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Minor Moves: Pridie, Brewers, Twins

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves here.

  • The Rockies have signed Jason Pridie, according to the outfielder's own Twitter feed. Pridie, 30, hit .269/.333/.434 for the Orioles' Triple-A Norfolk affiliate in 2013. He also appeared in four big-league games.
  • The Brewers have signed infielder Irving Falu and catcher Matt Pagnozzi to minor-league deals with spring-training invites, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets. Falu, 30, hit .256/.320/.329 for Triple-A Omaha in the Royals system in 2013. He made brief appearances in the big leagues in both of the last two seasons. The Royals designated him for assignment two weeks ago. Pagnozzi hit .210/.274/.314 for Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves system in 2013.
  • The Brewers also signed pitchers Donovan Hand and Michael Olmsted to big-league deals, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Both pitchers were already on the 40-man roster, and neither were arbitration-eligible.
  • The Twins signed third baseman Brandon Waring and lefty pitcher Matt Hoffman to minor-league deals, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. Both have been extended invitations to spring training. Waring hit .214/.317/.449 in the upper levels of the Orioles' system in 2013. Hoffman posted a 2.06 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 for the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate in Toledo.

Cafardo On Samardzija, Price, Kemp, Pierzynski

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The Red Sox won a World Series last year thanks to their daring offseason gameplan.  Will they break away from those habits going forward?  “So far, I don’t think it’s been all that different,” Lucchino told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. “We still value the draft picks enormously and our behavior has shown that we still prefer shorter- to longer-term contracts and a presumption against really long-term contracts. A lot of things we did last year proved to be successful at least in the short term, and I think we’ll behave accordingly going forward.”  Here's more from today's column..

  • Trade talks for Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija have been going on and he could be on the move, but the Cubs’ preference would be to re-sign Samardzija and lock him in beyond 2015 and build their future around him, according to a major league source.  The Cubs will continue to work on both fronts until an extension is reached or an extension proves to be improbable.
  • The Rays, unsurprisingly, have gotten a number of inquiries on David Price.  However, none of them have been strong enough to make Tampa Bay give serious consideration to parting with him.
  • Moving Matt Kemp would require the Dodgers to eat some of the $128MM he's owed over the next six years.  If L.A. knocks that down to $80-90MM, the market is expected to open up.
  • The notion that A.J. Pierzynski is bad for a team is way off-base, according to one longtime teammate who said, “He may rub people the wrong way on other teams, but if he’s your teammate, he’s great. He’s tough, loyal, can call a game, and he can hit. I wish we had him back.”
  • Daniel Bard's control issues have followed him into winter ball.  The Cubs are expected to keep working with Bard, however, as they can give him a longer leash than the Red Sox did.  
  • Most teams, including the Brewers, want Corey Hart on a one-year deal.  However, because there are a number of teams in on him, he might get two.

Mets Notes: Free Agency, Shortstops, Braun

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There's been a lot of talk about the Mets following the "Red Sox model" of signing multiple mid-tier free agents to shorter-term deals without sacrificing draft picks this season, but Matt Meyers of ESPNNewYork.com writes that this model won't work for the Mets. New York doesn't have a positional core like Boston had in Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz, nor can the team match Boston's $150MM payroll. Meyers feels that the Mets should follow the Indians' model this winter and look at the Pirates' philosophy long-term. To fans clamoring for big free agent spending, Meyers points out that such actions are precisely what dug the team into its current hole. More Mets links for your Tuesday afternoon…

