams are "bottom fishing," and are considered secondary options for the lefty reliever.
Ohman hoped for a deal similar to the ones signed by Jeremy Affeldt ($8MM, two years) and Damaso Marte ($12MM, three years). He’s generated lots of interest and has a new contract offer from an unnamed team.
Crasnick mentions the Dodgers and Mets as potential suitors for Ohman, and the D’Backs, Orioles, Rangers, Indians, Rays and Braves have all reportedly had interest in him.