Quick Hits: Lawson, Franklin, Hanson
The Dodgers signed Garret Anderson exactly one year ago today. Earlier this week, Anderson retired as the all-time leader in a number of offensive categories for L.A.'s other team. Here are today's links…
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti explained to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Tribe likes Matt Lawson's versatility and defense. They acquired the Double-A utility player for Aaron Laffey in a trade with the Mariners yesterday.
- One of Lawson's former minor league teammates, Nick Franklin, has switched agents and is now a client of the Boras Corporation, according to Conor Glassey of Baseball America (on Twitter).
- Another Scott Boras client, Tommy Hanson, had his contract renewed by the Braves, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). When teams renew players' contracts, it means the sides did not agree to terms.
- Jerry Crasnick catches up with former can't-miss prospects Jeremy Hermida, Lastings Milledge and Jeff Francoeur in an enjoyable piece at ESPN.com.
Quick Hits: Hall, Young, Feliz, Burnett, Buck
Links for Wednesday night..
- Longtime major leaguer Juan Castro told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that he never considered retirement at any point this winter. The 38-year-old is trying to hook on with the Dodgers in 2011 for what would be his fourth stint with the club.
- Earlier today, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told versatile Astros veteran Bill Hall that the club was "this close" to signing him, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network.
- A source close to the Rockies told Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated that the Rangers sought a "very good player" for Michael Young, but didn't elaborate on who that player might be.
- Some in the Rangers front office feel that Neftali Feliz could develop into the type of starter that would otherwise cost a bundle in a trade, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
- Yankees fans have been hard on A.J. Burnett, who is set to earn $16.5MM annually through 2013. However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that Burnett's career numbers are not all that different from Boston's Josh Beckett.
- Outfielder Travis Buck views his arrival in the Indians locker room as a fresh start, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
Mariners To Acquire Aaron Laffey
6:51pm: The Indians will receive infielder Matt Lawson in return for Laffey, according to a team press release. Seattle will also send cash considerations to the Tribe, according to their Twitter feed.
Lawson has mostly played second base, but has also seen some time in the outfield as well as at shortstop. The Indians' press release refers to the 25-year-old as an "infielder/outfielder". In 118 games at the Double-A level last season, Lawson hit .293/.372/.439 with nine homers.
6:13pm: The Indians have reportedly traded Aaron Laffey to Seattle, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. There's no word yet on what Cleveland will recieve in return for the soon-to-be 26-year-old.
Cleveland had planned to use Spring Training to decide whether to put the left-hander in the bullpen or at the back of the rotation. Recently, Laffey said that while he was amiable towards whatever the Tribe decided on, he was very much looking forward to knowing what role he would take on in 2011.
"That's something I haven't had in a couple years," Laffey told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. "That consistency in knowing you're going to start the year in one position, and you're going to stay there, I haven't had that yet."
In four big league seasons, Laffey has a 4.41 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Trading the left-hander is likely the move to open up a spot on the Indians' 40-man roster for the recently signed Chad Durbin, Bastian tweets.
Indians Sign Chad Durbin
After spending three years in Philadelphia, Chad Durbin is headed back to the American League. The Indians announced that they signed the right-hander to a one-year, Major League contract.
The deal will pay the 33-year-old a base salary of $800K and could be worth another $1MM in incentives, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Earlier in the month, we heard that Durbin hoped to sign with a contender, but there didn't appear to be many Major League offers on the table from teams with playoff aspirations.
For Durbin, who had a 3.62 ERA in 194 appearances over the last three seasons with the Phillies, it will be his second stint with the Tribe. In 2003 and 2004, Cleveland was the first club to use the right-hander primarily out of the bullpen. As Crasnick notes (Twitter link), the Indians intend to deploy Durbin as a reliever again this time around.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Jon Heyman of SI.com both reported when the Indians and Durbin were close to a deal.
