Reds Rumors: Gonzalez, Reyes, Beimel
Let’s gather up the latest on the Reds.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer figures the Reds would like to add a young shortstop. Alex Gonzalez was supposed to play winter ball but the plan changed. The Reds still hope he’s ready for spring training.
- Kerry Wood is not likely, but the Reds have an offer out to Arthur Rhodes and maintain interest in David Weathers after offering him arbitration.
- MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon throws a few new lefties into the mix: Dennys Reyes and Joe Beimel. Darren Oliver is not under consideration since he’d cost the Reds their second-round pick. I imagine Oliver’s agent is hearing that from most teams.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty also continues to talk to the agents for Mike Lincoln and Jerry Hairston Jr., according to Sheldon.
Tigers Interested In Laird
According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers continue to have interest in Rangers catcher Gerald Laird. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News says the Tigers "seem to have the most ardent interest" in Laird, and a trade could save Texas nearly $3MM. Grant believes the Reds are another possibility; would they trade Homer Bailey for him? Laird, a Scott Boras client, is under team control for two more seasons.
Morosi says the Tigers also like Miguel Montero of the D’Backs, but the teams don’t seem to match up well. Another note – Morosi says the Tigers are not interested in Padres shortstop Khalil Greene.
Reds Unlikely To Sign Wood
TUESDAY: Baker might make a call, but Reds GM Walt Jocketty admits that Wood is likely to find offers to close elsewhere.
MONDAY, 11:03pm: Dusty Baker plans to give Wood a call and see if he might be interested in setting up Francisco Cordero in Cincinnati.
7:55pm: According to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat, the Cubs declined to offer arbitration to Type A free agents Kerry Wood and Bob Howry. The Cubs decided they could not take on the financial risk of Wood accepting, as they’re tight on payroll. Trading him might’ve been difficult, as he would’ve been a 10-and-5 player. It seems that payroll forced the Cubs to make the questionable baseball decision to pass on a one-year deal for Wood.
Wood now has an advantage on the market over Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes – he won’t cost a draft pick to sign.
Reds Make Offer To Rhodes
According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, the Reds made an offer to free agent lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes currently has multiple offers on the table, according to his agent. Since Rhodes is 39, I’m guessing the proposals are for one year.
The Cardinals made an offer to Rhodes last month, and the Tigers seem interested.
Arb Offered To Orlando Cabrera, David Weathers
According to the AP, Orlando Cabrera (Type A) and David Weathers (Type B) were offered arbitration.
We await word on Type A/B free agents Mark Loretta, Randy Wolf, Doug Brocail, Juan Uribe, and Ken Griffey Jr., though the AP article implies none of the five received offers. Wolf would’ve been solid on a one-year deal; the Astros’ payroll must be really tight.
Reds In Trade Talks For Dye?
SUNDAY: A small update from Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune – any deal involving the Reds and Dye is "complicated by financial matters." Not sure why; Dye is only on the hook for $11.5MM next year.
SATURDAY: John Fay got Walt Jocketty to admit he’s talked to the White Sox (nothing is close). Jocketty’s non-denial about the Dye rumor seems to indicate it’s accurate.
TUESDAY, 5:42pm: MLB.com’s Scott Merkin notes that the Mets and Phillies are two of the six teams on Dye’s no-trade list. Dye’s agent, Bob Bry, has not been contacted by Ken Williams in regard to a possible trade to either club. The Reds don’t appear to be on the list, though, so Williams would not need clearance to make a deal with them.
12:13pm: Lance McAlister of 1530 WCKY in Cincinnati has a rumor up regarding trade talks between the White Sox and Reds.
McAlister’s source says the White Sox initiated talks to send Jermaine Dye to the Reds for Homer Bailey and another player. Ken Rosenthal says Dye’s no-trade clause mostly covers teams in the northeast. Perhaps the Sox can trade him to the Reds without his consent. Ken Williams and Walt Jocketty matched up in July on the Ken Griffey Jr. trade. It’s known that Jocketty prefers trades to free agency.
Perrotto’s Latest: Teixeira, Burnett, Wilson
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus has his Sunday article up. Let’s go through it:
- The Angels may be willing to match the Yankees $140MM offer to CC Sabathia. They won’t offer 10 years to Mark Teixeira. If they can’t land Teixeira, they will consider Pat Burrell for first base.
- A.J. Burnett is looking at the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Orioles, and Phillies.
