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Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bradley, Figgins

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Here are some links to check out as the snow falls for the first time this season in New York:

  • Free agent Mark DeRosa is in a state of flux, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Cardinals, Braves, Yankees, Giants, and Red Sox are all possibilities, but each have higher priorities than the 34-year-old.  The Mets and Nationals are also interested in the right-handed batter, but he would prefer to play for a contender.  DeRosa may be waiting by the phone for a while if he is unwilling to lower his asking price.
  • More from Ken Rosenthal as he writes that despite interest from the Rangers, the Rays remain the frontrunners for Milton Bradley.
  • Considering their plans to reduce their hefty payroll, It shouldn't surprise anyone that the Yankees won't consider Matt Holliday or Jason Bay (per Buster Olney's blog).  However, Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues wisely point out that this time last year, it was said that the Yanks didn't have enough cash to land Mark Teixeira after signing CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.
  • The Mariners' signing of Chone Figgins may indicate that the organization believes power is currently overrated, says ESPN's Keith Law.
  • In a footnote to his report of the Orioles re-signing Chad Moeller, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun writes that while the O's remain interested in righty reliever Ryota Igarashi and lefty Hisanori Takahashi, they aren't expected to be terribly aggressive in their pursuit.  Both players recently applied for international free agency.
  • On the heels of Phillies GM Ruben Amaro stating that the door is open for Pedro Martinez's return to the club, the 38-year-old reciprocated that sentiment to Scott Lauber of The News Journal.
  • Kevin Towers is leaning towards accepting an offer from his close friend – Yankees GM Brian Cashman, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel estimates that the Brewers will have about $12MM to spend on starting pitching after addressing the rest of their roster.  Since that probably puts them short of the capital needed to sign John Lackey, what do you think would be the best way to take care of their starting pitching needs on the open market?
  • The Pirates placed Luis Cruz on waivers to make space for their second pick in the Rule 5 draft, writes Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com.

Odds & Ends: Kendall, Uggla, Reds, Pedro

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You want links? Well we got 'em…

  • Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that Jason Kendall was looking for $5MM to return to Milwaukee for another year. Yeah, good luck with that. No wonder why the Brewers went with Gregg Zaun.
  • Dan Uggla doesn't have any control over whether the Marlins trade him or not, but if they do, he hopes it happens sooner rather than later, according to Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
  • When asked about the hot stove, Reds' manager Dusty Baker said "there's not much of anything going on," reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald says that Pedro Martinez wants to pitch a full season in 2010, instead of going on the Roger Clemens plan (pitching in the second half only) again.
  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says that the D-Backs' perfect world Winter Meetings scenario "involves them acquiring a cost-effective starting pitcher in a trade and then using their remaining payroll flexibility to upgrade other areas of the club."
  • According to WEEI.com's Alex Speier, Padres' GM Jed Hoyer said that given his (and new assistant Jason McLeod's) experience with the Red Sox, they have a “level of comfort” in any potential trade with them, moreso than with any other team.
  • Re-signing Andy Pettitte is the Yankees' top priority, says George A. King III of The NY Post.
  • MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says as many as three teams are interested in Milton Bradley, and Cubs' GM Jim Hendry will spend next week trying to find the best match.
  • Former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi said that Roy Halladay wants to be traded, according to The Canadian Press. Ricciardi added that a "lot of these decisions are out of the general manager's hands as far as what ownership perceives as fan reaction and what the perception of the club (is) and the direction that they are going. I think any time you have a player of this magnitude, that's really an ownership call."
  • In addition to Justin Miller, the Dodgers also signed Prentice Redman to a minor league contract, according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times.
  • MLB.com's Steve Gilbert has the news of three players the Diamondbacks inked to minor league contracts: T.J. Beam, Drew Macias, and Carlos Corporan. All three received invites to Spring Training.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote about the five biggest plotlines going into the Winter Meetings next week, while Scott Miller of CBSSports.com has some pre-Winter Meetings chatter of his own.
  • Got a problem with how FanGraphs puts a dollar amount on a player's performance? If so, Dave Cameron clarifies some things.

Brewers Make Offer To Craig Counsell

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3:46pm: The Brewers made an initial contract proposal to Counsell today, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

9:48am: The Brewers plan to present an offer to utility infielder Craig Counsell, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  The interest is mutual, but ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted back on November 16th that at least a dozen teams are eyeing Counsell and a multi-year deal is possible.

Counsell, 39, hit .285/.357/.408 in 459 plate appearances this year while playing second base, shortstop, and third base and earning $1MM.  If Alex Cora gets $2MM, Counsell's agent Barry Meister should seek at least that much.

Gregg Zaun Agrees To Deal With Brewers

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1:33pm: ESPN's Buster Olney has the contract details: a $1.9MM base in 2010, and a $2.25MM club option for '11 with a $250K buyout.

1:18pm: Zaun is close to a deal with the Brewers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the deal is signed, and worth $2.15MM guaranteed (with a 2011 option).  The free agent market didn't offer much, but Zaun was one of the better catchers out there.  The Rays will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.

