Minor Trades: Red Sox, Padres
A few minor trades completed today…
- The Red Sox acquired righty Kyle Kaminska from the Pirates to complete the Zach Stewart trade, the team announced. Kaminska, 24, posted a 4.19 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, and 1.21 HR/9 in 81 2/3 innings across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A for the Pirates and Marlins.
- The Padres acquired righty Wilfredo Boscan from the Rangers to complete the Cory Burns trade, according to the team. Boscan, 23, posted a 3.75 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and 0.92 HR/9 in 98 1/3 innings for the Rangers' Double-A affiliate this year.
2012 Rule 5 Draft Results
Each year, Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings conclude with the Rule 5 Draft. For those who are unfamiliar with the event, MLBTR offers an in-depth description, but here's a quick overview.
Players are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft if they aren't on the 40-man roster four or five years after signing, depending on the age at which they signed. Teams draft in the reverse order of the previous season's standings but aren't required to make a selection. If they do choose a player, they pay his former team $50K and must keep that player on the Major League roster all season or offer him back to his original team for $25K.
The results from the Major League phase:
- Astros take righty Josh Fields from Red Sox
- Cubs take righty Hector Rondon from Indians
- Rockies take lefty Danny Rosenbaum from Nationals
- Twins take righty Ryan Pressly from Red Sox
- Indians take first baseman Chris McGuiness from Rangers
- Marlins take outfielder Alfredo Silverio from Dodgers
- Red Sox take second baseman Jeff Kobernus from Nationals; traded to Tigers for infielder/outfielder Justin Henry
- Royals
- Blue Jays
- Mets take lefty Kyle Lobstein from Rays; traded to Tigers for cash considerations
- Mariners
- Padres
- Pirates
- Diamondbacks take righty Starling Peralta from Cubs
- Phillies take outfielder Ender Inciarte from Diamondbacks
- Brewers
- White Sox take infielder Angel Sanchez from Angels
- Dodgers
- Cardinals
- Tigers
- Angels
- Rays
- Orioles take lefty T.J. McFarland from Indians
- Rangers take righty Coty Woods from Rockies
- Athletics
- Giants
- Braves
- Yankees
- Reds
- Nationals
Second round of Major League phase:
- Astros take first baseman Nate Freiman from Padres
- Marlins take lefty Braulio Lara from Rays
Cubs, Brewers, Royals, Red Sox In On Dempster
8:48pm: Levine's report "grossly misrepresents" the nature of the Cubs-Dempster talks, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. He says negotiations are not happening and a reunion is implausible.
7:56pm: Dempster's agent has talked to the Cubs about a possible return to Chicago, reports Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. Though the Cubs have not made an offer, money and length of contract was discussed. Dempster has two and three-year offers on the table, writes Levine, with the Royals and Brewers showing the most interest. Levine sees a no-trade as a potential obstacle to Dempster returning to the Cubs.
2:13pm: The Royals made Dempster a two-year, $26MM offer, which he declined, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Kansas City balked at Dempster's request for three years and it seems neither side has changed its stance, says Dutton (Twitter links).
1:59pm: The Royals and Red Sox are still interested in Dempster, according to Rosenthal, who says the Brewers remain in the mix as well. The Angels' current level of interest is unclear, says Rosenthal (Twitter link).
12:21pm: Dempster believes he will earn a three-year deal if other free agent pitchers like Anibal Sanchez, Kyle Lohse, and Edwin Jackson land four- or five-year deals, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
10:37am: With the Brewers still unwilling to commit a third year to an offer for Ryan Dempster, the two sides have reached an impasse in their negotiations, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. If another team steps up and offers Dempster a three-year deal, the Brewers will likely be out of the running, says Haudricourt.
We heard on Monday that Dempster is seeking a three-year contract, something Milwaukee preferred to avoid, having been burned on long-term deals for veteran starters before. Perhaps the two sides can reach a compromise on some sort of two-year deal with a third-year option, but for now it seems nothing is close.
GM Doug Melvin visited with Dempster's agent, Craig Landis, yesterday.
Red Sox Notes: Ellsbury, Starting Pitching, Hamilton
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington held court with reporters today; here's the latest:
- Trading center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury "is not our intent," Cherington said. The GM sees Ellsbury as a big part of the 2013 team. There's been recent speculation about Ellsbury as a trade candidate given Shane Victorino's ability to play center field and Ellsbury's impending walk year.
- The starting pitching market is starting to move a bit, and Cherington says it's his top priority now. It's known that the Red Sox made an offer for Dan Haren before he signed with the Nationals, and they've shown some interest in Ryan Dempster and Carl Pavano.
- Cherington is open-minded about outfielder Cody Ross, but the team has not been in contact with him since news of the Victorino agreement broke.
- Cherington acknowledged meeting with a player this week, who Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston believes was Josh Hamilton. The Sox indeed met with Hamilton before he left Nashville, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Nick Swisher Rumors: Wednesday
3:41pm: Morosi tweets that the Orioles aren't likely to make a real push for Swisher with McLouth back in the fold. Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and SiriusXM identifies Swisher's strongest suitors as the Phillies, Indians, and Mariners (Twitter link).
2:44pm: Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports still list the Red Sox and Giants among the potential suitors for Swisher. However, the Sox would have to move Jacoby Ellsbury, while the Giants figure to employ a low-cost platoon in left field instead.
The Orioles, Mariners, and Indians are also still involved, according to the FOX duo.
1:02pm: Indians manager Terry Francona called Swisher to pitch the Tribe to him, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
11:38am: After missing out on Shane Victorino to the Red Sox, the Indians have shifted their focus to other outfielders. One of their targets, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter), is Nick Swisher.
