Yankees Rumors: Upton, Lee, Soriano, Jeter
Joel Sherman of the New York Post dishes out the latest Yankees buzz in a series of articles…
- Sherman notes that Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has knowledge of the Yankees farm system after working for the team last year, which makes a Justin Upton match intriguing. However, Sherman feels that the Yankees would get involved most likely if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere and they look to trade an outfielder for a starter. Teams have inquired on Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Brett Gardner, notes Sherman.
- Executives Sherman spoke to continue to express the opinion that the Yankees will land Lee.
- The Yanks are also working hard to find a setup man, calling on about a dozen free agents including Pedro Feliciano. They've checked in on Rafael Soriano "as a fallback position in the incredibly small likelihood that Mariano Rivera does not re-sign." Sherman says to forget the idea of Soriano signing as Rivera's setup man and closer-in-waiting. Neither side is interested in that scenario.
- Sherman analyzes the Derek Jeter situation, which he feels could become "one of the most interesting games of contract chicken in history." The main sticking point seems to be the number of years.
Odds & Ends: Westbrook, De La Rosa, Papelbon
Links on a busy Tuesday as the first day of the GM Meetings wraps up…
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says (via Twitter) the Indians "kicked the tires" on Jake Westbrook, but never formally offered him a contract before he re-signed with the Cardinals.
- FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the market for Jorge de la Rosa won't take shape until Cliff Lee signs. He's a fallback option for several teams.
- Former Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate is in talks to join the Hiroshima Carp according to MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Giants are currently in on just two players: Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe.
- Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro offered a lot of "no comments" when asked about the team's interest in retaining Chad Durbin.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman says (via Twitter) the trade market for Jonathan Papelbon is "very weak," but the Red Sox are willing to pay part of what will surely be a sizable 2011 salary.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that the Yankees will bid at least three years to keep Derek Jeter (Twitter link). Owner Hal Steinbrenner added that "things are going well."
- Chad Jennings of The Journal News has a quote from Yanks GM Brian Cashman: “I’ve got a small player move that I’m working on that might get done at some point this week … But it’s small.”
- Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Yanks are still waiting to hear whether Mariano Rivera wants a one or two-year deal.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Athletics are not moving Conor Jackson, though he remains a non-tender candidate.
- Twins GM Bill Smith said it's "not at all" a question when asked if the team would tender Matt Capps a contract, according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer says that Reds GM Walt Jocketty has talked to Arthur Rhodes' agent and plans to do the same with Miguel Cairo's, but he has yet to talk to any other free agents.
- SI.com's Tom Verducci lists players available on the "secondary market" that could have a big impact, starting with Jack Cust.
- Roy Halladay's Cy Young Award netted him $250K in bonus money, tweets Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The bonus was negotiated into his original contract with Toronto.
- In the wake of Justin Upton being made available, FanGraphs' Dave Cameron examines his trade value.
Yankees Interested In Bill Hall
Given all of the injuries they dealt with in 2010, the Red Sox were happy to have Bill Hall around. The former Brewer hit .247/.316/.456 with 18 homers in 382 plate appearances with Boston, his best effort since the breakout 2006 campaign that landed him a four-year, $24MM contract. Now another AL East club is looking to bring him aboard, as FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Yankees have interest in Hall according to major league sources.
“We have a good utility guy in [Ramiro] Pena,” said GM Brian Cashman. “We think Eduardo Nunez will be an everyday shortstop in the big leagues, but he very well could be a utility guy for us. [Brandon] Laird plays first base, third base and outfield."
“Obviously, are there better veteran guys available in free agency or the trade market? Very probably, there are. But is that the best way to go? We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Hall, 31 next month, works with Yankees' hitting coach Kevin Long during the offseason, so there's already a relationship in place. Of course the team's first priority is re-signing Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, not to mention making a run at Cliff Lee, so any pursuit of Hall will likely wait until after those other items are addressed.
Diamondbacks Listening On Justin Upton
6:09pm: Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger says that like the Red Sox, the Yankees were just doing their due diligence when they called about Upton.
3:33pm: The Yankees talked to the Diamondbacks about Upton, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
12:56pm: The Red Sox expressed interest in Upton, report Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. However, one source tells the FOX writers the talks are "not far advanced," while WEEI's Rob Bradford heard the rumor has "no legs." Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe concurs, calling the discussions "more due diligence than actual trade talk" (Twitter link).
10:59am: You may have missed it yesterday, but USA Today's Bob Nightengale listed Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton as one of the big names GMs say are already "under discussion." GM Kevin Towers elaborated:
"I'm open to listening on anybody. We got more hits on Upton and [Stephen] Drew. They're difficult to move, but sometimes to make your club better, you have to move good players. You never know when a deal might present itself."
This could be little more than a GM taking the common stance that no player is untouchable. Today Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that while the D'Backs are listening on Upton, the return would have to be "big." He notes that they're much less inclined to move Drew – they'd have to be "blown away," given the lack of alternatives at shortstop.
