Yankees Rumors

Rosenthal On Fuentes, Soriano, Keppinger

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 30, 2010 at 3:05pm CDT

The Red Sox, Rays, Yankees and Twins are among the many teams interested in Brian Fuentes, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. There’s some question as to whether Fuentes is truly a closer, but his asking price suggests he views himself as one. Here’s the latest on Fuentes and more notes from around the majors:

Fuentes is asking for over $5MM per season on a multiyear deal, according to Rosenthal.
The Yankees are not after Rafael Soriano, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). They have inquired on the Scott Boras client, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
Talks between the Yankees and Jeff Keppinger went nowhere, Rosenthal reports (on Twitter). The Astros have acquired Clint Barmes and Bill Hall this offseason, making Keppinger expendable. The Yankees, however, could rely on Eduardo Nunez instead.

Heyman On Floyd, Gregg, Soriano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 30, 2010 at 8:58am CDT

The Brewers, Red Sox and Phillies are the three biggest winners of the offseason so far for Jon Heyman of SI.com. Heyman provides some rumors, but not before including the Nationals and Pirates on his list of offseason winners. Here are the details:

The White Sox "flirted with the idea" of trading Gavin Floyd, but decided to keep their rotation together until Jake Peavy returns. The Rockies inquired on Floyd earlier in the offseason.
Kevin Gregg is talking to clubs other than the Orioles. Two weeks ago, Gregg's agent told the Baltimore Sun that "a few teams" were still involved and those clubs still appear to be in the mix for the former Blue Jays closer.
The Yankees checked in on Rafael Soriano, according to Heyman. Joel Sherman of the New York Post and ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested earlier in the month that the Yankees' interest in Soriano was cautious at best.

Unfinished Business: AL East

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 29, 2010 at 8:21pm CDT

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has already examined the remaining needs for teams in the AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central and NL West. To round out the series, I'm going to take a look at the remaining needs for the AL East clubs:

Orioles: First baseman, right-handed reliever, left-handed reliever, starter. The Orioles are targeting Derrek Lee, and Adam LaRoche has been on their radar all offseason. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Andy MacPhail move on to DH types if he doesn't sign Lee or LaRoche. The club is also interested in right-handed relievers like Kevin Gregg, Jon Rauch and Grant Balfour and could bring a lefty like Will Ohman or Mark Hendrickson aboard. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reported ten days ago that the O's would like to add a veteran pitcher and had spoken to Marcus Thames' agent.
Red Sox: left-handed reliever. Felix Doubront, Rich Hill and Andrew Miller give the Red Sox three southpaws, so they may have all the left-handed relief they need. But Boston has been linked to Brian Fuentes all month and could pursue him. Jed Lowrie's strong finish to the 2010 season means the Red Sox don't have a pressing need for infielders, but MLB.com's Ian Browne recently suggested that the team could add a utility type player. Boston could also listen to offers for Mike Cameron, but he does provide value to the Red Sox.
Yankees: starter, right-handed outfielder. The rest of the Yankees' offseason centers on Andy Pettitte's decision, since that will determine whether Brian Cashman has to pursue a Jeff Francis/Freddy Garcia type or rely on Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre. The team will likely add a fourth outfielder who bats right handed and consider utility infielders and relievers.
Rays: closer, DH/first baseman. The Rays' biggest need is for back-end bullpen help, and they have expressed interest in a number of free agents. Rafael Soriano will sign elsewhere, but the Rays could look for a bargain arm. They could enter the season with some combination of Matt Joyce, Justin Ruggiano and Leslie Anderson at DH, but many free agent bats are available and DHs like Jim Thome and Johnny Damon would be fits in Tampa. The Rays have limited resources, and it seems like they're content to open the season with the relatively inexperienced Elliot Johnson as the backup middle infielder. The rotation is deep enough for the Rays to consider trading a starter, such as Matt Garza or James Shields.
Blue Jays: hitter, left-handed relief help. The Blue Jays will likely add a bat at some point, and they have the flexibility to add one at a number of positions. Adding a first baseman or DH could limit playing time for Adam Lind or Edwin Encarnacion, but the two would create a strong offensive platoon. If the Blue Jays want to play Lind and Encarnacion every day, they can add a third baseman or right fielder and play Jose Bautista at the vacant position. The team lost Scott Downs this winter and could puruse left-handed relievers. David Purcey, Brad Mills, Rommie Lewis and Jesse Carlson give the team internal options, but Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that the Jays have some interest in Brian Fuentes.

