Reds Interested In Gary Matthews Jr.?
7:53pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer spoke to a Reds' source who said the team has zero interest in Matthews (link goes to Twitter). The source went so far as to name five outfielders the team has in camp that they'd take over the former Angel.
6:54pm: The Reds are interested in acquiring Gary Matthews Jr. if he can't win the Mets' centerfield job, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Sarge Jr. is currently battling Angel Pagan to replace Carlos Beltran as he recovers from knee surgery, though Olney mentions that Pagan is expected to win the job.
Cincinnati has been seeking outfield help seemingly all winter, though they did just re-sign Jonny Gomes about two weeks ago. They have five other outfielders on their 40-man roster at the moment, though Chris Heisey and Drew Stubbs have yet to experience a full season in the big leagues
The Mets acquired Matthews from the Angels back in January, and the Halos are on the hook for all but $2MM of the $23.5MM left on his deal. Even though Matthews has hit just .245/.326/.358 in 837 plate appearances over the last two seasons, $2MM for two years of a fourth or fifth outfielder isn't awful.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Upton, Mets, Gallardo
Some links as Spring Training games get started…
- Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports writes that Aroldis Chapman may be the most well-known of the recent Cuban defectors hoping to make an MLB impact, but that he's hardly the only one.
- The Hendricks brothers, who represent Chapman now, reached a settlement with API, who used to represent the lefty, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- The Justin Upton deal should work for both sides, writes Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic warns that there's some risk involved from Arizona's perspective, and wonders if B.J. Upton's recent struggles factored in his brother's decision to sign an extension now.
- The Mets have called the Padres about Adrian Gonzalez, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).
- Yovani Gallardo's agent had some talks with the Brewers about a long-term deal last spring, but nothing came of them, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that Joe Crede is hitting, throwing and waiting for a job offer.
- Red Sox Assistant GM Ben Cherington tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that the club has catchers in the upper minors who are "capable of coming up and playing." From defensive catchers like Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner to the powerful Luis Exposito, the team has potential behind the plate, though it doesn't have certainty for 2011.
- R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs wonders if Eric Hinske will encourage Jason Heyward to sign a long-term deal, like Evan Longoria did a couple springs ago.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star reports that another team offered Noel Arguelles more than the $7MM bonus he will receive from the Royals.
Discussion: Yonder Alonso
Cincinnati has a long tradition of National League baseball, but the Yonder Alonso situation must make Reds fans wish for the designated hitter rule. Reds manager Dusty Baker and GM Walt Jocketty both spoke about Alonso's future at the team's spring camp in Arizona today, and MLB.com's Mark Sheldon sums up the situation within a larger piece about Alonso's development.
The basic problem is that Alonso, the top prospect in Cincinnati's system, is blocked at his natural first base position by the Reds' best player, Joey Votto. As John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer points out, Alonso will be out of options after the 2011 season since he signed a major league contract for five years and worth $4.55MM after being taken seventh overall in the 2008 June Amateur Draft.
At one point it seemed as if Votto, who has some experience playing in left, would move back to the outfield when Alonso was ready for the majors. But as Fay notes, Votto "doesn’t want to move and he’s worked hard at first base." Fangraphs lists Votto as having an above-average 3.8 UZR/150 rating at first base, though it's taken from a sample size of just 291 games.
As Sheldon and Fay both report, Alonso has been worked out this spring as a corner outfielder and at third base, where he would presumably serve as the heir apparent to Scott Rolen if all things worked out perfectly for the Reds. There has even been some talk of trying out Alonso at catcher.
Provided that Alonso doesn't sink to Incaviglia-esque depths in left or right field, he should be able to handle life away from first. But if the position switch doesn't take or, even worse, affects Alonso's bat, then the Reds have a real issue on their hands. Alonso's name popped up in the Rolen trade talks with Toronto last summer, and there would be no shortage of teams that would be interested in acquiring the young slugger if he were put on the market.
