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Six Teams Interested In Kevin Youkilis

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The lot of free agent third basemen isn't very strong this offseason, and as a result, Kevin Youkilis has become a hot commodity. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Mariners and Marlins have checked in on the 33-year-old, as have the Phillies, Dodgers, and Indians. The White Sox are also said to want him back.

Youkilis hit .235/.336/.409 in 509 plate appearances last year, including .236/.346/.425 in 344 plate appearances following his trade to the ChiSox. He has plenty of experience at both first and third base throughout his career, though he has been on the disabled list five times in the last four years. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Youkilis 27th in his Top 50 Free Agents List, predicting he would sign with the Phillies.

Dodgers Notes: Hunter, Ryu, Bard, Kuroda

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The latest on the Dodgers, who are in the midst of their first offseason under new ownership…

  • The Dodgers are out on Torii Hunter, according to Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. The Braves, Rangers and Tigers all still have interest in Hunter, who appears to prefer an AL team.
  • GM Ned Colletti told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Dodgers are prioritizing the international market again under the team’s new ownership. “One area we really needed to accent immediately was international operations,” Colletti said. “We couldn’t wait another year to get involved there.” The Dodgers recently won the negotiating rights to Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu with a bid of $25.7MM. 
  • The Dodgers announced that they signed six international scouts, including Patrick Guerrero. The team also announced that they hired former MLB catcher Josh Bard as a special assistant.
  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post wonders which top free agent will sign next. Zack Greinke and Hiroki Kuroda seem like candidates to sign in the relatively near future, according to Davidoff, who believes that the Dodgers will bring Kuroda back to Los Angeles.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

West Notes: Headley, Gregerson, Dodgers, Iwakuma

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Today we celebrate Veterans Day, a day to recognize every person who serves our nation valiantly in the defense of our freedom and liberty whether it be in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, or National Guard. Thank you kindly to all who have served and are currently serving at home and overseas. John Schlegel of MLB.com explains how the national pastime is forever linked with the nation's armed forces and uses, as an example, the statue of Jerry Coleman erected by the Padres this past September. The pose wasn't inspired by Coleman's playing days or by his Hall of Fame broadcasting career, but of his tour of duty as a Marine pilot during World War II. Here's the latest news on the Padres and the other NL and AL West division teams:

Quick Hits: Rays, LaRoche, Orioles, Kinsler, Ryu

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The strategic question for the Rays is whether they can get more by being pre-emptive and making a trade with a team that doesn't want to get shut out of a high-priced open market or instead waiting on  those teams that do miss out in free agency, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Here's more Sunday afternoon linkage..

  • Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo told Jim Bowden of ESPN Radio (via Twitter) that Adam LaRoche is the club's number one priority right now as signing him would help make the rest of the winter easy for them.  The first baseman declined the Nats' qualifying offer on Friday.
  • While some have wondered if the Orioles could be interested in Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun doesn't see it happening.  For starters, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette likes the Orioles' options at second base which include Ryan Flaherty, Brian Roberts, Robert Andino, and the recently-acquired Alexi Casilla.
  • A scout in Korea told David Lennon of Newsday (via Twitter) that the teams most aggressive in scouting Hyun-Jin Ryu were the Rangers, Cubs, Tigers, Indians, Blue Jays, Twins, and obviously the Dodgers.  The Yankees and Mets were not in on the left-hander.
  • New Rockies manager Walt Weiss is expected to be demanding right off the bat in his first foray into the job on a professional level, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Reynolds, Hamilton, Martin

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe isn't sure that everyone appreciates the scope of the situation that Red Sox GM Ben Cherington & Co. are facing.  “I know they’re trying to sell it like they’ll be back quickly, and maybe everything will come together and they will,” said a National League GM, “but it’s just not player acquisition, it’s the transition for all of those new players to a new team and city, it’s getting used to a new manager, coaches, teammates. This is not that simple.”  Here's more from today's column..

  • The Red Sox have often been linked to Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, but it still seems unlikely that Boston would risk dealing for him.  Choo, like Jacoby Ellsbury, is a year away from hitting the open market and has Scott Boras as his agent.  For the Sox to pull the trigger, they'd likely have to know that they could lock him up long-term.
  • If the Orioles bring Mark Reynolds back, it'll have to be for far less than the $11MM option they declined earlier this offseason.  Some see the Red Sox as a fit, but his high strikeout rate may be a turnoff for Boston.
  • Cafardo sees the Yankees, Dodgers (if they trade Andre Ethier), Mariners, Orioles, and Brewers as the teams to watch for Josh Hamilton.  The extra $25MM that teams could earn each year as a result of the new TV deal could lead someone to take the plunge and give the outfielder a five-year deal.  
  • The Red Sox had interest in Russell Martin before signing catcher David Ross. 

Quick Hits: Hunter, Dodgers, Dickey, Mets

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The Dodgers have been said to have interest in free agent outfielder Torii Hunter, but their level of interest may have been overstated, according to Dylan Hernandez and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  The team met with Hunter’s agent at the GM meetings this week, but a source says that it was Hunter’s agent who initially reached out to the Dodgers, not the other way around.  Since the Dodgers won't move Andre Ethier, Hunter's only possible role would be as a fourth outfielder and the veteran isn't terribly interested in doing that.  Hunter's agent has also talked with the Tigers, Rays, Yankees, and Phillies and tells clubs that his client wants a multi-year contract.  Here's more from around baseball..

