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Rosenthal On Padres, Orioles, Rockies, Phillies

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The Orioles showed serious interest in Justin Upton before talks with the Diamondbacks sputtered, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last night. Here are some more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…

  • Rosenthal hears from one executive who expects the Padres to make another significant move. However, the Padres like their group of young starting pitchers and aren’t inclined to make a strong play for one of the remaining free agent starters. San Diego could still trade for a pitcher such as Rick Porcello, Luke Hochevar or Aaron Harang.
  • Talks about a deal involving Upton and Chase Headley didn’t progress, Rosenthal reports.
  • The Orioles continue seeking starting pitching and Joe Saunders remains a target. The Orioles also checked in on Porcello, according to Rosenthal.
  • Though the Orioles spoke with Lance Berkman before he signed with the Rangers, they weren’t interested in spending big for the switch-hitting DH.
  • Jeff Karstens, Derek Lowe, Aaron Cook and Jair Jurrjens are among the possibilities the Rockies are considering. The Rockies wouldn’t offer all of those pitchers Major League deals, however.
  • Rosenthal suggests free agent reliever Rafael Soriano could be a longshot for the Rockies. Colorado would have to surrender its second round draft pick to sign the Scott Boras client.
  • The Phillies continue seeking a right-handed hitting outfielder, Rosenthal reports. They’re still considering free agent Scott Hairston and trade candidates Alfonso Soriano and Vernon Wells. It’s possible the Phillies will go with platoons in both corner outfield positions.

Rockies Have Interest In Karstens; Open To Trades

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The Rockies have expressed "mild interest" in Jeff Karstens, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Renck reiterates that the team also has some interest in Brandon Webb, plus they remain open to trades for pitching. They have not had conversations about free agents Derek Lowe or Aaron Cook, however.

The Pirates non-tendered Karstens in November rather than pay the 30-year-old right-hander a projected $3.8MM salary in 2013. He pitched to a 3.97 ERA with a 36.8% ground ball rate in 90 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh last season while missing time with shoulder and hip problems. Karstens posted a 3.38 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and a 46.2% ground ball rate in 162 2/3 innings in 2011.

The Rockies have been on the hunt for pitching this offseason after their staff produced an MLB-worst 5.22 ERA in 2012. So far this offseason they've re-signed Jeff Francis while trading for Wilton Lopez, though they've been connected to a number of free agents as well. Francis, Drew Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich, Jhoulys Chacin, Tyler Chatwood, and Juan Nicasio represent Colorado's returning starters.

Quick Hits: Vazquez, Webb, Rockies, Lohse, Kubel

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Here's the latest from around the league as Friday turns into Saturday…

  • The Red Sox, Rays, Nationals, and Royals scouted Javier Vazquez during his Puerto Rican League outing tonight, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The right-hander was said to be pitching at 93 mph with the fastball.
  • The Rockies will scout Brandon Webb's throwing session, which will take place in the coming weeks according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The Twins will also be in attendance.
  • "Obviously, it's been a little slow, a little slower than anticipated … It's going to eventually work itself out. It's not like I'm not going to be out of baseball," said Kyle Lohse to MLB.com's Mike Bauman. The right-hander has yet to receive an offer other than the qualifying offer he rejected.
  • "I haven't really thought other than that … If something happens, it happens, but I'm looking forward to getting back to that beautiful facility again and start going," said Jason Kubel to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert when asked about trade rumors. The Diamondbacks are expected to move one of their spare outfielders before Spring Training.
  • The Brewers will probably announce the Mike Gonzalez signing on Monday, reports Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The holidays delayed the finalization of the contract.

Quick Hits: Stanton, Indians, Blue Jays, Rays

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The Marlins should trade Giancarlo Stanton and the sooner they do it, the better, opines MLB.com’s Hal Bodley.  The 23-year-old, he argues, really won’t make the difference between winning and losing as this team rebuilds.  Stanton would obviously net the Marlins a strong package of prospects – players who would be ready to contribute down the road when Miami would hopefully be ready to contend.  Here’s more from around baseball as we head into Friday..

  • After their next free agent signing, Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti said the team has “used the vast majority of our [financial] resources” for the offseason, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.  It’s safe to assume that Antonetti was referring to Brett Myers’ one-year, $7MM deal when he referred to the team’s next signing.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (video link) believes that the Blue Jays had the best offseason of any team in the majors because of their blockbuster with the Marlins and their trade for R.A. Dickey.  Meanwhile, the Rangers have had the most disappointing winter thus far because of their misses on their top free agent targets.
  • ESPN.com’s Buster Olney ranked the top ten infields in the majors and slotted the Rays in at No. 4.  Olney writes that first baseman James Loney is likely getting his last full-time shot to show that he can be a consistent run producer.
  • Antonetti also said that the recently re-acquired Russ Canzler will be among the Indians’ internal DH options this year, Bastian tweets.
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post (on Twitter) expects the Rockies to have interest in free agent Brandon Webb.

