Astros Talk Extension With Wandy, Not Bourn, Pence
Astros GM Ed Wade told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that the team has discussed a multi-year deal with Wandy Rodriguez, but not with Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence, who are further away from free agency. Rodriguez hits free agency after the 2011 season, Bourn after the 2012 season and Pence after the 2013 season.
Rodriguez’s representatives approached Wade about a deal during the season, but the sides postponed serious talks until the winter. A year ago, the Astros won their arbitration case against the left-hander, limiting him to a $5MM salary in 2010.
An extension would likely pay Rodriguez $7-8MM in 2011 and $10MM or more for each season of free agency the Astros buy out. Tim Dierkes suggested this summer that Joe Blanton’s three-year $24MM contract could become a model for the Astros and Rodriguez.
The 31-year-old posted a 3.60 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 195 innings last year. It was the third consecutive season he has had an ERA of 3.60 or better and a strikeout rate of 8.0 per nine or better.
Who’s Looking For Starting Pitching?
We're a week from the Winter Meetings, and starting pitchers Jon Garland, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Javier Vazquez, and Jake Westbrook have already signed – three of them with the Dodgers. For the many teams that can't afford Cliff Lee, it's down to Jorge de la Rosa, Carl Pavano, and a field of comeback candidates or back-rotation arms. Let's take a look at which teams are in the market.
- Astros – They subtracted Felipe Paulino, and have been linked to Brandon McCarthy and Jeff Francis. GM Ed Wade explained earlier this month that he'd like to add someone on a one-year deal similar to the Brett Myers contract.
- Athletics – They showed their desire to add starting pitching by bidding $19.1MM for the right to negotiate with Hisashi Iwakuma. If they're unable to reach a deal with him by Wednesday of next week, the A's could check out the free agent market. They're known to be interested in McCarthy.
- Brewers – They're in on McCarthy, Francis, and Jarrod Washburn, but are expected to focus on trade possibilities as they look to add a starter or two.
- Cubs – The Cubs have five starters, but could add insurance with Jeremy Bonderman, Aaron Harang, Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, or Brandon Webb.
- Diamondbacks – They were linked to McCarthy prior to acquiring Zach Duke. With their front four settled, I expect them to worry about other needs.
- Mariners – They've been linked to McCarthy and Jeff Francis, suggesting they're targeting injury comeback candidates.
- Mets – The rumor mill has been quiet, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post can see them getting in on a reclamation-project starter in the new year.
- Nationals – The Nationals are seeking pitching by trade, free agency, or both. They're in on Lee, De La Rosa, Webb, and Pavano at the least.
- Orioles – They apparently have tepid interest in De La Rosa, and have been linked to position players more frequently this offseason.
- Padres – Garland's gone and Kevin Correia is a free agent. The Padres have been linked to McCarthy and will probably seek late bargains.
- Pirates – They seem very likely to sign some kind of free agent starter this winter. They've moved on from Duke and are eyeing Scott Olsen, De La Rosa, Webb, and Francis.
- Rangers – They could move Neftali Feliz to the rotation, but the top priority is signing Lee. If Lee signs elsewhere they're expected to look into Zack Greinke. They're known to be in on Webb, and happen to employ Webb's surgeon Dr. Keith Meister as the team physician.
- Reds – They've been loosely linked to Webb based mainly on geography, but already made a big commitment to Bronson Arroyo and don't have a ton of spending money.
- Rockies – They're likely to add a starter and are in on Webb and Francis. They could also look at trades and lesser free agents, but at least they've added Paulino.
- Royals – The Royals cut Brian Bannister and are interested in Kevin Millwood, to name one option. If Kyle Davies is non-tendered on Thursday that would heighten their need.
- Tigers – They seem content with their rotation options, but they were among the seven clubs linked to McCarthy.
- Twins – They'll need an arm, possibly Pavano. They placed a bid on Iwakuma and have been tied to Webb. Washburn could also work.
- White Sox – They haven't been linked to anyone, and appear to be in good shape even with Jake Peavy missing the beginning of the season given the possibility of moving Chris Sale into the rotation. However, I won't rule Kenny Williams out if he finds one of the aforementioned free agent arms intriguing.
- Yankees – They're the favorites for Lee, and Andy Pettitte might be leaning toward a return. The Yankees are not expected to participate in the next bracket of free agent starters if one of those options falls through, and the trade market is barren if Greinke is off-limits.
- The Angels, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Phillies, Rays, and Red Sox have either stayed out of the rumor mill or already made their additions. Still, it would not be a shock for some of these teams to add starting pitching.
