Orioles Rumors: Dunn, Wigginton, Sexson
3:15pm: Roch Kubatko says the Orioles would only consider Adam Dunn as a DH, and he wants to play the outfield.
1:40pm: The latest from Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun (with an assist from Jeff Zrebiec)…
- The Orioles want a first base candidate who can also play other positions, since they want to use Aubrey Huff at first sometimes. Ty Wigginton remains on the radar, but the Orioles don’t want to go beyond one year. The O’s have apparently moved on from the Richie Sexson idea.
- The Orioles signed former Yankees outfielder Justin Christian to a minor league deal.
- The O’s finalized their two-year contract with Koji Uehara.
Minor League Signings
Three new minor league signings from Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles signed Jolbert Cabrera and Robby Hammock, while the Marlins inked Jay Gibbons.
Odds and Ends: Glavine, Millar, Uehara
A few links on a slow Sunday night in the world of baseball…
- Tom Glavine, a native of Massachusetts, told former New York Times baseball writer Murray Chass that he is "envious" that buddy John Smoltz gets to pitch for the Boston Red Sox this season.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN Online believes the Orioles are far from signing free agent Kevin Millar, but notes that the two sides have interest in each other.
- Japanese pitcher and brand new member of the Orioles, Koji Uehara, arrived in the Baltimore area Sunday and plans to take his physical on Monday.
Orioles Close To Signing Zaun
8:45pm: Roch Kubatko has an update based on a direct conversation with Gregg Zaun.
From Kubatko: "The former Orioles catcher says team president Andy MacPhail and agent Dan Evans have been able to ‘bridge the gap a little bit better, and recent conversations have been encouraging.’"
Kubatko expects Zaun to be signed next week, and suggests the Orioles are in control of the situation since the free agent catcher is willing to accept a one-year deal.
4:43pm: Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun reports the Orioles are "very close" to signing free agent catcher Gregg Zaun to a one-year deal.
Zaun would likely be the starter until Matt Wieters is ready to go.
Odds And Ends: Johnson, Bloomquist, Smoltz
Links for Saturday:
- We knew Dan Johnson was heading to Japan, but now it’s official. He’ll play for the Yokohama BayStars and earn $1.5MM in 2009.
- Rob Neyer writes that the Willie Bloomquist signing caps an offseason that’s cost the Royals a lot and left them with very little top talent.
- Losing John Smoltz hasn’t been easy for the Braves.
- MLB.com’s Tom Singer takes a look at some of the remaining free agent pitchers.
- Buster Olney creates a team of the remaining free agents and it doesn’t look bad. He also has a fun idea for teams who want to sign a Type A free agent without losing their top pick.
- Jim Johnson seems likely to start the season in the bullpen for Baltimore.
- Peter Schmuck writes that at a low enough price it would make sense for the O’s to gamble on some pitchers to fill out the rotation.
- Larry LaRue wonders whether the Mariners will hold onto Jamie Burke; Burke does too.
Heyman On Manny, Lowe, Crede, Redding, Hinske
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…
- The Giants "look like a major threat" to the Dodgers for Manny Ramirez and are "making a serious run at him." Former teammate J.T. Snow apparently raved about him. Nonetheless Heyman says the Dodgers are "probably still considered the favorite." Heyman lists the Rangers as "intrigued." He believes Ramirez will get three guaranteed years somewhere.
- Heyman says Derek Lowe is "quite possibly" in play for the Phillies, though we heard from Ken Rosenthal today that the team denied interest. Heyman also sticks with the Brewers and Angels as outside possibilities despite reports to the contrary. He believes Mets GM Omar Minaya prefers Oliver Perez to Lowe.
- The Giants, Twins, and Rangers are in on Joe Crede.
- Players said to be in on Freddy Garcia: the Mets, White Sox, and Rangers. We can probably cross off the Mets with their Tim Redding signing.
- Heyman believes the Dodgers want to replace Brad Penny with Randy Wolf.
