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Blue Jays Bid $50MM For Darvish

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The Blue Jays bid over $50MM for Yu Darvish, falling just short of the Rangers' $51.7MM bid, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. Here's the latest on the Blue Jays’ division, starting with a right-hander who spent three up-and-down seasons in Toronto… 

  • Several teams are kicking the tires on acquiring A.J. Burnett, but the Yankees will have to absorb significant salary to make a deal and Burnett can veto trades to ten teams per year, according to George A. King III of the New York Post.
  • The Yankees bid less than $20MM for Darvish, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • Orioles GM Dan Duquette explains the team's shrinking pro scouting department to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. "In an effort to make an impact on the franchise, I can argue that the scouts are most valuable to a team at the amateur level,” Duquette said. “They can have a bigger impact on this organization.”
  • Former Rays catcher Toby Hall has decided to retire, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. The 36-year-old spent seven seasons with the Rays and last played in the Major Leagues in 2008. 
  • Dan Hayes of the North County Times hears the Rays are one of the teams that has asked the Padres about Anthony Rizzo (Twitter link). However, the Padres, who have been flooded with interest, aren't matching up that well with the Rays at this point, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • MLB executives expect Gio Gonzalez to be traded relatively soon now that Darvish is no longer available, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Red Sox are among Gonzalez’s suitors.

Hiroki Kuroda May Be Nearing Deal

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Yahoo’s Tim Brown heard yesterday that Hiroki Kuroda was close to agreeing to a new contract. However, it’s not clear which team is nearing a deal with the right-hander. Here are the details and more of Brown’s links from around MLB:

  • The Mariners, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees were among the teams that informed Brown they were not the team nearing a deal with Kuroda.
  • The Dodgers didn’t scout Yoenis Cespedes in earnest or consider bidding on Yu Darvish, Brown reports. It cost the Rangers $51.7MM for the rights to negotiate with Darvish and Cespedes figures to cost tens of millions as well, so the players are too expensive for the cash-strapped Dodgers to consider.
  • Carlos Beltran figures to agree to terms by Sunday. His market includes the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red Sox and a fourth team, possibly the Rays. Beltran is weighing two and three-year offers, Brown reports.

Quick Hits: Astros, Angels, Cespedes

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We wouldn’t want the biggest news of the day — that the Rangers won the bidding for Yu Darvish — to completely overshadow some secondary notes from around MLB. Here are some quick hits from around the league, starting in Texas:

  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told fans at MLB.com that Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Carlos Lee are “very good players” who could help the Astros going forward. “We will look for any opportunity to improve our team in the medium and long term,” Luhnow explained, “so if there were a trade that made sense, we would consider it.”
  • Brian Bixler cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Oklahoma City, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Astros designated the infielder for assignment last week to create roster space for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland.
  • The Cubs and Red Sox have agreed that former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein won't be able to hire anyone from the Red Sox for three years, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter).
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto likes the depth in his team's starting rotation, but doesn't yet know whether his bullpen is a strength or a weakness, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times. Ideally, the Angels would like to add a late-inning reliever and make the lineup a little more left-handed, Dipoto says.
  • There's a consensus among international MLB people that the Yankees are "BIG" on Yoenis Cespedes, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter).
  • Cespedes is close to establishing residency in the Dominican Republic, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Cuban outfielder still needs to secure a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control since his residency is not permanent. The process could take two weeks, but he should be cleared to sign sometime in January.

AL East Rumors: Latos, Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox

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The latest out of the AL East:

  • Peter Gammons of MLB Network tweets that the Blue Jays "went to the end" on Mat Latos, though the Reds ultimately won out. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also hears Toronto was a finalist on Latos, though he doesn't know the details of their offer (Twitter links). The Jays are one team that could have comfortably matched the quantity and quality of the prospects Cincinnati sent to San Diego.
  • While the Rays would ideally like to add another reliever with high-leverage experience, GM Andrew Friedman tells Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times he's comfortable with the bullpen arms he has now.
  • The Red Sox probably aren't done making moves, though they don't seem inclined to make a big splash such as a Gio Gonzalez trade, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Rays, Cubs, Wandy, Zumaya

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In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes that the Red Sox have to be wary of an American League where the competition continues to get stiffer. With the Albert Pujols-led Angels and the improving Blue Jays aiming to contend for the postseason, the Red Sox may need to continue making moves to avoid missing the playoffs for a third straight year, says Cafardo. Here are some highlights from his piece:

  • Other GMs say Ben Cherington has been active in discussing potential moves. The Red Sox have looked into a number of pitchers on the trade market, including Gio Gonzalez, Jair Jurrjens, Gavin Floyd, and John Danks. According to Cafardo, the Sox probably don't have the caliber of prospects the Athletics want for Gonzalez.
  • An AL executive on how the Rays might fill their roster holes: "They could just continue to bottom-feed and keep all of their pitching. There's that January market that they've done very well with, and as long as they keep making the right decisions, their pitching is so good it will keep them in that playoff hunt every year."
  • Cafardo is skeptical that the Cubs are legit contenders for Prince Fielder, saying right now the team's mindset is "let’s not spend until we’re ready to spend and right now we're not ready to spend." It makes sense then that Cafardo also hears Chicago's bid for Yu Darvish was low, as detailed in MLBTR's Darvish rumors.
  • The Astros seem willing to take on some salary in a Wandy Rodriguez trade. We heard during the Winter Meetings that Houston didn't want to eat any of Wandy's contract to move him, so perhaps the club modified that stance after Jeff Luhnow took over as GM.
  • One NL scout who watched Joel Zumaya pitch this week said the righty "didn't have much of a breaking ball but threw 93-96 on his fastball. Somebody will bite on him."

