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AL East Notes: Moreland, Cano, Napoli, Sox, Orioles

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Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports that the Rays have some interest in Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland, who could be deemed expendable in the wake of Texas' acquisition of Prince Fielder. The Rangers, of course, covet David Price, and including Moreland in a package for him (presumably as a somewhat minor component) could take a potential destination away from the Mets in their shopping of Ike Davis. Here's more out of the AL East…

  • Within that same piece, Martino writes that the Fielder-Ian Kinsler swap may not impact the Robinson Cano market as much as many initially thought. Cano is markedly better than Kinsler, Elvis Andrus and Jurickson Profar, so if he wants to be a Ranger or Tiger and the price isn't crazy, those players shouldn't preclude Texas or Detroit from striking a deal.
  • The Red Sox seem to be letting Mike Napoli's market develop before deciding what their final offer to him will be, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald spoke with Red Sox GM Ben Cherington who told him that the team is "in a position to be a little choosy, a little selective" in its search for a new catcher. Cherington says the Sox are interested in a "small handful of free agents" and has also actively pursued trades at catcher.
  • On Brian McCann's recent five-year contract with the Yankees, Boston catcher and close friend of McCann, David Ross, told Lauber: "He told me, I think it came down to years. When you add an option for six, it puts you at almost $100 (million), that’s a game-changer." Cherington wouldn't indicate to Lauber how far the Red Sox were willing to go in negotiations.
  • Mark Ellis is considered an option for the Orioles, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, but Baltimore has yet to reach out to the second baseman.
  • Kubatko also reports that the Orioles don't have any immediate interest in first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones, who was designated for assignment by the Pirates yesterday.
  • One more from Kubatko, who reported last week that the Orioles won't look to re-sign left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada, who never appeared with the O's after signing a two-year deal prior to the 2012 season. Wada fell victim to Tommy John surgery and didn't make it to the big league level in Baltimore. Executive vice president Dan Duquette told Kubatko: "I think that the Wada chapter is over with the Orioles. We're just going in another direction … I'm sorry that it didn't work out, but it's time to move on."

Red Sox Notes: Short/Third, Starters, Catchers, Napoli

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Here's the latest out of Beantown, with plenty of information straight from Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and club CEO and president Larry Lucchino:

  • Cherington touched on a range of issues in comments to the media today, as reported by Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Boston feels confident improved production from the left side of its infield with in-house options like Will Middlebrooks and Xander Bogaerts, says Cherington. But he said the club will look to add "at least somebody on the left side of the infield. Whether that's more in the form of an everyday player or depth, whatever that is, it just depends on how the rest of our offseason unfolds."
  • With an attractive set of starting pitchers under contract, Cherington acknowledged that the team has received interest. "We've had a number of conversations and I think it's no secret, one area we have a little bit of depth in is the rotation," he said, adding that it remains to be seen "what that means for [the Red Sox]" since the club is wary of leaving itself too thin in the event of an unexpected injury. 
  • The club will be "a little choosy, a little selective" about addressing its catching need, said Cherington, given its "pretty strong position long-term with the young catching we have in the organization." 
  • On the overall market, also via Speier, Lucchino sums things up succinctly: "everyone is expecting [the market] will go up because nothing ever goes down and because there's new television money available." While the club would like to keep down its long-term commitments, he says, and "still value[s] the draft picks enormously," he acknowledged that a "diverse portfolio of contracts" will include some that are "longer than you want."
  • Ultimately, according to Lucchino, the Red Sox "are not going to be a stand-pat team." Explaining that he "learned a long time ago that you can't fall in love with your veterans," Lucchino said that each the club "will have a different personality, composition as well as personality."
  • One free agent that has obviously been tied to Boston is last year's first baseman, Mike Napoli. Opining that a reasonable projected value for Napoli (using various WAR projections and dollars-per-win figures) could reach as high as $80MM total over the next four years, SI.com's Jay Jaffe ultimately settles on predicting an eye-popping four-year, $68MM deal for the slugger.