Upton, still only 23, regressed a bit in the first year of his six-year, $51.25MM contract. He hit .273/.356/.442 in 571 plate appearances, though a shoulder strain may have been partially responsible. Though he slipped in all three categories, his walk rate was actually higher than it was in '09. Since Upton would not have been arbitration eligible until now, almost all of his contract will be paid out over 2011-15.
Trading Upton would be very difficult from a public relations standpoint unless the D'Backs receive a comparable young star in return. It's difficult to picture Upton terrorizing the D'Backs over the next five years as a member of the Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, or Giants, but any club could afford Upton financially. In the opinion of Rosenthal's colleague Jon Paul Morosi, the Braves would be at the front of the line for Upton and they have the young arms to pull off a deal (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: De La Rosa, Mariners, Thames
Links for Tuesday, as the GM Meetings commence in Orlando and we await the announcement of the NL Cy Young winner…
- The Pirates' top free agent target is Jorge de la Rosa, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Brewers, Rangers, Nationals, Yankees, and Rockies have also been linked to the lefty. Correct me if I'm wrong, Pirates fans, but aside from Yoslan Herrera it seems the team's last multiyear free agent pitcher signing was Pete Schourek in December of 1998.
- The Mariners are expected to be limited to bargain bin shopping this winter, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. They've got plenty of needs, but expensive free agents don't make sense until they're closer to contention.
- Meanwhile the Softbank Hawks are working on signing Marcus Thames, according to a Sponichi report passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter. Thames, 34 in March, was productive in a part-time role for the Yankees this year.
- Brandon Backe intends to pitch in 2011, his agent told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). He's recovering from a rotator cuff injury.
- The Rockies will keep an eye on Bartolo Colon in the Dominican Republic, GM Dan O'Dowd told Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but Renck finds a signing a long shot (Twitter link). MLBTR's Nick Collias filled us in on Colon yesterday.
- The Chiba Lotte Marines re-signed pitchers Hayden Penn and Bill Murphy, tweets Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman ruled out Leo Mazzone but not Rick Peterson for the team's new pitching coach, reports Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post muses on how the Mets should handle well-paid veterans Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes.
Yankees Interested In Pedro Feliciano
The Yankees expressed interest in lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday. The rubber-armed 34-year-old figures to be popular this winter, with the Phillies, Angels, Mets, and others also seeking left-handed relief. The question for the Yankees, notes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues, is whether they're willing to commit multiple years and a $3MM+ salary to Feliciano or a similar veteran given the money they already owe to Damaso Marte and Boone Logan.
Feliciano led the National League in appearances in each of the last three seasons. His detractors will suggest he's been overworked; his agents at MDR Sports Management will say it's proof of his durability. One Feliciano trait that cannot be argued: he's very tough on lefties.
Odds & Ends: Shell, Kuroda, V-Mart, Okajima, Davies
Links for Monday evening…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com tweets that the Royals have signed reliever Steven Shell to a minor league deal. Shell, 27, had a 3.59 ERA in 72.2 innings with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate last season.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post lists the Cardinals, Phillies, and Rockies as some of the teams that were interested in Hiroki Kuroda before he re-signed with the Dodgers (Twitter link). Kuroda, however, re-signed without fielding offers from other teams according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.
- Add the Rangers to the list of teams showing interest in Victor Martinez says SI.com's Jon Heyman (via Twitter).
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford tweets that Hideki Okajima is subject to a normal arbitration calendar this offseason. In the past the Red Sox had to offer him a contract by November 20th.
- Non-tender candidate Kyle Davies hopes to remain with the Royals, says MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. Davies hasn't heard anything from the team regarding his future.
- Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports that Cliff Lee's agent Darek Braunecker is still unsure if he will attend this week's GM Meetings.
- MLB.com's Jane Lee provides a list of power bat the Athletics could potentially pursue as free agents this offseason.
- The Yankees don't believe that Derek Jeter will ultimately leave New York, but they're prepared for a long negotiation according to Heyman (Twitter link).
- Meanwhile, Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com tweets that there is still no word whether or not Andy Pettitte will return to pitch in 2011.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak doesn't expect any roster moves at this week's meetings according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com says the team is growing more optimistic about re-signing Jake Westbrook, however (Twitter link).
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti told Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer that it's too early in the offseason to tell whether his team's needs will be filled through trades or free agency.
- MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith is on location at this week's GM Meetings in Orlando, and you can follow him on Twitter at @mlbtrorlando for the latest breaking news and analysis.
- There is mutual interest between the Marlins and free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski, reports Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. Capozzi says the team might not be able to afford him, though they could free up payroll space by dealing Dan Uggla.
- FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says that the Dodgers are looking to add power to their lineup, and James Loney is the player they're most most willing to trade. They would then turn around and sign one of the many power-hitting first baseman available on the free agent market.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson said that the first round of manager interviews includes one or two more candidates while the second round will consist of three or four candidates according to Andy Martino of The New York Daily News (all Twitter links). The second set of interviews could begin in Orlando this week, and Alderson said his father's death on Sunday will not slow things down.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick profiles Giants GM Brian Sabean and the work that lies ahead following his team's World Series victory.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues looks at how signing Lee would impact the Yankees' future payroll. Meanwhile, Brian Cashman told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that he doesn't expect to get any deals done this week.
