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Quick Hits: Prospects, Rogers, Tigers

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Today we've heard that Rich Harden is out for the year and that Nelson Cruz agreed to a two-year deal with the Rangers. Here are some more notes from around MLB…

  • Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Matt Moore are the top prospects in baseball, Keith Law writes. Law unveiled his annual top 100 list at ESPN.com this morning and Manny Machado of the Orioles and Shelby Miller of the Cardinals round out the early portion of Law's list, and the entire piece is worth reading. 
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney lists ten prospects who have a chance to make an impact from Opening Day on and names a handful of pitchers who could be traded during Spring Training.
  • Mark Rodgers, the agent who negotiated Mike Hampton's $121MM contract 11 years ago, told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that “not every player is equipped to handle the burden" of a nine-figure deal. Morosi hears from Dan O'Dowd, Dave Dombrowski, Jon Daniels, Scott Boras and Pat Gillick and puts together a piece that's well worth your time. Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes and Yu Darvish required $100MM commitments this offseason.
  • Esmil Rogers of the Rockies has attracted some mild trade interest, Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets. The 26-year-old is out of options and has yet to put it together at the Major League level.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski acknowledges that defense is not his team's strength, but insists the Tigers can field a strong defensive lineup if necessary, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Verlander, Camp

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On this date 14 years ago, the Mets sent pitching prospect A.J. Burnett to the defending World Series champion Marlins for Al Leiter. New York's other team was also busy that day — the Yankees acquired Chuck Knoblauch from the Twins. So far today we've seen one major trade take place and here are some assorted links to read as we await the next significant move…

Minor Moves: Brent Dlugach

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Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • Infielder Brent Dlugach has signed with the Tigers according to his Twitter feed. "Heading to spring training at my home away from home again … Glad to be back with the Tigers," he said. Dlugach, 28, hit .222/.284/.343 in 236 plate appearances with the Red Sox's Triple-A affiliate last season after spending the first seven seasons of his career in Detroit's farm system. He has three big league plate appearances to his credit, coming back in 2009.

Stark On Tigers, Blanton, Bartlett, Kazmir

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As ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark points out, the NL Central will look considerably different in 2012, now that Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa have moved on. Ryan Braun could miss 50 games with a suspension that would make the division even less recognizable. Here are Stark’s latest notes and rumors:

  • Scouts and executives doubt Miguel Cabrera will be able to play third base with much skill in 2012.
  • One AL executive suggests the Tigers would have to eat a lot of money to trade Victor Martinez next offseason. Insurance will likely cover approximately half of the switch hitter’s 2012 salary of $13MM, Stark writes.
  • Stark hears that the Phillies have sent signals that they might make Joe Blanton available this spring.
  • Jason Bartlett has been available this winter and the Red Sox could pursue him, Stark writes. However, the shortstop will earn $5.5MM in 2012 and the Red Sox aim to stay below the luxury tax threshold.
  • Scott Kazmir intends to pitch in 2012, but his fastball velocity is in the 84-85 mph range. The 28-year-old appeared in one game for the Angels last year and they released him after a rough stretch at Triple-A.
  • There’s every indication that the commissioner’s office will discipline Juan Carlos Oviedo/Leo Nunez and Roberto (Heredia) Hernandez/Fausto Carmona for using false identities.
  • Though many have told Bud Selig that adding a second Wild Card team to each league this year will create scheduling issues, the commissioner seems intent on expanding the playoffs in 2012, and Stark expects him to get his wish.

AL Central Notes: Cabrera, Floyd, Royals

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The Indians made a trade today, acquiring 2011 International League MVP Russ Canzler from the Rays. It wouldn't be surprising to see Cleveland add another hitter before Opening Day, but their division rivals appear to have completed most of their offseason shopping at this point. Here's the latest from the AL Central…

The Latest On Yoenis Cespedes

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Here's the latest on Yoenis Cespedes, who was officially declared a free agent last week…

  • "We are aware of the [Spring Training] dates," said agent Adam Katz to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). "We expect him to be in camp with one of the clubs." Katz also called the market for Cespedes "meaningful and aggressive."
  • The Marlins, Cubs, White Sox, Orioles, and Tigers are five of the six clubs that have been in serious talks with Cespedes, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter links). He is expected to travel to the United States in the next 7-10 days for face-to-face meetings.
  • Baseball America's Jim Callis said he would rank Cespedes in the 7-15 range of their top 100 prospects list, and that he would take over as the top prospect of pretty much any team that signs him.

Victor Martinez Out For Season With Torn ACL

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January 30th: Martinez had "microfracture surgery and repairs to both the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee on Friday," announced the Tigers.  The Tigers expect him to have ACL reconstruction surgery in about six-to-eight weeks, which will sideline him for all of 2012.  After losing Martinez, the Tigers moved quickly to sign Prince Fielder to a nine-year deal.

January 17th: Catcher/designated hitter Victor Martinez suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during his off-season conditioning last week, according to the Tigers.  Surgery is anticipated, which the Tigers say would cost Martinez the 2012 season.

The Tigers are holding a conference call in about a half hour, at which point we should hear about their plans to replace Martinez after the unfortunate injury.

Latest On Roy Oswalt

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SATURDAY, 9:05pm: Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers will meet with Oswalt on Monday, assuming he's still a free agent by then. Fraley reiterates that Texas has not made the right-hander an offer.

