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Odds & Ends: Diamondbacks, Lindstrom, Lee, Ramirez

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Merry Christmas everyone!  Let's see what tidbits of information Santa has for us under the tree..

Rockies Sign Hulett, Macri, Salazar

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The Rockies have signed Tug Hulett, Matt Macri and Jeff Salazar to minor league contracts, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com.  None of the three men played in the majors in 2010; Hulett and Salazar last saw major league action in 2009 with the Royals and Pirates, respectively, while Macri's last taste of the bigs was with Minnesota in 2008. 

Macri (fifth round, 2004) and Salazar (eighth round, 2002) were both originally drafted by Colorado, while Hulett was originally selected by Texas in the 14th round of the 2004 draft.

 

Rockies Acquire Matt Lindstrom

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The Rockies have acquired Matt Lindstrom from the Astros in exchange for minor league pitchers Jonnathan Aristil and Wes Musick, according to a Houston team press release. 

Lindstrom, 31 in February, posted a 4.39 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 23 saves in his first season as an Astro. He logged 53 1/3 innings and posted a 48.9 % ground ball rate.  This marks the second consecutive offseason (third time overall) that Lindstrom has been traded; the Mets sent him to the Marlins in 2006 and the Marlins sent him to the Astros just over a year ago. 

Lindstrom earned $1.625MM in 2010 and will make over $2MM through arbitration next year. He's under team control through 2012.  The right-hander joins Huston Street, Matt Belisle and Rafael Betancourt at the back of the Rockies' 'pen. This addition could limit the Rockies' interest in David Aardsma, Jon Rauch, Chad Qualls, Todd Coffey and Matt Guerrier.

Aristil, 24, was an infielder when he signed a free agent contract with Colorado in 2003.  Since converting to pitching in 2006, the right-hander has posted a 4.47 ERA in 113 appearances, 53 of them starts and just 12 of which came above the Single-A level.

Musick, 23, is a left-hander whom the Astros originally drafted in the 46th round of the 2005 draft, but Musick chose to attend the University of Houston instead.  Picked by the Rockies in the ninth round of the 2009 draft, Musick has posted impressive numbers in his first two pro seasons — a 3.78 ERA, 8.5 K/9 rate, a 2.1 BB/9 rate and an even 4.00 K/BB ratio in 30 games (28 of them starts).

MLB.com's Thomas Harding was the first to report that Lindstrom was on his way to Colorado, while ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported earlier this afternoon that the Astros were nearing a deal for the reliever.  Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle was the first to report Musick's inclusion in the deal, while Astros director of social media Alyson Footer tweeted the news about Aristil.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk contributed to this post

Mariners Seek Impact Bat For Aardsma

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The Mariners are looking for an "impact bat" in exchange for closer David Aardsma, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. As Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported last week, Aardsma doesn't appear to be a fit with the Rockies, who believe the Mariners are asking for too much. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Mariners are looking to trade Aardsma, who turns 29 next week.

Aardsma will earn a raise from his 2010 salary of $2.75MM when he and the Mariners determine his upcoming salary through the arbitration process. The reliever has posted high strikeout, walk and save totals since joining the Mariners and 2010 was no exception. In 49 2/3 innings last year, he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 31 saves. Aardsma may have seen his trade value jump because of the rising cost of free agent relievers, as as MLBTR's Mike Axisa explains here.

The Rockies are considering a number of alternatives, including Grant Balfour, Todd Coffey, Jon Rauch, Chad Qualls and Joe Beimel. GM Dan O'Dowd told Harding that he would sign certain relievers to multiyear deals, but would generally prefer to make short-term commitments.

Teams have handed out 12 multiyear deals to relievers so far this winter, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows.

Rockies Sign Billy Buckner

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The Rockies signed righty Billy Buckner to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding.

Buckner, 27, came up through the Royals' system and was traded to Arizona in '07 for Alberto Callaspo.  This year, the D'Backs sent Buckner to the Tigers for Dontrelle Willis, but Detroit released him less than two months later.  In 2010 the former second-rounder posted a 6.25 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 80 2/3 innings across two Triple-A stops.

Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America ranked Buckner eighth among D'Backs prospects.  At that time, they suggested Buckner had "the weapons to pitch in the middle of a rotation."  Today, Rockies player development director Marc Gustafson told Harding, "We've seen a lot of him, and he's a hard worker and he still has some upside as a prospect."

Hard work will indeed be required for Buckner to get starts for the 2011 Rockies.  Their rotation seems locked in with Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge de la Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Jason Hammel, and Aaron Cook, while Felipe Paulino, Esmil Rogers, and Eric Stults are back-end candidates as well.

Odds & Ends: Rays, Red Sox, Rockies, Yankees

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Links for Sunday, though it's unlikely that any news will top today's Zack Greinke trade:

  • The Rays have enough money to pursue another low-end bullpen signing or two, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Topkin quotes executive vice president Andrew Friedman in saying there's no way they could've predicted the relief market would look like this.
  • WEEI.com's Alex Speier says the Red Sox would like to add a left-hander to their bullpen, but will wait to see if someone falls into their lap. Boston is against multiyear deals for relievers, though they did recently make an exception in the case of Bobby Jenks.
  • Rockies' owner Dick Monfort answered some questions for the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck. Topics included Troy Tulowitzki's new contract, extending young stars, and their odds of keeping Carlos Gonzalez long-term.
  • Bill Madden of the New York Daily News opines that the Padres' elite bullpen last season which nearly brought them an NL West title has fueled the rising prices in the relief market. Madden also wonders if the Yankees might make a run at Jon Rauch to replace the departed Kerry Wood.

