Quick Hits: Nats, White, Montero, Cespedes, Mets
Let's catch up on some links that have taken a backseat while we wait with bated breath to find out where Albert Pujols will sign…
- The Nationals prefer to trade minor leaguers over big leaguers, as Mark Zuckerman writes at Nats Insider.
- Dodgers assistant GM Logan White interviewed today for the Astros' GM opening, as MLB.com Brian McTaggart writes.
- The Diamondbacks are at the "very early stages" of negotiations on a Miguel Montero contract extension, said GM Kevin Towers. He doesn't expect anything to be resolved this week, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Yoenis Cespedes is still awaiting residency in the Dominican Republic, but when he gets it, bidding should be fast and strong, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
- J.D. Martin has agreed to a minor league contract with the Marlins, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
- Brandon Warne of Fangraphs breaks down the trade that sent Kevin Slowey to the Rockies.
- The Mets will fill their backup catcher opening with an in-house option rather than a free agent, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.
Marlins Have Interest In Wandy Rodriguez
The Marlins aren't just pursuing big-name free agents — they're also looking into some of the more interesting pitchers on the trade market. Having already inquired on Gio Gonzalez, the Fish also have some interest in Wandy Rodriguez, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (via Twitter).
Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) hears that if the Marlins can sign Albert Pujols, they'll turn their attention to trades rather than pursuing a high-end free agent pitcher. Meanwhile, the Astros are reportedly telling teams that they don't want to take on any salary if they trade Rodriguez.
NL Central Notes: Lee, Betancourt, Melvin, Darvish
Tuesday afternoon's NL Central items:
- Carlos Lee's limited no-trade clause supersedes his ten-and-five rights, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter). The Astros have reportedly been telling teams they'll eat half of Lee's salary in a trade.
- The Brewers have talked to Yuniesky Betancourt's agent about bringing the shortstop back, but haven't made an offer, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- In a piece for Baseball America, Haudricourt explains why Brewers GM Doug Melvin was baseball's top executive in 2011.
- Manager Dale Sveum says the Cubs haven't talked about bidding on Yu Darvish, tweets Yahoo's Steve Henson.
AL Central Rumors: Slowey, Picollo, Choo, Tigers
The major move in the AL Central today was the Twins' re-signing of Matt Capps, but there may be more action in the division by week's end. Here are the latest rumors from the AL Central:
- Kevin Slowey, viewed as a non-tender candidate, is being shopped by the Twins, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo interviewed for the Astros' GM position tonight, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Indians are still interested in discussing a contract extension with Shin-Soo Choo, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- Bastian also tweets that the Indians checked in on free agent Kevin Kouzmanoff, though their interest is likely minimal.
- The Tigers aren't ruling out the possibility of one of their young, in-house arms earning the fifth spot in the rotation, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. If the Tigers turn to the free agent market for a veteran, they prefer one-year deals.
Astros Won’t Eat Any Salary In Wandy Trade
The Astros are telling teams that they'd be willing to pay half of the salaries for Carlos Lee or Brett Myers if they were to trade them, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. However, the team doesn't want to eat any salary in a potential Wandy Rodriguez deal.
Lee is owed $18.5MM in 2012, and the Astros may have to pay more than half of that figure if they hope to move him. While Myers' $11MM salary is more managable, it includes a $3MM buyout on his $10MM 2013 club option. Rodriguez is set to earn $23MM over the next two seasons, but his 2014 club option would turn into a player option if he's dealt, meaning the team acquiring him could be on the hook for another $13MM in '14.
Here are a few more Monday evening Astros notes:
- Besides moving players like Lee and Myers, the Astros' top priority is finding a shortstop, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- The Astros have interviewed a half dozen GM candidates, with a focus on player development and scouting experience, tweets Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
- The team doesn't have a timetable for hiring their new GM, tweets Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner.
NL Central Rumors: Lee, Soriano, Cardinals, Brewers
The latest on several NL Central teams…
- The Reds are talking about a lot of trade possibilities and talking about a whole range of players, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. It is a possibility the Reds use Yonder Alonso as a trade piece to fix other needs, manager Dusty Baker told Jim Bowden on MLB Netowrk Radio. Baker indicated the Reds will keep prospects Yasmani Grandal and Devin Mesoraco, as well as star first baseman Joey Votto.
- The Reds outrighted lefty Jeremy Horst, dropping their 40-man roster count to 39, according toMLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that the Astros are letting teams know Carlos Lee is out there. Lee, 35, is owed $18.5MM for 2012 and has ten-and-five rights. A source close to the Astros' ownership tells Stark interim GM David Gottfried has autonomy to make trades this week.
- Speaking of mistakes from the 2006-07 offseason, the Cubs are getting a bit of interest in left fielder Alfonso Soriano, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Soriano, 35, is owed $54MM through 2014 and has a full no-trade clause. I think the Cubs would have to eat over $40MM to move Soriano.