Dioner Navarro Moving Toward Deal

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Catcher Dioner Navarro is "moving to resolution" with a team, according to Peter Gammons of the MLB Network (on Twitter). Gammons doesn't have the name of the front-runner yet, but he adds that the Red Sox are not in pursuit.

Navarro, who turns 30 in February, enjoyed a strong rebound campaign with the Cubs in 2013, batting .300/.365/.492 with 13 home runs in 89 games (266 plate appearances). The Marlins are the main team to have expressed interest in Navarro so far, though the Red Sox did apparently express some interest as a fallback option should their top targets fall through.

The Blue Jays have been said to be in the market for a catcher, as have the Twins, in light of the news that Joe Mauer's days behind the plate are done and he will be a first baseman going forward. The Rays don't figure to be in the mix after reaching an agreement with Jose Molina over the weekend.

AL East Rumors: Blue Jays, McCann, Kuroda, Orioles

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Teams have asked the Blue Jays about Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, but Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (via Twitter) that he hasn't "entertained the idea" of trading either player.  Bautista hit .259/.358/.498 with 28 homers in 2013 and saw his season end early after being shut down due to a hip issue.  Encarnacion had a solid campaign, posting a slash line of .272/.370/.534 with 36 home runs.  Bautista is owed $14MM annually through 2015 with a club option for the same amount in 2016 while Encarnacion will make $19MM through '15 with a $10MM club option for '16.  Here's more out of the AL East…

  • The Yankees are refusing to punt and are living for today with their Brian McCann signing, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  McCann's lefty pull power should provide a huge boost in 2014 (and probably '15 and '16), but beyond that is a mystery.
  • Within the same article, Sherman writes that the Yankees are now more upbeat about the chances of Hiroki Kuroda returning.  There remains a chance that the veteran pitcher decides to play in Japan next season. 
  • The McCann agreement allows the Yankees to take their time developing Gary Sanchez, their top prospect per MLB.com, knowing McCann will eventually move to first base or they can use him as a trade chip, tweets the New York Daily News' Mark Feinsand. 
  • Feinsand, in a second tweet, sees the backup job coming down to Austin Romine and Francisco Cervelli with Chris Stewart being non-tendered. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz estimates the arbitration eligible Cervelli and Stewart will each earn $1MM.
  • Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com wonders how McCann's new $85MM deal with the Yankees affects the Orioles' Matt Wieters.  Wieters’ offensive numbers aren’t as good, but he is is two years younger than McCann and Scott Boras will certainly dig up data to show that Wieters is deserving of more money.
  • Meanwhile, Alex Speier of WEEI.com looks at what McCann's deal might mean for Red Sox free agent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  Salty is now the best avaialble free agent catcher and his market should now start to take shape. 
  • A combination of familiarity and affordability led to Jose Molina returning to the Rays, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Financial terms of the yet-to-be-completed deal are not yet known, but Topkin writes that it's unlikely that he received more than the $3.3MM total he made the last two seasons.
  • The Orioles won't re-sign Tsuyoshi Wada, according to MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko. The O's declined their club option on Wada earlier this month; but, at the time, the door was said to be open for a minor league deal in Baltimore.
  • The Orioles need to be creative in wringing the most value out of Jim Johnson, writes the Baltimore Sun's Eduardo A. Encina. Encina dangles the idea of moving Johnson, who MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects to receive $10.8MM in arbitration, into the rotation, but that begs the questions of whether starting is a good fit for the 30-year-old right-hander and who will step in as closer. 

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Cafardo On Cano, Saltalamacchia, Nolasco, Navarro

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Other than Alex Rodriguez's legal matters, nothing has been handled worse this offseason than Robinson Cano's contract negotiations, opines Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  The switch from Scott Boras to Jay-Z doesn't look like it's panning out and the $310MM figure that was floated out has done him a world of harm.  In Cafardo's view, Yankees fans should be excited about the $85MM contract given to Brian McCann because it means that less money is available to spend on Cano.  More from today's column..

