Damon, Sheffield Interested In Rays
11:16pm: Johnny Damon told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he'd like to play for the Rays. Damon said earlier this offseason that he'd like to re-join the Yankees.
4:07pm: Gary Sheffield told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that he wants to play next year and that the Tampa Bay Rays are his first choice. Sheffield, who has ruled out a return to Detroit, wants to play for a competitive team. He says one team offered him an everyday job last year, but he turned the gig down because of doubts that the club could compete.
Sheffield batted .276/.372/.451 in 312 plate appearances for the 2009 Mets. It seems unlikely that National League teams would be comfortable allowing Sheffield to patrol the outfield on a daily basis, as he's now 42. Sheffield was born in Tampa and would like to play close to home.
Cubs Shopping Tom Gorzelanny
6:52pm: The Tigers contacted the Cubs about Gorzelanny, according to Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
9:38am: The Cubs are aggressively shopping lefty Tom Gorzelanny, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Trading Gorzelanny would open up a spot in the Cubs' rotation, but wouldn't clear much payroll.
Gorzelanny, 28, posted a 4.09 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 0.73 HR/9, and 40.7% groundball rate in 136 1/3 innings this year. He's arbitration eligible for the second time after earning $800K in 2010.
Josh Willingham Rumors: Tuesday
Josh Willingham may have become expendable for the Nationals with the Jayson Werth signing, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the asking price is said to be absurd. Rosenthal says the Athletics and Red Sox have checked in, while his colleague Jon Paul Morosi adds the Tigers and Mariners.
Minor Deals: Adams, Ryan, Bass, Santos
We've seen our share of major moves since yesterday, but the minor deals keep streaming in, too. Here they are:
- The Mets signed Russ Adams and Dusty Ryan to minor league contracts, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. The Blue Jays made Adams their first round pick in 2002, but he disappointed in parts of five seasons in Toronto, batting .247/.313/.372. The Blue Jays drafted Adams as a shortstop, but he has big league experience at second base and in left field. Ryan, 26, batted .199/.333/.349 for the Padres' Triple-A affiliate in 2010. He had cameos with the Tigers in 2008 and 2009.
- Oddly enough, the Tigers signed a former Mets backstop today. MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that Detroit added Omir Santos on a minor league deal (Twitter link). The 29-year-old last appeared in the majors on the 2009 Mets.
- The Phillies signed right-hander Brian Bass, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has a 5.16 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 183 major league innings.
Carl Crawford Rumors: Monday
When Jayson Werth signed a seven-year deal worth $126MM, it appeared to be a positive sign for Carl Crawford. Here’s the latest on Crawford and whether the Werth deal really does impact his bargaining power:
- ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark suggests Werth's contract may give Crawford fewer options, since few teams will be able to meet his demands. Stark suggests the Yankees are the lone team that can afford to offer the left fielder $180MM.
- Crawford is the Angels' top priority and the Tigers have definite interest, according to Stark.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that he doesn't have a reaction to the Werth deal since what other clubs do "doesn't affect" the way the Angels operate. I'm guessing the Angels did not like what the Nationals did one bit.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explained earlier today that the Red Sox could be priced out of the market for Crawford.
Indians, Tigers, Mets, Others Interested In Lewis
The Indians, Tigers and Mets are among the seven or eight teams showing interest in Fred Lewis, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The Blue Jays non-tendered Lewis after acquiring Rajai Davis, making him a free agent.
Lewis, 30 this week, hit .262/.332/.414 in 480 plate appearances for the Blue Jays, who acquired him from the Giants early in the season. Though he mostly played left field, Lewis did play some center and right in 2010. He contributed 31 doubles and 17 steals, mostly as Toronto's leadoff hitter.
Minor Deals: Red Sox, Bale, Perdomo
Today's minor league signings feature the pitcher who has the second most strikeouts in Washington Nationals history. Here are the details:
- The Red Sox announced they have signed Nate Spears, Santo Luis and Jason Bergmann and confirmed they have signed Brandon Duckworth and Drew Sutton.
- Bergmann, 29, has a 5.04 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in parts of six seasons with the Nationals. He posted a 2.84 ERA with 9.9 K/9 in 43 relief appearances for Washington's Triple-A affiliate in 2010.
- The Tigers signed lefty John Bale to a minor league deal according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Daniel Schlereth and Brad Thomas are the only two lefties on Detroit's roster, so the Tigers are looking to add depth. Bale, 36, has a 4.66 ERA in parts of seven big league seasons, but didn't play pro ball in 2010.
- The Padres agreed to terms with right-hander Luis Perdomo on a minor league deal, the team announced. They non-tendered Perdomo yesterday, but he wasn't a free agent for long.
American League Non-Tenders
This post will list all the American League players non-tendered today, but the best place to track all 200+ arbitration eligible players is our new non-tender tracker.
- Blue Jays: Fred Lewis, Jeremy Accardo
- Red Sox: Hideki Okajima, Andrew Miller, Taylor Buchholz
- Mariners: Ryan Rowland-Smith
- Rays: Lance Cormier, Willy Aybar, Dioner Navarro, J.P. Howell
- Royals: Josh Fields
- Rangers: Dustin Nippert
- Angels: Kevin Frandsen
- Athletics: Jack Cust, Travis Buck, Edwin Encarnacion
- Yankees: Alfredo Aceves, Dustin Moseley
- Orioles: Matt Albers
- White Sox: Bobby Jenks, Erick Threets
- Tigers: Zach Miner
Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies Seem Serious About Werth
The Red Sox, Tigers and Phillies are seen as the most serious suitors for Jayson Werth, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Red Sox met with Werth and agent Scott Boras yesterday, according to ESPNBoston.com. However, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the sides did not discuss contract terms yesterday. Instead, Werth, GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona got to know each other.
The Rangers haven't ruled out pursuing Werth, but the White Sox are not pursuing him, Morosi reports.
Royals Won’t Trade Greinke Within Division
The Royals won't trade Zack Greinke within their division, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The Twins might have been a nice match, and the White Sox often check in on big names, but it appears those two teams as well as the Indians and Tigers will have to look elsewhere if they want to import an ace.
On Tuesday, Yahoo's Jeff Passan talked to a source that feels Greinke will not rule out any winning team. The 27-year-old righty can submit a list of 15 teams to which he cannot be traded without his consent.