The other alternative, albeit the more unlikely one, is that Votto would be traded. Votto is eligible for arbitration after 2010 and is under team control through 2013; combine that with his proven major league production and the Reds could net a gold mine of players and prospects in a deal. But, Votto's big league track record is exactly the reason why it's far more probable that Cincinnati would hold onto him and move Alonso if it came to a choice between the two.
Odds & Ends: Ramirez, Sheets, Cardinals, Reds
Sunday night linkage..
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner tweets that it'll be interesting to see which sabermetric-friendly team will ink recently-DFA'd pitcher Edwar Ramirez. Cameron's bet is on Tampa Bay.
- Jason Churchill of ESPN (Insider subscription required) explains why second basemen aren't often selected in the first round of the amateur draft. He writes that the best athletes usually play center field and shortstop in high school and college. The second basemen typically come from the shortstops who cannot keep up with the position defensively.
- Ben Sheets threw live batting practice for the first time with the A's and impressed the coaching staff with his velocity, according to the Associated Press. Sheets inked a one-year deal with Oakland worth $10MM plus performance bonuses in late January.
- Felipe Lopez's arrival may mean less at-bats for Julio Lugo, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com. Lugo sounds less-than-thrilled about a reduced role but said that his agents have not approached the Cards about a move.
- Dusty Baker isn't worried about his contract situation, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. The Reds skipper is entering the final season of a three-year pact.
- Todd Zolecki of MLB.com writes that despite trading away several highly-rated prospects in the last 19 months, the Phillies still have talent in their farm system.
Odds & Ends: Thames, Manzella, Royals, Marlins
Links for Friday…
- Chad Jennings of The Journal News reports that Marcus Thames can opt out of his contract with the Yankees if he doesn't make the team out of Spring Training. Thames signed a minor league deal earlier this month that would pay him $900K in the big leagues.
- Alyson Footer, the Astros' Sr. Director of Social Media, tweets that the team has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with infielder Tommy Manzella worth $400K. He's expected to be the team's regular shortstop in 2010, and he has less than a month's worth of service time.
- Mike Aviles and Anthony Lerew agreed to terms with the Royals according to a team press release. Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star tweets that both deals are expected to be worth less than $500K. Both players are not yet eligible for arbitration.
- Meanwhile, the Marlins also agreed to terms with six of their pre-arbitration eligible players, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Orioles' lefty Brian Matusz has changed agents, and is now represented by CAA Sports. He had a 4.63 ERA in 44.2 innings last year, and is widely considered to be one of the two or three best pitching prospects in the game.
- Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo spoke about the Livan Hernandez signing to MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling, and said that the righty isn't guaranteed a rotation spot.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports polled nearly 20 baseball people about Carl Crawford's next contract. Many of the agents and executives expect Crawford to command a five-year deal worth $12-16MM per season, but some think the left fielder could make as much as $18MM per year when he hits the open market, probably after 2010.
- Scott Rolen was happy to restructure his contract so the Reds could "free up some money to go out and be more competitive," according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- Nationals pitcher Rafael Martin tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he agreed to his deal on February 8th (Twitter link).
- Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports that he wants his players to be driven by "more than money." O'Dowd also told Ringolsby that he did not shop Brad Hawpe this winter.
- The Mets are still looking at lefty and righty relievers, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (via Twitter).
- Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt tells Scott Lauber of the News Journal that he expects Placido Polanco to make a smooth transition to third base.
- Marlon Byrd tells USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he's uncomfortable being compared to friend and former teammate Milton Bradley.
- Big market clubs sent $433MM to small market clubs last year, according to Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball.
- The Red Sox don't generally use insurance on their long-term deals. Principal owner John Henry tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that "it isn't always easy to get paid," even once players are injured.
- Jose Julio Ruiz may be close to signing, but it won't be with the Nationals, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane, who has "a huge amount of confidence" in GM Ed Wade, would consider selling his team for $600MM or more, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.
Minor League Transactions: Bierbrodt, Jimerson, Cintron
The latest minor league transactions, from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…
- The Reds signed Aaron Harang's brother Daryl out of the Atlantic League.
- The Rockies signed lefty Nick Bierbrodt, the Diamondbacks' first-ever draft pick in '96. Bierbrodt, 31, sat out the '09 season.
