Jocketty On Oswalt, Kazmir, Chapman
Reds GM Walt Jocketty expects to start Spring Training without making further changes to the team's roster, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Fay says the club will review its roster this week, but that it's "pretty well set." Here are some more notes from the GM:
- The Reds haven't been in touch with Roy Oswalt's agents in the past week. “I think he’s waiting for Texas to clear money,” Jocketty said. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark said on Friday that Oswalt isn't going to sign with the Rangers or Phillies, however. Perhaps the Red Sox or Cardinals will make a late push for the right-hander.
- The Reds are not interested in watching Scott Kazmir audition in front of scouts, Jocketty said. The free agent left-hander is looking for an opportunity with an MLB club and will pitch in front of an audience this Wednesday.
- Aroldis Chapman is healthy and the Reds intend to work him out as a starter this spring.
NL Central Links: Molina, Cards, Dempster, Reds
Congratulations to Brewers GM Doug Melvin for his induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Joining Melvin in the 2012 CBHOF class are former Major Leaguers Rheal Cormier and Rusty Staub, plus Canada's gold-medal winning baseball team from the 2011 Pan Am Games. The official induction ceremony takes place on June 23 in St. Marys, Ontario.
Some news from around the NL Central….
- Yadier Molina's contract negotiations shouldn't impact either his or the Cardinals' performance in 2012, manager Mike Matheny tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Matheny said that Albert Pujols' departure won't influence Molina's own contract situation, though Molina is understandably disappointed that his good friend left St. Louis to sign with the Angels.
- Also from Strauss, he runs through 11 outstanding questions facing the Cardinals heading into the season.
- Ryan Dempster expressed an interest in remaining with the Cubs for the rest of career during an interview on MLB Network Radio's First Pitch on Thursday (interview highlights courtesy of CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney). Dempster exercised a $14MM player option to stay with the Cubs in 2012 but it's uncertain if the rebuilding Cubs would try to bring him back in free agency.
- The Reds' current TV contract is believed to run through 2016 and pays the team around $10MM per year, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Fay thinks the Reds will need a major upgrade in their next cable contract to compete with teams like the Angels and Padres, who have completed, or are close to competing, much more lucractive TV deals.
- MLB.com's Tom Singer thinks Edwin Jackson (and agent Scott Boras) made a mistake in turning down one-year and three-year offers from the Pirates to sign a one-year, $11MM deal with the Nationals. Singer feels Jackson would've re-established his value better pitching in the NL Central on the one-year contract, and the three-year deal would've given Jackson some security against either a drop in form or getting "swallowed up by a market that might include the likes of Matt Cain, Zack Greinke and Cole Hamels."
Reds Designate Carlos Fisher For Assignment
The Reds designated righty Carlos Fisher to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Ryan Ludwick, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Jeff Francis' minor league deal with the Reds was also finalized.
Fisher, 28, has compiled a 4.74 ERA in 98 2/3 innings across stints with the Reds in each of the last three seasons. Fisher, a native of Duarte, California, was drafted by the Reds in the 11th round in 2005.
Quick Hits: Mets, Phillips, Brewers
Here are some notes from around MLB to cap off a day that saw Billy Beane, Clayton Kershaw and Elvis Andrus agree to extensions with their respective clubs…
- The Mets have “pretty much stopped pursuing” left-handed hitting outfielders, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The Mets had been linked to free agents such as Raul Ibanez, Kosuke Fukudome and Johnny Damon, but it now appears that they’ll take a wait-and-see approach.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that the team isn’t any closer to an extension with Brandon Phillips. The GM said the sides haven’t had the chance to talk and hope to discuss a deal within a few weeks.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that he is committed to giving Mat Gamel a shot at developing into a Major League regular in 2012.
- Assistant GM Thad Levine acknowledged the Rangers could go to a hearing with one or more of their arbitration eligible players, ESPNDallas’ Richard Durrett reports. Andrus recently agreed to terms on a three-year extension, but Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz remain unsigned, as MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows.