Cardinals Maintain Strong Interest In Beltran

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The Cardinals won't be able to replace all the offense they lost when Albert Pujols left for the Angels, but there are ways to replace some of it. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Cardinals did extensive background work on Carlos Beltran this week, and they continue to maintain strong interest in the outfielder. 

Beltran, 34, hit .300/.385/.525 with 22 homers last season, the first time he's played in more than 100 games since 2008. He's mulling over a variety of two and three-year offers according to Rosenthal, with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Rays also having interest in the outfielder. Toronto is said to have "significant financial flexibility," but Boston is more focused on pitching and Tampa only figures to get seriously involved if Beltran's market crashes.

Rosenthal says the Cardinals have expressed interest in both Cody Ross and Coco Crisp as well. St. Louis can add an outfielder because Allen Craig figures to miss the start of the season after having knee surgery recently, and also because Lance Berkman will move back to first base, his best position.

Red Sox Inquired On Joakim Soria

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The Red Sox had discussions with the Royals about the possibility of dealing for closer Joakim Soria, multiple sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  The talks have failed to progress, however, with Kansas City seeking the type of players that Boston doesn't want to part with for Soria.

Soria is coming off of a down season in which he turned in a 4.03 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 60 appearances.  However, the 27-year-old remains attractive thanks in part to his contract which will pay him $6MM in 2012 and has club options of $8MM and $8.75MM for '12 and '13, respectively. 

It' s important to note that Soria's contract includes a limited no-trade clause in which he can block trades to the Red Sox and five other clubs.  The other teams on that list are the Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Rockies, and Braves.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Royals were willing to listen on Soria but wanted a frontline starter in return.

AL East Notes: Beltran, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays

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Here's the latest from the AL East…

  • The Blue Jays are one of Carlos Beltran's suitors, but ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link) wonders if Beltran is similarly serious about coming to Toronto "or if (like some players) he has no interest in playing there."
  • The Orioles re-assigned six pro scouts to their amateur scouting department, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  General manager Dan Duquette says the move is part of the club's push to incorporate more video and statistical analysis in their Major League scouting.
  • To that same sabermetric end, the Orioles have also hired economic advisor Stephen Walters to help gauge players' true values, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  Walters, an economics professor at Loyola, worked under Duquette with the Red Sox in 2002 and has also worked for the Cubs organization.
  • John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times thinks the Rays are just one hitter away from the AL pennant.
  • The Red Sox and Yankees have both been relatively quiet this winter, and MLB.com's Anthony Castovince explores how it's unusual to see the two clubs explore more cost-efficient strategies.

Cherington On Madson, Saunders, Melancon, Darvish

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Red Sox GM Ben Cherington appeared on MLB Network Radio's "Inside Pitch" with Jim Bowden this afternoon to speak about the club's offseason plans.  Alex Speier of WEEI.com has a partial transcript of the interview and here are some highlights…

  • Cherington said the Red Sox are looking for rotation depth.  The team is satisfied with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz at the top of the rotation so the Sox "don’t feel like we’re backed into a place where we need to break the door in for a top-of-the-rotation starter," Cherington said.  "If we can do that and it makes sense for us, then we’ll certainly do that. We’re always looking for ways to do that. But…we’re in good position there and can kind of let the market come to us a little bit."
  • To this end, Cherington said "the timing wasn’t right" for the team to bid on Yu Darvish.
  • Cherington said he had been in contact with Ryan Madson and Joe Saunders' representatives "as well as several other free agent options." 
  • The newly-acquired Mark Melancon projects as Boston's closer, at least for now.  “As I told Mark on the phone when I talked to him, we believe he can close….If the season opened tomorrow, that’s what he’d be doing,” Cherington said.  This, of course, could easily change should the Red Sox sign Madson or trade for Andrew Bailey.
  • The Red Sox have interviewed Brad Arnsberg and Neil Allen about the vacant pitching coach job and also talked to "several" other candidates.

Marlins & Red Sox Have Discussed Hanley Ramirez

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The Red Sox are among the teams that have had cursory trade dialogue with the Marlins about Hanley Ramirez, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). However, the talks have no traction.

The Marlins don't intend to trade Ramirez, even after signing shortstop Jose Reyes. However, Olney reported Sunday that at least four teams have talked to the Marlins about a possible deal involving Ramirez. At this point he projects as the team's everyday third baseman, though he appears to prefer playing shortstop.

Ramirez, who signed with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 2000, appeared in just 92 games this past season due to a sprained left shoulder. He posted a .243/.333/.379 line in 385 plate appearances — far from his career .306/.380/.506 line.

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