  • Jarrod Saltalamacchia is still very much on the Twins’ radar as they try to replace Joe Mauer after his move to first base.  Now positioned as the best available catcher, Salty could get a three-year deal in the $30MM range.  The teams who like the 28-year-old feel his throwing, right-handed hitting, and hitting approach have improved.
  • Teams like the Twins and Blue Jays are circling Ricky Nolasco, but nobody has been able to seal a deal.  However, Cafardo notes that the free agent pitching market has yet to fully develop as teams are trying to get help via trades. The Red Sox, for example, have received several inquiries about their starting pitchers.
  • One talent evaluator says that he' would be cautious about signing switch-hitting catcher Dioner Navarro.  “He’s great on a one-year or shorter-term deal. Problems are his weight, his work ethic, and flexibility behind the plate, so it gets a little scary on a multi-year deal. He can flat-out hit, so if you have the catch/throw guy, he’s not a bad complement to that,” he said.
  • The Angels could still be a strong trade partner with the Red Sox even after the Peter Bourjos–David Freese deal. The Sox have an interest in first baseman Mike Trumbo and could be tempted on power reliever Kevin Jepsen while the Halos are in need of a starting pitcher.

AL Notes: Royals, Kinsler, Napoli, Rangers, Angels

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It's a weak market for catchers now that the Yankees have taken Brian McCann off the board, an article by Bradley Woodrum of Fangraphs shows. While teams such as the Red Sox, Rockies and Rangers are still in the market for backstop help, the best remaining option, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, will bring a large platoon split to the lineup of whichever team signs him. Here's the latest from around the AL, as a busy evening on MLBTR draws to a close:

Early Reactions To The McCann Deal

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Let's take a look at some of the early reactions to the Yankees' reported five-year, $85MM deal for Brian McCann:

  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Rockies were "very aggressive" in angling for McCann but weren't prepared to offer $100MM to a player that will probably be DHing by the contract's end.
  • While the Rangers lost out on McCann, there are still players available that would boost the team's offense, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News writes. Texas continues to seriously consider Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran for their left field job, while Jacoby Ellsbury and re-signing Nelson Cruz are also possibilities.
  • With McCann off the board, the Rangers could also target a catcher who bats from the left side on a short-term deal, then platoon him with Geovany Soto, Grant writes. As a switch hitter, Dioner Navarro would appear to fit that bill.
  • The Red Sox were interested in McCann, but their offer wasn't close to what he ended up getting, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe tweets.
  • In a post for ESPN Insiders (sub. req'd.), Keith Law writes that the signing addresses the Yankees' most pressing need and projects that the deal will ultimately be "one of the most sensible" agreements of the offseason. While Law admits that five years is a lot to commit to a catcher, McCann should be able to take advantage of Yankee Stadium's short right porch to boost his power numbers. His article also suggests that McCann's strong framing skills add value in a way that isn't reflected in current defensive metrics. 
  • The Braves remained in discussions with McCann's agent, B.B. Abbott, as recently as Friday, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says (Twitter link). However, they weren't invovled in the multi-year bidding for the catcher. The Braves will receive a draft pick after the first round becuase of the signing, O'Brien notes.

