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White Sox Notes: Buehrle, Danks, Floyd

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The White Sox went all-in in 2011, only to finish with a disappointing 79-83 record. Here's the latest on the team as preparations for Robin Ventura's first season in the dugout begin…

  • Mark Buehrle has told the White Sox he's not going to give them a hometown discount, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter). Approximately ten teams, including the Marlins, Yankees, Red Sox and Rangers are interested in the left-hander.
  • The White Sox are drawing trade interest in John Danks and Gavin Floyd, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Large-market teams may be drawn to Danks, the more expensive of the two, while small-market teams may prefer Floyd, who will earn $7MM in 2012 and can be retained for $9.5MM with a club option for 2013. 
  • The Rangers are believed to be interested in Danks, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Texas selected Danks with the ninth overall pick of the 2003 draft and traded him to Chicago for Brandon McCarthy in 2006.
  • Outfielder Carlos Quentin may be the most likely White Sox player to be traded, as Rosenthal points out.
  • The White Sox also announced that they signed left-handers Donnie Veal and Jose Quintana.

Minor Moves: White Sox, Indians, Valdes

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The latest minor moves…

  • The White Sox announced that they signed left-handers Donnie Veal and Jose Quintana. Veal, 27, posted a 4.22 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in the Pirates' system this past season. Quintana, 22, posted a 2.91 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 for the Yankees' Class A team in 2011.
  • The Indians announced that they signed catcher Michel Hernandez to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training. The 33-year-old hit .273/.384/.381 in the upper minors of the Indians' and Orioles' systems in 2011.
  • The Phillies have signed left-handed reliever Raul Valdes to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Valdes pitched 12 total innings for the Yankees and Cardinals in 2011 after spending the 2010 season with the Mets. In 63 2/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A this past season, Valdes posted a 4.38 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
  • The Twins re-signed Brian Dinkelman to a minor league deal, according to Morosi (on Twitter).
  • The Brewers re-signed Erick Almonte, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 33-year-old utility player appeared in 16 games for the Brewers in 2011, playing first base and right field. Almonte spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he hit .303/.380/.447.
  • The Mariners signed right-hander Jeff Marquez to a minor league deal, according to his agency, Sosnick Cobbe Sports (via Twitter). Marquez, a first-round pick in 2004, was granted free agency by the Yankees last week.

Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers Interested In Buehrle

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6:05pm: It's highly unlikely that the Yankees will make a serious run for Buehrle, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).

1:54pm: The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers are interested in free agent lefty Mark Buehrle, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and the Marlins are meeting with him today.  Buehrle, 32, posted a 3.59 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9, and 44.9% groundball rate in 205 1/3 innings this year.  The long time White Sox starter has pitched 200+ innings in every season since 2001.

The Marlins and Blue Jays are the teams most aggressively pursuing trades for starting pitchers, add Rosenthal and Morosi.  One GM said of the Jays' Alex Anthopoulos, "You can’t pin him down. He has interest in every one of your players."

James Shields, Wade Davis, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Jair Jurrjens, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Chad Billingsley, and Wandy Rodriguez are the pitchers "known or thought to be available in trades," according to the FOX writers.  Cahill and Billingsley are the new names here, but it's unclear whether they fall under "known" or "thought."  The availability of Rodriguez will depend on whether Jim Crane is approved as new Astros owner next week, as Crane does not share Drayton McLane's reluctance to move the 32-year-old.

Minor Moves: McPherson, Jones, Orioles

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Here’s where we’ll keep track of today’s minor moves…

  • The White Sox re-signed Dallas McPherson, according to Sosnick Cobbe Sports (on Twitter). The former top prospect appeared in 11 games with the White Sox in 2011, spending most of the season at Triple-A. The 31-year-old posted a .283/.334/.505 line with 20 homers in Charlotte.
  • The Marlins signed Beau Jones, according to Sosnick Cobbe Sports, the left-hander’s agency, on Twitter. The former first round draft pick spent most of the 2011 season with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, where he posted a 3.62 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 62 innings of relief.
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter says the team signed a minor league free agent yesterday, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter).

