Cubs Rumors

Mike Cameron Agrees To Deal With Boston

By Zachary Links | December 14, 2009 at 7:58pm CDT

7:58pm: The deal is in the range of $15.5MM for two years, tweets Ken Rosenthal.

7:53pm: Mike Cameron has agreed to sign a two-year deal with Boston, the AP reports.

6:38pm: It is "believed" that Cameron would play left field for the BoSox, with Jacoby Ellsbury in center and J.D. Drew in right, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. This would make recently-acquired Jeremy Hermida the team's fourth outfielder.

The Cubs and Mariners both had interest in Cameron, but shied away for different reasons. The Cubbies were waiting on a taker for Milton Bradley while the M's continue to focus on Jason Bay. The Braves also had interest, but it now it sounds as though Boston has the inside track.

Speaking of Bay, Crasnick wonders aloud (via Twitter) if this is the "final nail" in the free agent's chances of returning to Fenway.

5:40pm: Free agent outfielder Mike Cameron is in "serious talks" with the Red Sox, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The two sides are reportedly discussing a two-year pact.

Rosenthal adds that it is unclear whether the BoSox would place Cameron in left field or center field.

Non-Tender Reactions: Buck, Wang, Capps, Cust

By Luke Adams 2 | December 13, 2009 at 12:42pm CDT

Yesterday, MLBTR recapped some of the more interesting names not to receive contracts at baseball's non-tender deadline. Those players, along with the rest of the non-tender list, have inspired plenty of discussion and speculation. Let's check out some links….

ESPNDallas's Richard Durrett and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan are in agreement: John Buck should be of interest to the Rangers.
MLB.com's Bryan Hoch wonders if the Dodgers have some interest in Chien-Ming Wang. The Cardinals could also be interested, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Pirates' decision to non-tender Matt Capps shocked Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who has some reaction quotes from the right-hander. Capps makes sense for the Rays, writes Tommy Rancel at DRays Bay. Meanwhile, the Cubs are interested, says Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney was less surprised about the Capps decision, and gives his opinion on a few of the other big moves.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says that, despite not tendering him a contract, the Athletics could still potentially retain Jack Cust. ESPN.com's Rob Neyer, however, says that the A's handled Cust well, avoiding paying a higher price for declining numbers.
Chad Jennings of LoHud.com lists some new free agents that might intrigue the Yankees, while Scott Lauber of the News Journal mentions some possible options for the Phillies.

Athletics Non-Tender Jack Cust

By Zachary Links | December 12, 2009 at 5:32pm CDT

Oakland has announced that they will not tender Jack Cust an offer, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The writing has been on the wall for Cust since the A's acquired Jake Fox from the Cubs.

Cust is coming off of his weakest showing in his three years as a member of the Athletics, posting .240/.356/.417 with 25 homers. What teams should look into signing the soon-to-be 31-year-old slugger?

Odds & Ends: Jacobs, Bradley, Lackey, Lyon

By Mike Axisa | December 12, 2009 at 12:31pm CDT

Some links to start the weekend…

MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says that Mike Jacobs isn't a fit to return to the Marlins. The team's second best prospect is first baseman Logan Morrison, who is on the cusp of the big leagues after spending most of 2009 in Double-A.
Milton Bradley continues to hamstring the Cubs this offseason, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.
Tommy Bennett at Beyond The Box Score compared John Lackey to A.J. Burnett, and doesn't think he deserves a bigger contract than the Yanks' hurler.
The Astros will make the Brandon Lyon signing official today, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
Curious about what the 2010 draft order looks like following the recent signings? Check it out.

Odds & Ends: Diaz, Cedeno, German, Ojeda

By Mark Polishuk | December 11, 2009 at 8:45pm CDT

A few tidbits from around the majors….

Blue Jays reliever Jeremy Accardo hopes to be non-tendered tomorrow, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. The righty, 28 this month, dealt with a groin injury and bounced up and down between Triple A and the Majors this year. He earned $900K.
Cases of players avoiding arbitration and signing for 2010, according to the AP: Matt Diaz of the Braves at $2.55MM, Ronny Cedeno of the Pirates at $1.125MM, and Esteban German of the Rangers at $600K. Diaz gets a 106% raise, heading into his third arbitration year.
The AP also notes that the Nationals signed pitcher Ryan Speier for $425K. The 30-year-old toiled at Triple A for the Rockies this year, mainly.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (via Twitter) reports that the Diamondbacks have avoided going to arbitration with Augie Ojeda by re-signing the veteran infielder to a one-year deal. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the contract is worth $825K. Ojeda, 34, has spent the last three seasons with Arizona and hit .246/.340/.345 in 309 plate appearances in 2009. The defensive specialist is a valuable utilityman, able to play second, third and shortstop.
Twins GM Bill Smith tells Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that his traditionally low-spending team has "substantial funds" to cover arbitration raises and potential signings that could raise Minnesota's payroll into the $90MM neighborhood for next season. The general manager was predictably non-committal when asked if "substantial" translated to "enough to extend Joe Mauer."
NPB Tracker passes on news from Japanese site Sanspo.com that the Yakult Swallows will announce next week that they have signed Eulogio De La Cruz. The right-hander was released by the Padres on Wednesday. De La Cruz has an 11.84 ERA in 15 appearances over three seasons with San Diego, Florida and Detroit.
The White Sox seem ready to stick with Randy Williams as the only left-handed reliever (besides, of course, set-up man Matt Thornton) next season, as Chicago GM Kenny Williams told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Gonzales notes that if the club changes its mind, a possible target could be former White Sox reliever Neal Cotts, who will be non-tendered by the Cubs tomorrow.