- Nationals media relations manager Bill Gluvna resigned and took a marketing and public relations job with the Boras Corporation, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs presented ten of the best offseason moves, and Hiroki Kuroda, Edwin Jackson and Carlos Beltran all made appearances on the list.
- Dodgers assistant GM Logan White discussed Zach Lee, Kershaw, Nathan Eovaldi and drafting young pitchers with David Laurila of FanGraphs.
Roy Oswalt Rumors: Tuesday
The latest on free agent righty Roy Oswalt…
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phillies don't really have room for Oswalt, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports. "We have five, six starters, and our resources are about where we want to be right now," he said. "I think he wouldn't mind coming back, but I don't know that's feasible or a real possibility."
- Yesterday Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote that the Reds remain in talks with Oswalt. However, today Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, "It's all rumors. I'm sick and tired of it. We've had no serious talks. We've had no contact with the player."
- The Pirates inquired about Oswalt and were willing to jump into the bidding but were rebuffed, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- There's "no traction" in talks between Oswalt and the Red Sox, a big league source tells WEEI's Rob Bradford.
Latest On Roy Oswalt
10:45pm: The Reds continue talking to Oswalt, though he'd prefer to pitch for the Cardinals or Rangers, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report. Cincinnati would have to clear payroll to add Oswalt and Homer Bailey would be the most likely candidate to be dealt.
9:33pm: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledges he’ll be ‘opportunistic’ about potential deals, but says he’s not expecting significant moves before Spring Training, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Though the Cardinals and Roy Oswalt had mutual interest in a deal, they couldn’t reach an agreement.
Oswalt was asking for a significant guarantee in terms of role and salary, but the Cardinals aren’t looking to add payroll. The Cardinals haven’t spoken to Oswalt’s agent in the past week or so, Goold writes. The Reds appear to be kicking the tires on the right-hander, but the Rangers aren’t likely to sign him.
Quick Hits: Ankiel, Kuo, Oswalt, Reds, Nationals
On this date in 1983, the Blue Jays traded Leon Roberts to the Royals for a minor leaguer by the name of Cecil Fielder. Fielder made his Major League debut in 1985 and played for the Blue Jays through 1989 before having his contract sold to the Hanshin Tigers. Fielder returned to MLB with the Detroit Tigers in 1990 where he made three All-Star appearances in his first four years with the club. Here's a look at tonight's links..
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) points out that the Mets had been eyeing Rick Ankiel, who signed with the Nats earlier today. The Mets are in search of a left-handed bat off of the bench and have also been linked to Kosuke Fukudome, Raul Ibanez, and Johnny Damon.
- Clubs that have been interested in Hong-Chih Kuo believe that he'll wind up signing with the Mariners, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Earlier today, agent Alan Chang told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that his client is close to deciding on a team.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that it would be tough to clear the payroll space necessary to sign Roy Oswalt. Fay writes that the only tradeable member of the Reds' rotation making significant money is Homer Bailey. Moving Bailey's $2.425MM contract to make room for one year of Oswalt would be risky, but the club has exhibited an all-in attitude recently.
- If GM Mike Rizzo doesn't add another center fielder, Rick Ankiel should have a decent opportunity to win a spot in the Nationals' Opening Day lineup and perhaps platoon with fellow veteran Mike Cameron in center field, writes Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider.
- Earlier this offseason, sources said there was a feeling within the organization that Ankiel might not be able to maintain the offensive productivity he showed in spurts last season if he's primarily coming off of the bench, writes Amanda Comak of The Washington Times.
Latest On Roy Oswalt
7:09pm: Rosenthal now hears that the Reds are not actively pursuing Oswalt, but they are kicking the tires on the right-hander (Twitter link).
