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Rosenthal On A’s, Westbrook, Uribe, Soriano

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You’ve heard by now that the A’s acquired David DeJesus, but he was far from the only bat they considered trading for. GM Billy Beane was after Josh Willingham and considered making a deal for Dan Uggla, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The A’s probably aren’t done adding offense. Beane told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’d still like to make an upgrade or two (Twitter link). Here are the rest of Rosenthal’s rumors.

  • The Red Sox aren’t likely to offer Adrian Beltre a five-year deal.
  • The Cardinals are still in contact with Jake Westbrook, but they would prefer to reach a two-year deal and Westbrook might be able to get three years from another club, so talks appear to be losing momentum.
  • Orlando Cabrera and Juan Uribe are already drawing more interest than they did at this time last year, according to Rosenthal.
  • The White Sox are checking in on Rafael Soriano and, as Rosenthal points out, that’s yet another sign that they’re open to trading or non-tendering Bobby Jenks.

Brown On Red Sox, Reynolds, Beckham

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Agent Scott Boras tells Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the changes to the offseason schedule mean he’s fielding offers for his clients earlier than usual. Here are the rest of Brown’s rumors:

  • The Astros appear to be close to re-signing Geoff Blum.
  • The Red Sox will determine how available Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder are before they start serious negotiations with top free agents. It sounds like the Padres and Brewers will at least listen to offers for their respective first basemen.
  • The D’Backs are “shopping” Mark Reynolds and looking for relievers and contact hitters.
  • Rival teams believe the White Sox will listen to offers for Gordon Beckham.
  • Gary Matthews Jr. hopes to continue playing, according to Brown.

 

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Crawford, Mets, Konerko

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Links for Tuesday night, as free agents Adam Dunn and Dave Bush celebrate birthdays…

Chicago Rumors: Dunn, Fukudome, Rasmus, Quentin

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Let's round up the latest from the Windy City in one post. First up, Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune with the latest on the Cubs…

  • The Cubbies will not go overboard with their free agent spending because they vow to decrease payroll, so GM Jim Hendry needs to get creative to placate the fan base.
  • First base is the team's first priority and they'd like to acquire a lefty bat, so Adam Dunn is a popular target. If they can't afford him, they could turn to Aubrey Huff or Victor Martinez.
  • The Cubs might need to trade Kosuke Fukudome before signing any free agents, which won't be easy since he's owed $13.5MM in 2011. Hendry did find a taker for Milton Bradley last offseason though, so you never know.
  • Starting pitching is also on the team's wishlist. Jon Garland could be one option after hinting at being interested in pitching for the Cubs last offseason.
  • They would also like to add a veteran reliever to take some pressure off their young kids, but it's unclear if Kerry Wood will take a pay cut and assume a lesser role to return to the Cubs.

Now we'll head to the south side with Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune…

  • The White Sox already have $80.4MM committed to just 13 players for next season, and that doesn't include what is likely to be a sizable arbitration raise for John Danks. That puts them in a bit of bind when it comes to adding a left-handed bat.
  • They don't match up with the Cardinals for Colby Rasmus, who they're said to be targeting, though a trade is probably the route they'll have to go to add a bat.
  • GM Kenny Williams could try to fill several holes by trading one player, which he did when he sent Javier Vazquez to the Braves and Nick Swisher to the Yankees two years ago. He could use one of excess starters, perhaps Edwin Jackson or Gavin Floyd. That last part is just my speculation though.
  • The ChiSox also need to determine whether Carlos Quentin can return to his 2008 level, or if injuries will continue to take a toll.
  • They could look to make trades soon, then examine the pool of non-tenders for affordable relief help.

Five More Potential Free Agents

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SATURDAY, 10:47am: CBSSports.com reports that German, Mathis, and McCarthy all refused the minor league assignments and elected to become free agents. 

FRIDAY, 3:54pm: Two White Sox will soon hit free agency and a trio of Rangers could join them before long. Left-hander Randy Williams and catcher Donny Lucy were outrighted and will soon become free agents, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin (on Twitter).

Meanwhile, the Rangers outrighted Esteban German, Doug Mathis and Brandon McCarthy off of the 40-man roster and all three can become free agents, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. McCarthy was a non-tender candidate, though he's just 27, made 17 useful starts for the Rangers last year and posted a 3.36 ERA at Triple-A in 2010.

