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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.

Twins, Rockies, Reds Interested In Freddy Garcia

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The Twins, Rockies and Reds are among the teams that have checked in on free agent right-hander Freddy Garcia, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter link). Garcia, who turned 36 in October, is represented by Peter E. Greenberg & Associates.

Garcia spent this past season with the Yankees, posting a 5.20 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 40.2% ground ball rate in 107 1/3 innings. The 14-year veteran made 17 starts and appeared in 13 games as a reliever in 2012, earning a base salary of $4MM in 2012. His fastball velocity checked in below 90mph, as usual (87.5 mph on average).

Garcia hasn’t been linked to any other teams so far this offseason, but it’s not surprising to see that the Twins and Rockies checked in given that both clubs have been looking to add pitching depth. The Reds already have a full rotation, yet might be interested in Garcia as a long reliever.

Trade Notes: Hochevar, Athletics, Bourjos

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The latest on some potential trade scenarios from around MLB…

  • The Royals called the Rockies about Luke Hochevar, but nothing has materialized, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (on Twitter). The Royals tendered Hochevar a contract before acquiring James Shields and Wade Davis from the Rays, which means they’re responsible for his projected $4.4MM salary. Hochevar would have been a better fit in Colorado if he had hit the open market as a non-tendered player.
  • The Athletics are likely to explore trade options to acquire a shortstop now that Stephen Drew is off of the market, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). The Red Sox agreed to sign Drew for $9.5MM, which is “quite a bit more” than Oakland offered, according to Slusser. Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera and Dee Gordon are among the shortstops who could be traded in my view.
  • The Marlins would have interest in a Ricky Nolasco for Peter Bourjos type of deal, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter). The Angels seek pitching depth and the Marlins are willing to trade Nolasco. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com wrote today about the possibility of a Nolasco-Bourjos swap, noting that Miami has longstanding interest in the Angels outfielder.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Ross, Braves, Fowler

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Sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that the Phillies are intensifying their pursuit of Cody Ross.  Of course there’s other clubs strongly pursuing the outfielder, including the Mariners.  Here’s more out on the Phillies and the rest of the NL East..

  • There were no trade talks brewing this weekend between the Braves or Rangers on Dexter Fowler, a Rockies source told Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).  The Braves have been in trade talks this week with several clubs and are believed to be targeting Fowler.
  • The Mets may be on the verge of acquiring Travis d’Arnaud from the Blue Jays, which shows how bad they want R.A. Dickey, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.  Two other execs that asked for d’Arnaud this offseason were told flat-out no.
  • After picking up Mike Adams and John Lannan, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at what is left for the Phillies to spend on an outfield upgrade.  By Gelb’s math, the Phillies could sign an outfielder with an average annual salary of approximately $7MM and be right up against the tax threshold.

Rockies Links: Correia, Karstens, Cuddyer

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Troy Renck of the Denver Post shared some Rockies items on his Twitter feed earlier today, here are the hot stove-related tweets…

  • The Rockies kept an "ongoing dialogue" with Kevin Correia's representatives but didn't come close to the two-year, $10MM deal that Correia signed with the Twins earlier today.
  • The Rockies have a "mild interest" in right-hander Jeff Karstens, who was non-tendered by the Pirates last month.  Karstens posted a 3.97 ERA and 4.4 K/BB ratio in 90 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh in 2012, though he spent significant time on the DL and was projected to earn $3.8MM through arbitration according to MLBTR's Matt Swartz.
  • From that same tweet, Renck feels that if the Rockies make a big move for pitching, it will be through a trade and not the free agent market.
  • Michael Cuddyer hasn't drawn much trade interest, though Renck says the Rockies aren't particularly interested in dealing him anyway.
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