Rockies Rumors

Rockies To Sign Jamie Moyer

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 18, 2012 at 6:15pm CDT

The Rockies have agreed to sign 49-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer to a minor league deal, the team announced. Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported Monday that the Rockies had offered the veteran a contract. The Rockies will give Moyer the chance to compete for a rotation spot while tutoring younger pitchers on the staff, assuming he passes an upcoming physical.

Moyer pitched for the Phillies in 2010 and missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He worked out in front of scouts this offseason and appears to have impressed the Rockies.

Moyer owns a 267-204 career record with a 4.24 ERA in 24 MLB seasons. He posted a 4.84 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 44.1% ground ball rate for the 2010 Phillies. 14 of the players on Colorado's 40-man roster were not yet born when Moyer debuted with the Cubs in June of 1986.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Tuesday

By Tim Dierkes | January 17, 2012 at 7:23pm CDT

Dozens of arbitration eligible players have agreed to deals with their respective teams today and we've been tracking all of the developments right here. Several teams, including the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays, Braves, and perhaps Astros, are known for committing to going to hearings if they get to the point of filing. Keep track of all the madness with MLBTR's arbitration tracker, which shows settlement amounts, filing figures, and midpoints. Today's players to avoid arbitration on deals worth less than $4MM:

The Cardinals avoided arbitration with pitcher Kyle McClellan, tweets B.J. Rains of FOX Sports Midwest. Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter) that the one-year deal is worth $2.5MM with incentives based on starts. MLBTR projected a $2.7MM for the Steve Comte client.
MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (on Twitter) that the Padres and Chase Headley agreed to a one-year deal worth $3.475MM, avoiding arbitration. Earlier this evening, the Padres announced that they avoided arbitration with Luke Gregerson, Edinson Volquez, Carlos Quentin and Will Venable. They also avoided arbitration with lefty reliever Joe Thatcher on a deal worth $700K, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. CAA announced catcher John Baker has signed for $750K. Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that the Padres reached agreements with Hundley, Chase Headley, and Tim Stauffer. Hundley will earn $2MM in 2012, MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets. Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets the salaries for Volquez ($2.2375MM), Venable ($1.475MM), Gregerson ($1.55MM)
The Rangers avoided arbitration with Matt Harrison, tweets Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. The ACES client gets $2.95MM on a one-year deal. MLBTR had projected a $2.9MM salary.
The Cubs announced that they have avoided arbitration with Jeff Baker ($1.375MM), Blake DeWitt ($1.1MM), Ian Stewart ($2.237MM) Chris Volstad ($2.655MM), and Randy Wells ($2.705MM). MLB.com's Carrie Muskat tweeted the salary figures.

Rockies Offer Jamie Moyer Minor League Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 16, 2012 at 4:17pm CDT

The Rockies are waiting to see if 49-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer will accept a minor league contract offer, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. The Rockies would give Moyer the chance to compete for a rotation spot while tutoring younger pitchers on the staff.

Moyer pitched for the Phillies in 2010 and missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He worked out in front of scouts this offseason and appears to have impressed the Rockies. Renck reported earlier today that the Rockies offered a veteran pitcher a contract.

Moyer owns a 267-204 career record with a 4.24 ERA in 24 MLB seasons. He posted a 4.84 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 44.1% ground ball rate for the 2010 Phillies. 14 of the players on Colorado's 40-man roster were not born when Moyer debuted with the Cubs in June of 1986.

Rockies Make Offer To Veteran Starting Pitcher

By Tim Dierkes | January 16, 2012 at 2:27pm CDT

The Rockies have made an offer to a veteran starting pitcher, GM Dan O'Dowd told Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. O'Dowd didn't provide any further detail, other than saying it wasn't Kevin Millwood.

The Rockies' rotation picture seems about ten-deep after today's acquisition of Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman for Seth Smith, and it appears O'Dowd seeks a veteran presence beyond that of Jorge De La Rosa. Renck speculates on Rodrigo Lopez and Jeff Francis as possibilities.

Athletics Acquire Seth Smith

By Tim Dierkes | January 16, 2012 at 12:33pm CDT

The Athletics acquired outfielder Seth Smith from the Rockies for righty Guillermo Moscoso and lefty Josh Outman, according to the Rockies' Twitter feed. The A's are a somewhat surprising match for Smith, but they did need corner outfield help after losing Josh Willingham and David DeJesus to free agency. Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp round out Oakland's outfield.

Smith, a 29-year-old left-handed hitter, batted .284/.347/.483 with 15 home runs in a career-high 533 plate appearances for the Rockies last year. The corner outfielder has struggled against southpaws in his career. Smith (pictured) is under team control through 2014, and MLBTR reported last night that he'll earn $2.415MM in 2012. The Rays, Mariners, Braves, and Mets are among the other teams that showed interested in Smith this winter. He became expendable after the Rockies signed Michael Cuddyer for $31.5MM in December.

Moscoso, 28, had his first prolonged big league exposure last year for the A's. He posted a 3.38 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9, and 26.8% groundball rate in 128 innings. His flyball/pitch-to-contact approach might not play well at Coors Field. Originally signed by the Tigers, Moscoso was traded to the Rangers in December of '08 for Gerald Laird and then to the A's a year ago for Ryan Kelly. Prior to the 2010 season, Baseball America wrote, "Moscoso is ready for a big league role, either as a back-of-the-rotation starter, a long reliever, or a swingman."

