Yankees Acquire Greg Golson
The Yankees have acquired outfielder Greg Golson from the Rangers, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Texas will receive minor league infielder Mitch Hilligoss and cash considerations.
Texas designated Golson for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Khalil Greene. The 24-year-old righty hitter is a career .263/.308/.395 hitter with 140 stolen bases in the minors, though he hasn't had much success over A-ball. Hilligoss, 24, is a .275/.324/.352 career hitter and has yet to reach Double-A.
Odds & Ends: Nelson Cruz, Tejada, White Sox, Ankiel
Some links to browse through on your Sunday afternoon…
- Besides sifting through the remaining free agents, the Yankees are exploring the trade market for left field, writes Frankie Piliere of Fanhouse (via Twitter). Piliere heard unconfirmed whispers that one of those inquiries was made on Nelson Cruz.
- Oregon State left-hander Josh Osich will miss the 2010 season due to Tommy John surgery, writes Jason Churchill. The 20-year-old southpaw had been described as a "lock for the mid- to late first round" by Keith Law.
- Steve Melewski takes a look at the arguments for and against Miguel Tejada's return to Baltimore, and also suggests slotting Miggy into the cleanup spot to start the season.
- White Sox VP Scott Reifert passes along a quote (via Twitter) from scouting director Doug Laumann, saying the south-siders will likely focus on pitching in the next draft.
- Rany Jazayerli has mixed feelings about the Royals' acquisition of Rick Ankiel, but says the outfielder is a better fit than Mike Jacobs was a year ago.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski repeated that he's not going to sign a hitter who can't play the field, writes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times doesn't expect Johnny Damon to return to the Yankees in 2010.
- Fernando Tatis and Ryan Freel are options for the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Derrick Turnbow is still on the Rockies' radar, writes Renck.
- Tom Robson heads Bob Elliott's list of Canadians eligible for the 2010 draft at the Canadian Baseball Network.
Davidoff On Damon, Draft Picks, Pavano, O’s
Newsday's Ken Davidoff has his Baseball Insider column up (subscription required); let's take a look at the highlights:
- The Yankees would love to have Johnny Damon back. The catch there is that they'd love to have him back for $2MM, which Davidoff doesn't see happening. I agree Damon doesn't seem likely to take that drastic of a pay cut, but his options are dwindling.
- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says the club acquired Curtis Granderson to be their center fielder, though some scouts have said Granderson struggles in center and is better suited for left field. The Yankees could use Brett Gardner in center, who doesn't profile as much of a corner outfielder offensively anyway.
- MLB and the MLBPA are actively working to alter draft pick compensation for relievers. Davidoff writes that the Elias Ranking system fails Type-A setup men in particular. Most teams are unwilling to sacrifice a draft pick for an eighth inning role, leaving Type-A setup men with little choice but to accept arbitration. The current goal is for the rankings to favor saves more and wins less.
- Tom O'Connell, the agent for Carl Pavano, did well to accept arbitration from the Twins and guarantee Pavano $7MM. As Davidoff points out, O'Connell guaranteed his client more money than a free agent such as Doug Davis, who signed for one year and $5.25MM with Milwaukee.
- In this separate piece, Davidoff praises the work the Orioles have done this offseason, bringing in Kevin Millwood, Mike Gonzalez, Garrett Atkins, and most recently, Miguel Tejada.
Olney On Damon, Thome, Ortiz
ESPN.com's Buster Olney wonders if the new Rangers ownership will make a splash and go after Ben Sheets, a known favorite of Nolan Ryan. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman says the Yankees have not set any deadlines on their negotiations with Johnny Damon. Jon Heyman of SI.com reported yesterday that Damon had to make a decision within days, but that's not the case, according to the GM.
- Olney doesn't think it makes sense for the White Sox to give Jim Thome a roster spot.
- The Red Sox will look to replace David Ortiz if he struggles in the first half. They'll pursue a catcher and move Victor Martinez to DH if Big Papi starts this season as poorly as he started last season.
Damon, Yankees Have Been Talking
SATURDAY, 3:12pm: Yanks GM Brian Cashman denies that the club is waiting on Damon before looking into other outfield options, reports Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog.
Additionally, Cashman stressed that the team has "had no discussions on Jermaine Dye" and is "not on Jim Edmonds at all."
2:30pm: In a text to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger, Damon says that he "should have a team in a week" (via Twitter).
1:56pm: Heyman reports (via Twitter) that Damon has "days" to take a "low deal" from the Yankees. Assuming he says no, the club will sign another outfielder from the group of Reed Johnson, Xavier Nady, Randy Winn, Jim Edmonds, and Jermaine Dye.
FRIDAY, 6:17pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman was on MLB Network's Hot Stove show tonight, and said that the Yankees and Johnny Damon have spoken recently. Here's his exact quote:
"He did meet or talk to the Yankees in the last couple of days. Still doesn't look like a great chance of happening though believe it or not. They are talking, but the Yankees have these budgetary constraints. They've been telling other teams they have about 2 million dollars to spend. I think for Damon they would probably go over that. I mean this is a guy who's had 100 runs scored 9 times and 24 home runs. Terrific player, but I would still say more likely Braves or Tigers, at this point."
Two days ago we heard from former Yankee Jerry Hairston Jr. that the team never made him an offer because they're "waiting on Damon's price to come down," however GM Brian Cashman shot that report down.