Odds & Ends: Morse, Pettitte, Miller, Durbin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 29, 2010 at 4:12pm CDT

Links for Wednesday, four years after the Giants signed Barry Zito to a seven-year, $126MM deal…

Michael Morse, who broke out with 15 homers in limited playing time last year, could be pushed into a platoon role if the Nationals sign a first baseman, as Ben Goessling of MASNSports explains.
Yankees president Randy Levine said to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News what lots of Yankee fans are thinking: the club needs Andy Pettitte in 2011. Meanwhile, Mark Teixeira says the left-hander is leaning toward retirement.
In the same piece, Levine acknowledges that the Yankees discussed Manny Ramirez, but downplayed the team's interest.
Mark Rodgers, the agent for Andrew Miller, told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that the lefty received big league offers from at least three teams, including the Rangers and Giants, before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
The Phillies could fill Chad Durbin's role internally with someone younger, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Soria Wouldn’t Block Trade To Yankees

By Nick Collias | December 28, 2010 at 5:16pm CDT

The Royals have looked firm this offseason in their unwillingness to ship off Joakim Soria. The All-Star closer, on the other hand, appears comfortable with migrating to another market and, more specifically, to New York. In an interview with the Mexican paper Vanguard (link in Spanish), Soria told Roberto Espinoza that he doesn't give much weight to the no-trade clause in his contract, which reportedly allows him to block trades to the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies, Cardinals, and Cubs.

"I didn't put it there, my agent did, as a strategy," Soria said. "But if the Royals decide to trade me to New York I would gladly go to play with the Yankees or any other team… I repeat, I would not block a trade to the Yankees. I like to play baseball and I would play with any team."

The Yankees reportedly dangled top catching prospect Jesus Montero in a Soria discussion last July, and the subsequent departure of Zack Greinke and David DeJesus has spawned a fresh crop of speculation about the haul Soria could bring to the already deep Royals system. The one cambio that Soria seemed eager to block, though, is a switch to the Royals' starting rotation.

"I really don't believe that could happen," Soria told Espinoza. "As I've always said, why fix something that isn't broken?… Furthermore, if they asked me if I would like to change into a starter, I would say no."

Soria emphasized in the interview that he is happy with the Royals, who have him under control through 2014 via a series of team-friendly options. And while there is a case to be made for keeping Soria right where he is while a roster's worth of elite talent inches ever-closer to the Royals' major league squad, Dayton Moore will no doubt continue to field queries about "the Mexecutioner" for as long as he remains the Royals' elite stopper.

About 18% of 11,000 MLBTR readers would convert Soria into a starter and 69% said the Royals should trade him by next July 31st.

Odds & Ends: Webb, Manny, Soriano, CarGo, Prior

By Mike Axisa | December 26, 2010 at 4:31pm CDT

Links for Sunday, as we start the countdown to next Christmas…

Brandon Webb's physical with the Rangers will take place early this week, tweets Ken Rosenthal. No problems are anticipated.
The Yankees have no interest in signing Manny Ramirez, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. They had internal talks about him earlier this offseason, but they already have a full-time designated hitter and three regular outfielders lined up.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff says the best-case scenario for the Rays would have Rafael Soriano signing with the Rockies, Cardinals, Padres, Rangers, Reds, Braves, Giants, Twins, or Phillies because they are non-AL East teams with unprotected first round picks. Just eyeballing it, about seven of those teams either don't need a closer or can't afford someone of Soriano's caliber.
Within this Denver Post column by Troy Renck regarding expectations for Carlos Gonzalez, there's word that Todd Helton has already gotten on the outfielder about "not getting fat and happy."
Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News spoke to Mark Prior about his latest comeback attempt and all the injuries that derailed his career.
The Phillies are now playing with the big boys, says Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Odds & Ends: Diamondbacks, Lindstrom, Lee, Ramirez

By Zachary Links | December 25, 2010 at 8:45pm CDT

Merry Christmas everyone! Let's see what tidbits of information Santa has for us under the tree..

