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AL Central Notes: Jackson, Pelfrey, Garza, Butler

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The Tigers have discussed trading Austin Jackson to the Yankees in exchange for Brett Gardner, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports.  Both players have been above-average fielders in center over their careers and have comparable career batting lines, though Gardner is a better base-stealer and Jackson has more doubles pop.  Jackson turns 27 in February, is projected to earn $5.3MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility and he'll hit free agency after the 2015 season; the 30-year-old Gardner is projected to earn $4MM and he'll be a free agent next winter.  I'm not sure this deal makes sense for the Tigers unless they don't think they can sign Jackson (a Scott Boras client) to an extension, or if they aren't interested in extending Jackson.  From the Yankees' side, they like Gardner enough that they probably wouldn't move him for a very similar player, albeit a younger one.

Here are some more items from all five AL Central franchises…

  • The Twins have increased the value of their two-year offer to Mike Pelfrey from $10MM to $12MM, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.  The Rangers and Giants have also shown interest in Pelfrey, Neal reports.
  • Also from Neal, the stumbling block between Matt Garza and the Twins seems to be Garza's demands for a four- or five-year contract, as Minnesota isn't willing to make that long a commitment due to injury concerns.  That said, Neal isn't counting the Twins out of the Garza race yet as he hears the team is still in the hunt (Twitter links).  You can read more about the Twins' hunt for pitching here.
  • The Royals could continue to shop Billy Butler since "Before too long, the DH spot has to be a rotating position for us. It really does," a club official tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  For one, the Royals may use Salvador Perez at DH to keep his bat in the lineup when he isn't catching, plus added DH days would help keep Perez healthy.  Even if Butler isn't dealt this offseason, Dutton doesn't believe the Royals will sign him to an extension once his current deal is up.  It was reported earlier today that Butler's name had come up in trade talks with the Blue Jays.
  • The Royals, Indians and Rangers are among the teams interested in Shaun Marcum, ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets.  Marcum underwent surgery to correct his thoracic outlet syndrome in July and his agent updated MLBTR's Tim Dierkes on the recovery process last month.
  • The White Sox are looking to cut their payroll from just under $119MM in 2013 to between $89MM-$99MM range for 2014, ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla writes, with the $99MM figure being the likelier of the two.  Despite the cuts on the Major League side, GM Rick Hahn said the club will reinvest the saved money into extra spending on the draft and international signings.
  • In other AL Central news from earlier today, the Tigers reached an agreement with Joba Chamberlain and the Indians were battling with the Padres over Joaquin Benoit.

Quick Hits: Diaz, Benoit, Axford, Feldman, Ibanez

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Since being ruled ineligible due to providing a false birthdate over the summer, Cuban shortstop prospect Aledmys Diaz has interest from a list of teams including the Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Orioles, Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees, agent Jamie Torres tells Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. “There are some very good players out right now and more are coming,” Torres said. “Let’s put it this way: I can predict that a few of the Cuban players that sign between now and Spring Training are going to contribute in the big leagues in the 2014 season and their contribution is going to be significant.”  More from around baseball..

  • Omar Infante has been looking for a four-year deal and is drawing some interest from clubs who see him as a left fielder or third baseman, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Yesterday it was reported that Infante is seeking a deal with an $8MM+ average annual value.
  • Some agents and teams are convinced that the three-year, $30MM deal the Astros gave free agent pitcher Scott Feldman has been a wrench in talks for others since agents feel obligated to also shoot for that type of “lottery ticket” contract, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
  • Free agent Raul Ibanez is considering offers from multiple contenders, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Earlier today, Stark reported that Ibanez could be headed to the Angels.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson says he’ll hold on to Ike Davis if no one comes to the table with a strong enough offer, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. “Let me emphasize one thing: We’re not in the business of giving players away,” Alderson said. “We don’t expect to get in that business.”
  • The Tigers are in on Ervin Santana, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). The Twins, meanwhile, aren’t in the mix because of the draft pick compensation tied to him.
  • Agent Scott Boras says he would talk to Orioles owner Peter Angelos about extensions for Matt Wieters and Chris Davis, writes CSNBaltimore.com’s Rich Dubroff.
  • The Twins continue to talk to free agent pitcher Mike Pelfrey, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether a deal with Pelfrey would preclude a signing of fellow free agent hurler Bronson Arroyo, but MInnesota has flexibility.
  • One GM tells Peter Gammons of Gammons Daily (Twitter link) that he can’t see Kendrys Morales signing until after the draft.
  • White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn says his team still has several potential options ahead less than 24 hours after acquiring center fielder Adam Eaton from the Diamondbacks in a three-team deal, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. One rival exec believes the White Sox would like to trade outfielder Dayan Viciedo, who is now part of a crowded house with the addition of Eaton. Another baseball source said the White Sox have looked into the possibility of trading away second baseman Gordon Beckham.
  • The free agent market for second basemen seems to be impacted by the availability of Howie Kendrick, Brandon Phillips, and others, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