It's certainly getting late in the offseason, however just for a frame of reference, Bobby Abreu didn't sign with the Angels until February 12th of last season. Damon might have a little more waiting to do.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Felix, Phillies, Reds
Seven years ago today, Ivan Rodriguez signed a one-year deal with the Marlins worth $10MM, ending a 12-year stint with the Texas Rangers. Pudge hit .297/.369/.474 with 16 homers in his lone season with Florida, leading the franchise to its second World Championship. He signed a little earlier this offseason, landing a two-year deal with the Nationals in early December.
Here's a look at what fans around the web are saying….
- Lookout Landing re-lives five of Felix Hernandez's career-defining starts in honor of his new deal.
- TAUNTR thinks the Phillies did well by locking up Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino, even if they didn't receive tremendous discounts.
- Blue Sox Baseball previews the Reds' starting rotation heading into 2010.
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse looks at what's left for the Cubs this offseason.
- TYU wonders why the Yankees used the top pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Jamie Hoffmann instead of John Raynor.
- Capitol Avenue Club projects the Braves' depth chart.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham examines the rotations in the NL East.
- TurnTwo has some suggestions for how the Mariners could use the last $10MM left in their budget.
- Dodgers Rumors considers the Vicente Padilla signing a big win for Los Angeles.
- AdamAdkins.net reacts harshly to the Bengie Molina deal.
- River Ave. Blues wonders how the Yanks might be able to extract some value from Kei Igawa.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Multiple Clubs Contacted Jim Edmonds
Jim Edmonds would like to return to the St. Louis Cardinals, but he's open to playing elsewhere and three or four other teams have at least some interest in him. The 39-year-old outfielder told the Team 1380 in St. Louis that the Yankees are one of the teams that has contacted him (transcription from Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat).
Edmonds maintains that he would like to return to the Cardinals, but says he has no illusions about taking the everyday center fielder's job from Colby Rasmus.
"Colby is the center fielder. My job would be to help him and replace him when he needed help," Edmonds said. "I wouldn’t get in Colby’s way."
Edmonds, who is open to playing for the MLB minimum, says he needs a couple weeks to start hitting.
New York Notes: Pineiro, Smoltz, Nady
Some New York news and notes courtesy of Newsday's Ken Davidoff..
- Davidoff's understanding is that the Mets' offer to Joel Pineiro was very similar to the Angels' offer of two-years, $16MM. While it would be natural to assume that the free agent hurler preferred the stability of the Halos franchise to the Metropolitans, he writes that he doesn't know that for certain.
- The Mets would definitely like to sign John Smoltz, though it would cause a logjam of starting pitchers. Davidoff suggests that the team could move John Maine in order to create space for him.
- Speaking of Smoltz, Davidoff hears that the Yankees were interested in the 42-year-old prior to landing Javier Vazquez.
- As we've heard elsewhere, the Bombers are looking for one more outfielder and are considering right-handers Xavier Nady and Rocco Baldelli.
Odds & Ends: Gomes, Coffey, Nolasco, Vazquez
Links for Thursday…
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that team sources have told him that the Cubs are looking at Jonny Gomes as a fourth outfielder. Gomes – who proved to be one of the best minor league deals of 2009 – confirms.
- The Brewers signed arbitration-eligible reliever Todd Coffey for $2.025MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. That's just short of the midpoint.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that a strong 2010 season would lead the Marlins to explore a multiyear deal with Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco is under team control through 2012, and will earn $3.8MM in his second arbitration year.
- Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez spoke to Puerto Rican newspaper La Perla del Sur. MLBTR's translator Nick Collias supplies this interesting quote: "I don't have much playing time left…I go year by year, and I don’t know if it will be one, two or three years, but I'm definitely not going to play until 40." Vazquez is eligible for free agency after the season.
- Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler switched to Scott Boras in November, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post wrote in a Monday blog post. Fowler's been added to our Scott Boras client list, which can always be found on the sidebar.
- MLBTR missed this January 14th signing: the White Sox added Daniel Cabrera on a minor league deal. Cabrera, 29 in May, posted a 0.55 K/BB ratio and 6.00 ERA in 51 big league innings last year.
- The Mets and Diamondbacks haven't had any new discussions for catcher Chris Snyder, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro examines the debate about whether to trade Snyder.
- Luke Scott wants to play defense, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Scott says he's "taking one for the team" by serving as DH, and it hurts him in contract negotiations.
- Slugger Jim Thome continues to keep the door open for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. However, in comments to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, manager Ozzie Guillen indicated a preference to avoid a permanent DH.
Johnny Damon Considered Retirement?
8:47pm: Yankees' GM Brian Cashman shot down Hairston's comments, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
8:10pm: Jerry Hairston Jr. was on Jim Bowden's radio show on XM 175 earlier today, and said that the Yankees didn't make him an offer because they're waiting on Damon's price to come down (via Bowden's Twitter). If true, it would seem that it's only matter of time before they get a deal worked out.
12:38pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution feels differently – his source close to Damon says retirement hasn't been considered (Twitter link).
8:43am: Johnny Damon has considered retirement, according to a friend of Damon's who spoke to Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record. Keep in mind that Damon pondered the same idea back in Spring Training '07. However, that March '09 Bill Madden article added that Damon "harbors no more thoughts of retiring when his contract expires after this season."
Though Damon texted "I'm sure things will work out somewhere" to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, his prospects of a decent contract appear bleak. ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted Monday that the Yankees haven't made recent contact. They and the Braves are thought to have only $2MM in the budget. The Giants and Tigers appear out, though I imagine Damon will find a market if his price drops below $5MM.