- The Twins signed outfielder Charlton Jimerson out of the Atlantic League. He put up big numbers there in '09.
- The Mets inked second baseman Alex Cintron, who hit .285/.303/.387 in Triple A last year.
Heyman On Blalock, Crawford, Reynolds
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman writes that the Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Hank Blalock. We discussed Blalock here; his prospects are dim now that the Indians, Orioles, Braves, and Pirates have gone in different directions.
- Heyman notes that the Yankees love Carl Crawford and that could be one reason they were reluctant to give Johnny Damon a two-year deal. We discussed Crawford's situation earlier today.
- The Diamondbacks offered Mark Reynolds an extension to cover his first three arbitration years, in the $11MM range. That'd be quite a concession, since he should easily top $5MM in his first arbitration year.
- Heyman tweets that the Braves and Reds "could be in the mix" for outfielder Garret Anderson. Presumably, Anderson is in line for a minor league deal. He was linked to the Dodgers before they signed Reed Johnson.
Reds Re-Sign Jonny Gomes
The Reds officially re-signed outfielder Jonny Gomes to a one-year, Major League deal with a club option for 2011. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer broke news of the agreement, and ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweeted details.
Gomes, 29, hit .267/.338/.541 in 314 plate appearances for the Reds in '09 before being non-tendered. 35% of his plate appearances came against lefties, and his defense was suspect. Gomes had a hard time finding a job as a free agent, and perhaps the Reds saw that coming. He will be arbitration-eligible again if the Reds decline his 2011 option.
Reds Still Waiting On Decision From Gomes
SUNDAY, 12:01pm: We may have to wait another day or two for closure on the Reds and Gomes. Fay tweets that there is still no word on whether the outfielder will accept Cincinnati's offer. MLB.com's Mark Sheldon quotes Jocketty as saying, "We'll know something by tomorrow."
FRIDAY, 1:11pm: It looks like the holding pattern between the Reds and Jonny Gomes could come to an end this weekend. Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he expects to know whether the outfielder will return by Sunday.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Burnett, Chapman, Reyes
Links for Thursday…
- GM John Mozeliak and manager Tony LaRussa both mentioned to MLB.com's Matthew Leach that the Cardinals are not in a rush to add an infielder despite Brendan Ryan's recent wrist surgery.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels knows that it's far from a foregone conclusion that his team will win 87 games again, according to ESPNDallas.com reporter Richard Durrett.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that Aroldis Chapman has looked "very impressive" so far.
- Jose Reyes tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post that he wants to finish his career with the Mets. Reyes says he's not thinking about the $11MM option the Mets have for his services in 2011.
- The Nats outrighted Doug Slaten to Triple A, according to the team's Twitter. They designated him for assignment two days ago.
- The Rockies and Mariners offered Mark McGwire hitting coach positions, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Mariners made their offer in 2003; the Rockies made theirs a few years ago.
- Victor Martinez tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he'd "obviously" like to stay in Boston. The catcher says the negotiations are now under the team's control.
- Carlos Zambrano tells Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that he would have vetoed a trade had the Cubs approached him about one this offseason.
- Andrew Friedman says he and his front office have assembled "the most talented team in Rays history," according to the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).
- USA Today's Peter Barzilai looks back at some historically good free agent signings.
- Greg Burke cleared waivers, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times. The club placed Burke on unconditional waivers ten days ago.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the club find its fifth starter outside of the organization. "We'd love to have a bona fide No. 5 starter," Colletti said.
- Mariano Rivera tells MLB.com's Brian Hoch that he doesn't know how long he's going to continue playing (Twitter link).
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Denver Post readers that he helps Dan O'Dowd make personnel decisions when the GM is looking for input.
- In anticipation of the club's scheduled arbitration hearing with Ryan Theriot, Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the arbitration process is sometimes unavoidable.
- The Braves signed 17-year-old infield prospect Alejandro Sanchez Martinez to a seven-year contract out of Spain earlier in the winter, according to David Menayo of Marca.com. Thanks to Nick Collias for the translation.