Odds & Ends: Jones, Mets, Yankees, Guerrero, Greinke
A few more links for Wednesday night…
- In addition to all the other trade targets and free agents they've been eyeing lately, the Rockies have inquired on Andruw Jones, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman.
- The Mets completed two of their four second-round managerial interviews today. Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork has extensive post-interview remarks from Bob Melvin and a briefer comment from Chip Hale, with Terry Collins and Wally Backman due up tomorrow. Rubin tweets that Sandy Alderson expects to announce the team's new skipper by next Tuesday.
- The Yankees hope to further their discussions with Derek Jeter and Cliff Lee this week, writes Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. Lee is "about ready to entertain offers," Nolan Ryan tells Heyman (Twitter link).
- Some opinions from past and present Red Sox players: David Ortiz guarantees Vladimir Guerrero will return to the Rangers, while Lou Merloni argues that the Sox need to trade Jonathan Papelbon. The Dallas Morning News and WEEI.com have the details.
- A baseball official tells Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that he could see the Rangers, Brewers, and Blue Jays becoming involved in trade talks for Zack Greinke.
- They've made plenty of moves already this offseason, but the Marlins may not be done yet. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post passes along a quote (via Twitter) from Larry Beinfest that suggests the team will pursue a starting pitcher.
- MLive's Steve Kornacki thinks Joaquin Benoit is "absolutely" worth the $16.5MM the Tigers spent on him.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports considers Ken Williams' offseason plans – A through E.
Rockies Inquire On Justin Upton, Gavin Floyd
The Rockies have contacted the Diamondbacks and White Sox to inquire on Justin Upton and Gavin Floyd, respectively, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Both teams are said to be listening to offers for their respective players.
We've rounded up the rest of today's Upton rumors here, with the latest from Jayson Stark indicating that Arizona seems "genuinely open" to moving their young outfielder. According to a team official that spoke to Renck, the D'Backs would be open to dealing Upton within the division, if the return was significant enough.
Meanwhile, we heard today that the White Sox would be willing to discuss trading Floyd, and Renck says the Sox have asked the Rockies about Ian Stewart. Colorado doesn't currently have a third baseman who could replace Stewart, but as Renck reported earlier, the club has interest in a handful of players who could handle the hot corner.
Despite their interest in potential trade candidates, the Rockies may still use free agency to fill their holes, as owner Dick Monfort admits: "We are really (reluctant) about giving up young players (in trades)." According to Renck, the Rockies also have interest in Scott Kazmir and "continue to monitor" the Victor Martinez situation.
Rangers, White Sox, Blue Jays Interested In Olivo
Miguel Olivo is drawing "varying levels of interest" from several clubs, including the Rangers, White Sox, and Blue Jays, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi adds that the Red Sox could also be interested if Victor Martinez signs elsewhere.
Olivo is seeking a two-year contract, so it appears likely that he would turn down an arbitration offer from the Jays, who acquired him from the Rockies earlier this month. In that case, perhaps Toronto's interest would dwindle, since they'd earn a supplemental pick if Olivo signed with another team.
With John Buck and Ramon Hernandez already locked up to deals, the catching market behind V-Mart is thinning rapidly. Check out our list of remaining free agent backstops here.
Odds & Ends: Gordon, Anderson, Phillies, Park
Links for Wednesday, the second day of the GM Meetings, as Ron Gardenhire and Bud Black take home Manager of the Year honors…
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says he'd like to add starting pitching depth, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
- The Rockies, Blue Jays, and Athletics are among the teams that have shown interest in Alex Gordon according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. "I surely don't want [a trade] to happen, but it's part of baseball and it could happen," said Gordon.
- Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star reports that outfielder turned pitcher Brian Anderson has opted for free agency after being designated for assignment by the Royals.
- David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Phillies GM Ruben Amaro reiterated that he has not been given a firm payroll by ownership. Their payroll has increased steadily over the last several years, peaking at approximately $138MM last season.