AL Central Notes: Dunn, Knapp, Nathan
A few tidbits of note from what may be one of the more competitive and intriguing divisions in baseball in 2011 …
- White Sox slugger Adam Dunn suspects that his now-infamous war of words with then-Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi in 2008 hurt his value on the free-agent market that offseason, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Dunn, of course, was traded from the Reds to the Diamondbacks in a post-deadline deal in 2008 and signed a modest two-year deal with the Nationals in the subsequent offseason. He reportedly was unwilling to be a full-time DH then, but when he hit free agency this offseason after two productive years in Washington, he had no such qualms, signing a nice four-year, $56MM deal with the South Siders.
- Indians right-hander Jason Knapp could "rocket up" next year's prospects lists if he's healthy this year and continues to polish up his raw talents, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America. It feels like a lifetime ago that the Indians acquired Knapp from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal, and it looks like Knapp may be Cleveland's last hope of salvaging a player with big upside from that swap. As Callis notes, Knapp has logged only 40 innings since the Tribe acquired him in 2009 due to injuries, but he's still only 21.
- Twins reliever Joe Nathan, recovering from Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2010, will have to prove that he's his old self before he returns to closing duty, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. “I don’t make any decisions until the end of spring training," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told Passan. "If [Nathan] comes back and throws like he did two years ago, he’ll probably be our closer." Of course, the Twins have a nice insurance policy in Matt Capps should Nathan not be ready. The Twins acquired Capps in a midseason trade last year and avoided arbitration with him this offseason, settling on a 2011 salary of $7.15MM.
Quick Hits: Durbin, Dickerson, CBA
Newly signed Indians right-hander Chad Durbin was one of the last free agents to ink a deal, but he's not yet in uniform. More on that and a couple other items of note …
- The Indians' deal with Durbin is not yet officially complete, likely because the Tribe needs to first free up a spot on the 40-man roster, blogs Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Bastian speculates the deal will be announced on Tuesday. Durbin, of course, agreed to a Major League deal with Cleveland on Friday and could earn up to $1.8MM in 2011 if he reaches his incentives.
- Indiana left fielder Alex Dickerson and his powerful bat may be scaling the first-round draft board, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com. Dickerson is a legitimate hitter, ESPN.com scout Keith Law told Goff, but his defense is shaky, limiting him to left field or first base, and comparisons to more athletic outfielders such as UConn's George Springer and South Carolina's Jackie Bradley Jr. won't do his draft stock any favors. The Astros were among the many Major League clubs scouting Dickerson and others in Corpus Christi, Texas, this weekend, according to Goff. Houston has the 11th overall pick in this June's First-Year Player Draft.
- MLB Players Association executive director Michael Weiner said MLB and the MLBPA had preliminary meetings about brokering a new collective bargaining agreement last week, writes Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun. Weiner expects there will be one or two formal meetings before Spring Training is over, but the sides won't really roll up their sleeves until the regular season begins.
Chad Durbin Close To Signing With Indians
FRIDAY, 8:10pm: Durbin's agent is in Arizona, talking to the Indians and other interested teams, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer (via Twitter).
FRIDAY, 10:33am: Durbin is close to signing with the Indians, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says the team has no comment at this time (Twitter links).
THURSDAY, 5:56pm: The Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Rays, and Royals are also pursuing the hurler, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
3:59pm: The Indians and free agent right-hander Chad Durbin are in talks according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter), and a deal could happen within a day or two.
Earlier this week we heard that the Red Sox, Rays, Phillies, Rangers, and Mariners were all in pursuit of the 33-year-old, who indicated that he would accept a minor league deal from Philadelphia if his "hand is forced because there are no Major League offers on the table." A few weeks ago Durbin said that he hoped to join a contender, which doesn't really define the Indians.
Cleveland is seeking a starting pitcher, having been connected to both Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Bonderman in recent weeks. Although Durbin hasn't started a game since 2007, he has 75 career MLB starts to his credit and may wish to give it another shot. The bullpen is always a fallback.
Quick Hits: Darvish, Simon, Kenny Williams, Rays
Happy birthday to Brian Duensing (28), Kelly Johnson (29), Casey Kotchman (28), Daniel Nava (28), J.J. Putz (34), Don Wakamatsu (48) and Hall-of-Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who would've turned 77 years old today.