- World Series revenue is not a game-changer for the Cardinals, owner Bill DeWitt Jr. told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the team's payroll is expected to remain around $110MM. The Cardinals have about $80MM committed to eight players under contract for 2012.
- The Brewers are in on everyone at several positions, including shortstop and third base, but are not down the road at all on any of them, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Brewers are also known to be actively seeking relief help.
Friedman Decides Against Astros Job
Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has already decided against taking the Astros GM job, tweets Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Joel Sherman of the New York Post agrees that Friedman is definitely staying in Tampa Bay. Friedman, a Houston native, was said to be the first choice of the new Astros ownership group.
Rockies senior vice president of scouting and player development/assistant GM Bill Geivett has interviewed for the Astros position, and Rockies folks told Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post today that Geivett has a real shot. I interviewed Geivett in August as part of MLBTR's GM Candidates series. Our top 20 GM candidates have been getting interviews and GM jobs left and right since the list was published on August 12th.
Heyman On Royals, Cuddyer, Andruw, Astros
Congratulations to national baseball writer Jon Heyman, who has a new job with CBSSports.com starting Monday. As usual, Heyman is tweeting up a storm; here's his latest from the Winter Meetings (all links go to Twitter):
- The Royals are talking trades for starters and are in on Oakland's Gio Gonzalez.
- Everyone wants bullpen help but few want it more than the Padres, Brewers, and Red Sox.
- The Phillies haven't completely ruled out Michael Cuddyer, but the Twins are still trying to bring him back as well. The Giants and Red Sox are other logical destinations, in Heyman's estimation.
- The Yankees would love to bring back Andruw Jones for his right-handed pop and strong clubhouse presence.
- Former Reds executive Scott Nethery is in the mix for the Astros GM opening. Andrew Friedman is still their top choice, Bill Geivett and Jeff Luhnow are also in the mix.
- The Astros will also eat most of Carlos Lee's contract to facilitate a trade. They still expect a good return for Wandy Rodriguez and something decent for Brett Myers in any trade.
- Heyman also said this morning that the Angels are looking for a closer and the Pirates are talking to Derrek Lee.
Overnight Links: Wright, Astros, Cardinals, Rockies
The Winter Meetings are here, and that means 24/7 coverage is here at MLBTR as well. I'll be doing overnight shifts throughout the duration of the Winter Meetings, so feel free to stay up late for your fix of Hot Stove news. Here's some overnight quick hits:
- ESPN's Buster Olney is of the opinion that the Mets should be entertaining offers for David Wright, since he won't be part of the organization by the time they turn things around (Twitter link).
- Astros manager Brad Mills is excited to see what some of the non-roster invitees they've signed will bring to Spring Training, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
- The Cardinals are somewhat comfortable with Tyler Greene as their starting shortstop in 2012, but are also aware of the long list of free agent options writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. New manager Mike Matheny had plenty of praise for Greene who, despite poor offensive output in the Majors, owns an .857 career OPS in 1,204 Triple-A plate appearances.
- The Denver Post's Troy Renck expects the Rockies to trade both Ian Stewart and Huston Street this offseason (Twitter link).
- Juan C. Rodrgiuez of the Miami Sun-Sentinel tweets that he thinks Javier Vazquez is "done." Vazquez has been rumored to be leaning toward retirement for months now.
- The Marlins are "being silly" if they prioritize Albert Pujols over starting pitching at this point, in the opinion of Scott Miller from CBS Sports. Miller feels they already have a dynamic lineup, but with Josh Johnson's frailty and some underwhelming results from the rest of their rotation in 2011, the rotation needs to be the priority.
Winter Meetings Notes: Giants, Beltran, Astros
With the Winter Meetings just around the corner, here's the latest on what we can expect to take place..
- An executive told Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter) last night that this weekend was much busier than most pre-meeting weekends with lots of teams bargain hunting.
- The Giants aren't expected to be big spenders, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. The club won't seek the offseason's elite free agents or make an aggressive push to re-sign Carlos Beltran, but they will look to fill-in some gaps at reasonable prices. Baggarly writes that they are after a right-handed hitting middle infielder such as Alex Gonzalez or Jerry Hairston Jr. and an outfielder such as Josh Willingham or Coco Crisp.
- In a piece for ESPN.com (Insider req'd), Jim Bowden runs down the situations facing the "new" GMs at the Winter Meetings. In total, there are six GMs who have just signed on with their respective clubs as GM and one interim GM in the Astros' David Gottfried.
- An agent with prominent clientele told ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider req'd) on Thursday that he's gotten less phone calls in recent days as clubs are simply waiting to get things done face-to-face at the Winter Meetings. Last year, the meetings provided tons of surprises including the Zack Greinke trade and Jayson Werth's seven-year, $126MM contract deal with the Nationals.