Outman, 27, tossed 58 1/3 big league innings last year and another 78 1/3 at Triple-A. He's been a useful starter in the Majors, with a chunk of missed time due to June 2009 Tommy John surgery. Outman was drafted by the Phillies in 2005 and traded to Oakland in '08 as part of the Joe Blanton deal. Prior to that season, BA said Outman profiled as a number three starter. Now, he'll join Moscoso in what Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd called a "raging competition" for rotation spots. The Rockies are actually close to adding a veteran starter to the mix for more depth, tweets Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Rockies, Seth Smith Avoid Arbitration

By Dan Mennella | January 15, 2012 at 8:46pm CDT

8:46pm: Smith will earn $2.415MM, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned.

8:28pm: The Rockies and Seth Smith have avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a one-year deal, the team announced via Twitter.

Smith, 29, was eligible for arbitration for the first time. The outfielder has been a productive offensive player thus far in his career, posting a .275/.348/.485 line in 1,449 plate appearances. The left-handed hitter is well above average against righties (.290/.364/.518) but struggles mightily against southpaws (.202/.269/.319), so he's best deployed in a platoon.

Smith, a second-round pick of the Rox in 2004, was projected by MLBTR's Matt Swartz to earn $2.6MM through arbitration.

Minor Moves: Espino, Rockies, Reyes, Lebron

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 13, 2012 at 4:02pm CDT

The latest minor moves…

The White Sox have agreed to sign catcher Damaso Espino to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training, MLBTR has learned. The 28-year-old posted a .292/.347/.381 line in 224 plate appearances for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in 2011.
The Rockies announced that they signed infielder Brendan Harris and catcher Jose Gonzalez to minor league deals (Twitter link). Harris, 31, spent the 2011 season with the Orioles' top affiliate, where he posted a .225/.282/.331 line with ten home runs in 565 plate appearances. The seven-year veteran has MLB experience at all four infield positions.
The Indians announced that they signed infielder Argenis Reyes and right-hander Willy Lebron to minor league deals that don't include invitations to big league Spring Training. The club also confirmed the signing of infielder Chin-lung Hu to a minor league deal. Reyes started the 2011 season in indy ball then signed a minor league deal with the Indians in August. The 29-year-old has MLB experience with the Mets. Lebron, 32, posted a 3.02 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 65 2/3 innings in the upper levels of the Royals' system last year.

NL West Notes: Padres, Rockies, Wilson, Blake

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 12, 2012 at 7:52pm CDT

Here are the latest rumors and notes on the division that featured the National League's two lowest-scoring offenses in 2011…

Jeff Moorad's purchase of the Padres hit an "unforeseen snag" and was not approved at today's MLB owners meetings, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today anticipated (Twitter link). Owners want more information on Moorad and some aren't convinced they want to admit him into their fraternity, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
Moorad told the Associated Press that the delay won't affect the team's TV deal and a separate Padres source confirmed that to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter).
Bud Selig told reporters that the Padres may not have to wait until May to get their new ownership approved as it could be done via conference call, Hayes tweets.
Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd confirmed to Troy Renck of the Denver Post that prospect Russell Wilson will pursue football full-time instead of reporting to Spring Training with the Rockies. Wilson, a star football player for Wisconsin, will have to surrender his baseball signing bonus, Renck reports. The 2010 fourth rounder posted a .229/.354/.356 line in 379 minor league plate appearances in Colorado's system.
Newly acquired third baseman Casey Blake attracted Colorado's interest by proving that he's now healthy heading into 2012, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding.

Red Sox Acquire Brad Emaus

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2012 at 3:25pm CDT

The Red Sox acquired infielder Brad Emaus from the Rockies for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Rockies announced. He'll provide Boston with insurance at second and third.

The Mets selected Emaus from the Blue Jays in the 2010 Rule 5 draft and returned him to Toronto the following April. The Blue Jays then flipped Emaus to the Rockies, who assigned him to Triple-A. The 25-year-old posted a .313/.389/.564 line in 186 plate appearances for the Rockies' top affiliate last year after struggling through 14 games with the Mets.

Quick Hits: La Russa, Cordero, Ayala, Oliver, Vizquel

By Mike Axisa | January 9, 2012 at 11:55pm CDT

Some links as Monday turns into Tuesday…

Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says (on Twitter) Tony La Russa is seriously weighing his career options and hopes to have an answer soon, perhaps before Spring Training. It's been speculated that La Russa could join a team in a front office role after retiring from managing.
The Angels have talked to Francisco Cordero's representatives recently according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. He says it's hard to gauge where the team is in the race for the right-hander given all the money they've already spent this offseason, among other things.
The Yankees maintain interest in re-signing reliever Luis Ayala according to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith (on Twitter). Ayala posted a 2.09 ERA with a 50% ground ball rate in 56 IP for New York last season. Last month we learned that six teams were pursuing the righty.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that the Rangers didn't offer Darren Oliver anything close to the $4.5MM he got from the Blue Jays. He says they remain in the market for left-handed bullpen help, and Mike Gonzalez still fits.
Omar Vizquel hinted at retirement on his Twitter account today, saying "[if] there is no contract [offer] there will be no other option but to start a new career, [as a] coach," according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (link in Spanish).
Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that Casey Blake will have to come to the plate 550 times this season to max out the $1MM in incentives in his contract with the Rockies. He'll earn the first $350K in bonuses at 350 plate appearances.
Within the same piece, Renck says that Aaron Cook's minor league deal with the Red Sox will pay him $20K per month in the minors. He can make an additional $2MM by making 30 starts in the big leagues, and the escalators kick in at 15 starts. Cook can request his release if he's not on the 25-man roster on May 1st and again on June 1st.

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