Mets, Cardinals, Reds, Tigers Inquire On Dotel
TUESDAY: The Mets are "strong players" for Dotel, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. The Mets, who signed Dotel as an amateur in 1993, like that he won't cost a draft pick.
MONDAY: The Cardinals, Reds and Tigers are among the teams that have inquired on free agent right-hander Octavio Dotel, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Teams won’t have to surrender a draft pick to sign Dotel, but the Cardinals will obtain a supplementary first round draft choice in 2012 if he signs elsewhere thanks to a recently-announced status change for certain free agents.
Dotel, 38, posted a 3.50 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 30.1% ground ball rate in 54 innings for the Blue Jays and Cardinals in 2011. He's especially effective against right-handed hitters, as this past season's split stats show (.410 OPS vs. RHB, .845 OPS vs. LHB). The Angels also have some interest in Dotel.
NL Central Notes: Saito, Fielder, Pujols
The Astros announced last night that GM Ed Wade and longtime executive Tal Smith have been dismissed. Here are some notes from the NL Central…
- The Brewers announced Johnny Narron will replace Dale Sveum as their hitting coach. Narron, who's the older brother of Brewers bench coach Jerry Narron, had previously worked with the Rangers and developed a strong relationship with Josh Hamilton. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reaction from GM Doug Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke and Narron.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Brewers need relievers (assuming Francisco Rodriguez turns down arbitration).
- The Brewers have maintained dialogue with the agent for free agent reliever Takashi Saito, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- Baseball executives tell Yahoo’s Jeff Passan that they have trouble identifying a team other than the Cardinals that’s a realistic potential destination for Albert Pujols. The Marlins bid on Pujols, but they aren’t seen as a realistic suitor.
- Generally speaking, Passan’s sources say they prefer overweight players to aging ones. This could play in Prince Fielder’s favor, since he’s just 27.
National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers
10 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make today, and we'll update them in this post in advance of the 11pm central time deadline. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here.
Updated team decisions:
- The Giants won't offer arbitration to Pat Burrell (B) or Cody Ross (B) according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Carlos Beltran (A) contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Dodgers declined to offer Hiroki Kuroda (B) arbitration, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). Rod Barajas (B) already signed with the Pirates.
- The Pirates offered arbitration to Derrek Lee (B) while declining to offer Ryan Ludwick (B) and Chris Snyder (B) arbitration. Ryan Doumit (B) already signed with the Twins.
- The Phillies did not offer Roy Oswalt (A) or Brad Lidge (B) arbitration, according to the AP (via ESPN). The team announced that it offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez (B), Ryan Madson (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick), and Jimmy Rollins (A), according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- The Cubs offered arbitration to Carlos Pena (B) and Aramis Ramirez (B) but not to Kerry Wood (B), according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
- The Cardinals offered Edwin Jackson (B) and Albert Pujols (A) arbitration, but declined to make offers to Rafael Furcal (B) and Arthur Rhodes (B), according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). That leaves Octavio Dotel (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary).
- The Mets offered Jose Reyes (A) arbitration, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).
- The Padres will offer arbitration to Heath Bell (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) and Aaron Harang (B), tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.
- The Brewers offered Prince Fielder (A) and Francisco Rodriguez (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) arbitration. They declined to offer Yuniesky Betancourt (B) arbitration. Takashi Saito (A), contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Braves did not offer arbitration to Alex Gonzalez (B), according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Teams with automatic decisions only:
- Reds: Francisco Cordero (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary), Ramon Hernandez (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary)
- Astros: Clint Barmes (B, already signed with Pirates)
- Rockies: Mark Ellis (B, already signed with Dodgers)
Quick Hits: Mills, Madson, Twins, Danks, Prado
On a day when the Blue Jays adopted a familiar-looking "new" logo, here are some news items to carry us into the weekend….
- If the Astros fire Brad Mills, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes Mills could reunite with Terry Francona as the latter's bench coach for a future managing vacancy. Morosi also lists Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker as wish list candidates for Jim Crane if he removes Ed Wade as Houston's general manager. It would be the second stint as Astros' GM for Hunsicker, who ran the team from 1996-2004.