Astros Outright Chacin, Byrdak; Sign Corporan
MONDAY, 10:31am: The Astros have released Byrdak, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
WEDNESDAY, 1:26pm: The Astros outrighted Tim Byrdak, Gustavo Chacin and Matt Nevarez off of the 40-man roster, according to a team press release. Byrdak and Chacin were both arbitration eligible, but MLBTR had identified them as non-tender candidates earlier in the month. Nevarez will be assigned to the Astros’ Triple-A Oklahoma City roster; Byrdak and Chacin can become free agents.
Byrdak, a 37-year-old lefty, posted a 3.49 ERA in 64 relief appearances (38 2/3 innings) with 6.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9. Chacin, also a left-hander, posted a 4.70 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings of work. It was his first appearance in the major leagues since 2007, when he was still with the Blue Jays.
The team also signed catcher Carlos Corporan to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training. The 26-year-old has just one major league plate appearance to his name (he singled), but he has a .251/.306/.377 line in over 2,000 minor league plate appearances.
Odds & Ends: Tigers, Orioles, Manny, Astros, Uribe
Happy birthday to two former All-Star catchers! Future Hall-of-Famer Ivan Rodriguez turns 39 today, while Angels manager Mike Scioscia turns 52.
Some news items…
- Count Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer as unimpressed by Detroit's contracts with Joaquin Benoit and Jhonny Peralta. Pluto cites Benoit's 4.47 career ERA and Peralta's .696 OPS over his last two seasons.
- The Orioles' failed pursuit of Victor Martinez proves "the issue isn't how much money the Orioles are willing to give somebody. It's whether somebody suitable is willing to take it," writes The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck.
- Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog thinks Manny Ramirez would be a bad fit on the Yankees.
- By the time the sale of the Astros is finalized, the new ownership group should have few salary commitments to deal with, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Giants are betting that other teams don't value Juan Uribe as highly as they do, says CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban, which is why the club offered the infielder (a Type B free agent) arbitration. San Francisco thinks Uribe won't be able to find a multi-year deal elsewhere and will thus accept arbitration or re-sign for a $5MM, one-year contract. Even if Uribe does leave for another club, at least the Giants would get a draft pick in compensation.
- Urban also notes that the Giants are "tire-kicking" J.J. Hardy and Miguel Tejada as other infield options. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun predicts Tejada will be the best free agent bargain of the winter.
- In his look at the offseason needs of the AL Central clubs, The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton names Detroit prospects Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner, Minnesota outfield prospects Joe Benson, Aaron Hicks and Ben Revere, and Kansas City's Robinson Tejeda and Alex Gordon as young players within the division who could be dealt. (Oliver and Turner only in "major trade talks" since "neither will be cheap.") Dutton adds that Grady Sizemore probably won't be dealt in the winter but "interest should quickly escalate" if Sizemore gets off to a healthy and productive start in 2011.
Odds & Ends: Garland, Tigers, Manny, Astros
Links for Saturday, exactly six years after the Pirates traded Jason Kendall to the Athletics for Mark Redman, Arthur Rhodes, and cash…
- The Rockies offered Jon Garland a similar deal to the one he agreed upon with the Dodgers, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is willing to spend in order to make Detroit a winner again, writes Peter Gammons for MLB.com.
- The Yankees have signed right-hander Brian Anderson and left-hander Andy Sisco to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Anderson was recently cut by the Royals and is new to pitching after playing the outfield his entire career. Sisco threw 66.2 innings for the Giants Double-A affiliate this year after having Tommy John surgery in 2008.
- ESPN's Buster Olney asked several talent evaluators for their opinion of Manny Ramirez (Insider req'd). Most see him as a designated hitter (unsurprisingly) that is good offensively but no longer elite. One compared him to a healthy Nick Johnson, meaning good average, great OBP, some power. Almost everyone Olney polled suggested an incentive-laden deal, which is what Scott Boras is seeking.
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle says the Astros need to make a big move in free agency if Drayton McLane really hopes to sell the team for $800MM. He throws the names of Carl Pavano, Jorge de la Rosa, Jeff Francis, Rafael Soriano, and Dan Wheeler out there as possibilities.
- Jonathan Albaladejo finalized a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants that will pay him $950K according to the AP (via ESPN New York). The Yankees released Albaladejo at his request earlier this month.
Odds & Ends: Rasmus, Gilbert, Nishioka, Hoffman
MLBTR wishes all of its American readers a very happy Thanksgiving. For those readers not from the USA…uh, happy Thursday! Onto some news items:
- "Three contending clubs" have a "persisting interest" in Colby Rasmus, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss noted in a follow-up tweet that these are teams with a "new interest," so presumably that eliminates past suitors like the Braves, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and White Sox. The Rasmus rumor mill seemed to have petered out, with the most recent report stating that there was a 99% chance that Rasmus would still be in St. Louis next season.
