Royals Rumors

Odds & Ends: Royals, Red Sox, Astros

By Howard Megdal | January 11, 2010 at 5:49pm CDT

Here are some Duraflame logs for the Hot Stove…

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reviews the Kansas City offseason, and let's just say he makes "Old Dogs" look like it got raves from the critics by comparison.
MLB.com's Ian Browne answers questions about the Red Sox, ranging from where contract talks stand with Josh Beckett (spring training is critical) to whether David Ortiz could be traded (not without his consent).
MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that despite the apparent signing of Brett Myers, the Astros still prefer to develop pitchers themselves.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman addresses whether the Braves have improved their offense, or if position player moves are still to come, in his latest Inbox column.

Heyman On Mauer, Pujols, Damon, Washburn

By Tim Dierkes | January 11, 2010 at 3:59pm CDT

3:59pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves have not made an offer to Damon, contrary to Heyman's suggestion below.

12:49pm: Jon Heyman's latest column for SI.com leads with thoughts on contract talks for two superstars, Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols. Heyman says Mauer has been slow to engage with the Twins only because he's giving them a chance to put the 2010 team together first. Heyman believes Mauer is "thinking about a contract for at least seven years and more than $20MM, though he isn't going to press the $30MM issue that could conceivably come into focus if he goes the free-agent route." On the other hand, Heyman says Pujols is "surely seeking" $30MM a year. On to Heyman's other rumors…

Heyman believes the Braves and Giants made offers to Johnny Damon. It's not clear if the Giants' offer for Damon is still on the table given their Aubrey Huff agreement.
Jarrod Washburn rejected a $5MM offer from the Twins; the Mets and Royals are other suitors.
The Mariners have considered Ryan Garko. An outfielder would make more sense.
The Rangers are looking for a "low-cost starting pitcher."
The Orioles are "still in play" for first baseman Adam LaRoche. Currently it's difficult to name another LaRoche suitor.

Royals Sign Matt Herges

By Tim Dierkes | January 11, 2010 at 1:34pm CDT

The Royals signed reliever Matt Herges to a minor league deal, according to a team press release. Herges, 40 in April, posted a 6.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, and 3.38 ERA in 34.6 innings for the Indians and Rockies last year. He logged another 28.3 innings at Triple A.

Herges is one of a slew of minor league signings made by Royals GM Dayton Moore so far this offseason. Check out the full list here.

Royals DFA Luis Hernandez

By Mike Axisa | January 9, 2010 at 11:07am CDT

The Royals have designated infielder Luis Hernandez for assignment according to a team press release. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot following the signings of Noel Arguelles and Scott Podsednik.

The 25-year-old Hernandez is a career .244/.284/.276 hitter in 243 big league plate appearances, though his defense at short is solid. His minor league performance isn't much better: .249/.297/.320 in over 2,800 plate appearances. Not much to see here, folks.

Royals Sign Scott Podsednik

By Tim Dierkes | January 8, 2010 at 4:42pm CDT

The Royals finalized their one-year $1.75MM deal with Scott Podsednik today. The contract includes a 2011 club option worth $2MM, but Podsednik can void it if he picks up 525 plate appearances this year. Both the 2010 and 2011 years include incentives worth $250K or more.

Podsednik, who turns 34 before the season starts, will compete with Mitch Maier and perhaps Brian Anderson for playing time in center field. He rates slightly below average on defense, according to UZR/150, but does add some value on offense. He hit .304/.353/.412 for the White Sox last year, stealing 30 bases in 43 attempts.