Central Notes: Cubs, Hernandez, Tigers, Hart

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The latest out of the AL and NL Central..

  • The Cubs are among the teams with interest in Roberto Hernandez, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin says that he'll look for a true first baseman to replace Corey Hart, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (on Twitter). "I'd like to find a first baseman who can play first. We've had so many guys who haven't played first," said the GM.
  • The Brewers topped out around $8MM for Hart, according to Haudricourt (on Twitter).
  • Cubs president Theo Epstein says the club has offers out to a free agent starter, a free agent offer, and a trade offer for a hitter, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Theo added that he has other trade talks taking place as well.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says he's never had a conversation with the Dodgers about Matt Kemp, tweets Jason Beck of MLB.com.  
  • Dombrowski also noted that the Tigers haven't ruled out signing Max Scherzer this offseason, tweets John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
  • After initially being caught off guard by the trade, Adam Eaton says he's confident and ready for a fresh start with the White Sox, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Blue Jays, Butler, Cruz, Ackley

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By participating in the three-team Mark Trumbo trade with the Diamondbacks and Angels, the White Sox hindered their cross-town rivals' hopes of dealing Jeff Samardzija, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. The Diamondbacks have been interested in Samardzija since the summer, and one of the players they dealt in the Trumbo deal, pitcher Tyler Skaggs, would have been a key component of any package strong enough for the Cubs to send Samardzija to the desert. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Wittenmyer also reports that the Cubs haven't yet made an offer to Scott Baker, who worked through an elbow injury and made three late-season starts for the Cubs in 2013. They have, however, talked with his agency. Baker is represented by Octagon.
  • The Blue Jays are still prefer not to sign players for more than five years, although, as Sportsnet.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently noted (via Twitter), there may be signs that could be softening somewhat. Still, their reluctance removes them from the market for top-tier free agents, who usually sign for longer, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm points out. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos prefers to trading for high-profile players rather than signing them. "There are some players out there in trade that signed long-term contracts, and then a year or two later, they're already getting moved," he says. "That's pretty telling. I still think five years is a long period of time."
  • Chisholm also reports that Anthopoulos says that prospects Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman "come up in every trade talk we probably have," due to their relatively close proximity to the Majors. "If you're trying to get a controllable starter, everyone would prefer to get the talent level that's closest," Anthopoulos says.
  • Even though the the Royals didn't sign Carlos Beltran, they haven't ruled out the possibility of trading DH Billy Butler, ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets. If they do, they could end up signing Nelson Cruz.
  • The Rangers, Mariners and Orioles still appear to have interest in Cruz, Stark tweets, noting that it could still be awhile before Cruz signs.
  • The Orioles have also checked in on free agent starting pitcher Bartolo Colon, tweets FOX Sports' Jon Morosi.
  • The Yankees, Mets and Padres have asked about Dustin Ackley of the Mariners, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. Ackley, 25, hit .253/.319/.341 in 427 plate appearances in 2013, with his time split between second base and outfield.
  • Ten teams are interested in infielder Justin Turner, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes writes (via Twitter). Turner hit .280/.319/.385 in 214 plate appearances and played all four infield position for the Mets in 2013.
  • Astros outfielder L.J. Hoes is now represented by MVP Sports Group, Dierkes tweets.

