The Latest On Gio Gonzalez
The Tigers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Rangers are among the teams pursuing Athletics left-hander Gio Gonzalez, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The bidding figures to heat up a bit once the posting period for Yu Darvish ends at 4pm CT tomorrow. Here's the latest on Gonzalez, courtesy of Knobler…
- The Athletics did indeed ask the Marlins for Mike Stanton in a trade, though the talks understandably went nowhere.
- A's GM Billy Beane in enamored with Tigers' top pitching prospect Jacob Turner, and Detroit is willing to move him for Gonzalez. They balked at Beane's request for prospects Nick Castellanos and Drew Smyly in addition to Turner, though.
- If the Tigers don't swing a trade for Gonzalez, Knobler says that they'll likely find a Brad Penny-type to be their fifth starter (Twitter links). They also want to find an upgrade at second or third base.
- The Red Sox have shown just as much interest in Gio as they have closer Andrew Bailey.
- The Phillies also inquired about Gonzalez, but the Athletics didn't like what they had to offer.
Players To Avoid Arbitration
Tonight is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. Many teams will agree to terms with players before the deadline and we'll keep track of them here:
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with Dana Eveland on a one-year, $750K deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned.
- The Giants have agreed to terms with Mike Fontenot on a one-year deal for 2012, avoiding arbitration, MLBTR has learned. It's a $1.05MM deal, according to the Associated Press.
- The Red Sox announced that they re-signed Matt Albers. He'll earn $1.075MM, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
- The Padres agreed to terms with Chris Denorfia on a one-year deal, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link). The deal is worth $1.165MM, according to Ronald Blum of the AP
The Pirates agreed to terms with Jason Grilli on a one-year, $1.1MM deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned. - The Rockies agreed to terms with Kevin Slowey on a one-year deal, the team announced (on Twitter). Slowey obtains $2.75MM from the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). MLBTR had projected a $2.7MM salary.
- The Blue Jays agreed to sign Jeff Mathis to one-year deal that guarantees the backstop $1.5MM in 2012, MLBTR has learned. The Blue Jays have since confirmed the move.
- The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with Jesse Litsch (one-year, $975K) and Dustin McGowan (one-year, $600K) according to a team press release.
- The Dodgers have signed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a two-year deal.
- The A's announced that they agreed to terms with Landon Powell, Daric Barton and Adam Rosales on one-year deals for 2012. The A's aren't non-tendering any arbitration eligible players this offseason. Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group hears Barton will earn $1.1MM in 2012 (Twitter link). Rosales will earn $600K and Powell will earn $620K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Marlins signed Donnie Murphy to a contract for 2012, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). He'll earn $560K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Brewers announced that they signed George Kottaras to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. He'll earn $700K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Astros avoided arbitration with Humberto Quintero, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to the team. MLBTR had projected a $1.2MM salary for Quintero.
- The Angels agreed to terms with right-hander Jerome Williams on a one-year deal, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter). Williams agreed to sign for $820K with $120K in incentives, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
- Skip Schumaker is nearing a two-year deal with the Cardinals.
American League Non-Tenders
Today's American League non-tenders are below, but you can keep track of all teams in our non-tender tracker.
- The Mariners announced that they non-tendered Dan Cortes and Chris Gimenez.
- The Orioles announced that they non-tendered Willie Eyre, the right-handed reliever who was designated for assignment last week. They non-tendered Jo-Jo Reyes, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). The Orioles also non-tendered Luke Scott, tweets Connolly. Scott, who battled a shoulder injury in 2011 and underwent surgery this summer, projected to earn $6MM through arbitration.
- The Rays non-tendered Andy Sonnanstine, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter link).
- The Rangers non-tendered right-hander Fabio Castillo, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox announced that they non-tendered Rich Hill.
- The Royals announced that they will non-tender left-hander Aaron Laffey.
- The Twins announced that they've non-tendered left-hander Jose Mijares (Twitter link).
- The Tigers non-tendered second baseman Will Rhymes, announced the team. Rhymes is not yet close to being arbitration eligible, as he has less than one year of big league service time. Rhymes, 28, hit .306/.377/.390 at Triple-A this year.
AL East Links: Rasmus, Jays, Scott, Red Sox, Madson
Some links from the AL East…
- The Blue Jays have sent the Cardinals cash considerations rather than players to be named later to complete this summer's Colby Rasmus trade, reports MLB.com Gregor Chisholm (Twitter links). St. Louis was supposed to received three players to be named later in the deal.
