Rangers Expressed Interest In Frank Francisco
Ten months ago, Frank Francisco and cash brought the Rangers two years of Mike Napoli. After a season with the Blue Jays, Francisco is now a free agent, and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers have expressed interest in bringing him back. So far, the Mets have also been linked to Francisco.
Francisco, 32, posted a 3.55 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 38.6% groundball rate in 50 2/3 innings this year. He was diagnosed in March with tightness in his right pectoral and biceps inflammation, which delayed his season debut until April 20th. He bounced in and out of Toronto's closer role, saving 17 games in 21 opportunities. The Rangers are very open to the idea of moving Neftali Feliz to the rotation next year, which may create a need at the back end of the bullpen even with summer acquisitions Mike Adams and Koji Uehara under team control.
Heyman On Rangers, Pujols, Fielder, Nunez
Earlier this week, it was reported that in addition to the Cardinals and Marlins, there's a third team in on Albert Pujols. Yahoo's Tim Brown hypothesized that the mystery suitor could be the Cubs or Rangers. Today on Twitter, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated discussed the Rangers' possible pursuit of Pujols and more..
- The Rangers are still saying that the odds are remote for them to make a run at Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder this offseason, says Heyman (via Twitter). The club's focus now is to try to lock up Josh Hamilton as the outfielder will hit free agency after 2012.
- Heyman (via Twitter) still won't count Texas out of the chase for Pujols or Fielder. As he points out, last winter's signing of Adrian Beltre came late in the offseason.
- The Braves have long been interested in Yankees shortstop Eduardo Nunez but the Bombers will have to part with much more to land Jair Jurrjens in a trade, Heyman tweets.
AL West Notes: Rangers, Lachemann, Mariners
Four years ago today, the Angels traded Orlando Cabrera to the White Sox for Jon Garland. The right-hander pitched to a 4.90 ERA during his lone season in Anaheim before joining the Diamondbacks as a free agent. The Halos selected Eastern Illinois left-hander Tyler Kehrer with the supplemental first round pick they received as compensation for Garland's departure. Here's the latest from the AL East…
- In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says the Rangers appear to be working on a similar track to last offseason. They'd like to re-sign C.J. Wilson just like they would have liked to re-sign Cliff Lee, but they have a salary threshold they do not want to cross. If Wilson leaves, they will look to improve their teams in other ways, a la Adrian Beltre.
- The Angels have hired Marcel Lachemann as a special assistant to new GM Jerry Dipoto, reports Jack Etkin of Inside The Rockies. Lachemann had served as a specialist assist to Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd for the last ten years.
- The Mariners had interest in Ryan Doumit before he signed with the Twins, but Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times says they have bigger fish to fry and "can't afford to spend too much money for part-time production."
West Notes: Soler, Padres, Arenado, Mariners
Let's look at some news from both the AL and NL West….
- The Rangers have scouted 19-year-old Cuban defector Jorge Soler, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Texas is one of a few teams who have interest in Soler, who Sullivan says "might have more offensive upside" than the heavily-scouted Yoenis Cespedes.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Adrian Gonzalez has been lobbying the Red Sox to check in on several Padres, including Heath Bell and strength/conditioning coach Jim Malone. Boston is known to have an interest in Bell as a possible replacement for Jonathan Papelbon in the Red Sox bullpen. Center also discusses San Diego's own closing situation among other topics as part of his weekly online chat with Padres fans.
- Rockies third base prospect Nolan Arenado has hired Scott Boras as his agent, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Arenado was represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council when Colorado picked him in the second round of the 2009 draft. Arenado, 20, has enjoyed a strong start to his pro career, compiling an .829 OPS in his first three seasons ranging from rookie league to high-A ball.
- The Mariners can afford Prince Fielder, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times and "aversion to risk is how mediocre teams stay bad a long, long time." Baker figures that if the Mariners "eat most of the remaining cash on the Chone Figgins contract" and deal Jason Vargas or Brandon League, the club can afford the slugging first baseman. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes picked Seattle as Fielder's landing spot in his top 50 free agent predictions.
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.