- Ryan Madson could be one of several free agents to lose his Type A status under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Such an adjustment would help Madson, as clubs with unprotected first-round draft picks currently have to give up that pick in order to sign the closer.
- Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Denard Span and Ben Revere won't be traded this winter. Minnesota could lose both Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel to free agency this offseason.
- The White Sox didn't add Jordan Danks to their 40-man roster, and Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox speculates that this could be a hint that Chicago is preparing to part ways with John Danks. The elder Danks brother has drawn strong interest on the trade market.
- The Braves "seem to undervalue [Martin Prado's] skills," writes Fangraphs' Jason Roberts, who thinks Atlanta may not get proper market value in exchange for the utilityman in a deal.
- Right-hander Darrell Rasner has signed a new contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, reports NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman. Matt Sosnick, Rasner's agent, tells Newman the contract is worth $1.5MM plus performance bonuses. Rasner last appeared in the majors as a Yankee in 2008 and has pitched for Rakuten ever since.
- The Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox and Twins are all listed as possible suitors for Kelly Shoppach by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).
Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates
Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:
- The Giants added Hector Correa, Charlie Culberson, Tyler Graham, Roger Kieschnick, Dan Otero and Angel Villalona to their 40-man roster, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter links). Baggarly suspects Villalona's inclusion may be a "procedural move," since Villalona still needs a new visa to play in the United States.
- The Dodgers have added Michael Antonini, Alex Castellanos, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall and Chris Withrow to their 40-man roster, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link).
- The Pirates have announced the additions of Matt Hague, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Rudy Owens, Duke Welker and Justin Wilson to their 40-man roster. Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is now full.
- The Mariners added Chih-Hsien Chang, Francisco Martinez and Carlos Triunfel to the 40-man roster, reports Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter).
- The Angels added Johnny Hellweg, Fabio Martinez, Ariel Pena and Jean Segura to their 40-man roster, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- The Red Sox announced that Drake Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin and Will Middlebrooks were added to the club's 40-man roster.
- The Rangers added pitchers Jacob Brigham, Roman Mendez, Justin Miller, Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez and Matt West to their 40-man roster, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (via Twitter).
- The Indians announced that Scott Barnes, Juan Diaz and Danny Salazar were added to the team's 40-man roster. The Tribe's roster now has a full complement of 40 players.
- The Cubs announced that Jeff Beliveau, Junior Lake, Matt Szczur and Josh Vitters have been added to the club's 40-man roster.
Heyman On Marlins, Pujols, Wilson, Kershaw
The Red Sox have yet to hire a manager, so Jon Heyman of SI.com looks at the dynamics between GM Ben Cherington and Boston’s ownership group and how they are affecting the hiring process. Here are Heyman’s hot stove notes…
- We heard earlier in the week that the Marlins offered Jose Reyes a $90MM deal, but Heyman’s sources say Miami offered $10-20MM less than that.
- The Marlins made Albert Pujols a “lowball” offer that would only work if the three-time MVP was intent on playing for Miami, according to Heyman. All things being equal Pujols appears to prefer St. Louis.
- C.J. Wilson is seeking close to $120MM over six years, according to Heyman. Wilson’s former teammate, Cliff Lee, signed for $120MM over five years last offseason and it would be a coup for Wilson’s agents if they find a similar deal for their client.
- The Dodgers seem inclined to wait on a possible extension for Clayton Kershaw, according to Heyman. They control the NL Cy Young winner through 2014.
- The Angels opposed the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane, though they voted in favor of it according to Heyman.
NL Central Notes: Furcal, Hanrahan, Astros, Brewers
I hesitated at first to include the Astros in these NL Central notes. Thankfully, I've got a year to remap the standings on my mind's sports page. On with the linkage …
- The Pirates are looking at shortstop Rafael Furcal and other options at the position, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, although not the premium types like Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins. It'll be interesting to see how the Bucs handle shortstop after declining Ronny Cedeno's $3MM 2012 option last month.
- Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan would be receptive to working out an extension with the team, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, who reports that there have been no talks but that neither side has ruled it out, either. It's not a regular occurence in Pittsburgh, where Neal Huntington has dished out just one multiyear contract to a reliever, Matt Capps for 2008-09, since taking over in 2007, according to Langosch. Hanrahan is under team control for two more years and is due a sharp raise through arbitration on his $1.4MM 2011 salary coming off a 40-save campaign. The 30-year-old right-hander should earn $4MM in 2012 through arbitration.
- New Astros owner Jim Crane said it was made clear to him before agreeing to purchase the Astros that the team would be moved to the AL, according to Astros senior director of social media Alyson Footer. Crane also cautioned not to expect the Astros to be big players in free agency this year, as they will instead focus on building the farm, and said payroll will "be in line with" incoming revenue (all Twitter links).
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin said he's interested in extending starters Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, as was reported yesterday, but that the sides haven't had talks yet and aren't in a rush to do so, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
- Melvin also hasn't ruled out bringing Craig Counsell aboard as the Brewers' hitting coach, tweets McCalvy. Counsell, however, hasn't ruled out remaining in the game as a player.
- Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said the Redbirds are "going to make every effort" to re-sign first baseman Albert Pujols, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. We heard earlier today and yesterday that the Cards and Pujols' agent have resumed talks.
- New Cubs manager Dale Sveum may bring in Robin Yount as one of his coaches, writes Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun Times.
At Least Three Teams In On Albert Pujols
11:20pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the dollar amount on the Marlins' nine-year offer to Pujols is believed to be "well below" what the Cardinals offered prior to the season.
7:56pm: We already know that the Marlins have made Albert Pujols a contract offer and that the Cardinals met with his agent today in Milwaukee, but Yahoo's Tim Brown says those are just two of at least three teams "actively jockeying" for Pujols' services. While Brown is unsure of the identity of the third team, he guesses it could be the Rangers or Cubs.
The list of suitors for Pujols figures to grow before the slugger eventually makes a decision. According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link), the Cards plan to stay under the radar in the bidding, and say that nothing is imminent between the two sides (Twitter link).
Furcal Believed To Be Seeking Multiyear Deal
3:42pm: There are eight teams chasing Furcal, four of them want Furcal at second base and four are interested in him at shortstop, agent Paul Kinzer told Jim Bowden (via Twitter) on MLB Network Radio.
3:01pm: Interest in Furcal is heavy enough that the veteran should be able to get a deal to play shortstop, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Tigers, Blue Jays, and Rockies all like him at second base.
9:19am: Rafael Furcal's agent Paul Kinzer is believed to be seeking a three-year deal, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with two years and an option a possibility. The Padres aren't inclined to guarantee multiple years to Furcal, and Kinzer indicated yesterday he's open to a shorter term for a higher average annual value. Furcal did just that six years ago, taking a three-year, $39MM deal from the Dodgers when a longer term was available.
The idea of a multiyear free agent deal for Furcal at the time of his July 31st trade to St. Louis was laughable, given his health issues. 217 decent plate appearances for the Cards may have changed that, in the same way that a short stint after a trade earned Aaron Hill a two-year, $11MM contract. The Brewers have some level of interest in Furcal for their shortstop opening, and the Rockies, Tigers, and Blue Jays checked in on him as a second baseman. Regarding Kinzer meeting with the Brewers, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said, "I'm not going to base our reaction on rumors or innuendo. But if I woke up tomorrow and he was signed I'd be a little disappointed."
Aside the situations with Furcal and Albert Pujols, Strauss says the Cardinals will look into bringing back relievers Octavio Dotel and Arthur Rhodes. The Cardinals are "apparently willing to exploit" their depth in right-handed relievers.
Thirteen Teams In On Mark Buehrle
11 teams are playing on Mark Buehrle, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM and ESPN.com: the Nationals, White Sox, Cubs, Marlins, Twins, Rangers, Yankees, Royals, Cardinals, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks. These suitors have all been confirmed by club sources, according to Bowden. The Blue Jays and Angels were named by Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports yesterday, potentially bringing the total to 13. From Bowden's list, I believe the Twins, Cardinals, and Red Sox are new suitors. Cards GM John Mozeliak said yesterday he is not seeking to alter the team's rotation, however.