Rockies Rumors

Rockies Avoid Arbitration With Matt Belisle

By Mark Polishuk | January 12, 2011 at 7:01pm CDT

The Rockies have agreed to a one-year, $2.35MM contract with Matt Belisle, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Colorado avoids salary arbitration with Belisle, who was in his third and final arb-eligible season.

Belisle and the Rockies agreed to an $0.85MM contract for 2010, and the right-hander responded with the finest season of his seven-year Major League career. Belisle posted a 2.93 ERA, and 8.9 K/9 rate and a very impressive 5.69 K/BB ratio in 76 games for Colorado, all of which were career bests.

Belisle, 30, is the first of six arb-eligible Rockies to settle a contract with the club. These cases and every other arbitration-eligible player in baseball can be followed on the MLBTR Arb Tracker.

Six Clubs Offer Jose Veras Minor League Deals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 12, 2011 at 3:56pm CDT

The Giants, Rockies, Twins, Marlins, Rays and Pirates have all offered Jose Veras minor league deals and invited him to Spring Training, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter). The 30-year-old right-hander will likely decide on a team soon.

Veras posted a 3.85 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 48 innings for the Marlins last year, before they non-tendered him. Veras has been tough to hit throughout his five-year MLB career, but he has always allowed plenty of walks (5.0 BB/9 in his career). His mid-90s fastball (94.4 mph last year) has helped him strike out 8.7 batters per nine in his career.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Kouzmanoff, Kennedy

By Zachary Links | January 11, 2011 at 7:18pm CDT

Links for Tuesday night..

Steve Foster of Inside The Rockies takes a look into his crystal ball and predicts what the Rockies might look like in 2017.
Carlos Gonzalez never wanted to leave Colorado, writes Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post.
The talk of Adrian Beltre coming to the Athletics made third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff a little uneasy, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com.
Adam Kennedy is happy to be back in the AL West, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns. Kennedy inked a minor league deal with the Mariners yesterday.

Rockies Extend Carlos Gonzalez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 3:01pm CDT

The Rockies are officially announcing that they have signed Carlos Gonzalez to a seven-year, $80MM extension. The deal will keep Gonzalez in the Rockies' lineup through 2017 along with Troy Tulowitzki, who is under contract through 2020.

Augusto Cárdenas of Diario Panorama explains that Gonzalez receives a $3MM signing bonus and will earn $1MM in 2011, $5MM in 2012, $7.5MM in 2013, $10.5MM in 2014, $16MM in 2015, $17MM in 2016 and $20MM in 2017.

Quick Hits: Pujols, Jones, Nationals, Ledezma

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 2:13pm CDT

One year ago today, the Reds won the bidding for Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban left-hander made 15 relief appearances in the majors last year and figures to have an even bigger impact on the 2011 season. Here are today's links…

The Cardinals' negotiations with Albert Pujols could resemble the Yankees' negotiations with Alex Rodriguez, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Cardinals executives have acknowledged that an extension with their first baseman would take the organization "places it hasn't gone" in terms of contract value and potential incentive clauses, Goold writes.
Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says he'd lean toward Andruw Jones over Marcus Thames for the Yankees in 2011.
Meanwhile, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies still have some interest in Jones (Twitter link).
The Rangers are concerned that Jim Thome would prefer to return to Minnesota, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The Rangers are interested in Thome, though he's not a perfect fit for their needs.
The Nationals need a utility player who can back Danny Espinosa up at second base and potentially play in the outfield, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. He lists Willie Bloomquist, David Eckstein and Willie Harris as possible fits.
Dan Szymborski explains the challenges the Giants face if they want to repeat as World Champions in a piece for ESPN.
The Blue Jays announced that they outrighted Wil Ledezma to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Rockies To Sign Claudio Vargas

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 11:38am CDT

The Rockies have agreed to terms with Claudio Vargas on a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The right-hander will compete for a job in the Rockies' pen.

Vargas posted a 7.32 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 17 relief appearances for the Brewers last year before they released him. The Dodgers picked Vargas up in June, only to release him two months later. The 32-year-old has played for five teams in his eight-year MLB career, all of them in the National League.

The Rockies, who added Sean White yesterday, have room for competition in their 'pen. Matt Lindstrom, Matt Belisle, Rafael Betancourt and Huston Street are likely guaranteed spots, but there's still room on the roster for three other relievers.

Rockies Sign Sean White

By Mike Axisa | January 10, 2011 at 7:58pm CDT

The Rockies have signed Sean White to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. He was outrighted by the Mariners earlier this offseason and became a free agent soon thereafter.