Central Notes: Anderson, Cardinals, Ellis, Pirates

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Former first-round pick Brian Anderson has come full circle, deciding to try his hand as an outfielder again. Anderson tallied 355 big league games from 2005-09, mostly for the White Sox, before switching to the mound in 2010. He battled injuries as a pitcher, and tells MLBTR now, "I'd love to get back on the field again." Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

  • The White Sox are "determined" to acquire a catcher before the Winter Meetings are through, Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets.
  • The Cardinals today met with Mark Ellis' agent, Jamie Murphy of TWC, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). The Cardinals currently have youngster Kolten Wong penciled in at second base, but Ellis might allow Wong to start the season in the minors, or might provide an insurance policy in case Wong struggles. Maybe it's too early to read too much into it, however — Slusser notes that Murphy has met with many teams.
  • Jhonny Peralta takes care of the Cardinals' offensive void at shortstop but he comes with plenty of question marks, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • The Pirates are looking for a first baseman, but they say they could just stick with Gaby Sanchez there, reports MLB.com's John Schlegel. "I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with Gaby as our answer. We're not," says GM Neal Huntington. Huntington does note, however, that Sanchez pounds left-handed pitching and struggles against right-handers. It seems unlikely that the Pirates would go into the 2014 season with Sanchez as their primary first baseman against righties.

Tim Dierkes and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Arroyo, Twins, Cards, De Aza, Indians

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Here are some quick notes from around the Central divisions.

  • Bronson Arroyo's agent, Terry Bross, says he expects the Reds to make an offer to re-sign his client, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. That leads Rosenthal to wonder whether the Reds might deal a starter, even though GM Walt Jocketty has said they would not trade Homer Bailey, who will be a free agent after the season (Twitter links).
  • The Twins do not have a pending offer to Arroyo or Johan Santana, tweets 1500ESPN's Darren Wolfson. They have made an offer to re-sign starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey, MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger tweets. Pelfrey posted a 5.19 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 for the Twins in 2013.
  • The Cardinals, who have already acquired Jhonny Peralta and Peter Bourjos, aren't likely to be big players in the Winter Meetings, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch tweets. "We’re fishing is in the shallow end," GM John Mozeliak says.
  • Now that they've acquired Adam Eaton, the White Sox will listen to offers on fellow outfielder Alejandro De Aza, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). The Giants have already asked about De Aza, tweets John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • The Indians would like to re-sign pitcher Tyler Cloyd to a minor-league deal, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer tweets.

Mark Trumbo Trade Reactions/Fallout

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With the three-way deal between the Angels, White Sox, and Diamondbacks now completed, here's the latest on what the swap means for all party involved..

  • A source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) that the D'Backs are likely out on Shin-Soo Choo but still discussing him.  Their next move will be to land a frontline starting pitcher.
  • The Angels save about $4MM with the deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • The D'Backs' acquisition of Mark Trumbo would seem to hurt their chances of trading for a pitcher since they're a lot shorter on trade chips now, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
  • Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) tips his cap to the Angels for landing two solid rotation pieces in Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs in the three-team deal.
  • The Angels save about $3MM in the deal, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).
  • With Adam Eaton jointing the White Sox, Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors (on Twitter) notes that Alejandro De Aza could either become a fourth outfielder or a trade candidate.
  • A.J. Schugel's dad was a scout for the Angels but left after the season, notes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).  The right-hander is headed to Arizona in the three-way deal.
  • It's a good bet that Howie Kendrick is staying put with the Halos, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter).

Towers, DiPoto, Hahn Discuss Trumbo Deal

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In a joint press conference this afternoon, general managers Kevin Towers of the Diamondbacks, Jerry Dipoto of the Angels, and Rick Hahn of the White Sox discussed the three-way trade that sent Mark Trumbo from Los Angeles to Arizona. 

Towers said that he had been discussing center fielder Adam Eaton with Hahn for some time, but that the ultimate three-party deal "came together rather quick." Confirming that Trumbo will be the club's regular left fielder, Towers acknowledged that it "will be difficult" for him to transition to full-time outfield play after spending most of his time last year at first base. But Towers expressed confidence that Trumbo would eventually defend in left at a league-average level.