- The Pirates and reliever Chan Ho Park have mutual interest in a new contract, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, but Langosch believes the Bucs would only do a minor league deal. Park posted a 3.49 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 for the Pirates this year after coming over from the Yankees. Jeremy Bonderman is also on the Pirates' radar, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf confirmed to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Sox asked the Marlins for a particular player as compensation for talking to manager Ozzie Guillen. Reinsdorf told Wittenmyer the player was not Mike Stanton; the Sun-Times writer speculates it may have been Logan Morrison.
- As you might expect, the Rays are not in a big rush to trade B.J. Upton given the loss of Carl Crawford, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal feels the Rays will also be reluctant to trade a starting pitcher right now, but would be willing to part with shortstop Jason Bartlett.
Minor Deals: Balentien, Bailey, Hoffpauir, Miller
Collecting the day's minor league signings…
- Outfielder Wladimir Balentien is joining the Yakult Swallows in Japan, according to this report passed along on Twitter by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman. The 26-year-old hit .282/.337/.536 with 25 home runs in 452 Triple-A plate appearances for the Reds' affiliate.
- The Twins signed 32-year-old outfielder/first baseman Jeff Bailey, reports Seth Stohs. Bailey hit .289/.387/.462 with 12 home runs in 564 Triple-A plate appearances for the Diamondbacks' affiliate.
- The Twins also signed infielder Chase Lambin, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The 31-year-old hit .252/.327/.414 with 15 homers in 548 plate appearances for the National's Triple-A affiliate in 2011. He has never played in the the big league, but did spend 2009 in Japan.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports that Micah Hoffpauir has signed a one-year deal with the Nippon Ham fighters. The 30-year-old hit .251/.312/.421 in 394 plate appearances with the Cubs over the last three seasons.
- The Mariners have signed right-hander Justin Miller according to Eddy (via Twitter). In 24.1 innings with the Dodgers last year, the 33-year-old pitched to a 4.44 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. The Mariners are his ninth organization.
- Seattle also signed shortstop Sean Kazmar, tweets Eddy. He hit .275/.326/.381 for San Diego's Triple-A affiliate this year, and saw some big league action with them back in 2008.
- The Rays signed righty reliever Cory Wade, says Eddy (via Twitter). The 27-year-old had a 2.27 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 71.1 innings for the Dodgers in 2008, but he missed most of 2009 and all of 2010 after having shoulder surgery.
- Eddy tweets that the Athletics have signed outfielder Jai Miller. They lost him on a waiver claim to Kansas City back in April. The 25-year-old hit .252/.326/.490 in Triple-A last year, then .236/.300/.345 in 60 plate appearances with the Royals.
- The White Sox signed third baseman Dallas McPherson, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The 30-year-old hit .267/.339/.541 with 22 home runs in 354 plate appearances for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate this year. He hasn't spent significant time in the bigs since '06.
- The Phillies signed lefty reliever Dan Meyer, reports Bill Evans of the Gloucester County Times (hat tip to Matt Gelb). The 29-year-old signed with his hometown team after drawing interest from the Giants, Astros, Pirates, Padres, and Twins. Meyer, a big part of the Tim Hudson trade six years ago, had a strong '09 but was designated for assignment by the Marlins twice this year. He posted a 3.38 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 40 Triple-A innings in 2010.
Stark On Cubs, Kemp, Werth, Quentin
ESPN's Jayson Stark leads his latest Rumblings and Grumblings with scouts' opinions on pitchers Jorge de la Rosa, Vicente Padilla, Carl Pavano, Brian Fuentes, Randy Choate, Joaquin Benoit, and Koji Uehara. His rumors:
- Adrian Gonzalez's labrum cleanup surgery downgrades the chances of an offseason trade considerably.
- The Cubs "seem a lot less inclined" to trade Kosuke Fukudome and Carlos Zambrano, though some clubs believe they'd discuss the latter. Stark says there's a vibe the Cubs will not go after Adam Dunn for their first base opening, instead looking for an above-average defender.
- One team official who kicked the tires says of the Dodgers, "They ain't trading Matt Kemp."