West Notes: Rockies, Mariners, Lohse, Saunders

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Links out of the Western divisions..

  • The Rockies are still looking for pitching but there's nothing brewing on the trade front, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (on Twitter).  Renck believes that the Rockies may look into low-risk free agents like Derek Lowe and Freddy Garcia.  We've yet to hear anything about Colorado and Lowe but they have checked in on Garcia.
  • The Mariners badly want a hitter but they're also looking at starting pitchers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  However, sources say that Kyle Lohse is too pricey while the M's aren't willing to give Joe Saunders a three-year deal.
  • Ben Rogers of ESPNDallas.com looked at potential trade opportunities for the Rangers involving Jurickson Profar, Elvis Andrus, and Ian Kinsler.  However, it would appear that Texas' plan at this stage is to keep all three in the fold to start the 2013 season.

Minor Moves: Indians, Reds, Brewers, Rockies

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We’ll keep track of tonight’s minor moves right here..

  • The Indians signed second baseman Matt Antonelli to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter).  The 27-year-old had a rough Triple-A season for the Yankees and Orioles, but hit .297/.393/.460 for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in 2011.
  • The Reds signed right-hander Jeff Marquez, outfielder Derrick Robinson, and right-handed reliever Kevin Whelan, Eddy tweets.  Whelan posted a 3.55 ERA with 12.8 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 with the Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Triple-A partner last season.
  • The Brewers signed right-hander Jim Hoey, shortstop Ozzie Chavez, and outfielder Rene Tosoni to minor league deals.  Tosoni is a former Futures Game MVP and spent 60 games on the Twins big league roster in 2011.
  • The Rockies inked left-hander Erick Threets and right-hander Tim Gustafson to minor league deals, according to Eddy (on Twitter).

Checking In On Teams In Need Of Pitching

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MLBTR’s Zach Links recently checked in on some of baseball’s lowest scoring offenses, noting that clubs such as the Dodgers and Mariners could score more often in 2013 thanks to some of their recent moves. Let’s now turn from run scoring to run prevention and check in on the teams that allowed the most runs in 2012. 

Seven teams — the Rockies, Indians, Twins, Red Sox, Astros, Blue Jays and Cubs — posted team ERAs of 4.50 or more this past season, and each club allowed at least 750 runs in total. We'll take a look at those bottom seven teams and see what they've done to improve their pitching and defense so far this offseason. Team name links go to a summary of the moves on MLBTR's Transaction Tracker and 2012 runs allowed totals are in parentheses. For reference, the average MLB team allowed 701 runs this past season.

Jeff Francis - Rockies (PW)

Rockies (890 runs allowed, 5.22 team ERA) – Jeff Francis, who led the 2012 Rockies with 113 innings pitched, re-signed on a one-year deal. Jorge De La Rosa exercised his player option and Colorado traded for reliever Wilton Lopez. Dan O’Dowd and Bill Geivett must do more to address their run prevention issues in the coming months, or they’ll risk a similarly poor showing in 2013.

Indians (845 runs allowed, 4.78 team ERA) – The Indians started the offseason by exercising Ubaldo Jimenez's 2013 option, and they haven't stopped there. GM Chris Antonetti acquired pitching prospect Trevor Bauer from Arizona along with relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw. They have since agreed to terms with Brett Myers, who projects as a starter in Cleveland.

Twins (832 runs allowed, 4.77 team ERA) – GM Terry Ryan has re-worked his team's pitching staff, trading for Alex Meyer and Vance Worley and signing Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey and Rich Harden. The Twins also re-signed a number of pitchers to minor league deals, creating depth. However, the Twins parted with Ben Revere and Denard Span to upgrade their pitching, which creates questions about Minnesota's outfield defense.

Red Sox (806 runs allowed, 4.70 team ERA) – The Red Sox upgraded their rotation by signing Ryan Dempster to a two-year contract. They've also addressed their bullpen, trading for Joel Hanrahan and signing Koji Uehara to a one-year contract. On defense, Shane Victorino will play right field, but defensive standout Jose Iglesias no longer projects as a starter and it looks as though Mike Napoli will replace the sure-handed combination of Adrian Gonzalez and James Loney at first base.

Astros (794 runs allowed, 4.56 team ERA) – The Astros have made some relatively low-profile changes to their pitching staff as they prepare for their first season in the American League. The club acquired Alex White for Wilton Lopez, claimed Philip Humber off of waivers, traded for John Ely, and signed reliever Jose Veras to a one-year deal. At this point it looks as though Houston will have trouble preventing runs again in 2013.

