Angels Exploring Infielder Trade?
11:45pm: Price reports that the Angels are telling people there's a significant chance they deal an infielder, likely Izturis. The 29-year-old made just $1.6MM this season, so he won't be in line for a big contract next year, even though it's his last season before hitting free agency.
11:29pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse hears that the Angels are exploring a trade for an infielder. Price's source says the infielder is likely Maicer Izturis, but could also be Howie Kendrick.
Price says Erick Aybar and Brandon Wood sound "untouchable." However, we know the Angels would consider dealing Aybar. GM Tony Reagins told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that he's "open minded" to the possibility, though it doesn't appear likely. It's hard to imagine that Wood is untouchable, either. He's valuable, but other than Derek Jeter and Evan Longoria, how many untouchable players are really out there?
Vlad Looking For A Two-Year Deal
Vladimir Guerrero is looking for a two-year deal this offseason, but would consider returning to Anaheim on a one-year contract if the market doesn't develop as well as he hopes (MLB.com's Lyle Spencer reporting). Signing a one-year deal could give Vlad the chance to re-establish his value, much like Bobby Abreu did this past season.
The Rangers and Orioles are among the teams that have been connected to Guerrero this offseason. The White Sox and Mariners could be fits, too, but a two-year deal seems ambitious. Vlad's defense has deteriorated and there are enough options – Gary Sheffield, Carlos Delgado, Jim Thome, Hideki Matsui – that he won't have much leverage.
Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday
7:20pm: Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Jason Bay appears to be a "longshot," speaking on 830 KLAA in Los Angeles tonight.
6:53pm: Some feel the Angels are pushing hard for Bay, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse.
10:25am: ESPN's Buster Olney told us yesterday that the Mariners are "unlikely to get involved" on free agent outfielder Jason Bay. Today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a similar note, saying the team's interest has been overstated. Things have mostly been quiet on Bay, though the Angels may have opened talks and the Red Sox will meet this morning with his representatives (tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown).
Odds & Ends: Mora, Figgins, Tejada, Rangers
Links for Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, which are taking place in Indianapolis…
- Add Robb Quinlan to the list of utility men on the Rockies' radar, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports names Melvin Mora as another target. MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of interest from the Twins in Quinlan.
- The Mariners' deal for Chone Figgins is official, tweets the Brock & Salk show. The team press release notes it's a four-year deal with an option for 2014.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa acknowledged interest in Miguel Tejada, talking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. By the way, Astros GM Ed Wade is certain he won't re-sign Tejada, tweets Alyson Footer. Tejada apparently wants multiple years.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers are considering free agent catchers such as Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Yorvit Torrealba, and Jose Molina.
- WEEI's Alex Speier passes along Scott Boras' comments from an XM Radio appearance. Boras discussed Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, and Adrian Beltre.
- The Brewers are discussing relievers Kevin Gregg and Mike Gonzalez at least internally, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The Crew recently lost reliever Mark DiFelice for the 2010 season. Gonzalez would cost good money and the Brewers' second-round pick (currently #50).
- Yahoo's Kevin Kaduk asks whether Twitter is helping or hurting the Winter Meetings. My opinion: hurting. The information crush was tolerable when reporters all got blogs a few years back, but now it's excessive. Of course, we're not helping.
- Jamey Carroll would love to play for the Reds but hasn't received an offer yet, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- The D'Backs offered Chris Snyder to the Rangers for C.J. Wilson and were turned down, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Wilson tweets that he's "borderline offended" by Arizona's offer.
- The Pirates have had further talks with free agent hurler Justin Duchscherer, says Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but don't expect him to sign soon. We learned yesterday that the Rockies have cooled on Duchscherer. Kovacevic also reports that despite scouting Aroldis Chapman, the Pirates are not a player for him. ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. indicates that Chapman will be showcased in Houston later this month.
- The Rays and White Sox discussed a Carlos Quentin–Carl Crawford trade, says Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Manager Ozzie Guillen implies that nothing is cooking on that front though. The two clubs also discussed closer Bobby Jenks, but the Rays did not like the asking price.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins admitted to interest in Hideki Matsui, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times. Keep in mind, though that the Japanese press is apparently grilling every GM on Matsui. Reagins also said he hasn't ruled out re-signing Vladimir Guerrero.
- Carl Pavano explained his decision to accept arbitration from the Twins, in an email to Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests retaining Pavano makes Glen Perkins expendable.
- The Rangers are not interested in trading for Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
Giants Notes: Leadoff, Payroll, Catcher, Rivera
Some Giants updates to ponder as we march on through the night, courtesy of MLB.com's Christ Haft:
- Brian Sabean said Monday that the Giants plan to use Eugenio Velez or Andres Torres in the leadoff spot for 2010. Yikes, neither is exactly a prime option for that role.
- Sabean says the payroll will be in the same range as 2009 — the low $90MMs. Haft says the Giants will need every penny due to the massive raise Tim Lincecum is about to receive as part of the aftermath of winning his second consecutive Cy Young Award.