  • David Wright appeared on ESPN New York radio recently, stating that he's not worried about the team's slow start to the offseason and adding that he thinks GM Sandy Alderson "has some tricks up his sleeve." (ESPN's Adam Rubin has some quotes transcribed) Wright elaborated: "In all reality, I think that the offseason doesn't really necessarily kick off until the winter meetings, and that starts right after Thanksgiving … have some faith because, like I said, I fully expect us to be a much better team moving forward. Hopefully that will begin at the winter meetings or shortly after Thanksgiving."
  • Barring a surprise signing of Stephen Drew, it's looking more and more like the Mets will open 2014 with Ruben Tejada as their shortstop, writes MLB.com's Anthony DiComo in his latest Mets Inbox. DiComo points to Cardinals GM John Mozeliak's comments about how steep the prices are for shortstops on the trade market in suggesting that such a move isn't likely to occur. Rafael Furcal may be an upgrade, but as DiComo points out, he's far from a sure thing.
  • The large number of holes the Mets have to fill puts Daniel Murphy "at risk of being elsewhere" next season, DiComo adds. The Mets could move Eric Young to his natural position, second base, and address a different hole by trading Murphy.
  • Also from DiComo, the Mets would like to find a veteran backup catcher, but that's low on their list of priorities at this point. He tells a reader that while John Buck would likely be a nice it, Buck probably prefers to find a larger role with a team than the Mets can offer.
  • The Mets did indeed check in on Ryan Braun, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, though the inquiry consisted of four words, Alderson told Heyman: "What's up with Braun?" Alderson asked Brewers GM Doug Melvin before finding him to be unavailable. The Mets are continuing to pursue corner outfielders Nelson Cruz and Curtis Granderson, however, Heyman writes.

NL Central Notes: Aybar, Peralta, Beltran, Brewers

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We just wrapped up the early reactions to today's biggest news out of the National League Central, but there are some other notes from the division that are worth a look:

  • Though the Cardinals talked about acquiring Erick Aybar along with David Freese, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports via Twitter, that does not mean that a second deal is on the horizon. To the contrary, Goold says that the Cards do not expect to continue discussions about bringing Aybar in from the Angels, having realized that the Halos will demand a live, young arm even if Aybar's $25.5MM remaining salary is absorbed by a trade partner.
  • A rival executive believes that St. Louis is in on Jhonny Peralta, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, and the Freese trade makes sense in that respect. That being said, Morosi says in another tweet that he has not heard whether St. Louis would go to four years for Peralta. 
  • Meanwhile, one must wonder whether the addition of Bourjos takes the Cardinals completely out of the running to sign another of the club's recent post-season heroes: Carlos Beltran. This is my speculation, but with top prospect Oscar Taveras knocking on the door, Allen Craig warranting time in right field to give Matt Adams at-bats at first, and Jon Jay still in the fold, a return for Beltran might require another trade to make sense at this point.
  • Another trade went down today from the division, with the Brewers shipping out reliever Burke Badenhop to the Red Sox in exchange for 20-year-old lefty Luis Ortega. Baseball America breaks down the players involved, explaining that Ortega is a longshot to make the bigs and profiles as a reliever. The Brew Crew will shed an estimated $2.1MM arbitration salary in the deal, however.
  • After shedding Badenhop from the pen, Milwaukee is not hot on the trail of any new relievers, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. As MLBTR's Ed Creech explained in his offseason outlook for the Brewers, the team's pen was hardly the problem last year, and seems to be in good shape save the possible addition of another veteran.

Red Sox Acquire Burke Badenhop

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The Brewers have traded right-handed reliever Burke Badenhop to the Red Sox in exchange for left-handed pitcher Luis Ortega, according to a press release from Milwaukee.

Badenhop, 30, posted a 3.47 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 63 relief appearances during his only season with the Brewers.  The reliever was acquired from the Rays in December 2012 in exchange for shortstop Raul Mondesi Jr.  Badenhop, who pitched to a 3.03 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings for the Rays in 2012, is eligible for arbitration and projected to earn $2.1MM by our own Matt Swartz.  The veteran is eligible to hit the open market after this season.

Ortega, 20, was signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent on July 2, 2011. He did not appear on the team's Top 30 prospects heading into the season (per Baseball America), nor did he make MLB.com's Top 20 Red Sox prospects list following the season. However, Ortega turned in a solid year in the Gulf Coast League, pitching to a 2.45 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 36 innings of work. Since being signed, he owns a 2.25 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 31 walks in 96 innings between the GCL and the Dominican Summer League.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Brewers Won’t Trade Ryan Braun

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Though "four or five clubs" approached Brewers general manager Doug Melvin at the GM Meetings last week to inquire on Ryan Braun's availability, Melvin told the other GMs that Braun isn't available, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Melvin addressed trade rumors that have circulated around his embattled outfielder:

"We have no intentions of trading Ryan. There's absolutely no truth to that. We've never contacted any team about Ryan."

