Juan Cruz To Royals?
Juan Cruz may be close to a deal with the Kansas City Royals, according to Buster Olney at ESPN.com.
The Royals’ signing Cruz may entitle the Arizona Diamondbacks to two compensatory draft picks, since Cruz was a Type A free agent offered arbitration. However, a potential sign-and-trade deal with the Diamondbacks may affect those circumstances. Writes Olney:
It was not immediately clear on Saturday afternoon whether Cruz would just sign with the Royals, or if a sign-and-trade with the Diamondbacks would be part of the process.
We’ll keep an eye on this one.
Chad Cordero To Audition Again
As reported by Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, free agent Chad Cordero will hold another workout for interested teams on Friday.
The Rangers will be in attendance. You can bet the Twins will also be there. The Marlins, Royals and Brewers are also likely to send scouts. Cordero, who will turn 27 in March, missed most of the 2008 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He racked up 113 saves for the Nationals between 2005 and 2007.
Odds And Ends: Royals, Zimmerman, A-Rod
Links for Saturday…
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney breaks down the 2009 Royals and considers them an improvement over last year’s team.
- According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Brendan Ryan is not yet out of options because of the time he spent on the DL back in 2006.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown writes that the Nationals lack stability. He wonders "if the organization really is getting anywhere."
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post heard that Ryan Zimmerman thinks the time is right for a long-term deal with the Nats, despite the weakened market and his 2008 injuries.
- Wallace Matthews of Newsday thinks Hank Steinbrenner should have let Alex Rodriguez sign elsewhere after 2007 because the slugger’s become a "toxic mortgage" to the team. Say what you will about A-Rod, it’s hard to match his production.
- The Tigers don’t have the organizational depth they did when they dealt for Miguel Cabrera, but FanGraphs examines what’s left in the minors.
Dodgers, Orlando Hudson Agree To Terms
9:36pm: ESPN’s Keith Law calls Hudson’s contract "easily one of the biggest bargains of the offseason." He does say that the Dodgers will miss the draft pick they lost and closes by saying, "the big question here is where the Mets were in all of this."
1:49pm: According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, Hudson gets $3.4MM guaranteed with another $4.6MM in incentives. Nice bargain for the Dodgers, though the draft pick loss hurts. ESPN’s Jayson Stark says the Royals were offering a $4.6MM base salary, so it looks like they were willing to stretch the payroll for Hudson.
1:36pm: Sirius XM’s MLB Home Plate is reporting Orlando Hudson has agreed in principle with the Dodgers, pending a physical.
The Diamondbacks lose their second baseman to a division rival, but also receive L.A.’s #17 pick in the June draft plus a supplemental pick.
Royals Claim Tug Hulett
According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, the Royals claimed infielder Tug Hulett off waivers from the Mariners. To make room, they designated lefty Neal Musser for assignment.
Hulett, 26 in a few days, hit .298/.380/.518 in Triple A last year and can play any infield position.
Orlando Hudson Rumors: Thursday
Yesterday we learned from MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has ongoing talks for free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. Today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Dodgers appear to be the front-runner for Hudson. Signing him wouldn’t affect their chances of locking up Manny Ramirez. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick says Colletti has also not ruled out relief help from guys like Joe Beimel, Dennys Reyes, or Jason Isringhausen.
Even as divisional rivals the D’Backs may be rooting for the Dodgers to sign Hudson, since they’d receive L.A.’s #17 pick in the June draft as part of the compensation. Rosenthal says the Royals and other unknown clubs remain in the mix for him, with the White Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, and Mets seemingly not seriously involved. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star discusses the Royals angle in a column today.
Odds and Ends: Pirates, Royals, Gagne
Links for Wednesday…
- Joe Torre plans to retire as a manager after the 2010 season, learned MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
- Braves blog Talking Chop talked to ESPN’s Keith Law about the farm system.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis spoke to one assistant GM who believes teams will cut back in the international market, partially because they can do so without a major backlash from fans. Callis also has the ’09 draft order at that link.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at the $69MM+ teams spent on first-round draft picks last year.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates have anywhere from $41.75-$75.15MM tied up in Nate McLouth, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit, all of whom were signed this winter. In a blog post, Kovacevic notes how the McLouth talks did a 180 when Frank Coonelly stepped in.
- Alex Speier of WEEI talked to Red Sox execs John Henry and Larry Lucchino about the salary cap idea as well as the team’s offseason.
- Aubrey Huff, a free agent after the season, isn’t worried about the future according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.
- Chris Forsberg of the Boston Globe relays quotes from Jonathan Papelbon about the long-term deal that did not materialize this winter.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the idea of releasing Mark Teahen and John Buck to sign Orlando Hudson, which some Royals fans are pushing for.
- Pitcher Kevin Correia turned down better deals to sign with his hometown Padres, according to MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
- Newly signed Brewers reliever Eric Gagne hopes to atone for his 2008 season, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Royals Avoid Arb With Mike Jacobs
According to the Denver Post’s Troy Renck, the Royals have agreed to a one-year, $3.25MM deal with first baseman Mike Jacobs.
Jacobs can make an additional $25K if he lands on the American League All-Star team. The 28-year-old hit .247/.299/.514 last season with 32 home runs and 93 RBI. He was acquired this offseason from the Marlins for reliever Leo Nunez.
Orlando Hudson Likes The Royals
FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reports that free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson "is interested in the Royals."
Tim covered this for MLBTR earlier today, but Rosenthal has made a few updates.
Hudson has ties with two members of Kansas City’s coaching staff and wouldn’t mind a reunion. Of course, that doesn’t mean a deal will get done. The Royals would have to move some cash around to fit him in their budget and this market might not allow it. Hudson is thought to be seeking between $4MM and $5MM.
As Rosenthal notes, the signing would also "cost the Royals a second-round draft pick due to the team’s finish in the bottom half of the overall standings last season."
Orlando Hudson Rumors: Tuesday
We learned from Ken Rosenthal earlier today that the Dodgers remain interested in free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. Rosenthal also said that the Royals like Hudson but don’t have the financial flexibility to fit him in.
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has more on Hudson, learning that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has "had a conversation or two" with the player’s agent since Adam Dunn signed. Colletti also implied that the Dodgers could afford Hudson and Manny Ramirez, if they choose to pursue both. Heyman adds that the White Sox are not a player for Hudson.