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Blue Jays Checked In On Johnny Damon

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6:40pm: The Jays have talked to Boras about Damon, according to Jordan MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  In a follow up tweet, Bastian quotes GM Alex Anthopoulos telling fans at a  season-ticket holder Q&A session, "I don't want to get your hopes up."  However, Bastian writes that the club has had internal discussions about the veteran slugger, as they have a need at the leadoff spot.

The Jays have also considered bringing Carlos Delgado back, Anthopoulos and manager Cito Gaston revealed in the session.

8:33am: Yesterday we learned from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that agent Scott Boras is "trying to engage" the Reds and Tigers on Johnny Damon.  Today, two Reds beat writers label the Reds an unlikely match.  MLB.com's Mark Sheldon talked to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who admitted to discussing Damon but says the outfielder doesn't fit financially.  The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay calls their interest "lukewarm." 

Fay says the Reds called Boras about Xavier Nady and asked about Damon too.  Via Twitter, Fay notes that Reds owner Bob Castellini might adjust the budget for the right free agent addition.  Fay says the Reds are still talking to Jonny Gomes and Orlando Cabrera, and feels something is brewing in Cincinnati.

Yesterday, we learned from Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Rays have interest in Damon as a DH candidate.  The Yankees are out, having agreed to a deal with Randy Winn yesterday.  In another article, Sherman chronicles a last-ditch attempt by Damon to engage the Yanks in the middle of last week.  Public sniping between Boras and GM Brian Cashman followed.  Sherman has more on the Cashman-Boras drama here.

Odds & Ends: Calero, Nats, Byrnes, Fogg, Timlin

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Links for Thursday…

Rays Interested In Johnny Damon

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The Rays have interest in Johnny Damon as a DH candidate, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman says the Rays are considering Damon even if they can't unload Pat Burrell.  Sherman's sources believe Damon would be willing to play for $7MM, partially deferred. 

We learned earlier today from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that agent Scott Boras is "trying to engage" the Reds and Tigers for Damon.  Crasnick notes that those clubs would have a hard time fitting Damon into the budget.  The Yankees are out, having reached an agreement with Randy Winn today.

Oakland's rumored interest in a Damon reunion was not directly addressed by GM Billy Beane, reports MLB.com's Jane Lee.  Still, Beane said his priority is adding infield depth.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Turnbow, Delgado, Nady

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Links for Tuesday…

  • Orlando Hudson is "making progress on signing with a team," tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson, however Hudson declined to name the team. In separate tweet, Ladson says a source told him that the Nationals top Hudson's wish list.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Diamondbacks and Rockies are pursuing Derrick Turnbow, who could sign soon.
  • MLBTR's resident translator Nick Collias passes along this report from Esteban Rivera of the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, in which Carlos Delgado says that the Mets, Orioles, and Royals "have seen him [play] on the island." Omar Minaya said there is still a mutual interest in bringing Delgado back to New York, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure
  • The final offer Scott Boras presented the Yankees with for Xavier Nady was worth $5MM, tweets Joel Sherman of The New York Post. He adds that the Yanks would have considered him at the price he signed for today, and that they'll only do a minor league deal for Rocco Baldelli (via Twitter).
  • Now that Ben Sheets has signed with the A's, Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com tweets that the Mets' next target appears to be John Smoltz. A source tells him they haven't aggressively pursued Jon Garland. 
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart mentions that the Astros and Wandy Rodriguez are set to go an arbitration hearing on February 17th. Wandy filed for $7MM, the team $5MM.
  • Meanwhile, Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle breaks down the Astros' offseason in a video.
  • Rick Ankiel said that the Nationals, Marlins, and Yankees were in it until the end, reports Doug Tucker of The Brownsville Herald.
  • Cody Ross' arbitration hearing has been scheduled for February 15th, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Ross is seeking a $4.45MM salary in 2010, but the Marlins are countering with $4.2MM.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about baseball's internal discussions on how to fix the draft, including some notes about what was discussed at the recent general managers meeting (sub. req'd).
  • In a mailbag, MLB.com's Kelly Thesier says the Twins payroll appears to be right around $90MM, and they don't seem willing to spend much more than that.    
  • Meanwhile, Lyle Spencer of MLB.com writes in his mailbag that the Angels "appear to have stretched the salary budget to its limit," so don't expect any more major moves.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday lists what he thinks are the best run organizations in baseball (sub. req'd). There's 15 of them, however ten are from the AL while just five come from the NL. 
  • John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer looks at the list of remaining free agents, and sees only one fit for the Reds: Orlando Cabrera. He's probably too expensive for them at this point, however. 
  • MLB.com's Marty Noble says in a mailbag that he doesn't believe the Mets' current roster and the Opening Day roster will be the same, but he's not sure where the club can turn to improve.

Reds Have Interest In Cabrera, Amezaga

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The Reds have some interest in free agents Orlando Cabrera and Alfredo Amezaga, reports John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. The problem is that the team doesn't have much wiggle room financially.

“We’ve kicked it around a little bit,” (GM Walt) Jocketty said (of Cabrera). “We’re not sure it’s the right fit for us. And I don’t know if financially we’re in position to do it.”

“We’ve looked it a little bit,” Jocketty said (of Amezaga). “But he’s been hurt a lot. We have not talked to his agent at this point.”

The Nationals also expressed some interest in Cabrera, but we haven't heard about much interest in Amezaga. Jocketty also added that they have not talked to either Jermaine Dye or Gary Sheffield. 

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Hudson, Loretta, Pence

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More Saturday linkage..

