Dodgers Rumors

NL West Notes: Cuddyer, Belisario, MacDougal, Ross

By Dan Mennella | December 20, 2011 at 8:10pm CDT

A few items of note to pass along out of the NL West …

Newly signed Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer will earn a base salary of $10.5MM in each year of his three-year contract, although he can earn an additional $1.5MM in incentives in the deal's final year, 2014, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
Cuddyer will man right field for the Rox, while Carlos Gonzalez shifts over to center, tweets Thomas Harding of MLB.com.
Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario, who missed the entire 2011 season due to visa issues, has secured a visa and is expected to be in camp on time for the start of Spring Training, according to Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
However, Belisario will have to serve a 25-game suspension, which are typically doled out when players fail to comply with treatment programs, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Belisario had issues with substance abuse in 2010 and 2011, which is in part why he had trouble obtaining a visa.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says he's still in the market for another reliever despite re-adding Belisario to the bullpen picture, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles. Gurnick reports the Dodgers remain in negotiations to bring back right-hander Mike MacDougal.
Free agent outfielder Cody Ross, who spent the past season and a half with the Giants, is now seeking a two-year contract, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Ross was originally looking for a three-year pact, but that was only to remain in pitcher-friendly San Francisco, according to O'Brien.

Hiroki Kuroda May Be Nearing Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 20, 2011 at 2:06pm CDT

Yahoo’s Tim Brown heard yesterday that Hiroki Kuroda was close to agreeing to a new contract. However, it’s not clear which team is nearing a deal with the right-hander. Here are the details and more of Brown’s links from around MLB:

The Mariners, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees were among the teams that informed Brown they were not the team nearing a deal with Kuroda.
The Dodgers didn’t scout Yoenis Cespedes in earnest or consider bidding on Yu Darvish, Brown reports. It cost the Rangers $51.7MM for the rights to negotiate with Darvish and Cespedes figures to cost tens of millions as well, so the players are too expensive for the cash-strapped Dodgers to consider.
Carlos Beltran figures to agree to terms by Sunday. His market includes the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red Sox and a fourth team, possibly the Rays. Beltran is weighing two and three-year offers, Brown reports.

Dodgers Sign John Grabow

By Tim Dierkes | December 19, 2011 at 10:43am CDT

The Dodgers signed lefty reliever John Grabow to a minor league deal, tweeted John Scanlan on Saturday. This morning, MLBTR confirmed the transaction. The deal includes an invitation to Major League camp, notes Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.

Grabow, 33, was acquired by the Cubs from the Pirates in July of '09. He signed a two-year, $7.5MM extension four months later. Over those two seasons Grabow posted a 5.52 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 4.2 BB/9, and 1.4 HR/9 in 88 innings, missing time with knee and shoulder injuries.

Quick Hits: Reds, Dodgers, Hanrahan, Chavez

By Zachary Links | December 18, 2011 at 11:24pm CDT

On this day one year ago, the Brewers recieved Zack Greinke, Yuniesky Betancourt, and cash from the Royals for Jake Odorizzi, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, and Jeremy Jeffress. Here's are a few links for Sunday evening..

While there are some Reds fans who are unhappy with the club's recent trade for Padres pitcher Mat Latos, B.J. Bethel of the Dayton Daily News writes that GM Walt Jocketty had to make that type of move.
With six days until Christmas, the Dodgers are nearly finished with their shopping, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. The club doesn't have much to spend but will look to sign a veteran reliever and remains in talks with Mike MacDougal.
Pirates closer and regular MLBTR reader Joel Hanrahan told Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he isn't fazed when his name comes up in trade rumors. Hanrahan added that he hopes that the Bucs aren't shopping him at the trade deadline this year and instead wants to see the club looking to add to the roster at mid-season.
The Mets were genuinely interested in bringing outfielder Endy Chavez back to New York before he reached agreement with the Orioles on a one-year deal, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.

West Rumors: Rizzo, Pujols, Dodgers, Shuey

By Mike Axisa | December 17, 2011 at 9:36pm CDT

The Padres made a mini-blockbuster earlier today by trading Mat Latos to the Reds, and now let's recap the latest rumors from out west…

Clubs have already started calling the Padres about Anthony Rizzo, and the Rays and Cubs are among those interested according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Rizzo could be on the market after Yonder Alonso joined San Diego in the Latos trade.
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports provided the details of the incentives in Albert Pujols' contract with the Angels (Twitter link). The slugger will get $3MM for his 3,000th career hit and $7MM for his 763rd career home run, which would break the all-time record. The soon-to-be 32-year-old currently has 2,073 hits and 445 homers.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has restructured his front office slightly, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Vance Lovelace was promoted to director of professional personnel after serving as special assistant to the GM and director of pro scouting. Rick Ragazzo replaces Lovelace as director of pro scouting after serving as a special assistant to the GM.
The Dodgers are still fighting with Hartford Life Insurance Co. over Paul Shuey's $3.25MM salary for the 2004 season, reports Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. The team sued the insurance company in 2006, saying they didn't honor their claim when the right-hander did not pitch that season due to injury.

NL West Notes: Niese, Smith, Quentin, Cuddyer

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 7:39pm CDT

We've already seen the Rockies make a big signing and the Padres swing a trade today, so let's check what else is cooking in the NL West….

