Royals Rumors

Five Teams Eyeing Endy Chavez

By Tim Dierkes | February 10, 2010 at 2:13pm CDT

Five teams are eyeing free agent outfielder Endy Chavez, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports: the Mets, Mariners, Blue Jays, Astros, and Royals. Chavez had surgery for a torn ACL in July, and Morosi says he could be ready in April or May.

Chavez, 32, doesn't offer much offensively. His calling card is his defense, which has historically been strong at all three outfield positions. The question is whether his defense will still be an asset post-knee surgery.

Odds & Ends: Jays, V-Mart, Jeter, Gonzalez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 5, 2010 at 1:29pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Tim Dillard, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week, cleared waivers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter).
Don't expect the Twins to add much to their 2010 payroll. GM Bill Smith tells Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that the team is nearing the "upper extremes" of what it can spend (Twitter link).
The Blue Jays are no longer in on Carlos Delgado, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Twins had one of the best offseasons in baseball.
Alex Anthopoulos doesn't expect to trade any of his relievers before the season starts, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. However, the Jays GM points out that things can change.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier compares Victor Martinez to similar catchers to hit free agency in recent years. Speier writes that after this season V-Mart could be in line for a four-year $40MM deal like the ones Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Varitek signed. Some consider Martinez a first baseman going forward, which would make him a "completely different animal" in the eyes of interested teams.
Those small market Twins will open the season with a payroll of about $96MM, writes Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Derek Jeter hits free agency after the season and Hank Steinbrenner says we can "pretty much assume" what will happen at that point given Jeter's place in Yankee history (link from the Philadelphia Daily News).
Padres GM Jed Hoyer tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that he hasn't ruled out signing Adrian Gonzalez long-term. That seems unlikely given the offers Gonzalez could demand as a free agent.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Adam Kennedy will be the Nats' everday second baseman, which likely leaves Cristian Guzman at short.
Now the Nats will look for a veteran starter, tweets Ladson.
Jesus Guzman cleared waivers and will receive an invitation to Giants Spring Training, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants designated the infielder for assignment in late January.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star tweets that Jarrod Washburn may be too expensive for the Royals.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that some within the Dodgers organization called Orlando Hudson "Slow-Dog" because they were surprised he wasn't faster. Some Dodgers officials believe Hudson's defensive reputation is better than it should be.

Odds & Ends: Everidge, Lincecum, Lewis, Manny

By Tim Dierkes | February 3, 2010 at 9:23pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Tommy Everidge cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The Mariners designated Everidge for assignment last week to make room on the roster for Eric Byrnes.
Various agents think the Giants and Tim Lincecum will somehow avoid an arbitration hearing regardless of how poorly talks are going, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft.
The Astros signed 18-year-old Nicaraguan first baseman Mesac Laguna yesterday, reports Roger Olivas of El Nuevo Diaro.
Free agent journeyman Nelson Figueroa hopes to return to the Mets but wants to avoid the minors, reports Angel Pinto Vaamonde of the blog BeisbolVenezolano.net. Thanks to Nick Collias for translations on these two bullets.
Colby Lewis heard from 12 or 13 teams before signing with the Rangers, reports ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. The A's and Twins also offered two-year deals.
Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball explains how an arbitration hearing works. Hearings are scheduled through February 21st, with Tim Lincecum's case drawing the most attention.
Manny Ramirez "seriously considered opting out of his contract to return to the American League for a designated-hitter role," reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The idea seems silly now, but in November it wasn't ridiculous to think Manny might've preferred to chase, say, a two-year, $32MM deal elsewhere.
Bill Shanks of Scout.com talked to Braves assistant GM Bruce Manno, who replied "Never say never" when asked about Johnny Damon. Still, Manno likes the club as it stands. And MLB.com's Mark Bowman believes the Braves are not actively pursuing Damon.
Rany Jazayerli examines a "delusional" quote from an anonymous Royals official regarding the team's 2008-09 offseason.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays should have significant payroll flexibility after the 2010 season.
MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince doesn't see Orlando Hudson as a fit for the Indians.

