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Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Pavano, Buehrle, Millwood

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names the winners and losers of the Winter Meetings in his newest piece, with the Red Sox, Nationals, and White Sox topping his list of winners. Cafardo also shares a handful of hot stove notes. Here are the highlights:

  • Before they signed Carl Crawford, the Red Sox "did a ton of work" on Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran.
  • Carl Pavano figures to wait for Cliff Lee to sign, so he can see the type of offers he receives as the top pitcher on the market. Cafardo thinks Pavano could be a backup plan for the Rangers if they don't land Lee, though the Twins still remain the favorites for the 34-year-old. Texas has also inquired on Matt Garza and James Shields.
  • The White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle, whose contract expires after the 2011 season. Buehrle earned ten and five rights this year, so he'd have the option of vetoing any trade.
  • Agent Scott Boras says a strong market is developing for Kevin Millwood.
  • Team officials that spoke to Cafardo had mixed opinions on free agent backstop Russell Martin. One opined that Martin "can't call a game," while another raved about the enthusiasm the catcher brings each day.
  • According to Cafardo, the Red Sox were the only team to discuss Justin Upton with the Diamondbacks, balking at Kevin Towers' insistence that Daniel Bard be included in a potential deal.
  • The Astros would have interest in trading Matt Lindstrom and Jeff Keppinger.
  • Grant Balfour is seeking a three-year contract. The Red Sox have looked into him, but are hoping Matt Guerrier will accept their offer. As Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston noted today (via Twitter), Guerrier is one of the top relief targets for Boston, along with Brian Fuentes and Jesse Crain.

Astros Sign Ryan Rowland-Smith

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The Astros have signed left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith to a one-year contract worth $725K plus incentives, according to a team press release.  Rowland-Smith will join Nelson Figueroa and others in a competition for the team's fifth starter job.  The Astros will have the opportunity to control Rowland-Smith through 2013 as an arbitration eligible player.

Rowland-Smith, 28 in January, posted a 6.75 ERA, 4.0 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9, and 37.1% groundball rate in 109 1/3 innings this year before being non-tendered by the Mariners.  The Australia native spent time on the DL with a lower back strain this year after battling a triceps injury in '09.

News of the agreement was first reported by Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.

Odds & Ends: Young, Francis, Twins, Fielder, Nady

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A handful of links to start the final day of the Winter Meetings….

  • The Mets prefer Chris Young to Jeff Francis, and are still trying to sign one of the two veteran starters, says Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, both pitchers are looking for upwards of $4MM for 2011, which is more than the Mets are willing to pay.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Twins are seeking front-end rotation help, such as Carl Pavano. They're also considering moving arms from their back-end surplus, such as Kevin Slowey.
  • The amount of money being spent on free agents this offseason might be making it more obvious to the Brewers that they have little chance of retaining Prince Fielder past next year. As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports writes, that could make Milwaukee more inclined to deal Fielder sooner rather than later.
  • The Diamondbacks are talking to Xavier Nady, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports initially linked the D'Backs to Nady on Tuesday.
  • With Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia under contract, the Red Sox are still pursuing another catcher, according to GordonEdes of ESPNBoston.
  • Astros GM Ed Wade says he doesn't intend to acquire a left fielder, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. If the Astros added an outfielder, it would move Carlos Lee to first base and leave Brett Wallace out of the picture, and the club wants to give Wallace a chance to earn the first base job.

Astros Notes: Rowland-Smith, Hall, Cust, Rodriguez

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The Rangers are grabbing all the headlines, but the other Texas team has been busy, too. The latest on the Astros:

  • Houston is interested in Ryan Rowland-Smith, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (on Twitter).
  • The Astros think they could get more offense from second base and have expressed interest in Bill Hall, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Yankees and Dodgers have also shown interest in Hall this offseason. Clint Barmes and Jeff Keppinger figure to play short and second for the Astros unless GM Ed Wade makes an addition.
  • The Astros and Mariners are pushing for Jack Cust, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Seattle's interested in a number of free agents, including the former A's slugger.
  • Hall and Cust are free agents, but the Astros haven't ruled out making a trade or two. Wade told McTaggart that he exchanged trade proposals with teams today, though Houston's advances weren't embraced by rival clubs (Twitter link).
  • Wandy Rodriguez changed agents from Barry Praver to Adam Katz, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Rodriguez is set to discuss an extension with Houston.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Giants, Astros, Marlins

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Some late night links after a busy day for the Diamondbacks…

Dodgers Rumors: Padilla, Broxton, Diaz, Accardo

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10:50pm: The Dodgers are in talks to re-sign Padilla, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

4:00pm: The Dodgers are willing to listen to offers for Broxton, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports.

11:42am: The Dodgers hope to add two relievers, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark, with Vicente Padilla one of them.  He says some teams wonder if they'd be willing to move Jonathan Broxton if they add the right arms.  The Dodgers have previously been linked to Jesse Crain, Jason Frasor, and Matt Guerrier.

10:14am: The Dodgers are interested in recently non-tendered players Matt Diaz and Jeremy Accardo, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.

Diaz, 33 in March, could serve as a platoon partner for Jay Gibbons in left field.  The Phillies, Astros, and Yankees are other potential suitors for him.  Accardo, meanwhile, hasn't pitched extensively in the Majors since '07.

Astros Make Lindstrom, Keppinger Available

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5:03pm: The Rockies are interested in Lindstrom, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).

10:03am: The Astros are looking to trade reliever Matt Lindstrom and infielder Jeff Keppinger as a means of cutting payroll, reports Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.  Both players are arbitration eligible for the second time and should pass the $2MM salary mark in 2011.

Keppinger should draw interest in a weak middle infield market, but Lindstrom's stock is hurt by the strong supply of righty relievers and the back problems that caused him to end the season on a sour note.

Stark On Soriano, Quentin, Phillies, Astros

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As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark points out in this week's Rumblings & Grumblings, there's not much starting pitching available after Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano. Stark examines alternatives for pitching-starved teams and provides some rumors along the way. Here they are:

  • Though it appeared to some baseball people as though the Angels were trying to sign Rafael Soriano before the Winter Meetings, it now appears that their search for relief pitching is secondary to their pursuit of Carl Crawford.
  • Stark sees indications that the Angels are showing "very little" interest in Jayson Werth so far this offseason.
  • The White Sox still say they're not shopping Carlos Quentin, but rival teams say Chicago will listen to offers.
  • The Phillies don't plan on pursuing a trade for Quentin, according to Stark.
  • Arthur Rhodes appears to be one of Philadelphia's top left-handed relief targets, followed by Pedro Feliciano. Neither reliever would cost the Phillies a draft pick, which is their preference.
  • The Astros have quietly been shopping for an affordable outfielder who bats from the left side.

D’Backs To Sign Wily Mo Pena

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The Diamondbacks will sign Wily Mo Pena to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league Spring Training, MLBTR has learned. The outfielder drew interest from multiple major league teams, including the Tigers, White Sox and Orioles. He also drew interest from clubs in Japan before signing in Arizona, where he expects to compete for the starting left field job.

Pena's deal is worth $675K, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com, who notes that the Astros also had interest.

The slugger hit 26 home runs and posted an .843 OPS as a 22-year-old on the 2004 Reds. He followed that up with 19 homers in 2005, but his impressive power hasn’t translated into big league homers since. He did post a .324/.390/.556 line with nine home runs in 159 plate appearances in the Padres minor league system this year, so the 28-year-old still has a potent bat.

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