- Best of luck to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. He's trading in the Blue Jays' beat for the Indians' beat.
Melvin: “We’re Not Shopping Prince”
Prince Fielder has just one more year to go before becoming eligible for free agency, and as a result many around the game expect the Brewers to shop their hulking first baseman. GM Doug Melvin told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that isn't the case however, saying explicitly "We're not shopping Prince." Here's the full quote…
"We're not shopping Prince,'' said the Brewers GM. "I'd like to keep him. He's a homegrown player who wants to play every inning of every game. But we'd like to get something done by the end of the off-season. I don't want to negotiate during the year.''
Melvin indicated that the end of Spring Training is the team's deadline for working out an extension with their two-time All Star. Fielder, 26 and a Scott Boras client, is a .279/.385/.535 career hitter, averaging 38 home runs in his five full seasons as a big leaguer.
Nightengale also lists a number of players that are already "under discussion," including Zack Greinke, Dan Uggla, Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks, Jonathan Papelbon, Nick Swisher, Jason Bartlett, Mark Reynolds, and both Justin and B.J. Upton.
Bartolo Colon Back On The Radar
Bartolo Colon looked sharp in the most recent step of his return to action last night, holding the defending Dominican Winter League and Carribean Series champions the Leones del Escogido to a pair of singles in five scoreless innings. Colon struck out six for the Alguiles del Cibao, according to Jose Caceres' recap in the Dominican daily Hoy (link in Spanish), as he generally overwhelmed hitters with a mixture of fastballs and sinkers.
Colon announced he was attempting a comeback to Yoel Adames of ESPN Deportes in late October while pitching for the champion Dominican team in the Pan-American Games qualifier. He said at the time that he "maintains conversations" with the Yankees, Rockies, Cardinals, and Tigers, though other teams approached him following his complete game victory over Nicaragua on October 10. The 37-year-old right-hander was solid in three of his four appearances in Puerto Rico, the only exception being a 2.3-inning, six-run drubbing by Team USA that Colon chalked up to inadequate rest.
Though he hasn't pitched in the majors since 2009, Colon pointed to the offseason following the 2005 season as the focal point of his decline. That winter, Colon pitched for the Dominican Republic in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, fresh off of his 21-win, 222 inning Cy Young campaign. The extra workload, he said, left a lingering soreness in his pitching elbow that marred his ensuing three seasons with the Angels and Red Sox, culminating in surgery to remove bone spurs in 2009.
After signing with the White Sox in January 2009, Colon was effective through 19 starts, pitching to a 4.19 ERA before a knee injury ended his season in July. He said he has devoted the ensuing year to training in the Domincan Republic, and he claims to be throwing pain-free at his customary "full velocity." If Colon continues to pitch well and is willing to sign for around the $1MM that he received from the White Sox in 2009, he could make sense for the teams on his contact list and a number of others looking to add some upside to the back end of their rotation.
Odds & Ends: Royals, Pena, Alderson, De La Rosa
Happy 133rd birthday to Archie "Moonlight" Graham. Arguably baseball's most famous one-game player (Eddie Gaedel also has a great case for this distinction), Moonlight Graham's only taste of the majors was one half-inning as a defensive replacement for the 1905 New York Giants. That half-inning grew into immortality thanks to his characterization in W.P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe and its film adaptation Field Of Dreams. Graham, who passed away in 1965, went on to become a doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota following his brief playing career.
Onto some news items…
- Dayton Moore tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the David DeJesus trade won't deepen the Royals' interest in the free agent market. “It’s not cost effective at this time for us to be real aggressive with major-league free agents,” Moore said.
- Even if Aubrey Huff re-signs with the Giants, CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban thinks the team should look into signing Carlos Pena.
- Fanhouse's Tom Krasovic looks at the pros and cons of Sandy Alderson's tenure as CEO of the Padres and what Mets fans might expect from their new general manager.
- Add the Brewers, Pirates and Rangers to the list of teams believed to be interested in Jorge de la Rosa, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. We know that list already includes the Nationals, Rockies and Yankees.
- If San Francisco really has soured on Pablo Sandoval due to the Panda's conditioning issues, Fangraphs' Matt Klassen thinks other teams should be contacting the Giants about a buy-low trade.
- During the season, an American League executive told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that Adam Dunn will stay in the NL since he genuinely wants to keep playing in the field. However, this executive predicted "Dunn will consider AL teams at least long enough to try to use them as leverage."
- The Mets will interview Jose Oquendo about the manager's job on Monday, tweets ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin.
- Chad Durbin is receiving interest from teams as both a bullpen and rotation option, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Durbin has made 75 starts in his career, but none since 2007.
- Most of the free agent catching crop will wait until "the lead domino" (Victor Martinez) signs before they look at joining new teams, says Newsday's Ken Davidoff. (Twitter link)
- Chris Coghlan will move to third base next year, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. You can tentatively cross the Marlins off the list of teams exploring the free agent market for help at the hot corner, though it's possible Coghlan could be needed to play second if Florida trades Dan Uggla.