  • Ty Wigginton of the Orioles will likely see his number of at-bats decrease after the team's signing of Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins.  Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com says that the 32-year-old could be a trade candidate in Spring Training.
  • The sale of the Rangers to Chuck Greenberg's group is complete and an announcement is forthcoming, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
  • Phil Wood of MASNSports.com understands the Nats' pursuit of Orlando Hudson, but not their reported interest in Orlando Cabrera.  Hudson is reportedly seeking $9MM per season whereas Mike Axisa estimates that Cabrera can be had for $3MM.
  • Veteran infielder Mark Loretta is expected to retire this week and take a job with an unspecified major league club, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.  The 38-year-old, who spent 2009 with the Dodgers, has a career .754 OPS.
  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that signing Hunter Pence to one-year, $3.5MM deal makes sense for Houston.  McTaggart senses that there is some kind of a groundswell of support by Astros fans to lock up the 26-year-old, but the club still has three years of contractual control to make such a deal happen.
  • Signing Brad Penny saved money for the Cardinals, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  While it may seem as though Penny's $7.5MM deal is similar to Joel Pineiro's two-year deal that will pay him an average of $8MM per season, the extra year on Pineiro's contract didn't fit into the Cards' budget.
  • Due in part to the team's overload of left field options, top Reds prospect Todd Frazier could see some time at shortstop this season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Frazier played shortstop in his time at Rutgers University but was moved to the outfield as he was considered to be "too big for the spot."  GM Walt Jocketty said that there will be open competition for the role of starting shortstop, though Fay says that it will likely go to the light-hitting Paul Janish.

Reds Sign Jose Arredondo To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed righthander Jose Arredondo to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets MLB.com's Matthew Leach. The invite to camp is nothing more than a formality, because Arredondo is due to have Tommy John surgery soon and won't be able to pitch at all in 2010.

Arredondo, 26 in March, has a 3.48 ERA with an impressive 8.7 K/9 in 106 big league relief innings. The Angels non-tendered him back in December after we learned that he would need surgery. Because he's going to miss the entire season, Cincinnati made the move with an eye towards 2011 and beyond.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Felix, Phillies, Reds

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Seven years ago today, Ivan Rodriguez signed a one-year deal with the Marlins worth $10MM, ending a 12-year stint with the Texas Rangers. Pudge hit .297/.369/.474 with 16 homers in his lone season with Florida, leading the franchise to its second World Championship. He signed a little earlier this offseason, landing a two-year deal with the Nationals in early December.

Here's a look at what fans around the web are saying….

  • Lookout Landing re-lives five of Felix Hernandez's career-defining starts in honor of his new deal.
  • TAUNTR thinks the Phillies did well by locking up Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino, even if they didn't receive tremendous discounts.
  • Blue Sox Baseball previews the Reds' starting rotation heading into 2010.
  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse looks at what's left for the Cubs this offseason.
  • TYU wonders why the Yankees used the top pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Jamie Hoffmann instead of John Raynor.
  • Capitol Avenue Club projects the Braves' depth chart.
  • The Ghost of Moonlight Graham examines the rotations in the NL East.
  • TurnTwo has some suggestions for how the Mariners could use the last $10MM left in their budget.
  • Dodgers Rumors considers the Vicente Padilla signing a big win for Los Angeles.
  • AdamAdkins.net reacts harshly to the Bengie Molina deal.
  • River Ave. Blues wonders how the Yanks might be able to extract some value from Kei Igawa.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Lincecum, Reds, Red Sox, Uggla, Molina

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Some Tuesday links…

  • After talking to someone familiar with the process, FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi guesses (via Twitter) that Tim Lincecum will file for somewhere between $12-13MM in arbitration.
  • John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer has the Reds' 2010 payroll at just about $70MM at the moment.
  • In a mailbag, Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe says that the Red Sox aren't likely to go out and spend on a high-risk, high-reward pitcher like Ben Sheets after signing John Lackey. 
  • Joe Frisaro of MLB.com doesn't think the Marlins will look to trade Dan Uggla, even after he agreed to a deal yesterday that makes him the team's highest paid player in 2010.
  • Meanwhile, Frisaro says that Cody Ross is likely headed to an arbitration hearing after negotiations hit an impasse.
  • Tony Massarotti of The Boston Globe wonders if the Red Sox are doing the right thing by going year-to-year with Jonathan Papelbon through his arbitration years.
  • After turning down the Mets' latest offer, ESPN's Buster Olney thinks (via Twitter) that the Mariners might be a good fit for Bengie Molina.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets that the Brewers will continue negotiating with their six remaining arbitration eligible players today, though GM Doug Melvin said that no multi-year deals are in the mix.
  • John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press says it wouldn't be a shock if Justin Verlander sought at least $6MM through arbitration this year after seeking $4.15MM last year. Joe Blanton received just under $5.5MM in his second year of arbitration, so I wouldn't be surprised if Verlander submitted a figure closer to $8-9MM.
  • Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of The Detroit News spoke to some scouts who think Austin Jackson might not be ready for the big leagues, at least at the plate. Jackson is slated to start the year as the Tigers' everyday center fielder.
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets that the Jose Valverde deal is official.
  • The Rays aren't close to deals with any of their four arbitration eligible players, reports Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times. Tampa has a self-imposed deadline of noon ET today to get deals done, which is when the two sides must submit their salary figures.
  • In a chat with readers, Tom Boswell of The Washington Post said he heard the Nationals were close to a "trade for a major-league ready pitcher of Jordan Zimmermann quality but it fell through when the other team backed out." He thinks Josh Willingham may have been involved.
  • The Giants haven't confirmed if they're still interested in Miguel Tejada according to Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com, however he spoke to someone who says Tejada remains on the Twins' radar.
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