It appears that the Diamondbacks' offseason revamping has already come to a close, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
Even though the Astros didn't get a ton in return for Matt Lindstrom, they didn't get fleeced either, opines David Golbiewski of Fangraphs.
Alex Rodriguez told Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News that he thinks the Yankees will be just fine without Cliff Lee.
Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Rockies aren't too worried about resigning Joe Beimel because they trust Matt Reynolds and, to a lesser extent, Franklin Morales.
More from Rubin as he suggests that the Yankees could have brought up Manny Ramirez's name while discussing Johnny Damon with agent Scott Boras.
The Royals should be able to fill out their rotation with talented, cost-controlled pitchers in the coming years. In the meantime, however, their rotation could use a boost after the Zack Greinke deal, writes Golebiewski.

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Nolasco, Thames, Astros

By Mike Axisa | December 24, 2010 at 9:12pm CDT

Happy Holidays to all of MLBTR's readers. Here is today's batch of links…

Yovani Gallardo was delighted to learn of the deal that brought Zack Greinke to Milwaukee, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
The Ricky Nolasco deal leaves the Marlins with $41.5MM in contractual committments for nine players this season, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. The right-hander made his three-year extension worth $26.5MM official early this morning.
In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney says the Yankees are unlikely to bring Marcus Thames back for the 2011 season since they need reserve players capable of providing flexibility on defense.
Astros GM Ed Wade told Joseph Duarte of The Houston Chronicle that he believes he had enough "protection on the back end of the bullpen" to trade Matt Lindstrom. "With the ability to go out and add two more young arms to create more depth in the system and balance the payroll, this was a sensible deal for us to make."
MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling muses about some players who have taken their time finding a new team this offseason.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Blanton, Garza, LaRoche

By Mark Polishuk | December 23, 2010 at 11:13pm CDT

This has been a pretty good few months for Giants fans. Not only did their team end a 56-year World Series drought, but now TV announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are close to six-year extensions to continue broadcasting Giants games, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Onto some other Thursday news…

Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com looks at Hal Steinbrenner's "frugal approach" and how it won't go over well in New York if the Yankees don't win.
Andy Pettitte has delayed his retirement decision long enough that if he does choose to return next year, he's already behind on his preseason preparations, observes ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
In an MLB.com mailbag, Ian Browne thinks the Red Sox will look to acquire a veteran backup infielder or "a Bill Hall-type who can play the infield and outfield."
The Yankees have "had internal chats" about signing Manny Ramirez, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network. Curry rates the odds of Ramirez in pinstripes as even slimmer than those of the Yanks signing Johnny Damon, which Curry says "is also unlikely."
With the pitching market so thin, baseball sources tell MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the Phillies shouldn't have any trouble dealing Joe Blanton and might not even have to eat much of the $17MM Blanton is owed through 2012.
MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez and Matthew Leach go point/counterpoint on whether or not the Rays should be shopping Matt Garza.
Buck Showalter denies reports that the Orioles have made a three-year, $21MM offer to Adam LaRoche, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.
ESPN's Keith Law chats with fans about a number of topics, including the Zack Greinke trade, Kerry Wood's deal with the Cubs, and various teams' minor league systems and prospects.
Speaking of the Greinke trade, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon explains why Cincinnati didn't make a move for the ace right-hander and discusses other Reds-related matters in a fan mailbag.
In a separate piece, Sheldon writes that the Reds will look internally to replace Arthur Rhodes, who agreed to a contract with Texas today.

Angels Notes: Damon, Podsednik

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 23, 2010 at 4:36pm CDT

It's no secret that the Angels may add an outfielder. They lost out on Carl Crawford, but have interest in a couple free agents. Here's the latest:

Along with the Rays and Yankees, the Angels are one of Johnny Damon’s top three choices, according to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff. The Yankees have discussed financial parameters about a deal that would pay Damon a “respectable” amount, but less than the $8MM he earned in 2010. Damon has been linked to the Yankees and Rays this offseason, but it's the first time we've seen him connected to the Angels.
The Angels and Reds are two of "a few" teams interested in Scott Podsednik, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

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