Cubs, Tigers Talking Matt Garza
7:41pm: On Twitter, Kaplan clarifies that "down the road" means trade talks between the two teams have progressed "far beyond" the initial stages. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus hears that the Tigers are willing to talk about Turner, but they are far more reticent when it comes to third base prospect Nick Castellanos (Twitter link).
5:52pm: The Cubs and Tigers are “down the road” in talks about a deal that would sent Matt Garza to Detroit for a package of prospects, according to David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. The Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays have also expressed serious interest in Garza, Kaplan writes. However, the Yankees aren’t comfortable with the Cubs’ asking price despite their “tremendous” interest in the right-hander.
The Tigers appear to be willing to meet the Cubs’ asking price of multiple highly-regarded prospects, according to Kaplan. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last week that the Tigers could move right-handed pitching prospect Jacob Turner in the right deal.
The Cubs are nearing a deal with free agent left-hander Paul Maholm. Ryan Dempster, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood and Randy Wells could fill the team’s rotation out and make Garza available. He’s under team control through 2013 and figures to earn $9MM or so in 2012 through arbitration.
Gammons On Fielder, Madson, Cook
The relative inactivity of the Yankees and Red Sox on the market for expensive free agents has rendered this offseason a strange one, writes Peter Gammons of MLB.com. Both clubs are concerned about the luxury tax in both the short and long terms, one GM tells Gammons. Here are some other tidbits of note …
- Gammons wonders whether there’s a fit for free agent Prince Fielder other than the Nationals: “Where is there a team with local media rights that Fielder could impact? And local media rights is what's driving the cars these days, as Albert Pujols knows.”
- However, if the Rangers get a deal done with Yu Darvish, the "Fielder watch will come into focus," especially if the Nationals back off and Prince doesn’t want to play for the Mariners.
- As for Ryan Madson, the race between the Angels and Rangers for supremacy in the AL West could re-shape the market for the free agent closer. Halos GM Jerry Dipoto, in particular, is keeping an eye on the right-hander to see if his price comes down.
- The Red Sox are looking at lefty Paul Maholm, and they might be interested in Aaron Cook if the righty is amenable to signing a minor league deal with incentives. Cook has a history with new Boston pitching coach Bob McClure.
- The Red Sox inked right-hander Carlos Silva in hopes of making him 2012’s Freddy Garcia, who was a nice value signing for the Yankees on a one-year, $1.5MM deal last season.
Cafardo On Red Sox, Soriano, Madson, Mahay
Within this week's Sunday Baseball Notes, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported that Kevin Cash has decided to end his playing career. Let's take a look at a few other notes Cafardo shared in his column….
- Addressing the starting rotation, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says the team may "buy low on some guys and create a competition in camp." One buy-low candidate the Sox are known to be eyeing is Paul Maholm. Cafardo expects the former Pirate to sign a one-year, incentive-laden deal somewhere.
- The Red Sox may also have Joe Saunders on their radar. One NL scout weighed in on the southpaw: "You'd be afraid that he'd give up some homers at Fenway. But on the other hand, when you've got a guy who can pitch 200 innings from the No. 4 spot in your rotation, I'm telling you, that is effective because that's one of the bullpen spots in the rotation. I mean, that's where you normally believe you have to use a lot of your pen, and if a guy like that saves you, that's important."
- The Cubs are willing to absorb most of the $54MM remaining on Alfonso Soriano's contract in order to facilitate a trade.
- According to Cafardo, many teams, including the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Rays, will become more interested in Ryan Madson if and when his asking price drops. I have my doubts that Madson will become inexpensive enough for the Rays to get too involved.
- 40-year-old lefty Ron Mahay says he feels great and intends to continue his pitching career. Mahay recorded a 3.44 ERA in 34 innings for the Twins in 2010, but couldn't crack the big league roster for the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, or Cardinals in 2011.
