Royals Sign Matt Herges
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Odds & Ends: Rincon, Calero, Rangers, Encarnacion
Here are some links to kick off the weekend…
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post provides the details on Juan Rincon's contract with the Rockies. He'll earn $800K plus incentives in the big leagues, or $20K per month in the minors.
- Satchel Price at Beyond The Box Score wonders why we haven't heard more about Kiko Calero this offseason. The Cubs and Giants were interested in the righthander at various times this offseason.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas reiterates what we heard yesterday: the Rangers are seeking a veteran catcher. He mentions that they've shown interest in both Rod Barajas and Dioner Navarro.
- Edwin Encarnacion suffered burns to his face in a fireworks accident according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas. He will not require surgery, and will be ready to go in Spring Training.
- Jeff Passan at Yahoo! Sports lists ten players we should keep an on eye to see how their market develops during the remainder of the offseason. His list is led by Matt Holliday and Aroldis Chapman.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach notes that if the Cardinals felt they weren't in a good position to re-sign Holliday, they would have moved on to other targets by now.
- Dick Kaegel of MLB.com says that "it would take a calamitous showing" for Royals' manager Trey Hillman to lose his job this season given his relationship with GM Dayton Moore.
- Steve Slowinski at DRaysBay goes back in time to evaluate the Danys Baez and Lance Carter for Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany trade.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Twins, Beltre, Giants
On New Year's Day 49 years ago, the stadium on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Boulevard in Detroit was officially renamed Tiger Stadium. The then 49-year-old park had previously been known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. Tiger Stadium would serve as the home of Detroit's ball club until the 2000 season, and was demolished completely in 2009.
Here's a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- Bucco Fans takes a look at what could have happened if the Pirates had kept their 2008 roster together.
- Twins Overlook runs down Minnesota's top seven prospects, led by outfielder Aaron Hicks.
- Meanwhile, Nick's Twins Blog examines the current state of the Twinkies' starting rotation.
- The Bottom Line looks at how signing Adrian Beltre could affect the big picture in Boston.
- DRaysBay compares Matt Joyce to Matt LaPorta, and finds that the gap between the two may not be as big as you think.
- Jorge Says No! looks at the potential risk and reward of the Mark DeRosa signing.
- El Lefty Malo guesses that the Giants will wait to see how Jonathan Sanchez's arbitration case turns out before deciding on whether or not to move a starter for a bat.
- Pinstripes Published suggests David DeJesus as a possible left field solution for the Yankees.
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