Melvin told Haudricourt that he, manager Ron Roenicke and owner Mark Attanasio had lunch with Braun last week in Los Angeles. There was no talk of trades, and his PED suspension was not a main talking point either. Rather, the Brewers brass met to discuss the upcoming plans for next season and a potential shift to right field for Braun, an idea to which Braun was open.

A shift to right field could open up some more at-bats for Khris Davis following an impressive Major League debut, though it could displace Norichika Aoki as well. Haudricourt writes that Aoki could still be used in left field at times in that scenario, however. He also adds that the very fact that the Brewers are discussing Braun's future with him illustrates the fact that he's not likely to be traded this winter.

Braun is owed $122MM over the next seven seasons, including a $4MM buyout on his $15MM mutual option for the 2021 season and two remaining annual payments of $2.5MM in 2014 and 2015 as part of the $10MM signing bonus on his most recent extension.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

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Midnight tonight is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft. There should be no shortage of players being added, and we'll run them down here in this post…

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Red Sox, Rays, Rockies, Others Interested In Corey Hart

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Corey Hart told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (Twitter link) that his agent has talked with the Brewers, Red Sox, Rays, and Rockies amongst other interested teams.  Hart added that he won't officially get 100% medical clearance until December 3rd when he visits his doctor in Los Angeles, but he's fully healthy (link).

The CAA Sports client doesn't consider himself to be an injury prone player but admits that he's in a holding pattern until he's cleared physically, tweets Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links).  Hart says that he's dropped 20 pounds and that he should be able to run around better than he had the past few years, so he'll be open to playing in the outfield (link).

Also from Rosiak, Hart says that a winning team would be nice, but he's a family man first and will do what he feels is best for them.  As MLB.com's Adam McCalvy points out in his transcript of Hart's interview, Harts and his family live in Arizona, which could factor into his decision.  McCalvy notes that of the four teams mentioned by Hart, the Rockies and Brewers both have Spring Training facilities in the Phoenix area.  The Spring Training facilities for Tampa Bay and Boston are each in Florida.

Hart last played in 2012, batting .270/.334/.507 with 30 homers, 35 doubles and four triples, illustrating why he can still be considered one of the most promising power bats on this year's free agent market even after missing the 2013 season.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Central Rumors: Hart, Pelfrey, Suzuki, Cubs, Indians

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Today's news out of the AL and NL Central..

Heyman On Trumbo, Ellsbury, Davis, Santana

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Mark Trumbo is the Angels' most wanted player via trade, but the Halos are very reluctant to trade him, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. "He fits us," said someone connected to the Angels. Meanwhile, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Peter Bourjos and Chris Iannetta also are getting a fair number of trade inquiries, and they could move one of them.  Here's more of Heyman's latest..

  • One club with interest in Jacoby Ellsbury says that agent Scott Boras has set Carl Crawford's $142MM contract as a benchmark in discussions, Heyman writes.  One rival GM who isn't in on Ellsbury argued that Crawford was better and more durable at the time of his deal.
  • The Astros, Orioles, Rays, Brewers and Rockies all have checked in on Mets first baseman Ike Davis, despite his awful 2013 campaign, according to Heyman. In the case of Milwaukee, however, they may prefer re-signing Corey Hart instead.
  • Heyman suggests that the Marlins and Cubs could discuss a swap of top prospects and officials from both sides agree that they could have something to discuss.  The Cubs have high-end position prospects such as Kris Bryant (who may be untouchable), Javier Baez, and Albert Almora, while Miami has a stockpile of strong young arms.
  • We learned last week that Ervin Santana's asking price was $100MM and today Heyman hears that agents Bean Stringfellow, Joe White, and Jay Alou are seeking a five-year, $112MM pact.  The agents are going around with a book of arguments to support their case, including some comparisons to Dodgers star pitcher Zack Greinke.
  • The A's have joined the fray for free agent Nelson Cruz, but the small-market club could run into problems when it comes to dollars and years, Heyman writes.  Oakland has been looking for a right-handed-hitting outfielder after declining to pick up the option on Chris Young, but Cruz would be a much bigger splash than anyone anticipated.
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