Olney’s Latest: Red Sox, Fielder, Cubs, Mariners
In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about how Daniel Bard's potential transition to rotation could turn the Red Sox's staff from a question mark into a strength. He says they will look to add a starter or two via free agency as the asking prices drop, and notes that the Yankees are taking a similar approach. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- The acquisition of Anthony Rizzo changes nothing for the Cubs and their pursuit of Prince Fielder. Olney calls it an "apples and oranges" situation given the price tag of the two players. The Cubs' brass has been acting with zero urgency in talks with Fielder, and they've always been leery about giving him a long-term deal.
- The team most interested in Fielder — and most willing to pay big — might be the Mariners. Whether or not he wants to play in Seattle is another matter.
- Baseball officials as well as some in the union are under the assumption that the playoff field will be increased to ten teams in 2012. Playoff expansion will happen in 2013, but the new collective bargaining agreement gives the league the option of putting it in play this year.
This post has been corrected to say that the Mariners "might be" the club most interested in Fielder, not that they are.
Quick Hits: Rhodes, Kuroda, Ludwick, Padres
Let's jump into the weekend with one last batch of news items….
- Arthur Rhodes is close to deciding where he will play in 2012, reports Anthony Andro of Fox Sports Southwest (Twitter link). Rhodes also confirms that he will play next year, making it 21 Major League seasons for the 42-year-old southpaw. The Cardinals and Mariners have both shown interest in Rhodes this offseason.
- Some teams aren't convinced that Hiroki Kuroda will pitch in the majors next season and will instead return to Japan, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Kuroda's asking price is reportedly $13-$14MM on a one-year deal, which is a slight increase from last month.
- Also from Heyman (via Twitter), Ryan Ludwick has received offers from at least four teams. The Reds, A's and Giants have been linked to Ludwick this winter, though it's unknown if any of those clubs actually offered the outfielder a contract.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune covers such Padres topics as a possible Carlos Quentin extension, the team's lack of interest in Eric Chavez and the Friars' plans for the newly-acquired Andrew Cashner in his weekly online chat with fans.
- The Tigers appear to be satisfied with Ramon Santiago and Ryan Raburn as their second base platoon, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says his team is looking for at least two "low-cost" starting pitchers to compete for the back end of the Boston rotation next year, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. As Cafardo notes, this would seemingly take the Red Sox out of the running for more expensive free agent pitchers like Kuroda, Edwin Jackson or Joe Saunders. We heard earlier today that the Sox were among several teams interested in Paul Maholm.
Red Sox, Mariners Interested In Maholm
The Red Sox and Mariners are among the teams interested in Paul Maholm, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cubs and Orioles are still in on the free agent left-hander and the Pirates remain in touch with him. The Padres have also been linked to Maholm, a Bo McKinnis client.
Maholm, 29, posted a 3.66 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 49.9% ground ball rate in 162 1/3 innings for the Pirates in 2011. He spent the end of the season on the disabled list recovering from a shoulder injury and the Pirates chose a $750K buyout over a $9.75MM club option in October.
The Red Sox could use rotation depth behind Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard. The Mariners, who locked up Hisashi Iwakuma yesterday, are open to the idea of adding another veteran arm if the price is right, according to Rosenthal.
Seth Smith Continues Drawing Interest
Rockies outfielder Seth Smith remains a coveted trade chip, though the Braves’ interest in him has cooled, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported yesterday. The Rockies would like to trade Smith for a back-of-the-rotation starter or a second baseman, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes.
The Rays are not in the hunt for Smith, though the Rockies covet Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann, Renck reported. The Athletics and Mariners have interest in Smith, according to Rosenthal, who reported along with Jon Paul Morosi last month that the Mets have expressed interest as well. Rosenthal now adds the Indians and Red Sox to the list of teams that have shown at least some interest in Smith.
Smith, a left-handed hitter, posted a .284/.347/.483 line with 15 homers in 533 plate appearances this past season, playing left and right field. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz estimates a 2012 salary of $2.6MM for the 29-year-old via the arbitration process. He’ll remain under team control through 2014.