Jonathon Niese "is believed to be available in a package built around" Rockies outfielder Seth Smith, reports Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports. Smith's name has been whispered in the trade rumors all winter and he could be even more expendable now that Colorado has agreed to terms with Michael Cuddyer. The Mets hadn't had any "significant" talks about Niese, though the Rockies were known to be one of the several teams interested in the young southpaw.
Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd "is having a very good winter. If he can add another strong arm or two, he has a chance at a great winter," writes Scott Miller for CBSSports.com. Miller also examines how Cuddyer's clubhouse presence was an important factor in the Rockies' decision to sign him.
The Padres have the payroll space to trade for an available slugger like Carlos Quentin, writes Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. With free agent hitters wary of coming to Petco Park, the trade market is San Diego's best avenue for finding a bat, Rosenthal/Morosi note. They also mention Quentin's past with Padres GM Josh Byrnes in Arizona, though it was Byrnes who dealt Quentin to the White Sox in 2007 when Byrnes was the Diamondbacks' general manager.
There is no risk of Frank McCourt trying to keep ownership the Dodgers, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Doing so "would put hundreds of millions of dollars at risk to try a 'hail Mary' strategy," Shaikin writes.
Padres owner Jeff Moorad should speed up his purchase of the team from John Moores, opines Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Minor Moves: Rangers, Lindsay, Texeira, James

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2011 at 3:07pm CDT

Here's where we'll track today's minor moves, most of which were reported by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus on Twitter…

The Rangers invited recent non-tender Fabio Castillo and catcher Chris Robinson to Spring Training, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (on Twitter). The Rangers signed former supplemental first round pick Zach Jackson, according to Goldstein.
The Twins signed right-hander Daryl Thompson, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets. They also signed lefty Aaron Thompson, according to Goldstein.
The Dodgers signed Shane Lindsay.
The Reds signed Kanekoa Texeira.
The Pirates signed lefty Kris Johnson.
The Giants signed Joaquin Arias.
The Mariners signed catcher Guillermo Quiroz.
The Blue Jays signed 2002 first rounder Clint Everts.
The Rays signed right-hander Matt Torra.
The Mets announced the signing of left-hander Chuck James, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). James appeared in eight games for the Twins this past season, and spent most of the season at Triple-A. The 30-year-old posted a 2.30 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 62 2/3 innings as a reliever for the Twins' top affiliate.
The Padres released utility man Eric Patterson, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
The Royals released righty Jake Rodriguez, tweets Eddy.
The Red Sox released righty Miguel Gonzalez.

Cubs, Dodgers Interested In Coco Crisp

By Tim Dierkes | December 14, 2011 at 7:30pm CDT

The Cubs and Dodgers have been in discussions with Coco Crisp to play left field, MLBTR has learned. The 32-year-old hasn't played left regularly since 2005 with the Indians.

The Cubs' inquiry on Crisp is interesting, since they have left fielder Alfonso Soriano under contract for $54MM over the next three years, with a full no-trade clause. New Cubs president Theo Epstein acquired Crisp from the Tribe for the Red Sox early in '06, extending him a few months later. The Dodgers currently seem to be looking at some combination of Juan Rivera, Tony Gwynn Jr., and Jerry Sands in left.

Crisp hit .264/.314/.379 in 583 plate appearances for the Athletics this year, his healthiest season since '07. His center field defense was above-average from 2009-10 but below-average this year, according to UZR.

Dodgers Sign Bard, Ledezma, Castillo, Guzman, More

By Tim Dierkes | December 14, 2011 at 7:25am CDT

The Dodgers announced the signing of 15 non-roster players yesterday, reported MLB.com's Ken Gurnick: catcher Josh Bard, lefty reliever Wil Ledezma, lefty reliever Alberto Castillo, righty reliever Angel Guzman, outfielder Cory Sullivan, righty reliever Fernando Nieve, righty reliever Jose Ascanio, righty Ryan Tucker, righty Will Savage, lefty Matt Chico, lefty Scott Rice, corner infielder Jeff Baisley, infielder Lance Zawadzki, and infielder Luis Cruz.

Bard, 33, had 86 plate appearances for the Mariners this year and another 250 in Triple-A. His signing was first rumored last week at the Winter Meetings. Ledezma, 30, briefly appeared in the Majors with Toronto this year. He struck out 64 batters in 48 Triple-A innings as well. Castillo, a 36-year-old Cuban, tossed 11 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks and a strong 42 1/3 frames at Triple-A. His near-deal was first reported last week.

Ascanio, 26, appeared briefly in the bigs with the Pirates this year and also whiffed 50 in 44 Triple-A innings. He was part of the July '09 John Grabow-Tom Gorzelanny trade with the Cubs, but he had labrum surgery in October of that year. Tucker, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Marlins who pitched five innings with the Rangers this year and 68 1/3 more in Triple-A. Guzman, Sullivan, Nieve, Chico, Baisley, Zawadzki, and Cruz have also spent time in the Majors. Guzman, notably, was a successful setup man for the Cubs in '09.

Dodgers Eyeing MacDougal, Kuo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 13, 2011 at 10:33am CDT

The Dodgers are done shopping for position players and are now looking for a reliever, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (all Twitter links). The team continues to talk to free agent right-hander Mike MacDougal and has potential interest in left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo.

The Dodgers non-tendered Kuo last night, partly since they aren’t sure if he’s interested in pitching in 2012. "That's part of what we have to figure out," GM Ned Colletti said, according to Hernandez. Kuo, 30, struggled in 2011, when an anxiety disorder limited him to 27 innings. However, he has a career 3.73 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 40.9% ground ball rate.

MacDougal, an 11-year veteran, also spent the 2011 season with the Dodgers. He posted a 2.05 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and a 60.9% ground ball rate in 57 innings. Though MacDougal's ground ball rate ranked tenth in MLB among pitchers with 50 innings pitched, metrics like xFIP (4.02) and SIERA (3.80) suggest good luck held his ERA down this past season.

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