Odds & Ends: Mauer, Hairston, Buck, Benson

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2010 at 5:10pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

We shouldn't expect a Joe Mauer extension soon, according to this tweet from USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
The Padres avoided arbitration with Scott Hairston, signing the outfielder to a one-year deal worth $2.45MM, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes that the Tigers have moved into the non-denial stage regarding Johnny Damon (via Twitter).
A's outfielder Travis Buck has a chip on his shoulder after watching the A's acquire multiple outfielders, reports CSNBayArea's Mychael Urban. But as ESPN's Rob Neyer points out, Buck hasn't done much recently with the bat.
Free agent outfielder Darin Erstad told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick he'd love to play in 2010, but "there is nowhere to find at-bats."
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times tweets that the Dodgers "remain interested in Jeff Weaver, but their roster situation could prevent them from offering him a major-league deal."
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports names the D'Backs, Cubs, Reds, and Nationals as teams monitoring free agent starter Kris Benson. Benson didn't pitch much in the last three seasons due to rotator cuff surgery.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. further explained his rationale behind the Cliff Lee trade, reports Scott Lauber of The News Journal. Amaro's reasoning didn't sway my opinion; none of the three prospects he received are in Keith Law's top 100 (though Ramirez is #101). The long-term value of Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies should not outweigh the extra 4-5 wins Lee would've provided in 2010. And did Amaro even shop Lee around for the best package?
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star is pessimistic on the Royals, who he says don't offer much beyond Zack Greinke, Billy Butler, and Joakim Soria.
RotoAuthority looks at Boston's closer situation from a fantasy baseball point of view.

Cafardo On Damon, Ohman, Sheffield, Wang

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 31, 2010 at 9:12am CDT

Scott Boras tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he has seen some "very creative proposals" for Johnny Damon's services. The market for Damon seems limited, but teams like the Blue Jays, Tigers and A's could be fits at some price. Here are the rest of Cafardo's rumors:

The Blue Jays, Orioles and Royals seem most aggressive in their pursuit of reliever Will Ohman.
Gary Sheffield is considering two unidentified teams and waiting for offers from them.
Boras is trying to find interest for Jeff Weaver.
There's interest in Chien-Ming Wang, but teams aren't offering the two-time 19 game winner much money.

Stark On Damon, Bedard, Phillies, Smoltz, Gregg

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 29, 2010 at 2:34pm CDT

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com points out that teams aren't handing out long-term contracts as liberally as they were a few years ago. We've seen just eight contracts of three-plus years this offseason, after seeing 13 such contracts in each of the previous two winters. The offseason before that? Players signed 29 contracts of three years or more. Here are Stark's rumors:

Detroit doesn't seem that interested in Johnny Damon and the Braves haven't spoken with Damon's agent, Scott Boras, in a month and a half. The Rays have checked in, but they have little to spend.
Erik Bedard and the Orioles have mutual interest in a reunion, Stark hears.
The Phillies would like to add a veteran left-handed reliever on a minor league deal, but Alan Embree and Ron Mahay are holding out for big league deals at this point, despite the Phillies' interest.
Kevin Gregg is high on the Rockies' shopping list. They're looking at infield options and hoping to save enough money to shore up their bullpen, too.
The Blue Jays have told clubs that Scott Downs and Jason Frasor are available. The Cubs have checked in on the pair of relievers.
The Royals have told teams they're "open minded" about moving Gil Meche or Brian Bannister.
John Smoltz is in no rush to sign. He's open to waiting for a few months, since he'd like a starting job and some execs question his ability to start for an entire season.
Ben Sheets will be the first A's pitcher to make $10MM (though some believe Sheets will be traded before the end of the year).
Mark Prior is throwing off a mound and would like to make a comeback.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Damon, Burrell, Lopez

By Mike Axisa | January 29, 2010 at 8:46am CDT

On this date two years ago, the Mets and Twins agreed to a five player deal sending two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana to New York. The Mets and Santana had a 72-hour window to finalize a contract extension, and the two sides eventually agreed to a six-year, $137.5MM contract to make the trade official. Santana has given the Mets over 400 innings of 2.78 ERA ball, while just one of the four players the Twins received in the deal is still with the organization.