- Heyman says the Pirates offered more guaranteed money than the Red Sox to Rocco Baldelli. Dejan Kovacevic had this first in an article published early this morning.
- The Red Sox were looking at Eric Hinske but with Baldelli and Mark Kotsay in tow it’s unlikely. A Japanese team has "allegedly shown interest" in Hinske.
- Before signing with the Rays for two years and $16MM, Pat Burrell was getting offers in the one-year, $5MM range.
Orioles Sign Chris Gomez
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles signed infielder Chris Gomez to a minor league deal. Gomez signed with the Orioles as a free agent prior to the ’05 season and remained in the organization until the Indians took him off waivers in August of ’07.
Odds and Ends: Bradley, Roberts, Cruz, Smoltz
Links for Friday…
- David Chase looks at fantasy baseball’s top strikeout pitchers.
- The third year of Milton Bradley‘s contract turns into a club option if he has serious health problems this year.
- Two players expected to attend the Brewers’ open tryout this month: Randall Simon and Mark Bellhorn.
- Dave Cameron looks at the premium teams pay for proven closers.
- Bobby Valentine comments on the Orioles’ Koji Uehara signing in Dan Connolly’s article. Within that article Connolly suggests the trade market for Brian Roberts may be suffering because of Orlando Hudson‘s availability on the free agent market.
- The D’Backs wouldn’t be thrilled, but the Yankees could sign Juan Cruz and only surrender a fourth-round pick.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington said the team is looking at some comeback-type free agent outfielders. Dejan Kovacevic guesses that Emil Brown, Craig Monroe, or Jonny Gomes could fit the bill.
- The Red Sox designated knuckleballer Charlie Zink for assignment.
- J.C. Bradbury believes the Braves were misleading with the public regarding their offer to John Smoltz.
Rosenthal On Fielder, Buchholz, Edmonds
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- Rosenthal suggests the Brewers trade Prince Fielder for "premium pitching" and then sign Adam Dunn to replace him. Which begs the question, why wouldn’t the team giving up this premium pitching just sign Dunn instead?
- Despite signing John Smoltz, the Red Sox still are not willing to trade Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Sox may be willing to move Michael Bowden or especially Daniel Bard for Salty.
- The Yankees’ interest in Mike Cameron "seems to be waning."
- Despite Jon Heyman’s report, the Phillies, Angels, and Brewers deny interest in Derek Lowe. Rosenthal says the market for Oliver Perez is even worse.
- Rosenthal suggests veterans such as Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, and Jim Edmonds could go the Kenny Lofton route. Lofton, a capable player, sat out the 2008 season when his salary demands weren’t met. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ll soon see which former stars are willing to play for a pittance (if you consider more than $500K a pittance).
- The Orioles have Edmonds on the radar as a first base candidate.
- Suitors for lefty reliever Dennys Reyes: the A’s, Mets, and Dodgers. The Tigers and Rangers are also known to be on the lookout for a southpaw in the pen.
Braves, Orioles Eyeing Kenshin Kawakami
11:14pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the Braves were aggressive on Kawakami even before John Smoltz left, so the Japanese pitcher is in a good position. Brown’s list of Kawakami suitors includes some new clubs. He names the Braves, Cardinals, Red Sox, Twins, Pirates, Orioles, and possibly Yankees.
A Nikkan Sports article about Kawakami (in Japanese) has been making the rounds lately. I asked Patrick Newman about it; apparently it says Kawakami has advanced to final negotiations with the Braves. My guess is that this report jumped the gun.
8:34pm: Steve Melewski of MASN reports that the Orioles are still in the hunt for Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.
"The O’s remain in the mix, no question," a source told MASN. "They’ve showed a strong pursuit of Kawakami." Baltimore has already signed another Japanese import, Koji Uehara, but are looking for more starting pitching depth. Kawakami, 34, has a career record of 106-62 and a 3.17 ERA in Japan. The O’s extended an offer to him at the end of December, but he’s obviously keeping his options open. The Braves, Twins and Cardinals are also believed to have interest.