The Red Sox and Giants both had interest in Swisher, but with Victorino in Boston and San Francisco likely not having the money for a big free agent outfielder, those teams both appear to be out of the running.
The Orioles and Mariners are among the other clubs that could be in on Swisher, though MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli writes that Baltimore may just be doing due diligence on the former Yankee. The O's still hope to sign Nate McLouth, and Swisher may be out of their price range, says Ghiroli.
AL East Rumors: Rays, Jays, Keppinger, Ellsbury, O’s
As the third day of the 2012 Winter Meetings gets underway, let's round up a few items out of the AL East…
- Keppinger was the Yankees' first choice as the right-handed part of a third base platoon, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. With Keppinger signing with Chicago, the Yankees are forced to move on to Plan B.
Earlier updates:
- Teams that have spoken to the Rays have come away thinking Tampa Bay is more likely to move James Shields or Jeremy Hellickson than David Price, says Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- With Darren Oliver still uncommitted to returning for the 2013 season, the Blue Jays continue to seek bullpen help, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
- The Yankees are one of six teams vying for Jeff Keppinger's services, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Although we heard overnight that Keppinger could receive a three-year deal worth around $4MM annually, Sherman suggests that something in the two-year, $10MM range could work too
- Within the same column, Sherman writes that he's receiving "strong indications" the Yankees don't intend to pursue A.J. Pierzynski
- The Red Sox and Phillies haven't engaged in talks for Jacoby Ellsbury, a source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link)
- Despite agreeing to three-year deals for Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino already this week, the Red Sox still have plenty of room to spend, says Alex Speier of WEEI.com
- WEEI.com's Kirk Minihane believes the Victorino signing was a mistake by the Red Sox
- The Orioles met with Nick Swisher's agent in Nashville, and Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com wonders if there's a fit there.
- The Red Sox announced that they've signed 26-year-old right-hander Anthony Carter to a minor league deal, writes Speier at WEEI.com.
Free Agent Rumors: Rolen, Bourn, McCarthy, Drew
A number of free agents have found deals in Nashville this week, but there are still a ton available, including 29 of our top 50. Here's the latest on a few of the remaining options:
- Scott Rolen remains undecided on whether he'll retire or continue his playing career, his agent tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. If Rolen decides he wants to play, Fay believes the Reds could be interested in bringing him back in some role.
- Former Rockie Ryan Spilborghs is drawing serious interest in Japan, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Mariners like Michael Bourn "very much," though the Phillies and Rangers remain in on the speedy outfielder, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- A couple reasons the Angels' interest in Brandon McCarthy has picked up in Nashville are his age (29) and the fact that he likely won't command more than a two-year deal, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
- Stephen Drew figures to land at least a two-year deal, which would probably take the Tigers out of the running, says MLB.com's Jason Beck. The Red Sox continue to be in on Drew, however, according to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
- In their hunt for left-handed relief help, the Cardinals have inquired on Manny Parra and explored what it would take to sign Sean Burnett, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards are expected to find their man fairly soon, says Goold.
- Dan Johnson, who was non-tendered by the White Sox last week, is interested in returning to the Rays, but may end up in Japan, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Twins Made Offers To Saunders, Liriano
10:42am: In addition to the pitchers listed below, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) identifies Edwin Jackson, Shaun Marcum, Brandon McCarthy, Jair Jurrjens, and Carl Pavano as potential targets for the Twins. Pavano is said to be drawing interest from five teams, including the Red Sox, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
9:52am: As they look to shore up their starting rotation, the Twins have offers out to Joe Saunders and Francisco Liriano, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The Twins are waiting to hear back from the two left-handers and may have offers out to other pitchers, says Neal.
Joe Blanton, Kevin Correia, Brett Myers, Vicente Padilla, Mike Pelfrey, and John Lannan were said to be among the Twins' pitching targets earlier this week.
According to Neal, there are seven other teams that also have interest in Liriano.
Quick Hits: Giants, Hairston, Indians, Ellsbury, Pavano
While we wait to see whether any major moves will be finalized in Nashville today, let's check out a few odds and ends from Wednesday morning….
- After signing Marco Scutaro to a three-year deal, the Giants may have a hard time affording the sort of outfield bat they'd been targeting, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. According to Baggarly, the Giants had a two-year offer out to Ryan Ludwick, but both Ludwick and Scott Hairston may be too pricey for them now.
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported earlier today that Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera are "very available," but a rival official tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link) that "the price for Choo is high, and for Asdrubal even higher."
- Most baseball people in Nashville believe it will be hard for teams to seriously consider dealing for Jacoby Ellsbury when they have no idea whether they'll be able to keep him long-term, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Olney adds in a tweet that while the Red Sox are listening to offers for Ellsbury and Jon Lester, they aren't motivated to move either player unless a team overpays.
- Although the Marlins spoke to Carl Pavano's agent yesterday, the team doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about a reunion with the right-hander, says Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.
Heyman On Choo, Cabrera, Red Sox, Grilli, Marcum
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has been sharing a few Winter Meetings nuggets on this Twitter feed this morning, so let's dive right in and round them up (all links go to Twitter)….
- Heyman classifies both Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera as very available, as the Indians search for long-term assets.
- The Red Sox are very active this week and are willing to discuss anyone, even Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester.
- Ten teams are in on Jason Grilli, as the market for the right-handed reliever heats up. Grilli tweeted early this morning that he was heading for Nashville and has a "full day" on tap.
- The Royals are "one of many" teams looking at Shaun Marcum, who is a Kansas City product.