White Sox Interested In Extending Danks

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The White Sox are trying to create room in their budget to sign John Danks to a multiyear extension, according to Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. Danks, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season, earned $3.45MM this year in his first season as an arbitration eligible player. The White Sox would like to lock him up through 2013 or, preferably, 2014, according to Padilla’s source.

The 25-year-old logged over 200 innings for the second consecutive season in 2010, pitching to a 3.72 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He’s coming off of a strong season and a relatively large salary for a player in his first season of arbitration. Danks would probably earn roughly $5.5MM through arbitration next year, so a three-year extension could fall in the $23MM range and a four-year extension could cost $10MM or so more.

Click here for an in-depth explanation of why teams have interest in locking up young starters like Danks.

Pierzynski Yet To Hear An Offer From White Sox

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In an interview with Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio today, A.J. Pierzynski said that the White Sox have not made him an offer to return to the club in 2011. (Twitter link)  Pierzynski doesn't specify if the club has made any contact with him at all, and it's worth noting that Chicago still has three days left of exclusive negotiating time for pending free agents.  Given that Pierzynski said he would like to keep playing in Chicago "but they are going to have to want him first," however, it seems unlikely that the Sox have opened negotiations.

Pierzynski went into detail about his criteria for a new team (another Twitter link): in order, his new club must be a contender, be willing to give him a starting job, be located close to his home in Florida and along those same lines must also have their spring training camp in Florida and be a "quick flight home."  He says the Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays and Red Sox "would all be good fits."  All of these teams except the Rays were mentioned by MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith in his look at potential suitors for Pierzynski.  All make some sense on Pierzynski's checklist, though the Rangers and Padres are in Arizona for spring training and San Diego is a cross-country flight away from his home.

White Sox Re-Sign Omar Vizquel

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The White Sox re-signed infielder Omar Vizquel to a one-year deal, according to the team's Twitter feed.  The deal is worth $1.75MM, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Vizquel, 44 in April, hit .276/.341/.331 in 391 plate appearances for the White Sox this year while earning $1.375MM.  The 14-time Gold Glove winner logged innings at second base, shortstop, and third base.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Blue Jays, Wood, Jenks

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Congratulations to the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants! Here are your links as the celebration begins…

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Indians, Lopez, Brewers

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A few links to check out after the Rangers picked up their first World Series win in franchise history…

  • Torii Hunter is at the World Series for TV work, though he did mention liking the idea of Carl Crawford in an Angels' uniform according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Hunter wouldn't confirm if he's been lobbying the soon-to-be free agent outfielder.
  • In a mailbag piece, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer answers questions about the Indians chances of signing quality free agents and whether or not Javier Vazquez is a fit for them.
  • FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that Giants' lefty reliever Javier Lopez will fall short of qualifying for free agency this offseason by just five days of service time. It's a shame he won't be able to cash in on his dominant postseason (5.2 innings, one hit, one walk, six strikeouts).
  • Rosenthal also says that the Brewers are just doing their due diligence, and are expected to name a manager shortly after the World Series (Twitter link).
  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune lists the hurdles the White Sox would have to clear if they want to acquire Colby Rasmus. He also noted that St. Louis had people watching ChiSox prospects at a recent Arizona Fall League game.
  • Chad Jennings of The Journal News provide an offseason to-do list for the Yankees.
  • MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli tweets that the announcement of the Orioles' coaching staff is being held up by Don Wakamatsu. He'll be their bench coach unless he lands a managerial gig elsewhere.
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post explains what impressed him about Sandy Alderson's introductory press conference yesterday.
  • Meanwhile, Newsday's David Lennon wonders if Alderson's hiring will boost ticket sales (via Twitter). Mets' attendance has dropped from an average of 51,165 fans per game in 2008 to 32,401 in 2010 despite the opening of CitiField last season. Obviously the economy is part of the problem.
  • Jennings also passed along a lengthy quote from Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who explains his desire to make his team younger without sacrificing their ability to be competitive.
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle compares the path the Rangers and Giants took to the World Series to some of the moves the Astros made a few seasons ago.
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