AL Central Notes: Chen, La Russa, Buehrle, Tigers

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Justin Verlander was the big winner as the 2011 Players Choice Awards were announced today.  Verlander's peers selected him as both the 2011 AL Outstanding Pitcher and the 2011 Player Of The Year.  Could this be an omen for the AL MVP result in a few weeks?

Here's some other news from the AL Central…

  • Bruce Chen tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he has already received calls from two teams interested in the veteran southpaw.  Despite this outside interest, Chen says he wishes to remain with the Royals.  "Kansas City has expressed numerous times that they would like to sign me back,” Chen said. “We have a real good relationship, and we’re making progress." 
  • There is "some talk" that Tony La Russa could become a consultant with the White Sox, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).  La Russa, who managed the Sox from 1979-86, would work with rookie manager Robin Ventura.
  • Mark Buehrle is "wide-open" to the possibility of joining a number of different teams, his agent Jeff Berry tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Buehrle has said in the past that he only wished to pitch for the White Sox or his home-state Cardinals, but also said last month that he would be interested in pitching in the National League for the first time in his career.
  • Unlike last winter, the Tigers will take their time in perusing the free agent market this offseason, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck.
  • A few tweaks at third base, backup catcher and the bullpen could be all it takes to push the Tigers to a championship next year, writes Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press.
  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian discusses the Indians' plans for third base next year, the chances of Kosuke Fukudome re-signing in Cleveland and other topics in a reader mailbag.

Latest On Orioles’ GM Search: Friedman, Hahn

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Orioles director of player development John Stockstill and Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson are candidates to become Baltimore's next GM, but they aren't alone. Jerry Dipoto is now the Angels' GM and Tony LaCava turned down an offer from the Orioles to remain in Toronto, so the Orioles are expanding their search. Here's the latest, with the most recent updates up top:

  • The Orioles would like to interview Dodgers GM Ned Colletti if he leaves Los Angeles, according to Kubatko.
  • The Orioles have requested permission to interview Andrew Friedman of the Rays, Rick Hahn of the White Sox and Mike Radcliff of the Twins, according to Kubatko (on Twitter).
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains that the Orioles haven't yet contacted the Rangers about executives such as Thad Levine or A.J. Preller. Connolly suggests former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette and current Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer could be candidates for the position.
  • Scott Proefrock, the Phillies' assistant GM, will interview for the Orioles' GM vacancy, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Proefrock is the Orioles' former assistant GM.
  • LaCava said his decision to stay in Toronto was about the Blue Jays, not the Orioles. But Danny Knobler of CBS Sports hears that his decision was about the Orioles. LaCava wanted to make front office changes that owner Peter Angelos refused to approve, according to Knobler. LaCava would have obtained a competitive salary from the Orioles.
  • Knobler hears that Watson and Stockstill are “very unlikely” to be offered the job.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, who reported this morning that the Orioles are expanding their search, notes that manager Buck Showalter and director of baseball operations Matt Klentak are handling the front office responsibilities for now.
  • Kubatko adds that the Orioles have contacted the Rays, White Sox, Twins and Phillies for permission to interview GM candidates from the teams' front offices.
  • For a complete look at MLBTR's GM Candidates, click here. Two people on the list, Jerry Dipoto (#1) and Ben Cherington (#4), have already landed GM jobs.

Quick Hits: Price, Aardsma, Willingham, Angels

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Happy Halloween to MLBTR's readers! We've already seen C.C. Sabathia sign an extension and Tony La Russa retire today. Here are some more updates from around MLB…

  • Rays left-hander David Price opted out of the contract he signed when Tampa Bay drafted him, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. He's still under team control through 2015 as an arbitration eligible player, however. Price could earn $7-8MM in 2012 through arbitration according to MLBTR's projections, so declining his $2.433MM option was merely a formality.
  • David Aardsma, who became a free agent today, wouldn't rule out returning to the Mariners, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).
  • Agent Matt Sosnick told Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group that he expects Josh Willingham to sign a three-year deal and doesn’t expect his client to re-sign with the Athletics (Twitter link).
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Yankees executive Billy Eppler was the runner-up to Jerry Dipoto in the Angels' search for a GM (Twitter link).
  • The White Sox announced that they hired Jeff Manto to be their hitting coach, Joe McEwing  to be their third base coach and Mark Parent to be their bench coach (Twitter link).
  • Dave Cameron introduces FanGraphs' top 50 free agents of the offseason. MLBTR's list of top 50 free agents is on its way as well.