- Chisholm also reports that the Blue Jays intend to go with five outfielders next year, so it's unclear what that means for Mark Teahen or the recently acquired Ben Francisco (Twitter links). There will be lots of competition in Spring Training.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Chisholm that his priority is to upgrade the bullpen and starting rotation, but there's no guarantee that he'll be able to do so this offseason (Twitter link).
- The Orioles non-tendered Luke Scott earlier today, but GM Dan Duquette told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli that they'd like "to leave the door open" for him to return to Baltimore (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox have some interest in Kelly Shoppach, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Shoppach started his career in Boston.
- Left-hander Rich Hill is a non-tender candidate, but he told WEEI.com's Alex Speier that he hopes the Red Sox will retain him for next year. Hill is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
- CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman says (on Twitter) that the Red Sox still have their eye on Ryan Madson since Daniel Bard will be preparing to work as a starter next year.
- Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribute writes that the Rays bank on potential when handing out long-term contracts to young players, like the one just signed by left-hander Matt Moore.
How Much Will Ortiz, K-Rod, and Kelly Johnson Earn Next Year?
Free agents David Ortiz, Francisco Rodriguez, and Kelly Johnson accepted their teams' offers of arbitration last week, making them signed players for 2012. In recent years we've seen the occasional setup-type free agent reliever accept arbitration, but not position player regulars or a closer. Without much recent precedent, determining the salaries of Ortiz, Rodriguez, and Johnson will be tricky.
The players have incentive to avoid hearings. If a deal is agreed upon, the player asks for a Signing Guaranteed Provision, guaranteeing the contract. A hearing, however, opens up the small chance of the player being released in spring training. The team would have to prove the player "failed to to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability" during spring training. The Padres pulled this off with Todd Walker in 2007, but it's rare. The Red Sox are happy to have Ortiz next year, and the Blue Jays have use for Johnson. While I imagine the Brewers would like a do-over on offering K-Rod arbitration, I don't think they'll try to release him in spring training and then go toe-to-toe with Scott Boras.
I talked to a team executive, a former agency employee, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz about the salaries Ortiz, Rodriguez, and Johnson might receive. The details:
- Estimates ranged from $13-15MM on Ortiz. He's working from a $12.5MM salary, and his raise will probably be relatively small. The Red Sox could point to Travis Hafner as a $13MM comparable, while Ortiz's agents at SFX could look to top Adam Dunn's $14MM by virtue of Ortiz's higher batting average. A two-year deal is possible for Ortiz, but if the Red Sox are at $18MM, Big Papi might as well stop worrying about multiyear security since he can easily get more than $4-5MM in 2013 with a passable 2012.
- K-Rod should be an interesting case. On the high end, Boras could argue for Mariano Rivera's $15MM salary. If they're feeling adventurous, the Brewers could actually try to cut Rodriguez's $11.5MM salary, citing Jonathan Papelbon's $11MM salary for 2012 or Rafael Soriano's $10MM salary. Rest assured that trying to cut Rodriguez's salary would lead to a hearing, so a settlement closer to Rivera's figure seems possible.
- Johnson's case might involve bringing in a third baseman such as Miguel Tejada, who signed at $6.5MM for 2011. Johnson earned $5.85MM in an off-2011, so $7MM is probably his ceiling. A multiyear deal is possible here.
Red Sox Rumors: Luxury Tax, Wandy
The latest on the Red Sox, courtesy of Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald…
- GM Ben Cherington's comments on the team's pursuit of pitching: "We need to add some pitching depth, we’re working on that, we don’t know what the scope of that’s going to be. Last year at this time, nobody knew who Alfredo Aceves was, and by the end of the year he was one of our best pitchers." Tim Britton of the Providence Journal notes that Aceves was a non-tender last year by the Yankees, and takes a look at seven players who could interest the Sox if they're cut loose at tonight's deadline. Click here for my list of non-tender candidates.
- Red Sox president Larry Lucchino explained the team's stance on the luxury tax: "We wouldn’t rule it out (going over the threshold), but our plan historically has been to try to be at or around it. We have gone over it when we felt there was a need to. When the baseball operations department suggested a certain transaction made imminent good sense, we were willing to go over it, and I think that will be our policy going forward."
- Wandy Rodriguez is among the starting pitchers of interest to the Red Sox, writes Silverman. Word was a week ago that the Astros didn't want to eat any of Wandy's potential $36MM over the next three years, though that was before Jeff Luhnow was hired as GM.
- Gio Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd also remain on the radar, says Silverman. The White Sox and Red Sox got together during the Winter Meetings to discuss Danks and Floyd.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains why he feels the Red Sox are a fit to acquire the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez.
Quick Hits: Aoki, Cuddyer, Buerhle, Sherrill, Quentin
Some links to check out as we await tomorrow night's non-tender deadline..