- The Phillies are far apart with Jayson Werth and are exploring right field replacements. They've done extensive groundwork on Chicago's Carlos Quentin, and are considering Jeff Francoeur or Jermaine Dye for lesser roles. The Red Sox, by the way, are not willing to spend $100MM on Werth.
White Sox Willing To Discuss Gavin Floyd
The White Sox are willing to discuss righty Gavin Floyd, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. I'm sure the return would have to be significant, as Floyd is locked up affordably through 2012 with a club option for '13.
Floyd, 28 in January, posted a 4.08 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9, and career-best 49.9% groundball rate in 2010. He'd be preferable to almost every other available starter, even Cliff Lee if you're not keen on top dollar six-year free agent commitments for pitchers. The Brewers, Rangers, Yankees, Marlins, Nationals, Astros, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Rockies, and Dodgers are among the teams I'd expect to have interest in Floyd.
Heyman On Weeks, Matsui, Pujols
SI's Jon Heyman is gathering all kinds of information at the GM Meetings; here's the latest…
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin will talk to second baseman Rickie Weeks today about a possible extension, tweets Heyman. The arbitration eligible Weeks is one year away from free agency.
- Heyman tweets that the White Sox are talking to free agent designated hitter Hideki Matsui, who would fit as one of two lefty bats they hope to acquire. The Sox have already had preliminary discussions with Adam Dunn's agent. Heyman says the Cubs have not appeared to be big suitors for Dunn so far.
- Regarding Albert Pujols, Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt does not want to repeat Alex Rodriguez's ten-year, $275MM contract. In fact, he believes the Yankees would retract A-Rod's deal if they could. Heyman floated an eight-year, $240MM deal to DeWitt, who questioned the $30MM salary.
- Expensive closers Jonathan Papelbon and Francisco Cordero are on the trade market, with the Red Sox and Reds willing to kick in money. Still, Heyman sees the Red Sox retaining Papelbon, whose trade market is weak.
- Heyman could see something around three years and $57MM for Derek Jeter.
- Heyman believes the Orioles are looking at Paul Konerko and/or Adrian Beltre for their corner infield openings.
White Sox Meet With Dunn’s Agent
While many expect the Cubs to pursue Adam Dunn this offseason, it was their neighbors to the south that met with Dunn's agent recently according to ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine. White Sox GM Kenny Williams had preliminary discussions with Dunn's people to gauge what the free agent first baseman is seeking in terms of a contract. One GM said that three years and $40MM would be the starting point for discussions.
"Anytime you spend time opening up dialogue and building on relationships, it can't help but to forge a deal at some time," said Williams. "Whether that helps this year or not remains to be seen."
"We are in the process right now of determining whether or not adding to the current mix we have would be the most prudent thing to do and gives us the best chance to win a championship or turning some of our players into young, impact guys," he added. "What we don't want to do is we don't want to be in the middle."
The Nationals had a three-year contract offer on the table for the last three months, so it makes sense that three years would be a starting point if he turned that down. Dunn, 31, hit .260/.356/.536 with 38 homers this season, and in terms of OPS it was his least productive season since 2006. I broke down his free agent stock just a few days ago.
Melvin: “We’re Not Shopping Prince”
Prince Fielder has just one more year to go before becoming eligible for free agency, and as a result many around the game expect the Brewers to shop their hulking first baseman. GM Doug Melvin told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that isn't the case however, saying explicitly "We're not shopping Prince." Here's the full quote…
"We're not shopping Prince,'' said the Brewers GM. "I'd like to keep him. He's a homegrown player who wants to play every inning of every game. But we'd like to get something done by the end of the off-season. I don't want to negotiate during the year.''
Melvin indicated that the end of Spring Training is the team's deadline for working out an extension with their two-time All Star. Fielder, 26 and a Scott Boras client, is a .279/.385/.535 career hitter, averaging 38 home runs in his five full seasons as a big leaguer.
Nightengale also lists a number of players that are already "under discussion," including Zack Greinke, Dan Uggla, Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks, Jonathan Papelbon, Nick Swisher, Jason Bartlett, Mark Reynolds, and both Justin and B.J. Upton.