AL East Notes: Scott, Chavez, Pettitte, Rays
Last season, the AL East produced two 95-win teams and two more who won at least 85 games. However, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the division has seen recent success off the field as well as on it. Three AL East teams – the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Rays – rank among the top five in Sherman's list of baseball's best offseasons. Here are a few other division-related items:
- Luke Scott would be "all for" signing a contract to keep him in Baltimore long-term, he tells the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Scott is one of two remaining arbitration cases for the Orioles, along with Jeremy Guthrie.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Twitter link) thinks it makes a lot of sense for the Jays to sign Eric Chavez to a minor league deal, though he acknowledges that the third baseman has other offers and the final say.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News believes Andy Pettitte will pitch for the Yankees again, "sooner rather than later."
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times runs through a few moves the Rays could make in the coming weeks, but says the team is "pretty much set" for Spring Training.
New York Notes: Dickey, Murphy, Posada
SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the 2013 All-Star Game will be played at Citi Field, making it very possible the stadium will host an All-Star Game before it hosts its first playoff game. Let's check out the rest of today's Mets- and Yankees-related links….
- The Mets' two-year deal with R.A. Dickey could be a coup, says Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.
- Daniel Murphy has played all over the diamond in recent years, and will head into the 2011 season aiming to become the Mets' starting second baseman. Manager Terry Collins says Murphy could also play some first and third base. ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin has the details.
- Speaking to the media, Jorge Posada discussed his and Derek Jeter's defensive positions for 2011 and beyond. Peter Botte of the New York Daily News passes along quotes from the Yankees' new designated hitter, who says he still expects to see some time behind the plate this year.
- Chad Jennings of the Journal News explores possible fits for the Yankees' bench, naming Lastings Milledge or Felipe Lopez as potential targets.
Indians Interested In Kevin Millwood
The Indians are interested in signing free-agent starter Kevin Millwood, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the sides are far apart on a price.
The Royals are in interested in Millwood, as well, and the Yankees may be in play, too, depending on what happens with Andy Pettitte, according to Heyman.
New York Notes: Mets, Cashman, Rangers
The Wilpons announced that they're willing to sell a minority share in the Mets and the Yankees are making news today, too. Here's the latest:
- Fred Wilpon says the Mets are talking about selling 20-25% of the team, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times (on Twitter).
- Jeff Wilpon says Citi Field and SNY are not for sale, according to ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin (Twitter link).
- Brian Cashman didn't want to sign Rafael Soriano for $35MM in guaranteed money, but that doesn't mean he wants to leave New York. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains, Cashman likes New York and is likely to stay there.
- Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg suggested earlier in the week that Texas helped Philadelphia sign Cliff Lee and Yankees president Randy Levine didn't take kindly to those remarks. He told Jon Heyman of SI.com that Greenberg is "delusional" and pointed out that the Rangers have benefitted from revenue sharing, or to borrow Levine's word, "welfare."
Heyman On Pettitte, Millwood, Molina, Wandy
Yankees people seem a bit more optimistic about the potential return of Andy Pettitte, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. They’ll consider alternatives such as Kevin Millwood, but only after hearing from Pettitte. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- The Indians and Royals remain possibilities for Millwood.
- One rival executive doesn’t think the Bartolo Colon signing means much for the Yankees. "There is no real risk. But there is no real reward, either," the executive said.
- Bengie Molina might consider returning for “special opportunities,” Heyman writes.
- The Rangers and GM Jon Daniels have started discussing a contract extension and Rangers people expect a new deal for Daniels, whose current contract expires after the 2011 season.
- One competing executive believes the Astros overpaid for Wandy Rodriguez. I don’t mind this deal for the Astros, since solid left-handed starters aren’t cheap or easy to find and Rodriguez was about to hit free agency.
Spanish Links: Garcia, Belaguer, Rangers
Links in Spanish as the 2011 Caribbean Series inches closer…
- The White Sox may be considering Freddy Garcia, but Garcia had a different team in his sights when he spoke yesterday with Israel Pacheco Velásquez from the Venezuelan paper Meridiano. "My preference is to be with the New York Yankees, and it's not unreasonable to have that in mind, because I've demonstrated that I can be useful," Garcia said. "A team like New York would be ideal for my age, [as would ] playing in a successful, media-heavy, demanding division. Without doubt it would be an inspiration." Garcia's only previous sojourn to New York came in January 2009, when he signed with the Mets, only to be released in April after a disastrous spring. Garcia insists the team simply never gave him a chance, but his successful 2010 campaign should guarantee a longer leash. Garcia said he plans to sign soon, no matter the team.
- The Marlins have had discussions internally about signing Cuban outfielder Yasiel Balaguer, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 18-year-old has worked out for the Cubs and had a recent tryout for the Mariners rained out, reported Michael Miller at the Miami New Times yesterday. However, lest we get ahead of ourselves, Balaguer's agent Carlos Perez at Miami Sports Consulting informed El Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro that Balaguer has yet to be unblocked by the State Department after defecting in November.
- The high percentage of Latino players on the Rangers' roster helps the team to maximize on the potential of its prosects, general manager Jon Daniels told Julio E. Castro at the Dominican paper El Caribe. "[Latino players] are the ones that are in charge of advising our prospects, especially those from the Dominican Republic," Daniels said. "Thanks to them, we were able to advance to the World Series last season, and this year, they're key to our goals once again." The Rangers' current 40-man roster includes eight Latino players, down from 12 on last season's roster. Vladimir Guerrero noted last year that the Latino "heart and soul" of the team and its Spanish-friendly clubhouse were key attractions to him as a free agent.
