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Sherman On Yankees’ Search For Pitching

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A year ago, the Yankees showed their reluctance to bid on non-elite free agent pitchers with substantial asking prices. Unless the current market for pitching changes, GM Brian Cashman may be searching for back-of-the-rotation bargains again. 

“I’d like to do something, but I am not going to do something at the current costs,” Cashman said, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

C.J. Wilson’s agent requested a New York meeting and the Yankees said they’d get back to the free agent left-hander, according to Sherman, Despite the lack of enthusiasm from the team, Wilson tops the Yankees’ list of free agent starters in terms of talent.

The Yankees have “looked into” Matt Garza, but a Cubs official downplayed the likelihood of any deal involving the right-hander, according to Sherman. The Yankees particularly like Gio Gonzalez and the Athletics are open to anything, but GM Billy Beane is asking for an ace return for Gonzalez or Trevor Cahill.

The Yankees like John Danks and the White Sox like many Yankees prospects, particularly Austin Romine. However, Danks is a free agent after 2012 and the Yankees are reluctant to over-spend on a pitcher they’ll have for just one year.

If the Yankees don't make a major acquisition before Spring Training, they could pencil C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes into four rotation spots. Free agent Freddy Garcia could return on a one-year deal and prospects Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances may contribute at some point in 2012.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Maddon, Darvish, Ortiz

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Some interesting items to pass along from around the AL "Beast" …

  • The Red Sox were gauging trade interest in some of their out-of-options pitchers at the GM Meetings this week, a source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Franklin Morales, Andrew Miller, Felix Doubront, Michael Bowden and Scott Atchison are all out of options but aren't locks to make next year's bullpen, according to Speier, so Boston may decide to add or remove some of these players from the 40-man roster based on relative trade interest.
  • The Rays are hopeful of extending the contract of manager Joe Maddon, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. Maddon is entering the final year of a three-year extension he signed in 2009.
  • The Yankees may shy away from pursuing Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish if he's posted because of the club's history with busts Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa, opines Heyman (Twitter link), although owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters, such as the New York Post's Joel Sherman and Newsday's Ken Davidoff, that the team will evaluate each player on a case-by-case basis.
  • The Blue Jays are interested in free agent DH David Ortiz, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
  • Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano said that last month's rumors that he was angling for a contract extension was the result of a joke gone awry, according to Spanish-language Web site DiarioLibre.com. “I’m not thinking about the contract. My lawyer told a journalist as a joke that I was looking for a contract extension, and that’s what got published… I’m not thinking about that. The team has a $14MM option for next year." Thanks to MLBTR's Nick Collias for the translation.

Latest On Yu Darvish

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Although many are considering it a given that Yu Darvish will join the offseason's free agent class in the coming weeks, there's no guarantee that Darvish will be posted, as Yahoo's Jeff Passan wrote yesterday. Passan wonders if the right-hander might end up subtly protest NPB's posting system by remaining in Japan, and spoke to one general manager who has the same worries:

"I’m concerned we're not going to see him for a few more years," said the GM. "He's not your average Japanese player. I get the impression he wants to stand for something."

Here are the rest of the latest Darvish-related notes:

  • Not all GMs are concerned about Darvish staying in Japan. One who has scouted the 25-year-old for years told Passan, "He's coming. The money is too good. He makes [$7MM] there. He'll be guaranteed $50MM or $60MM here."
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman agrees, tweeting that Darvish is still "more likely than not" to be posted.
  • Hal Steinbrenner said the Yankees won't be affected by Kei Igawa's lack of success when deciding whether to bid on Darvish, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com cites Igawa and others when looking at some rocky NPB-to-MLB transitions in the past.

C.J. Wilson Rumors: Wednesday

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Bob Garber, the agent for both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, has been quite busy at the GM meetings as he's met or plans to meet with the Marlins, Yankees, Royals, Angels, Nationals, Rockies, and Rangers during his time in Milwaukee.  Garber also told MLBTR that he had at least three new meetings scheduled for today.  Here's the latest news surrounding Wilson, with the newest updates up top…

  • Rangers president Nolan Ryan only had good things to say about Wilson today, but didn't sound overly optimistic about re-signing him, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Ryan said of the left-hander: "You know, he was a big part of our team. Any ballclub's going to miss that if they lose it" (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox will meet with Garber tonight, tweets Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter) reports that Wilson is setting his sights high for his next contract, seeking a six-year deal worth close to $120MM.
  • Wilson will start visiting clubs next week and the Angels are among the teams that will get visit, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  DiGiovanna adds that Garber will have met with ten teams by end of the GM meetings.
  • As we learned yesterday, Garber requested a meeting between Wilson and the Yankees in New York.  Garber is still waiting to hear back from the Yanks, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.
  • The Marlins have interest in both Wilson and Oswalt, but have more interest in Wilson, tweets Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.

Free Agent Notes: Aramis, Chavez, Counsell, Wakefield

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Let's round up the latest rumors on a few members of this winter's free agent class:

  • Agent Paul Kinzer told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) that, while Aramis Ramirez has a limited market, there are at least two teams very interested in the third baseman.
  • Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter) that Eric Chavez's agent told Yankees GM Brian Cashman his client wants to play in 2012. Presumably, since the call went to Cashman, Chavez has some interest in rejoining the Yanks.
  • Plenty of teams are interested in Craig Counsell for a coaching or front office position, but Counsell hopes to play one more year, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. We heard yesterday that Counsell was listening to both playing and "non-playing" offers.
  • Barry Meister, Tim Wakefield's agent, told reporters today that he and Wakefield have talked about the possibility of the knuckleballer signing with a National League team. Meister added that a lot of clubs have called, but he thinks "it would be a shame" if Wakefield didn't pitch for the Red Sox. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has a transcript of the conversation.
  • Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes isn't officially a free agent yet, but that didn't stop agent Adam Katz from talking to reporters, including Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald, about his client. While there have been some questions about whether Cespedes would need to spend time in the minors, Katz said he believes the 26-year-old is ready for the bigs.