The 29-year-old right-handed reliever posted a 5.24 ERA with just 3.9 K/9 in 34 1/3 innings for Seattle in 2010. White made up for the low strikeout rate with an equally low walk rate (2.9 BB/9) and a decent ground ball rate (44.6%). His big league career consists of 134 innings, all with the Mariners, and a 4.16 ERA with 4.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and 48.4% ground balls.

The Rockies can control White for at least three more years as an arbitration-eligible player if they choose.

Rockies Notes: Fuentes, Gonzalez, Kazmir, Beimel

By Zachary Links | January 9, 2011 at 10:13pm CDT

Let's take a look at some Rockies-related tidbits..

The Rockies like Brian Fuentes but the left-hander is looking to close and also looking for roughly $5MM per year. Colorado isn't looking to shell out that kind of money for the 35-year-old, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
After resolving his visa issues, Carlos Gonzalez arrived in Denver today and will take a physical tomorrow to finalize his seven-year, $80MM contract, Renck writes. The Rockies will likely hold a presser on Tuesday to announce the deal.
The Rockies lost interest in pitcher Scott Kazmir once they re-signed Jorge de la Rosa, Renck tweets.
One reader asks Renck via Twitter if the Rockies are still interested in reliever Joe Beimel. It appears that other clubs have more interest in the veteran as Colorado hasn't talked to his representation lately.

Quick Hits: Liz, Rangers, Cubs, Nationals, Gonzalez

By Zachary Links | January 8, 2011 at 10:05pm CDT

Links for Saturday evening…

Curious about how all the recent free agent activity has impacted the 2011 draft order? Check out the updated order here.
Right-hander Radhames Liz has signed with the LG Twins of the Korean Baseball Organization according to the Yahoo! Sports transactions log. MLBTR has confirmed the signing. The Padres released Liz earlier this week.
MLB.com's Peter Gammons says the Rangers thought they'd be able to acquire Robinson Chirinos from the Cubs, then package him with Derek Holland, Engel Beltre, and Frank Francisco to get Matt Garza from the Rays. Texas would have kicked in some money to offset Francisco's salary.
"We're not giving away the farm to try and win in one year," said Cubs GM Jim Hendry when asked about the Garza deal, according to Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Garza is still under team control through 2013.
It appears that the Nationals will have a smaller payroll than last year, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com.
Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports applauds the Rockies for keeping their nucleus together. Earlier this week Colorado agreed to terms with Carlos Gonzalez on a contract extension.
The Orioles' may have trouble finding an undervalued lefty reliever on a one-year deal, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
Joe Torre is in talks to become the next executive vice president of operations for MLB, according to Teri Thompson and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. Torre stepped down as Dodgers manager towards the end of 2010 season.
Matt Murton talked to Anna Katherine Clemmons of ESPN The Magazine about his time in Japan.

Odds & Ends: Thome, Vladdy, Blue Jays, CarGo

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 11:37pm CDT

As Cooperstown welcomes Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven into the Hall of Fame, some of these news items concern a few of Alomar and Blyleven's former teams and teammates…

Jim Thome is said to be looking for a one-year deal worth as much as $8MM, reports ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill. Thome's strong 2010 season notwithstanding, that would represent a whopping increase over the $1.5MM contract he signed with Minnesota last year. The Twins have been considered the favorites to re-sign Thome, but if the team balks at that asking price, Churchill suggests they could instead turn to Vladimir Guerrero as a DH option. Churchill adds that Tampa Bay could also be interested in Guerrero if the price is right.
Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos "conceded that it's looking more likely that" Jose Bautista will be Toronto's Opening Day third baseman rather than its right fielder, reports Shi Davidi of The Canadian Press. Anthopoulos noted that the club is still looking at other third base/right field options and also may still be in the market for another reliever. The Blue Jays have added Octavio Dotel, Chad Cordero and Wil Ledezma to their bullpen mix over the past two days.
Carlos Gonzalez had a lengthy meeting with agent Scott Boras in December to discuss a possible extension with the Rockies, so the agreed-upon deal wasn't at all "an impulse decision," tweets The Denver Post's Troy Renck.
Also from Renck (Twitter link), the Rockies are "not totally out" of the bidding for Joe Beimel, but other clubs "have shown stronger interest." We heard last month that the Rockies weren't one of several teams who had made Beimel a contract offer.
The Pirates' desire to add left-handed relievers has only grown in the wake of Ledezma going to Toronto, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Speaking of the Pirates, Bucs president Frank Coonelly discussed the team's relief options and other topics in his monthly chat with fans on MLB.com.
With so many intriguing designated hitter possibilities on the market, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog notes that it's an unfortunate time for the Yankees to be shifting Jorge Posada into the full-time DH spot.

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