Royals GM Dayton Moore said last night on 610 Sports Radio that the Royals were close to signing a speedy outfielder. Today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that Podsednik had a deal and ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick confirmed it was with the Royals. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com, Sam Mellinger of the KC Star, Rosenthal and John Marshall of the AP followed up with the details.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Cardinals, Delgado

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 7, 2010 at 8:53pm CDT

Some more links for the evening…

Chad Jennings of LoHud.com provides an extensive breakdown of the Yankees' potential outfield options.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says his team will decide in the near future "if we have a bullet to use what would we use it on," according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets that the Pirates are the leaders for D.J. Carrasco, who is being pursued by three other teams. In a separate tweet, Price adds that the Mets plan to scout Carlos Delgado this weekend in Puerto Rico.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that Josh Johnson is definitely not switching agents any time soon. Matt Sosnick represents the big righty.
Justin Sablich lists the best remaining free agents for the New York Times.
Chien-Ming Wang is telling friends he's prepared to move on from the Yankees, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Abraham says Wang should be ready to join an MLB rotation in May.
David Aardsma could come close to tripling his 2009 salary of $419K, according to MLB.com's Jim Street. The reliever is one of five arbitration-eligible Mariners
MLB.com's Dick Kaegel tweets that Noel Arguelles passed his physical with the Royals, making official the five-year $7MM deal he agreed to earlier in the offseason.
Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune says Russell Branyan's likely not returning to Seattle now that the Mariners are poised to add Casey Kotchman.
Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog hears from people connected to the Mets that they are interested in John Smoltz. The NL East is all over Smoltz – the Phils and Nats have interest, too.

Center Fielders On Royals’ Radar

By Tim Dierkes | January 6, 2010 at 12:46pm CDT

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names three free agents on the Royals' radar for center field: Rick Ankiel, Scott Podsednik, and Randy Winn. It should be noted that none of the three logged 500 innings in center in '09. Crasnick's source doesn't see the Royals spending much more than $2MM on a one-year deal, so playing time could be the biggest selling point. Coco Crisp at $5.25MM coming off two shoulder surgeries might be seen as an overpay by Oakland, if these other free agents sign for less than half that.

My guess is that Scott Boras will end up finding a reasonable one-year deal for Ankiel, much as he did for Joe Crede last year. Beyond the Pirates, we haven't heard much from other Ankiel suitors. Podsednik could land with the Giants or Tigers, while Winn is being courted by the Padres and D'Backs.

GM Trade Histories: AL Central

By Tim Dierkes | January 5, 2010 at 10:00am CDT

Brendan Bianowicz has more GM Trade History series updates for us. Click below to download Excel spreadsheets with info on the AL Central GMs (trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks).

Miguel Olivo Reaches Agreement With Rockies

By Mark Polishuk | January 4, 2010 at 8:27pm CDT

MONDAY, 8:27pm: Harding is up with a story now that includes contract details. The Rockies will pay Olivo $2MM in 2010, and then either exercise a club option for $2.5MM in 2011, or go with a $500K buyout.

MONDAY, 4:56pm: MLB.com's Thomas Harding tweets that an agreement has been reached on a one-year deal with a 2011 option.

WEDNESDAY, 7:35pm: Troy Renck of the Denver Post says Olivo's contract is for one year with a club option. Renck also reports that the Rockies and Torrealba solved the issue of the $400K salary gap, but were instead held up by how a reported two-year, $6MM deal would be paid out over 2010 and 2011. Renck outlines the whole situation in a blog post and notes that the Mets and Giants are both interested in Torrealba.

5:25pm: Free-agent catcher Miguel Olivo and the Rockies "are attempting to work out final details" on a deal that would make Olivo the new backup in Colorado, reports Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.

Olivo hit .249/.292/.490 in 416 plate appearances with Kansas City last season, leading the Royals with 23 home runs. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Olivo earn regular playing time in Colorado given that Iannetta ended up losing the starting job to Yorvit Torrealba down the stretch last season (though, to be fair, Iannetta posted an .804 OPS himself in 2009 and is the clear incumbent given his new contract).

Should Olivo sign with Colorado, it would close the door on any chance of Torrealba re-signing with his former club. Torrealba and the Rockies were in talks earlier this winter, but apparently couldn't close the gap on a $400K difference between Torrealba's demands and what the Rockies wanted to pay him.

Royals Sign John Parrish

By Tim Dierkes | January 4, 2010 at 3:50pm CDT

The Royals signed lefty John Parrish to a minor league deal, according to a team press release. Parrish, 32, missed all of '09 with a shoulder injury. In 2008 he posted a 4.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, and 4.04 ERA in 42.3 innings for the Blue Jays. He has not had success against lefties in recent years.

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