1:53pm: Pitcher Roy Oswalt is without a contract two weeks before the start of spring workouts and a number of suitors remain in the mix for his services. Because the right-hander's top choices – St. Louis and Texas – are dealing with budget constraints, clubs such as the Reds continue to explore the possibility of signing him, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Walt Jocketty & Co. have spoken with Oswalt’s representatives recently and would probably need to move payroll and stretch their budget in order to afford him, according to a source. Signing the 34-year-old, the duo writes, would signal that the Reds are going all-in and looking to win before the potential departures of Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips via free agency. Votto is signed through 2013 while Phillips is set to hit the open market next winter.
Oswalt and the Red Sox continue to have “mutual interest” in one another, according to one source with knowledge of the dialogue. He also remains interested in returning to the Phillies, according to sources, but they haven’t been aggressive in looking for starters.
NL Central Notes: Garza, McGehee, Greinke, Cordero
Cardinals legend Red Schoendienst was born on this day in 1923. Schoendienst spent 15 seasons in St. Louis as a player and 14 more as a manager, winning a World Series in both positions (as well as another Series win as a member of the Milwaukee Braves in 1957). Schoendienst's career was capped off when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.
Here's some news from both St. Louis and elsewhere in the NL Central…
- The Cubs' arbitration hearing with Matt Garza is scheduled to take place tomorrow, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. There is a sizable gap between the two sides; Garza is asking for a salary of $12.5MM, while the Cubs are offering $7.95MM. The result of this hearing could have an impact well beyond Chicago, as if the Cubs win the hearing, Garza's lower price tag could re-ignite trade interest in the right-hander.
- The Cubs unveiled plans today for a new baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez has the details.
- The Pirates' arbitration hearing with Casey McGehee is set for February 16, reports Bill Brink of the PIttsburgh Post-Gazette. Brink's source says the two sides are still negotiating to see if the hearing can be avoided. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently looked at the arb cases for both McGehee and the other side of the Bucs' first base platoon, Garrett Jones.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick looks at Zack Greinke's decision to act as his own agent and the history of other players who have handled their own contract negotiations. The Brewers right-hander is entering the last year of his four-year, $38MM contract but is open to the idea of signing an extension with Milwaukee.
- The Reds "had an offer on the table" for Francisco Cordero since the end of the 2011 season, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon but the team wouldn't give Cordero more than a one-year contract with an option. Cordero was holding out for a multiyear deal so the Reds signed Ryan Madson instead. Cordero settled for a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Blue Jays and Shelton opines that Cordero "can’t be thrilled with how his offseason turned out."
- Beyond losing Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, the Cardinals' quest to defend their World Series crown could be complicated by their reliance on several players with checkered injury histories, writes FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
Minor Moves: Royals, Rowland-Smith, Hessman
Some minor transactions from around the majors…
- The Royals signed Cuban outfielder Roman Hernandez Jorrin, reports Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (Twitter link). Hernandez Jorrin, 22, is a right-handed hitter who escaped from Cuba in November 2010.
- The Cubs have signed Ryan Rowland-Smith to a minor league deal, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Australian southpaw compiled a 4.57 ERA and a 1.64 K/BB ratio in 362 2/3 innings with the Mariners from 2007-10. Rowland-Smith spent last season in the Astros' minor league system, posting a 6.19 ERA in 22 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
- The Astros signed Mike Hessman to a minor league contract, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. The deal doesn't include an invite to the Astros' big league Spring Training camp. Hessman has a .694 OPS in 250 career plate appearances with the Mets, Tigers and Braves on the Major League level and also has 335 career minor league homers. The 33-year-old played for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan last season.
- The Reds have signed right-hander Wirfin Obispo to a minor league contracts, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Signed as an 18-year-old shortstop by the Red Sox in 2002, Obispo was converted to pitching by the Reds in 2004 and put up solid numbers for Cincinnati's Dominican summer league team over the next three seasons. Obispo has since pitched in Japan, posting a 3.25 ERA, a 7.8 K/9 rate and a 3.22 K/BB ratio in 46 games (28 of them starts) with the Yomiuri Giants and the Nippon Ham Fighters.