Onto some news from around the majors…
- ESPN's Keith Law expects the Blue Jays to be "serious bidders" for Yu Darvish. (Twitter link) The Japanese star says he wants to pitch in the Major Leagues in 2012, and at least nine teams besides Toronto are known to have interest.
- Prosecutor Victor Mueses tells ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas that there are no plans to drop pending manslaughter charges against Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon. It was reported over the weekend that Simon was expected to be released soon, but "nothing has happened to make us change our position," Mueses says. Rojas also reports that Simon has agreed to pay $70K to the families of the victims of the New Year's Eve shooting in order to have the charges dropped, but Mueses says that such an agreement wouldn't impact his office's case.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams criticized baseball's financial structure yesterday and told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune today that he was even uncomfortable with his own team's $125MM payroll. "We're out on a limb. But that's our choice. We made the choice in an effort to give our fans hope and give ourselves a chance to compete for a championship," Williams said. "If things don't go our way, if we don't get the support, we'll lose money. We're going to lose money but we've gone into this knowing how long can you do that, how much can you absorb?"
- "The Rays’ bullpen figures to be a season-long work in progress," writes FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Tampa Bay lost almost its entire bullpen to free agency, and Andrew Friedman admitted the club was "kind of freaking out about it" in January. Rosenthal says the Rays will look at relievers cut by teams at the end of Spring Training, and they will also continue to consider possible trades.
- When might some of the Indians' young stars reach the majors? Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer weighs in on when Tribe fans can see the likes of Lonnie Chisenhall at Progressive Field.
Quick Hits: Athletics, Cabrera, Jeter, Braves, Janssen
Let's take a look at some links for Monday night..
- Jane Lee of MLB.com writes that Athletics manager Bob Geren believes that his club has improved by leaps and bounds this winter.
- Recent addition Orlando Cabrera might not hold the Indians' starting second-base job for long, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- Yankees captain Derek Jeter is not going to be happy about the comments made by Hank Steinbrenner earlier today, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out that Braves GM Frank Wren is now under contract for the same period as manager Fredi Gonzalez, whom he hired to replace Bobby Cox. Earlier today the two sides agreed to a two-year contract extension.
- There may not be a spot in the Blue Jays' bullpen for pitcher Casey Janssen but the veteran says he's not looking for a way out of Toronto, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
- New to San Diego, Jorge Cantu says that he's ready to produce even though he'll be asked to move around the diamond, writes MLB.com's Tom Singer. The Padres offically inked Cantu to a one-year deal worth $850K towards the end of January.
- Speaking of brand new members of the Pads, Kevin Frandsen is delighted to be back in the National League, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
Indians Notes: Masterson, Bonderman, Carmona
Paul Hoynes and Terry Pluto at the Cleveland Plain Dealer have the latest on the Tribe….
- In a mailbag, Hoynes explains that the Indians likely didn't consider bringing back Manny Ramirez because they preferred to add a player who could handle the outfield – like Austin Kearns.
- Within the same article, Hoynes says that the Red Sox have approached the Indians multiple times about the possibility of re-acquiring Justin Masterson. The Indians aren't likely to move the right-hander, but Hoynes points out they'd be "silly not to listen."
- Hoynes also adds that he still thinks Jeremy Bonderman could become an Indian, on a minor league deal. However, he doesn't see the team signing Kevin Millwood unless the veteran's asking price goes down.
- In a separate piece, Fausto Carmona tells Hoynes that he's happy in Cleveland and unfazed by trade rumors involving him: "I never read the newspaper in the Dominican Republic. I can't control the situation. A lot of people see something on the Internet and call me and say do you know about this trade? I just tell them I'm ready to play, no matter what the situation."
- Pluto says he's come around on the Orlando Cabrera signing after finding out it was only for $1MM. He notes that, if Cabrera plays well, the Tribe could turn him into a midseason trade chip as they did with Russell Branyan last year.