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Odds & Ends: Giants, Phillies, Hernandez

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Some news and notes from around the majors….

  • Giants blogger Grant of The McCovey Chronicles notes the potential downsides for San Francisco if they were to sign Jason Bay, Jermaine Dye and/or Bengie Molina.
  • With rumors again swirling that the Phillies will make a play for Roy Halladay, Scott Lauber of the News Journal looks at a Baseball America listing of Philadelphia's top prospects, with an eye towards which of these youngsters could head to Toronto in a trade.
  • Speaking of Halladay, The Seattle Times' Larry Stone believes that if the Mariners do decide to move Felix Hernandez, they will do so without being as public as the Blue Jays were about dealing their ace last summer.
  • Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports that the Royals outrighted pitchers Yasuhiko Yabuta and Lenny DiNardo to Triple-A Omaha, leaving them both eligible for free agency.  Neither move was a surprise, particularly given that Kansas City already declined Yabuta's $4MM option for 2010.
  • Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles signed catcher Michel Hernandez.  The 31-year-old Hernandez will get an invite to spring training to vie for the backup catcher's job.  Hernandez has a .237/.286/.305 career line in 127 plate appearances with Tampa Bay and New York.

Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Holliday, Varitek, Tejada

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Let's round up a few more links in a busy day of rumors….

Royals Seeking A Catcher

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After declining their 2010 option for Miguel Olivo, the Royals are searching for a catcher according to Bob Dutton of The KC Star. Dutton mentions that it would be best for the team to fill their hole behind the plate prior to December 12th, allowing them to non-tender the incumbent John Buck.

“We led all of baseball (last season) in passed balls and wild pitches,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “That will be fixed in 2010. Our defense in general is our main objective to fix before next season.

“And it starts behind the plate.” 

The team has indicated that they aren't ready to hand the starting job over to Brayan Pena, even though he made "significant defensive strides last season."

Dutton mentions one interesting rumor to watch, a "deal sending second baseman Alberto Callaspo to the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher A.J. Ellis." Callaspo, who hit .300/.356/.457 in 2009, would help fill the Dodgers' second base vacancy, while the 28-year-old Ellis would give KC a defensive standout behind the plate. Ellis also has a career .398 OBP in the minors, with more walks than strikeouts in nearly 1,800 plate appearances.

Even though there are plenty of catching options in free agency, Moore acknowledged that his team prefers to improve their club through trades.

“Our free-agent pursuit will not be as aggressive as in the past,” he said. “We’re going to focus on trades first. We’re going to exhaust every opportunity to make trades.

“In the previous two offseasons, we’ve been more likely to pop a free agent or two early on. I look for us to exhaust every possible trade scenario this offseason before we enter into the free-agent market.”

Tim previewed the trade market for catchers back in October. See any fits?

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Pierre, Webb, Mariners

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Here's a few links on a gorgeous Saturday, at least around these parts…

  • Acquiring Carlos Gomez allows the Brewers to wave goodbye to Mike Cameron, and Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel says they'll use the savings on pitching. "We're going to have to take our resources that we gave to Mike and distribute them to fill other needs for our ballclub," said GM Doug Melvin. "We've said pitching is our focus. We still have other needs, like any club. And the salaries of our other players go up, too."
  • The return of Manny Ramirez allows the Dodgers to resume searching for a trade partner for Juan Pierre, according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times. Pierre still has two-years and $18.5MM remaining on his contract.  
  • In today's blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says that Brandon Webb will be prime trade bait in the middle of next season if he makes it all the way back and the Diamondbacks aren't in contention.
  • Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider takes a look at some offseason options for the Mariners.
  • Meanwhile, former Mariner Kenji Johjima can provide some additional input on American pitchers the Hanshin Tigers may pursue, notes Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Patrick also passes along a report that lists some pitchers Hanshin is looking at, including two Mariners: Ryan Rowland-Smith and Chris Jakubauskas. 
  • Rowland-Smith is on Twitter, and was a little surprised by the news.
  • Bob Dutton of The KC Star takes a look at the newest Royals, Chris Getz and Josh Fields.
  • Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball lists all 39 players who filed for free agency on Friday.

Royals Trade Mark Teahen To White Sox

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3:42pm: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star heard the Royals sent $1MM to the White Sox with Teahen.

12:35pm: White Sox GM Ken Williams told reporters Teahen will play third base, with Gordon Beckham moving to second.  He told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that Scott Podsednik is unlikely to re-sign and the DH position might not be decided until the end of the offseason.

11:16am: The deal is official, according to a Royals press release.  The Royals acquired Getz and Fields for Teahen and cash considerations.

FRIDAY, 8:40am: Mum's still the word from all involved, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  Late last night, Teahen tweeted that he hadn't heard anything official.

THURSDAY, 5:30pm: The story keeps changing. Now, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, neither team has confirmed the deal.

11:13am: The White Sox have confirmed the trade, according to The Chicago Sun Times. It's Teahen for Getz and Fields.

10:17am: ESPN's Buster Olney says talks are "not that far along." Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times mentions that Getz hasn't heard anything about a trade.

9:04am: According to Bill Madden of The NY Daily News, the Royals have agreed to send the versatile Mark Teahen to the White Sox in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Madden says Teahen is expected to replace free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye in right field.

The 28-year-old Teahen hit .271/.325/.408 last year, but is a career .261/.325/.514 hitter at U.S. Cellular Field. FanGraphs has him at -2.0 UZR/150 in right, which is a massive upgrade over Dye's -17.5 mark. Teahen earned $3.575MM in 2009, and has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him. He's certainly been the subject of many trade rumors over the years.