- As expected, the Yakult Swallows filed posting paperwork on outfielder Norichika Aoki Monday morning in Japan, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
- Free agent Michael Cuddyer's decision will be huge news and could happen soon, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi adds that the decision will have a big impact on the Twins' and Rockies' plans.
- Chuck Garfien of CSNChicago.com spoke with Mark Buerhle who said that he hopes to return to the White Sox in some capacity after his four-year deal with Miami is through. The veteran also said that the Sox didn't make him an offer after the Marlins put their deal on the table.
- Free agent left-hander George Sherrill is drawing interest from the Royals, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Mariners, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The Rockies were also said to be targeting the veteran last week.
- Even though the two sides were reportedly talking on Tuesday, the Red Sox aren't discussing a deal for Carlos Quentin with the White Sox, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Earlier today we learned that Quentin has come up in talks with the Blue Jays, though those discussions have apparently cooled.
- The Indians are in on all "non-[Prince] Fielder" bats, including Josh Willingham, but don't have much financial flexibility, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Tribe is after a right-handed bat and the club has been linked to Derrek Lee, Andruw Jones, and Mike Cameron among others.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) doesn't see catcher Eliezer Alfonzo returning to the Rockies but could see the club going after someone like Jeff Mathis if he is non-tendered. Mathis, 28, was shipped from the Angels to the Blue Jays on December 3rd for left-hander Brad Mills.
- Craig Breslow, who was traded to the Diamondbacks along with starter Trevor Cahill on Friday, first heard of the deal via Twitter, not the A's front office, writes Katie Dowd of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Former Mets General Manager Steve Phillips likes the Astros' hire of Jeff Luhnow as GM and believes that he understands how to operate a small market team, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
Red Sox Notes: Bard, Scutaro, Ortiz
Earlier this morning, we heard about Boston's reluctance to go over the luxury tax threshold this season. Now let's round up a few more Sunday's Red Sox updates….
- The Red Sox plan to stretch out Daniel Bard's innings this spring, writes Michael Vegas of the Boston Globe. "I'm going to go into spring training saying 'whatever's best for the team,'" said manager Bobby Valentine. "But he's going to get innings as a starter would in spring training. He's going to be penciled in to be one of those guys who works going from his bullpen to pitching two innings to pitching four innings to pitching six innings."
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports advises the Red Sox to blow past the luxury tax threshold, if that's what it takes to field a World Series contender.
- Within Rosenthal's piece, he adds that Marco Scutaro is drawing interest from the Rockies, among other teams.
- The Red Sox continue to discuss the possibility of a two-year deal with David Ortiz, GM Ben Cherington told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Jurrjens, Drew, Ross
The Red Sox are reluctant to exceed the $178MM luxury tax threshold on player salaries, writes Nick Cafardo in his latest column for the Boston Globe. If the Sox decide to remain under the threshold, it will limit the team's spending flexibility for outfield and pitching help, effectively eliminating top-tier free agents. Cafardo discusses the club's options and touches on a few other topics in his piece. Here are a few highlights:
- The Braves have some concern about Tommy Hanson's shoulder, meaning they may end up holding on to Jair Jurrjens rather than dealing him.
- An NL GM on J.D. Drew: "I know he had a wasted year, but he can still hit, he can still defend, and for a National League team, he'd be a heck of a bat off the bench. If he wants that role. He could easily be a starter somewhere. He's not that old, and sometimes that fresh start energizes a player."
- Cafardo names the Rays, Braves, Giants, Rangers, and Cardinals as possible fits for Drew.
- A source tells Cafardo that Cody Ross is seeking a three-year deal worth about $6MM annually. Sounds like an awfully tall order for Ross' representatives at SFX.
- Mike Brown, former pitching coach for the Nippon Ham Fighters and current scout for the Diamondbacks, is confident that Yu Darvish will be very successful in the Majors: "He's the real deal. He's got great stuff, a great presence on the mound. He would definitely be a top pitcher here if he comes out."
Darren Oliver Keeping An Open Mind About 2012
Earlier this week it appeared as though Darren Oliver would be heading back to the Rangers next season, but that's not necessarily the case. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says that Oliver is keeping an open mind about his 2012 destination, and he's drawing interest from the Red Sox and other clubs (Twitter links).
Oliver, 41, pitched to a 2.29 ERA in 51 innings this past season, striking out 44 and walking just 11. During his two most recent years in Texas, he's held left-handed batters to a .212/.250/.306 batting line with 66 strikeouts and just seven walks in 207 plate appearances. Oliver is one of the few remaining left-handed relievers on the free agent market.