Dodgers Notes: Ethier, Hunter, Kershaw, Ryu

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Earlier today, the Dodgers made history when they submitted the winning bid on Hyun-Jin Ryu for $25,737,737.33, the largest ever for a South Korean player.  Here's more on the Dodgers..

  • The Dodgers won't be trading Andre Ethier, so Torii Hunter would need to accept a lesser role if he signed with them, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The veteran, who is close with both Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford, has interest from nine other clubs including the Tigers, White Sox, Rangers, and Mariners (Twitter link).
  • Clayton Kershaw's hip issues won't deter GM Ned Colletti from working out a new deal with Clayton Kershaw, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  "I think we'll probably sit down and talk about it once we get past this period of time, the free agent period of time," Colletti said. "We signed him for another year, there's another year after that. That said, if there's a common ground on both sides, it's worth investigating."
  • Agent Scott Boras says that Ryu wants to be a starter in the major leagues, tweets Hernandez.  Boras added that if Ryu doesn't wind up signing with the Dodgers, he expects the posting fee to increase dramatically next year (Twitter link).

Rosenthal’s Latest: Upton, Rays, Youkilis, Dodgers

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Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • The Rangers continue to insist that they will not trade either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar for Justin Upton, which could allow the Rays to emerge as the front-runner. They could offer the Diamondbacks James Shields or Jeremy Hellickson in addition to shortstop prospect Hak-Ju Lee.
  • The White Sox and Phillies are interested in Kevin Youkilis, and the Dodgers are considering him as well. Rosenthal says other clubs are concerned whenever Los Angeles is reportedly in on a player given their financial might.
  • The Orioles and Nationals are still engaged in a dispute over money received from MASN — both clubs own the network, but Baltimore's stake is nearly 90% — though Nats GM Mike Rizzo said that will not limit the club's ability to spend.
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto is not concerned about finding a pure closer. He intends to add the best bullpen arms he can and let things figure themselves out.
  • A rival executive told Rosenthal that he expects Dan Haren to sign with the Padres. Haren is a West Coast guy and Padres GM Josh Byrnes originally acquired him from the Athletics while running the Diamondbacks a few years ago.
  • “Like him. Don’t love him," said a Red Sox official when asked about Adam LaRoche. Boston is reportedly pursuing the first baseman.
  • Joakim Soria and Ryan Madson will not be ready to pitch at the start of the season. Both right-handers are coming off Tommy John surgery.

Dodgers Win Bidding For Hyun-Jin Ryu

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The Dodgers won the negotiating rights to Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu with a $25,737,737.33 bid, MLB has announced. It's the largest bid ever for a South Korean player, and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says (on Twitter) that there was at least one more bid in the $20MM range. The numbers three and seven are considered lucky in Korea, hence the unusual winning amount. Ryu is a Scott Boras client and the two sides will now have 30 days to work out a contract since the Hanwha Eagles have already accepted the bid.

Uspw_3647164Ryu, 25, was posted earlier this month. He's been one of the Korea Baseball Organization's most dominant pitchers over the last five years or so, helping the country to Olympic gold in 2008 and a second place finish in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. ESPN's Keith Law said Ryu has an 88-91 mph fastball and a "plus changeup with good arm speed and a fringy curveball in the upper 70s, which is a better left-on-left option right now than his slider." He ranked the southpaw 37th on his Top 50 Free Agents list and said he could wind up in the bullpen given concerns about his durability and thick body. 

The Dodgers already have six starters, but Ted Lilly (shoulder), Chad Billingsley (elbow), and Clayton Kershaw (hip) are coming off injuries. Upgrades over Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano could be found as well. Los Angeles has reportedly kicked the tires on free agents like Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, and Hiroki Kuroda this offseason, though it's unclear how winning Ryu's rights would impact their search for pitching. They still have to sign him first, of course.

Jon Heyman, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, ESPN's Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun, Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian all reported on the story, mostly through Twitter. Dan Kurtz of MyKBO first reported the winning bid amount (on Twitter) while Mike Petriello of the blog Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness first reported that the Dodgers had won the bidding (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Nightengale On Hunter, Dodgers, Greinke, Simmons

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Here's the latest from Bob Nightengale of USA Today…

  • The Dodgers are "aggressively pursuing" Torii Hunter according to a team executive. GM Ned Colletti wouldn't confirm the team's interest, but he did say that he did not have any trade talks about Andre Ethier during the GM Meetings this week.
  • The Dodgers will have meetings early next week to formulate a plan that involves signing Hunter and acquiring a frontline starter. They've already spoken to representatives for Zack Greinke and Anibal Sanchez, but are out on Ryan Dempster.
  • The Rangers tried to acquire Andrelton Simmons from the Braves so they could flip him to the Diamondbacks in a deal for Justin Upton. Arizona wants a young shortstop, but Texas is loath to give up Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar. Atlanta wouldn't budge, however.
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