Odds & Ends: Rauch, Rays, Jenks, Rockies, Rangers

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On this date in 1997, the Red Sox traded Tony Armas Jr. and Carl Pavano to the Expos for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez. A case can be made that Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons were the two best pitching seasons in baseball history, in which he held batters to a .186/.231/.274 batting line with 597 strikeouts in 430.1 innings.

It's highly unlikely that we'll see a pitcher of Pedro's caliber traded anytime soon, but that Zack Greinke kid is pretty good in his own right. Here are today's links…

  • Two days ago we heard that the Rockies had interest in David Aardsma, Grant Balfour, and Todd Coffey, and now Troy Renck of The Denver post throws Jon Rauch's name into the mix.
  • Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times has some quotes from Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who called the size of free agent contracts being handed out this winter "discouraging." He also commented (briefly) on the team's 2011 payroll.
  • Bobby Jenks will take his physical on Monday, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. It was originally scheduled for today but was pushed back, and it's necessary to finalize his contract with the Red Sox.
  • Renck also has the goods (Twitter links) on two recent Rockies signings.  Ty Wigginton took less money to sign in Colorado, earning $3.5MM in 2011, $4MM in '12, and a club option for $4MM in '13 ($500k buyout).  Meanwhile, pitcher Eric Stults has an out in his $435k minor league deal that will allow him to sign with the Hiroshima Carp if he does not make the big league roster.
  • Richard Durrett of ESPN.com applauds the Rangers' efforts to bolster their starting depth.
  • Dan Wheeler is happy to be a member of Boston's improved bullpen, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Seth McClung's deal with the Rangers will pay him $700K if he makes the team. There are another $700K available in bonuses tied to the number of starts he makes.
  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report (via Twitter) indicating that Hideki Matsui's contract with the A's has a limited no-trade clause preventing trades to the Mariners, Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays, Indians, and Royals.
  • Mariano Rivera told Erik Boland of Newsday that he plans to give long-time teammate Andy Pettitte a call to try to convince the lefty to come back for another season.
  • Finding a left-handed bat off the bench is one of the last remaining items on the Marlins offseason agenda, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might already have that guy on their roster. Catcher John Baker, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, said he would be up for the job until he's cleared to catch again.
  • Former Mets GM Omar Minaya told Ian Begley of ESPN New York that he plans to sit down with new GM Sandy Alderson after the holidays to discuss a potential new role with the team. Minaya said he has several offers on the table, including interest from the Diamondbacks.
  • Hey iPhone users, do you have the MLBTR app yet? Jason Bartlett does, and that's how he found out his trade to the Padres was in the works.

Minor Deals: Chavez, Barden, Jacobs

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We'll be keeping track of today's minor deals in this post..

  • Endy Chavez has signed a minor league deal with the Rangers, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The outfielder spent the 2010 season with the club as he rehabbed from knee surgery. 
  • The Rangers will also bring infielder Brian Barden in on a minor league deal, reports Anthony Andro of the Star-Telegram.
  • The Rockies have signed first baseman Mike Jacobs, a source tells Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter). The 30-year-old spent time with the Triple-A affiliates of the Mets and Blue Jays last season, hitting .273/.335/.482 with 21 homers in 528 plate appearances.  He'll make $14K per month in the minors and $700K if he reaches the majors, Renck tweets.

Rockies Notes: Francis, Aardsma, Heilman

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Let's take a look at some Rockies news..

  • Jeff Francis will decide on whether he will return to the Rockies soon, writes Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post.  Colorado turned down a $7.5MM club option on the pitcher this offseason, making him a free agent.  The Rockies are probably offering the left-hander a deal with about $1MM guaranteed.
  • The Rockies believe that the Mariners are asking too much for David Aardsma, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  It was reported last night that the Rockies had interest in the veteran pitcher.
  • A new name to keep in mind for the Rockies is free agent reliever Aaron Heilman, Renck tweets.  Colorado has tried to land the 32-year-old multiple times in recent years.

Spanish Links: Carlos Gonzalez, Colon, Vazquez

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Because sometimes, turning to his native tongue can help a player say what he really means…

  • "There is progress" in the extension talks between Carlos Gonzalez and the Rockies, the Venezuelan outfielder told Wilmer Reina at La Verdad. Gonzalez said he is leaving all negotations up to his agent Scott Boras, but he seemed to be thinking like a free agent when he said, "I met with [Boras] in Florida and we talked about many things, especially the market value players have obtained after the contracts of [Jayson] Werth and [Carl]  Crawford."
  • The Indians have been following the progress of Bartolo Colon in the Dominican winter leagues, manager Manny Acta told Pedro G. Briceño at the Dominican paper Listin Diario. Whether the team has interest in actually signing the 37-year-old has been disputed stateside, as ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas tweeted a "si" last week, which the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes countered with a clear "no." For Colon's part, he logged his first subpar start of the winter three days ago, giving up six runs (three earned) and eight hits over six innings against the Toros del Este.
  • Javier Vazquez applauded his new NL East rival Cliff Lee for choosing the team for which he wanted to play, even though it meant leaving money on the table. "I wasn't in the same situation as him, but I had a few contract offers of two years," Vazquez told Rubén A. Rodriguez at El Nuevo Dia in Puerto Rico. "For me, the most important thing was playing for the teams I wanted. I gave my agent a list of those teams. If I hadn't ended up with one of those, I don't know what would have happened." Vazquez ultimately signed for one-year and $7MM with the Marlins, who were clear front-runners for his services throughout the winter.
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