AL East Notes: Crisp, Silva, Soler, Chavez
Four of the five American League East teams could use starting pitching depth and though the Rays have enviable rotation depth, they need a bat or two. Here are the details on the division, starting with Tampa Bay…
- Coco Crisp, who agreed to a two-year, $14MM deal with the Athletics yesterday, told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the Rays were a finalist for him (Twitter links). Tampa Bay was “in heavy on” the outfielder, but Oakland presented the better offer, according to Slusser.
- Carlos Silva would earn a base salary of $1MM if he makes his way onto Boston’s roster, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Silva, whose minor league deal with the Red Sox was announced yesterday, “will be part of a competition in Spring Training” GM Ben Cherington said.
- The Red Sox have scouted both Yoenis Cespedes and Jorge Soler, but they’re likely to pass on Cespedes and bid for Soler instead, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox are intrigued by Soler’s talent and they don’t like Cespedes’ asking price.
- Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima appears to seek a couple of million dollars per season on a multiyear deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Heyman points out that Eric Chavez is an alternative for the Yankees if they don't work out a deal with Nakajima by this Friday's deadline.
- Click here for details on the Orioles.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Kuroda, Laffey
The Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles could use rotation upgrades and the Rays could use a first baseman and/or designated hitter. Here’s the latest on the American League East as the 2012 portion of the offseason continues and Spring Training draws a little closer…
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times explains that Cole Hamels and Matt Cain could make more sense for the Yankees next offseason than Edwin Jackson or C.J. Wilson would have this winter. The Yankees have shown uncharacteristic restraint so far this offseason, but Cain and Hamels are set to hit free agency after 2012 if they don’t sign extensions first.
- The Yankees would offer Hiroki Kuroda a one-year deal, but they say he’s too expensive at the moment, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- Kuroda would prefer to sign with a West Coast team, but the Red Sox have maintained interest in him, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. So far, the right-hander’s asking price hasn’t dropped.
- The Red Sox had interest in free agent left-hander Aaron Laffey before he signed with the Blue Jays over the weekend, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
Red Sox Sign Carlos Silva, Ciriaco, Spears
The Red Sox have announced the signings of minor league free agents Carlos Silva, Brandon Duckworth, Charlie Haeger, Will Inman, Doug Mathis, Tony Pena Jr., Chorye Spoone, Jesse Carlson, Rich Hill, Justin Thomas, Pedro Ciriaco, and Nate Spears. The signings of Spoone, Thomas, Inman, Pena, Carlson, and Hill had been reported previously.
Silva, 32, was released by the Cubs in March of 2011 with $11.5MM remaining on his contract. He signed with the Yankees in April, but was released in July amid shoulder problems after seven minor league starts. The control artist was useful upon his initial change of scenery, posting a 4.22 ERA in 21 starts for the 2010 Cubs after the Milton Bradley trade. As the Red Sox press release notes, "No active hurler with at least 750.0 innings pitched has fewer walks per nine innings than Silva (1.73)." Silva will make a prorated $1MM while in the Majors, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.
Ciriaco, 26, was non-tendered by the Pirates in December. The middle infielder hit .231/.243/.300 in 289 plate appearances in his second career Triple-A stint. Spears, a versatile 26-year-old, spent the last two years in Boston's minor league system. In 2011 he hit .248/.355/.397 in 378 plate appearances, getting his first cup of coffee with the big club.
Haeger, a 28-year-old knuckeballer, spent 2011 with the Mariners' Triple-A club and the Red Sox' Double-A team. He posted a 5.44 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 5.9 BB/9, and 0.92 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings. Mathis, a 28-year-old righty, last appeared in the bigs in 2010 with the Rangers. As a starter for the Giants' and Athletics' Triple-A affiliates, he put up a 4.27 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 4.2 BB/9, and 0.63 HR/9 in 86 1/3 innings. Duckworth, 35, last appeared in the Majors in 2008. He spent 2011 with Boston's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.97 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, and 0.84 HR/9 in 118 innings.