- The Giants will not use Pablo Sandoval or Ryan Garko at catcher even on a part-time basis in 2010. Sandoval caught 11 games for the Giants in 2008, but Sabean and Co. would prefer not to expose their best hitter to the rigors of catching. Garko won the 2003 Johnny Bench Award at Stanford, but hasn't caught a game in his Major League career.
- Should the Angels land Jason Bay, the Giants might suddenly perk up and pursue an acquisition of Juan Rivera. Haft points out, though, that given Rivera's big-time production in 2009 and modest contract for 2010 and 2011, the asking price might be tough to swallow for the Giants.
Lackey Declines Arbitration
In an unsurprising move, John Lackey declined the Angels' offer of arbitration, according to Lyle Spencer of MLB.com. The offer was more of a formality anyway, as the former Halo ace and top starting pitcher on the market is expected to seek a deal in excess of the five-year, $82.5MM deal signed by A.J. Burnett last season.
The Angels will net a couple of high draft picks if they fail to retain Lackey and he signs with another club.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Monday
10:29pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays have checked in on Halladay, as they do on most players, but didn't even talk to the Jays today.
9:37pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports that the Jays and Dodgers talked about a possible Halladay deal today and don't appear to match up well.
5:50pm: SI's Jon Heyman says the Angels are interested in Doc only if he'll sign a long-term deal with them.
5:17pm: The Rays "flatly denied" interest in discussing Davis and Upton for Halladay, reports ESPN's Peter Gammons.
4:20pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say the Rays inquired on Halladay, and "might be willing to offer Wade Davis and B.J. Upton." So far the most surprising rumor of the day.
10:05am: A couple of tweets from ESPN's Buster Olney prompt our first Roy Halladay post of the morning. Olney says the Blue Jays are in discussion mode on Doc, and no trade is close currently. He also says not to rule out the Angels even though they hold Spring Training in Arizona rather than Halladay's reported preference, Florida.
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tells us that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is "limiting the number of people in his suite for any talks," which should cut down on leaks. Something tells me the rumors will keep coming.
Edwin Jackson Rumors: Monday
9:43pm: D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes told Piecoro that team execs are heavily involved in trade talks and currently "talking about a lot of guys." He didn't mention Jackson specifically, but you have to think Byrnes would have squashed this rumor if the D'Backs and Tigers weren't talking about a possible Jackson deal.
8:27pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic thinks the D'Backs are making a push for Jackson, but doubts they'd include Max Scherzer in a deal. As Piecoro points out, Scherzer's under team control for three more years than Jackson, who can become a free agent after 2011. Those three extra years add lots of value.
8:03pm: MLB.com's Steve Gilbert wonders whether the Tigers and D'Backs could complete a deal without a third team. Do you see a potential fit?
6:26pm: The Tigers approached the Rockies about Jackson, but Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the asking price was too high for Colorado.
3:58pm: Rosenthal and Morosi say talks for Jackson have been more serious with the D'Backs than the Mariners, and the Angels are in on both Jackson and Granderson. The Red Sox are not in on Jackson, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs are not close to getting Jackson.
3:27pm: Price is back with something a little more concrete: he says the Tigers are sorting through offers from 12 teams for Jackson.
2:26pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports agree with Nightengale – the Tigers are close to trading Jackson. They say the Brewers, Mets, and Dodgers "are not on Jackson."
2:09pm: Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that a Mets official denied a Jackson trade.
1:54pm: Cryptic tweet from Ed Price of AOL FanHouse: "Rumor that Mets acquire Edwin Jackson." Price then updated that the rumor was "heard in the lobby" but not confirmed.
12:57pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that the Tigers are close to trading Jackson, "perhaps as early as today." No word on the potential destination, but we'll keep you apprised in this post. What's more, Nightengale says the Tigers hope to trade Curtis Granderson this week.
The Tigers acquired Jackson from the Rays during the Winter Meetings last year, on December 10th.
Mariners Interested In Darren Oliver
The Mariners are doing their best to make the Angels feel uneasy. They're interested in free agent lefty Darren Oliver, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The M's are expected to finalize a deal with longtime Angel Chone Figgins soon and they're in the mix for John Lackey. The Angels didn't offer Oliver arbitration, so, unlike Figgins and Lackey, he won't cost a draft pick.
In the words of one unnamed FOX source, "there's some gamesmanship going on."
Angels Rumors: Bay, Matsui, Lackey, Halladay
The Angels will consider Jason Bay, Hideki Matsui and Vladimir Guerrero as they look to add offense, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:
- Talks with Bay are just starting, but GM Tony Reagins says he finds the free agent "appealing."
- Matsui and Guerrero are both options, too, though they profile as DHs. Bay played the field every day last year.
- Reagins said the Angels have had "reasonably productive" conversations with John Lackey.
- Could Roy Halladay end up replacing Lackey atop the team's rotation? The Angels will pursue the Blue Jays ace.