- Dennis Gilbert will not try to buy the Houston Astros, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Gilbert led a group bidding for the Rangers earlier this year and has been rumored to be a potential future ownership candidate for the Dodgers.
- The Twins are "very much in on" Tsuyoshi Nishioka, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman. We heard last week that Minnesota had an interest in the Japanese infielder.
- When Kevin Towers was general manager of the Padres, he planned to eventually bring Trevor Hoffman back to San Diego so the future Hall-of-Fame closer could retire as a Padre, tweets Fanhouse.com's Tom Krasovic. Though Towers has moved on to Arizona, Krasovic says there's a chance Hoffman could still return to San Diego now that Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta are no longer with the organization.
- Bill James talks to CBSSports.com's Evan Brunell about a variety of topics, including the new Mets front office, the Justin Upton trade rumors and what the Royals should do with Zack Greinke.
- Joe Pawlikowski of the River Ave Blues blog wishes the Derek Jeter negotiations moved as smoothly as Mike Mussina's contract talks with the Yankees after the 2006 season.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Boras, Francisco, Dunn
Links for Tuesday night, one year after the White Sox signed Omar Vizquel. One year later, the White Sox have already re-signed the 43-year-old infielder for 2011…
- The Dodgers are open to re-signing Rod Barajas, Vicente Padilla and Scott Podsednik, though they didn’t offer the players arbitration. Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports on Twitter that the team remains in contact with all three.
- Scott Boras' company provided families of poor Dominican prospects with tens of thousands of dollars, reports Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. Boras tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that he was helping prospects out when their careers were on the line, but MLB will investigate the issue.
- The Rangers expect Frank Francisco to accept their offer of arbitration, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
- The Nationals are no longer pursuing Adam Dunn aggressively and they appear to be a fringe suitor for him, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Brian Moehler tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he intends to play in 2011 and has interest in returning to the Astros. But Moehler has never pitched in the playoffs, so he'd like to sign with a team that has a good chance of making a playoff run.
- The divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt is now final, according to the AP (on ESPN). The McCourts await a decision that will determine whether Frank has sole ownership of the Dodgers or whether he shares the club with his ex-wife.
- Don Nomura, the agent for Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he "deeply" hopes to complete a deal between his client and the A's. Oakland, who won the bidding for Iwakuma, broke off talks earlier in the week because the sides were too far apart.
At Least Seven Teams Interested In Brandon McCarthy
The Athletics, Astros, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Padres, Mariners, and Tigers are among the teams interested in free agent righty Brandon McCarthy, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Rangers acquired McCarthy four years ago mainly for John Danks and Nick Masset in what I described at the time as an offer Kenny Williams couldn't refuse. McCarthy's Rangers career was ruined by injuries, and he was outrighted and elected free agency earlier this month.
Morosi notes that McCarthy has thrown well in the Dominican Winter League, and teams have been scouting him heavily. McCarthy has a history of shoulder injuries, but Morosi says he's subject to a "buy-low frenzy." Since the 6'7" righty has less than five years of big league service time, he could be controlled by his new team through 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.
McCarthy, 27, posted a 3.36 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 1.3 HR/9 in 56 1/3 Triple-A innings this year. He tossed 119 innings between the Majors and minors in 2009.
McLane Puts Astros Up For Sale
Drayton McLane, who bought the Astros in 1992, officially announced his decision to put the team up for sale. The Astros have posted the fourth-best record in the National League since McLane bought the team and reached the 2005 World Series under his ownership. The Astros, who played in the Astrodome when McLane purchased the team, moved into Minute Maid Park in 2000.
The Astros don't figure to be big spenders this offseason, so it seems unlikely that the sale will impact the organization's offseason moves. However, uncertain ownership situations can handcuff teams, as fans of Texas' other MLB team know well.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that he isn't interested in buying the Astros (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Barmes, Thornton, Braves
Links for Thursday night..
- The Yankees will pursue Carl Crawford if they do not land Cliff Lee, writes Newsday's Ken Davidoff.
- There's mutual interest between the Giants and Aubrey Huff, but talks between the two parties have not advanced lately, writes Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
- The Dodgers have signed a pair of Japanese amateur pitchers, Kazuya Takano and Kazuki Nishijima, according to Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times.
- Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin is "untouchable" in trade talks, a team source told Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
- Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that the Astros got better in the long run by dealing for Clint Barmes this afternoon.
- Matt Thornton of the White Sox told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he isn't concerned about hammering out a long-term deal with the club.
- The Phillies have decisions to make on several players in advance of tomorrow's midnight deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- The Braves have named Jonathan Schuerholz, son of team president John Schuerholz, the manager of their Gulf Coast league affiliate, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.