AL East Notes: A-Rod, Red Sox, Ruiz, Ellsbury

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Ken Davidoff of the New York Post gives Alex Rodriguez credit for betting on himself, but he won't be betting on the Yankees star this time.  A-Rod is taking his case to a courtroom rather than an arbitration hearing room and two sources tell Davidoff that there won't be a resolution on his 211-game suspension until early January. Today's big AL East news was the Yankees' five-year deal for Brian McCann earlier tonight, but here's more from the division:

  • One executive called Carlos Ruiz a “good buy-low” catching option for the Yankees, but they never showed much interest, a source tells Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter).  The Phillies re-signed Ruiz to a three-year, $26MM deal last week.
  • The Red Sox talked to the Angels about Peter Bourjos before he was sent to the Cardinals, but the discussions "didn't go very far," tweets Brian MacPherson of the Provdence Journal.
  • The Red Sox can turn to Jackie Bradley Jr. if Jacoby Ellsbury goes elsewhere rather than making a dramatic move, MacPherson writes.  It's a new position for the BoSox, as they have historically had to go out-of-house after losing significant free agents.  However, Boston will still probably add someone in support of Bradley as a safeguard.

Red Sox Have Inquired On Matt Kemp

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As the Red Sox survey their options for alternatives to free agent Jacoby Ellsbury, an interesting name has popped up on their radar.  The Red Sox are one of several teams who have made inquiries on Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, a major league source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

After the Red Sox unloaded some of their biggest salaries on the Dodgers more than a year ago, Boston could be in store for a role reversal if they hammer out a deal for Kemp.  The star outfielder is still owed  about $130MM over the next six years, but the Dodgers would likely eat a good portion of the contract in order to get some talent in return. 

Kemp, 29, was limited to just 73 games in 2013 and played in only 106 games in 2012, but he was quite durable prior ro that stretch.  Of course, his best season came in 2011 when he hit .324/.399/.586 with 39 homers and was edged out for NL MVP by Ryan Braun.  The source tells Cafardo that although the Dodgers haven't been shopping Kemp, they have gotten inquiries.  Kemp seems to be getting more interest than fellow Dodger outfielders Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford.

Latest On Carlos Beltran

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As I just noted, today's acquisition of Peter Bourjos may make the Cardinals an even greater longshot to bring back star right fielder Carlos Beltran. Here are the latest rumblings on one of the game's all-time great post-season performers, who will turn 37 early next season:

  • Officials from two teams say that Beltran's representatives at MVP Sports Group have not asked for four years in early talks with prospective new employers, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. In his profile of Beltran, MLBTR's Steve Adams pegged his value at $30MM on a two-year deal.
  • Many clubs are interested in Beltran, according to a report from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, and the Royals could be a realistic landing spot. Beltran made his name in Kansas City, and Heyman suggests that the club could have added motivation given Beltran's history with the club. Indeed, he even raises the point that a Hall of Fame push at career's end could land Beltran in Cooperstown donning a KC cap. Having given four years to Jason Vargas, Heyman wonders whether the club would be willing to go past two seasons for its old star.
  • One major obstacle to that possibility could be payroll, as the Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton questions whether GM Dayton Moore has already burned through the club's 2014 payroll allocation after promising Vargas $32MM. As Dutton explains, the decision to designate catcher George Kottaras for assignment could be an indication that money is tight. Kottaras seemed to be the club's best backup option, says Dutton. When he asked why he was chosen to be set loose, a "top club official responded by rubbing his thumb over the tips of his first two fingers," indicating that money was the issue. Kottaras is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a modest $1.2MM in his second go at arbitration, and Dutton notes that Moore has pegged current payroll projections at $87MM despite previously saying that the club would not go much past its 2013 tab of $85MM.
  • While Dutton tweets that the Royals are indeed interested in Beltran, he says that the slugger would need to spend some time at designated hitter for it to make sense. That, presumably in combination with his likely-sizeable salary, would mean that current DH Billy Butler would probably be put on the market in such a scenario.
  • Turning back to Heyman's report, he does not include St. Louis among the likely suitors at present. The Mariners and Rangers are in the mix, says Heyman, and the Indians may be as well. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Red Sox definitely have interest but seem unwilling to go past two years.
  • Yet another team that could make sense as a landing spot for Beltran is the Tigers, who Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press says is the best target for a Detroit outfield upgrade. Certainly, a play by GM Dave Dombrowski for Beltran's services would be a boon to the outfielder's free agent prospects.
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