Getz, 26, was Chicago's every day second baseman for most of 2009, hitting .261/.324/.347 with 25 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Fields, 28, has struggled to find a place with the White Sox, hitting .229/.302/.416 in 746 plate appearances over the last four years while playing first, third, and left field. Both players are in their pre-arbitration years, and have a combined ten years of team control left.

Royals Decline Options On Crisp, Olivo, Yabuta

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The Royals declined their 2010 options on Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta, according to a team press release.

On Crisp, the Royals chose his $500K buyout over his $8MM option.  It's possible the Royals will offer Crisp an incentive-laden deal (he had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders this summer).

The Royals plan to go in a different direction than Olivo at catcher; they may also non-tender John Buck.  Olivo had a $3.3MM mutual option.  As for Yabuta, the press release says he can "elect free agency if he doesn’t sign a 2010 Major League contract with the Royals by November 16th."  The Japanese reliever has been a $6MM bust; his $4MM club option was an obvious choice to decline.

Royals Facing Option Decisions

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Now that the World Series has ended, the clock has started for clubs to make decisions about any player options for 2010. The Royals have three such decision to make, involving Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta.

Bob Dutton of The KC Star breaks down what we might see happen with those three…

  • Decisions on Crisp's and Yabuta's options are due five days after the end of the World Series, Olivo's just three days.
  • The team has shown "little inclination" to pick up Crisp's $8MM option, but his $500K buyout isn't exactly cheap. Crisp was limited to just 49 games last year due to a shoulder injury.
  • Dutton notes that the Royals continue to "express interest in negotiating a new contract with Crisp that contains a low guarantee with significant performance bonuses."
  • Olivo's $3.3MM option is mutual, meaning he can walk even if the team picks up their half. He's expected to push for a mutli-year deal, which would make the Royals look elsewhere.
  • Yabuta has put up a 7.14 ERA in 51.2 IP in two years in KC, so the team figures to walk away from his $4MM option, instead paying him a $500K buyout.

Odds & Ends: Holliday, Putz, Lopez, Teahen, Reds

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It's been a busy first day on the hot stove, so here's another batch of links…

  • Derrick Goold of The St. Lous Post Dispatch says there are eight teams "that have the need and the financial wherewithal" to sign Matt Holliday. It's the usual suspects (i.e. big market clubs), and Goold explains why each may be interested in Holliday.
  • Craig Landis, agent for J.J. Putz, said that his client "hasn't ruled out returning to the Mets with a cheaper, incentive-laden deal," according to Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post. Earlier today we learned that the Mets informed Putz that they wouldn't be picking up his 2010 option.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says the Brewers are waiting to see whether Felipe Lopez qualifies as a Type-A or B free agent, and that will likely play a role in their decision whether or not to offer him arbitration. Eddie Bajek's work projects Lopez to be a Type-B, but he's right on the cutoff.
  • ESPN's Keith Law loves the Mark Teahen trade for the Royals, noting that they traded one average player close to free agency for two average players with several years of team control left.
  • John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Reds' relievers Nick Masset and Jared Burton are arbitration eligible as Super Two's, but Micah Owings is not.
  • Meanwhile, the Reds are expected to decline Ramon Hernandez's $8.5MM option for 2010, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. 
  • David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal Constitution has some quotes from Tim Hudson about his contract extension.
  • Did you catch Mariano Rivera saying that he wants to play another five years during the Yankees' World Series celebration last night? It turns out he wasn't kidding. Chad Jennings of The Journal News quotes the Yanks' closer as saying “I’m serious. I hope the organization does whatever it takes to bring me back.”

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Riggleman, Crisp, ‘Stros

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A few leftovers as the Phillies and Yankees do battle in Game 6…

  • According to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure, recently-defected Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz has impressed scouts in workouts the past two weeks.  The Red Sox and Tigers are known to have some level of interest.
  • Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner thinks the M's should "kick the tires" on several undervalued starters this offseason.  He lists Ben Sheets, Rich Harden, Carl Pavano and Randy Johnson, among others, as possible targets.
  • MASN's Byron Kerr spoke Wednesday with Jim Riggleman, who's hoping to be named the Nationals' permanent manager shortly after the World Series ends.  He went 33-42 as Washington's interim skipper last season.
  • According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, the Royals have shown "little inclination" that they plan to pick up Coco Crisp's 2010 option worth $8MM.
  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lays out some advice for Astros owner Drayton McLane, including this nugget: "Give GM Ed Wade a five-year extension and give him the freedom to reshape the roster and the organization. If there's any doubt he knows what he's doing, check out the 2008-2009 Phillies. Ed Wade acquired the core of those teams."

Commissioner’s Office Says Rodriguez To Red Sox, Not Royals

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3:04pm: WEEI’s Alex Speier writes, “According to a major-league source, the MLB Commissioner’s Office has ruled that the Red Sox still possess the rights to Reynaldo Rodriguez, a first baseman whom they acquired from the Yuma Scorpions of the independent Golden Baseball League earlier this month.”

According to Speier’s source, the Red Sox went through proper channels to acquire Rodriguez, and the player himself claims he hadn’t reached an agreement with Kansas City.

10:46am: The Royals have signed a prospect whose contract the Red Sox appeared to have purchased. Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports that the Royals signed first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez. The 22-year-old, who has been playing in Colombian leagues, projects as a corner outfielder, if you ask Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper.

Earlier in the month, Baseball America named Rodriguez the best independent league prospect around. The Royals also signed Adam Frost, a 22-year-old infielder who had been playing in Winnipeg. BA named Frost the second-best indy league prospect, highlighting his speed and gap power. 

Top Royals prospect Aaron Crow is no stranger to independent ball (he pitched for the Fort Worth Cats this year) and, as ESPN.com’s Jason Grey notes, many believe Crow could climb quickly through the minors.

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