White Sox Exercise Option On Jason Frasor

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The White Sox exercised their $3.75MM club option on reliever Jason Frasor, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.

The Sox have a good collection of relievers under contract for 2012, but exercising the option on Frasor makes sense since he has positive trade value.  The 34-year-old Chicago native posted a 3.60 ERA, 8.6 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9, and 37% groundball rate in 60 innings for the Blue Jays and White Sox this year.

Quick Hits: White Sox, Indians, Sabathia, Sizemore

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A grab-bag of links on the first Sunday of what should be a fun offseason….

  • Don't expect the White Sox to pick up any big-ticket players on the free agent market, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  The club is unlikely to bring Juan Pierre back in 2012 and if they look to replace him with a traditional leadoff type, Merkin expects the team to do so via trade.
  • It would be a surprise if the Indians re-signed Chad Durbin as the club has several promising young relievers who could take his spot, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.
  • The Yankees will make a contract offer to C.C. Sabathia this weekend, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. However, most people expect the lefty to opt out of his current deal and "look around."
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff predicts destinations and contract details for his top 30 free agents, in slideshow form.
  • The Rangers, Nationals, and Brewers top Buster Olney's list of potential landing spots for Grady Sizemore (ESPN insider link).
  • Hisashi Iwakuma confirmed that he will attempt to sign with an MLB team again this winter, according to NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman (via Sponichi). Iwakuma was unable to work out a deal with the Athletics last offseason.
  • New Angels GM Jerry Dipoto will have complete decision-making power, says Angels owner Arte Moreno. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times has details and quotes.
  • The Padres will hire Phil Plantier as their new hitting coach, tweets FOX's Ken Rosenthal.

Williams: White Sox Not In “Shopping Mode”

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The White Sox are a coming off a disappointing season in which they finished 79-83 and 16 games back of the Tigers in the AL Central. A number of high-profile players had poor showings in 2011, but GM Kenny Williams said in a radio interview today that he will not be shopping players this offseason. Daryl Van Schouwen of The Chicago Sun Times provides a recap of the interview…

"Everyone I've heard speak on it is right," said Williams. "We have talented people, and we did not achieve what we wanted to based on some of those talented people not performing. But we're in a position where we have to look at the future. So I will not be in shopping mode; I'll be listening to see what the interest is in some of our players. Quite frankly, I don't expect people to try to blow our doors down for some of our guys who had down years. Their value is going to be down a little bit."

Williams added that if he does move any of what he called the team's "valuable pieces," that it would be for Major League ready talent, not minor leaguers. He cited Dayan Viciedo, Tyler Flowers, Alejandro de Aza, Brent Morel, and Gordon Beckham as the team's young core.

"We have a nice young, kind of youthful movement," said Williams. "[Players acquired in trades] would have to fit into that. Not A-ball players, Double-A type. They would have to be Major League ready and potential impact players."

In our Offseason Outlook, Ben Nicholson-Smith noted that the White Sox could choose to trade players like Carlos Quentin, John Danks, and/or Gavin Floyd to infuse the roster with some young talent. Quentin and Danks are the team two arbitration cases.

Adam Dunn and Alex Rios, two players that had extremely disappointing seasons, figure to be unmovable given their contracts. Both guys are under contract for another three seasons, with Dunn owed $44MM and Rios owed $39.5MM. Williams said he's "got a great idea or two" about how to help Dunn improve going forward, but said he would speak to the slugger about that privately.

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