- The Twins want a left-side infielder for Delmon Young, so they can open a spot for Denard Span in the starting lineup.
- The Tigers are pursuing Jack Wilson from the Pirates and Matt Treanor from the Marlins. They are also putting high priority on signing Joe Beimel who’s getting interest from a number of teams.
- The Dodgers will not re-sign Rafael Furcal for health reasons so the Giants, Athletics, and Reds are his most likely destinations.
- The Cubs will need to offer more than Jason Marquis to the Royals for David DeJesus. If they can’t get it done, they’d sign Raul Ibanez over Bobby Abreu.
- The Braves are interested in Javier Vazquez and Jermaine Dye…
- The Reds need to offer more than Homer Bailey to get Dye.
- The Mets are considering Jon Garland, Vazquez, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays want more than Aaron Heilman for either of their starters.
- The Mets could soon become suitors for Manny Ramirez.
- The Brewers could soon become suitors for Francisco Rodriguez.
- The Astros are targeting Paul Bako and David Ross as backup catchers.
- The Rockies are trying to find lefthanders, eyeing Alan Embree, Will Ohman, Brian Shouse, and Glendon Rusch.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Wednesday
7:58pm: Kinzer told Joe Stiglich of the Contra Costa Times that the A’s are "right at the top of the list."
7:05pm: Kinzer revealed to Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the two unknown Furcal suitors "have to make some moves first." So think of teams with incumbent shortstops, like the Braves. Or perhaps a team that has to clear payroll like the Cubs.
4:25pm: Kinzer told Haft they’ll have it down to two teams before Monday or Tuesday. The A’s, Giants, and two other clubs are still in the mix for Furcal. This time, Kinzer told Haft he did talk to the Giants yesterday. It’s unknown whether he has an offer from San Francisco, but there’s nothing from the A’s yet.
12:55pm: Susan Slusser and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle learned that Kinzer did have talks with the Giants about Furcal on Tuesday. MLB.com’s Chris Haft had Kinzer saying last night that he hadn’t spoken to Giants officials in two days.
10:11am: Rafael Furcal met with the A’s yesterday, and it’s not a stretch to suggest they’re the frontrunner for his services. SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the A’s, Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Braves, and a mystery team remain involved. Interesting note from Heyman:
Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, said by phone that he hasn’t fielded a correct guess from any media member on said mystery team. I gave it a shot on Tuesday night, throwing out the Reds — who appear to be in the mix on some surprising names — but he said that was incorrect.
Jon! No! You wasted your guess. I believe the mystery team boils down to the Indians or Twins. Thoughts?
Rockies Rumors: Embree, Shouse, Taveras, Atkins
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has the latest on the Rockies.
Manager Clint Hurdle says the Rockies are focused on adding pitching, particularly in the bullpen. On the radar: Aaron Heilman, Alan Embree, Joe Beimel, and Brian Shouse. Yesterday Joel Sherman said the Mets balked at the idea of swapping Heilman and Pedro Feliciano for Huston Street.
Renck adds that the Reds and White Sox remain interested in outfielder Willy Taveras. On November 11th, Tracy Ringolsby said the Reds were not interested in Taveras despite reports. As for Garrett Atkins, Renck believes the market will take shape after Casey Blake signs.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Monday
6:20pm: Impacto Deportivo says the surprise team is the Braves, possibly offering four years and $52MM. It’d be wise to treat the report with caution until it is confirmed by another source.
6:09pm: The Reds had a brief conversation with Kinzer about Furcal, but it probably isn’t going anywhere.
3:58pm: ESPN’s Enrique Rojas says Furcal traveled to the West Coast today, where he could sign with the Giants or A’s. However, a third team remains involved.
1:36pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer. Kinzer called the El Caribe report "bogus." Apparently there has been no four-year, $48MM offer from Oakland nor are the Mets interested. And Furcal doesn’t want to move to second base anyway.
The A’s and Giants are leading the charge for Furcal, with a "surprise team" also in the mix.
12:26pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman does not believe the Mets made an offer to Furcal.
12:11pm: Susan Slusser’s A’s source calls the below report "untrue," but it’s unclear to what degree.
8:40am: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times passes along a report from El Caribe, a newspaper in the Dominican Republic. In the report, Rafael-Fellito Ortiz talked to free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. Furcal says he has a four-year, $48MM deal on the table from the A’s (with another $2MM in incentives). Surprisingly, he also has an offer from the Mets, who would use him as a second baseman. Ortiz believes Furcal might sign soon.