Looking ahead, Towers said that the club still definitely wants to add a "front-of-the-rotation starter." Though the club parted with valuable youngsters in today's trade, he said that he still believes Arizona has sufficient minor league pitching from which to deal. Towers said his preference, however, would be to add an arm via free agency.

Meanwhile, Dipoto explained that his club's interest in the trade was acquiring young, controllable starters. Hector Santiago, said Dipoto, had shown he can succeed at the major league level. As for Tyler Skaggs, who came via Arizona, Dipoto explained that his youth and high upside trumped his underwhelming results in limited MLB action. "The next step is imminent for him," said Dipoto. While Dipoto said that both hurlers are expected to have every opportunity to slot into the Angels rotation, he indicated that there could be further additions.

Turning to the White Sox' end of the deal, Hahn said that he expects Eaton to be a solid presence atop the lineup for years to come. Calling Eaton a "dirtbag baseball player" who had stood near the top of the club's "target list" for some time, Hahn said his expectation is that the 25-year-old will man center for Chicago. 

With Eaton displacing Alejandro De Aza up the middle, Hahn acknowledged that De Aza or fellow corner outfielder Dayan Viciedo could be dealt. Saying he expects to continue to "receive calls on both of those players," Hahn did note that the two could form a platoon if demand is insufficient.

D-Backs, ChiSox, Angels Optimistic About Three-Team Deal

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12:33pm: The White Sox have asked the Halos about Hank Conger this winter, but he's not believed to be in play on this trade, tweets Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.

12:22pm: The deal is "getting pretty close," a source tells MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (Twitter link). Though he was discussed in a separate trade with the White Sox and Angels, Kendrick is not part of this deal, Gonzalez adds.

12:10pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports that the three teams are optimistic about their chances of finalizing the trade (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic agrees with Gilbert's report from below, noting that Arizona would receive one prospect from the Angels and one from the Sox (also on Twitter).

11:38am: MLB.com's Steve Gilbert tweets that Arizona would receive a pair of good prospects in addition to Trumbo.

11:27am: Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (via Twitter) hears that the talks are definitely ongoing but are still in the preliminary phases. The three sides are making some progress but a deal isn't close at this time, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register agrees (on Twitter).

11:02am: The Angels tried to land Santiago from the White Sox in talks for Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, but they're now focused on getting him as part of this three-team deal.

10:50am: ESPN's Keith Law reports (via Twitter) that the Mark Trumbo talks between the Diamondbacks and Angels have expanded to include the White Sox, with a potential framework sending Adam Eaton to Chicago and Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs to the Angels.

Parting with Skaggs and Eaton would be a steep price to pay in order to play Trumbo out of position at a corner outfield spot, but reports have indicated that the D-Backs are "determined" to leave Orlando with either Trumbo or Shin-Soo Choo in tow, and the financial commitment required to add Choo would be significant. Adding Skaggs and Santiago would be a tremendous win for Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, who has been in the market for controllable young starters for months.

Latest On Juan Uribe

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12:15pm: Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times and Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune both report that the White Sox aren't in on Uribe (Twitter links).

11:33am: Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets that the Marlins aren't currently showing interest in Uribe.

11:05am: Rojas tweets that the Dodgers have offered one year with an option, while the White Sox are willing to go to two years.

10:26am: Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that the Dodgers and White Sox are also pushing to land Uribe (Twitter link).

9:53am: The Marlins are interested in adding Juan Uribe to fill their hole at third base, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

The Marlins have been surprisingly active this offseason, inking Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Garrett Jones and Rafael Furcal to free agent deals. The team is said to be aggressively shopping first baseman Logan Morrison as well, which has been rumored to be one potential means of addressing Miami's need at third base.

Uribe would be a spendier option than landing a third baseman for Morrison but could allow the Fish to widen their range of targets in discussing Morrison trades by removing what is currently a glaring hole at third base. Marlins third basemen batted just .255/.308/.320 in 2013 — a line upon which Uribe's .273/.331/.438 would be a sizable upgrade.

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