Blue Jays (784 runs allowed, 4.64 team ERA) – The Toronto front office overhauled a starting rotation that lacked depth in 2012. Defending Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey joins newcomers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle in a rotation that now looks like a strength instead of a major weakness. GM Alex Anthopoulos also traded for Esmil Rogers and added numerous others via waiver claims and minor league signings. The future of Darren Oliver still has to be determined, but other than that Toronto's pitching staff seems essentially set.

Cubs (759 runs allowed, 4.51 team ERA) -  The Cubs have upgraded their rotation in a meaningful way, adding Edwin Jackson, Scott Feldman, Carlos Villanueva and Scott Baker on free agent contracts. They also retained free agent Shawn Camp and signed right-hander Kyuji Fujikawa and left-hander Hisanori Takahashi. Chicago’s pitching staff could be much stronger in 2013.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Saunders, Cubs, Soriano, Gonzalez

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The Orioles would like to re-sign Joe Saunders and have continued talks with him, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).  They'll have plenty of competition for the left-hander, however, as he is drawing high interest from three other clubs.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • On today’s edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast, MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Mariners–Angels trade, the Cubs’ new-look rotation, and some recent trade rumors.
  • The Dodgers are still kicking the tires on Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates and free agent Brian Wilson as they look to deepen their bullpen, but they aren't in the mix for Rafael Soriano, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Nationals continue to talk to Mike Gonzalez about returning and the Reds are also in pursuit, Bowden tweets.
  • Sources tell Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter) that the Rangers were never serious bidders for Edwin Jackson.  The right-hander signed a four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs earlier today.
  • Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik has landed a bigger bat for the middle of his lineup, but that doesn't mean Seattle is done with its roster maneuverings, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  The Mariners still have financial flexibility since they should several million dollars in the difference between what Kendrys Morales ($4.8MM) will earn compared to Jason Vargas ($7.4MM) in their final year of arbitration eligibility.  
  • Dexter Fowler told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (on Twitter) that Rockies General Manager Bill Geivett told him that it would take a lot in return for them to deal him to the Braves.  Atlanta is targeting Fowler along with Emilio Bonifacio and other outfield options.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Mariners, Morales, Smoak

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What would a contract extension for Mike Trout look like? Though the Angels aren’t currently discussing a long-term deal with their 21-year-old star, it’s a topic that will come up eventually. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports examines the question with the help of MLB agents, executives and players, and hears estimates from $60-250MM, with most suggested deals falling in the $100-150MM range. Check out Passan’s entire piece for a thorough exploration of what it would mean to lock Trout up.

Now for some more links as Wednesday turns into Thursday…

  • Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News hears the Mariners and Rangers both prefer power over speed as they look to add offense (Twitter link). Seattle acquired Kendrys Morales on Wednesday.
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times that talks about Morales started after texting Angels GM Jerry Dipoto to congratulate him on the Josh Hamilton signing.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney speculates (on Twitter) that Justin Smoak could be a fit for the Orioles. Some folks with Baltimore like his swing, and Smoak could be expendable following the Morales pickup.
  • Free agent right-hander Brett Myers wants to start again and remains an interesting free agent option in the view of FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).
  • The Rockies are looking to add another reliever, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (on Twitter). Colorado had interest in Mike Adams before the right-hander signed with the Phillies.
  • The Pirates are interested in Rick Porcello, but the Tigers don't want to trade the 23-year-old right-hander straight up for reliever Joel Hanrahan, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter).

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Rockies Re-Sign Jeff Francis

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The Rockies have re-signed lefty Jeff Francis, the team announced (on Twitter). It's a one-year contract worth $1.5MM guaranteed with another $1.5M in incentives based on innings pitched. Francis is represented by Frontline.

Uspw_6524254

Francis, 31, was drafted in the first round by the Rockies in 2002 and remained with the club through 2010. After a year and a half detour with the Royals and Reds, he rejoined the organization last June and pitched 113 innings in the Majors. Francis had decent peripheral stats but, as usual, allowed a ton of hits. Among starters with at least 100 innings in 2012, Francis' 85.3 mile per hour average fastball velocity ranked fifth-lowest. He ranks second in Rockies franchise history with 61 wins, behind Aaron Cook.

Francis probably has a claim on a rotation spot to begin the year with the 2013 Rockies, who have Jorge De La Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin penciled in. The team augmented their bullpen a few weeks ago, acquiring reliever Wilton Lopez from Houston.

The Denver Post has the breakdown of the incentives. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick originally reported the agreement (Twitter links). Photo courtesy of U.S. Presswire. Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

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