Minor Moves: Kimball, Corporan, Rottino, Pascucci

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to the Sosnick Cobbe Twitter page. Dumatrait appeared in 45 games for the Twins last season, posting a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9.
  • The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Cole Kimball off of waivers from Washington, according to the Nationals' official Twitter feed.  Meanwhile, the Nats outrighted outfielder Corey Brown to Triple-A Syracuse.
  • Astros catcher Carlos Corporan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.  Corporan has the right to elect free agency due to previously being outrighted.
  • The Mets signed catcher/left fielder/first baseman Vinny Rottino and first baseman/DH Val Pascucci to minor league deals, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin.  Both players saw their first big league action in several years in 2011.
  • Eric Duncan, drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 2003, has signed with the Royals, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  The 26-year-old played mostly first base, second base, and left field this year for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, hitting .274/.322/.527 in 385 plate appearances.
  • The White Sox re-signed Leyson Septimo, tweets Goldstein.  The Sox claimed the hard-throwing 26-year-old southpaw off waivers from Arizona in June but removed him from their 40-man roster in October.
  • The Giants signed center fielder Gregor Blanco, according to his agency (via Matt Eddy of Baseball America on Twitter).  The 27-year-old spent the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals and Royals, hitting .201/.350/.327 in 252 plate appearances.
  • The Phillies acquired righty Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks to complete the September Mike Zagurski trade, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Worthington, 24, posted a 4.48 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 62 1/3 High-A relief innings this year.
  • The Yankees signed lefty reliever Mike O'Connor, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The 31-year-old appeared briefly in the Majors for the Mets this year, also posting a 5.22 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 60 1/3 Triple-A innings.

Heyman On Rollins, Yankees, Nolasco, Jurrjens

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As usual, Jon Heyman is tweeting up a storm.  His latest from Day 2 of the GM Meetings…

 

C.J. Wilson Asks To Meet With Yankees In New York

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9:45pm: Wilson and Garber have asked to meet with the Yankees in New York prior to December's Winter Meetings, and the Yankees are considering it, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Newsday's Ken Davidoff agrees, saying that Garber actually suggested the New York visit rather than the team.

8:20pm: Brian Cashman met with Bob Garber, the agent for C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, in Milwaukee today, the Yankees GM confirmed. Garber didn't divulge whether the two sides exchanged figures for either pitcher, but told Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger that the Yanks invited Wilson to New York to meet with the team's decision-makers, including Hal Steinbrenner and director of pro personnel Billy Eppler.

"I told him where we were at, they understood, and want us to come out," Garber said. "I think it's a good fit. We have a lot of teams we have to narrow down. I think the Yankees are a team that we've narrowed down as a team we want to spend a little time with."

For his part, Cashman said that it's still early and he's in no rush to make any formal offers yet, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York. However, Garber praised Cashman's aggressiveness, and indicated that, while he's in talks with six or seven teams regarding Wilson, he feels good about his conversation with the Yankees GM:

"I think it was very productive and who wouldn't really want a pitcher who has been to the last two World Series? I think Brian is in a situation where he doesn't want what happened to Cliff Lee to happen again."

Blue Jays Offer Scouting Position To Minaya

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The latest out of the AL East…

  • Former Mets GM Omar Minaya was offered a scouting position with the Blue Jays, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Minaya is weighing other options.  Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun first reported Toronto's interest in Minaya, citing the Padres as another suitor.  Elliott notes that the Jays already employ three former GMs in Jim Beattie, Ed Lynch, and Chuck LaMar.  In October, Minaya interviewed for the Angels' GM job.
  • The Jays are "pushing hard for a closer," one GM tells Elliott.  Elliott reported a few days ago that the Blue Jays were shocked by the asking prices, however.
  • No matter what they say publicly, Yankees people are telling friends to expect an eventual big splash with a pitcher, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  I don't think that'd shock anyone, but there's not much out there currently.
  • The Red Sox weren't surprised Jonathan Papelbon priced himself out of their range, writes WEEI's Alex Speier.  The Sox are not looking to make a quick strike in the closer market to replace him.

Eight Teams Interested In Grady Sizemore

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TUESDAY, 11:27am: The Rockies have examined Sizemore's medical records and believe he's worth the risk on a one-year deal, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  The Rockies expect to watch Sizemore work out in the coming days.

The A's have no interest in pursuing Sizemore, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

MONDAY, 7:38pm: There's no shortage of interest in Grady Sizemore this offseason. The free agent outfielder has drawn interest from eight teams, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Cubs, Rangers, Giants and Yankees are potential suitors for Sizemore, along with the Phillies, Rockies, Red Sox and Indians.

The Giants are interested, even after acquiring Melky Cabrera, and the Cubs view Sizemore as a possible fit in right field. The A's, who saw their entire outfield hit free agency after the season, have also been linked to Sizemore.

Sizemore's knees have limited him to 104 total games in the past two seasons, so the Indians declined their $9MM club option after the season, making the 29-year-old a free agent. He hit 10 homers and posted a .224/.285/.422 line in 2011, but Sizemore combined power, speed and on-base skills as one of baseball's premier center fielders from 2005-08.

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