10:03am: Free agent catcher Gregg Zaun spoke to Don Landry and Gord Stellick of The Fan 590 this morning, and revealed that he'll sign with a team "possibly by the end of the day."  Zaun confirmed that he'll be signing with the Brewers, Rockies, Rays, or Mariners.

My guess is the Mariners.  How about you?

Odds & Ends: Oeltjen, Hensley, Gload, Halladay

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Links for Friday, as team execs and media folk pack their bags for Monday's Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…

  • The Brewers signed Trent Oeltjen to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  Oeltjen, 27 in February, hit .303/.362/.500 in his third Triple A tour, playing the outfield corners.
  • Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash spells out why his team won't be acquiring Roy Halladay, talking to McCalvy.
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets six minor league free agents signed by the Marlins, including Jesse Foppert, Vinny Rottino, and Hector Luna.
  • The Pirates expressed "mild interest" in free agent pitcher Clay Hensley, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Hensley, 30, spent the year at Triple A in the Astros and Marlins organizations, posting a 3.56 ERA in 124 innings.
  • Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post feels there's "still a good chance [Ross] Gload returns [to the Marlins] with a two-year deal."
  • Darren Dreifort's five-year, $55MM deal tops Jeff Passan's list of the ten worst contracts of the 2000s for Yahoo.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues explains why the Yankees probably won't sign Rafael Soriano.
  • In his Winter Meetings preview for AOL FanHouse, Ed Price says there was some discussion about a Tigers-Diamondbacks trade involving Edwin Jackson and Max Scherzer.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney talked to rival executives who say the Tigers have not aggressively shopped Curtis Granderson.
  • Olney doesn't think the Mariners will pay up for Jason Bay.  He believes the Red Sox are "controlling the market" for Bay and Matt Holliday.
  • Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals are "increasingly weighing spreading what it would cost to retain Holliday over several players."  Bernie Miklasz of the P-D feels the Cards are "enacting their exit strategy from the Holliday sweepstakes."  I would not be surprised to see the Cardinals make their best offer soon - let's say $110MM over six years – and entirely move on if Scott Boras rejects it.
  • SI's Jon Heyman tweets that Nick Johnson is "drawing interest from the Giants, maybe Braves, and a half-dozen more."
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock talked to former Padres GM Kevin Towers, who will meet with the Mets, Yankees, Mariners, and Red Sox at the Winter Meetings.
  • ESPN's Keith Law isn't impressed with the Phillies' Placido Polanco signing.  My initial impression upon hearing about the signing is that no other team would've valued Polanco that highly.
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that other teams have been more aggressive on Jamey Carroll than the Marlins.  Other Carroll suitors include the Rockies, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, A's, Rangers, Pirates, Reds and Indians.

Nationals Notes: Hardy, Needs

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The latest on the Nationals, courtesy of Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post…

  • The Nats discussed a deal for shortstop J.J. Hardy, before he was traded to the Twins.  However, with Ian Desmond and Cristian Guzman the projected starters, upgrading in the middle infield is not the top priority.
  • Manager Jim Riggleman says starting pitching comes first, with Sheinin suggesting trades are preferred over free agent signings. You can see our list of starting pitcher trade candidates here.
  • The Nationals also seek a catcher, more than just a backup type according to Riggleman.

Brewers, Rockies, Rays Interested In Zaun

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The Brewers, Rockies, and Rays are showing the most interest in free agent catcher Gregg Zaun, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Zaun still has an arbitration offer from the Rays, on which he must decide by Monday.  However, Zaun has said he expects to sign with a team by week's end.  As the FOX writers note, he'd get the most playing time with the Brewers.  Earlier this offseason it seemed that they planned to spend all of their money on starting pitching, but maybe they'll peel off a few million for Zaun.

Rosenthal and Morosi wrote yesterday that the Mariners were pursuing Zaun, but they don't mention the team in tonight's update.

Odds & Ends: McLeod, Yankees, Wagner, Lyon

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Let's check out some Wednesday evening links….

Heyman On Pudge, Wolf, Crede

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • The Giants, Mets, and Royals have interest in free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, assuming he doesn't accept the Rangers' arbitration offer.  Heyman says the Royals were trying to sign Brian Schneider before the Phillies signed him. 
  • Heyman names the Mets, Brewers, and Phillies as three clubs "believed to have some interest" in free agent lefty Randy Wolf.  First we've read this winter of a possible Wolf-Phillies reunion.
  • "At least the Orioles and Astros" are interested in free agent third baseman Joe Crede.

Brewers Do Not Offer Arb To Any Free Agents

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The Brewers chose not to offer arbitration to any of their free agents, tweets Tom Hauricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  The Brewers had five Type Bs in Braden Looper, David Weathers, Felipe Lopez, Jason Kendall, and Mike Cameron.  A case could've been made for Lopez, but GM Doug Melvin said earlier that they didn't have a spot for him. 

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