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Rangers Had Interest In Jenks As A Starter

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The Red Sox were far from the only club to express interest in Bobby Jenks after the White Sox non-tendered him. The Rangers were one of the interested teams, and they had an unconventional idea for the right-hander to consider. Jenks told Scott Merkin of MLB.com that Texas was interested in signing him as a starter.

Jenks has never started a big league game, but he was drafted as a starter and has since discussed the idea of re-joining the rotation. However, he turned down the Rangers’ overtures to sign in Boston.

Though he sounds excited to join the Red Sox, Jenks admits that they were not his “first hope.” He had wanted to continue his White Sox career, but the team moved on and signed Jesse Crain. Jenks didn’t mind getting non-tendered, since that was a business decision, but he did not like Chicago’s decision to offer his former number (45) to Adam Dunn.

Jenks says the White Sox offered him a two-year deal worth $10MM, or $2MM less than what the Red Sox signed him for. However, a White Sox official told Merkin that the team didn’t make a formal offer.

White Sox Sign Jesse Crain

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The White Sox officially signed righty reliever Jesse Crain to a three-year, $13MM deal today.  He'll earn $4MM in 2011 and $4.5MM per year in 2012-13, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  Crain was rumored to be seeking a contract on par with Joaquin Benoit's, and Chicago has been looking for relief help all offseason.  The Sox lost about half of their 2010 bullpen innings with the departures of Bobby Jenks, J.J. Putz, Scott Linebrink, and others.

Crain, 29, had the best season of his career in 2010, pitching to a 3.04 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9, and 39.2% groundball rate in 68 innings for the Twins. Crain missed most of the 2007 season due to shoulder surgery and then missed a few weeks with a shoulder strain in 2009. He doesn't have much of a platoon split, holding righties to a .239/.299/.359 batting line in his career compared to .238/.332/.366 for lefties. 

With the White Sox deal Crain becomes the fourth reliever to sign a three-year contract this winter, joining Benoit, Scott Downs, and former teammate Matt Guerrier.  He also drew interest from the Rockies and Red Sox.  Crain is represented by SFX.

MLB.com's Peter Gammons and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported on the deal as it developed.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Yankees, Mets, Others Considering Freddy Garcia

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The Yankees, Mets, and others have asked for medicals on free agent starter Freddy Garcia, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News was first to report the Yankees' request.  The White Sox have also checked in, tweets Feinsand's colleague Andy Martino.  Heyman opines that Garcia is the best free agent starter left after Carl Pavano.

Garcia, 35, posted a 4.64 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9, and 40.7% groundball rate for the White Sox in 157 innings this year.  It was his highest innings total since 2006, though he did miss time with back pain.  He's not close to signing and is believed to be seeking less than Jon Garland's $5MM guarantee, tweets Martino.

As for Heyman's contention?  Garcia's competition includes injury bounceback candidates like Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis, Chris Young, and Brad Penny, as well as innings guys like Kevin Millwood, Rodrigo Lopez, and Dave Bush.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Jackson, Lee, Crain

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These days it takes more than a dollar to get a can of soda from a vending machine.  Back in 1936, a dollar represented the late Bob Feller's signing bonus with the Indians.  Pretty nice bargain for the Tribe on that one.

Onto tonight's links…

  • Orlando Hudson is running out of suitors, but ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill suggests the Blue Jays could be a potential match, with Aaron Hill moving to third base to accomodate Hudson at second.  Hudson was originally drafted by Toronto in 1997 and played four seasons for the Jays before being dealt to Arizona following the 2005 season.
  • The White Sox are pushing their payroll to new heights, and ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla suggests they might consider trading Edwin Jackson to create some salary breathing room.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (Twitter link) has the breakdown of Cliff Lee's annual salaries with the Phillies.  Lee will earn $11MM next season, $21.5MM in 2012, and then $25MM per season from 2013 to 2015, plus the previously-reported vesting option for 2016.  Rosenthal tweets that Lee's $27.5MM vesting option in 2016 becomes a club option for the same total if it fails to vest, but in such a situation it seems a lock that Philadelphia would just pay Lee the $12.5MM buyout.
  • There was no pressure put on Lee by the players' union to take the largest contract offer, says Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  "As long as a player makes an informed choice, we're happy," says MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner.
  • Jesse Crain spoke about his all-but-official contract with the White Sox in an interview on KFAN 1130 AM in Minneapolis, and MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports on the highlights of the chat.  Crain said he was swayed by the chance to close games and Chicago's offer of a three-year deal, also noting that "the Twins didn't really make an offer" to re-sign him.
  • Washington GM Mike Rizzo says Oakland's offer for Josh Willingham was better than any of the offers he received for Willingham before last year's trade deadline, tweets MASNsports.com's Ben Goessling.
  • The Tigers have the young pitching (Andy Oliver or Jacob Turner) and middle infield prospects (Danny Worth, Will Rhymes, Scott Sizemore) to meet Kansas City's asking price for Zack Greinke, writes Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.  Count me as skeptical — it's hard to see the Royals dealing Greinke to a division rival unless they got an absolute monster of an offer, and they'd probably ask Detroit for both Oliver and Turner just as a starting point.
  • ESPN's Keith Law covered such topics as Jay Bruce's extension, the 2011 amateur draft and the spate of multi-year contracts for relievers in an online chat with fans today.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com outlines ten of the major holes that various contending teams still need to fill this winter.

White Sox Offer Kerry Wood Two Years

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The White Sox just landed Jesse Crain, but they aren't done yet. Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of The Chicago Tribune report that the ChiSox have offered Kerry Wood a two-year contract. 