2:14pm: The Rangers haven't made an offer to Oswalt either, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Texas is interested in the veteran, but like the Cardinals, he's not an obvious fit for the club.

1:39pm: The Cardinals insist that there's no deal in place with Oswalt, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).  General Manager John Mozeliak also denied that the club is near a deal with Oswalt, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com. 

8:03am: Oswalt is likely to sign with the Cardinals "soon," reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston. His source cautioned that it's "not yet 100 percent," however. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that Oswalt turned down a one-year, $10MM offer from the Tigers, and that being close to his Mississippi home is a major factor in his decision.

FRIDAY, 9:30pm: The Cardinals are close to a deal with veteran right-hander Roy Oswalt, reports Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). The Red Sox and, surprisingly, the Astros are still contenders for Oswalt's services. Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald (via Twitter) confirms these three teams are in the mix and says it could be "another day or two" before a decision is made.

We heard two days ago that both the Cards and Red Sox had made Oswalt offers, with the St. Louis offer worth roughly $5MM.  Oswalt has long expressed a desire to pitch for the Cards, so this could be why he is considering the club's modest offer. The Astros' involvement is totally out of left field since it was presumed they wouldn't be making any significant money this winter, but they could be looking to sign Oswalt and then flip him at the trade deadline. It's hard to imagine Oswalt turning down several contenders to return to Houston but it's possible Oswalt has a sentimental attachment to his original team.

Oswalt would provide quality depth to a St. Louis rotation that includes Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook. Wainwright is returning from Tommy John surgery, Garcia's durability could be a concern after a major increase in innings pitched (220 1/3 regular season and postseason innings in 2011, up from 163 1/3 IP in 2010) and Westbrook didn't have much value aside from eating innings.

Mike Axisa and Zach Links contributed to this post.

AL Central Links: Indians, Fielder, Span, Thome

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Happy birthday to right-hander Gavin Floyd, who is 29 years old today.  With the number of Floyd trade rumors we've heard this winter, you wonder if this could be Floyd's last birthday as a member of the White Sox.  Here's the latest from the AL Central…

  • Indians manager Manny Acta told reporters at a Town Hall event today (including MLB.com's Jordan Bastian) that he wants the team to pick up another bat.  "I do hope that something happens," Acta said.  "Chris [Antonetti] has worked really hard…about trying to acquire a hitter or two. It's not a secret, we need some help offensively."  For his part, Antonetti said he was "hopeful that we'll be able to improve the team between now and the start of Spring Training," (all Twitter links).
  • The Tigers' nine-year, $214MM contract with Prince Fielder "was an ownership-driven, impulsive deal, which is why the Tigers will contend for a World Series and why the contract makes poor baseball sense," writes Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci.
  • John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press recounts the history between Tigers owner Mike Illitch and agent Scott Boras.
  • The Tigers apparently have no plans to move Brandon Inge, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck.  The team sees Inge as a fallback option if Miguel Cabrera can't handle playing third base.
  • Denard Span told media (including MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger) he's feeling better after suffering a concussion last July and offered to play a different position if it helps the Twins.  Manager Ron Gardenhire, however, said he plans to use Span in his usual center field spot.
  • White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf tells Chuck Garfien of CSNChicago.com that he and Jim Thome have a handshake deal in place for Thome to work for the Sox in some capacity after he retires.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams said his club is "maxed out" of money for the Major League roster, reports Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).  Williams "played coy" when discussing Cuban free agents, however — the Sox are known to be one of Yoenis Cespedes' suitors.

Minor Moves: Sweeney, Tuiasosopo, Redding, Cabrera

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The latest minor league deals…

  • The Mariners signed former MLB reliever Brian Sweeney to a minor league contract, MLB.com's Greg Johns reports. Sweeney spent the 2011 season with the Mets' top affiliate and last appeared in the Majors with the 2010 Mariners.
  • The Twins signed left-hander Luke French, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports (Twitter links). French owns a 4.99 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 155 Major League innings.
  • The Mets signed infielder Matt Tuiasosopo, who picked up MLB experience with the Mariners from 2008-10, Eddy reports.
  • The Blue Jays signed right-hander Tim Redding and left-hander Bill Murphy, according to Eddy. Redding has substantial MLB experience as a starter for the Astros, Nationals and Mets.
  • Eddy reports that four catchers signed minor league deals: Mitch Canham joined the Rockies, Orlando Mercado agreed to terms with the Marlins, Kyle Phillips caught on with the Blue Jays and Max St. Pierre signed with the Red Sox. Phillips appeared in 36 games for the 2011 Padres and St. Pierre made his debut with the 2010 Tigers after 14 minor league seasons.
  • Former MLB starter Daniel Cabrera signed a minor league deal with the Pirates, Mario Rojas of CandelaDeportiva reports. Cabrera, 30, was a fixture in Baltimore's rotation from 2004-08, but hasn't pitched in MLB since 2009.
  • The Cubs re-signed infielder Bobby Scales, who started the 2011 season in Chicago before going to Japan, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets.
  • The Phillies re-signed former Tigers outfielder Brent Clevlen, Goldstein tweets.
  • The Orioles signed 18-year-old outfielder Andres Aguilar, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. The speedy Guatemala native has a strong throwing arm.
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