Odds & Ends: Boyer, Chapman, Non-Tenders, Cubs

By Tim Dierkes | December 11, 2009 at 4:35pm CDT

Links for Friday…

The D'Backs agreed to a one-year deal with arbitration-eligible righty Blaine Boyer, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. analyzes Aroldis Chapman's upcoming bullpen session – does it represent a loss of leverage? Arangure Jr. notes that Chapman received one offer so far – $15.5MM – from the Red Sox back when he was represented by Edwin Mejia.
SI's Jon Heyman names his winners and losers of the Winter Meetings.
Royals GM Dayton Moore expects a bigger non-tender group than years past, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald expects the Cubs to tender contracts to Mike Fontenot, Koyie Hill, Sean Marshall, Jeff Baker, and Angel Guzman, but not lefty Neal Cotts. Cotts is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and the Cubs could re-sign him to a minor league deal.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post criticizes the New York Times for letting his good friend Jack Curry go.
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says the Cubs acquired righty Arismendy Mota from the Nationals for cash considerations. Mota was taken by the Nats from the White Sox with the first pick of the Triple A phase of the Rule 5 draft yesterday.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick believes that while the free agent dollars are flowing now, "the euphoria will fade after the New Year."
The Nationals officially announced their two-year deal for Ivan Rodriguez today.

Milton Bradley Rumors: Thursday

By Mike Axisa | December 10, 2009 at 3:03pm CDT

3:03pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that if a Bradley trade is close, it's not with the Rays.

1:37pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale has Cubs officials saying they are close to a Bradley trade, and Nightengale thinks it'll be with the Rays. MLBTR's source continues to say there's nothing new, however.

7:34am: MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says the Cubs are now scrambling to unload Milton Bradley. Tampa Bay – the team that's been most connected to Bradley through this ordeal – feels that they are in no way obligated to help the Cubbies out, and prefer one year of Pat Burrell to two years of Bradley. Hard to blame them.

Sheets Seeking Big Money?

By Tim Dierkes | December 10, 2009 at 2:58pm CDT

THURSDAY, 2:56pm: ESPN's Bruce Levine wrote last night that the Cubs had a conversation with Close about Sheets. I'm guessing the Rangers are out now that they've signed Rich Harden, though the Yankees and Mets might still be in the mix.

WEDNESDAY, 3:02pm: Ben Sheets' agent Casey Close met with the Rangers yesterday, and according to ESPN's Richard Durrett, the pitcher "is apparently looking for money similar to what he made his last season in the majors — 2008, which was $12 million." Sheets figures to be popular on the free agent market, but we'll have to see what kind of guarantee he requires after missing all of 2009.

Durrett also notes that the Rangers have interest in catchers Jason Kendall and Dioner Navarro, but have cooled on Rod Barajas due to his asking price.

Tigers, Four Others Interested In Podsednik

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 9, 2009 at 9:52pm CDT

Scott Podsednik has a new suitor, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Tigers, who just traded away their regular center fielder, join the White Sox, Cubs, Giants and Royals in the hunt for Podsednik's services. As Rosenthal says, Podsednik can play center or left and lead off. He could give the Tigers depth while Austin Jackson develops.

The 33-year-old Podsednik hit .304/.353/.412 last year in 587 plate appearances for the White Sox, splitting his time between left and center. He was slightly below average as an outfielder, according to UZR/150.

Milton Bradley Rumors: Wednesday

By Tim Dierkes | December 9, 2009 at 7:05pm CDT

7:05pm: Ian Browne of MLB.com says there's "no chance" the Bradley-Lowell deal goes through. Sounds about right. But ESPN.com's Gordon Edes says the Cubs really did ask.

6:43pm: A Cubs official didn't dismiss the Milton Bradley for Mike Lowell rumor, speaking to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Still, that swap seems unlikely.

3:10pm: Cubs president Crane Kenney implied to the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers that the team won't be releasing Bradley.

2:46pm: The White Sox don't consider Bradley a fit, but GM Kenny Williams had kind words for the player today (Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald reporting).

12:38pm: ESPN's Buster Olney says the Cubs would be open to swapping Bradley for Mike Lowell, but that deal is "unlikely to happen." Lowell, like Pat Burrell, seems like someone the Cubs would have to flip. Regardless, Sullivan talked to a Cubs official who seemed to shoot this rumor down.

9:53am: With the Cubs' desire to trade Milton Bradley by the end of the Winter Meetings common knowledge, the words "imminent" and "close" have been tossed around a little too freely. At any rate, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune still likes the Rays as the favorite, while noting the presence of a possible mystery team. This is good…I always like to bust out my "Mystery Team" category on a post (although MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says there is no such team). Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times weighs in on the Rays possibility here.

Yesterday, we saw the Mariners, Blue Jays, Rangers, and Royals pretty much dismissed as Bradley suitors.

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