Heyman On Floyd, Gregg, Soriano
The Brewers, Red Sox and Phillies are the three biggest winners of the offseason so far for Jon Heyman of SI.com. Heyman provides some rumors, but not before including the Nationals and Pirates on his list of offseason winners. Here are the details:
- The White Sox "flirted with the idea" of trading Gavin Floyd, but decided to keep their rotation together until Jake Peavy returns. The Rockies inquired on Floyd earlier in the offseason.
- Kevin Gregg is talking to clubs other than the Orioles. Two weeks ago, Gregg's agent told the Baltimore Sun that "a few teams" were still involved and those clubs still appear to be in the mix for the former Blue Jays closer.
- The Yankees checked in on Rafael Soriano, according to Heyman. Joel Sherman of the New York Post and ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested earlier in the month that the Yankees' interest in Soriano was cautious at best.
Unfinished Business: AL Central
We've covered the unfinished business for teams in the NL East, Central, and West as well as the AL West. Now it's time to tackle the AL Central.
- White Sox: Swingman or reliever. A week ago, MLB.com's Scott Merkin opined that Chicago's biggest remaining need was a fourth or fifth starter type who could move to the bullpen when Jake Peavy returns. Or, the Sox could add another reliever and put Chris Sale in the rotation to start the season. GM Kenny Williams could theoretically clear some payroll space by moving Mark Teahen. Another remaining offseason goal could be to lock up John Danks, who is entering his second arbitration year.
- Indians: Veteran starting pitcher, third baseman, utility infielder, Shin-Soo Choo extension. A Choo extension is unlikely, but MLB.com's Jordan Bastian suggests the Tribe will attempt to find bargains for the other needs. Here's a look at the unsigned third base candidates. Bartolo Colon is the type of pitcher on the radar to compete for a fifth starter job.
- Tigers: Starting pitcher, lefty reliever. MLB.com's Kelly Thesier suggested a couple weeks ago that the Tigers could add a fifth starter/swingman type as well as a lefty reliever later in the offseason. On a later conference call, GM Dave Dombrowski said he's comfortable with the team's pitching staff but remains open-minded. They were linked to Brad Penny that same day.
- Royals: Starting pitcher, reliever. The Royals' 2011 rotation is looking barren at this point, and their bullpen is light too. The additions of Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera imply that Dayton Moore likes a little veteran presence on his team, so I expect him to add some stopgaps to augment the pitching staff. Things have been quiet on the rumor front since the Zack Greinke trade, however.
- Twins: Starting pitcher, reliever(s), backup infielder, Jim Thome situation, Francisco Liriano extension. The Twins will have to figure out a Plan B if they fail to re-sign Carl Pavano. They lost Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, and likely others from the bullpen, so some kind of veteran addition seems likely. We haven't read much on the Twins' desire to re-sign Thome since this December 7th report. The Liriano idea is pure speculation on my part, but perhaps discussions will occur.
Rangers Had Interest In Jenks As A Starter
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
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
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
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
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
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…
- The Brewers are having ongoing discussions with the representatives for Craig Counsell, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter).
- If you've heard about agent Darek Braunecker, but don't know much about him, you're not alone. David Waldstein of the New York Times introduces us to Cliff Lee's agent.
- The Phillies do not intend to trade Raul Ibanez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Joe Blanton, on the other hand, is available.
- Rosenthal also notes that the Rangers and Rockies have not discussed Michael Young since the Winter Meetings (Twitter link).
- The Orioles are still talking to the representatives for Adam LaRoche, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- Indians manager Manny Acta is watching Bartolo Colon's start in the Dominican Republic tonight, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter).
- Kerry Wood told Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of the Chicago Tribune that he could see himself playing for the Cubs, but probably not for the White Sox.
- In case you were wondering, the Marlins don't intend to trade Josh Johnson, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (on Twitter).
- Gary Sheffield told Mike Ferrin and Tom Gordon of MLB Network Radio that he has discussed a potential deal with the Rays. However, manager Joe Maddon told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that the Rays have limited interest in Sheffield, though they wanted to get to know him better.
White Sox Sign Brian Bruney
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
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.