Cordero Says Reds, Five Other Teams Still In “Hunt”
In an interview with Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio, Francisco Cordero said that unless the Reds increase their most recent contract offer, he will leave Cincinnati. The Reds are still in the "hunt," however, along with other teams who have shown interest in the free agent closer: the Angels, Blue Jays, Rangers, Rays and Red Sox (all Twitter links).
The Rays and Rangers are new additions to a busy market for Cordero that also includes the Dodgers, Marlins and Mets. As a Type A free agent, Cordero would cost his new team a first round draft pick as compensation to the Reds if that new team didn't have a protected pick. This presumes, of course, that Cordero turns down the Reds' offer of arbitration and that the Type A compensation rules aren't changed by the new collective bargaining agreement.
Of Cordero's known suitors, the Angels, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Rangers, Rays and Red Sox all have unprotected picks, though the Jays and Sox each currently have two picks in the first round of next year's draft. Toronto's extra pick is compensation for not signing Tyler Beede last year, while Boston currently possesses the Phillies' first round pick (31st overall) as compensation for Philadelphia's signing of Jonathan Papelbon.
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).
Quick Hits: Sizemore, Ponson, Braves
Wednesday afternoon linkage as the news continues to fly in from the Milwaukee meetings..
- A number of teams remain in play for Grady Sizemore including the Giants, Rockies, Cubs, Red Sox, Rangers, Mariners, and Nationals, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- The Athletics met with Sidney Ponson's agent today, a source tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
- Braves GM Frank Wren and agent Adam Katz are now meeting in Milwaukee, tweets MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith. Katz is a part of Wasserman Media Group and represents a number of players, including Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. To view WMG's client list, check out MLBTR's Agency Database.
Thad Levine On Bullpen, Feliz, Moreland
The Rangers are looking to bolster their pitching this offseason, assistant GM Thad Levine said today in Milwaukee. Here are more details from MLBTR’s conversation with Levine, who represented the Rangers in place of GM Jon Daniels:
- Though the Rangers aren’t married to the idea of acquiring left-handed relievers, they’d like to add bullpen depth in some form. Southpaws Darren Oliver and Mike Gonzalez are on the free agent market and the Rangers would welcome either one back under the right circumstances.
- Ideally, they’ll add relievers who can retire hitters on both sides of the plate, rather than highly specialized players.
- The Rangers developed Neftali Feliz as a starting pitcher and they’re “very open" to moving him to the rotation, Levine said. The Rangers are confident in their ability to shift certain relievers to the rotation after converting C.J. Wilson in 2010 and Alexi Ogando in 2011.
- “In the event that the starting pitching market doesn’t play out like we hope, [converting Feliz to the rotation] is certainly an alternative and if we go that route, we’d probably want to try to address the bullpen,” Levine said. The Rangers intend to convert Feliz to the rotation, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols lurk as alternatives for large-market teams without fully established first basemen, but the Rangers aren’t at all concerned with Mitch Moreland, according to Levine. “We consider the setback much more injury-related than performance-related,” Levine said, noting that Moreland played through wrist tendinitis in 2011.
Eight Teams Interested In Grady Sizemore
TUESDAY, 11:27am: The Rockies have examined Sizemore's medical records and believe he's worth the risk on a one-year deal, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies expect to watch Sizemore work out in the coming days.
The A's have no interest in pursuing Sizemore, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
MONDAY, 7:38pm: There's no shortage of interest in Grady Sizemore this offseason. The free agent outfielder has drawn interest from eight teams, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Cubs, Rangers, Giants and Yankees are potential suitors for Sizemore, along with the Phillies, Rockies, Red Sox and Indians.
The Giants are interested, even after acquiring Melky Cabrera, and the Cubs view Sizemore as a possible fit in right field. The A's, who saw their entire outfield hit free agency after the season, have also been linked to Sizemore.
Sizemore's knees have limited him to 104 total games in the past two seasons, so the Indians declined their $9MM club option after the season, making the 29-year-old a free agent. He hit 10 homers and posted a .224/.285/.422 line in 2011, but Sizemore combined power, speed and on-base skills as one of baseball's premier center fielders from 2005-08.