Here's some links from around the baseball blogosphere…

Blogging Mets isn't sure where the Mets can turn for pitching help now that Jon Garland and Ben Sheets are off the market.
The Baseball Opinion wonders if the Sheets and Justin Duchscherer signings were calculated moves by Billy Beane made with the intention of flipping both at the trade deadline.
Royals Authority takes a look a Kansas City's crowded outfield.
Camden Crazies goes through some different roster permutations for the Orioles.
The Sports Banter comes up with some possible destinations for Johnny Damon.
Meanwhile, U.S.S. Mariner thinks Damon would be a cost effective way to upgrade Seattle's roster.
Rays Index takes the latest Rays' rumors as a sign that they're still trying to trade Pat Burrell.
Pro Ball NW gives us five reasons why the Mariners should trade Jose Lopez.
TAUNTR chimes in on some of the latest hot stove news.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Calero, Nats, Byrnes, Fogg, Timlin

By Tim Dierkes | January 28, 2010 at 5:24pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

The Marlins aren't that confident in Kiko Calero's ability to hold up as well as he did last year, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
The Nationals designated right-hander Marco Estrada for assignment to make room for Tyler Walker according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, via Twitter.
The A's have no interest in Eric Byrnes, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
The Dodgers are a finalist for Derrick Turnbow, tweets MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
The Mets are interested in Josh Fogg, according to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.
Mike Timlin said on WEEI.com that he will stay in retirement this year. Last year, Timlin pitched in the Rockies' minor league system.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes that Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is "open to anything." The Jays could stand to add a corner outfielder and there are a number of options available should the Jays decide to pursue them.
I wrote an article for my fantasy website, RotoAuthority.com, suggesting that overhyped "sleepers" can still provide a profit.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that Gary Sheffield might be a good fit for the Reds, and that Sheff was "on his way" to the Diamondbacks before they signed Adam LaRoche.
Brandon Webb still contends that re-signing with the D'Backs is his first choice, in an article written by MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Reds, Padres, White Sox, and Royals inquired on the Yankees' Brett Gardner this winter, with hopes of using him as a starting center fielder.
Bill Shanks of Scout.com makes a case for the Braves to sign Johnny Damon.
Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Dodgers are one club eyeing Garret Anderson for a fourth outfielder role.

Royals Interested In Erik Bedard

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2010 at 1:51pm CDT

The Royals are looking into signing Erik Bedard, tweets Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star. The Royals need upcoming moves to be "payroll neutral," so the team will have to shed as much salary as it adds. Mellinger doesn't think the club is likely to sign Bedard.

The 30-year-old pitched just 83 innings last year, allowing 65 hits and 34 walks to go along with 90 strikeouts for a 2.82 ERA. Bedard hasn't had an ERA above 4.00 since 2004, but he's been slowed down by injuries.

Bedard's most often been linked to the Orioles this offseason, but earlier in the winter the Royals were reportedly pursuing the left-hander.

Twins, Mariners Are Atop Washburn’s “Wish List”

By Mark Polishuk | January 26, 2010 at 6:29pm CDT

With the likes of Ben Sheets and Jon Garland now signed, FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi provided an update on Jarrod Washburn, one of the few high-profile arms left on the rapidly-dwindling free agent pitching market. Morosi quotes one source who said that Washburn only wants to play in “a limited number of places,” and another source who says he "would be surprised" if the lefty went anywhere besides Minnesota or Seattle.

The Twins have made one attempt to sign Washburn: an offer worth roughly $5MM that was rejected earlier this month. Given Minnesota's signing of Carl Pavano to serve as the veteran anchor of their rotation, Washburn would've been a luxury that the Twins may feel that they can live without.

As for the Mariners, we've heard some whispers that they might be interested in bringing Washburn back to the city where he pitched from 2006 to last year's trade deadline. The M's have already spent a lot of money this offseason, but Washburn might be enticed to return to a familiar situation for a contract akin to the one he turned down from Minnesota. Then again, Washburn is a Scott Boras client, so a bargain could be hard to come by.

Another source tells Morosi that six teams "have inquired" about Washburn. Aside from Minnesota and Seattle, we've heard Washburn linked to such suitors as Milwaukee (who are probably out of the running after signing Randy Wolf and Doug Davis), Kansas City and the Mets. Morosi also points out that the Cubs could join the Washburn sweepstakes in the wake of missing out on Sheets.

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