Yankees To Offer Pettitte $12MM
5:09pm: Marc Carig of The Star Ledger hears from Yankees GM Brian Cashman that nothing has changed regarding Pettitte (Twitter link). He hasn't told the team if he will or will not pitch next season yet.
4:44pm: The Yankees' offer to Andy Pettitte is or will be for $12MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). That won't necessarily be enough to lure the free agent left-hander away from retirement, but some of Heyman's sources expect him to play. "Why would he be working out if he's not playing?" one asked.
Pettitte signed with the Yankees two years ago today, then re-upped with the club in December of 2009. He has never waited later than January 26th to sign a free agent contract, but doesn't appear to be in a hurry this offseason.
Yankees Sign Bartolo Colon
Nine years ago, Bartolo Colon was a stud pitcher on his way to a 20-win season. As talk of relocation continued, the Montreal Expos went all in, shipping prospects Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore to Cleveland for Colon. Both Colon and Lee have won Cy Young Awards since, but Lee was this offseason's top free agent and Colon is a consolation prize for a Yankees team that has a thin rotation despite its fat checkbook.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Yankees have signed Colon to a minor league deal (Twitter link). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Colon will earn $900K in the majors and has the right to be released if he isn't on the team after Spring Training (Twitter links).
Colon, 38 in May, last pitched in the majors for the 2009 White Sox. He started 12 games for Chicago and posted a 4.19 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 44.4% ground ball rate in 62 1/3 innings. Before that he pitched for the Red Sox, where he was effective for a seven-start stint in 2008. Colon's last standout season came in 2005, when he won the Cy Young Award for the Angels.
The Rangers, Indians, Rockies and Pirates all monitored Colon this offseason as he pitched in the Dominican Republic
Minor Transactions: Madrigal, Lane, Vasquez
Tobi Stoner and Jason Pridie both cleared waivers and were outrighted to the Mets' Triple-A affiliate today, reports Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (Twitter link). The duo were designated for assignment earlier this week.
Here are some other minor moves from around baseball today, courtesy of Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. All contracts are minor league deals, and all links are to Goldstein's Twitter feed.
- The Yankees signed right-hander Warner Madrigal, who last pitched in the majors with Texas in 2009. Madrigal originally broke into pro ball as an outfielder, but converted to pitching in 2006. He posted a 3.73 ERA in 35 games with the Rangers' Double-A and Triple-A teams last year.
- The Blue Jays re-signed Jason Lane. Best known for his 26-homer season with Houston in 2005, Lane hasn't played in the big leagues since 2007 and has played for the Padres, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Marlins organizations since leaving the Astros.
- The Angels signed Virgil Vasquez. The right-hander pitched in Tampa Bay's system last year. A seventh-round pick of the Tigers in the 2003 draft, Vasquez has a 6.60 ERA in 19 career Major League games (10 of them starts) with Detroit and Pittsburgh.
- The Rangers signed catcher Robinzon Diaz, who is best known for being the player to be named later that Toronto sent to Pittsburgh for Jose Bautista in 2009. Diaz had 139 plate appearances with the Bucs before being released in the offseason. He played Triple-A ball for Detroit last year.
- The Rockies signed Kala Ka'aihue. Ka'aihue was putting up minor league numbers akin to those of his older brother Kila through the 2008 season, but has struggled the last two years.
AL East Links: Red Sox, Bautista, Wells, Jeter
Four American League East teams won at least 85 games last year. Here are some notes on AL East clubs, as they prepare to compete in baseball's most challenging division:
- It's "doubtful" that the Red Sox will sign another pitcher to a Major League contract this offseason, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier. One reported Boston target, Joe Beimel, has already been offered a minor league deal by the Orioles and has three other teams interested.
- The "belief" is that the Blue Jays will go to an arbitration hearing with Jose Bautista, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. There have been rumors that the Jays might avoid a hearing by signing Bautista to a long-term contract, but Bautista's agent told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the team has yet to offer such a deal to the defending AL home run champion. Check out our Arb Tracker for the latest.
- Many of Bautista's current and former teammates believe Vernon Wells will thrive in L.A, Morosi writes.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman suggested this morning that Derek Jeter will likely shift to the outfield before his current deal expires, but he tells MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that it's "not an issue we have to deal with right now" (Twitter link).
- The Orioles have "limited funds" at this stage, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Carl Crawford, who recently left one AL East team for another, plans to meet some of his former Rays teammates for dinner this spring, and B.J. Upton jokes that it will be a good chance for Crawford to put his new contract to good use. "I won’t be the first one to pull out my credit card,’’ Upton told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter link).
- Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com discussed the challenges of developing healthy pitchers with Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan.
- As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes, the Orioles could sign a utility player to a minor league deal and have him compete for a job with Brendan Harris and Robert Andino.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford explains why Manny Ramirez's $2MM base salary isn't necessarily a bad omen for David Ortiz, who will hit free agency after 2011. Big Papi has continued to produce offensively, so Bradford suggests the slugger could be in line for an $8-9MM salary next offseason.