Wood, 33, is reportedly seeking a two-year deal worth $12MM, and interestingly enough a Wood-White Sox rumor was shot down last week. The former Cub pitched to a 3.13 ERA in 46 innings in 2010, aided greatly by his brilliant stint with the Yankees. After being acquired at the trade deadline, Wood pitched to a 0.69 ERA with 10.7 K/9 in 26 innings with New York, though he walked way too many batters at 6.2 per nine innings.

Odds & Ends: Counsell, Ibanez, Johnson, Sheffield

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Exactly one year ago, the Angels signed Hideki Matsui. Today, the slugger finalized his one-year agreement with the A's. Here are today's links…

White Sox Sign Brian Bruney

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The White Sox signed reliever Brian Bruney to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy.  Bruney, 29 in February, struggled mightily in 17 2/3 innings for the Nationals this year after coming over from the Yankees in a trade.  After a May release he hooked on with the Brewers and Mets, but did not return to the Majors.  The Sox also re-signed 28-year-old minor league catcher Donny Lucy, according to Eddy.

Spanish Links: Viciedo, Padilla, Dessens

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Lest we forget, there are still eight million more native Spanish-speakers in the world than English-speakers…

  • Dayan Viciedo is "well-viewed" within the White Sox organization and will fight it out with Brent Morel for the starting third base job this spring, a source from Chicago told Luis Rangel at Miami-based El Nuevo Herald. The source said Viciedo is working daily with third base coach Joey Cora to improve his mobility and fielding at the hot corner, though his appeal to the organization remains primarily through offense, as evidenced by a .308/.321/.519 line in 106 PAs last summer. Kenny Williams indicated in August that the 21-year-old Cuban prospect was untouchable, though rumors of his availability have revived recently.
  • The Dodgers signed Vicente Padilla to do a little of everything, but if he becomes a full-time starter, the deal he signed last week could end up looking a lot different. Gerald Hernandez at the Nicaraguan paper La Prensa detailed Padilla's contract, which stipulates that if he matches his career high of 33 starts, his $2MM salary will jump to $8MM. Against Padilla's favor: Each of the Dodgers' front five started at least 30 games in 2010.
  • Reliever Elmer Dessens hasn't received an offer to re-sign with the Mets, a source close to the pitcher told Fernando Ballesteros at the Mexican blog Puro Beisbol. The source added that Dessens, who will turn 40 in early January, is currently in negotiations with one team from each league. He posted a 2.30 ERA for the Mets in 47 innings last season while both walking and striking out 3.06 per nine, and he has said he is only interested in a guaranteed major league deal.

Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Pavano, Buehrle, Millwood

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names the winners and losers of the Winter Meetings in his newest piece, with the Red Sox, Nationals, and White Sox topping his list of winners. Cafardo also shares a handful of hot stove notes. Here are the highlights:

  • Before they signed Carl Crawford, the Red Sox "did a ton of work" on Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran.
  • Carl Pavano figures to wait for Cliff Lee to sign, so he can see the type of offers he receives as the top pitcher on the market. Cafardo thinks Pavano could be a backup plan for the Rangers if they don't land Lee, though the Twins still remain the favorites for the 34-year-old. Texas has also inquired on Matt Garza and James Shields.
  • The White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle, whose contract expires after the 2011 season. Buehrle earned ten and five rights this year, so he'd have the option of vetoing any trade.
  • Agent Scott Boras says a strong market is developing for Kevin Millwood.
  • Team officials that spoke to Cafardo had mixed opinions on free agent backstop Russell Martin. One opined that Martin "can't call a game," while another raved about the enthusiasm the catcher brings each day.
  • According to Cafardo, the Red Sox were the only team to discuss Justin Upton with the Diamondbacks, balking at Kevin Towers' insistence that Daniel Bard be included in a potential deal.
  • The Astros would have interest in trading Matt Lindstrom and Jeff Keppinger.
  • Grant Balfour is seeking a three-year contract. The Red Sox have looked into him, but are hoping Matt Guerrier will accept their offer. As Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston noted today (via Twitter), Guerrier is one of the top relief targets for Boston, along with Brian Fuentes and Jesse Crain.

White Sox Shopping Carlos Quentin?

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SATURDAY,1:40pm: White Sox GM Kenny Williams is hoping for a "Carlos Lee-type return" in a deal for Quentin, a scout confirmed to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).  The White Sox sent Lee to Milwaukee following the 2004 season for Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino, and a player to be named later (Travis Hinton).

If Willliams can't get a deal done for Quentin, Cowley tweets that he will instead look to move Dayan Viciedo or Mark Teahen.  However, Williams recognizes that the return won't be as much.

10:17am: Kenny Williams shot down the Quentin trade talk, telling Dave van Dyck of The Chicago Tribune that it's untrue (Twitter links). Williams added that he will not move a piece of his everyday lineup for bullpen help.

FRIDAY, 7:04pm: The White Sox are "actively looking" to move Carlos Quentin for a package that includes at least one reliever, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  The Sox "are asking a lot so far," according to Cowley's sources, so it's possible they may just be gauging the market at this point, though we know at least one team (Philadelphia) has shown interest in Quentin.

Since his breakout 2008 campaign (a .965 OPS and a fifth-place finish in MVP voting), Quentin has battled injuries and posted a .240/.334/.469 line over the past two seasons.  The outfielder is headed into his second arbitration year; he and the Sox avoided the process last season by agreeing on a $3.2MM contract. 

Quentin's name came up in trade rumors for Adam Dunn over the summer and more recently for Colby Rasmus.  Quentin's terrible outfield glove (a -32.7 UZR/150 in right field last year and a -25.2 UZR/150 as a left fielder in 2009) may leave him with no alternate spot in the White Sox lineup now that Dunn and Paul Konerko are firmly entrenched at the first base and DH spots.  We know the Sox are looking for bullpen help, so they may feel that need and Quentin's poor defense outweighs what he might provide at the plate.

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