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American League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll update them in this post throughout the day in advance of the 11pm central time deadline.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here. 

Updated team decisions:

Teams with decisions still due:

Royals To Sign Bruce Chen

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Piece by piece, the Royals' rotation is taking shape. They have agreed to sign Bruce Chen to a two-year deal worth $9MM. The deal also includes a $1MM roster bonus and up to $1MM in incentives.

Before agreeing to terms with Chen, Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he is looking to add one or two more pitchers to compete with their internal candidates. Left-handers Jonathan Sanchez, Danny Duffy and Chen join right-handers Luke Hochevar, Felipe Paulino in the projected 2012 rotation at this point and relievers Aaron Crow and Everett Teaford could also transition to the rotation. Though Moore has already added two arms this offseason, the Royals lack top-of-the-rotation starters and may continue to pursue trades for available pitching.

Chen posted a 3.77 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 155 innings for the Royals this past season. The Royals offered the 34-year-old Scott Boras client arbitration earlier today, which means they would have obtained a compensatory draft pick had he accepted one of his other offers. 

Jon Heyman of SI.com first reported the agreement (Twitter links) after Dutton reported that the sides were nearing a deal.

Royals, Bruce Chen Progressing Toward Deal

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The Royals appear to be progressing toward a new contract with Bruce Chen, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Royals have offered Chen, a Type B free agent, arbitration in anticipation of tonight’s deadline for teams to offer deals to ranked free agents.

“I know he wants to be here, and we want him here,” GM Dayton Moore told Dutton. “The feeling is mutual. We’d like to get something done before the Winter Meetings. I think we’re getting closer.”

Chen appears to be asking for a two-year deal worth more than $10MM, according to Dutton. He has already obtained multiyear offers this offseason. The 34-year-old Scott Boras client posted a 3.77 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 155 innings for the Royals this past season. Moore says the Royals are looking to add one or two more pitchers to compete with their internal candidates, even after trading for left-hander Jonathan Sanchez.

Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates

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Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

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Minor Moves: Kimball, Corporan, Rottino, Pascucci

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to the Sosnick Cobbe Twitter page. Dumatrait appeared in 45 games for the Twins last season, posting a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9.
  • The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Cole Kimball off of waivers from Washington, according to the Nationals' official Twitter feed.  Meanwhile, the Nats outrighted outfielder Corey Brown to Triple-A Syracuse.
  • Astros catcher Carlos Corporan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.  Corporan has the right to elect free agency due to previously being outrighted.
  • The Mets signed catcher/left fielder/first baseman Vinny Rottino and first baseman/DH Val Pascucci to minor league deals, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin.  Both players saw their first big league action in several years in 2011.
  • Eric Duncan, drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 2003, has signed with the Royals, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  The 26-year-old played mostly first base, second base, and left field this year for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, hitting .274/.322/.527 in 385 plate appearances.
  • The White Sox re-signed Leyson Septimo, tweets Goldstein.  The Sox claimed the hard-throwing 26-year-old southpaw off waivers from Arizona in June but removed him from their 40-man roster in October.
  • The Giants signed center fielder Gregor Blanco, according to his agency (via Matt Eddy of Baseball America on Twitter).  The 27-year-old spent the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals and Royals, hitting .201/.350/.327 in 252 plate appearances.
  • The Phillies acquired righty Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks to complete the September Mike Zagurski trade, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Worthington, 24, posted a 4.48 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 62 1/3 High-A relief innings this year.
  • The Yankees signed lefty reliever Mike O'Connor, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The 31-year-old appeared briefly in the Majors for the Mets this year, also posting a 5.22 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 60 1/3 Triple-A innings.

Bruce Chen Weighing Multiyear Offers

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Lefty Bruce Chen has multiyear offers, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  He says the Royals and Cubs are among the teams talking to Chen, with the Royals perhaps focused on him.

Chen, a 34-year-old Scott Boras client, has never had a multiyear deal in his career.  This year for the Royals he posted a 3.77 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9, and 34.6% groundball rate in 155 innings.

Cubs, Buehrle’s Agent Have Had Multiple Discussions

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The Cubs have had multiple discussions with Mark Buehrle's agent Jeff Berry, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Berry also met with Marlins earlier today.  Morosi sums up the other interested clubs: the White Sox, Blue Jays, Royals, Angels, Nationals, and Diamondbacks.

Earlier in November, we heard that the Cubs would have interest in the longtime White Sox pitcher "if the price tag and years aren't astronomical." Considering the number of Buehrle rumors we've heard so far this offseason, there appears to be plenty of competition, but we don't have a clear idea yet of the years and dollars the lefty might be offered.

Central Notes: Neil Walker, Royals, Oswalt

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The latest on several Central division clubs…

Stark On Pujols, Fielder, Manny, Royals

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MLB executives expect Albert Pujols to re-sign in St. Louis, but predicting Prince Fielder’s next team is considerably more challenging. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark surveyed a dozen MLB executives about likely landing spots for the two free agent first basemen and the details are worth examining. Here they are, along with more notes from Stark:

  • The average prediction for Pujols’ next contract was more than $28MM per season for 8.5 years. All but one respondent expect Pujols to re-sign with the Cardinals, though there’s buzz that the Cubs, Marlins and Rangers are “gearing up” for him.
  • Executives expect Fielder to sign a seven-year deal in the $22-23MM range. Some doubt NL teams would commit more than five years to Fielder because of concerns that he’ll be incapable of playing passable defense once he hits his mid-thirties.
  • Manny Ramirez tried out for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, but it didn’t go well, possibly because Japanese teams prefer to avoid players with baggage.
  • The players and owners are considering significant changes to the schedule in talks for a new collective bargaining agreement. The sides are considering a proposal that would split MLB teams into six divisions of five teams, ensure identical schedules for teams within the same division and boost inter-league play considerably.
  • Stark hears that the Nationals are focused on finding veteran starting pitching and a center fielder. One executive believes the team prefers Mark Buehrle to C.J. Wilson or Roy Oswalt.
  • The Phillies have interest in Jason Kubel and have checked in on Grady Sizemore. 
  • More than six teams have expressed interest in Jimmy Rollins.
  • The Braves seem interested in shedding salary and they continue to float Jair Jurrjens’ name. It appears that they’d move Martin Prado after his disappointing 2011 season.
  • Rival teams say the Royals are no longer looking to trade for a top-of-the-rotation starter, according to Stark. They acquired Jonathan Sanchez earlier in the week and now prefer to hold their prospects and spend on back-of-the-rotation arms.
  • The Red Sox are less likely to spend on a right fielder if they re-sign free agent DH David Ortiz.

Quick Hits: CBA, Fielder, Francis, Rollins

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Ryan Madson appeared to have a deal with the Phillies this time last night, but the sides haven't completed anything to date. Here are the details and here are your links for Wednesday night…

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